However much he did not want to be here, Masashi at least was glad that he and the others had food. It was important to take care of his basic needs, and he felt especially hungry, given that he had eaten nothing for the last few hours. A while later, Sister Hikari and Faye came out of the kitchen and said that the food was ready, but since there were many dishes—the food was for eighteen students, after all—she needed help in serving them.
"Well, that's no problem," Futaba said before eyeing a certain student. "Abraham, is it? You work as a waiter if I remember correctly. I believe that this is a time when we need your services."
The waiter let out a small sigh. "I suppose there's nothing better for me to do now. Very well, I'll do it."
Abraham walked into the kitchen, and a minute or so later, he came out holding two trays that had sundry dishes of food. But it was not so much the food that caught Masashi's attention as it was the waiter, who was smiling. The smile looked normal, but given that he had hitherto smiled not even once, it looked a bit off at first.
"Well, I believe we've all waited long enough!" Abraham said merrily. "Even with this whole kidnapping affair, we should enjoy a few good dishes now, don't you think?" He then began to set the students their dishes. "Here you go! I hope you'll enjoy the meal!"
"W-Wow… Thank you," Masashi said as he looked at his dish of rice and grilled fish and his bowl of miso soup. It was simpler than what he usually ate, but given the circumstances, he thought it best that he not complain.
"Aw, there's no meat!" Arashi whined.
"You seem to be quite a meat-eater, don't you?" Abraham said, chuckling. "Maybe next time, I'll show you a few items to chew on."
"Literally or figuratively?" Sorao asked.
"Well, given how much he wants to eat already, I'm sure he wants me to be literal!" Abraham answered jokingly, the pyrotechnician looking a bit embarrassed as a few others chuckled at Abraham's jab at him.
"You know, you ought to be like this more!" Kumi said. "You'd be much kinder that way!"
Though a few others looked a bit aghast at Kumi's unwitting jab at him, unexpectedly, Abraham let out a merry chuckle. "Certainly not the first time I've heard that!"
Abraham looked so merry and carefree that Masashi could hardly imagine him to be the same man whom he had met hours ago. There was neither any swearing nor standoffishness, as if he were a hound that had lost its viciousness upon seeing its master come back from work.
Come to think of it, when I first met him, he said that he was free to be rude since he wasn't working then, Masashi thought. Then this must be what he's like when he works...
His attitude certainly felt true enough to make any unaware customer believe that he was usually like this. It was quite a marvel to see how effortless he had shifted to his workplace personality. Now Masashi could see for himself how the man had become the Ultimate Waiter.
"Abraham, I see no dish for you," Atsushi pointed out. "Have you by chance forgotten it?"
The waiter shook his head, keeping his calm smile. "No, no, I told Sister Hikari that she ought to have my dish. I do not wish to eat."
"And why is that?" Atsushi asked, eyeing him warily. "Do you not see that it is dinnertide right now?"
"Well, you see… it is the customer and not the waiter that is meant to do the eating," Abraham answered, showing no signs of anger. "Please do not worry about me. Rest assured that I will feed myself later."
"There is no need to make a fuss out of this," Futaba said. "It is normal for the staff to feed themselves after their betters are fed. He is simply following the proper order of things."
Atsushi showed a slight scowl for a second before sighing. "Very well, but be aware that it is your duty to keep up your basic needs. Starvation is one of the starkest dangers to betide unready explorers, and we are truly lucky to have food given us, though it comes from the wretched bear."
The students that had their food began to eat. Though the meal was rather simple, Masashi found it enough to stave off his hunger. Once dinner was done, Abraham went to the kitchen and came back with dishes with dessert, which looked like two pieces of bun stacked together and covered in chocolate and was what Faye called a religieuse.
"I hope you'll love it!" Faye said to Sister Hikari as Abraham handed her the dish. "After all, the name is French for 'nun'."
"Oh, it does?" Sister Hikari chuckled. "I can somewhat see the resemblance."
Arashi took a bite of it, after which his eyes glinted with glee, and he finished the rest of it so quickly that he had quite a bit of chocolate left on his lips. "S-So yummy! I wish I could have more!"
Faye giggled. "I'm glad that you like it! It pleases me to see that my prowess has not gone to waste."
"With that skill, maybe you ought to start a business," Murphy suggested as he ate a piece of the pastry. "You cook well, that's for sure."
"Oh, I would, but my family and I already have our own business," Faye replied. "We run a bakery, and when we get out of here, maybe I shall show you around."
After all were done with their desserts, Sister Hikari gathered the dishes and headed to the kitchen. Though Futaba suggested that Abraham help her, in the end, the good nun insisted that she do it alone, saying that she did not mind cleaning up after others.
"Very well," Futaba said as she glanced at the clock. "It is about eight o'clock. There is nothing else to talk about, so the rest of you are free to do whatever you want. However, I ask that you go to bed around ten."
"And why do you say that?" Tanjiro asked.
"Nighttime begins at ten o'clock," she answered. "Though the rules set by Monokuma do not say that we cannot be out at nighttime, I think it best that we have it as a rule anyway. We ought to go to sleep at a set time, anyway."
"But how do you plan to enforce this rule?" Haruyuki asked, a few others looking skeptical as well.
"Well, I only trust that you will follow it," Futaba answered. "It would be rather unfeasible to have someone stay up to enforce this."
"And I'm not exactly sure why anyone would want to go out at night," Sorao added. "There's nothing new to do here at nighttime."
No one raised any objections to Futaba's rule. Though it would not be enforced, Masashi thought it wise to follow it; not only was he a bit tired, but he also found nothing of interest to do at nighttime anyway.
Once Futaba dismissed everyone, Masashi and a few others headed to the fourth deck, where all the bedrooms were. It was a bit unfortunate that his door happened to be the farthest from the stairs, but to whine about where his bedroom was seemed quite unfitting in these circumstances. Before Masashi should unlock his door, he checked to see which student was his neighbor. To his dismay, the door to the right was Abraham Zargari's, who was among the ones whom he was less keen to talk to. The door opposite to Masashi's was Maiha Hanazawa's, so his bedroom's location seemed even more unfortunate now.
The door unlocked with his keycard, Masashi headed inside and saw the familiar orange floral wallpaper and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The room still felt much greater than it ought to be for an ordinary student like him, but he begrudgingly admitted that it was swell to have these good accommodations at the very least.
Masashi spotted the closet by a wooden desk opposite to his king-sized bed. By the closet stood the same mirror that he had used to check his appearance. In the closet were several outfits identical to the one that he now wore; it was a shame that he had no different outfits to try on, but it was good that he at least had some spare ones to use. The desk, on which he had found his Monopad, had nothing else, but that was no problem.
To the bed's right was a red curtain. He had not opened it the first time around, given that he had been more concerned about getting out of here, but now that he was stuck here, he might as well make his room look sweller. He opened the curtain, which revealed a window showing the sea as well as the starry heavens. It was a rather pretty look, and it was good that the weather right now was calm and steady. Moreover, to the bed's left were a small monitor on the wall and the door to the bathroom. It was altogether unremarkable, having the basic essentials, though there was a laundry machine right by the sink as well as a sign over the toilet.
"'Water is on all day, all night, so relax whenever you want'," he read. "'If you have any problems with the bathroom, please call out Captain Monokuma's name thrice'."
Seeing nothing else to check, Masashi then took a shower, shut the curtain, and headed right off to bed. At least the shower had hot water, and the bed felt comfortable enough to sleep in. It might be silly to look at things like that, but in the end, it was better to think positively.
"Good morning, dear passengers! Time to get up and have another merry day!"
It was Monokuma, who had spoken through the monitor. He was sitting on a seat with red cushioning and was wearing the same captain's outfit as he had worn the first time that he had appeared.
Masashi groaned as he got up from bed. He looked at the clock by his counter and saw that it was seven o'clock. It seemed that Monokuma would wake the students up whenever morning began. On the bright side, it meant that Masashi did not need to set his alarm clock anymore.
Once he readied himself, he left his room, his Monopad and the keycard on his person. When he was outside, he saw Futaba and Atsushi standing by the blossoms.
"Good morrow," the archaeologist said. "You are up rather early. Have you slept well?"
"Oh, yeah, no problems," Masashi said, glad that he had had a good night's sleep.
"Then I assume that you did not break curfew last night," Futaba said.
"No, not at all. In fact, I think I went to bed early," Masashi said. "Why, did someone go ahead and break the rules?"
"As far as I know, no," she answered. "I simply wish to find out whether you had not forgotten about the curfew. There are a few of you that I suspect of being a bit… unwitting."
"Oh, I see…" Masashi had a pretty good idea as to which students she meant. Those like Kumi and Arashi seemed to fit the bill. "Has anything new happened?"
Futaba shook her head, sighing. Even when she looked underwhelmed, however, something about her gave off an air of elegance. "No… No new developments have taken place. And my father's forces still have not found us yet. It is to be expected, however, since I suspect that our kidnappers have gone out of their way to hide our whereabouts."
"Then what are you doing now?"
"We wait for Mari to awaken," Atsushi answered. "Afterwards, we talk about today's plans. In the meantime, you are to hie to the dining room and eat breakfast. 'Tis no problem for you, I should think."
On one hand, Masashi wished that Atsushi had told him that less coldly, given that he still came off as a bit unfriendly. But on the other hand, this had gone much better than their last meeting, so on the whole, this was a good enough start.
Masashi bade the two goodbye and began his way to the dining room. Along the way, however, on the third deck, he saw Hikari standing by the lounge door.
"Hey, are you all right?" Masashi asked.
She looked none too happy to see him. "Wh-What is it to you, a-anyway?"
"Well, aren't you going to go get breakfast?"
Hikari looked even glummer. "I-I will… after the others leave."
"But why?"
"I-I don't like eating with others," she answered. "I-I had no choice last night, b-but it's different this time."
Much as he wondered why she did not seem to like others' company, Masashi suspected that Futaba and Atsushi might chide her later for not following their instructions. It was best to save her some grief.
"Well, even then, you can still eat by yourself," Masashi suggested. "You can sit at a separate table and tell others you're not interested in talking."
The spirit channeler looked bemusedly at him for a few seconds before sighing. "A-All right… I'll try that out."
She then headed toward the garden dejectedly. Though he wanted to go to the dining room with her, since she did not want any company right now, he thought to wait a short while before he went forwards. After some time, Masashi resumed, only to see a certain girl coming out from the shop.
"Oh, hey, Masashi!" It was Haruka, the pink-haired clown, showing a wide smile. "I didn't expect to run into you! Then again, I didn't really do much running!"
"Yeah, it was more like swift walking," Masashi remarked. "What were you doing in there?"
"Oh, I was only checking to see whether there were any shiny objects there!" she answered brightly. "Kumi said that it would help us greatly in our hunt for fairies!"
"Really? How?" he asked as he and Haruka walked together through the garden.
Haruka looked off elsewhere. "Well… if I remember correctly, he said that fairies were attracted to shiny things. That's why if we have something shiny, it'll be easier to catch us them!"
"Huh, is that so…" Masashi said. "So, uh, how long do you plan to flatter him like this?"
Haruka turned a bit more serious. "Well, it's hard to tell. After traveling a lot with my group of fellow performers, I can tell you that children sure are such imaginative and impressionable beings. I'm pretty sure Kumi likes fairies and other fantastic creatures a lot right now, but eventually, he'll move on to something else!"
Still, Masashi wondered how deep Kumi's belief in fairies was. It might be that the "fairies" were simply something that he attributed to things that he could not explain, but from the few times he had talked to him so far, for some reason, Masashi could not but think that he truly believed that they were among us.
Oh, well, he thought, at least he's not up to anything bad or reckless.
When the two arrived at the dining room, he saw only a few of the others there. Kumi was there, happily beckoning Haruka to join him. Masashi noticed that Kumi's satchel, which he usually wore over his shoulder, was now beside him and open, a bunch of parchment sticking out therefrom, a bottle of ink on the table. He seemed ready to write anything that he could turn into a tale, whatever the occasion might be. Hikari sat at another table, slowly and gloomily eating her breakfast while she watched the storyteller. After Masashi went to the kitchen and got some toast to eat, one of the other students greeted him.
"Ah, good morning, Masashi. Would you like to join us for breakfast?" It was Haruyuki, who was sitting at another table. Interestingly, sitting opposite to him was Red Mask, the phantom thief.
"Uh, sure," Masashi answered, wondering what was up with them both. "What are you two doing?"
"Oh, I've been talking about my daring heists!" Red Mask answered blithely. "I was about to talk about one of my most well known ones!"
"It was the Mona Lisa," Haruyuki answered. "It interests me to hear the perspective of another kind of person about art… even if it is a thief's perspective."
Red Mask giggled. "And let me tell you, it was a doozy! Since I had already sent the curator my calling card, she and the French police had worked together to try to ward me off with many security measures! Besides personnel and security cameras, they also had complex laser systems, temperature sensors, motion sensors, you name it!"
"And how did you overcome them?" Haruyuki asked.
"Ah, you'd like to know, wouldn't you?" she replied. "But you can check it out for yourself later! After all, I livestreamed the whole thing!"
"You livestreamed it?!" Masashi said, having just swallowed his piece of toast.
"Yep! Let me tell you, to have a camera on me the whole time made things a tad bit hard!" she answered. "But I had to do it! It was my sixteenth birthday, and I wanted as many as possible to celebrate it with me!"
Now that he thought hard about it, he had seen something about a theft and a video while he had surfed through a few online forums, but given how uninteresting the subject had seemed, he had naturally ignored it. Now he was all too curious about what exactly was on her video.
"Oh… It would be lovely if the video were available to us right now..." Haruyuki said, looking a bit disappointed. "It is one thing to hear the account, but when there is video footage of it, I cannot but wish to see how it went down."
"I'm surprised you're interested in seeing it," Masashi commented. "Given that it was the Mona Lisa that was stolen, I'd think you'd be more outraged that she stole a valuable piece of art. You are an art critic, right?"
"Ah, I can see why you would reach that conclusion. But let me tell you, the Mona Lisa may be a masterpiece, but its theft bothers me little," Haruyuki said, adjusting his gray scarf. "In fact, I can see that you too wish that you could see it. But might I ask you why?"
"Well… I only wonder how in the world the whole thing unfolded," Masashi said. "It sounds so unbelievable, but it happened, and I'd like to see how."
Haruyuki nodded, his eyes showing his keenness. "Interesting… Mind you, this is only my opinion, but I want to watch it, for I should greatly like to see what it was like to sneak into a highly fortified museum under the cover of darkness."
Masashi looked dumbfoundedly at him. "Uh, that's… interesting."
"How can it not be interesting? It's an experience that is seldom captured for the public to see," he answered. "However… until I actually see the video, I am afraid that I cannot truly evaluate it."
"Evaluate?" Red Mask said, both amused and a bit confused. "Boy, you sure are funny, saying the word 'evaluate', when it's only a video of my exploit! If you're looking for art to evaluate, you should join me the next time I steal something from an art museum!"
"Oh, no, you have it wrong," Haruyuki said, quite passionate about this subject. "You have the impression that your video cannot be art. But to me, art is more than paintings. Art is anything that awakens in us a great feeling, one that deeply touches our souls."
"That's… interesting," Masashi said once more, unable to find other words to describe this man's line of thought. "So, uh, would you deem words to be art?"
"Hmm… Perhaps," Haruyuki answered. "They may make me feel interested, but my interest is not in the words' contents but in their expression, as it were. Rhetoric can be beautiful on its own if we do not let the content's morality stand in our way. That much is clear when we can find even the words of the evilest of men to be hauntingly alluring. Think of it as akin to calligraphy: a man can write about the most mundane of things, but even then, we are more concerned about the flow and feeling in which the characters are written. The meaning is secondary."
"When you put it that way… it kind of makes sense," Masashi said, astounded. It all was so strange and unfamiliar that Masashi could not but think him to be a man beyond his level of intelligence. He must have put in a lot of thought into how he critiqued art, and his line of thinking extended far beyond what one would normally think to be art; it truly reflected how he saw things in general. However strange he might be, Masashi nonetheless found himself more interested in his opinion.
"Well, I still don't get it, but you sure have some interesting thoughts in that head of yours!" Red Mask replied.
Haruyuki chuckled before he ate more of his bowl of rice. "I can tell from the looks of your faces that you did not expect me to talk about it. Well, I suppose that this does not make for rather good breakfast talk. Shall we talk about something more… relatable?"
"I'd like that very much," Masashi answered. Intriguing as Haruyuki was, he had wanted to chat with him about something more everyday.
"Very well," Haruyuki said a bit more quietly. "Let us talk about… last night. Red Mask, would you care to tell us why you broke curfew?"
"Wait, what?" Masashi once more glanced at him bemusedly, not having expected the conversation to turn to this topic. "What do you mean, broke curfew?"
"Y-Yeah!" Red Mask chuckled nervously. "Wh-What makes you think that?"
"It was only a hunch. Of all the students here who would break a rule, none are as willing as the phantom thief, if you ask me," Haruyuki explained. "And let me assure you, if you break your silence on this matter, I will say nothing about this to the leadership. I assume that Masashi will do the same."
Masashi felt a bit tenser once the other two looked at him. "Uh, that's right! I promise that I won't tell anyone about it."
"Well… if that's what you say, then I guess I'll speak a bit freely." Red Mask looked about warily before facing her two listeners. "Well, I hate to say it, but you've got me. I was indeed out and about last night."
"But why?" Masashi asked. "Don't you think it's best to follow what Futaba and Atsushi say in this situation?"
"Well, maybe for you, but I'm not that kind of girl!" Red Mask answered. "I thought that I could find something if I looked around the place. Specifically, I was looking at the locked door on the second deck."
Now that he recalled, there was a door with a great golden lock on it in the starboard hallway. He had unsuccessfully tried to open it, but had wondered what the room's contents might be.
"Well, had you any luck?" Haruyuki asked.
"I wish I could tell you that I did!" Red Mask said. "I can pick normal locks, but even I can do nothing about electronic ones. You can try your luck with the hidden keypad on it if you want to guess what the code may be."
Then unless the group somehow found the passcode, there was no way that they could get in. Given the room's security, Masashi was near certain that whatever was inside was of high worth and might help them leave this place.
"Hmm… How disappointing," Haruyuki mumbled.
"Oh, but I haven't even gotten to the good part!" Red Mask snickered mischievously. "You see, on the way back to my room, I saw a certain someone heading back to the rooms as well, and who should it be but the archaeologist himself!"
"Wh-What?" Masashi said. "Are you sure it was Atsushi?"
Thankfully, the other students had not paid attention not only because they had been busy with their own conversations, but also because the chatter was loud enough to stop the others from accidentally overhearing.
"Dead certain!" Red Mask answered. "He was even looking about all warily and whatnot. If he had been simply looking around, there would've been no need to be all that wary, if you ask me."
"And I take it that he did not see you," Haruyuki said.
"Of course! I'm a mistress of stealth!" she replied. "The man came out from the merry-go-round room. Had I not felt tired, I would've checked what was up with that, so whatever's hidden in that room is a complete mystery to me."
"Huh, really…" Masashi said.
On one hand, it was rather strange that Atsushi had wanted to hide whatever he had found from the rest of the group. It seemed that not even Futaba knew of this, given that she herself had told Masashi that no new developments had happened, and she did not seem like an untruthful woman. But on the other hand, Masashi wondered what exactly Atsushi had been up to, and if he were to tell Futaba and the others about this, then the secret might disappear. Of course, there was the possibility that the thief was making a great deal out of nothing.
All the more reason to check it out, he thought. To draw his own conclusions, he ought to at least investigate it for himself. Even if it should be nothing, only his own investigation could satisfy his curiosity.
"Are you planning to check it out tonight?" Masashi asked her.
"Well… I would, but I can tell from your eyes that you also want to check it out!" Red Mask said. "Care to join me, then?"
"Ah, sorry, but I think it'll be best if I do it alone," Masashi said, having a gut feeling that she might somehow cause some trouble if he had her around. And moreover, she stole things as part of her talent. Who was to say that she would not take whatever she would find and keep it a secret? "Could you please stay in your room tonight so that I may look around by myself?"
For a moment, Red Mask looked a bit underwhelmed, but no sooner had he noticed that than her face brightened.
"Oh, well, if you do me a little something, then I'll agree. I won't even ask you what you'll have found."
"Wh-What is it?" Masashi asked, sensing that she was up to something.
"You see Arashi at the table over there?" Red Mask pointed to Arashi, who was eating a bagel and was sitting by Maiha, though neither of them paid each other any heed. The thief then took out a soft drink cup, whose contents Masashi could not see. "Give him this, and I'll stay put in my room tonight."
"It's nothing dangerous, is it?" Masashi asked.
"Oh, of course not! I have a strict policy of never killing anyone!" Red Mask answered blithely. "Just tell him that it's only a cup of soda."
Masashi had a sneaking suspicion that this would still not end well. Nonetheless, since he saw no other way to get her to agree to it, he thought to do as he was bidden. He grabbed the cup and headed over to Arashi's table, after which he offered him it.
"Huh?" The blond pyrotechnician looked up and widened his eyes at the cup. "That's for me?"
"Yeah, Red Mask told me to give you it," Masashi answered, trying to hide his dread.
"Well, all right, then! I've wanted to get myself a drink!"
Arashi snatched the drink and sipped on the straw. A second later, however, his eyes widened in shock, he began coughing.
"Wh-What the hell is this?!" Arashi yelled amidst his coughing, now angry as Masashi had feared. "What the hell have you made me drink?!"
Maiha, irked, took the cup and looked into its contents. "You truly are a witless commoner. The straw was put into a jar of apple cider vinegar."
"WHAT?!" Arashi exclaimed, at which point Red Mask began to laugh merrily, and the other students' attention was now on the pyrotechnician and the phantom thief.
"The look on your face is priceless!" Red Mask said amid her laughter. "Oh, if I had a camera, I'd snap myself a shot!"
Arashi scowled even more, his eyes dead set on her. "You… You'll pay for this!"
At once, he leapt from his seat and ran toward Red Mask, his hands clenched into fists and ready to deal her a few blows. But as soon as he neared her, Red Mask rushed to the side, guffawing. The two continued their silly chase, running throughout the dining room, while the others either found mirth from the sight or showed much frustration at the two troublemakers. Nonetheless, the damage that they had done was a few chairs and tables knocked over, which unfortunately made the dining room less tidy. Eventually, they ran out of the room, just as Sorao came in.
"Whoa, what's going on?" he asked the bemused students.
"Two witless commoners have been engaging in tomfoolery," Maiha answered, none too amused.
Though still puzzled, Sorao asked no further questions and went into the kitchen to get himself breakfast. Not long after, once the students cleaned up the mess that the two had left behind, things went back to normal, and they resumed whatever they had been doing.
Out of sight, out of mind, indeed, Masashi thought as he sat by Haruyuki once more.
"Well, that was a fun little diversion," the art critic said. "In any case, I expect that Red Mask will uphold her promise and stay in her room tonight."
"And what about you?" Masashi asked. "Are you interested in checking it out with me?"
"No. Though the topic interests me a little, I am much more interested in observation," Haruyuki answered as he finished the last of his breakfast. "Generally, I wish to involve myself in the group's affairs as little as I can. It gives me much more freedom during our time here."
The more he talked to him, the more befuddled Masashi became. On one hand, there was undeniably something off about him, and the art critic himself seemed aware of it, as he had correctly read the conversation's mood earlier. But on the other hand, much of what he said fascinated Masashi, and even if he disagreed with his opinion, there was something about it that made Masashi want to talk to him more.
"In that case, why did you bring up the subject of last night?" Masashi asked.
"It was small talk. I thought the topic of her breach of curfew to be insignificant, since my impression was that there was nothing worthwhile looking for at nighttime. But truly, she surprised me with her revealing that she had seen Atsushi. That you now have plans to look into the matter is an interesting but unintended turn of events."
Strange he was, indeed. Masashi could not say certainly whether he was friend or foe, but at the very least, he had helped him here, so he could deem him a friend.
"I look forward to seeing how things unfold," Haruyuki said. "I wonder what feelings this killing game will awaken in you."
Not long after Masashi finished his breakfast, Futaba, Atsushi, Mari, and the rest of the students came into the room. Once things settled down, Futaba called for everyone's attention. She began with the fact that help still had not come. Though Masashi had already known that, it seemed that a few others had not been told, for Faye and Hikari bemoaned that they had to stay here. Nevertheless, their complaints quieted down once it became clear that they could only wait.
"Now, then," Futaba said, "Atsushi and I have talked about the guidelines that we ought to follow while we are here. First, if anything odd should happen, you are to inform your peers at once. We cannot afford to let anything strange, be it small or great, go unattended.
"Secondly, if any of you should have a great dispute about something, you are to inform me or Atsushi. We have the power to arbitrate any cases and decide what the appropriate judgment is.
"Thirdly, you are not to engage in wanton destruction of any property. If any case of this should occur, you are expected to report it to any of us as well as the culprit's identity."
Right away, a few of the students glanced at Arashi and Red Mask, the former of whom looked not at all pleased.
"And lastly, you are not to resort to violence to solve your problems. Were we to let you be violent, the situation could easily escalate, and we should find ourselves falling into our captain's trap. Now, then, are there any questions?"
Though some looked a bit skeptical of what their new rules now meant for them, in the end, none gainsaid them, so the leadership's decision passed without a hitch. Afterwards, Futaba dismissed everyone, and all the students headed their own ways.
Unsurprisingly, sometime after, as Masashi headed back to his room, he saw Atsushi talking to Arashi and Red Mask at the third deck's garden, and the archaeologist looked rather displeased, standing by the aperture connected to the fourth deck's ceiling.
"You two are gone too far," Atsushi said, arms crossed, giving them the evil eye. "I bade you do such a simple thing as eat breakfast, and somehow, you erred!"
"I-It wasn't my fault!" Arashi said, pointing at the thief. "She made me drink vinegar!"
"I care not for what you may say," Atsushi said, looking awfully dismissive. "You are gone too far, forsooth. 'Tis fitting that I punish you."
"Oh, and what are you going to do?" Red Mask asked, paying him little heed.
Atsushi let out a scoff. "You seem not to take me seriously. Nay, that will not do. I ought to show you the aftermath of your recklessness. For the rest of the day, you shall stay in your rooms, wherefore tonight, you shall not eat dinner in the dining hall. Instead, I will have some of the others ward your doors."
"Aw, do you really have to do that?" Red Mask said, looking a bit irked, but overall not too bothered. She likely had no plans for the rest of the day or had some way to circumvent this, given her sneakiness. The same, however, could not be said for Arashi.
"Y-You mean I won't get to eat any of Miss Nirigiri's treats?!" Arashi said angrily. "You can't do this!"
"Ah, but you are mistaken. As the deputy, I can, and I will. Howbeit, I shall have others send you some simple dishes. Thereby, you will not starve from want of food. Deem this loss of luxury in your dinner to be the punishment for your witless wrath, and think about how to be careful in your deeds."
"But—"
"I will have no more of your horseplay! Do both of you foolhardy jackanapes understand? Or shall I make it clearer by lengthening your punishment?"
Arashi opened his mouth, ready to protest, but a few seconds later, he shut it, his gainsaying at a stop.
However harsh it might be, Masashi could see why Atsushi would have that attitude toward them. Red Mask was nothing but a troublesome prankster, even if she had no evil in her heart. And much as he hated to say it, from the very beginning, Arashi had shown himself to be startlingly quick to use violence. From the looks of things, even he could see that it was best that he keep his mouth shut. Though this period of obedience might be but a short spell, Atsushi would take care of that problem, and as long as it kept order, Masashi would not gainsay the man's bidding.
In any case, Masashi wondered at the absoluteness in which Atsushi had bidden them follow his order; having heard him enforce one of the new rules very strictly without any hesitation, he felt ever so willing to listen to his authority. Of course, that would not stop him from delving tonight into whatever the man might be hiding. Curiosity came first.
And here's the next chapter! Nothing too exciting has happened yet, but as you can tell, that will soon change. This chapter's meant to show off a bit more of the characters, so the motive will be shown later. And of course, all of this is buildup to the killing, which I've already planned out.
In the meantime, thank you ever so much for your reviews! One part that makes writing this fun is seeing your reactions and guesses, and it'll be fun to look back at things in hindsight.