“You’re the one! You’re the one with the red ink!”
“Why are you suddenly accusing me?!”
“Your eyes wavered the moment that person mentioned the red ink! I saw it with my own eyes!”
“Do you have proof?! Do you have any proof?!”
I looked at the people who had fallen into confusion.
There was no such thing as a game of Mafia in this world.
Much less a game of Mafia played during a job recruitment process.
It was only natural that everyone was on edge.
“Let’s settle this by majority vote. Those who think this person has red ink, raise your hands.”
“Just try framing me as the culprit! The moment I leave this place, I’ll kill every last one of you!”
“…I think an anonymous vote would be better. How about borrowing paper and pens from the supervisors?”
Naturally, the rules from the original Mafia game began to take shape, too.
That was certainly an interesting development, but…
This really doesn’t look like a place where they’re hiring maids, does it?
However, I couldn’t exactly excuse myself by saying, “Oh! I’m actually here to become a maid!”
That was because… the atmosphere around me was growing increasingly hostile.
Honestly, this doesn’t seem like the kind of place where they’d believe me even if I told the truth. They’d probably just grab me by the collar and demand to know what kind of trick I was trying to pull.
I was already somewhat introverted to begin with, and after a string of failures, my MBTI’s I had turned into a capital-letter I.
This wasn’t an easy situation for me.
It couldn’t be helped.
I’ll act suspicious and get myself eliminated naturally.
And the suspicious behavior I chose was silence.
My plan was to wait until someone asked, ‘You’re being awfully quiet. You’re the Mafia, aren’t you?!’ Then I’d stammer, ‘U-Um… I…’ and got cornered until I was eliminated.
However, there was one thing I’d overlooked.
Koreans had been training for Mafia games since elementary school.
When the game began, I found myself instinctively identifying the Mafiosi.
***
Something had gone wrong.
“That man… really had a red mark?”
“Wasn’t he completely on our side? We worked together to identify the people with red marks in the last round.”
Everyone’s gazes darted around the room.
The first person they looked at was the aforementioned ‘that man.’
He was a mercenary-looking fellow who had seen plenty of combat and had put down no fewer than three swords when we’d been told to surrender our weapons earlier.
And the second person they looked at was…
“How did that woman figure it out?”
As I felt everyone’s eyes bearing down on me, I rubbed my face.
How did I know?
Every time he gets attacked, he redirects the blame toward someone else. That’s textbook Mafia behavior.
But since there was no way they could have known I possessed such knowledge, they were looking at me with eyes full of admiration.
The man with three swords smiled bitterly.
“I’ve lost.”
Those words signaled the end of the long game.
Exclamations of surprise rang out from all directions, followed by applause.
Amid it all, I stood frozen.
This isn’t how it was supposed to go.
I genuinely wanted to drop out halfway through. But everything was so frustrating that I couldn’t just sit still.
The game simply wouldn’t end.
I thought we’d still be here until dawn if things continued like this, so I finally managed to speak up.
‘I think that person looks suspicious…’
Anyone who played Mafia games frequently would know this.
Suddenly pointing a finger at someone after staying quiet was incredibly suspicious behavior.
But contrary to my expectations, the people with blue ink agreed with me.
And so, the Mafiosi were identified, my words began carrying weight, and eventually…
“Quite unexpected. All eight people with blue ink have survived.”
The manager spoke with a surprised expression.
“I didn’t expect so many people to pass…”
“I-I’ll withdraw!”
Naturally, I was the one who shouted in a hurry.
But the others reacted…
“What are you talking about?! You can’t leave! We won because of you!”
“Don’t tell me… you’re doing this for our sake?”
“I was the one who did absolutely nothing. I’d be better off withdrawing instead!”
Watching the people with blue ink take my side, I fell into despair.
Damn this ridiculous sense of loyalty!
“I suppose it can’t be helped. It may take a little longer, but we’ll proceed with the one-on-one interviews as originally planned. Those who failed may leave.”
At that, the Mafiosi collected their weapons and began leaving one by one.
The last Mafia player, the man with three swords, passed by me and patted my shoulder.
“Don’t give up just because of someone like me. See it through to the end.”
Me?
I didn’t even know what kind of place this was!
“With skills like yours, you could go anywhere… but from what I can see, this place is a perfect fit for you.”
I’d come here because I couldn’t go anywhere else.
That perverted sexual harasser had blocked every path to employment, and this was the only place that had even offered me an interview.
…Should I just go ahead and work here?
It hadn’t been intentional, but I really had been the most outstanding player in the Mafia game.
Where else could I possibly rank among the very best in my current situation? Right?
All right. I’ll try to figure out what kind of organization this is while talking to them.
The questions they asked and the interviewers’ attitudes should give me some clues.
I followed the manager’s directions with renewed determination.
And when I arrived at the interview room…
“What? It’s a woman?”
I stopped in my tracks when I saw a silver-haired man sitting in the middle of the room.
It was an unusual shade even in this world. His hair was so starkly white.
His skin was pale enough to make him look sickly, but when I lowered my gaze, I saw broad shoulders that made him look downright muscular.
Finally, I noticed his golden eyes, and I froze.
This man… could he possibly be…
No way.
“Start by introducing yourself.”
I sat down opposite him and opened my mouth.
“Hello. My name is Hiel Cavernon, and as you can see, I’m an utterly ordinary person. I only came here by a complete coincidence, and I just happened to stay by another complete coincidence, so I’m really sorry, but could I possibly go home now…”
“Why don’t you take a breath while you’re talking?”
His voice was rather gentle, but I couldn’t shake my gloomy feelings.
This man’s name was Rashak Barsen.
He was the male protagonist of the original novel I’d possessed someone in.
And he was the man who controlled the capital’s underworld.
Looking back now, the original novel in this world was a dark, angst-ridden tale of regret.
Its title was Holding the Leash of Your Arrogance.
After being forced by his father to marry the heroine, the male lead would treat her with disdain. Then, after she became pregnant and ran away, he’d regret his actions and beg for her forgiveness…
That familiar yet delicious plot was what awaited this man in the future.
His personality was fairly typical, too.
Just as the title suggested, he was arrogant and taciturn. He fundamentally distrusted people and would simply kill anyone who annoyed him.
And that very man was my interviewer.
This was a recruitment process for his subordinates.
And the Mafia game had actually been about recruiting real mafiosi!
As someone who had lived my entire life as the most ordinary, law-abiding citizen imaginable, this situation was far too much for me to handle.
No matter how much of a male lead he was, he was still an underworld figure.
Even if the original story hadn’t started yet, what good could possibly come from crossing paths with him?
And just look at his expression. He’s terrifyingly menacing.
I had no idea what was written on that paper, but his gaze was so fierce that it looked like he could pierce right through it with his eyes alone.
He was sitting in such a sloppy manner, too. If someone just slipped a cigar between those fingers, they’d have everything they needed for a mafia movie…
“So, you came all the way here without knowing this was our organization…?”
I nodded vigorously, thoroughly intimidated.
“And it was all a coincidence that you came here and passed the examination?”
I shook my head just as vigorously.
“But the atmosphere was so frightening that you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything until now?”
And once again, I nodded vigorously…
“Did you bite your tongue or something? Why aren’t you answering?”
“N-No, sir.”
“What you said just now wasn’t a lie, was it?”
“H-How could I ever dare to tell a lie in your esteemed presence?”
“Why are you suddenly talking like that? This isn’t a stage play.”
I wished it were a stage play. I had no idea how many times I’d denied reality in the brief time since entering this room.
I could vividly feel time passing, too. One second, two seconds… and by the time about fifty-six seconds had passed…
“You can go.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes.”
I jumped to my feet and bowed.
“Thank you! I’ll live an honest life from now on!”
The male lead let out a small, incredulous laugh, as if to say, Is that really what you should be saying right now?
Whatever. I hurried toward the exit.
The problem was that there were far too many obstacles in my way.
The place I was currently in was an abandoned building.
Perhaps because of that, even the interview room where the boss sat was littered with discarded furniture, construction materials, and other debris.
When I’d entered, I’d been so shocked by the male lead that I hadn’t paid any attention to my surroundings. Now, as I tried to leave as quickly as possible while that very man watched me, I couldn’t seem to get anywhere without bumping into something.
I’d even slammed my thigh against the corner of a table.
“Ow!”
My foot also got caught in the leg of a chair lying on the floor.
“Ugh!”
I tried to steady myself against the wall to get away, but for some reason, a large wooden board that had been propped up nearby let out a creaking sound and toppled sideways.
“Huh…?”
And in the empty space behind it… there was a person.
Someone holding an extremely sharp dagger, at that.
“Look out!”
At the male lead’s sharp shout, the dagger came straight toward me.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
…Now that we’re on the subject, I actually received knight training when I was young.
Perhaps because I’d died of an illness in my previous life, I’d been reincarnated with an exceptionally healthy body.
I instinctively twisted my body to dodge the assassin’s blade.
“Y-You…!”
Despite my excellent reflexes, the reason I ultimately failed to become a knight, even after undergoing all that training, was…
I became so nervous whenever too many people were watching that I couldn’t perform to the best of my abilities.
As a result, I lost one sparring match after another.
But in an unexpected crisis like this, I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about other people’s eyes.
Without even realizing it, I drove my fist straight into the abdomen of the assassin who had charged at me.
I was so shocked when the assassin collapsed that a curse slipped out of my mouth.
Thud!
“Oh my fucking God!”
The dagger fell to the floor with a clear metallic clang. The assassin appeared to have lost consciousness on the spot.
I turned around.
“May I take my leave now…?”
The male lead didn’t answer.
They said that success was seven-tenths of luck and three-tenths skill.
As I squeezed my eyes shut, I thought that perhaps my luck in this life wasn’t much better, either.
Comments (0)