This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 340

Do you know the term “the mantis blocks the chariot wheel”?

It means that no matter how much of a boss the mantis is in the insect world, there’s no way it can stop a wheel that is dozens of times larger than itself.

In the same way, I couldn’t stop the reality of this mafia game disguised as a king game from crashing down on me.

And it was only natural since public opinion wasn’t on my side at all.

Everyone except me was in favor, so even if I screamed my opposition, how was I supposed to make a difference in the game?

“Th-then… I’ll press it…?”

Thanks to that, I thought I had no choice but to passively accept the reality…

“I-I pressed it.”

Maybe it was because it was the first round, but the voice of my senior sounded a bit nervous as I confirmed the message that popped up on my mobile phone screen—

[You are the Mafia.]

I realized that the heavens had not abandoned me yet.

‘Alright…’

Honestly, isn’t this enough for me to have done my part?

Yet, I still couldn’t prevent the calamity of the king game from arriving… what could I do?

Now, I had no choice but to stand before the heavens.

“Who is it? Who’s the Mafia?”

“Oh ho, Mafia? You should call me your Highness.”

“What? Are you the Mafia?”

“Your. Highness.”

“Your highness my foot…”

“Oh ho… so that’s how you’re going to play it, huh? And you think I won’t know what commands to give?”

Because of my attitude, I spoke a bit harshly in disbelief, but after saying that, I started feeling a bit anxious.

For a moment, while my eyes were darting around, it seemed like Yoonseo didn’t want to show that she was hiding her nervousness and started acting tough.

“W-what! You don’t even know what I am!”

I wondered just what she was banking on bringing out that much confidence—was she seriously relying on something?

“Well, that’s true.”

It was certainly not a wrong statement, so I nodded along.

“That’s true, but… can’t you figure that out?”

“W-what?!”

As a Mafia—no, as the king—I had only been thinking about giving commands to others, but did I really not think that far?

Yoonseo’s eyes widened in shock, as if she had just heard for the very first time that the Earth was round.

For a moment, her expression froze up, perhaps realizing the significant error in my words.

“W-who would tell me?!”

Yoonseo yelled that out, raising her voice.

I was okay up until that point.

It’s fine, but…

“Really? But why is your face suddenly turning red?”

“…When did it?!”

“When indeed? Right now, of course. Want me to bring you a mirror?”

“I-it’s because I drank, you idiot!”

“Hmm, really?”

That face of hers sure looked way too flushed for just that.

“I thought your face turned red all of a sudden because you were imagining something weird.”

“I’ve never done that…”

“Hmm… really? That’s a shame.”

“…?”

“If you had imagined something weird, I would’ve shown you even weirder things.”

“…!”

Anyway, since Yoonseo didn’t seem like she would tell me what her role was, let’s move on to the next target.

“Unnie.”

“Huh?”

“What’s your role? Citizen?”

“Why do you care?”

“Just curious.”

“Why the heck would you be curious?”

I was aiming for Chae-rim, thinking that if I could find out the identity of at least one person, it would be helpful in various ways—but—

“Do you want to give commands to me?”

Even if she was totally drunk, Chae-rim was still Chae-rim.

“…Huh?”

“I see. So Dogun likes commanding people, huh?”

“Th-that’s…?”

Seeing how she jumped in to attack the moment I let my guard down…

“If it’s your taste, say so. I can definitely accommodate.”

“…Unnie, you’re actually not drunk are you?”

“Hehe, well…? What do you think, Dogun?”

The moment I caught the sight of Chae-rim with her eyes narrowed and a sly grin, I instinctively realized something.

Right now, Chae-rim was like a mire.

Once you get caught up in it?

You’d probably sink in headfirst in no time.

And if that were to happen?

Hope rested solely on my senior.

“Senior!”

“Uh, yeah…?”

So I immediately turned my head towards her, wondering if she hadn’t expected an arrow to fly at her at this moment.

The expression on my senior’s face was blank, and she jumped a bit in surprise.

“You’ll tell me, right…?”

Or not, believing I could count on her alone, I sent her the most desperate look possible and thankfully, it seemed my gaze reached her without issue.

“Um…”

With that, my senior immediately plunged into thought.

And how long had it been?

“…If you call me unnie.”

A voice that was barely audible reached my ears.

“Excuse me?”

“If you call me unnie… maybe I’ll think about it.”

“Wait, unnie?!”

Suddenly?

I wasn’t even doing anything wrong, yet I couldn’t follow the flow of the conversation at all.

Thanks to that, I was left dumbfounded.

No, that aside… wasn’t I supposed to be the king?

Did I possibly misjudge something? I picked up my mobile phone again to confirm the result I had placed neatly on the table but got the same result.

I was definitely the king… so why did it feel like I was receiving commands instead of giving them?

Is this a bug?

I didn’t know if it was the alcohol or what, but those thoughts spiraled around.

So while I was getting a bit dazed…

How did she interpret my reaction? My senior’s face suddenly flushed bright red.

“…N-no! Don’t pay attention to it!”

“Excuse me? You tell me not to pay attention?”

“Uh, yeah… I must have let out some nonsense because I was drunk.”

With her last words, she sank into embarrassment.

Was she that embarrassed about babbling because she was drunk?

Before I knew it, my senior buried her face in her palm, looking completely out of it.

She’d probably stay like that for a while.

Thanks to that, now there was only Bora left.

So I immediately threw my gaze over there but…

“B-Bora…?”

“Sorry, I really want to tell you, but…”

Was it a bit uncomfortable for her to be the only one speaking up while the other three were keeping their mouths shut?

Before I could even start the conversation, Bora marked her refusal first.

“Hmph, I knew you’d be like that.”

Thanks to that, Yoonseo, who had been nervously observing the situation, suddenly perked right up.

“Ah, enough! Just give me an order! You’re just trying to ride on the luck of being the king, aren’t you?”

“Kuh… ”

“What are you gonna do if I glare at you? You don’t even know what I am.”

“…A doctor?”

“What nonsense.”

“…A cop?”

“Not even close!”

If we were to say what jobs were set up from the beginning?

There were five: doctor, cop, mafia, spy, and citizen.

However, judging by Yoonseo’s reaction from the conversation just now, it seemed very likely she wasn’t a doctor or a cop.

‘And since I’m the mafia…’

That left only the citizen and spy as possibilities.

The real question now was which of the two was correct…

While I was pondering over those remaining options, it suddenly occurred to me.

“…Oh.”

A realization hit me.

“O Yoonseo, you are the doctor, right?”

“I’m not!”

“Really?”

“Just because you keep trying to fish for answers doesn’t mean I’ll tell you, you idiot.”

“Just say it if you’re not! Alright, doctor, get ready to receive a slap.”

“I-I told you I’m not a doctor!”

“Who said anything?!”

At that, I crossed my arms and waited for the doctor’s identity to be revealed.

She stared at me with a look of disbelief for a moment, and soon after, I saw Yoonseo’s body start to twitch.

Yoonseo swept her bangs aside with a resigned expression right after that.

“You said you weren’t a doctor? So why are you suddenly messing with your bangs?”

“Shit… how did you know…?”

“Enough, just put your forehead up. How dare you try to trick the king?”

“Hey, it’s just the first round! Go easy on—”

“I don’t feel like it.”

I said that while pulling my finger back with all my might, and just watching it seemed to send chills down my spine.

Yoonseo shut her eyes tightly.

And then, in that condition, she started shaking…

“Puhuh…!”

In some way, it looked like a hamster, and I accidentally let out a laugh.

I laughed for that reason alone, but did Yoonseo feel like I was making fun of her?

“Hurry up and do it if you’re gonna do it!”

Suddenly angry, I unintentionally let go of my finger.

And as that finger swung down for a successful docking on Yoonseo’s forehead—

Thwack!

It was a sound that could only be described as catastrophic.

“Ugh…!”

“Hey, a-are you okay…?”

And that one hit seemed to act like a kind of awakening drug for Yoonseo.

“Damn it… I’ll get my revenge…”

Yoonseo’s eyes rolled back.