Mitsuhiko didn't really have the patience to deal with this mess for any longer, but he knew to hide his impatience. Still, if Romi refused to say more then that could only mean she was the culprit, didn't it?
"I'm NOT the culprit" Romi replied. The hunter nodded.
"Nice. Say what happened, please"
Romi didn't obey, instead she lowered her head. That was precisely what she shouldn't do if she was really innocent, and everybody knew that. "She isn't saying anything" said gravely "That's as good as a confession"
"Are you all going to start voting?" Monobear asked. Several commanders nodded and soon Mitsuhiko couldn't avoid agreeing with them. If Romi were really innocent she wouldn't hide, right? Monobear, satisfied, stood on his throne. "Excellent! This trial ended faster than the first one. Are you going to vote correctly? Let's find out!"
"Guys, wait" Mitsuishi said firmly. Everybody turned their attentions to him, as he had interrupted just before the voting. "I don't think we should go ahead with the vote yet"
"Why not? Romi-san practically admitted she's the culprit. Not saying anything is equal to admitting her guilt!" Kobayashi exclaimed, impatient for ending the trial.
"Besides nobody here is close to her. She wouldn't do such thing as protecting others" Mitsuhiko pointed.
"And not only that, there's no reason to believe anybody else is involved. There's nobody else that could have killed him" Kishio added.
"Okay, listen here...you're all thinking that Takayama-kun gassed Romi-san and took her to the Theater Workshop. That's the core of this, right?"
"Of course it is! Haven't you been paying attention?" Yurie groaned.
"I can break that theory right now. Usually I would have let this continue but I never expected the theory to lead to the voting phase so soon. I hoped Romi-san would break down and tell everything!"
"Right, if you can break it do it now" Kishio ordered. Mitsuishi took his own ID and opened the Monobear file.
"Everybody here insists they're smart and wouldn't be fooled yet you all overlooked the most basic clue we have. Look and weep, idiots" the Flying Demon pointed at one single line in the file:
The body registers high amounts of anesthetics without reaching fatal levels
"No way!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, horrified. That did break everything they had supposed so far.
"That's impossible...how can that..." Kobayashi muttered.
"Takayama-kun had anesthetics in his freaking blood. How can you expect him to have planned to kill anybody when he was a victim himself?!" Mitsuishi shouted, enraged.
"It all seemed logical, you can't blame us for-" Fukuyama started saying before Mitsuishi interrupted him.
"Did you all seriously think Takayama-kun would do such thing as killing one of us? After you saw how distraught he was when Yasumoto-san died?! It's unthinkable he would have done that!"
"He could have wanted to take the free spot in the Main Board-" Koshimizu said, interrupted too.
"You act as if you didn't talk to him during these two days! This is the guy who spent two whole days in his bedroom, listening to his microphones. This man made sure every single one of us were okay with no trouble. If it hadn't been for him we would have been at each other's throats"
"He didn't visit me or anything" Hosoya mumbled but everybody ignored him.
"And here I had thought I was the resident hypocrite. If he were buried he would have been rolling in his grave while you all called him a killer" Mitsuishi finished, grouchily crossing his arms.
"Too bad it's too late! We already started the voting process. Let's vote!" Monobear shouted, once again pointing at his right before Lily tackled him onto the throne.
"Everybody continue with the trial! There's no need to vote now" Lily exclaimed, holding down the thrashing bear.
"No! It's voting time! If you don't vote you'll all be executed!"
"And you'll end your fun. No more murders and the culprit won't be ascended into the Main Board. If that's what you want to do then go ahead, but I'm sure you won't" Lily whispered to him and slowly stood up, leaving Monobear down.
"Um, I'd like to vote now..." Hosoya started saying before he was shushed by other commanders. Strangely enough Monobear stayed perfectly still for a minute or two, hushed voices barely sounding through the bear's speaker.
"What's going on..." Emiko whispered to Kobayashi, who simply shrugged. It took a while until Monobear stood up, curiously sheepish.
"You may continue. Go ahead" he said, sitting back in his throne. For a moment all the commanders stayed in silence in case Monobear was going to say something else, at least until Monobear seemingly lost his patience "Are you going to continue or not?!"
"Okay, so...Takayama-kun wasn't going to kill somebody and have Romi-san be an accomplice. What now?"
"Now we need to think again" Hosoya said softly "So Romi-san isn't the culprit?"
"It'd be nice if you admitted that already..." Romi said, but she had a strange distant expression despite the clouded appearance of her eyes.
"Just because we found out Takayama-kun didn't gas anybody doesn't mean she isn't the culprit" Mitsuishi piped up.
"Yeah, but there's something this brings to the table and I don't know what to think of it: why the culprit took Takayama to the Theater Workshop to kill him and did all this mess instead of simply gassing him and then stabbing him?" Yurie inquired to everybody.
Nonstop Debate
Broken Bottles / Broken Lock / Rubber Containers / Missing Medicine / Tuxedo
KISHIO: There must have been some kind of ulterior motive
KISHIO: Otherwise the culprit wouldn't have bothered
SUGITA: Romi-san can't have done everything, I'm sure of that
ROMI: Yeah, I'd need help. Am I innocent yet?
EMIKO: With the mole's help she could have done this crime
SASUGA: If not Romi-san then who? Koshimizu-san?
KOSHIMIZU: Since Hosoya-kun's cell was closed he can't be
KOSHIMIZU: It's the same with Oyama-san.
KOBAYASHI: Hikari-kun could have done all this, though
KOSHIMIZU: No, he can't. The recordings show he stayed in his cell.
KOSHIMIZU: ...that didn't sound either in the recordings!
KOSHIMIZU: There were no anomalous sound at all.
FUKUYAMA: The microphones could have been removed...
SUGITA: Did you check they were still in there when you woke him up?
KOSHIMIZU: No I didn't.
"That's so strange..." Mitsuhiko said "Koshimimzu-san, are you absolutely sure you heard nothing in the recording of the door of my cell?"
"Completely sure of it" Koshimizu put his hand over Takayama's machine "I listened to the whole night"
"But the lock of my cell was destroyed! If somebody hit it with enough strength to break it there would be a lot of noise recorded!"
Koshimizu put on the sound with as much volume as possible and quickly played the recording of the whole night with Mitsuhiko's cell. It took a while, but soon there was a verdict reached by everybody "This is not the sound of a lock being broken" Through the speaker everybody could hear a very, very hushed tinkling noise, like metal against metal. "That's not how the destruction of the cell lock would sound"
"Hosoya-kun's cell is directly to the side of Hikari-kun's cell. Couldn't the microphones of Hosoya-kun's cell have recorded that?" Romi suggested.
"Apparently Takayama-kun's microphones aren't that potent. They'd only record what happens in the nearby areas" Kishio said "He told me that several days ago"
"So...Hikari-kun is our new suspect now?" Sasuga asked almost bashfully. There was silence for a moment before the commanders expressed their thoughts.
"I think that there's something strange about the broken cell lock. Since we got so little evidence pointing towards people we should take what we have" Sugita said with some remorse. Despite their fight several days before that moment Mitsuhiko was still her friend.
"But he can't have contacted Monobear and obtained the mole's help. Koshimizu-san didn't hear anything like that" Kishio pointed.
"Writing something and passing it wouldn't cause any sounds" Koshimizu pointed "Either way Hikari-kun may not be in the clear, but as long as the matter of the sound we hear here and the lock aren't solved we can't accuse him"
"Let's focus on another part of the murder for now. What's the strangest thing about Takayama-kun? Let's go on that for now" Emiko suggested. That's easy. There's one thing about Takayama that was glaringly out of place.
Monobear File #2
Tuxedo
Colorful Hat
Hat Stand
Rubber Containers
Broken Lock
Broken Bottles
Broken Cabinet Lock
Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet
Missing Medicine
Koshimizu's ID
Entrance Records
List of Authorized Commanders
Takayama's Glasses
Takayama's Clothes
Mannequin
Rope
Toolbox
Towel
Wet Kitchen Knife
Bloody Kitchen Knife
Tuxedo
"What was most out of place are the clothes Takayama-kun was wearing. Why was there such a huge change on that? We all know what Takayama-kun wore all this time, right?"
"Nobody else here looks like an armored red condom" Hosoya commented. While Mitsuhiko thought that could have been worded better he couldn't deny it was accurate.
"Yes, you're right. Why did the culprit change Takayama-kun's clothes? Also remember where they were found: in the Electronic Workshop, a place where not many of us can enter. The culprit used Takayama-kun's ID to enter there, I guess, and hid it there"
"Are you completely sure you don't know anything, Romi-san?" Fukuyama insisted, but this time Romi shook her head slower than she had done until that point. Something was starting to get in her head "There's something she's hiding and if she were an unwilling accomplice she would have talked already" Sugita decided "Who among us is close enough to Romi-san to be protected by her in a murder...in the risk of her own life?"
"Nobody, I think. I haven't seen anything that could hint that" Sugita replied. Fukuyama was about to proceed to interrogate everybody heavily about their relationships with Romi, but it was interrupted when the Lyricist stood up, taking deep breaths.
"I don't know any more what's going on. Nothing here makes sense and I'm terrified. I want to do nothing else than going away and forget any of this ever happened.
...I don't want to die"
"So are you confessing you're the culprit?" Fukuyama asked.
"No! At least I think there's something more complicated going on...but I don't know how to explain it" Romi seemed as lost as everybody else. Romi-san wants to say something but unless somebody can tip her into the right direction we'll get nowhere.
Just what could I tell her?
Logic Dive
1: What's a detail not mentioned so far about the tuxedo?
It's very elegant
It had Koshimizu's ID in it
There are two of them
There are two of them
2: What was the purpose of changing Takayama's clothes?
Make Takayama look better than before
Disguise Takayama as somebody else
Change Takayama's identity
Make Takayama the victim
Disguise Takayama as somebody else
3: Did Romi attack somebody or something last night?
Yes
No
Yes
4: Is Romi responsible of Takayama's death
Yes
No
No
"Um, guys? I think I'm starting to crack down why Romi-san didn't want to say anything" Mitsuhiko claimed. Romi, who was still standing looked at him hopefully. "If what I'm thinking is correct then I think I'm starting to understand how this whole crime went. What's left is the who"
"Then say it! Is Romi-san the culprit?" Kobayashi demanded the important answer, but Mitsuhiko shut him up before continuing.
"Grab onto your seats because this will be great: there were two murders last night!"
"Two murders?" Kishio quickly looked around "But we're all here"
"Oh, you would never notice the other murder. I didn't realize it until just a few minutes ago, although I should have suspected it since the beginning"
"Why when a question is asked you always have to go to another point before giving a straight answer?" Hosoya didn't seem amused. Mitsuhiko ignored him, finally taking the first step towards solving the crime.
"This is the second victim of last night!"
Monobear File #2
Tuxedo
Colorful Hat
Hat Stand
Rubber Containers
Broken Lock
Broken Bottles
Broken Cabinet Lock
Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet
Missing Medicine
Koshimizu's ID
Entrance Records
List of Authorized Commanders
Takayama's Glasses
Takayama's Clothes
Mannequin
Rope
Toolbox
Towel
Wet Kitchen Knife
Bloody Kitchen Knife
Mannequin
"...okay, I don't have the second victim with me right now, but the point is that there's a mannequin in the Electronics Workshop. That's the second victim" Mitsuhiko shrugged nervously, maybe he went too far in the dramatic effect.
"A...mannequin? We're not in a trial to find a mannequin's killer"
"But I have no doubts this mannequin is in some way closely related to the murder, mainly because if it had been alive its cause of death would have been identical to Takayama's wound: a slit neck!"
"Somebody cut the mannequin's neck?" Koshimizu seemed particularly interested in the recent developments.
"Exactly. My theory is that Romi-san is the "killer" of that mannequin" Mitsuhiko looked at Romi, who seemed like she was having an epiphany "The culprit took advantage of Romi's attack to that mannequin and used that to continue their evil plan"
"Wait, was the mannequin dressed with Takayama-kun's clothes or something? That way she could think it was him!" Mitsuishi realized, but much to his disappointment Mitsuhiko shook his head.
"I don't think so. I bet it was dressed with a tuxedo. Yurie found a tuxedo identical to the one Takayama-kun was wearing. If the victim and the mannequin were side to side together I'm sure she'd see them as identical!"
"How tall was that mannequin?" Yurie asked.
"I think it's like a feet shorter than Takayama-kun, but I doubt Romi-san would notice it. Anything to say, Romi-san?"
"Uuuuh..." Romi was really hesitant about talking "Okay, I'll admit that...I did get involved in something last night"
"Did you kill Takayama-kun?"
"I thought I had, but...now I'm not sure. Heck, I didn't even know until this morning it was Takayama-kun! I just attacked the person in the black clothes"
"Why don't you say what you, um, saw" Hosoya encouraged, focusing on what she was going to say.
Nonstop Debate
Toolbox / Rubber Containers / Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet / Hat Stand / Missing Medicine
ROMI: I don't know when I was gassed.
ROMI: All I know is that I awoke woozy on a chair
ROMI: I was in the Electronics Workshop
SUGITA: The culprit used Takayama-kun's ID to enter there
ROMI: I was tied to the chair with a rope
ROMI: The person I saw was moving around
ROMI: It had a colorful thing where the head would be located
KOBAYASHI: It must have been the hat
ROMI: The rope wasn't well tied so I managed to break free
ROMI: The person got scared and dropped a knife...
ROMI: And I was so mad...
ROMI: I took the knife and chased the person
ROMI: I didn't see them run but I heard a noise in the Theater Workshop
ROMI: When I entered...the person!
ROMI: Just standing there!
ROMI: I grabbed them and...used the knife on the neck...
ROMI: All that blood...everything was full of blood!
MIMORI: No wonder she didn't want to say anything
MIMORI: That made her think she was the culprit
ROMI: But what about the blood? A mannequin doesn't bleed!
"A mannequin doesn't bleed unless it's made it to bleed, you know" Mitsuhiko said cryptically.
"I saw the mannequin, Mitsu-chan. It's just plastic and cloth, no liquids at all" Yurie said, but the hunter didn't let that break his reasoning.
"It's true; the mannequin didn't have any blood. You yourself saw the explanation for the blood, Yurie. Did you pick one up?"
"I took this from the crime scene..." Yurie put a piece of rubber on the table "This is what you're talking about"
"Funny, this color is similar to Takayam-kun's skin" Kishio said, picking it up and turning it around "What's this red thing?"
"It's the blood Romi-san saw, more concretely strawberry jam. The culprit filled something rubbery with jam, put it on the mannequin's neck and let Romi-san cut it with the knife. Seeing blood convinced Romi- san she was the culprit and therefore wouldn't say anything"
"So the reason the culprit made all this was to...to make Romi-san believe that. That was it?" Kishio prompted Mitsuhiko, putting back the jam container on the table.
"I suppose so. After Romi-san left I'm sure the culprit took the unconscious Takayama-kun, put on the tuxedo on him and cut his throat in the same way Romi-san had done it to the mannequin"
"That must be what happened!" Romi shouted "Only the culprit would have known how I killed the mannequin. By the way, where was Takayama-kun while I was being deceived?"
"I think Takayama-kun's unconscious body was in..."
The Electronics Workshop
The Theater Workshop
The Carpentry Workshop
The Lounge
The Electronics Workshop
"...in the Electronics Workshop, in the closet found there to be more precise. That's where his clothes and glasses were found, and since Romi-san ran away in pursuit of the culprit she wouldn't think of checking anything there"
"Continue with the tale, Romi-san. What happened after you killed the mannequin?" Mitsuishi requested. After taking a deep breath the Lyricist continued the story of what had happened the night before.
Nonstop Debate
Bloody Kitchen Knife / Broken Cabinet Lock / Towel / Koshimizu's ID / Takayama's Clothes
ROMI: After I killed Takayama-kun I was so scared...
ROMI: But I knew I had to disguise my crime
ROMI: I took the body and hid it in the cabinet
EMIKO: The culprit saw that, because that's where it was found
ROMI: I immediately went for a towel to clean up the blood
ROMI: I thought that'd make the body be found much later
KOSHIMIZU: You didn't notice anything weird about the blood, right?
ROMI: I didn't taste the blood if that's what you're insinuating
ROMI: I took the bloodied knife and washed it
ROMI: I also tried my best to wash the towel, but it was too late
ROMI: Everybody was bound to wake up soon
ROMI: So I returned to my bedroom
HIKARI: Did you see the anesthetic bottle?
ROMI: I did, but I knew it could be proof
ROMI: So I didn't touch it
ROMI: That's all I have to say
"There's something that doesn't fit here" Mitsuhiko said "Are you sure you washed the knife?"
"I'm sure I did, as well as the towel" Romi replied. Her expression showed she really was completely sure about that.
"But I was told you found a bloody knife in Camp Lily" the hunter pointed. Romi stopped talking for a moment, thinking about finding that knife.
"It's true, I did. In that moment I wasn't thinking right, I was going to wash it but I got caught with it. Luckily it was after Takayama-kun was found so I was able to pretend I had found evidence. But why was the knife dirty again?"
"Because it isn't the same one you washed" Mitsuhiko replied "Mitsuishi-kun found a wet knife in the kitchen, surely the one you had. The bloody knife you found was left by the culprit"
"So two different knifes were used last night?" Sasuga inquired.
"I suppose that's right. Nobody would distinguish what knife killed Takayama-kun, the wound doesn't tell us anything"
"The culprit thought of everything" Mitsuishi mused "The duplicate clothes, the places, Romi-san's blindness...everything was carefully planned"
"I think the only part the mole had on all this was the making of the chemicals in the bottles. Everything else was done by the culprit"
"Don't you remember anything else?" he asked to Romi. The Lyricist grimaced as if she remembered something disgusting.
"W-Well I didn't mention it because it's..." fighting the nausea she said it "Shortly before I managed to untie myself that horrible person took me head in their hands and...and kissed me in the lips. That was so humiliating..."
...eh? What did she say?
"I can't believe I fell in the culprit's trap and allowed all this to happen. How could I..." Romi had finally sat down, pretty downcast. Sugita, who was near to her, patted her back to show her support.
"It's not really your fault. You were conned into following the culprit's plan, don't blame yourself"
Wait a second... Mitsuhiko had finally realized who the culprit was and how to prove it: with the potential significance of a single piece of evidence. It didn't show the guilt of the culprit, but it was the only object linking the real culprit to the crime in the first place. And even them, it wasn't even a direct linking. "Guys, to confirm: who is still suspected?"
"You're turning out to be the prime suspect" Kobayashi said "But I think your behavior in this trial shows you're likely to be innocent. You cleared the name of two different suspects, if you were the culprit you would have left us to die"
"It's not the best proof of my innocence but I'm willing to accept it. Romi-san can't be the culprit, it doesn't fully fit"
"Koshimizu-san wouldn't have done such a mistake as leaving his ID in the victim's pocket" Mitsuishi declared.
"Those three were our best suspects and we have marked them as innocent for flimsy reasons" Kobayashi sighed "Have we missed something?"
"Let's suppose neither of us three is a viable suspect" Mitsuhiko suggested, he wanted to see if they suspected the person he thought was the culprit "Who else is innocent?"
"Hosoya-kun and I were in our cells, we can't have done it" Yurie said.
"Those were all our suspects. Let's take a look at the rest" Fukuyama said.
"Kishio-sensei, Kobayashi-kun and me found the dead body and triggered the announcement, that means we're completely cleared" Sasuga declared.
"The only way any of those three could be the culprit was of Romi-san saw the dead body, but I think it's clear she didn't" Mitsuhiko supported that, but he wasn't happy with where they were going. They were straying far from his reasoning. If it didn't turn to the direction he wanted he'd have to go straight to the point.
"So the commanders left are...Tanaka-san, Mimori-san, Sugita-san, Fukuyama-kun and Mitsuishi-kun. Nothing we found link any of them with the crime scene"
"Okay, that was enough" Mitsuhiko said forcefully, getting everybody's attention. "Guys, we're going too far. I have a new suspect and I'm almost sure it's right" Or at least I hope so, because the only other possibility would be... "I have a piece of evidence that'll link that person with what happened last night. It's this!"
Monobear File #2
Tuxedo
Colorful Hat
Hat Stand
Rubber Containers
Broken Lock
Broken Bottles
Broken Cabinet Lock
Mitsuhiko's Gun and Bullet
Missing Medicine
Koshimizu's ID
Entrance Records
List of Authorized Commanders
Takayama's Glasses
Takayama's Clothes
Mannequin
Rope
Toolbox
Towel
Wet Kitchen Knife
Bloody Kitchen Knife
Broken Lock
"I'm talking about the lock of my cell! The one that was broken"
"We may as well try to find out now why it didn't appear in the recording" Koshimizu suggested, but Mitsuhiko shouted 'No!'.
"There's nothing to find out! I have solved that part of the mystery. I should have guessed before...look, do you all see this?" Mitsuhiko showed the cut in his hand "I cut my hand on the wood of the door two days ago and I bled over the handle of my side of the door. I tried to clean it but I wasn't able to, but this morning I noticed the blood was gone! The handle was completely clean!"
"Ar-A-a-Are you sure of that?" Hosoya stuttered. His eyes were widening, much to Mitsuhiko's joy.
"Yes! There's only one explanation for that:"
Somebody cleaned the handle
Somebody exchanged the lock
Somebody got rid of the handle
Somebody moved me to another cell
Somebody exchanged the lock
"The lock, handle included, was changed with an identical lock and there's only one place a lock like that could be obtained: another cell!"
"Wait, the sound that was heard in the recording..." Koshimizu tried to replay it but Mitsuhiko didn't wait for that.
"It was the sound of the culprit dismantling the lock! There was this screwdriver that was used a lot. That's how the blood was gone; the culprit inadvertently moved my lock to their cell. Surely the mole destroyed the lock of the culprit's cell to get them out"
"But no recording showed that" Fukuyama pointed
"Doesn't matter! I can prove I'm right. Koshimizu-san, do you have the keys of the cells?"
"I have them right here" Koshimizu replied, holding them in the air. There was nothing differentiating them from one another "So according to you either Hosoya-kun or Oyama-san is the culprit"
"Then let's go. Come on, run!" Mitsuhiko stood up, his chair falling to the floor, and ran to the door.
"Wait a second; I haven't authorized anybody to leave!" Monober protested but nobody paid attention to him, as everybody left the Meeting Room to follow Mitsuhiko and Koshimizu. Speechless, Monobear had no more option than following them with Lily.
"You're not as much of a threat if you can't keep order" Lily commented but Monobear didn't reply. The girl wasn't sure if it had been good that the commanders hadn't even considered Monobear's presence. If the people in control of Monobear decided it was gross insubordination chances were a big punishment could await everybody, albeit not lethal. She hoped they wouldn't consider that.
Everybody had gathered in the hallway of the cells, Mitsuhiko looking at two possibilities. It ws as if he was afraid of revealing something very ugly, which was no surprise. His fianceé had possibilities of being the culprit. Finally he made his decision, pointing at the cell just to the side of his, Hosoya's. "Open it. Let's get this over with" Koshimizu obeyed, opening the door of the cell. Mitsuhiko, trying to keep his nervousness at bay, entered with the doctor and looked at the handle.
The relief he felt in that moment was indescribable.
"It was true, Romi-san. You did get conned into a murder plan created to make you think you had done it" the hunter said with great pleasure.
"There's blood on the handle and I don't see any microphones here on the door" Koshimizu had finished examining the door "That explains why the breaking of the lock wasn't recorded"
"Then the culprit is..." Kishio grabbed the culprit by the vest, stopping him from going away.
"Yes, Akira Hosoya is the culprit" the hunter declared.