A few seconds later, the door to the merry-go-round room was opened. It was Murphy that had opened it, and through the open door ran Sister Hikari and Kumi as well.
"What in God's name is going on?" Murphy asked, utterly bemused. "There was this announcement about a body or something!"
"Um… well… You'd better take a look for yourself."
Masashi regained some of his pluck and directed them to the bloody sight, upon seeing which the newcomers shrieked.
"God help us all!" Sister Hikari cried out, covering her mouth.
"I-It can't be…" Murphy said, all confusion replaced by sheer dread. "The man's… dead… My God, someone's done it and killed the damned fool!"
Whimpering, Kumi backed away and clutched fast onto his teddy bear as if it were his only means of support, water welling in his eyes. Masashi could hardly blame him for feeling frightened and confused; this must be the first time that he had seen such a sight, and Kumi's childishness and bliss ignorance had made him unready for this.
Right afterwards, the door was opened once again, and this time, it was Sorao, Hikari, Abraham, and Red Mask.
"Holy shit!" Sorao said, arms raised, once the foursome saw the scene. "He… He's dead! He's fucking dead!"
Abraham snarled, only slightly taken aback. "What a fucking mess this all is..."
"H-How could you just say that?" Hikari said, rattled. "D-Don't you care he's dead?"
Red Mask let out an unconvincing chuckle. "Wh-What are you talking about? Atsushi is dead, you say? No, no, you have it wrong! This whole thing's fake! I mean, I once had to hide in a coffin during one of my heists!"
"That's not even remotely the same thing," Abraham responded, none too amused, "and, oh, moreover... how would you explain all the damn blood and the knife thrust into his body?"
Red Mask flinched, growing more and more aghast as she had no good answer to that. However much he might agree with the sentiment behind her failed attempt to deny it, Atsushi would clearly never rise again.
Not long after arrived Futaba, Faye, Haruyuki, Arashi, Haruka, and Maiha. Unsurprisingly, they all were shocked by the scene of their classmate's murder.
"Oh my God…" Faye said, raising her hands in confusion.
"Th-This is horrible!" Haruka whimpered, quivering.
"No… Atsushi!" Futaba cried out, looking more and more dazed.
"A-Aah..." Arashi said, water welling in his eyes. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Haruyuki said nothing, but for the most part, he looked rather calm, his shock having fleeted. Meanwhile, Maiha covered her mouth, shaking her head disapprovingly. She let out no noise, but Masashi had a feeling that she too was quite shaken by the unsightly scene.
"Puhuhuhuhu! Looks like everyone's here now!"
Monokuma appeared in his usual manner, smiling a wicked smile.
"Wh-What is the meaning of this?!" Futaba said at once, pointing at him accusingly. "What have you done?!"
"Oh, come on, why do you look at me as if I were the guilty one here?" Monokuma said. "Isn't it clear that one of you has done the dirty deed of killing him?"
A few others grew more shocked at Monokuma's announcement. It was already obvious that Atsushi's death had been no accident, but to hear it straight from the horse's mouth had only worsened the mood.
"Then it's true that one of us is the killer?" Murphy said, utterly flabbergasted as he stared at his peers, carefulness in his eyes.
Monokuma cackled. "Ah, that suspicion… that wariness… that's one of the things we all love to see in a killing game! Of course, I already know the answer, but you'll have to go through the class trial and work out the answer!"
"And if we vote for the wrong person," Maiha said matter-of-factly, "we who are innocent die, and the killer among us leaves this place."
"That's right! And you know the other half of the deal: if you get it right, only the blackened shall be executed!"
Monokuma looked uncaring of the protests that the others had against this. Masashi could not tell whether for each individual person here, the protest was due to the sick nature of the class trial or the fact that that person was truly the killer. Either way, nothing seemed to persuade Monokuma not to make them go through this. Another one of them would soon die, and the despair that Atsushi's death had brought would only continue.
"Anyway," Monokuma said, his ignoring of the complaints enough to silence the group, "I can't very well let you have a class trial right away! You haven't even begun your investigation yet, and without one, we won't have any crap and whatnot to argue about!"
Monokuma then handed each student a black tablet that looked much like a Monopad. When Masashi turned it on, the screen showed nothing but the words "Monokuma File 1".
"And you know, I doubt you want to go examine the guy's body as part of the procedure," Monokuma continued. "Of course, you're all welcome to, but in any case, I've done you the hard work! I've given you details about the crime that will help you figure out who the blackened is! It's all in that handy file… the Monokuma File!"
"And of course, none of these details lead us directly to the blackened, yes?" Haruyuki said.
"Of course not! Otherwise, things would be too easy for you, don't you think?" Monokuma answered. "Now, then, I suppose I shouldn't delay you guys any longer! Have a nice investigation, everyone!"
That said, Monokuma disappeared, and at once, all the students agreed that they ought to read the Monokuma File.
"The victim is Atsushi Morokuzu, the Ultimate Archaeologist. The body was found in the merry-go-round room around midnight. The victim was killed in the carriage of the spade suit, and the estimated time of death is 11:55 p.m. The victim died from being stabbed multiple times in the chest with a kitchen knife. No other injuries have been found."
The more Masashi looked at it, the more frustrated he was at the amount of information given. There was little that he could find useful, and there seemed to be nothing special about the weapon, either; it was only a kitchen knife, which any one of them could have used without a hitch.
Maiha heaved a great sigh. "If only our killer simply admitted it, we could end our predicament right here and now."
Haruyuki showed a wry smile. "Implying that you are innocent, I see."
"Of course I am. I've killed no one," Maiha answered. "Why, with your snide remark, I should think you wish to place the blame on me!"
"Well, now, there's no need to bicker about who the culprit is," Sorao said, who had an uncharacteristically stern look on his face. "In fact, I think I know who it is."
"Y-You do?" Hikari said doubtfully, the others looking skeptically at him. "B-But how?"
"Well, you see, to kill Atsushi, the culprit must've had access to this room," Sorao answered. "And the culprit also must not have had any alibi, right?"
"I-Indeed," Futaba said, still shaken and almost looking as if she were about to faint.
"And there's only one way into this room," Sorao continued. "The door, of course—"
"Now hang on."
This time, it was Mari.
"You assume that the killer could go through the door only," Mari explained. "But there is another way, and I think it's time that it were revealed."
Though most of the others became confused once again, it was then that Futaba apparently became aware of what she was talking about. "Surely you do not suggest…"
"Well, I'm not sure about it," Mari said, "but I think there's no point in hiding it anymore."
Futaba made no protest as Mari headed over to the control panel. Beside it was a familiar yellow mushroom, and she moved it such that it revealed the small door underneath. When she opened it and pressed the button inside, a rumbling sound rang through the room, and the hidden door revealed itself.
"Wh-What the hell?" Sorao said, looking as flabbergasted as the others at the opened wall. "What the hell is that?"
"It's a passageway to a library," Mari answered. "Only a few others such as Lady Inoshishi and I knew of that room."
Sorao and the others looked at Futaba, who looked a bit shamefaced that her secrecy had ended up being in vain.
"It seems that our leader here knows more than she lets on," Maiha said, looking at her with a hint of derision.
"Well, I admit that I knew of the hidden door," Futaba replied, a little rattled by the sudden gazes, "but you must believe me when I say that I have never stepped inside it! I left its investigation to Atsushi!"
"Still, it means that the killer could've hidden in the hidden room," Tanjiro said, amazed. "But... if the killer did use it, they must've been someone who knew about it..."
"Well, I don't think we should go around accusing one another until we look at the evidence," Sister Hikari said.
"I think likewise," Haruyuki said. "We must remember that the cost of voting for the wrong person is death. There is no need to reach a conclusion so quickly. If we want judgment, we shall find it in the class trial."
The whole group eventually agreed to hold off on the accusations, but judging from the faces of some of them, Masashi sensed that they had certain persons in mind.
Which person here is lying to the rest of us? Masashi thought as he eyed his peers. He wanted to think them all to be innocent, but one of them was undoubtedly guilty, and the objective now was to root the liar out.
Most of the others scattered to other rooms, which left only Masashi, Mari, Haruyuki, Murphy, and Faye, the last two of whom had been designated the guards to watch over the crime scene lest the culprit attempt to get rid of any incriminating evidence. Meanwhile, Mari said that she would check the hidden room for any clues, and so she headed there.
"Well… I guess we shouldn't dilly-dally any more," Masashi said.
"Indeed," Haruyuki said. "Normally, I prefer to stay out of these sordid affairs, but when my life is on the line, I suppose there is little reason for me to simply observe, is there?"
Haruyuki then let out an eerily hearty chuckle, as if this were in any thing fascinating. If he were trying to sound reassuring at all, all he did instead was make Masashi think him to be a bit creepier than he already looked. Still, his expertise could prove useful, and it was good to have another pair of eyes look at the scene.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Monokuma File
Masashi headed to the spade carriage, followed by Haruyuki. For a moment, he stopped upon seeing Atsushi's corpse. Even though he had no serious problems with looking at blood, he still thought it to be unsightly and disgusting.
The sooner I'm done with this, the better, Masashi thought as he climbed into the carriage and avoided stepping on the blood. Thankfully, it was not a small carriage but a great one, one wherein it was easy not to bump one's head on the ceiling. That also means that it wouldn't be too hard for someone to kill Atsushi while inside the carriage…
Masashi looked at the kitchen knife and, in no time, saw something weird: on the haft appeared to be pink glitter.
"Glitter, you say?" Haruyuki said.
"Yeah, a lot of the haft is covered with it," Masashi answered.
"How peculiar…" Haruyuki said, looking not at all bothered. "Now how could glitter get onto the murder weapon of all things? And where would one even get glitter?"
"From the shop."
It was Murphy that had answered. Come to think of it, Murphy had been cleaning at the shop when Masashi had seen him before the ride's first round.
"There's a bunch of cans of glitter available there," Murphy continued. "I reckon the killer could've grabbed one of them and used it for some reason."
Masashi could hardly imagine why the killer would feel the need to use glitter, since all that needed to be done was simply stab the knife into Atsushi. And from the looks of it, that was exactly what the killer had done.
"So did anyone take any of the cans?" Masashi asked.
"I'm not sure whether you think of it as good news, but I'll answer you anyway: the only ones who took any cans of glitter were the piano boy and that boy with the fairy wings."
"Sorao and Kumi?" Masashi said, surprised. "Wait, are you sure?"
"Sure as sure can be. I was in the shop the whole time," the Irishman answered bluntly. "Actually… while I was slacking off in the shop, that phantom thief girl aloso took some glitter an hour before nighttime. But the thing is that she took the last can of yellow glitter."
"Yellow glitter?" Masashi said. "Was the pink glitter offered alongside the yellow glitter?"
"Nope. Only after she got the last can did Monokuma come with a new box of glitter, even though it was pink glitter," Murphy answered. "Afterwards, a few others visited the shop as well, but they didn't take anything. But those two guys got a hold of the stuff, no doubt. Sorao said it looked interested, so he took a can of the pink glitter. And that Kumi boy said he needed it for hunting or something, so he took two cans."
Oh… Well, that's interesting to keep in mind, Masashi thought.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Glitter on Knife's Haft - For some reason, there is pink glitter on the knife's haft. Could it have been left by the culprit?
"By the way," Masashi asked, "were you truly in the store during the murder?"
"You don't trust me, huh? Well, I don't blame you at all. This whole night's gone mad, and to top it all off, one of us is a killer in hiding!" Murphy then cracked a wry smile. "But I've got good news for you: I have a watertight alibi! Sister Hikari came into the shop sometime before the third round."
"She was?" Masashi said. Now that he thought about it, Sister Hikari had left before the third round, saying that she wanted to do something else. And she had been with Murphy and Kumi when they had come after hearing the body discovery announcement.
Murphy nodded keenly. "She'd just gone on the ride, and so she looked a bit tired. But that didn't stop her from insisting that I let her help with the cleaning."
In other words, Murphy and Sister Hikari had alibis for the whole third round, and they could safely be disregarded as suspects. It was good to make some progress on determining which of them were innocent.
"One more question," Haruyuki said. "When did Sorao and Kumi take the cans of glitter?"
"As for Sorao, around the beginning of nighttime. And as for Kumi, right after Sister Hikari arrived to help me," Murphy answered at once.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Murphy's Account - Murphy was in the shop the whole time tonight. An hour before nighttime, Red Mask came and took the last can of yellow glitter, which caused Monokuma to refresh the stock with cans of pink glitter. Around the beginning of nighttime, Sorao came to take a can of pink glitter. Before the third round began, Sister Hikari came to help Murphy, and right after that, Kumi came and took two cans of pink glitter.
Leaving Murphy alone, Masashi turned back to the body and looked at the knife again. The haft was the only part that was covered in glitter, but otherwise, it seemed to be an unremarkable knife.
"Hey, come to think of it," Masashi said, "doesn't the Monokuma File say this is a kitchen knife? Faye, do you recognize this knife?"
Faye, who carried a happy disposition, looked closer at the knife. "Uh… I think I've seen that knife before. I'm pretty sure it was in the kitchen yesterday." She cocked her head sideways, pondering. "But… this morning, I did notice that there were a few kitchen supplies missing. I didn't think too much about it, since I just assumed some of the others had taken them."
"And do you have any idea as to who might have taken the knife?"
Faye shook her head dejectedly. "Sorry! The kitchen's open at nighttime, so any one of us could've taken anything from the kitchen then!"
Huh, that's pretty disappointing... Masashi thought. But I should've figured things wouldn't be that easy.
"Oh, and by the way…" Faye said. "I guess you want to know what I was doing during the murder, right?"
"If you have an alibi, it'll help us get through this more quickly," Masashi said.
"Well… I was all alone… in the kitchen, that is," Faye answered. "But I couldn't have done it. Haruyuki, you can back me up, can't you?"
Haruyuki let out a hearty yet shady chuckle. "Ah, yes, of course. I was in the dining room the whole time, and during the third round, Faye and Futaba arrived. Faye went into the kitchen to cook the lady something, and in the meantime, Futaba and I were chatting about a few things."
"And you know what that means!" Faye said confidently. "I may have been alone in the kitchen, but you need to remember: if I had wanted to leave the kitchen, I would've had to go through the dining room, where Haruyuki and Futaba were! Sure, they didn't see me, but I swear to you, I was busy with cooking us a meal!"
"Thus, in other words, even though she was alone, it was impossible for her to go to the merry-go-round room without our spotting her," Haruyuki concluded.
Wow… her alibi sounds ironclad. I don't think there's any reason to doubt her now.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Faye's Account - Before the third round began, Faye and Futaba headed over to the dining room. While Faye was by herself in the kitchen, Futaba was talking with Haruyuki. If Faye had tried to leave the kitchen, the other two would have spotted her.
Masashi returned to his examination of the body. Now that they were done with the knife, he began to examine the corpse.
"Ugh…" Masashi groaned as he looked more closely at the wounds. It was hard not to think that the killer had not overdone it in the deed, but then again, it might have been done to ensure that Atsushi should die. He of course had no experience in killing people, and so it might actually be harder than one might think.
"Masashi, have you not noticed that there is something… missing?" Haruyuki asked.
"Missing?" Masashi then looked about, wondering what Haruyuki might be referring to.
"Yes. As you can see, the poor man has lost quite a bit of blood," the art critic explained. "But that is the problem: there is far too little blood here. The man was stabbed more than once, so one would think that much more of the carriage would be bloody.
"Huh… Now that I think about it, you're right!" Masashi said. Whatever had happened to all that blood? He looked around the carriage and noticed that there was something sticking out from the space underneath the carriage seating. It appeared to be a tablecloth, but when he took it out, he reeled back upon seeing the bloodstains on it.
Haruyuki chuckled. "The mystery of the blood has been solved. If all mysteries were solved quickly, why, we may be done with this sooner than I thought."
Well, I don't want to imagine what it'd be like if all the blood were here and not on the tablecloth. Masashi recalled Kumi's shock, and the more he thought about it, the more he grew certain that such a bloody sight would have given the poor boy nightmares.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Bloody Tablecloth - By the body was found a tablecloth covered with blood.
He then noticed the pockets of the archaeologist's beige jacket. Loath as he was to look through others' private possessions, at this point, anything that he could find might help him find the killer, and so he could only pray that Atsushi forgive him this.
After searching the pockets, he found only one thing: a folded note that was thankfully intact. He unfolded it and read aloud its contents:
"If you wish to learn the secret of this ship, make sure to ride one of the carriages of the merry-go-round by yourself on the third round. Once you are done, the secret shall be yours. Make sure to tell no one of this message."
"Wh-What the?" Masashi said, utterly bemused. The note's contents mentioned the ride's third round, the same round in which Atsushi had died. There was no way that that could be a coincidence.
"Intriguing…" Haruyuki said. "It seems that Atsushi must have gotten this note. I think it likely that he followed its instructions. Why else would it be in his pocket, if he had had no interest in it?"
"Yeah… Can't argue with that."
Masashi wondered what the secret was that the note had promised to tell him, but seeing that its sender was unknown, he had no way to delve into it.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Atsushi's Note - This note was found in Atsushi's pocket. The handwriting is not distinct enough to tell who the writer is.
Seeing nothing else to examine, Masashi left the carriage and saw that Haruyuki was looking at the floor underneath the carriage.
"Ah… I see…" Haruyuki showed a pleased smile and chuckled. "Masashi, look at this."
He pointed at a certain spot by the carriage's back wheels. There was a very small drop of blood, but more remarkably, for some reason, it looked rather incomplete, as if it had been cut in half, so to speak. Haruyuki then pointed at a spot by the front wheels, and there was a drop of blood there as well. To his surprise, it looked like the lower half of the other spot.
"Wh-What the?" Masashi said, cocking his head. "How are these two blood spots…"
"It is intriguing, is it not?" Haruyuki said. "I'm afraid that I cannot offer any explanation for this, however. I lack information about this ride, and so I'll have to ask someone else for the details."
But even so, Masashi still had no idea as to how these two blood spots came to be. There was something odd about them, but he could not fathom now as to what it might be.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Two Blood Spots - For some reason, there are two blood spots, one by the front wheels, and one by the back wheels. One blood spot appears to be the lower half of the other.
Now that he was done with looking at the crime scene, it was time to gather witness accounts and pinpoint where everyone was during the murder, as the killer logically must be someone who had no alibi.
"I shall continue looking around here," Haruyuki said. "In the meantime, you ought to go investigate other rooms. It'll be interesting to see the results of your investigation."
Haruyuki let out another chuckle, whereafter Masashi left the room in no time. He was an interesting man, and he had been of some help during the examination of the carriage, but there was no denying how creepy he easily came off as.
As he left, he saw Hikari standing by the shop door and doing nothing in particular. Given her gloomy and mistrustful nature, he was not surprised to see the spirit medium not doing much to help with the investigation.
"Wh-What do you want?" Hikari asked, giving him the evil eye.
"Hey, no need to look at me like that. I only want to know what you were doing during the murder," he answered.
Hikari still looked rather rattled, but his answer seemed to have calmed her a bit.
"A-All right… If it h-helps…" she said. "L-Look, I swear, I-I was in my room the whole time. I-I only left my room a minute before I heard th-that awful announcement!" Hikari then glanced elsewhere for a second. "I-I haven't told anyone else this yet, not even Sister Hikari, but if it's you… When I left my room to take a walk… I-I saw him… Sorao… He was going into his room."
"Wait, what?" Masashi said. "Are you sure it was Sorao?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm sure!" Hikari answered. "And… I'm not sure what exactly it was, but I think he was dragging something into his room… I-It looked like rope."
Rope…?
His going into his room was not unusual by itself, but since Hikari said that she had left her room around the end of the third round, it meant that Sorao had been outside his room around that time as well. That combined with his apparently stowing rope in his room, Sorao might have been up to something during the killing.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Hikari's Account - Around the end of the third round, Hikari left her room to take a walk, but saw Sorao dragging rope into his room.
He thanked Hikari for her account and headed over to the garden on the same deck. There, he saw Sayua leaning against the railing that was part of the aperture on the floor. She appeared to be peering down at the garden on the fourth deck.
"Oh, hey!" Sayua said. "What do you want?"
"Uh… Found anything yet?" Masashi asked.
Sayua scoffed. "What makes you think I'm gonna look around? So many of you are looking around already that I don't need to raise a finger, you know?"
Why can't you just say you're only lazing about? Masashi sighed upon seeing whom he had to deal with here.
"Anyway, did you see anything odd during the ride?" Masashi asked.
"Pft, of course not! All I saw were those AR things, anyway," Sayua said. "Nothing seemed out of place! The music was still playing, and that Tanjiro guy was screaming and crying for his dear life!"
"Really?"
"No, but he might as well have. I can tell these things, you know!" Sayua raised her brow. "Hey, what are you giving me that look for? You're not suspecting me, are you? Let me tell you, there's no way I'm the fucking culprit, since Tanjiro and I were both in our carriage!"
"And there was no way to get out of there, since the doors were locked," Masashi finished for her. Of course, he had already eliminated Mari, Tanjiro, and Sayua from his list of suspects.
"Exactly! So leave me alone, will you? There's no reason to think I'm gonna do anything bad, right?" Sayua said, showing a cocky smile.
In the end, what was most important was that Sayua had seen nothing odd during the ride. Everything had run as intended.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Sayua's Account - Neither she nor Tanjiro saw anything out of place during the ride.
He left her and walked up the stairs to the second deck's starboard hallway. He looked around into the servants' quarters, but nothing seemed to have changed since he had last been here. The only notable thing was the red curtain covering the whole window; if he remembered right, Atsushi had made Faye put it up because it would make the room look better.
I don't know… I'm not sure how much it fits the whole woodland theme going on here… Masashi thought as he stared at the curtain. I wonder what Atsushi saw in this thing.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Red Curtain - There is a red curtain covering the whole window in the servants' quarters. Atsushi had Faye set it up a few days ago.
Masashi headed over to the dining room, which was the only room connecting the port and starboard hallways. He then walked to the port hallway and entered the storeroom, to which he had seldom gone for the last few days. There were many wooden boxes as well as nautical equipment like rope, nets, and inner tubes. The room seemed nearly as great as the servants' quarters, the only notable difference being the lack of a window here. The only source of illumination was a light hanging from the roof.
Here, Arashi stood there by his lonesome, looking down at the floor, his expression gloomy. Remembering that he had screamed upon seeing Atsushi's body, Masashi figured that his death must have shocked him greatly.
"A-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Arashi widened his eyes upon seeing him. "Wh-What are you doing here?!"
Masashi sensed a lot of fright in his voice, and it became apparent that he had a bit of mistrust in his mind now. He reassured Arashi that he would not hurt him, and thankfully, Arashi's mistrust lessened as he looked less tense.
"U-Um… I'm feeling a bit thirsty right now!" Arashi said. "Could you get me some soda pop? There's a vending machine just outside!"
If it helped calm him down, Masashi was more than glad to do it. He headed outside and saw the vending machine at the other end of the port hallway, a trash can right beside it. The machine offered sundry drinks such as soda pop and water, and thankfully, Monokuma had made it such that it cost nothing to get a drink, so he had no trouble with getting the soda pop.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Vending Machine - There is a vending machine in the second deck's port hallway. It sells many kinds of drinks such as water and soda pop. There is also a trash can nearby. During the investigation, Arashi told Masashi to get him a drink from the machine.
Arashi, delighted, drank half of the soda pop in one go. "Thanks! I feel much better now!"
Deeming him to be ready for his questions, Masashi asked him what he had been doing earlier tonight.
"Well… It's kinda hard to explain!" Arashi answered. "I was, uh, with Kumi and Haruka by the shop. We were getting ready for the fairy hunting!" He pondered a bit. "Well, after Sister Hikari headed into the shop, Kumi headed in as well, since he'd forgotten about the glitter! It was very important for the hunt of the Woodland King… I think."
"And then what?"
"Um… I think Kumi had Haruka help him put glitter on his palms," Arashi answered. "Then Haruka and I headed to this deck. She checked this room out, while I was looking around in the servants' quarters, the room with all those beds and the red curtain!"
Unfortunately, Arashi had apparently been there the whole time, which meant that he had no one to back up his innocence. He could not remove him from the list of suspects unless he found more evidence of Arashi's activities during the murder.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Arashi's Account - Arashi claims to have been in the servants' quarters the whole time.
"By the way, have you found anything of interest in this storeroom?" Masashi asked.
"Um… Sorry, but I haven't found anything weird!" Arashi said. "But I'll keep looking, anyway!"
Thanking him for his information, Masashi headed over to the main deck, which could only be accessed through the stairs in the second deck's port hallway. Happily, the strong winds had died out, and the clouds were gone, which let the moon shine brightly and lighten up the stars strewn throughout the dark heavens. If this were any other time, this would be a wonderful sight to behold. But the investigation called, and he would have to do his stargazing another time.
Masashi spotted Futaba and Sorao by the aperture on the deck, Sorao leaning casually against the aperture's railing.
"Ah, Masashi, you need any help?" Sorao said, giving him a small but friendly smile.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll keep looking around by myself," Masashi answered, much as he appreciated the gesture. "I do want some information from you, though."
"Our alibis, I presume," Futaba said, looking a bit perturbed. It seemed that she had not fully recovered from the sight of her deputy's corpse, and it was a wonder that she had not fainted.
"Yeah. You were with Haruyuki at the time, right?" Masashi said.
Just to be sure, he had her give him her account. It matched up with Haruyuki's exactly, but there was one thing that she added.
"I suppose he forgot to tell you this, but it wasn't only we two in the dining room," Futaba said. "There was one more person with us for a short while. It was Maiha."
Now it was Masashi that looked surprise. "Wait, really? Maiha was there?"
"Yes, but I don't blame the man for forgetting to take her into account. As I said, she was with us only temporarily," Futaba continued. "Not long after Faye entered the kitchen, Maiha left for the restroom by herself and came back only a minute before we heard the body discovery announcement."
"Huh, is that so..." Masashi said, his suspicions rising higher and higher. Maiha was by far the least likable of the group, and with the great amount of time Maiha had to herself, it was only reasonable to think that she might have been up to something.
And come to think of it, she had suddenly visited the group right before the third round. She had claimed to merely want to check the AR headsets, and she happened to have checked the one in the spade carriage, the same carriage that Atsushi would later ride. Only after her departure had the group then boarded the carriages. Had that been a coincidence?
Obtained Truth Bullet: Maiha's Activities - Maiha suddenly visited the merry-go-round room, supposedly only to check the AR headsets. She happened to check the headset in the spade carriage. Later on, she left the dining room sometime during the third round, claiming to go to the restroom.
"And one more thing," Futaba said. "I believe that the clown went to the storeroom at the time. At no point did she come back until we all heard the awful announcement."
On the other hand, since Haruka had been in the storeroom, and Haruyuki and Futaba had been at the dining room, they would have spotted her if she had tried to head over to the merry-go-round room. Even if she had been alone at the time, the only other place she could have gone to while unseen was the main deck, and there was no way to go to the merry-go-round room from here. In other words, she had the same kind of alibi as Faye. Masashi sighed in relief as he eliminated another suspect from his list.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Haruka's Account - Futaba and Haruyuki saw Haruka go into the port hallway. She was apparently searching for something in the storeroom. At no point did the two see her come back into the dining room until the body discovery announcement played.
Now it was Sorao's turn to speak. He looked oddly happy upon being bidden to say what he had been doing. "Masashi, you'll be happy to know that I'm innocent."
"Huh, really," Masashi said, intrigued by how confident he looked.
"Yep. See, right after I left you guys, I headed to the men's restroom on the second deck," Sorao began. "Then I quickly headed over to my room and stayed there until I heard the announcement."
"Oh, I see… Hey, wait a minute!" Masashi said, surprised.
"Wh-What?" Sorao looked at him worriedly.
Masashi had remembered what Hikari had told him earlier, and if she had indeed seen Sorao outside his room right before the announcement, then it meant that Sorao had just lied about being in his room the whole time.
"Masashi, is something the matter?" Sorao asked, looking more and more concerned. "You look a bit out of it."
"Oh, uh, sorry about that!" Masashi said. "I was just wondering… How is that an alibi?"
Whether or not Hikari had lied, Masashi had the feeling that he had better save this topic for the class trial. Even if he trusted Sorao, this was something to talk about with the rest of the class. And he needed more information from him right now, so mentioning the topic would only derail things.
"After all, you could've gone to the merry-go-round and killed Atsushi, right?" Masashi said as politely as he could. "I'm not saying you did, but I'm only pointing out there was nothing stopping you."
To his surprise, Sorao's face lost all worry, and he let out a soft chuckle instead.
"Ah, that's the part you're confused about," Sorao said. "Well, that's the funny thing… Do you remember when I said earlier that I thought I knew who the culprit was?"
Masashi recalled that Sorao had been explaining something like that right before Mari had interrupted him and revealed to the rest of the group the hidden door. Come to think of it, what had he been going to say then?
"Here's the interesting thing," Sorao answered, placing his left arm relaxedly on the aperture's railing. "Do you know that Kumi was standing outside the merry-go-round for all the third round?"
"He was?" Masashi said before recalling Arashi's account. When he and Haruka had left for the second deck, Kumi must have stayed behind at the hallway.
"Yep. I passed by him on the way back to my room," Sorao said. "I asked him what he was doing, and he said that he was there to keep an eye out for some fairy or something."
"Wait… then that means…" Masashi said, realizing what Sorao was getting at. "Since Kumi was there the whole time, he essentially knew who entered and left the room!"
Sorao smirked. "Exactly. And as he'd tell you, I only headed downstairs and never headed back up. I was on the fourth deck the whole time. And thus…" Sorao flickered with the fringe of red hair over his right eye. "I have a rather solid alibi, don't you think?"
"Yeah… That's for sure." Masashi cracked a smile, now knowing that Sorao was innocent.
"And by the way," Sorao added, "I heard from Sister Hikari earlier. She's apparently been gathering our alibis, and I've heard from her that Red Mask, Hikari, and Abraham claim to have been in their rooms the whole time. You know what that means, right?"
"Yeah, if Kumi says he never saw them, they're also innocent," Masashi said. "Of course, I'll have to ask him about that."
Obtained Truth Bullet: Sorao's Account - Sorao went to the men's restroom on the second deck and then headed over to the hallway in the third deck. In that short interval, he was alone. Afterwards, he passed by Kumi in the hallway. Sorao claims that because Kumi saw him only when he headed back down to the fourth deck, he could not have gone into the merry-go-round room. Sorao claims to have stayed in his room afterwards.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Fourth Deck Denizens' Accounts - Abraham, Hikari, and Red Mask apparently stayed in their rooms after nighttime began, though Hikari did leave her room around the end of the third round.
"So where is Kumi, anyway?" Masashi asked.
"I believe that he's in the third deck's lounge," Futaba answered, not perturbed by what Sorao had just said. He must have told her his alibi as well already. "I think that the clown was consoling him."
"Oh, thank you," Masashi said. "And by the way… Sorao."
"Yes?"
"I don't think you should be leaning against that thing," Masashi said, pointing at the railing right by the aperture. "Aren't you worried that if that thing breaks, you'll fall to your death?"
The main apertures in the ship were lined up in such a way that one could see the fourth deck's garden from the main deck, and they were wide enough for someone to fall through. Even though Masashi could see no damage done to the railing, after Atsushi's killing, it behooved them all to be a bit carefuller from now on.
But Sorao merely chuckled heartily at Masashi's worries. "Not a fan of heights, I assume? Well, don't you worry about it, buddy. The railing's very sturdy, so it's not going to break or anything, and I'm not going to die any time soon."
When Masashi arrived at the hallway, Haruka had just opened the door to the lounge on her way out, and she looked much more relieved upon seeing him.
"I've been trying to liven up Kumi for a while now!" Haruka explained. "Let me tell you, I'm not really good at this kind of thing, especially when it's only me and him!"
And in that kind of situation, making jokes was definitely not a good idea. Even Haruka ought to be aware of when jokes were out of place. But even so, it was good that Haruka, the joke maker, had still decided to look after Kumi at this dark time. Even though someone like Sister Hikari could have done it instead, Haruka had gone out of her way to help him.
"Well, is he all right?" Masashi asked.
"Um… I think he is," Haruka answered, a great deal of worry in her voice. "He was pretty shocked that Atsushi's now gone, and frankly, I don't blame him! I don't think any of us could've seen it coming! But thankfully, though he's a bit less talkative than usual, he's calmed down a bit."
"That's good to hear!" Masashi said, relieved that Kumi had started to recover from this. "I guess I should go talk with him—"
"Oh, Masashi, one more thing!" Haruka said suddenly. Despite the energy in her voice, she looked a bit hesitant. "I've been thinking... Since Atsushi was killed during the ride, that meant the killer knew how to exploit it, right?"
"Hmm… I think that's right," Masashi answered. "Then… that'd mean the killer must have ridden on the ride."
"Um, not exactly…" Haruka looked downwards as she gripped her left elbow. "I don't really want to say it, but… if I don't, then things may end up badly for us all."
Masashi raised his brow, startled by her sudden concern. "Why, what's the matter?"
Haruka kept her gloomy face as she answered. "After the first round, when we were taking a break, I talked about the ride with Kumi and Arashi. Kumi didn't want to ride it, but he still wanted to hear what it was all about. Yesterday, after we had agreed on our plans for tonight, Kumi had asked me to give him the details later."
"Well, that's not too weird," Masashi replied. "Why the long face, though?"
Haruka heaved a great dreary sigh. "I… I don't want to think about it, but do you think that I unwittingly helped the killer?"
"What? What makes you think Kumi or Arashi did it?" Masashi said, shocked at her suggestion.
"No, no, I don't mean to accuse either of them!" Haruka said. "It's just that… when I told them, I think that Maiha woman was in earshot."
"She was?!" Masashi blurted out, not having expected to hear that.
Haruka nodded hesitantly. "I'm not sure on how much she heard, but I think she could've heard enough to… well…"
Though she left it unsaid, it was clear that Haruka suspected Maiha to some extent, and Masashi could hardly blame her, given how Maiha had been acting so far.
"By the way… if you're going to talk with Kumi," Haruka said a bit more seriously, "you should be a bit careful."
"Careful?" Masashi said, puzzled.
"Yeah… While calming him down earlier, I don't know why, but I sensed something… weird about him," Haruka answered, giving the door a sidelong glance. "He's all right now, but… I had the feeling that he was hiding something from me."
"Huh… That is weird," Masashi replied, wondering what this meant. "All right, I'll be careful."
Once they were done, Haruka left, saying that she was going to look for Arashi. Since he had a great many questions to ask Kumi, Masashi headed into the lounge.
"S-Sir Masashi?"
Kumi sat on one of the chairs, still holding onto his teddy bear, which was dressed like a knight. Given how much he liked to hold onto it, Masashi guessed that he would feel much less safe without it.
"Ah, Kumi, everything's all right, right?" Masashi asked, showing him a bright smile.
Kumi nodded, albeit with a bit of uncertainty. The more closely Masashi looked at him, the more it was clear that he had been weeping for a good while. Thankfully, he seemed to be in a happier mood now.
"Um… Sir Masashi?" Kumi said. "I-Is there any way I can help? I… I still can't believe Sir Atsushi's death, but if we don't do anything, the evil warlock will win, won't he? I-I don't want him to get away with killing Sir Atsushi!"
Even now, Kumi still clung to his fantastic thinking when trying to take in tonight's events. Silly as it was, Masashi knew that telling him to drop it was not a good idea, especially when it would undo all the work that Haruka had done to calm him down.
"As a matter of fact, there is a way for you to help," Masashi said reassuringly. "I have a few questions for you, and it's very important that you answer them."
"R-Really?!" Kumi said, sounding almost as energetic as he usually was. "I'll be glad to answer them, Sir Masashi! But, um…"
Kumi tapped his foot on the floor nervously. "Sir Masashi, could you take me to the restroom? I… I don't really want to go there by myself now."
There would only be trouble later on if he did not let Kumi relieve himself, so Masashi walked with him to the second deck. After they climbed up the stairs and arrived at the starboard hallway, they turned to the right and found the men's restroom.
"I'll just wait outside, all right?" Masashi said.
Kumi nodded softly and entered the restroom by himself, after which Masashi noticed something rather peculiar: the doorknob was covered all over with pink glitter. Masashi was absolutely sure that that had not been the case before Kumi had opened the door and gone inside.
Wait a minute… Did Kumi have glitter on his hands? Masashi thought. All this time, Kumi's hands had been on his teddy bear, so he had not taken a good look at his palms. And come to think of it… I'm pretty sure the knob of the door to the merry-go-round room doesn't have any glitter on it at all.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Merry-Go-Round Doorknob - The knob of the door to the merry-go-round room does not have a single trace of glitter.
After a minute or two, the door opened, and Kumi came out, looking slightly happier.
"Ah, Sir Masashi! I'm ready for your questions now!" Kumi said blithely before he looked at Masashi's face. "Huh? Sir Masashi, is something the matter?"
I might as well be direct here, Masashi thought and asked him about the glitter.
"Oh, that! Um, you've got it right, Sir Masashi," Kumi answered. "As part of the hunt for the Woodland King, I had Lady Haruka put glitter on my palms."
"How much glitter?" Masashi asked.
"A whole can's worth!" Kumi answered as he raised his hands, one of which held his teddy bear. It was then that Masashi noticed that Kumi's palms were now clean. "I got two cans, though, since I might have needed the extra can, so I had Lady Haruka put them both back in my satchel."
"Just in case, right?" Masashi said. "But why did you need the glitter in the first place?"
Kumi gasped. "You don't know, Sir Masashi? If you want to have more luck in life, you ought to put something shiny on your palms! That way, creatures that can grant you luck will come your way! They're drawn to shiny things, after all! The commonest creatures of this kind are fairies, and even though I was hunting the Woodland King, not all fairies are on his side, so friendly fairies could still grant me good luck!"
"Uh huh… That's interesting."
"Yep! Thank goodness Sir Arashi suggested that I use glitter."
"Wait, it was Arashi that suggested it?" Masashi said, taken aback.
"Um… I think so!" Kumi answered. "I didn't even know there was glitter on this ship until he told me and Lady Haruka yesterday!"
"And why did you get the glitter only at the last minute?"
Kumi chuckled nervously. "Um... I don't really want to admit it, but I came up with the idea of the hunt last night. I was planning on getting the glitter later, but I was so excited about the hunt that I forgot about it! I only got it after Lady Haruka reminded me about it tonight!"
"Oh, is that so," Masashi said. "Do you still have the other can of glitter on you?"
Kumi nodded excitedly. "I didn't need to use it since the Woodland King never showed up, so I should still have it!"
At that moment, Kumi opened up his satchel and sifted through his sundry things. Once he got out the cans, which were so small that they could fit in one's palm, he looked into them, but grew confused instead.
"H-Huh?" Kumi said. "Sir Masashi, both the cans are empty!"
"They are?" Masashi cocked his head, pondering what this meant. "Are you sure you didn't use the other can?"
"I swear on behalf of the citizens of the Pixie Kingdom that I did not use it!" Kumi insisted.
"Then why is it empty now?"
Kumi awkwardly tapped his foot on the ground as he pondered. "Um… Maybe the Woodland King knew about the glitter and sent a scout to make the glitter disappear! One can get rid of the glitter easily with water, so the scout must've used some kind of water spell!"
If that's what you believe... Masashi thought, a bit befuddled by his explanation. Was there anything that he could not attribute to fantastic creatures? Anyway, Kumi mentioned that the glitter could be rid of with only water, so he must have washed off all the glitter on his hands.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Kumi's Glitter - Kumi had Haruka put a can's worth of pink glitter on his palms as part of his hunt for the so-called Woodland King. Apparently, it is a good luck charm, and Arashi suggested that he use the glitter. Kumi had two cans of pink glitter, which he had Haruka put in his satchel afterwards. He claims to have used only one, and yet both cans are empty now. The glitter seems to be easily removable with water.
"All right, then, next question," Masashi said. "you were standing outside the merry-go-round room during the murder, right? Sorao said you were. Dd you see anyone during then?"
Kumi thought for a bit. "I… saw only Sir Sorao head down to the fourth deck, where all our rooms are! I didn't see anyone while keeping an eye on the door!"
His answer only made things even more confusing than they already were. If Kumi had seen no one go into the room, then how could the culprit get inside and kill Atsushi in the first place?
"Maybe the evil warlock summoned some of his ghostly minions to kill him!" Kumi suggested. "That explains how the killer evaded my gaze!"
Yeah, sure, Masashi thought. Fun as he was, Kumi was better off chasing after fairies than thinking up of any plausible theories.
"By the way," Masashi said, "were you alone the whole time?"
"Um… yeah. I was in front of the door the whole time, too."
Oh… I see...
Obtained Truth Bullet: Kumi's Account - Kumi was outside the merry-go-round door by himself the whole time. The only person he saw after Haruka and Arashi had left was Sorao when he headed down to his room.
"One more question, and that's it," Masashi said. "Haruka said she'd told you the details of the ride."
"Ah, that's right!" Kumi went through his satchel and took out a notebook. He swiftly flipped through the pages and showed Masashi one particular page that was full of somewhat neat handwriting.
Haunted Woods Details
1. The four carriages come in separate suits: diamond, clubs, heart, and spade.
2. Windows of carriages close during the ride, so no one can see through them!
3. It's really dark inside the carriages!
4. Lots of scary monsters come out!
5. Music is really loud as well!
6. At one point, the carriages start spinning!
7. And bugs also cover your whole sight at that point!
8. The instruments also change to drums!
9. Then the ride goes backwards, and everything goes back to normal!
Masashi took a good look at the page. Nothing in it seemed wrong, as it matched what he remembered, and it served as a nice reminder of what the ride was like.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Kumi's Note - A note of all the details of the ride that Haruka told Kumi. After the first round, Haruka told Kumi and Arashi details of the ride. Apparently, Maiha was in earshot.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Carriage Suits - Each of the four carriages has a distinct suit on the outside.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Normal Portion - During the normal part of the AR ride, all the windows are up, so no one can see through them from either side. Lots of frightening AR creatures emerge as well. Loud music is played throughout.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Spinning Carriages Portion - All the carriages spin at this part, and all the riders' sight is covered with bugs. The music's instruments also change to drums.
"Well, I suppose it's time to look elsewhere," Masashi said. If truth were told, he wanted Kumi to leave. Kind and charming as he might be, he had a feeling that taking Kumi back to the crime scene might not be the best idea.
"Hey, Kumi, look!" Masashi pointed at the door to the dining room. "I think I've just seen a fairy heading into the dining room!"
Kumi started, facing toward there at once. "R-Really?! Well, then, I've got to get going! Fare thee well, Sir Masashi!"
The storyteller then rushed over to the dining room at once, none the wiser at Masashi's little deception.
Well, sometimes, a little trickery's needed, Masashi thought, a bit proud that his deception had even worked.
Now that Kumi was gone, Masashi thought to head back to the merry-go-round room and see whether the others had found anything new. But there was one room that he had yet to check out. Masashi headed back down to the third deck and walked through the garden to arrive at the playroom. He had thought that there might be nothing remarkable there, but he had needed to be sure. And yet, when he opened the door, he saw Mari.
"Ah, Masashi, there you are," Mari said.
"Oh, you're here!" Masashi said, eyes widened. "Have you found anything here?"
"Well… kind of. You should know that I didn't come here through the door."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Masashi said. "There's only one way to get here, and it's—"
Masashi stopped, realizing what Mari meant. "Ah… the hidden room connects to here as well?"
Mari nodded and led him to a certain spot in the room. There, right behind a log was a yellow mushroom, the same kind of mushroom that unlocked the hidden door in the merry-go-round room. Unlike that mushroom, however, this one, for some reason, was slightly covered with pink glitter.
There it is again… Glitter… Masashi thought. How was the pink glitter involved with the crime?
Obtained Truth Bullet: Yellow Mushrooms - Both yellow mushrooms are part of opening the hidden doors. The yellow mushroom in the playroom has pink glitter on it, unlike the other one.
Mari knelt down and gripped the mushroom, which meant that the mushroom touched her palm. Once she did the same steps to open the door, a part of the wall on the right side shifted and revealed itself to be a hidden door.
"Let's head over to the other room this way," Mari said. "You'll see what it's like to use the hidden passageway."
He and Mari headed into the hidden room. Though he had never seen this part of the library before, it looked much like the part near the merry-go-round room; there was a red button embedded in one of the nearby shelves, and the hidden door shut in about a minute. And when Masashi tried to nudge it open from the other side, it did not move even an inch.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Hidden Doors - The hidden door remains open for about a minute. From the side of the hidden room, it cannot be opened without pressing the red button. The hidden doors are in the merry-go-round room and the playroom.
"By the way," Masashi said, "did you and Atsushi ever finish the investigation of this room?"
"Oh, no, but we were nearly done after our inspection last night," Mari answered plainly. "If this killing hadn't happened, we would've finished it tonight."
The two headed further into the room, and soon, Masashi found himself at a familiar part of the library. There was a table right in the middle of the room, and it was the same spot where Atsushi had caught him that night. Masashi could still remember that conversation, in which Atsushi had mentioned something about intellectual curiosity.
"Hey, I've been wondering…" Mari said suddenly, which made Masashi stop walking. "Do you still remember the odd thing that Atsushi did?"
"Huh? What odd thing?"
"Remember when Atsushi told Tanjiro he wanted to ask him something?" Mari said. "Because of that, Tanjiro had to stay on the ride for the third time."
"Oh, yeah… He did say something like that," Masashi said. "Do you have any idea as to what he wanted to ask him?"
Mari shook her head. "No. In fact, that's why I'm asking you it right now."
"Sorry, but my guess is as good as yours," Masashi said.
Just then, a familiar tune rang through the library, which startled Masashi. It was the same tune that had played in the AR ride.
"I think something's going on outside," Mari said. "We should go check it out."
They headed over through the other passageway, and Masashi recalled that this was the side from which he had entered the library. After Mari pressed the red button, the wall shifted, and the familiar sight of the merry-go-round came into their eyes.
There, the merry-go-round was moving, and the room had darkened greatly. The only source of light was the attraction in the middle, but the lighting was incredibly dim, coming from the signs on the four carriages, but the signs were still visible even from afar.
So this is what the room's like on the outside during the ride, Masashi thought.
When they rushed over to the control panel, they found Haruyuki, who must have operated the panel. Murphy and Faye stood by him, beholding the moving machine.
"Ah, my apologies if I have startled you," Haruyuki said upon seeing them. "I merely wanted to see whether the merry-go-round still worked."
After the ride finished the spinning carriages' portion, in which the lighting remained unchanged, Haruyuki pressed the STOP button on the control panel, after which the merry-go-round and the loud music came to a complete stop, and the lights turned back on. The doors to the carriages opened once more, and the spectacle of Atsushi's corpse could be seen.
"It seems to work properly," Haruyuki said. "I do not think that it has been tampered with."
Obtained Truth Bullet: Control Panel - The control panel has several buttons: START, FORWARDS, BACKWARDS, OPEN ALL DOORS, LOCK ALL DOORS, and STOP. There is also a button enabling the Haunted Woods version of the ride. It does not appear that the control panel has been sabotaged in any way.
At that point, however, rang a jingle that signaled that Monokuma had an announcement to make.
"Hey, guys! Guess what? It's time for the class trial!" Monokuma said gleefully, still wearing his captain's outfit while holding a cocktail. "Head over to the main deck at once! From there, you'll be taken to the grounds in which the class trial is held!"
The announcement ended.
Oh God… Masashi thought, sweat running down his brow. It's coming… It's coming at last…
There were mixed reactions among the sixteen other students. Some like Sorao and Maiha seemed none too bothered by what was coming up, whereas others like Kumi and Haruka moved about nervously, wishing that this were all a great nightmare.
"Where the hell's that sleazy bear?!" Sayua said, waiting impatiently. "Didn't he tell us earlier to come here?"
"Hey, look!" Sorao pointed at the sea. "I think there's something coming our way!"
At once, the rest of the class faced toward what he was pointing at, and all the confusion they had about the class trial's location disappeared.
What was coming toward them appeared to be a great ship that looked to be about the same size as the one they were on now. Unlike this ship, however, it was all covered in black, as if it represented the darkness that this killing game embodied. When it stopped right by the ship, a gangplank suddenly extended from the black ship's deck and landed on their ship's deck. None were confused as to what this meant, and all the students boarded the black ship at once. The main deck was fully empty, and the only way forward was an elevator awaiting them at the stern.
"Well, then… Shall we go in?" Futaba said, clearly trying to keep as calm a disposition as she could.
One by one, the seventeen students stepped into the elevator, and as soon as they were all inside, the doors shut, and the elevator began to go down. As the elevator fell, so did the tension in the air rise. None said a word and only stood as they awaited their self-called captain. Masashi only shifted his eyes to see what the other Ultimates were like now, and it was as if they were all corpses that remained standing. The only thing that showed that they had life in them was their breathing and small movements that they could not help but make.
Eventually, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened. What awaited them was a great room whose walls all had dark-green wallpaper, the floor being of a brown color instead. Hanging from the roof was a great crystal chandelier, and in the middle was a circle of eighteen metallic stands that appeared able to move. Behind one of the stands was a tall throne with fancy red cushioning.
"Puhuhuhuhu… Welcome to my courtroom!" Monokuma popped out of nowhere as usual and hopped onto the throne. "Isn't this lovely? This is the perfect place to deliver judgment upon the blackened!"
"Judgment… What a ridiculous clown you are," Murphy grumbled.
"Um… I'd really prefer it if you didn't besmirch my occupation like that," Haruka said.
Monokuma then bade them go to their assigned podiums, which bidding the students did with no protest. Once Masashi stepped onto his podium, he nervously eyed the others. Whether they were afraid or calm, all the others had a look of uncertainty as they stared at one another. The only stand not occupied by any of them was instead filled in by a post showing Atsushi's face covered with a red X.
Atsushi Morokuzu, the Ultimate Archaeologist, had ended up as the killing game's first victim. However harsh and prideful he might have been, he had thought in the best interests of the whole group. And as a man who had seemed set on seeking knowledge, he might have had many interesting things to tell Masashi if he had befriended him a bit. But in the end, the peace that had been kept was but a fleeting one, and one of its keepers was now dead. And to top it all off, the killer was one of the students standing in this room.
Masashi looked at each of his peers, wondering which of them had done the deed. Much as he wanted to speak against this great unrighteousness, if he and the other innocents wanted to live, they would have to sacrifice the killer. It was truly a wicked and sickening deed, but that was the only option that they had.
And that is that with the investigation! I know it's pretty long, and there's a lot of evidence (not to mention that there are a few clues that aren't listed as Truth Bullets). Hopefully, though, it's not too much to take in! With what I've given you, I think it's possible to determine which of the students is the killer and how exactly the killing was done. Hopefully, I haven't made it too obvious! Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts and guesses on this.
By the way, here's the trial seating order (going from Masashi's left to his right):
1. Masashi Kousaki
2. Maiha Hanazawa
3. Murphy O'Hagan
4. Abraham Zargari
5. Arashi Seiya
6. Sister Hikari Shinto
7. Takumi Takamitsu
8. Haruyuki Kanagawa
9. Mari Anzai
10. Futaba Inoshishi
11. Atsushi Morokuzu (DEAD)
12. Faye Nirigiri
13. "Red Mask"
14. Sorao Mineta
15. Haruka Minami
16. Tanjiro Urata
17. Sayua Tomi
18. Hikari Fey
Masashi is of course standing opposite to Monokuma's throne, and so the character right in front of the throne is Futaba. Every character's position has been knowingly made, so this list is not random.
