The Risky Truth Game
"Come to think of it, you mentioned keeping a cat at your place, Ung-ssi."
"I'm a little worried now. I came home late without saying anything, and bringing strangers along... I bet she's going to be really upset."
"She must be shy around new people? How cute. She takes after her owner. Do you think we'll get to meet her once we're inside?"
"Yeah, well..."
Even without any special effort to greet us, Nero had almost certainly already sensed the unfamiliar presences and was waiting right behind the door with her claws out. If things got too awkward, I could always use that as an excuse to head straight up to the Field Team Leader's place instead. It shouldn't be a big problem... right?
A soft chime announced the door unlocking, followed by the click of it swinging open. I must have left the living room lights on this morning; the apartment was already bright and welcoming through the gap. There wasn't anything embarrassing to hide anyway—no sofa, no TV, nothing worth worrying about on that front. The real issue was the inevitable scolding from Nero...
"Huh...?"
There was none.
"Nero?"
Nothing...?
I had been so sure she'd be right there at the entrance, claws bared and ready, but there was no sign of her.
"Is something wrong, Ung-ssi? Where's the cat?"
"Could you please stop suddenly leaning your face in like that? I still get startled every time I see that mask."
"Is that so? That's very useful information."
...I messed up. I could already picture that mask popping up beside my face far more often during work starting tomorrow.
More importantly—where the hell was Nero? Had she gone into the bedroom?
"It doesn't seem late enough for her to be asleep yet... Anyway, please come in. I'd like to say make yourselves at home, but the place is still pretty empty."
Maybe she was sulking because I'd come home late without notice. I glanced toward the small bedroom and spotted her through the gap in the door—curled up and already asleep, her back facing us.
Maybe that was for the best.
"Oh, the view from here is nice."
The living room was still bare, but the night scenery outside was decent enough. The Management Team Leader quickly set up a folding table by the window and started arranging the bottles, making the place look almost properly furnished.
"Field Team Leader?"
I noticed her still lingering near the entrance, so I approached carefully. Even when I got right in front of her, she just tilted her head in confusion and refused to look my way.
"...Field Team Leader?"
"Ah."
Only after calling her again did she finally turn toward me. I held out my hand, thinking I'd take her coat, but she simply brushed past me and walked straight over to the table.
What was that about?
"Standing there all alone by the entrance... Don't tell me you're embarrassed about entering a man's house?"
The Management Team Leader asked the question on my behalf, perhaps out of pity for how thoroughly I'd been ignored. But one look at the Field Team Leader's deeply furrowed brow and the tone of her reply made it clear things weren't going well.
"Is that all you ever do—run your mouth? I wonder if you actually think before you speak. I just caught a familiar scent at the entrance and got curious for a second, that's all."
"You mean the precious princess you were holding so carefully earlier?"
"...Shut your mouth before I smash your head in while you're still wearing that mask. You haven't forgotten, have you? You said we'd settle this with a second round. So... what are we competing with today?"
"If I shut my mouth, how am I supposed to tell you what we're competing with?"
Grind.
"...You."
A sudden prickling sensation spread across my skin. Why did it feel like I'd gone out in the middle of summer without sunscreen and come back burned? Was this... killing intent?
"Shall we sit down first? To make things more interesting, today's match will be played with all four of us."
I had a brief vision of the floor or walls getting demolished by someone's fists or kicks if things went wrong, leading to an impromptu neighborly meeting. Thankfully, she didn't push things any further. The Field Team Leader simply walked over and took a seat without another word.
...Thank you. I wasn't sure why the homeowner had to be the one thanking her, but it felt necessary.
"I'll take your coat. You can hang it on the rack over there."
"I'll take it off a little later."
"Ah, sure..."
If she was going to take it off eventually anyway, what was the point of waiting? Still, this time she didn't ignore me. Instead, she casually draped her coat over my arm like it was the most natural thing in the world. I decided to hang it up first.
Even her coat carried that distinct sweet scent unique to the Field Team Leader. I had to be careful not to lose focus and end up burying my face in it out of sheer desire.
Thank goodness I'd taken a hit earlier and sobered up a bit. I walked over to the coat rack, only to find another coat already hanging there—the Management Team Leader's.
"I've got some snacks too."
Even though I'd told them to make themselves comfortable, she was already acting like this was her own home, rummaging around until she found the microwave and heating up some appetizers. Once she sat down as well, I quickly washed some glasses, set them on the table, and took the last empty seat.
...The team leaders had definitely mentioned some kind of competition. And with four people, that included me too?
"It was my turn to suggest the match today, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, so hurry up and say it."
"Ung-ssi probably doesn't know since this is his first time. With the Field Team Leader, we do this every end-of-month dinner..."
"...Just say it already."
"For reference, the current record is 299 wins, 299 losses, and 1 draw."
Ever since the Field Team Leader caught that embarrassing scene in the lobby, she'd been radiating sharp hostility. I could only hope she wouldn't take it out on my new home with Nero. Ideally, she'd avoid provoking her altogether, but that was probably asking for too much.
"What are we competing with?"
"No need to rush. It's right here."
Thud.
The Management Team Leader reached into her coat pocket and pulled out something completely at odds with the atmosphere—a colorful, childish-looking roulette wheel with a bright red arrow. Everyone stared at it in confusion.
"A roulette...?"
"Heh."
I recognized it immediately, but the others were still trying to figure out what kind of game this was supposed to be.
...This was definitely the one. I remembered the Management Team Leader mentioning it would be fun for the end-of-month dinners.
"Ta-da~ Today's match is a truth game. Not a normal one, though—I made up some new rules."
"New rules?"
"Since this is also Ung-ssi's housewarming, I've been thinking about what kind of gift would be good."
I'd already guessed it was a truth game. But... a housewarming gift?
"It's simple. The basic rule is that whoever spins the roulette asks one question to the person the arrow points to."
What if it pointed to yourself? Before I could even finish the thought, she continued.
"However! If the arrow lands on the person who spun it, then everyone else gets to ask them one question each. You must answer truthfully—no vague responses allowed."
Aside from the fact that getting three questions instead of one could be extremely troublesome, this was still a fairly standard truth game. The person who was questioned last would get to spin next... and with all this alcohol around, maybe we'd drink as a penalty for not answering?
"If you find a question too difficult to answer, you'll have to remove one piece of clothing or accessory. If you have nothing left to take off or refuse out of embarrassment, you lose."
"What...?"
"Excuse me?"
My reaction was no different from the Field Team Leader's or the Management Team Leader's.
"...Pardon?"
It wasn't a drinking penalty. It was a stripping penalty.
Wait a second... Now that I thought about it, the Management Team Leader had said she'd take her coat off later...
Glare!
"Heh?"
Two sharp gazes—one piercing, one cool—shot toward me at the same time, demanding an explanation. They seemed to suspect I'd been in on this with the Management Team Leader from the start because of how I'd offered to hang up the coats. Well... it was a reasonable suspicion, but still!
"N-no, I didn't know anything...! This is unfair! I took mine off as soon as I came in, remember?"
And the Management Team Leader had taken hers off and hung it up herself!
The idea of having to strip piece by piece as a penalty clearly bothered the Management Team Leader too, because she voiced exactly what I was thinking.
"This is a match between the two of you... Do I really need to participate?"
"If you win, I'll switch out your business trip with the President for someone else."
"...I'll participate. No—please let me participate!"
The Management Team Leader... how did her attitude flip so fast? She suddenly sounded incredibly desperate. Was going on a trip with the President really that bad?
"Then it's settled—the Management Team Leader is joining too. I'm curious what kind of underwear everyone came wearing. You want to see too, don't you, Ung-ssi? Opportunities like this don't come around often."
That was...
"..."
Both the Field Team Leader and the Management Team Leader turned their eyes on me again, their gazes resembling the way one might look at a fly hovering near a trash can. I couldn't bring myself to deny or confirm anything.
"If it was just the three of us, the game would drag on forever until we ran out of clothes anyway. Having Ung-ssi here raises the difficulty and makes it more fun, right?"
Well, this was my house... and it was my housewarming party. It would be weird if I didn't join. Besides, no one was forcing anyone to strip in front of me. They could always just answer truthfully or admit defeat without taking anything off.
Regardless of our reactions, the Management Team Leader let out a low, unpleasant laugh and delivered one final line that no one could possibly agree with.
"Well? Doesn't this sound like a really fun match?"