Let’s rewind time a little, back to just before the game started.
Right after inviting Magia, Maru was filled with excitement.
“Phew. We’re finally playing together…!”
She had been watching the other members collaborate in streams, waiting for the right moment to invite her. But due to Maru’s rather specific gaming preferences, the opportunity never really came up.
Her favorite game, 64 Cubics, was all about mining, building, and automating with blocky cubes. Once you started, it took at least two to three days just to get the hang of it.
As for puzzle games, most were designed for solo play, making co-op sessions difficult to arrange.
On top of that, the first-anniversary concert had overlapped with everything. While other members saw it as a chance to snatch Gia away for their own streams, Maru could only sit back and watch.
But the real reason was that Maru had been waiting for a natural opportunity.
She was one of the more mature members, the type who didn’t like to bother others, so she kept postponing and postponing…
Then, news of Magia’s break came in.
Not just a single break, but a full two weeks off, following the previous one.
According to Manager Kang, she had been sick.
But since she had already recovered before the pre-event stream, now she was just on leave, attending hospital checkups as a precaution.
So the moment a spot opened up in the I’m Wolf group stream, Maru immediately reached out to Magia.
She figured there was a chance of being turned down, but…
「Ah, sure. I’ll go. When does it start?」
An instant yes.
Maru was so thrilled she had to make an effort to keep her voice down.
She immediately informed Ronze, the host of today’s collaboration.
While waiting, her mind ran simulations on how to have fun together.
‘If she struggles, I’ll DM her to help… If we both get the wolf role, I’ll carry her and make sure we win…’
And most importantly, she planned to drop the formal speech.
How much longer were they going to keep calling each other “-nim” like distant acquaintances?
It had been almost a year since they met.
Sure, their interactions were mostly limited to setting up equipment, regular stream maintenance checks, and emergency troubleshooting during late-night broadcasts.
But still. They were the same age. Couldn’t they be a little closer?
However, Maru was someone who valued natural progression.
She didn’t want to suddenly declare, “Let’s speak casually from now on!” and force it.
She preferred to build a little more connection first before bringing it up.
The best-case scenario?
Teaming up as werewolves together.
Out of twelve players, only two were wolves. Since teamwork was crucial, they’d have plenty of opportunities to strategize, read each other’s cues, and strengthen their bond.
But Maru’s dream was shattered right from the start.
[Oh, I watched the entire Parallel Pre-event stream from start to finish! I’m a huge fan of Gia!]
[Thanks to that, I pulled off a surprise strategy in the tournament. That one win saved me from an early playoff elimination this year.]
Magia. Instantly the star of the show.
Even though Maru and Komari had been leading the conversation before she arrived—so it made sense that the topic naturally shifted to the pre-event stream and, in turn, Magia—
Maru had never expected her to be this popular.
She thought people would acknowledge Magia’s rarity, like a shiny Pokémon, but not treat her like a full-fledged streamer.
Instead, everyone was running around with Poké Balls in hand, ready to catch her.
Was everyone just that desperate for YouTube content?
At least Ronze had nudged Maru, saying she should be grateful.
That gave her an opening to join in.
[Hmph. Be thankful. If I hadn’t invited you, Gia would probably be at home right now, sending you some chaotic donation messages.]
Somehow, they had even made accommodations so that Magia could properly say what she wanted among the crowd…
[Hey, everyone—!! Jiya has something to say—!!]
After that, the chance to speak never came again.
What could they do when people swarmed Magia like zombies the moment they saw her?
“Magia, you’re a wolf, right?”
“Magia, you’re a lycanthrope, right?”
“Magia, you’re in the vigilante group, right?”
“Magia, you’re Canadian, right?”
At that moment, Maru thought:
Wow, Jiya’s gonna lose her mind.
In every broadcast she had appeared on so far, at most, there had only been two other participants. But this time, there were eleven.
And those eleven were relentlessly pressing Magia.
She wasn’t much of a talker, but once she started a conversation, she was as smooth as flowing water—so Maru had thought she’d be fine. But her responses were gradually becoming more and more simplified.
Seeing that, how could Maru not feel guilty for bringing her here?
At the same time, a conversation with the boss resurfaced in his mind.
“She might seem prickly, but she’s not like that deep down, so try to understand her a little.”
“It’s rare to find someone who’d rush over late at night to help resolve a broadcast issue, say only what needs to be said, and leave without a fuss.”
“It’s fine to invite her to streams, but if she ends up in a tough spot, you guys have to help her out.”
So Maru stubbornly hovered around Magia, determined to protect her.
Even if people were still flocking to her like a stampede.
Since they still had to play the game, he timed it perfectly when others momentarily left to complete their missions—finally creating a moment where it was just the two of them.
[But actually, I saw Kamik heading north before Ronje.]
[Huh? No way, Maru. I didn’t take you for a liar.]
[I’m not lying!! I was standing right there when he passed by. Jiya saw it too. Right?……Hmm. I think I might have vaguely seen them passing by while you two were talking.]
What came back was the silent one’s special move, sealing her lips shut.
Maru was dumbfounded, watching Magia betray him and throw Kamik under the bus as if she were him.
“Ah. A! Guys! Guys, can you hear me?! Everyone! Ah! Wow! No way! Jiya!!! Are you serious?! Kyaa!! She’s a voice thief!!!”
— “Ugh, Maru, shut up lol”
— “How are we supposed to hear anything with you yelling lol just be quiet for a sec”
— “Oh no, we lost Dongle’s voice”
— “Dongle’s about to explode~”
— “Eardrums (Dongle-rams) are gonna burst~”
— “Is this workplace injury?”
“No. Wow. No, this is betrayal. Wow! I was preparing to help you, and this is what I get? No way!!”
{{ Trial Result: Kamik (Ejected) }}
In the end, Kamik was voted out.
{{ Kamik was not a werewolf. }}
Which meant that next in line was obviously Maru.
After all, from everyone’s perspective, Maru had just defended Ronje—who was still under suspicion of being a werewolf.
But for Maru, this was nothing but an unfair setup. As soon as he got the chance to speak, he was ready to yell—
“Hey.”
[Everyone, split up and survive! Just focus on calling for another trial! Humans are guaranteed to win this!!]
Komari, having finished counting the remaining players, was quicker to declare the human victory strategy.
There were seven people left.
The werewolves’ kill cooldown was 30 seconds, while the time needed to call another trial was only 20 seconds.
Which meant that no matter how hard the werewolves tried, they could only kill two people at most before the next trial.
In the end, there were more humans than wolves, so the game didn’t end, and the trials could continue.
Moreover, since it was already confirmed who the wolves were, victory was practically guaranteed.
“Wait, hold on! Guys, I have something to say!!”
In the end, Maru couldn’t properly explain himself to the others and was left in the trial room with only Magia.
– What are you doing? Why aren’t you running?
– Run away!!
– Get a grip!
But running away was easier said than done.
Among the first-generation players, the only one confident in their physical skills was Komari.
As for Maru, he bumped into everything here thud, there bang hitting every wall along the way.
Meanwhile, Magia, who was chasing him, moved smoothly like a snake, slipping past obstacles with ease, catching up in no time.
Soon, they ended up in a corner of an empty restroom. With his back against the wall, Maru began pleading desperately.
“Jiya-nim. Jiya-nim, please. Huh? You borrowed my voice earlier, didn’t you? Yeah? So spare me, just this once!”
A shadow fell over Magia’s face, visible in the lower right corner of Maru’s stream.
It was one of the special features of Magia’s ominous “board.”
– Gasp
– Eek!
– That definitely means she’s going to kill him!
– Returning the favor with death, huh?
– Scary!
Magia’s character crept closer and closer.
If she got just a bit closer, one click from her would mean Maru’s death.
Though Maru had been expecting a one-on-one scenario, the fact that one was the hunter and the other the prey felt too unfair.
“AAAAH! AAAAAAH!! STOP! STOP! STOP!!”
Thankfully, Magia showed mercy.
[I’ll spare you, but you have to side with me later.]
“…Huh, what?”
– Whoa.
– She’s really letting him live?
– What kind of parallel-universe favoritism is this?
What is she planning?
Maru racked his brain, but he couldn’t figure out Magia’s intentions right away.
And time was running out.
[5, 4, 3…]
“I-I will! I’ll side with you! Just spare me!”
[You promised, okay? You know what’ll happen if you betray me.]
“Got it, I got it…!”
The moment he agreed, Magia left in a flash, leaving Maru dumbfounded in the corner of the building.
“She actually let me live? What if I just go and expose her as the wolf?”
– Seriously, though.
– Maybe she’s got some kind of certainty?
Well, at least I survived!
“Ah, wait, is it that? If I die, it’ll prove I wasn’t the wolf?”
– But you’d just go blabbing about it loudly anyway, so why let you live?
– LOL.
– This feels like a mistake on her part.
– Doesn’t she have one use of the Silent skill left?
– Oh, that could be it.
– Nah, come on, it’s already the sixth trial. No way she hasn’t used it twice yet.
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