I immediately turned to my teammates. I asked Haru what time it was.
Haru understood what I meant and said there was one hour left until nine.
"I see, so we have an hour. I partially know you're all in the game, but to be sure, everyone show your icons."
Everyone showed the icons on their phones. All four of us were players in the game.
"As you've noticed, the game didn't say how many people there are. That means it's important not to reveal our numbers."
Lie joined the conversation and gave her opinion.
"You're right. There could be only one person outside of us, and the game could have just five people."
"Yes, or on the contrary, there could be many more. Our priority should be identifying the players. So check the people who are messing with their phones. They might be reading the rules."
Akari joined in and asked a question.
"So, any ideas on who else could be a player besides us?"
"That old man is probably a player."
"Why?"
"After the way he treated us, I kept watching him secretly. He didn't act that warmly toward anyone else besides us. That means he might know we're players. If that's true, he could know the rules too. And considering the old man's situation, I don't think he'd join the game alone. He might have comrades. Or another possibility—he deliberately acted this way because he wants us to think that. But the first possibility is much higher."
"Understood. Good observation, Rei."
Haru gave his opinion.
"It might be better if we split two and two. If we move as a group, it'll be obvious we're a team."
Lie responded to Haru.
"What if everyone goes solo?"
"If we go solo, we'd be more hidden, but we were four at the start—splitting up would raise suspicion. Plus, being alone could be dangerous."
I gave my opinion.
"It doesn't matter much how we split. That man, as I said, must know we've joined the game. So he knows there are four of us. Since friendships have to be even numbers, I think splitting two and two works. Lie and me, Haru and Akari. How does that sound?"
"Alright, let's do that."
"Don't forget—the rules say violence is forbidden, but it seems like no one can do anything unless they report it to the God with evidence. Be careful."
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"Okay. We'll meet again in the hall at nine, since we'll be coming for worship anyway. Let's wander around for now."
After Haru gave his opinion, he headed toward another area with Akari. I turned to Lie.
"There could be a prearranged trap in this game."
"What kind of trap?"
"I don't know. But if my guess about the old man is correct, something is being planned."
"I see. We need to be careful then."
"We always need to be careful."
"You're right."
We headed toward the corridor of the friendship rooms. The corridor was long, with wooden doors. The sound of conversation came from inside the rooms. The walls of the corridor, like the other walls, were made of high-quality stone, with beautiful patterns in some places. As we walked through the corridor listening to the voices, we ran into the old man. He had two priests with him.
The old man smiled at us.
"Are you enjoying the atmosphere, children?"
"Yes, sir."
"Where did your friends go?"
"I don't know. They said they'd go to the toilet and then head to the cafeteria. We decided to look around in the meantime."
"I see, good thinking. You're coming to the nine o'clock worship, aren't you?"
"Yes, we'll be there. I've started to get curious about this religion."
"Hahaha! I'm glad to hear that, son. We'll be waiting for all of you there."
"Alright."
The three of them walked past us with slow steps.
"He's got connections with the priests, see, Rei?"
"He doesn't seem to be hiding it. I think the priests are devout members of this place. Their faces aren't visible—they might be hiding them on purpose."
"I think he deliberately asked whether we'd come or not."
"I think so too. But it doesn't matter. The easiest way to identify players in this game might be to observe the people worshipping—at nine in the morning and nine in the evening, of course. But the annoying part is, even at nine in the evening, this place is crowded. People are worshipping. So it won't be easy to tell them apart."
"You're right. I wonder if Haru and Akari are okay?"
"They're fine. It's only been a short while since the game started."
Haru and Akari's Side
We passed through the corridor together and headed toward the cafeteria. Inside, various foods and drinks were being sold. Religious figures were also on sale. People were sitting at wooden seats, passing the time.
"This place seems nice."
After examining the surroundings for a short while, two priests entered, and in their midst was a young man in pure white clothes, hairless, looking to be in his twenties. When people saw him, they greeted him with respect. Not wanting to draw attention, we gave them the same greeting. When the three saw us, they came over.
"You must be the new people. Welcome."
"Thank you."
"I am the head priest here. The other old man is my father. Make yourselves at home."
"Thank you."
"How about we sit on one of the green cushions and have a chat soon?"
The two of us thought for a short moment and decided it wouldn't be a problem.
"Alright, sounds good."
After moving to the green-cushioned corner and chatting for a while, the old man and the priests joined us. Then Rei and Lie saw us from a distance and joined in too. We were all sitting together.
"What a lovely coincidence, we're all here!"
The conversation continued for a while. Everyone was talking about their past. The men were keen on bringing up religious topics.
One of the priests said he felt nauseous and went to the toilet. The other said he was going to the cafeteria. But when I looked from a distance, both had gone in the same direction. This caught my attention, but I didn't let it show.
Ten minutes later, one of the priests came running up to us.
"AHHH! HEAD PRIEST, CHECK THE STOREROOM, QUICK! THERE'S SOMETHING LYING IN THE STOREROOM!"
"WHAT? LET'S CHECK IMMEDIATELY!"
All of us quickly headed together to the storeroom at the end of the corridor. When we opened the door, someone in priest robes was lying on the floor, covered in blood. Next to the corpse was a bloody axe. Looking at the corpse, it could be said that this was one of the priests from before.
"WHAT IS THIS?"