"It seems like this is a prop card that could turn the tide in desperate situations," Noa remarked. "In most cases, when only one wolf and one villager are left, the wolf wins outright. But with this prop card, there's hope for a comeback."
In the household version of Werewolf that Noa had played, villagers could only eliminate wolves through voting or by utilizing the special abilities of certain roles.
Thus, in the majority of circumstances, if a wolf and a villager remained, it was almost always the wolf who had the upper hand.
However, this live-action interactive game differed significantly from Werewolf.
It provided numerous clue cards and item cards specifically to enhance the strategic gameplay and competition between players, immersing them more fully in the experience.
"Then Noa-chan, you should hold onto this card," Helena suggested. "The role of the [Princess] is critically important. All the tasks for our villager faction revolve around protecting the princess, so you must survive until the end. And if there's still a wolf left at the conclusion, you can use this card to attempt a comeback."
"Exactly, big sis, you should keep it," Muen agreed.
Noa nodded and carefully put away the card. "Alright, let's continue finding more clues."
"Okay," Helena and Muen responded.
The three little dragon girls set off once more.
The next several missions yielded mostly inconsequential information cards, supplementary background details about the various characters.
But the clues were extremely vague, like delicate threads that, even when tugged, failed to unravel anything particularly useful.
The entire evening was spent darting around completing various tasks.
Two hours remained before the 8 PM meeting. Noa suggested they return to their room to grab a bite before continuing.
Muen and Helena had no objections.
Yet just as the dragon girls were about to head back, the Recording Stone in Helena's pocket suddenly emitted the voice of an NPC:
"[Guard], you have been killed; [Guard], you have been killed."
The echoing tone of the Recording Stone filled the corridor, like ominous death knells tolling repeatedly.
One moment, the cheerful Melkevi sisters were excitedly talking about dinner; the next, they stood frozen in place.
While Muen had witnessed 'crime scenes' in the past, the eerie 'killed' announcement sent her scurrying behind Noa in fear.
Noa's pupils quivered slightly as she stared in disbelief at her best friend.
Helena was equally stunned, seemingly struggling to process what had just occurred.
"I... I was taken out?!"
"But how is that even possible... We've spent the entire afternoon doing tasks and haven't encountered a fourth person. How could you have been killed?"
It was rare for Noa to feel scared by anything, let alone during a game.
But now, following Aurora's inexplicable demise, Helena had also been mysteriously taken out...
The wolf responsible for these eliminations seemed like a phantom—unseen, untouchable, yet lingering in the shadows behind any one of them.
Soon, staff arrived at their location.
"Miss Helena, you have been eliminated. Please follow me to the God’s Observation Room for a break."
Helena abided by the game rules and followed the staff.
As she reached the corner of the corridor, Helena stopped, turning back to look at Noa.
"I'm sorry, Princess. I can't protect you any more."
Noa gave a bitter smile. "You’ve fulfilled your duty, Guard."
Helena smiled as well, nodding slightly before waving goodbye and disappearing around the corner.
After Helena departed, Muen tugged at Noa’s sleeve.
Noa responded by grasping her younger sister’s hand.
"Sis, what do we do now? It feels like we could be taken out by the wolf at any time," Muen whispered.
Noa frowned, biting her lower lip in deep thought. After a moment, she said, "Let’s convene an emergency meeting. We can’t wait until 8 PM; otherwise, we risk losing someone else."
"Alright," Muen agreed.
---
Ten minutes later, everyone had gathered once more in the meeting room.
"So... Helena, this time?" Claudia was the first to notice her daughter's absence.
Noa nodded. "Yes, it was me who called for this emergency meeting. All afternoon, it was just Helena, Muen, and I completing tasks together. We didn’t run into a fourth person, yet somehow, Helena ended up being eliminated like Aurora, as if out of nowhere."
"As I suspected, the wolf has a long-range ability to eliminate players," Leon remarked.
Claudia rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "But both Aurora and Helena were taken out while Muen was present. Could it be...?"
"It wasn’t me, Aunt Claudia. I’ve been playing properly and completing tasks!" Muen's tone was earnest, but her words offered little solid proof.
Still, given that she was just a child, no one wanted to ruin the fun by pressuring her too much.
Leon, however, came to his daughter's defense.
"Muen is part of the [Friends Group], which belongs to the villager faction. There’s no way she could’ve taken out both Aurora and Helena."
Claudia nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's true."
Isa scanned the room before speaking up.
"Then we can now confirm that this wolf has the ability to kill players remotely, and we have no countermeasures. Worse, we haven’t found a single concrete lead. Is that right?"
The remaining dragon girls silently shook their heads.
Claudia’s silence was an answer in itself.
Leon and Roswitha exchanged glances, seemingly engaging in a wordless discussion only they, as partners, could understand.
Isa caught the subtle exchange.
Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly but did not linger long.
"Actually," Leon said, breaking the silence, "Roswitha and I came across a clue related to the [Queen]."
"Me?" Claudia’s voice was calm.
"Yes. The information card suggested that while the Queen loves her daughter, she seems to have an ulterior motive," Leon explained.
"Then afterward, during a three-person task with Muen and Aurora, we acquired another clue. It said, 'That thing is a curse and must be destroyed.'"
"The 'thing' likely refers to the Black Holy Stone."
"And based on the game’s narrative, aside from the late King and the current Princess, the Queen is probably the person most familiar with the Black Holy Stone."
"So this phrase, 'must be destroyed,' was very likely said by the [Queen]."
"And considering the information indicating the Queen has ulterior motives... I have reason to suspect that you, Claudia, are part of the wolf faction."
Leon didn’t outright accuse Claudia of being a wolf. His deductions, based on the gathered clues and game narrative, were well-grounded but lacked hard evidence.
However, this was the most logical information they had unearthed so far.
With two villagers already eliminated, if they didn't start piecing things together, the stealthy, long-distance-wielding wolf might rack up victory after victory.
As Leon concluded, all eyes turned to Claudia.
The elegant woman remained poised, her demeanor as calm as ever. After a brief pause, she replied methodically.
"Given that the wolf has the ability to eliminate players remotely, there’s no point in me hiding anything anymore."
"First of all, let me clarify: I am not a wolf, but I don’t entirely align with the villager faction either."
"Leon, you and Roswitha uncovered a clue that said 'the Queen has ulterior motives,' but don’t overlook the first half of the description: 'the Queen also deeply loves the Princess.'"
"My role is to support the Princess in finding the stolen Black Holy Stone."
"After its retrieval, though, I have my own hidden objectives—to destroy the Black Holy Stone."
"From the perspective of the [Queen] character, the Black Holy Stone represents a generational curse. It has incited power struggles among various forces, caused countless deaths, and might one day endanger even the [Princess] she cherishes."
"Thus, the [Queen] seeks to destroy it once obtained."
"My mission card describes it as follows: If I successfully assist the [Princess] in reclaiming the Black Holy Stone, all those in the villager faction, including myself as the [Queen], win and receive rewards."
"However, if I find the Black Holy Stone beforehand and use a prop card to [destroy] it, I alone win as the ultimate victor and earn the game’s final reward—a 'Black Holy Stone' crafted from Nightshade Crystal."
"That said, if the [Destroy the Black Holy Stone] ending is triggered, the Princess’s faction also secures victory, and they too will receive their respective prizes."
Claudia exhaled as she finished and turned her azure eyes toward Leon, with a faint smile on her lips.
"To put it simply, I do have my own agenda... a so-called hidden mission. However, I can also choose not to complete it. As long as Noa wins, I will receive other rewards."
Leon had done an impressive job deducing Claudia’s hidden task using the narrative and clues. And his conclusion was accurate—[Queen] Claudia did aim to destroy the Black Holy Stone.
But due to the inherent information gap between character roles, Leon couldn't possibly know Claudia’s alternative path to victory.
And there was nothing he could do about it—extracting her partial motives was already an achievement.
"Alright, I misunderstood you, Claudia," Leon admitted.
"It wasn’t entirely a misunderstanding. I couldn’t possibly reveal my whole mission at the start of the game, could I?" Claudia remarked with a lazy smile. Crossing her long legs, she glanced at Noa.
"So, my dear Princess. Now that you know my hidden mission and win conditions, do you intend to vote me out?"
Noa gazed into those clear, ocean-blue eyes.
She could tell that Aunt Claudia wasn’t manipulating her decision but instead leaving the choice genuinely up to her.
After a short deliberation, Noa replied, "I won’t vote for you, Aunt Claudia. The villagers faction has already lost two members. We can’t afford to lose the [Queen], such a pivotal role. Besides... your hidden objective could help us secure a victory at a critical moment."
"Destroying the Black Holy Stone equals victory for the villager faction."
Snap—
Claudia snapped her fingers, then leaned forward and gave Noa's soft cheek a pinch.
"Such a clever little one."
"So, we still haven't found the wolf responsible for the killing in this meeting," Roswitha said.
"But at least the scope has been narrowed."
Noa glanced over at Leon and the others.
"It's not Muen, and it's not Aunt Claudia. That leaves the remaining two lone wolves as either my parents or Aunt Isa. Two out of three... doesn't seem too hard, right?"
"It's not hard, Noa, but you shouldn't just take everything Senior Claudia says at face value," Leon reminded.
Noa blinked and nodded thoughtfully. "Got it, Dad."
"Well, having a clearer range of suspects is progress. It's better than running around aimlessly like headless chickens before."
Isa slowly stood up, wearing a smiling expression. "For now, we'll leave it at that. If someone else gets killed again, we'll hold an emergency meeting, which should narrow it down even further."
Leon noticed her expression and tone when she said that.
Why did it feel like... Isa was eager to hold meetings?
Could it be that being in a leadership role for so long had made her fond of calling little meetings?
"Alright, sounds good."
The others also stood up one by one, leaving the meeting room in succession.
The consecutive murders of two innocent players had forced everyone else to be far more vigilant.
But even though they were on high alert, it wouldn't really make a difference. If the wolf wanted to keep killing, there was still no way to preemptively warn about it.
Yet, just as Leon had said, such an overpowered killing ability surely had some kind of limitation.
Right now, Leon's priority was finding out what that limitation was.
Only by uncovering their opponent's weakness could they launch a counterattack.
And—
Leon was the last to leave the meeting room. Hands stuffed into his pockets, he stood alone in the expansive first-floor hall.
He slowly raised his head, gazing at the massive clock on the wall.
"6:30... Less than two hours until the next meeting."
"I have to find that guy before the next meeting begins..."
