After finishing that hellish training session with Sakura Oogami, I was staggering back to my room like a corpse on its last legs when I ran into Chihiro Fujisaki.
"U-Um... K... I, uh... have something I want to tell you..."
"Hm...? What's wrong...?"
"Well... I mean..."
Chihiro trailed off, then flicked a glance at the camera behind me. So that was it. He wanted to talk about something the Mastermind absolutely couldn't hear.
"Aha! Got it! Last time, you said you wanted advice on how to become more manly, right? That's what this is about, isn't it?"
"Huh...? Ah, y-yeah...! That's right!"
Thankfully, the brain of the Ultimate Programmer hadn't gone anywhere. Chihiro caught on to what I was doing almost instantly and played along.
"So I asked manly Sakura Oogami... no, wait, Mondo Owada, and he said a real man ought to be able to survive in a sauna for at least three hours, you know?"
"Th-That so...? But lasting that long is... kind of impossible for me..."
"Honestly, my limit's only thirty minutes too... so how about later we hit the sauna and make it a contest to see who lasts longer? Good way to build stamina, right?"
Normally, if I went there with anyone other than Kyoko Kirigiri, Junko Enoshima might get suspicious. But the situation had already twisted so far away from the original story that I needed to pull as many of the others onto my side as possible.
And Chihiro was smart, kind, and trustworthy—on the same level as Kyoko Kirigiri and Makoto Naegi. Even if Junko Enoshima did start sniffing around, I had to use this chance to recruit him properly.
"Okay...! I... I promised everyone before that I'd get stronger...!"
"Right. Then let's meet in the locker room later."
After parting ways with Chihiro, I went back to my room and collapsed onto the bed. Lying there in stillness, I suddenly remembered the loaded question I'd slipped Sakura Oogami during training.
'I did drop her a few hints that might help... but I have no idea how she took them. At this point, all I can do is trust in Sakura Oogami's unwavering heart...'
With Makoto Naegi and Kyoko Kirigiri, I'd already built a tight cooperative alliance. They were helping me immensely—both in devising a strategy to shatter the killing game and in rallying the others together.
But we were still lacking one thing: force.
Strategy alone wouldn't be enough to deal with Junko Enoshima, Mukuro Ikusaba, and the swarming legion of Monokumas.
So if Sakura Oogami truly became one of us—completely, unequivocally—then that would mark the real beginning of our counterattack.
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I lay there for a long while, thoughts tangling and untangling in my head, when the intercom suddenly rang. For a second I thought it might be Kyoko Kirigiri, but when I opened the door, Celestia Ludenberg was standing there.
"Hm? What brings you here...?"
"I'll be blunt. Would you stop dragging this out and tell me your wish already?"
"Uh...?"
Come to think of it, I'd completely forgotten to make a wish of Celestia Ludenberg. When I fell silent, lost in thought, she frowned and spoke again.
"Surely you haven't still failed to decide? Honestly, I can't tell whether you're carefree or simply an idiot..."
"Hey."
"...Yes?"
"What exactly makes you think you can act this arrogant around me?"
".....?"
Celestia Ludenberg stared at me like she genuinely didn't understand. Good. Time to remind her exactly who held the upper hand here.
"Did you forget that your life is hanging on a single word from me right now?"
"....."
"Put it this way. If I told you to end your life here and now, what do you think would happen?"
"....!"
Her face, already pale to begin with, drained even whiter. Looks like she was finally starting to grasp the situation she'd landed in.
"Why are you so scared? Relax. I'm not going to make a wish like that."
"Then hurry up and make your wish already...!"
"But if you keep acting this insolent, I might lose my temper and make exactly that kind of wish without even meaning to..."
".....Ugh."
Celestia Ludenberg clamped her mouth shut and glared at me. Honestly, this kind of thing didn't suit my temperament at all, and it left a bad taste in my mouth—but what choice did I have? Everyone's lives were on the line.
"From now on, you'd better learn how to behave around me. Otherwise, even if I don't order you to kill yourself, I might make a wish that's close enough."
"....."
"Answer me."
"...Yes."
"That answer was awfully short."
".....Yes, understood."
"I'll use that wish when I feel like using it. Until then, don't even think about trying anything funny. Anyway, I'll see you in the dining hall at dinner."
After giving Celestia Ludenberg her instructions, I added one more thing just in case.
"For the record, what I just said wasn't my wish. It was a suggestion. Whether you follow it or not is up to you. Assuming you can handle the consequences."
"....."
"Answer me."
".....Understood. Goodbye."
"Yeah. Take care."
With dead eyes, Celestia Ludenberg gave a hollow farewell and left my room. Watching her go stirred something murky and unpleasant inside me, but I hurriedly forced it back down by thinking of Big Sis Kyoko Kirigiri instead.
'Sorry, Celestia Ludenberg... but this can't be helped.'
At first, I'd only planned to make a simple wish—something like telling her not to commit murder.
But if Celestia Ludenberg started holding a grudge and obstructing me at every turn, or refused to cooperate, that would become a serious problem. She may have lost our bet, but her cunning was anything but ordinary.
No doubt she was grinding her teeth in resentment even now. Which meant that, for the time being, I had to use that wish as a weapon and crush any thought of rebellion before it could take shape.
'Come to think of it, it should be about time for my meeting with Chihiro Fujisaki.'
Remembering my promise, I wrapped up my thoughts and headed for the locker room.
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"Chihiro Fujisaki! You were here already? Have you been waiting long? Wow, now I feel bad..."
"N-No, it's okay! You don't have to feel bad! I had something to do here anyway, so I came a little early..."
"Hm? Something to do?"
Chihiro nodded and stepped slightly aside. Inside the locker he'd been blocking from view, a laptop came into sight.
"That's..."
"A-Are you a friend of Master's...? It's nice to meet you for the first time... I'm Alter Ego..."
"Ah, K, you don't know what Alter Ego is, right...? Well, Alter Ego is..."
Of course I knew what Alter Ego was. Alter Ego was an AI created by Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer—a program that could converse with humans and grow through those interactions.
"...So I was repairing this laptop, and I found some hidden data... I loaded Alter Ego into it and had them analyze it... and some pretty important information came out. That's why I wanted to tell you... You always listen to me seriously..."
"Chihiro Fujisaki, can you trust what I'm about to say?"
"Huh...?"
"I'm going to tell you the truth about this killing game."
"...!"
Startled, Chihiro took a deep breath. Then he set his face with trembling resolve and spoke.
".....I believe you. Tell me the truth."
I clasped my hands together and began sharing with Chihiro the same information I'd already told Kyoko Kirigiri and Makoto Naegi.
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"I see... so that's what it was... We almost... we almost killed friends we'd spent years with... with our own hands..."
"Chihiro Fujisaki, the important thing is that no murder has happened yet. So don't sink too deep into despair, okay? Back then, you promised us you'd become stronger, remember?"
"Right... right... I can't keep showing everyone this weak side of me anymore...! K! What can I do to help you?"
Thankfully, since Chihiro already knew the results of the laptop analysis, he accepted the truth I'd revealed with remarkable speed.
"If we're going to defeat the Mastermind, then you and Alter Ego are going to play a decisive role."
"M-Me...?"
As I spoke to Chihiro, I typed the same words into the laptop, and Alter Ego reacted in surprise.
"Yeah. Someday, I plan to tell the truth to everyone here. And when that time comes, we need evidence—enough that every last one of them will be forced to accept it."
"Yeah...! If that's what you need, then we're almost there already...!"
"Of course the clues on the laptop matter, but that information alone won't be enough to convince everyone."
"Th-Then what do we do...?"
"There's a hidden room inside the cleaning supply cabinet in the second-floor boys' bathroom. And inside that room, there's a network cable that can connect to the internet."
".....!"
"Obviously, it won't be easy. The Mastermind is probably monitoring the network. If things go wrong, Alter Ego could be discovered and lost... and the Mastermind might start actively interfering."
"....."
"But if it works, we'll be able to gather outside information to persuade everyone—and maybe even make contact with the outside world. It's more than worth the risk. So? Can you help me?"
".....Of course! I-I'm scared, but... if it's for everyone's sake... then I'll be brave!"
"I-I will too... Even if I'm only a program... for Master... for everyone... I'll do everything I can!"
"Good... thank you, both of you... We'll talk more about the plan later. It's almost dinner time now. Chihiro Fujisaki, Alter Ego—I'm counting on you from here on out."
"Yeah! I'm looking forward to working with you too!"
"Master, Mr. K. See you next time...!"
With Alter Ego's farewell, we shut the locker and hid them away again, then left the locker room and headed for the dining hall.
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"Is everyone here? Feels like we've got fewer people than usual..."
"What can you do? That stuck-up bastard and that serial killer freak don't seem interested in cooperating with us, that gyaru chick's impossible to read, and as for Celestia Ludenberg..."
"...Were you referring to me?"
"Huh...? What the hell? Since when were you standing there?"
It looked like Celestia Ludenberg had decided to obey me for the time being, because she'd come to the dining hall without making a fuss. If I left her alone, who knew what she might try? From now on, I intended to keep her with the others as much as possible.
"Then let's assume everyone here agrees with what we discussed earlier, and now we can finally—"
"Wait."
Just as Makoto Naegi was about to start the meeting, the dining hall doors suddenly swung open, and Byakuya Togami walked in with Toko Fukawa.
"What's this? Earlier you said you weren't going to act with us. Change of heart already?"
Mondo Owada sneered with a scowl, and Byakuya Togami answered with a scowl of his own, clicking his tongue in open contempt.
"Don't misunderstand. I didn't come here to cooperate with you."
"Then why the hell are you still here instead of getting lost—"
"Sakura Oogami found the spy and asked me to come to the dining hall tonight."
Mukuro Ikusaba entered right after him and spoke while glaring at Sakura Oogami.
"S-Sakura Oogami... is that true...?"
"You've already found the spy? As expected of you, Sakura Oogami! I must follow your example and continue to better myself!"
"To think there exists someone in this world who could uncover the truth faster than I could... how astonishing indeed..."
"That's our Sakura Oogami! I knew we could count on you!"
The others' faces brightened all at once. Probably because if Sakura Oogami herself had exposed the spy, then surely the spy wouldn't be able to resist. But...
"So who is the spy...? Sakura Oogami...?"
"The spy is..... me....."
"".....!""
In that instant, everyone froze solid.