The papers were redistributed, and everyone sat again, reading the new question in silence.
"If you had to kill one member of the team, who would you choose? And why?"
Only a few seconds passed before Mabushi lifted his head and said confidently, and his hands were laced behind his head:
"Definitely Ken… because he's extremely annoying."
Ann snapped toward him with a rising voice:
"Really? Again?! Every time it's him. Aren't you tired of this? Stop being ridiculous, Mabushi."
He shrugged carelessly:
"Sorry, but I can't pretend to feel otherwise."
Ann sighed and placed her paper back on the table:
"I can't kill anyone. I care about all of you, even you, Mabushi. Killing isn't in my nature… I don't want to live with someone's blood on my hands."
Silence followed for a moment before Ken spoke in his usual cold tone:
"At the moment… I see no reason to kill any of you. But…"
He raised his eyes slowly:
"If someone betrays me… or stands in my way… I won't hesitate."
Mabushi tightened his mouth and looked around:
"See? I told you from the start… he can't be trusted."
Ken didn't react to him, as if his words weren't worth answering.
Akio spoke next, shyly twirling his paper between his fingers:
"I'm like Ann… I don't want to kill anyone. We're a team… right?"
Then all eyes turned to Silvara, who stared at her paper for a long time before looking up with a small smile:
"Killing isn't a decision made lightly… but sometimes, it's the only way to stop everything from collapsing. So… if I had to choose, I'd pick the one who threatens the balance of the team from within. The one hiding a heart we can't see."
Mabushi raised a brow:
"Your words always sound like a riddle."
Silvara returned a faint smile without answering.
Then the mechanical voice rose again:
"Answering phase complete. Proceed to the table and write down the name of the person you believe is the liar this round."
Everyone stood slowly and approached the table, pens in hand, hesitation in their eyes. Soft whispers drifted through the room… doubtful glances, cautious tones. Each one is trying to read the others…
Ken approached the table, reached for the pen with his left hand, and paused. He didn't write immediately. Instead, he stared at their faces one by one.
Akio… too innocent.
Ann… nervous but honest.
Mabushi… a clash in his eyes, the kind that had history.
And finally… Silvara. His gaze lingered on her the longest, as if something in his mind wasn't quite fitting.
Meanwhile, Mabushi held his pen tightly, watching Ken in silence and thinking:
'Silvara is always suspicious… her twisted way of speaking makes any word of hers feel like a lie… but she's always been like that. But Ken? He didn't mention my name this time, even though I went straight for him. He only said that vague line about betrayal… like a hidden threat. He's trying too hard to look calm. As if he's controlling the scene, not participating in it.'
Mabushi clenched the pen harder, biting his lip as he stared at his paper.
'Could it be Ken again?'
Ken finished his long stare, he bent down and wrote something, then placed the pen back, and turned around. Moments after the last paper was placed in the box, the mechanical voice returned colder this time:
"Voting complete. Analyzing results…"
Everyone stared at the small wall screen where the results always appeared. But this time… nothing. No numbers, no names, no reveal.
The voice said:
"Vote data has been processed. No liar revealed."
Ann stared at the screen wide-eyed, whispering:
"What does that mean? Who's the liar? Who got the most votes?"
The voice answered expressionlessly:
"Voting results for this round have been withheld. No participant is permitted to know the votes or the liar's identity."
Akio frowned:
"That… isn't part of the rules! We always knew who it was each time!"
Silvara said with folded arms:
"I think… the game is starting to change."
Mabushi stared at the screen, then whispered:
"No… someone is tampering with the rules."
He looked at Ken instantly, but Ken remained still as ever. He stepped forward, yet enough to make everyone tense. He lifted his head slowly, staring at each of them in turn: Akio… then Ann… then Mabushi… then Silvara.
His voice was low, but it cut through the room like a blade:
"One of you… is hiding something."
"One of you isn't being honest… not with yourself, and not with us."
"A traitor here… means delay. Means failure. And I won't allow failure."
"I'll make it clear…"
He met their eyes directly.
"If I discover who it is…"
"…I'll kill it on the spot."
Ann shivered before she even realized it. Akio swallowed hard. Mabushi tightened his fist, as if fighting the urge to respond. Silvara… smiled faintly.
Mabushi burst out, shouting:
"So you don't trust us? You self-righteous—"
But before he could finish, the mechanical voice cut him off:
"Alert: Next round activated. Proceed immediately to draw your papers."
They exchanged tense glances, then moved to draw their papers. Silvara approached the table, took her folded slip, opened it slowly… revealing the single word:
"Lie."
She smiled softly, then sat back, pretending to be calm.
The mechanical voice rose again:
"Question: What is the one word you wish you had never heard in your life?"
They exchanged looks in silence, and Silvara began:
"I suppose it would be: You're a burden to us. My mother said that after I ran away one night… I only wanted her to stay with me, but she pushed me away."
She tilted her head slightly, smiling with quiet sadness:
"Strangely enough, I never cried after that."
Their expressions softened at her words, even Ken, who watched silently without commenting. Then he spoke in his cold tone:
"My father once told me something I never forgot: I wanted you to live in peace… to remain a child who didn't know hatred. But now… there is no peace. He said that as he died in the middle of the war's ruins."
A heavy silence filled the room, before Akio shifted and spoke in a low voice:
"A kid once told me: nobody wants to be your friend. I laughed like it didn't matter… but I cried all the night."
Ann immediately lifted her hand, smiling warmly at him:
"But you have friends now."
Akio smiled faintly, without looking at anyone.
Ann said:
"A word I can't forget? You're a failure… and you'll always be one. That's what my teacher told me in front of everyone. Back then, I believed her, and that was worse than the insult itself."
Mabushi said:
"Me? Honestly, nothing shocking comes to mind right now… I don't have a specific word to say."
He scratched his head with lazy sarcasm.
"Maybe my brain erased the painful memories."
Silvara raised a brow.
"Suspicious, don't you think?"
Mabushi replied:
"Suspicious? That's exactly the word I'd use for you. Because I noticed something strange…"
He stepped forward with a faint smile, placing his hands on his hips, speaking with a hidden challenge:
"You know… I don't believe you."
Silvara lifted her other brow calmly.
"And why not?"
He pointed his finger at her.
"Because the way you spoke was too organized."
He walked closer, his tone was rising:
"We all mentioned words that actually hurt us… and we showed real reactions, hesitation, confusion, even tears. But you? You presented your moment like a staged scene, with an introduction, tone, and steady eyes. You're very good at controlling emotions. But I noticed something small: when you said you never cried afterward? Anyone who says that so coldly… is just trying to sound stronger than they really are."
Ken looked at Silvara.
"Mabushi is right… but what made me doubt you wasn't what you said, it was what you didn't say. You're precise with your words, you choose them carefully. Yet you never explained why that sentence stayed with you until now. It left no mark on you. No reaction, no hesitation… just a prepared story."
Ann spoke while crossing her arms slowly.
"Exactly… it felt like Silvara was telling it while knowing we're supposed to believe her."
Silvara lifted her head with quiet confidence, trying to maintain her composure despite the shift in everyone's eyes.
She spoke in a measured tone:
"You're mistaken. Just because I didn't scream or break down doesn't make me a liar. Some of us don't show pain the same way… and some wounds turn into poetry because no one wants to hear their crying."
Ken cut her off:
"But we didn't ask for poetry… we asked for truth."
She narrowed her eyes.
"You see? It's easy for you to target me just because I don't speak like you. That doesn't make me a liar, only different."
Mabushi gave a small smile and walked toward the voting box.
"Different doesn't bother me… acting does."
As each vote dropped into the box, the mechanical voice echoed:
"Voting complete. Analyzing results… chosen name: Silvara."
Then:
"Liar: Silvara."
Ken stared at Mabushi, their hostile gazes colliding. This time, Ken broke the wall with a short sentence:
"Good job, Mabushi."
Mabushi blinked twice in mild surprise, then narrowed his eyes with a sarcastic tone:
"Am I imagining things… or did Ken just compliment me?"
Ken replied without changing his expression:
"Your analysis was accurate… despite your messy style."
Akio laughed:
"Maybe this is the first time you two agree on something without fighting."
The mechanical voice cut in:
"Next round begins now. Please draw your cards."
They all moved to the table and picked their slips. None of them showed a strange reaction, except Akio, who froze for a few seconds, staring at the paper between his fingers.
The word was printed clearly: "Lie."
He swallowed silently, gave himself a tense smile, hid the slip in his pocket, and walked back to his spot.
Moments later, the voice announced:
"Question: What is your worst habit?"
Mabushi took a deep breath, raised a finger, and said casually:
"Me? I like stealing people's wallets… that's what interests me lately."
Ann burst out laughing
"Mabushi! That's not something to say proudly!"
He smiled and said:
"I'm not proud. I'm just being honest. I drew a normal slip."
Ann blushed while saying:
"My worst habit is… I talk too much sometimes. Especially when I'm nervous. I probably annoy people without noticing."
Everyone turned to Ken. He lit a cigarette in silence, exhaled smoke toward the ceiling, and spoke in his low voice:
"I think my bad habit is obvious."
They looked at him for a moment, then looked away. Silvara's turn came next. She spoke calmly, fingers interlaced:
"My worst habit… is that I struggle to blend in with others, especially in groups. I always feel out of place among people."
A short silence followed her words. Then Akio's turn arrived. He stood up, wiped his forehead as if a bit nervous, and said with a forced smile:
"Um… my worst habit is that… I always forget to eat breakfast!"
A brief silence, then Mabushi burst into laughter:
"Really?! That's your worst habit?! I thought I was the clown here!"
Ann laughed too:
"Akio… are you trying to dodge the question? That answer is way too cute!"
Even Ken, with his unchanged expression, raised a brow slightly as if unimpressed.
Akio smiled awkwardly, quickly sat back down, and said:
"Believe me, it's a very destructive habit… really."
But their eyes said otherwise.
The mechanical voice announced:
"Please proceed to the voting box."
They each wrote down a name. Several glanced at Akio, sitting in his corner pretending to be calm, his fingers tugging at his sleeve, avoiding everyone's gaze.
Ann whispered to Mabushi:
"I think it's him this time… his answer was way too strange."
Even Silvara wrote Akio's name, thinking:
'Forgetting breakfast? What a tragic life.'
They returned to their places as the voice declared:
"Voting complete. Analyzing results… chosen name: Akio."
Akio stared at the ground for a moment, then slowly lifted his head with a faint, trembling smile.
The voice continued:
"Liar: Akio."
Akio murmured under his breath:
"I knew… that was a stupid answer."
He let out a small defeated laugh, holding back tears at the last moment. Then he lifted his head lightly:
"At least… I'll try to eat breakfast tomorrow."
No one responded. Ann simply looked at him with soft, worried eyes. Mabushi smacked his palm against his forehead.
"Idiot. Even when you lie."
Ken just exhaled his cigarette in silence.