Masashi thought to go over the evidence one last time. He would essentially be fighting a long battle in the courtroom, and he needed to see what his weapons were exactly.

List of Truth Bullets

Monokuma File #1 - 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.

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?

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.

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.

Bloody Tablecloth - By the body was found a tablecloth covered with blood.

Atsushi's Note - "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." This note was found in Atsushi's pocket. The handwriting is not distinct enough to tell who the writer is.

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.

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.

Sayua's Account - Neither she nor Tanjiro saw anything out of place during the ride.

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.

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's Account - Arashi claims to have been in the servants' quarters the whole time.

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.

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.

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 stayed in his room afterwards.

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.

Merry-Go-Round Doorknob - The knob of the door to the merry-go-round room does not have a single trace of glitter.

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.

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.

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.

Carriage Suits - Each of the four carriages has a distinct suit on the outside.

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.

Spinning Carriages Portion - All the carriages spin at this part, and all the riders' sight is covered with AR bugs. The music's instruments also change to drums.

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.

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.

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.


"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma began, sitting on his throne. "During the class trial, you are to present your arguments for who you think the killer is, and in the end, you will vote for 'whodunnit'. If you vote correctly, only the blackened will be punished. But if you vote incorrectly… only the blackened will live, and that person will be free to leave the amusement park!"

"Sounds simple enough," Sorao said, hands in his pockets. "But you know, I can't say I like this brand of justice that this killing game delivers. I mean, even in the outside world, manslaughter is deemed differently from murder."

"Not as if we were in any position to complain about injustice," Mari said.

"Indeed. We must accept that all killings are equal in our honorable judge's eyes," Haruyuki added.

"But in this case, it sure does look like murder, doesn't it?" Faye said. "I mean, I don't think Atsushi's death was a simple, straightforward, and onefold accident!"

"Hey, Captain Monokuma, just to be sure…" Masashi said. "Was Atsushi truly killed by one of us?"

Monokuma chortled. "Of course! And the killer stands right in this courtroom!"

"How awful… I still can't believe one of us would kill someone," Sister Hikari said.

"Well, you'd better, because if you don't, you'll end up becoming goddamn sharkbait," Abraham said. "The only way to live is to find the killer."

"I'm sure that if we use our heads, we'll find the evil warlock and punish him! Right, Sir Teddybane?" Kumi said to his teddy bear in shining armor, which he had set on his podium as if it were his private desk.

"Enough of this pointless chatter already," Futaba said. "We should start discussing this case if we wish to end this sordid affair."

"All right, then…" Masashi said. "What should we talk about first?"

"Well, I suggest that we talk about what happened during the ride," Maiha said, one hand casually set on her hip. "It's the most obvious thing to talk about, yes?"

"Yeah, that sounds right," Sorao said. "If we nail down what the killer's movements were, maybe we'll find a clue or something."


Nonstop Debate

"First of all, it was only you five that got on the ride during the third round," Sorao began.

"That's right," Tanjiro said. "Sayua and I were in the diamond carriage, and Mari and Masashi were in the heart carriage."

"Atsushi was alone in the spade carriage, then," Haruyuki said.

"And during the ride, all the doors were locked, right?" Sister Hikari said.

"There is a control panel that lets you open the doors," Futaba said. "The killer could have simply pressed the button meant to open Atsushi's carriage only."

"Then the killer could've gone in and done the deed," Abraham said with a look of disgust.

"Exactly. There is no problem in my theory," Futaba said.

Truth Bullet Chosen (Refute): Control Panel

No, that's wrong!

"Wait, I think you've got one thing wrong!" Masashi said.

Futaba raised her eyes. "What? Wrong? What is wrong with what I have said?"

"You say that the killer got into his carriage by simply pressing the button for it," Masashi explained. "But there's a problem: that button doesn't exist."

"It doesn't?" Hikari asked. "B-But how else would you get the doors to open?"

"Well, uh, I didn't mean it that way. You see, if you look at the control panel of the merry-go-round," Masashi continued, "you'll see a bunch of buttons. There's only one button for opening the doors, however."

"Ah, yes, I think it's called 'OPEN ALL DOORS'," Mari answered.

"Wait… Then there's no button for opening only a certain carriage's doors?" Red Mask asked.

Masashi shook his head. "No, if someone wants to open only one carriage's doors, then there's nothing that can be done about that."

"But what's the problem?" Futaba asked, unfazed. "All you have clarified is that all the doors opened once the killer pressed the button. The killer could have still gone into Atsushi's carriage and killed him."

"Yeah… What does that change, really?" Sorao asked.

"A bit, actually," Masashi said back. "During the ride, all the doors are meant to be closed, obviously. If they'd been opened, we who were on board would have noticed such an obvious change. And according to Sayua, neither she nor Tanjiro saw anything out of place during the ride."

"Yeah, I didn't see any doors opening!" Sayua said, her arms akimbo.

"Nor did I," Tanjiro sheepishly added.

"Then… the button couldn't have been pressed!" Faye said, flabbergasted. "Otherwise, you would've noticed it!"

"Well, if that is true, then where does this leave us?" It was Haruyuki, who looked none too shocked by this conclusion.

"Huh?" Red Mask said. "What are you talking about?"

"What I mean is that if the killer could not go into Atsushi's carriage without being noticed," Haruyuki answered, "then it follows that the killer must have used some other way to kill him."

"Yeah… What other options are there?" Sister Hikari said.

"Ooh, ooh! I have an idea!" This time, it was Kumi, who was waving his hand as if begging for attention.

"What is it?" Haruka asked.

Kumi widened his smile. "Well, if the evil warlock couldn't get into the carriage, then he must've sneaked one of his magic minions in there beforehand. Then the minion simply killed Sir Atsushi with the knife, and the minion, as part of the Laws of Summoning, disappeared before the ride ended! It's the perfect crime, I tell you!"

"That… is quite an explanation," Sorao said, he and many others looking utterly dumbfounded.

"More like rank bullshit," Abraham said, not sharing the inclination to be gentle with the storyteller. "Those are ten seconds of my life I'll never fucking get back. Next time, don't fucking say anything."

"Yeah, keep the dumb make-believe in your head, will you?" Sayua added.

"Wh-What…?" Kumi shrank back with a dreary expression as he hugged his teddy bear as if falling back on it for support. It saddened Masashi to see Kumi shunned so, but in the end, he went along with the others' sentiment to dismiss him. This was a class trial on which their lives hinged, not a playground in which to brainstorm silly ideas.

"Everyone, please, let us get back to the topic at hand," Futaba ordered, no one complaining. "Now, does anyone have any theories on how Atsushi was killed?"


Nonstop Debate

"For one, are we so sure that the doors never opened?" Haruyuki said. "Perhaps the ones on board simply overlooked it."

"Overlooked it? Like hell I did!" Sayua said. "Everything I saw that round was pretty much the same as the previous two!"

"Yeah… we didn't see or hear anything weird," Tanjiro said. "At least, that's what I remember."

"Maybe it was too dark for you to see anything?" Red Mask said.

"Or maybe there was a moment when your whole sight was fully covered," Abraham suggested.

"Oh, oh, I know!" Kumi said delightfully. "Maybe the killer… cast a spell of blindness on you guys!"

"Hey, buddy! You should cast a spell of silence on yourself!" Sayua said, looking more and more annoyed with Kumi's useless suggestions.

"Um… But I don't know how to cast any magic spells!" Kumi said innocently.

Truth Bullet Chosen (Agree): Spinning Portion

I agree with that!

"I agree, Abraham. There was a part when none of us could see anything," Masashi said.

"Huh? There was?" Sayua said.

"Yeah. Remember the part when the carriages were all spinning?" Masashi answered. "There was a particular part where none of us could see anything."

"What are you… Oh!" Futaba gasped. "Are you referring to that part wherein those dreadful bugs were all over us?"

"Oh, yeah… There was that part!" Sayua said, shocked. "It had that annoying drum music, didn't it?"

"Huh… I wonder why I didn't remember that," Tanjiro said.

"Well, you'd have noticed anything out of the ordinary during that ride," Mari suggested. "So since that part worked as it should, you didn't pay as much attention to that and so simply forgot about it."

"No problem, though, since someone at least remembers," Sorao remarked, smiling.

"How long was that part, anyway?" Faye asked. "If you ask me, it took forever for those bugs to go away! It was a really horrendous, dreadful, and frightful sight!"

"I think it was about half a minute," Sorao answered. "Certainly long enough for the killer to open the doors, go to Atsushi's carriage, and kill him."

"But even if they couldn't see the doors open," Abraham said, "surely the doors must have made some noise when opening."

"Yeah, why didn't they hear anything?" Red Mask said.

Ah… That's it! Masashi thought.

"Throughout the whole ride, there was loud music playing," he explained. "Even when the music changed for the spinning portion, the loudness didn't change."

"Yeah, I could hardly hear anything else but that music," Tanjiro said. "I guess that's also why we couldn't hear Atsushi cry out in pain."

"It's almost as if that particular section had been designed to be exploited…" Mari remarked as she glanced toward the judge.

"Hey, now, it was an innocent ride and nothing more! Don't you think of calling it a murder machine or anything!" Monokuma said as if he were truly angry. "But, you know, I sure do love it when people use my gifts in ways I hadn't imagined! Creativity and innovation are always to be commended!"

"Anyway, I think we can all agree," Masashi said, "that the killer used that short period to open all the carriages' doors—"

"Hold it right there, foolish commoner."

It was none other than Maiha, who, unlike her peers, looked not at all in agreement with his claim.

"Wh-What the?" Masashi said. "Maiha? What is it?"

"I must admit, your claim sounds rather convincing," Maiha said. "You certainly know how to make anything look good for your fellow commoners. But as someone of higher station, I shall show that your claim is but a great sham!"


Rebuttal Showdown: Maiha Hanazawa

"You say that the killer pressed the button while the riders' sight was covered with bugs," Maiha began.

"It does sound rather convincing at first.

"But in your theory, the killer would have had to go into the carriage.

"During that time, all the carriages were spinning!

"It would have been rather difficult for the killer to make their way to Atsushi's carriage!"

"I admit, it'd be a bit hard for the killer to go to the carriage," Masashi countered. "But it's certainly not impossible, and it's the only time when we couldn't see anything!"

"Why must you insist that the killer must have killed him in that timespan?" Maiha said, irked.

"It is likelier that the killer used another method to kill Atsushi.

"Perhaps the killer used a method to kill him without actually going in.

"Then the time would be of no consequence.

"We should be talking about that instead of wasting time with your claim.

"There's no proof that the murder happened while the carriages spun!"

"So let us put an end to this groundless line of logic!"

Truth Bullet Chosen (Refute): Two Blood Spots

I'll cut through your words!

"Wait, hold on, Maiha!" Masashi said. "I think there is proof the carriages were spinning while Atsushi was stabbed!"

Maiha leered at him with skepticism. "Hmm? Whatever could prove such a thing?"

"Well, during the investigation, something rather peculiar was found," Masashi explained. "There were two tiny blood spots. One was by the front wheels, and the other by the back wheels. But here's the thing: they have a rather odd shape. It's as if the two had originally been one blood spot."

"Wait a minute… are you saying it was like that," Tanjiro said, "because the carriages were spinning?"

"Huh? I don't get it!" Kumi said, hugging Sir Teddybane, his teddy bear.

"N-Neither do I!" Arashi added, fists pumped.

"Ah… I think I get what Masashi's saying," Sorao answered. "When we say that the carriages spun, we're not saying that the carriages themselves spun. Instead, the parts of the platform that they were on did."

"Oh!" Maiha gasped. "Then… the blood spots…"

"Yes, I think that at some point in the killing, some of the blood splashed away and landed on the rim of the spinning platform," Masashi explained. "Because it was on the rim, one half of the spot was on the spinning part, while the other half stayed on the non-spinning part."

"And when the carriages stopped spinning," Mari said, "the two halves of the blood spot did not line up as they had when the spot had been made."

"So it looked as if two separate blood spots had been made instead," Haruyuki finished. "It certainly explains their odd shape."

"And I don't think the blood spot could have been made if the doors had been shut," Masashi said. "So I think it's clear now that the killer opened the doors at that point in the ride!"

Maiha clenched her teeth as her countenance grew graver. "I… I see. So the commoner was right all along. Well, I suppose that a broken clock is right twice a day."

As more and more murmured in agreement with the claim, Masashi felt a great sense of relief going through his mind. Though it was intense, and the stakes could not be any higher, the class trial certainly gave him a feeling of satisfaction as he and his peers slowly uncovered the tricks and gimmicks that the killer among them had used. Hopefully, it would not be long until they reached the end of these dreadful proceedings.

"You know, there's something bothering me about this."

It was Sorao, who appeared to be deep in thought about something.

"What is it?" Masashi asked.

"Well, it's just that… if some blood managed to splatter all the way to the rim," Sorao said, "then shouldn't a lot of blood have splattered onto the culprit as well?"

"Yeah… killing someone isn't a clean business," Haruka said. "If you really want a clean business, you're better off working in the office or not killing anyone, really!"

Could the killer have used anything to block off the blood? Masashi thought and recalled the evidence before realizing the answer. Ah, yes, of course!

"I'm pretty sure the killer used the bloody tablecloth, which we found in the carriage," Masashi answered. "Almost all of it was covered in blood."

"Ugh… What a horrible sight that must be!" Futaba said.

"Well, if a tablecloth was used," Maiha said, "then it means that someone must have taken it from the kitchen."

"But anyone could have taken the tablecloth," Faye pointed out. "And the kitchen's open at nighttime, so I don't think there are any witnesses for this."

"Still… I don't think the killer was carrying the tablecloth with them the whole time," Mari said. "Not only would it be rather inefficient, but it would also make the killer look pretty suspicious if anyone were to see them."

"Then the tablecloth must've been hidden somewhere!" Arashi said. "But where?"

Which place would be the best for the killer to hide the tablecloth in? Masashi thought. Well, only one place comes into mind.

"I believe the killer hid it in the hidden room," Masashi answered. "If the killer had put it in any other room, the killer would have had the risk of someone finding it. And not to mention that the hidden room is right beside the merry-go-round room."

"I see… It would be rather convenient for the killer," Haruyuki said. "After all, none of us except Mari and Masashi knew about the hidden room. The killer almost certainly assumed that only they knew about it and so decided to exploit its hiddenness."

"Man, in hindsight, keeping the hidden room a secret from us was a terrible idea," Sorao remarked.

"Wh-What are you looking at me for?" Futaba said as soon as the others gazed at her. "How was I to know that one of us would use it for murder?"

"Anyway, if the killer had put the tablecloth in the hidden room in advance," Mari said, "doesn't that mean that this killing was planned in advance?"

"If that's true, then it means that the killer knew about the specifics of the AR ride, right?" Haruka asked. "Maybe Monokuma told the killer!"

Monokuma giggled. "Well, you're slightly off the mark! As a matter of fact, the blackened did ask me about the ride last night, but the only thing I told the killer was that everyone would ride in the carriages as part of the AR ride."

"Wait, what?!" Masashi said. "You mean, any one of us could've just asked you about the ride?"

"Why didn't you tell us earlier that we could simply ask you for the details?" Mari asked.

"Well, you didn't ask!" Monokuma answered. "There's no rule that says that none of you may ask me anything about it! Of course, whatever I tell you is at my discretion, so don't worry! That's the only detail I told the blackened! I kept everything else a secret!"

"But is that not unfair?" Futaba asked. "After all, giving the killer such information undoubtedly assisted them, and as part of the rules, it is a breach in Rule #10!"

Rule #10 said that Captain Monokuma might not participate in a killing. If Monokuma had indeed told the killer, then he must have broken his own rule. Did this mean that this killing must be deemed invalid?

Monokuma chuckled. "It's good that you're paying attention to the rules! But no, it's not a breach. After all, any of you could have asked me, and it might've not been for murder. Why, maybe one of you asked me for safety concerns and whatnot!"

"Yeah... I don't want to side with him," Sorao said, "but there's no denying it: giving the killer information doesn't count as participating in it. It's not necessarily the case that asking Monokuma for information means that the one asking plans to use it to kill someone."

Masashi groaned. He should have figured that Monokuma would be sly about that, but more importantly, the killer had thought to ask him, and thanks to that, the killer must have been able to come up with a way to kill Atsushi.

Arashi scratched his head. "But even with that detail, I don't think the killer could've planned the killing!"

"Not necessarily. They might have figured out a way to exploit that fact as well as the structure of the rooms," Mari said, "but they thought to find out later how to complete their plan when they could learn of the specifics of the ride."

"So the killer didn't know beforehand that there was a certain part of the ride where no one wearing the AR headsets saw anything, right?" Sister Hikari asked.

"It appears so," Haruyuki answered. "But that raises the question… the killer must have found out eventually and finished their plan, so who knew of it in the end?"

"I suppose that we must clear that up before we proceed," Futaba said.

"Well, I'm glad we've cleared up exactly how the killer accessed Atsushi's carriage!" Sorao said. "So let's narrow down who our killer may be."

Wait… have we really figured out everything about that? Masashi thought. For some reason, he felt as if they had actually glossed over something, but nothing came into mind.


Nonstop Debate

"It's important to keep in mind," Mari said, "that the killer knew about the spinning part of the ride."

"So who knew about it?" Sorao asked.

"Obviously, the ones who had ridden it," Abraham answered. "I certainly knew nothing about it."

"Neither did I!" Red Mask added.

"Well, I've ridden the merry-go-round before," Murphy said, "but the carriages certainly didn't spin then."

"The spinning carriages are a feature unique to the AR ride, of course," Tanjiro said.

"Then we can conclude that those who had never ridden the AR ride," Maiha said, "could not have done it."

"Yes, none of the riders told anyone else about it," Haruyuki said. "Then it seems that our list of suspects contains only the riders."

"As it should," Maiha added.

Truth Bullet Chosen (Refute): Kumi's Note

No, that's wrong!

"Hold on, Haruyuki. That's not exactly true," Masashi said. "One of us in fact told someone else the details. Isn't that right, Haruka?"

"Oh, right, I did!" Haruka answered. "I believe I told Kumi and Arashi!"

"You did?" Sorao said as many of the others now eyed the two boys.

Arashi frowned. "Wh-Why are you looking at me like that?! Even if I knew about it, it doesn't mean anything!"

"Y-Yeah! I-I did write a note with all the details, but I only wanted to know what happened!" Kumi said.

"Oh, I beg to differ," Futaba said. "If you knew were told about how the ride works, then obviously, you could have exploited it. You knew that the carriages spun, so it's perfectly possible that one of you is the killer."

"Was anyone else there with you when you told Kumi and Arashi?" Sister Hikari asked.

Haruka glanced elsewhere as she set a finger on her chin contemplatively. "We were in the dining room at the time, and I'm pretty sure Maiha was the only other person there."

"Wh-What?" Maiha said, looking a bit shocked and irked.

"Wait, what about you, Haruyuki?" Masashi asked. "I thought you were in the dining room at the time."

"Oh, I suppose I must mention this," Haruyuki answered calmly. "Once a few of you came to the dining room after the end of the first round, I headed into the kitchen. I wanted to drink some tea, and I had to spend about ten minutes on thinking about it."

"That much time on tea?" Murphy said.

"You really ought not to be shocked that I prefer to think hard about it. Tea is a swell drink, after all," Haruyuki retorted. "Anyway, it's clear that I had no idea about the ride. And even if I had overheard it, it would be clear that I'm innocent, as I have an alibi."

"Yes, during the third round, I was discussing with you a few matters," Futaba said. "Thus, you and I are definitely innocent."

"But, you know, the same can't be the other fine lady here," Sorao said, grinning. "Didn't you say you had to go to the restroom, Maiha?"

"What are you insinuating?" Maiha said, leering at the celesta player.

"Hey, don't get angry at me. I'm just saying that you could've known about the spinning carriages," Sorao said. "Combined with how you were conveniently alone during the murder, doesn't that make you look a tad bit suspicious?"

"If she's the killer, it certainly explains her outburst from earlier," Murphy said. "She was all insistent that the killer could've killed Atsushi some other way."

Haruyuki chuckled in his usual creepy manner. "I suspect she wanted to suggest that the killer had set up some kind of complicated contraption. That way, the killer would've killed him without actually going into the room, and our alibis would mean nothing."

Futaba pondered. "Hmm… Now that you mention it, it would certainly make sense for her to make that argument. After all, unlike me, she has no alibi!"

"Th-That makes a lot of sense…" Hikari said.

"Indeed. I find that too damn suspicious to ignore," Abraham said.

"But wasn't Kumi at the front door the whole time?" Sister Hikari asked. "Then how could Maiha have gone into the room?"

"Exactly. I am innocent, and you ought to apologize to me at once," Maiha said.

"What about the hidden room?" Red Mask suggested. "I mean, maybe she got in there somehow!"

"But... isn't the hidden room connected only to the merry-go-round room?" Sister Hikari said.

"I'm afraid you've misunderstood something, Sister Hikari," Masashi said. "The hidden room's actually part of a passageway that connects the merry-go-round room and the playroom on the same deck."

"I-It is?" Sister Hikari raised her hands in surprise. "I-I didn't go check it out, but I simply assumed that it was only connected to the merry-go-round room."

"Moreover, the killer didn't need to go through the front entrance!" Faye said, raising a finger. "The killer could've simply gone through the hidden door!"

"Wait, but did Maiha know about the hidden door?" Mari asked.

Maiha crossed her arms, looking at the rest of them arrogantly. "There's no way for me to prove that I didn't know, now, is there? If you assume that I knew about it, then you must apply the same standard to everyone else, yes?"

"And besides, wasn't it Mari that showed us all the hidden door?" Tanjiro pointed out.

"I did know about it, yes," Mari answered, "but so did Atsushi and Futaba. And as far as I know, the only other person who knows is Masashi."

"Whoa, hang on a minute," Sorao said, showing a little surprise. "Masashi knew about it as well?"

"Um… I stumbled upon it by chance a while ago," Masashi explained a bit sheepishly. "It wasn't particularly hard to uncover. And I'm pretty sure that the fact I knew about it was mentioned earlier."

"Oh... Well, I must've forgotten about that," Sorao said. "Sorry. My bad."

"Anyway, if it was easy for you, then surely it was easy for the killer to find as well," Haruyuki said. "The only fair assumption we should make is that any one of us could've known about the hidden door."

"But still, the only thing that changes is that the killer had no need for the front door," Faye pointed out. "That doesn't change the fact that Maiha could've killed Atsushi."

Maiha let out a short contemptuous laugh. "You still insist that I am the killer? Well, for your information, foolish pastry maker, I assert that I was in the restroom during the murder! And besides, surely I'm not the only one without an alibi!"

"Well, I don't want to say it, but…" Haruka said, nervously twiddling her fingers. "Arashi and Kumi were also alone, weren't they?"

The group now looked at the three main suspects of the case: Maiha, the haughty, wealthy ballroom dancer; Arashi, the erratically emotional pyrotechnician; and Kumi, the odd childish storyteller. They were the only ones without an alibi.

"H-Hey! Don't you go accusing me! I never went to the crime scene! Honest!" Arashi yelled, raising a fist.

"I-I was outside the whole time!" Kumi said, hugging his teddy bear and looking at his peers with puppy dog eyes. "I-I swear, in the Elven Queen's name, I'm telling the truth!"

"You commoners who think to accuse me are nothing but imbeciles!" Maiha said. "It must've been one of the other two, obviously!"


Nonstop Debate

"I was in the restroom for most of the third round," Maiha said. "I left about a minute or so before the announcement played. And that is of course the truth."

"And I was in the servants' quarters!" Arashi said. "I-I wasn't doing anything!"

"You weren't doing anything?" Abraham asked. "Were you lazing around?"

"Well… yeah! I wasn't, uh, looking for fairies or anything!" Arashi answered, face reddening. "And I never went to the merry-go-round room!"

"A-And I was in front of the merry-go-round door the whole time!" Kumi insisted.

"Were you, really?" Sorao said.

"I-I was! I'm not hiding anything!" Kumi said. "There's nothing in the crime scene that connects me to Sir Atsushi's death!"

"Same for me!" Arashi said.

"And for me as well," Maiha said. "Such an accusation is utterly groundless."

Truth Bullet Chosen (Refute): Glitter on Knife's Haft

No, that's wrong!

"Wait, hold on!" Masashi said. "That's not exactly true, Kumi."

"Wh-What? What do you mean, Sir Masashi?" Kumi asked, bewildered. "S-Sir Atsushi's death has nothing to do with me!"

"Sorry, Kumi, but that's not exactly true," Masashi replied. "During the investigation, we found something a bit peculiar on the haft of the murder weapon. It was pink glitter."

"Pink glitter?!" Arashi exclaimed.

"But why was it there?" Haruka asked. "I mean, if I were to kill someone, there'd be no reason to use glitter! Not that I'd kill anyone, of course!"

"That's the part I'm not sure about," Masashi said. "Regardless, since the haft had glitter on it, we can surmise the killer had put glitter on their hands."

"But if that's true, shouldn't there be glitter on the control panel's buttons?" Futaba asked. "I believe it has been established that the killer had to press the button to open Atsushi's carriage."

"If the whole hand had been covered, that'd be right," Mari answered. "But if the killer simply covered the palms, then there should be no glitter on the fingers. So even if there's no glitter on any buttons, it doesn't mean the killer didn't press them."

"And moreover, Kumi got glitter from the shop tonight. Isn't that a bit too much of a coincidence to anyone else?" Sorao said.

"But couldn't any of us have gone the glitter?" Sister Hikari asked.

"It's certainly possible. I hadn't kept an eye on the shop until tonight," Murphy answered. "But I know for sure that boy had his hands on the glitter."

"So, uh, why the fuck did he even have glitter in the first place?" Sayua asked. "What was the use of that?!"

"I-It's meant to be a good luck charm!" Kumi answered a bit more enthusiastically. "I was looking for the Woodland King, and—"

"All right, all right, that's enough out of you," Sorao said coolly yet dismissively. "What's more important is that Kumi had glitter on his person. It's very much possible that he was the one who held the knife, right?"

"Wait, don't tell me you're actually accusing him!" Faye said. "I mean, I don't think Kumi has it in him to kill someone!"

"Don't be so naive. Perhaps the boy's got more to hide than we may think," Murphy said.

"And besides, it will not hurt to explore this possibility, yes?" Haruyuki said. "There is no time limit, is there, Captain Monokuma?"

"For your information, it's up to me to decide when this class trial ends!" Monokuma answered. "Why, I could have it end in a year's time!"

Sayua raised her right hand, outraged. "Oh, hell no! There's no way I'm gonna stay here that long!"

Futaba sighed, rolling her eyes. "Let us start the discussion already. The sooner we sort everything out, the sooner we shall be done with all this."

"Um… What's going on?" Kumi asked shyly as he looked around and met his classmates' wary gazes. "A-Am I being accused?"

"I'm sorry to say it," Masashi answered, "but yes, you are."

Kumi gasped, his blinking speeding up a bit. "B-But why? Why don't you trust me?"

"We don't really have any other leads to go on," Masashi answered as softly as he could. "But don't worry! If you're innocent, we'll prove it in the end, right?"

"Oh… I-I see..." Kumi answered. Though he did not protest, the saddened expression on his face clearly betokened how shocked he was that he was now the focus of the case.


Nonstop Debate

"Kumi was outside the room by himself, wasn't he?" Sorao asked.

"I don't really want to say it, but…" Haruka continued. "There really wasn't anything stopping him from going inside."

"Yeah, the door wasn't locked or anything," Tanjiro said.

"The merry-go-round was a stone's throw away," Murphy said, "so I'd think he went through the simplest way."

"So he entered through the front entrance and then did what he had to do!" Sayua said. "Sounds pretty simple to me!"

"Then the foolish commoner must be the killer!" Maiha said, giving him the evil eye.

"N-No! I was outside the whole time, I swear!" Kumi said.

"Too bad you've got no one else to back up your fucking alibi, yes?" Abraham said.

"I-It sounds all clear to me..." Hikari said.

Truth Bullet Chosen (Refute): Merry-Go-Round Doorknob

No, that's wrong!

"No, I don't think he went through the front door," Masashi said.

"Huh?" Sayua looked askance at him. "Are you saying he didn't know how to open a door? I mean, yeah, he's an idiot, but come on!"

Did you really have to add the last part in there? Masashi thought.

"No, that's not what I mean. At that time, Kumi's palms were covered with a lot of glitter as part of his fairy hunting," Masashi explained. "If he'd touched the doorknob, the glitter would've gotten on it."

"But how do you know that for certain?" Maiha asked.

"During the investigation, I took Kumi to the restroom," Masashi answered. "And when Kumi touched the restroom knob, it got covered with his glitter."

"Oh! So the same thing would've happened with the merry-go-round doorknob!" Faye said.

"But couldn't he have just wiped the damn thing?" Sayua asked.

"Oh, no, he could not have." This time, it was Haruyuki of all people. "I myself inspected the doorknob during my investigation. I saw no signs that it has been wiped, as it is still rather dirty."

"Well, if that's the case, I don't think Kumi went through the front door, then," Tanjiro said.

"Exactly," Masashi said. "So Kumi—"

"Now hold on a minute!"

To Masashi's surprise, it was Sorao, who carried his usual friendly smile as he raised his hands casually.

"Kumi, you said that you had put glitter on your hands," Sorao began. "How much glitter did you put on, exactly?"

"Um… a can's worth," Kumi answered meekly, slightly shocked that he was not out of the woods yet. "Wh-Why do you ask?"

"How many cans did you get from the shop?"

"Um... two."

Sorao widened his smile. "Ah… I see. So that's the trick you pulled off."

Faye scratched her head. "What are you talking about? What trick?"

"You see, Kumi had you dismiss him as a suspect with the glitter. After all, it seems impossible that he went through the front door," Sorao explained. "But what if he simply went through the other entrance?"

"The… other entrance?" Haruka said.

Sorao sighed. "Have you forgotten already? The hidden room is connected to both the merry-go-round room and the playroom. Even if he couldn't go through the front entrance, he was alone at the time, so he could've gone to the playroom, right? And at the time, he most likely didn't expect anyone to find the hidden room, so that's why he thought he could deceive you like that."

"B-But I never went there!" Kumi said. "I-I was in the hallway outside the merry-go-round the whole time!"

"Unless you have anyone to back you up, what you say may as well be a lie," Maiha said.

"And in fact, there's evidence that shows someone used that entrance," Sorao said. "Right, Masashi?"

Masashi thought for a moment and recalled what he had seen in the playroom.

"Yeah, the yellow mushroom there had glitter," he answered. "It shows that the hidden room was opened there."

"Wait, I know it's unlikely," Sister Hikari said, "but couldn't the glitter have been left there sometime ago?"

Luckily, he could answer her with certainty, so Masashi shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Earlier tonight, I met Tanjiro there. We can ask him whether he saw anything."

"Well, Tanjiro?" Mari asked. "Did you see any glitter on the yellow mushroom?"

Tanjiro pondered for a moment. "No, I'm pretty sure I didn't see any glitter at all. And I was looking around to kill some time."

"And no one else has admitted to having gone to the playroom," Haruka added, glancing elsewhere while thinking.

"Then it's clear that the glitter got onto the mushroom when Kumi opened the hidden door there," Sorao said.

"If that's true," Masashi said, "then Kumi could've gone through the hidden room—"

"Don't be so hasty now!"

Someone had interrupted him again, and this time, it was Faye.

"You say that Kumi accessed the hidden room from that side," she said, raising a finger. "But I don't think he did!"

"What? Why?" Masashi said, tilting his head a bit.

"It's impossible, that's why!" she answered.

"But… the yellow mushroom—"

"I won't let a mushroom get the best of me in an argument of wits!" Faye said. "Right after I'm done, I'll show you why this theory is groundless, unsound, and half-baked!"


Rebuttal Showdown: Faye Nirigiri

"There's no way that Kumi could have gone through the passageway!" Faye argued.

"Sure, he may have gone through the hidden door in the playroom…

"But think about what'd have happened after he'd gone into the other room!

"He'd be stuck there, but Murphy and Sister Hikari found him outside!"

"So he must've been outside! That's the only conclusion!"

"No, he didn't have to stay in the room!" Masashi countered. "Remember there's a hidden door in the merry-go-round room."

"I knew you'd say that!" Faye said.

"But you should have taken a closer look at the crime scene!

"The yellow mushroom in the merry-go-round room didn't have any glitter on it.

"That means Kumi didn't touch it, and he couldn't have opened the hidden door!

"And so there would have been no way for him to escape!

"The door must've been already closed, of course!"

Truth Bullet Chosen: Hidden Doors

I'll cut through your words!

"Faye, I understand your reasoning," Masashi began, "but I'm afraid you've gotten one thing very wrong!"

"W-Wrong?!" Faye said, frowning. "I don't see how!"

"You assume that once the hidden door was opened, it would close in no time," Masashi said. "But that's not true. Once it's opened, it stays so for about a minute."

"Aah!" Faye exclaimed, her frown widening. This was the first time that Masashi had seen such an expression from her; it seemed that she was not receptive to having her theories and assertions shot down.

"Then… it is very much possible that he utilized the hidden passageway!" Futaba said, raising a hand in surprise.

"Indeed. He could have gone into the room and killed Atsushi while the hidden door stayed open," Haruyuki said.

"But… But I…" Kumi whimpered. The more his expression worsened, the sorrier Masashi felt for him, but he needed to see this line of logic through. If it were right, then he was the culprit, but if it were wrong, then a contradiction should pop up somewhere. Either way, now was not the time to be lax on him just because of his childish nature.

Tanjiro cocked his head slightly. "If that's true, then to do so, he must've done everything in a minute. Otherwise, the hidden door would have closed, and he'd have had to touch the mushroom in that room to open it again."

"Oh, that's definitely doable!" Red Mask said delightfully. "I've done much harder tasks in half that time!"

"Um, I'd prefer that you not talk about your phantom-thieving," Sister Hikari said uneasily.

Sorao chuckled. "I'm pretty sure our storyteller here is athletic enough to pull off such a task. Anyway, let's get back—"

"Wait, I have something to ask."

This time, it was Haruyuki, who seemed rather unperturbed about this whole thing.

"You claim that Kumi simply opened the hidden door," Haruyuki said. "But is that actually the case?"

"What do you mean?" Masashi asked. "If it's about how he opens it, all he has to do is press the red button near the door."

Haruyuki shook his head. "No, I have something else in mind. But first, I must ask you a question: is one able to peek through the hidden door?"

"The hidden door? No, try as I might, I couldn't even budge it with sheer force," Masashi answered. "I had to press the button instead."

"Ah, therein lies the problem," Haruyuki said. "Let me explain."


Nonstop Debate

"If the hidden door cannot be budged even slightly," Haruyuki began, "then it means that Kumi could not see what was on the other side, yes?"

"Yes, that seems right," Mari said.

"But it means that Kumi could not tell when to open the door," Haruyuki pointed out. "He could not see whether the carriages had begun to spin yet."

"Oh yeah! Th-That's right!" Arashi said.

"And there is no way he could have known that," Haruyuki said. "Is that not right?"

"Well, I did tell Kumi a bunch of details about the ride," Haruka said, "but I don't think I told him when exactly the carriages started spinning, after all. After all, I have enough trouble keeping track of time already!"

"Thus, he could not have simply relied on a watch," Haruyuki said.

"Since that mushroom has no glitter on it," Murphy said, "we know that the killer did not need to open the hidden door again."

"And if he had opened it too late, then we would have noticed the open doors of the carriages," Mari said.

"Like we said, we didn't see anything out of place!" Sayua said.

Truth Bullet (Refute): Spinning Portion

No, that's wrong!

"Haruyuki, I'm afraid you're wrong," Masashi said. "There was a way for Kumi to tell whether it was the right time to open the door."

The art critic raised his brow. "Oh? Pray tell, what is it?"

"You're right that the door prevented him from seeing what was on the other side," Masashi explained. "But just because he couldn't use his sight, it doesn't mean he couldn't use his hearing."

"Herring? Why did Kumi have a fish on him all of a sudden?!" Haruka asked, putting on a bright smile.

"No, no, 'hearing', not 'herring'!" Futaba said, showing an irked expression, though it was rather obvious that Haruka had merely made a joke.

"Anyway, during the ride, there was something special going on with the music," Masashi continued. "During the normal parts of the ride, the music played a set of orchestral instruments. But when it reached the spinning part, the music suddenly changed to feature only drums."

"Oh, so he could have relied on the change of music as his signal!" Sister Hikari said.

"That certainly makes a lot of sense," Abraham remarked.

"Wait a minute, are you sure that Kumi could have heard it?" Faye asked. "What if the room is soundproof?"

"No, there's no need to worry about that," Mari answered. "During the investigation, Masashi and I heard music playing from the merry-go-round room while we were in the hidden library."

"Ah, yes, I believe I started it up to ensure that the machine should be working," Haruyuki said. "I am glad to be of assistance."

"You know, you don't seem angry that you were wrong!" Haruka said, feigning shock.

Haruyuki chuckled as he made a slight bow. "I do not mind it at all. As a critic, I am to ask questions and point out potential flaws in others' logic. As long as we are on the right track, then I am doing my work correctly."

"Ugh…" Kumi groaned as more of his peers stared back at him with even more wariness than before.

Sorao clapped his hands once. "Man, that's pretty good logic there! So now it's certain that Kumi could have opened the door at the right time, then. This time, let's really get back to where I was!

"Now, Kumi then went into the room and killed Atsushi in the span of a minute," he continued. "Remember that Kumi still had his other can of glitter. I imagine that after the deed was done, much of the glitter on his hands was gone."

"Well, the knife certainly had a lot of glitter on it," Mari said, "but I'd imagine that he'd still have a substantial amount of it on his palms."

"Exactly. And that's when that comes into play…"

Sorao then widened his smile, insofar as it looked a bit too confident. "Once he was back to where he was, he simply took out the other can of glitter and applied it on his hands. That way, it'd look as if he hadn't lost any glitter at all." He then turned toward a certain friend of Kumi's. "Hey, Haruka. You were with Kumi during the investigation, right? Did you take a look at his palms?"

Haruka looked away, looking a bit shamefaced. "I… I really don't want to answer..."

"You don't need to. Your answer gives it all away. If I'd been wrong about it, you would've answered otherwise." Sorao chuckled as he glanced back at the others. "So that's my theory. What do you think?"

"Wh-What kind of theory is that?!" Masashi exclaimed. "For one, instead of doing all that complicated stuff involving the glitter, why didn't he try to get rid of the glitter on his hands?"

"What do you mean?" Sorao asked.

"If Kumi planned to kill Atsushi, then he definitely should have gotten rid of the glitter wholly," Masashi explained. "After all, the glitter directly implicates him!"

Sorao clicked his tongue, smirking. "That's the funny thing, actually. There really is no good reason for it. But… what if he felt compelled to put it on?"

"'Compelled'?" Masashi said.

Sorao then turned toward the storyteller. "Kumi, didn't you say earlier that you got the glitter from the shop because it was a good luck charm?"


"So, uh, why the fuck did he even have glitter in the first place?" Sayua asked. "What was the use of that?!"

"I-It's meant to be a good luck charm!" Kumi answered a bit more enthusiastically. "I was looking for the Woodland King, and—"

"All right, all right, that's enough out of you," Sorao said coolly yet dismissively. "What's more important is that Kumi had glitter on his person. It's very much possible that he was the one who held the knife, right?"


As soon as Sorao said that, Masashi realized exactly what he was about to say. This was not good at all.

"U-Um, yes, Sir Sorao," Kumi answered, unaware of the incoming accusation. "S-Since it's a shiny object, I may be granted good luck if I put it on my hands."

Sorao chuckled merrily as he looked back at the rest of the group. "And there you have it! It all makes sense now, doesn't it? The glitter turned out to be nothing but a good luck charm!"

"Wh-What?!" Sister Hikari exclaimed, her mouth covered by her hand. "Th-That's why there was glitter in the first place?"

"It sounds so preposterous, but then again, this is Kumi that we're talking about…" Tanjiro said. "I guess that in his head, it makes a lot more sense."

"S-Sir Sorao, you're greatly mistaken!" Kumi said pathetically. "I-I did no such thing, really!"

"In that case, prove me wrong," Sorao said, showing him an ever so slight smile. "If I'm wrong, then you should still have the other can of glitter on you."

"I-Isn't that right, Kumi?" Haruka asked, pumping her fists in encouragement. "Go on! Show him he's wrong!"

Kumi's eyes widened in horror, and Masashi knew why: during the investigation, he had checked his satchel, only to find that his second can of glitter was empty for some reason. Kumi had claimed that he had never used it, not having checked his satchel ever since he had begun his search for the Woodland King.

"Um… Both my cans of glitter are empty!" Kumi explained pathetically. "The Woodland King must've made the glitter in the second can disappear!"

The crowd looked more coldly at him, Kumi's every word damning him again and again. Much as it was hard to believe, Masashi must admit that Sorao had a pretty good reason to suspect Kumi, and as long as Kumi could not explain why his second can of glitter was empty, his guilt would be assumed. Even Masashi began to have a hard time with believing Kumi, since he could not fathom any explanation for it other than Kumi had used it as part of his murder scheme.

"It makes a lot of sense to say he's the killer, actually," Murphy said, nodding along.

"No arguments from me," Abraham said, smirking snidely. "The little fucker's as guilty as sin."

"Your reasoning does sound sensible," Futaba said.

"Why, I dare say it makes perfect sense!" Maiha added, smiling.

"I knew it! My gut was telling me there was something weird about that little brat!" Sayua said, looking condescendingly at him.

"Th-Then it was him! He did it!" Hikari added, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

Kumi looked around himself, but gasped in horror as many of the others began to voice their suspicions of him. The same crowd of people whom he had deemed his friends had now turned against him, and the worse part was that his childish mindset made him look all the easier to condemn as the killer. He hugged his teddy bear as tears welled in his eyes.

"I… I didn't do it!" Kumi said. "I-I swear on the denizens' lives of the Pixie Kingdom that I'm not the killer!"

"If you're really not the killer, then fight back, will ya?"

To Masashi's surprise, it was Monokuma, who looked delighted at this turn of events. "It's no fun if you go down in one hit, you know!"

"B-But…" Kumi faced toward his two fast friends. "Lady Haruka! Sir Arashi! You don't think I'm the killer… r-right?"

"I-I'm sorry, Kumi! But…" Haruka glanced away from him, her expression turning gloomy. "I can't deny that you look really, really suspicious right now!"

"Yeah… Sorry…" Arashi said, facing away from him as well.

"Wh-What…?" Kumi whimpered, shock running through his face. He began to weep as he turned toward the rest of them and found no mercy among them.

"Don't you realize it now?" Monokuma said. "In the class trial, the one who is best to defend you is you alone, my boy! Sure, you can turn toward who you think are your friends, but when they inevitably forsake you, you have only yourself as your defense!"

"M-My… defense?" Kumi said as he looked right at his teddy bear and hugged it tightly. "S-Sir Teddybane! Please… help me…!"

"Don't tell me you're actually consulting with your damn teddy bear now!" Sayua said, smirking. "Hah! What a joker he is!"

"He certainly isn't saying anything..." Sister Hikari said, an anxious expression on her face.

"Then... Kumi is..." Faye said.

"How unfortunate it will be if things turn out this way," Haruyuki said resignedly. "If he makes no defense, then we shall have to—"

"W-Wait! P-Please wait a second!"

This time, Kumi had said something at last, though his anxiety was still apparent on his face.

"I… I didn't do it!" Kumi said meekly. "I-I swear to you, I didn't meet with Sir Atsushi!"

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?" Abraham said.

"Now, hold on." It was Sorao, who had raised his eyes as if this were the first time that he had said something interesting. "Let the guy speak, won't you? I mean, it'll be wrong if we don't let him speak his defense, you know."

Futaba sighed. "I cannot imagine what he has in mind, but it indeed is the proper thing to do."

"Um… thank you," Kumi answered. He now looked somewhat steady enough to look his accusers in the eye, but it would take a long time for him to make a full comeback, Masashi sensed.


Nonstop Debate

"Well... If I were really the killer, then I must've planned it all… right?" Kumi continued meekly. "But… to have the plan work, I needed Sir Atsushi to be alone, right?"

"Yeah, I think so," Mari said. "Having another witness might've caused needless trouble for the killer."

"B-But I didn't meet with Sir Atsushi tonight!" Kumi said, gaining some more confidence. "I was in the dining room and then spent my time with Sir Arashi! I-It was impossible to tell Sir Atsushi to go into the carriage alone!"

"Ah, but maybe you somehow got him to do what you wanted," Haruyuki replied.

"Maybe Kumi sent him a written message?" Faye suggested.

"O-Or maybe Kumi got someone to tell him to do so!" Hikari said.

"Well, y-you can't prove it!" Kumi ended, trying to look as bold as he could. "Now, please, don't blame me any more!"

Truth Bullet Chosen (Agree): Atsushi's Note

I agree with that!

"Faye, you're right!" Masashi said. "Atsushi had a note telling him to go into the carriage alone!"

"Wait, Atsushi had a note?" Sorao said, a tad confused. "Where did you find it?"

"It was in Atsushi's pocket," Masashi answered. "And the note says, '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.'"

"The… secret of this ship?" Haruka said uncertainly. "Wh-What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter, I suspect," Masashi answered. "I'm pretty sure that the writer put it there to lure Atsushi."

"Lure?" Sayua scoffed. "But isn't that whole thing obviously a trap?"

"Well… Atsushi was always insistent on knowledge and whatnot," Sister Hikari said, contemplating. "He always looked down on us for not having more scientific talents."

"Yeah… I think that for Atsushi, he would have done nearly anything to get his hands on this secret," Mari answered. "He never told me about this, so he must have been following the note's instructions."

"And come to think of it," Sorao said, "that does explain the weird thing that Atsushi did. Remember what it was, Masashi?"

Huh? What's he talking about?

Masashi thought for a moment, recalling everything that Atsushi had done tonight. Once he was near the end, he realized what the answer was.

"Atsushi told Tanjiro that he had something to ask him later!" Masashi answered, shocked that that had been his motivation all along.

"Yeah, he did, but I don't know what he wanted to talk with me about," Tanjiro said. "All he said was that it was important that I stay for the ride."

It was then that Haruyuki chuckled. "Ah, then the answer is all too clear now. Atsushi did not actually want to ask you something. No, all he was concerned about was your presence."

"My… presence?" Tanjiro cocked his head slightly. "I don't understand. Why was I needed?"

Masashi thought back to the circumstances of the ride. It was all too clear now why Atsushi had needed Tanjiro to be on it.

"He needed to make sure that there were an odd number of riders aboard," Masashi answered. "Remember that there were ten of us originally."

"Yes… Then Faye and I headed to the kitchen, which left eight," Futaba said.

"Then I left, which left seven," Sister Hikari said.

"Hmm… I'm pretty sure I was going to leave," Haruka said, counting on her fingers, "but since Sorao was going to leave with me as well, in the end, things evened out—though the number was odd!"

"Exactly. There were five of us left, which was enough for Atsushi," Masashi said. "But Tanjiro said that he was going to leave, which would make Atsushi have to sit with one of us."

"And that's why… he asked me to stay?" Tanjiro said. "That… That makes a lot of sense now."

"But if that's true, then why didn't Atsushi just ask Haruka to stay when she said she'd leave?" Sister Hikari asked.

"Well... I did mention that I was going to go help Kumi," Haruka answered. "Maybe he thought it'd be weird if he asked me to stay? Though to be honest, even if he had asked me, I would've made an excuse to leave anyway." Haruka raised her arms as if cheering someone on. "I can't very well leave Kumi alone when it comes to his search for pixies, now, can I?"

"More importantly, it doesn't matter that the killer never went to see Atsushi," Sorao said. "The killer knew that Atsushi would willingly isolate himself."

"That'd explain why he didn't protest when I said I'd ride with Mari," Masashi said, recalling that moment. "By not saying anything, he'd naturally be by himself on the ride."

"Wait, hold on," Faye said. "The note told Atsushi to ride in one of the carriages by himself. But if the killer slipped him the note before we had access to the ride, how did the killer know that the carriages would be used?"

Sorao shrugged. "Oh, have you forgotten already? Remember what Monokuma said earlier?"


"Anyway, if the killer had put the tablecloth in the hidden room in advance," Mari said, "doesn't that mean that this killing was planned in advance?"

"If that's true, then it means that the killer knew about the specifics of the AR ride, right?" Haruka asked. "Maybe Monokuma told the killer!"

Monokuma giggled. "Well, you're slightly off the mark! As a matter of fact, the blackened did ask me about the ride last night, but the only thing I told the killer was that everyone would ride in the carriages as part of the AR ride."


"Ah, that's right!" Faye said. "So thanks to Monokuma, the killer managed to lure Atsushi to the carriage by himself! He's the guilty one here!"

"Hey, don't you call me guilty, when I'm not the one on trial here!" Monokuma replied. "And just to be clear, I didn't tell the killer to write Knowledge Man the note. The only thing I did was give the killer that juicy tip! Everything else the killer came up on their own!"

"In other words," Sorao said, his smile widening, "because of the note, Kumi knew that Atsushi was alone in the spade carriage."

"N-No way…" Kumi said, eyes watering as he looked down at his teddy bear. "I… I…"

Sorao chuckled as he put his fingers on his hair fringe. "Man, pretty pathetic that you made an argument at last, only for it to be shot down hard. It almost makes me feel sorry for you. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Kumi could say nothing as everyone else gazed at him, awaiting his answer. A few seconds passed, and he only hugged his teddy bear tighter, no longer facing his peers, tears flowing from his shut eyes. Meanwhile, most of the others looked rather sure that they were on the right track here; the few that appeared troubled, such as Haruka and Arashi, instead looked elsewhere, offering the accused no more help.

Is... this it? Masashi thought. Is Kumi truly the killer?

Though Sorao's explanation made a bit of sense, he could not but feel that they were all forgetting something rather important. He had had this feeling earlier in the trial, but it had risen again here, just when they seemed to have found the killer at last. Whatever this feeling pinpointed to, Masashi could not but think that someone had made sure that the class trial should go this way.

Just then, Sorao gazed toward him and raised his eyes a bit. "Hey, Masashi. Are you all right, man?"

"Huh?" Masashi looked askance at him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well... You seem to be thinking hard about something." Sorao then showed a small carefree smile. "Is there something you want to say?"


And that's it for the first part of the trial! The class trial in this part is simply piecing together most of what you, the readers, have seen in the investigation. This isn't a particularly hard case, so I'm guessing that you've already figured most of this out. And by the way, if I could, I'd put in a Mass Panic Debate at the part wherein Maiha, Arashi, and Kumi claim to be innocent. It's too bad the format doesn't really allow for it.

Anyway, the face-off with the killer is in the next chapter, and so this is your last chance to say which character you think killed Atsushi, aka, Knowledge Man.