You really are as stupid as they come.
S-Stupid?
Akiyama-san, do you really intend to fight the LGT Office?
Yes.
You're stupider than I ever imagined.
You're the stupid one here!
You don't get to talk tough after losing!
You said I made a serious mistake, yes?
But you've made one yourself...
and you don't even realize it.
Provocation
I will now announce the totals being paid out to each player.
First up, the Country of Day.
Nao Kanzaki
Shinichi Akiyama
Hiroto Kitamura
Teruyuki Eda
Takahiro Kikuzawa
Tetsuzo Sato
Kosuke Tsunoda
Yuji Fukunaga
Shingo Fujita
Nao Kanzaki
102,093,000
Shinichi Akiyama
422,093,000
Hiroto Kitamura
472,093,000
Teruyuki Eda
472,093,000
Nao Kanzaki 102,093,000
Shinichi Akiyama 422,093,000
Hiroto Kitamura 472,093,000
Teruyuki Eda 472,093,000
Takahiro Kikuzawa 912,093,000
Tetsuzo Sato 633,768,000
Kosuke Tsunoda 622,088,000
Yuji Fukunaga 722,093,000
Shingo Fujita 472,093,000
We really raked it in.
Too bad we're donating our profits to save the three Country of Night members.
Next, the Country of Night...
Yusuke Shibayama
160,000,000
Kota Akagi
120,000,000
Hiroshi Hasegawa
220,000,000
What was Akiyama-san's "mistake"?
Yusuke Shibayama
160,000,000
Kota Akagi
120,000,000
Hiroshi Hasegawa
220,000,000
Akira Tsumura
Tatsuji Wada
Makoto Murata
The three turncoats are 700 million in the hole.
We can cover their debts with our winnings, so...
Akira Tsumura
249,995,000
Tatsuji Wada
120,000,000
Makoto Murata
100,000,000
Finally realized it, did you?
Norihiko Yokoya
1,030,550,000
The hell?!
He's got over a billion?!
So that's it...
Wh-What is?
On the third day, Yokoya said he'd handle all the inspection and smuggling himself.
Why do you think he did that?
So none of the rest of us had a chance to betray him, right?
No. His real aim...
was to funnel money into his third-country account.
Yokoya had a hunch.
He felt his victory was certain, but that there still might be a pitfall somewhere.
So he prepared for the worst-case scenario
by devoting the final day to securing his own profit.
Norihiko Yokoya
1,030,550,000
This was what he said...
On my smuggling turn,
I'll deposit the money into our ATM in the Country of Day, then withdraw it.
That way, the 100 million will formally have come from our ATM.
What about it?
Yokoya used his card to deposit that money.
In other words, it was all attributed to his account!
Each time he succeeded at smuggling, the money went straight to him.
He wound up being the only one to make anything at all!
Akiyama-san, who's the real winner here?
You'll be able to get your team out of the game debt-free, sure...
But you weren't able to profit in any way.
Same for the three Country of Night members who helped you.
I'm the only one out of the eighteen players here who made any money!
Akiyama-san, you said your opponent was the Liar Game Tournament Office.
Isn't that right?
It doesn't add up.
The Liar Game is a zero-sum game.
If everyone covers each other and no one drops out, the LGT Office makes no money.
To the LGT Office, that's the worst-case scenario.
By the same token, the ideal result for them
is to see one big winner and a whole lot of losers!
After all, the LGT Office only makes bank when someone pays the dropout fee.
If the LGT Office was really your target,
you should have stopped me from making all this money!
And to my dear Country of Night comrades
whose debts have skyrocketed from the Contraband Game...
The real person who put you into such dire straits
is the man who's aided the LGT Office with his half-hearted heroics...
The man you know as Akiyama!
Oh, that Yokoya.
Despite seemingly losing the game,
he's turned things around to make himself seem like the winner!
Your stance doesn't add up either, Yokoya-san.
You really did lose today.
What exactly doesn't add up?
How exactly did I lose?
Remember our conversation when we first met in the inspection room?
Let me tell you something.
What this game is testing
is your ability to take control.
It's true that you made a lot of money for yourself.
But was that really because you were in control?
It looks to me like you just ripped people off with a cheap trick.
After all, you had three traitors right under your nose.
I'm not sure how you could argue that you were really in control.
The people loyal to you came off worse,
while those who betrayed you were saved.
You've made a very poor case for the idea that absolute control
is what matters most in this game.
The first time we spoke, I told you...
If you can abandon your desire to profit or save only yourself,
you can save everyone.
The Liar Game is about making you realize that!
I held true to my argument.
The rest of the Country of Day team chose to save everyone, too!
And what was the result?
Everyone who saw things my way has been saved!
In other words, you may have won in terms of monetary gain,
but you lost in your match against me!
You saved everyone?
How wrong you are.
You and Akiyama have put yourselves 400 million in debt!
You weren't saved in the slightest!
If anyone drops out of the Liar Game, someone else has to absorb that loss.
The minute I'm gone, your ideal outcome is done for!
You really do get attached to your fixed ideas, don't you, Yokoya-san?
Because it's a zero-sum game,
someone has to pay for the profit you made, true.
But there's a way to turn that on its head.
What's that?!
I can't see why you'd want to know!
You're dropping out, so you'll never see it.
But Akiyama-san and I will both be saved in the end!
The rest of you don't need to worry, either!
I promise we'll save you all, too!
So, Yokoya-san, to summarize this game...
We, who stuck by our principles, won.
You, who became so fixated on petty personal profit
that you abandoned your principle of "control over all,"
are the real loser here!
And so the Contraband Game came to an end.
All right, everyone. Let's square up your accounts.
Hang on a minute, Yokoya.
Aren't you even going to apologize?
You put us all in debt, you bastard!
Thank you.
For the way you shut him down.
Oh, sure...
By the way, what's your idea for overturning the zero-sum game?
Oh, that?
That was a lie. A bluff!
Watching Yokoya-san, I realized something...
He's a very proud person.
So I decided to poke at that pride.
Third-Country Accounts
Country of Night
Country of Day
2.369490 billion yen
1.481670 billion yen
3.348840 billion yen
Losing is the one thing he just won't accept.
I know he'll come back to the game.
If we can face him again and take back his winnings,
we can use them to save even more people!
H-Huh?
You've gotten stronger.
You really saved me this time.
I couldn't refute what Yokoya said.
Why do you think that is?
Because Yokoya was right.
I did say it.
I said that my real enemy was the LGT Office.
Which means I shouldn't have let Yokoya make all that money!
It was out of your hands.
None of us knew Yokoya-san was making that money.
No...
I had a feeling it might be happening.
That Yokoya was funneling money into his account.
But I had no way to stop it.
Anything I tried might have exposed our plan,
and if we'd resumed a game of wits, we might've lost our path to victory.
So I just let him do it!
And not just that...
When I made my pitch to the three Country of Night turncoats,
I told you it was their bond that would break them free of Yokoya's control.
But that wasn't really my play.
With three people, if one started losing their nerve,
the other two would keep them in line.
A three-way deadlock to maintain a state of tension.
In other words, I just manipulated them.
At the core of it, I'm just like Yokoya!
You're wrong.
You're not.
You're not like him, Akiyama-san!
You're...
He'd never shown me that side of him before.
It was heart-wrenching.
The death of his dear mother...
His fight against a fraudulent corporation...
They'd robbed Akiyama-san of his ability to trust others.
At the same time, his inner goodness chastised him,
making the pain that much worse.
It broke my heart...
because I could do nothing to ease his pain.
Am I to understand that you will both be registering for the Losers' Revival?
Yes.
Yes, I see.
There's something else I wish to tell you.
Norihiko Yokoya did not file to drop out.
He'll be moving on to the fourth game with his winnings.
Akiyama-san!
You made it happen.
And one other thing...
Kota Akagi also declared his intent to move on to the fourth round.
But why?!
He said at the time,
"I was touched by how they sacrificed themselves to save other players."
"I want to repay my debt with my own hands."
"I'll advance to the fourth game to do it."
Akiyama-san, people really can come to trust one another!
Right?!
Yuji Fukunaga has registered for the Losers' Revival, as well.
What?!
What kind of reaction is that?
We've come through this bitch of a game together, haven't we?
But you had the chance to leave the game free and clear...
I'm afraid that doesn't sit right with me.
I'll keep playing until I can pry a load of cash from Yokoya's disgusting fingers.
I have a bad feeling about this...
Hey, you said people can trust each other, right?
Well?
Nao Kanzaki certainly made it an amusing game, don't you think?
People can come to trust one another, eh?
We'll see if she can still say that after the games to come.
Several Days Later
My normal life resumed as if nothing had happened.
What the?
Did I forget to lock... up?
Hey there!
Wh-What are you doing here?!
Well, you left your door unlocked...
That doesn't mean you can just barge in!
Get out this instant!
So you don't want the lowdown on the next Losers' Revival?
The next revival round is a three-on-three team game.
Since you, Akiyama, and Fukunaga came out of the same block,
you'll be on the same team.
Thank goodness! I'll be with Akiyama-san!
You know what that means?
Three-on-three means three people go down and three survive.
The Losers' Revival is one last chance for a loser to stay in the game.
In other words...
If you lose, it's over.
You'd better win.
If you don't, you'll never be saved.
Well, best of luck.
I'll be rooting for you.
So, you got nervous and gave me a call?
Yes...
All that confidence of yours went right down the drain, huh?
Well, after what the phony lawyer said...
I just got scared.
Don't worry.
We're going to win this one.
Right.
I can't be reliant on Akiyama-san forever.
I need to get stronger.
Day of the Losers' Revival Round
This is the spot, right?
Akiyama-san!
Hey.
Where's Fukunaga-san?
Already here.
Look.
Ciao!
What's going on, Fukunaga-san?!
You're dressed so feminine...
Please. Any female-presenting person has to go all-out now and then.
Besides, I realized something.
Going really feminine makes it easier to bamboozle the men in these things.
I see...
It looks like you're all here.
I'll escort you to the venue.
This is the place.
A school?
Yes. A former middle school, abandoned two years ago.
This game will take place in the library here.
This is the venue for the Losers' Revival round.
So this is our game venue, huh?
Are they...
The other participating team.
Welcome, all, to the stage of the Losers' Revival.
I am Solario, and I will be your main dealer.
A pleasure to meet you.
A new masked man, eh?
As usual, we'll lend you your starting game money,
which you'll use to play.
This time, it will not be in the form of cash, but in chips.
One chip is equivalent to one million yen.
You'll each be lent 150 of these.
In other words, you'll all have 150 million yen to spend in this game.
But when the game is over, we will collect only 100 million apiece.
Do you understand?
A bonus of 50 million yen is available to each of you.
All right!
That's what I like to hear!
Stay focused.
Right.
This Losers' Revival is a three-on-three team game.
We will call Akiyama-san's team the Eastern Army
and Nishida-san's team the Western Army.
Each team will elect a Spearhead, a Core, and a General.
Western
Eastern
Spearhead
Core
General
Core
General
Your three representatives will play three separate matches against one another.
First Match
Second Match
Third Match
The games will take place in the room beyond the windows.
This room is completely soundproofed,
but it contains microphones to relay the audio from within.
The players inside cannot hear any sounds from outside.
You can't see the library at all from in here.
It's just like the Contraband Game.
The active player is completely on their own.
Not completely on their own.
We will play three separate matches,
but during each one, each team can take one time-out.
During a time-out, both players can speak to their teams freely for three minutes.
The team that wins two of three matches is the victor
and will move on to the fourth-round game.
If the Spearhead and Core from the same team win,
the General match will not take place.
So what then? What happens to the loser?
My debt's up to 200 million now.
Kikuchi-san and Kosaka-san are both 100 million in debt.
What happens to us if we lose?!
No need to worry.
We will collect on your debt in our own way.
What the heck does "in our own way" mean?
My debt is 400 million.
If we lose here...
I told you.
We'll definitely win.
I'm going to protect you.
Trust me.
Right.
Now, we will distribute the game money to both teams.
Do not forget that this money belongs to your team.
What's that mean?
Let us say that a Spearhead player wins 100 million,
but their Core and General lose 400 million in total.
This would leave the team 300 million in the red overall,
meaning each member will lose 100 million.
So even though the Spearhead did well,
they're screwed by the losses from the Core and General?
Correct.
The total loss will be shared evenly between you.
It is impossible for just one member of the team to make money.
Kindly choose your Spearhead, Core, and General at once.
What? Before we even know what the games consist of?
Indeed, you will decide now.
And you cannot change your roles once they are decided.
Choose wisely.
We talked it out and decided.
Fukunaga-san would be our Spearhead,
Akiyama-san would be our Core,
and I would be our General.
The idea was to clinch the win before I, the weakest player, had to compete.
I really am a drag on the team...
Sho Kikuchi
Yuichi Nishida
The Western Army then chose Nishida-san as Spearhead,
Kikuchi-san as Core,
Tadako Kosaka
and Kosaka-san as General.
I will now announce the rules of the Spearhead match!
The game played by the Spearheads will be...
Twenty-Four-Chamber Russian Roulette!
T-Twenty-Four-Chamber Russian Roulette?
Next Time
Spearhead Match