5:34 PM
It seems that Miyu will stay silent, so I won't need to worry about her for now.
The right thing to do would be to eliminate her immediately, but I still hesitate when it comes to people very close to me, like her, and probably those two as well. I'd rather not drag them into my problems if I can choose.
As I walk through the main block, I can already hear murmurs about Keiko's death. Everyone is likely in a panic as the high council members are being eliminated one by one.
Indirectly, this creates distance between her and potential allies. Seeing the top opposers being assassinated, who would want to put themselves at risk?
I knock on the student council room's door. I wait a few seconds but receive no response, so I slowly open it.
There sits Mikoto, lost in thought, one hand pressed against her forehead. She quickly notices my presence and begins to stare at me in silence.
It seems her mood towards me hasn't improved.
"Can we talk?" I ask.
"I did not permit you to come here. Leave," she replies, looking away.
Yeah... Definitely hasn't improved. But I can very well turn this situation around with the stage set.
"You're obviously already aware of what happened to Keiko. That leaves only you to command the student body. Be honest—there's no way you can continue insisting on fighting alone. This way, you'll only sink deeper."
"I will manage. I have always handled my problems independently, and now is no time to stoop to cooperating with you," she says, brushing a strand of hair away.
Dealing with someone as proud as her isn't easy.
"Indeed. You've always been able to handle them because you've always made the wisest decisions and always acted rationally. But that's not the case here. It's more than obvious that you can't hold things together alone."
She closes the documents she was reviewing and fixes her sharp, icy gaze on me again.
"Johann, tell me, what do you want from me? Just to rub it in my face that I have lost control of the school? If so, I have already grasped the obvious—I do not need some genius advisor to explain it to me. So do me a favor and let me concentrate on my work."
"Disrupting you would be the last thing I'd do. Quite the contrary—I'm here because I want to help you, and only that. So, I ask that you reconsider our alliance. It's the only way for all of us to get out of here alive, including you. If you keep insisting on working alone, things won't end well."
"You must be out of your mind. She is an assassin, likely responsible for all the deaths... How dare you propose I cooperate with someone who just days ago tried to kill me? The only conclusion I can reach is that you are her filthy accomplice."
Apparently, I'll also have to use the fourth-player lie on Mikoto. I'll need to appeal to her emotions, starting with fear.
"I can assure you Ailiss isn't the culprit. As you must have noticed, this game isn't normal. Thanks to the sensitivity I've recently gained, I suspect there's a fourth player, and they're the one responsible for this series of deaths. The bigger problem is that they likely have abilities far superior to my clairvoyance, which is why I need the cooperation of both of you. Otherwise, they'll kill us all."
"Spare me—these are just baseless claims. Do you even have evidence? Otherwise, our discussion ends here."
Since Mikoto hasn't participated in other rituals, she can't draw parallels as well as Ailiss. It's natural for her to be more skeptical about this supposed oddity. However, the mere fact that she hasn't caught onto my lie yet is a significant breakthrough. I believe she's so shaken that she can no longer focus enough to see through my facade. Or perhaps, amidst the despair, she subconsciously wants to believe. Again, I just need to exploit confirmation bias.
"No. All I have is my word... and my determination to save you."
"Even if it is true... what would I gain from this? I would only be delaying my death by cooperating with her. As she said herself, the moment she gets a chance, I will be killed," she sighs. "You are truly an insensitive and foolish person to suggest this to me."
"Ailiss said what she said because she's obsessed with avenging the conjurers of black magic. However, I managed to convince her not to kill you. You no longer need to worry about that—she's already accepted you as an ally."
"She was 'convinced' not to commit murder? Truly an exemplary redemption. Should we applaud her in some way for this achievement?"
All right. After introducing her to a common enemy, I'll touch on a personal emotional issue.
"Mikoto, in times like these, the best thing to do is swallow the resentment and accept this proposal. Your survival depends on it. Perhaps you place some ideal above yourself, but I'm sure your life is worth much more than that. If it weren't, she wouldn't have sacrificed herself for you that night."
Mikoto widens her eyes and turns her face away, surprised by my words.
The same strategy worked.
"How do you know about that event?"
"You told me. In a future where Ailiss, you, and I managed to defeat the fourth player. Again, I ask: will you help us?"
"Fine, a strategic truce does not seem like such a bad idea given the current circumstances," she sighs and looks at me. "I will cooperate with you."
6:18 PM
After finally convincing Mikoto to cooperate with Ailiss, I return to the hideout and notify Ailiss that we'll schedule a new meeting.
"This time, we'll meet there? Is there a reason for that?" Ailiss asks suspiciously.
"Yes, for some reason, she didn't feel comfortable with your hideout," I comment while glancing at the debris on the floor.
This is a somewhat valid decision, considering this environment.
"I preferred meeting here to avoid the risk of walking into an ambush, but I understand what you mean."
"You seem to be getting more tolerant lately... What happened?"
"It's just your impression because I'm already impatient with your delay," she says as she swiftly crosses the sea of debris.
We leave the hideout and walk to the council room in the main block. I knock twice on the door and open it shortly after.
Despite having previously spoken with each of them and both agreeing to work together, the atmosphere inevitably grows tense the moment the two occupy the same space. Fortunately, Mikoto's words break the unease that had arisen among us.
"Please, take your seats," Mikoto says.
Ailiss and I walk to the chairs in front of the president's desk and sit across from her.
"So, Mistkerl, will you tell us about the fourth player?" Ailiss turns to me and asks.
As expected, both want to get straight to the technical matter and avoid any interaction. After all, from their perspective, this is more of a non-aggression pact than an actual alliance.
"Ah, yes," I adjust myself in the chair. "I don't know if you're aware of this, Mikoto, but for Ailiss, who has participated in the game on other occasions, it became evident from the proclamation over the loudspeakers that this game possesses altered properties."
"I have not participated, but I, too, noticed something was wrong. The temple elders had never even mentioned the possibility of bizarre events like these. Until now, I assumed it was the work of one of you."
"Very well. If both of you are aware of this, I have nothing more to declare," I cross my arms.
"Nothing more? Then what was the point of calling this meeting? Are you mocking me? During this crisis, you made me waste time?" Mikoto protests with a cold stare.
"The truth is, I don't know much about it either. As I've already explained to both of you, my premonition isn't absolute. So, all I can tell you precisely up to this point is that something or someone is orchestrating this with us and is certainly responsible for today's deaths," I sigh. "Besides, I brought you both together to talk to each other. I need you to be somewhat resolved to make our teamwork more productive," I stand and lean against the wall.
"Teamwork? Your idealism is incredible—it's almost laughable," Ailiss comments.
Mikoto sighs and speaks.
"I echo your words. But since we are already gathered here, I believe we can exchange some relevant information, as Johann has proven incapable of doing so."
Ironically, the common ground between the two ended up being to belittle me. However, as long as it works, I suppose I can't complain about that.
"I'd like to ask you, as a black magic user, do you think this is explainable? From a hunter's perspective, I'm unaware of any theory that could justify this anomaly."
"I believe it's not impossible to reconfigure the conjuration of a third person. However, it's a very different conversation when it comes to such ancient magic. I imagine it would require magic stemming from an even stronger pact than this one, but what contract would be more powerful than one with Death itself?"
"I see. So, from a conjurer's perspective, it also lacks explanations. It seems we're in the same situation—a dead end."