What are you saying? What's wrong, Norman?
You already know by now, right?
I set a trap for three people.
To Don, I said the rope was under my bed.
To Gilda, I said the second floor bathroom's ceiling.
That's what I told you, Ray.
But actually, I told Don it was in the dining hall, and told Gilda it was in the library.
Then, the rope that was under my bed disappeared.
Then what about the other two locations?
Should we go check on them now?
Dang. And I thought I was doing so well.
That's right.
I am Mom's spy.
When did you start suspecting me?
The day Sister came to the House.
I was disgusted with myself for thinking such a thing.
You were the first person I suspected.
Even though you're my friend.
I just wished it wasn't true.
It was my supposition for the worst case.
But for us, it would be the most problematic if you're the traitor.
And from the enemy's point of view, it would be the most beneficial if you're the traitor.
You can give opinions to our plans,
and from the perspective of controlling the situation, it's perfect.
No one else fit the job better.
And that's why you suspected me.
And that's how I walked into your trap, huh?
One more thing.
Ray, you're not a traitor who was set up just for this matter, right?
Mom would never trust a sudden tip or an impromptu spy.
How long have you been Mom's spy?
From a long time ago.
I've been Mom's subordinate for a long time.
Basically, a sheepdog for a shepherd.
You knew about everything and assisted Mom this whole time?
Yeah.
Was everything a lie?
All the time spent preparing for things with Emma and me?
What and how much did you tell Mom?
The tracking devices can be broken, right?
What's the point in asking that?
Depending on the answer, will you cut me off?
I won't. I'll have you by our side, as you've always been.
Aren't you glad? You can continue to hide the mistake you made.
You wanted to keep spying on us, even if it meant framing Don, right?
What do you want?
Three things.
One, continue to spend time with us like before and guarantee our safety.
Two, release all the information you have to us.
Three, come to our side.
Can you become my spy?
You want me to be the ace up your sleeve?
Yeah.
Are you an idiot?
If that was your objective from the beginning, you should've kept quiet and used me.
Just forcibly utilize me and then abandon me when you execute the plan.
That would've been the better method.
You're right, but...
She said we're family that grew up together.
That's why I changed my mind.
I want to believe in you, too.
That you're my friend before my enemy.
Besides, you're the one who hid Little Bunny, right?
That night when we went to the gate, if you hadn't said that we could make it
we wouldn't have gone.
You led us to discover the truth about this House for ourselves.
You're the one who set up this escape for our sake, right?
Ray, why are you being Mom's sheepdog?
Why?
You wouldn't do things to make us realize the truth if you were 100 percent Mom's dog.
You were controlling us.
The tracking devices, the timing of the escape, and how fast the plan progressed.
That's why you strongly opposed escaping ten days from now.
But at the same time, weren't you also keeping Mom under control?
You're not our enemy after all, right?
I volunteered. I went to her.
No, it's more accurate to say that I sold myself.
It was all in preparation for this escape.
The most efficient way to learn about the enemy and gather things is from inside their pocket.
That's why I brought up a deal to Mom.
That's too dangerous.
I had chances to succeed.
Mom would want to avoid harvesting a top scorer, one she spent time and effort on, midway.
That's how I saw it.
She actually cares more about profit rather than rules.
I basically asked for two things.
One, I'll cooperate, so don't immediately ship me out.
Two, I asked for rewards if I gave results.
Rewards?
Just various junk.
If it wasn't available in the House, I had her obtain it.
I was testing what I could obtain and what was impossible.
I also wanted to probe the outside world.
As a result, she obtained a lot of things, as long as they weren't dangerous.
But they were all older models.
Then, when you said you had an idea about breaking the tracking devices...
I've seen the actual device.
I experimented, and after many years, I figured out how to break it.
The tracking devices can definitely be nullified.
Do you understand?
The person you see before you is the strongest card you have.
The tracking devices and Mom.
I have far more information than what's necessary for this escape.
I've been preparing ever since I found out the truth about the House.
Ray.
Without having anyone notice, I had you two go to the gate.
I did all this to make sure you two don't get killed.
Just like you said, I'm not your enemy.
But I'm also not an ally.
Under one condition, I can completely become your ace.
I'll give you all the information I have, and I'll also leak lies to Mom like you want.
What's the condition?
Trick Emma.
You need to pretend we're taking everyone, but at the last moment, ditch them.
Even if we take others, it'll only be Don and Gilda.
So you're telling me to give up on escaping with everyone?
Yeah.
The training is helping everyone grow more than we expected.
You even said their movement isn't bad.
You meant that, right?
Then we can all—
It still doesn't change the fact that they're a burden.
You said you were going to help us.
And this is how I'm helping.
Otherwise, you and Emma can die here.
I thought you didn't want us to get killed.
If you're just going to get killed as soon as we escape, it'd be better to get shipped out.
So? Will you accept my condition?
Fine.
If what you just said was a lie...
I know. It wasn't a lie.
You took a while.
I was talking to Norman.
And?
Nothing much has changed.
They're focused on training with tag.
The bigger issue is that Sister.
She's on the move again.
You should be careful.
I see.
You should have never summoned her.
That was supposed to be a deterrent for me, right?
It makes me sad that you still don't trust me even though I've been helping you for six years.
It's just a precaution.
Besides, if you had made sure those two didn't go to the gate that day,
this wouldn't be happening.
I apologized for that.
I never thought you'd be a useless dog who couldn't even keep watch.
I made up for it by spying for you.
I sold out my best friends, and I report Sister Krone's disturbing behavior in detail.
So I'm going to get my reward.
Of course. That is the deal.
With everyone... Let's escape with everyone!
And of course, with Ray, too!
That's...
That's why I told you.
Emma!
Everyone...
Norman, it's morning!
Good morning.
- So then I did this... - Good morning, Norman.
Good morning, Emma.
Good morning, Norman.
I brought the plates.
- Good morning, Ray. - Good morning, Emma.
So?
How did the plan with the ropes go?
Was there progress for the source of information?
Actually...
Oh, that.
It's me.
I'm Mom's informant.
It was you?
Sorry for that reaction, but I still don't understand.
Yes! Let me explain!
So you're the traitor, but not an enemy.
You were acting as Mom's subordinate all this time for our sake?
Yeah.
The truth is, I was going to tell you everything as soon as you got back from the gate.
But you left Little Bunny behind,
saying you wanted to escape with everyone, and other unexpected things happened.
Mom found out, so I had to manage the situation.
Plus you guys were being rash, and about to get reckless.
That's why I figured I should keep quiet and get both under control.
So you're saying that you were covering up for our mistakes.
And you're still against escaping with everyone, right?
But it's different now.
I'll help you escape with everyone.
That's not like you.
Do you think he's lying?
No, I'm happy.
Ray is now going to help everyone escape.
And we also have information to trick Mom from the inside.
It's awesome!
But, I see.
You knew about everything for a long time, huh?
It must have been painful.
Knowing and sending them off without saying anything.
So many of them.
Hey.
Were the experiments for the tracking devices done on someone's ear?
What happened to that child... or rather, children?
You didn't cause them to be shipped out early, did you?
You didn't sacrifice someone for our sake, did you?
Actually, never mind. Thank you.
Thanks to that, we can all escape together now.
But...
don't do something like that ever again.
You're not alone anymore.
You're not alone anymore, so...
I swear. I'll never do it again.
Let's all escape from here together.
They're talking on their own again, huh?
Damn it, how long are they going to be discussing things?
We need to go save Conny!
I wonder if there's a reason.
Like what?
I don't know.
It's not just about being dangerous because we're dealing with bad people.
But something even more...
Emma sure was mad.
Hey, Ray.
I want to ask you something.
What?
You said you did it so that both of us don't get killed.
But are you actually...
Oh yeah!
I have something to report.
Gilda and I decided to properly observe Mom once again.
Mom disappears right before eight o'clock every night.
Disappears?
Yeah. She's nowhere to be found in the House.
This House has a secret room.
A secret room?
Yeah.
Located here.
Next to Mom's bedroom.
Mom's bedroom has the bathroom and washroom next to it.
Past that, continuing beyond the wall is Mom's office.
But this probably isn't a wall.
I noticed that every time Mom disappears, she always goes into her office or the washroom.
So I measured the distance inside the room, and the distance in the hallway.
Oh. That's what you were doing then.
Yeah.
And the result?
They didn't match.
There are about ten of my footsteps' worth of space.
One side is a wall, and the other side is a bookshelf.
But I think there are hidden doors on both sides.
And beyond that, there's a secret room.
But what is that for?
Probably—
Scheduled check-ins.
Mom does scheduled check-ins to the headquarters every day.
The room is likely for that.
Headquarters?
The base that supplies babies and sisters to this House.
Ray, did you know that there was a room here?
No. Although I suspected the existence—
Let's try to get in.
It's a way to communicate with the outside, and find Conny and the others' whereabouts.
We might be able to find some clues!
But could we get in there so easily?
Even if it's difficult, we have to do it!
Hold on. There's no merit in going that far.
Even if it's a communication method, it's most likely only connected to headquarters.
And Mom doesn't know where our siblings were sent.
It's not even an issue of finding clues.
And if we're careless, our tracking devices could give away our position.
We don't know what kind of security that room has.
It's too dangerous.
But...
I'm saying that the risk overwhelmingly outweighs the merit.
You're right.
For now, be careful of the Sister. Don't dig your grave with a foolish move.
Exactly.
I have Mom under control, but we're doomed if the Sister finds out.
Keep that in mind when you act.
Don, can you go ahead to prepare for dinner?
- If someone doesn't go, Mom will— - I know.
Huh? Don, that way is...
Do you really intend to go in?
I can't stay calm like them.
And I want to know the real Mom.
There's a hidden door behind here.
How is this set up?
Is there even one here?
Damn it! I need to hurry and go save her as soon as possible!
Maybe...
Look closely at the shapes.
Let's go.
It's locked.