'Silly girl, isn't it just that you want to rub cheeks more? And you think I didn't notice?'
The first round of water-passing ended quickly, but the cup still had a long way to go before being filled.
"Continue, continue~", Luna urged impatiently.
"Wait a minute," Helena suddenly called for a halt, "I think this standing arrangement doesn't seem too good."
Luna blinked, thinking Helena was about to switch her out of the middle.
But then the little sea dragon girl added, "If I stand in the last position, then no matter which of you hands me the cup, a lot of water will be lost due to height difference. So I think I should be the first one, Luna-chan stays in the middle, and Noah-chan stands last. How about it?"
Noah nodded, "Mm, no problem."
As long as Luna can still stick to her sister, she naturally had no objections.
The three little ones reorganized their positions, and the second round of passing began.
Just as Helena had predicted, switching positions reversed the height disadvantage into an advantage.
Between her and Luna, there was barely any water loss during the handoff.
When it came to Luna and Noah, even though Luna still took the opportunity to press her cheek against her sister's, she still managed to retain a good amount of water.
Repeating this several times, the empty cup was soon filled.
"Yay~ Sister is so awesome!"
Luna clapped her hands happily, then added, "Helena-neesan is also amazing."
Though she's obsessed with her sister, Luna still remembered basic manners.
Helena also squinted her eyes in a smile and replied, "Thank you, Luna-chan~"
Task complete, a hidden compartment in the table opened, revealing a card inside.
Noah picked it up, it was an item card.
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[Desperate Reincarnation]
[Effect: When only two players remain on the field, use this item card to force a 1v1 mini-game duel with the opponent.]
[Winning the 1v1 mini-game means winning the entire game.]
[Note: At this point, give it your all.]
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"Looks like a card that gives hope at the brink of despair."
Noah said, "Most of the time, if it's down to one wolf and one good person, the wolf just wins directly. But with this card, it means there's hope for a comeback."
In the family werewolf games Noah had played, good people could only eliminate wolves by voting or using special role abilities.
So in most cases, when it came down to one wolf and one good person, the wolf always won easily.
But this real-life interactive game had differences from werewolf.
It provided all these intel and item cards to increase the strategic gameplay between players and to help them immerse themselves deeper.
"Then Noah-chan, you hold onto this card."
Helena said, "The [Princess] role is critical, and our good team's missions revolve around the princess. So you have to survive to the end. If there's still a wolf by the end, you can use this card to try and turn the tables."
"Yes yes, Sister, you should keep it," Luna agreed.
Noah nodded and tucked away the [Desperate Reincarnation] item card, "Then let's keep looking for other clues."
"Okay."
The three little dragon girls set off again.
The next few tasks they completed only yielded some marginal intel clue cards, used to flesh out the characters' backstories.
However, they were all very vague, like thin threads, pulling on them yielded little useful information.
The entire afternoon, the three of them spent running tasks everywhere.
With two hours left until the 8 p.m. meeting, Noah suggested they return to their rooms to grab a bite before continuing.
Luna and Helena had no objections.
But just as the little dragon girls were preparing to return to their rooms, a notification sound suddenly came from Helena's shadow stone in her pocket:
["[Guard], you have been killed. [Guard], you have been killed."]
The voice from the shadow stone echoed down the hallway, like the death knell being struck again and again by the grim reaper.
Just a second ago, the Melkvei sisters were still happily discussing what to eat for dinner. Now, all three stood frozen in place.
It wasn't Luna's first time witnessing a "murder scene," but after hearing this eerie "kill" broadcast, she still instinctively hid behind Noah.
Noah's pupils trembled slightly, staring at her best friend in disbelief.
Helena was just as stunned, as if she hadn't realized what had happened at all.
"I... I got stabbed?"
"But how could that be... We spent the entire afternoon doing tasks, didn't run into a fourth person at all. How could you be stabbed…"
It was rare for Noah to be scared by anything, let alone in a game.
But now, after Little Light, Helena was also mysteriously killed...
That killer wolf was like a ghost, unseen, untouchable, but possibly lurking behind anyone at any time.
Soon, staff members arrived, "Miss Helena, you've been eliminated. Please come with me to the God's Observation Room to rest for now."
Helena followed the game rules and left with the staff.
At the hallway corner, Helena stopped and looked back at Noah.
"Sorry, Princess. I can no longer protect you."
Noah gave a bitter smile, "Your duty is done, Guard."
Helena smiled and nodded, waved her hand, and turned to disappear around the corner.
After Helena left, Luna tugged on Noah's sleeve.
Noah immediately took her sister's hand.
"Sister, what... what do we do now? I feel like we could be stabbed at any time."
Noah frowned slightly, biting her lip in thought.
After a brief pause, she said, "Let's call an emergency meeting. We can't wait until 8 o'clock, or someone else might get stabbed."
"Okay."
———
Ten minutes later, everyone gathered again in the meeting room.
"So... the one stabbed this time was Helena?", Claudia of course immediately noticed her daughter was absent.
Noah nodded, "Yes, I called the emergency meeting. All afternoon, Helena, Luna, and I were doing tasks. We never encountered a fourth person, but just now, Helena was mysteriously killed like Little Light."
"Just as I suspected, that wolf has remote killing capabilities," Leon said.
Claudia touched her chin with one hand, analyzing, "But both Little Light and Helena were stabbed while Luna was present the whole time. Is it possible..."
"It wasn't me, Aunt Claudia. I was doing the tasks seriously the whole time," Little Luna's tone was very sincere, but the content wasn't very convincing.
But since she was a child, everyone was just here to enjoy the game, no one would press Luna too hard.
In the end, it was Leon who stepped up to explain for his precious daughter.
"Luna is part of the [Friend Group], belonging to the good team. It's impossible for her to have stabbed Little Light and Helena."
Claudia nodded, "Mm, that's true."
Isa's gaze swept over the group, then she spoke, "Then now we can fully confirm: this wolf has a remote killing ability. And we have no way to counter it, not even a solid lead to follow, right?"
The two remaining little dragon girls silently shook their heads.
Claudia's silence was also a kind of answer.
Leon and Rossweise exchanged glances, as if speaking through their private "team voice chat."
Isa keenly picked up on that small exchange.
Her red dragon eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't linger her gaze.
"Actually, Rossweise and I found a clue about the [Queen] earlier," Leon said.
"Me?", Claudia responded calmly.
"Mm. That intel card said, although the Queen loves her daughter, she seems to have another goal."
Leon explained patiently, "Then afterward, I teamed up with Luna and Little Light to complete a three-person task and got another intel card. It said, 'That thing is a curse. It must be destroyed.'"
"That thing probably refers to the Black Holy Stone."
"According to the game's backstory, besides the late King and the current Princess, the person who understands the Black Holy Stone the most should be the Queen."
"So this 'must be destroyed' statement likely came from the [Queen]."
"And given that the intel card said the [Queen] has another goal... I have reason to suspect, Senior Claudia, that you may be part of the wolf camp?"
Leon didn't directly "slam" Claudia as a wolf, since everything so far was based on deductions from two intel cards and the backstory.
There was no solid proof.
But it was the only relatively useful information they had so far.
With two good players already dead, if they didn't share clues now and think things through together, then that remote-killing wolf was going to become the MVP of this game.
After Leon's explanation, everyone looked toward Claudia.
The beautiful woman remained calm, and after a moment of thought, slowly replied,
"Since the wolf has remote killing abilities, I don't need to hide anything anymore."
"First, let me clarify, I'm not a wolf, but I also don't fully belong to the good team."
"Leon, on that intel card you and Rossweise found, it said the Queen had another goal. But don't ignore the first part, it also said the Queen loves the Princess dearly."
"I'm indeed on the Princess's side, helping her find the stolen Black Holy Stone."
"But once found, I also have my own hidden mission: to destroy the Black Holy Stone."
"In the view of the [Queen] game character, the Black Holy Stone is a generational curse. It invites strife from all forces. Countless people have died for it, and even the Princess she loves may one day be framed because of it."
"So the [Queen] intends to destroy the Black Holy Stone once it's found."
"My mission card says this:"
"If I help the [Princess] successfully find the Black Holy Stone, then all good team members, including the [Queen], win the game and receive team rewards."
"But if the [Queen] finds it early and uses an item card to Destroy it, then the Queen becomes the true winner and earns the final game reward, the Black Holy Stone crafted from Night Spirit Crystal."
"And once the Destroy Black Holy Stone ending is triggered, besides the Queen winning, the Princess's side is also deemed victorious and will receive corresponding prizes."
Saying this, Claudia let out a slow breath, then looked at Leon with her beautiful eyes, a faint smile on her lips.
"Simply put, yes, I have my own goal. That is, the so-called hidden mission. But I can also choose not to complete it. As long as Noah wins in the end, I'll still get another reward."
Leon had deduced Claudia's hidden mission based on the character background, and he wasn't wrong. [Queen] Claudia indeed had to destroy the Black Holy Stone;
But due to information gaps between identities, Leon couldn't possibly know Claudia's alternate win condition.
That couldn't be helped. Just managing to expose Claudia's hidden task was already quite impressive for Leon.
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