Until nighttime came, Masashi had nothing else to do. He might as well hang out with some of the others and get to know them a bit better, if he wanted to make full use of his free time.

He walked over to the main deck, the heavens shining as brightly as always, the clouds gently going by. Here as well were Maiha, who stood by the pool; Murphy, who looked out at the calm seas; and Kumi, who seemed to be looking for fairies yet again. He had no interest in her company, and he knew that she thought likewise for his. Though Murphy was a bit kind, he gave off the impression that he hardly wanted to be bothered even for small talk. Therefore, his best chances were with Kumi, childish though he was.

"Ah, Sir Masashi!" Kumi said once Masashi approached him. "Have you come to help me find more pixies? I've been meaning to replenish my supply of magical pixie dust!"

"Uh, sure, why not?" Masashi said. "So what shall I be keeping an eye out for?"

Afterwards, he spent a while with Kumi, watching him go throughout the ship's every deck in search for the mythical creature. Though he was meant to be helping him out, given that Kumi knew far more about the creature than he, Masashi ended up being focused more on him than on any potential fairies. It was amazing to see such great keenness to look for something that was only in the realm of fantastic tales, Kumi not having grown tired ever since the hunt's beginning.

"Oh, Sir Masashi?" Kumi said. "You seem to be having trouble finding fairies. Is there anything wrong?"

Even Kumi would have noticed his inactivity sooner or later. Masashi came up with a quick answer that Kumi would likely believe.

"Sorry, but I've not found any," he answered. "Maybe the fairies don't like me or something."

"Oh, no, no, that can't be it!" the storyteller answered. "I don't sense anything evil on you, Sir Masashi! Fairies may be mischievous creatures, but if there's one thing they can't brook, it's evil!"

"Then why aren't there any fairies?"

"Well… Every now and then, the fairies are busy celebrating. Like men, fairies have their own holidays throughout the year," Kumi answered. "For example, one holiday celebrates the very day that the fairy queen Titania—"

"Ah, that's all fascinating," Masashi said, not wanting him to get carried away with this, "but since there aren't any fairies around, maybe we should take a break."

"A break?" Kumi stopped and thought a bit. "But the hunt is afoot, Sir Masashi! We mustn't tarry a moment longer!"

He ought to have expected a simple request not to go too well with Kumi's mindset. If he wanted something done with him, he must put it in the storyteller's own terms.

"Well, I'd join the hunt if I weren't so tired," Masashi said. "I think that a tale of yours may help energize me."

"Ah, a tale, you say!" Kumi said, delighted. "Well, then, let me tell you the tale of the flaxen-haired maiden who lived alone in a magical forest—"

"Not that kind of tale," he said. Much as he appreciated the creativity that Kumi put in his medieval tales, he wanted to know a bit more about something else. "You tell me many tales, but I've been wanting to hear about the mind behind them."

"Y-You mean... me?" Kumi said, pointing bemusedly at himself.

"Yeah, I'd like to know a bit more about you," Masashi said. "If that's too much to cover, well, how about telling me how you became known as the Ultimate Storyteller?"

For a moment, Kumi only stared at him wonderedly, which hinted that he seldom talked about himself. Talkative though he was, it was funny that he had hardly ever thought about making the conversation's topic about him instead.

"Ah, all right, then!" Kumi said after a short while. "Well, where shall I start… Ah, I became the Ultimate Storyteller when I got a notice for it in the mail. I was pretty shocked to hear that I had a title, but the others said that it was only natural, since I'd already been telling tons of folk my stories."

For a tale about himself, it was rather untidy and unstructured. There was no setting of the scene, nor was there anything to interest him in the tale's narrative, which interest generally meant something like introducing an antagonist or revealing a problem that the hero had.

"Wait, you mentioned 'others' earlier," Masashi said. "Who are these others?"

"Oh, they're the other children at the orphanage!"

Masashi raised a brow. Since he belonged to an orphanage, it meant that the boy had lost his parents somehow. But if he were to ask him about it, it would only distract him from the topic at hand, so he needed to set the conversation in the right direction.

"That's pretty interesting," Masashi commented. "I bet the others in the orphanage love your stories."

"Oh, they do!" he answered blithely. "Originally, I wrote stories featuring me and the others at the orphanage. Well, when I say 'featuring', I mean… uh… what's the word?"

"Incorporating?" Masashi suggested, sensing that this was what he meant.

"Yeah, that's it!" Kumi said as he took out his book from his satchel and flipped through its pages. "Like, for example, in one story of mine, a few of my friends and I were a band of adventurers traveling to a distant kingdom hidden in the seas, and the kingdom was the only source of the elixir that could cure the king's daughter of an everlasting sleep cast by the evil warlock known as Sigmund! I was the bard that sang songs that uplifted our group, while another one of my friends was the awesome warrior that could fell any foe with his mighty blade!"

"That sounds wonderful," Masashi said. "You must've worked really hard on your stories."

Kumi chuckled a bit. "Oh, I do work hard, but sometimes, I work a bit too hard. Every now and then, the other children or the orphanage's overseers come to tell me to brush my teeth and not to forget about my meals. I would stop much earlier, of course, if it weren't for the tricks done me by fairies that always make me forget to keep track of time, those silly little creatures!"

There it was again with the fairies. Masashi wondered whether there was nothing in this world that Kumi could not attribute to fairies or other fantastic creatures.

"Well, Sir Masashi?" Kumi said. "Has my story energized you?"

"Uh, it sure has," Masashi said, not wanting to disappoint him. His beliefs might be childish, but as long as they kept him happy and bliss, there was no need to gainsay him.

"Yippee!" Kumi put his book back in his satchel. "Let's get back hunting, Sir Masashi!"

Masashi next thought to talk to Sorao. He was the first one whom he had met on this ship, and he seemed like a kind enough man to talk to. But when Masashi found him, he was standing by Arashi's door, and he politely declined his offer to hang out with him.

"Sorry, man, but the deputy told me to keep an eye on the hothead's door," Sorao explained. The one who was watching Red Mask's door was Abraham. "Until I'm done with this, you'd better talk with someone else."

It was a bit underwhelming to learn that, but seeing that there was nothing that he could do about this, Masashi headed to the third deck, wanting to see whether someone like Mari or Faye was there. But upon looking around, he found only Haruka in the garden, the clown appearing to be juggling a few balls.

"Oh, hey there!" Haruka said as she stopped and gathered the balls. "What brings you here?"

"I only want to see you're up to," he answered. "It seems you've been practicing."

"Well, I can't let my clown skills get rusty while we're trapped here!" Haruka said. "I have to practice doing my fall after I slip up, for instance!"

"I didn't know falling needed practice."

"Well, it does!" Haruka said. "I can't just fall willy-nilly and hope that I'll end up all right. I might end up breaking my back! You know how hard it is to get a new one?"

Ah, I can't say I do, Masashi thought. Not that I often feel the need to find one, anyway.

"You know, while you're here, you should stay here and watch me!" the clown said. "Not every day that you see a clown practice, is it?"

Though he knew of a few jokers in his everyday life, they were not so professional and dedicated to the craft as the woman before him. It might be interesting to see a clown at work. And Haruka seemed kind enough not to drive him off.

Once Masashi accepted her offer, he was then subjected to a long while of corny jokes, athletic tricks, and comical injury that the clown did herself. Though Masashi chuckled a few times, he was much more impressed by how focused she was in making sure that she should make not even one mistake.

When it was over, Haruka let out a great sigh of relief. "Well, that's that! What do you think?"

"Well, it's pretty professional," Masashi said, though thinking about how odd the word sounded when applied to clowning. "You must've done this loads of times already, since I saw very few mistakes."

At that point, however, Haruka let out a mirthful laugh. "Ah, but that's the thing! I actually made a few more mistakes than you think!"

"What? Are you sure?" Masashi said, again thinking about how weird it sounded. She should be agreeing the more flattering idea that she had been nearly flawless in her performance.

"Oh, I'm sure! I'm not perfect, you know!" Haruka answered. "You see, part of being a good performer is knowing how to get away with flubbing something. If I make a mistake, I'd better make sure the audience doesn't notice it! It takes a lot of improvisation, so I've got to think on my feet!"

Looking back at her performance, Masashi wondered which parts she had messed up on. Almost all of it had looked intentional, but with how entranced he had been, perhaps he had simply overlooked it.

"That's some dedication you've got there," Masashi remarked. "It must've taken a lot of practice to get it all right."

"Aw, thanks! It makes the popped balloons and broken spinning plates all the more worth it!" she replied. "Maybe you should be a clown, Masashi! I think you've got the endurance needed to handle a few hundred falls. And I think you'd look good in a clown's clothes!"

"Ah, no thanks!" Masashi said. Not only did he want to do something that did not draw in laughter and injury, but he also did not see himself as a rather comical man.

"Aw, are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be," he answered. Though he had no exact idea as to what he would like to become, he was sure that becoming a clown was out of the question. "I think you're much fitter for the role than I'll ever be."

"Well, it simply runs in the family," she said. "My grandpa and ma were clowns as well, so I'm only continuing the family tradition."

"Tradition, huh?" Masashi did not expect clowning of all things to become a craft to pass on to one's offspring. "Then you must've practiced really early on in your childhood."

"When I was eight, to be precise!" Haruka said, smiling. "I learned the very basics and fundamentals from the two. Sure, I was laughed at a lot for it at school, but I didn't mind."

"Ah, because a clown's meant to be laughed at."

"Yes, but it's more than that!" Haruka answered. "For my whole childhood, I always admired how many laughs my ma could draw in! She could make the whole audience laugh their pants off! Seeing how she could make others happy… simply amazed me so much that I wanted to be like my mother!"

Masashi nodded along, now much more understanding of the clown. He had thought it weird that Haruka had become a clown of all things, but upon hearing what it meant to be a clown from her, he could see why it had appealed to her.

"Well, time to get back to practice!" Haruka said. "The spinning plates aren't going to spin themselves, you know!"

"Now what business do you have with me?"

Drinking a cup of tea in the dining room, Futaba looked little bothered by his presence, but Masashi still sensed that she would rather be doing something.

"Oh, well, I would like to talk with you for a bit," Masashi said. "I thought that you might like some company while doing your duties."

Masashi thought it best to know her a bit more. It was not every day that he could talk to a girl of high station, so it would be interesting to see how life for the upper class differed exactly. And unlike Maiha, she seemed kind enough, albeit a bit fussy and pompous.

"You wish to talk with me?" Futaba looked askance at him briefly. "I see… Well, before that, could you clean up the nearby tables? I do so greatly loathe the mess left by the others after a meal."

"Ah, all right."

Masashi went ahead and cleaned the whole dining room up. It was ever so tiresome, but after he saw the fruits of his labor, it made all the work he had done all the more worth it.

"Thank you for the service," Futaba said plainly. "Now then, what should you like to talk about? Business? Finance? Politics?"

"Well, I was hoping that we could talk about something more… everyday," Masashi answered. "For example, what do you do in my daily life?"

"My daily life?" Futaba pondered for a bit, continuing to sip her tea. "Well, usually, around seven o'clock in the morning, a servant wakes me up—"

"Pardon me," Masashi interrupted, "but I did not mean to hear about your schedule. I would like to learn about what you like to do."

"Is that so? Well, I usually practice my ice skating or do some studying on my subjects," she answered plainly. "Before I took up ice skating, whenever I was not occupied with my private education, I often chatted with my older sisters or the servants, and I also played with my younger brother."

However intriguing it might be to learn a bit more about her home life, there was no denying the fact that she sounded rather stiff about it. Even for a simple topic, the atmosphere felt rather imposing, as if speaking out of hand resulted in harsh criticism from the lady. Maybe a change in topic was needed if he wanted her to relax a little.

"I believe that when we first met, you said that you had simply been following in your mother's footsteps by becoming a figure skater," Masashi said.

Futaba raised her eyes a little. "Yes, that is right. I grew interested in figure skating after seeing a few old photographs of her. She herself was surprised that I wanted to have her teach me ice skating."

She sounded a bit less tense and more emotive, so it seemed that when it came to her ice skating career, she felt freer to talk about it.

"That's interesting," Masashi said. "It must've been pretty exciting to deviate from what you planned."

"Planned? Oh, no, I must confess, I formerly had no particular vision for my future," Futaba said. "I was simply expected to go through my education and work however I could to expand our family's conglomerate. In all likelihood, if I had not come up with any plan, I would have been expected to be in charge of one of my family's businesses in the future, so I would be thinking about doing something related to business in college."

Uh-oh. She's going a bit off-topic, Masashi thought.

"Well, I would like to hear about one of your lessons," Masashi said. "For example, how did your first lesson with your mother go?"

"My mother? Oh, no, you are mistaken, I am afraid," she answered. "Though capable of teaching me the craft, she had other obligations to attend to. Thus, she hired a skating instructress to teach me the basics of ice skating."

"Ah, it wasn't your mother that taught you, huh? Did the coach still teach you well?"

But Futaba then shook her head softly. Though she had a look of disapproval on her face, it seemed that it was not directed at Masashi.

"I apologize," she said. "When I thought about the instructress, a few unpleasant memories popped up."

"Oh, did you not have a good time with her?"

"You can put it that way," she said. "She was always critical of my performance and was wont to belittle my every success. I soon learned that she had a slight problem of envy toward my mother. That is, my instructress was once my mother's rival, and so she was a bit displeased to hear that my mother had succeeded where she did not. And I suppose it did not help that my mother wedded a successful businessman."

"It must've been hard for you, then, to have that kind of coach," Masashi said out of sympathy.

"Indeed. I always felt a bit uneasy whenever I heard her voice ready to lambaste me," she said. "And yet, I made no complaint to my father. As an Inoshishi, I was expected to achieve nothing short of perfection. However much I wanted a little help, failing to cleave to my family's standards would simply not do."

I guess being rich comes with its own set of problems... Masashi thought.

"I apologize, but I did not intend to spend as much time with you as I had planned," she said. "I must leave right now, as I need to talk with Atsushi about something."

"O-Oh…"

It seemed that in addition to being fussy, she was also a stickler for cleaving to her schedule, to boot. Nothing about her body language suggested that she had simply grown tired of talking to him, so he was at least glad that he had not left a bad impression on her. And to make sure that the impression should stick, he even offered to wash her the cup from which she had drunk her tea. As expected, she agreed approvingly to the offer before she left.

Coincidentally, right after Futaba left for the starboard hallway, Maiha arrived from the port hallway, which led to the main deck. She did not even take the time to say hello, however, for she headed for the starboard hallway as well.

"Ahem! It is now 10 p.m., and nighttime has come. Whether you sleep or stay up, it's always time to have fun here at Brightmere Mirthyard!"

Monokuma once again had made an announcement through the monitor. Masashi had been keenly waiting for this moment, as he must know what Atsushi, the deputy, might be hiding from the rest of the group. However small it might be, it would not do if he were left without an answer.

After a while, he headed out and made his way to the merry-go-round room. Thankfully, no one was there to stop him. Masashi thought about the possible places where something might be hidden in this room, and his gut feeling was that it had something to do with the merry-go-round. He checked the merry-go-round, which had several carriages and wooden horses as part of it, but unfortunately, a thorough search of them yielded him nothing, and even the floor seemed to have no secrets to hide.

Come to think of it, Masashi thought, how does the operator even get the merry-go-round to run anyway?

His looked around for a panel that controlled the merry-go-round. One was not apparent at first glance, but as there were trees lined up by the walls, he thought to check there as well. Indeed, there was a panel amid some trees on the right wall, but upon further examination, it too showed nothing special.

Just as he began to wonder whether there truly was anything secret to be found, he then saw something off about the grass near the panel. The grass throughout the room looked plain on the whole, a few parts thereof decorated with such things as flowers. But by the panel was a spot of grass that had a yellow mushroom on it. Masashi then looked around the room, wondering whether there were other mushrooms like it. Though there were red ones and white ones scattered here and there, there was no other yellow mushroom. He could hardly think of it to be an arbitrary choice in decoration.

He tried to pull the mushroom out of the panel, thinking that it might be hiding something underneath. Oddly enough, however, the mushroom would not even budge an inch. He then fiddled around with it and discovered that the mushroom was in truth a knob; by his moving it to the right, the panel of grass was revealed to be covering over a metallic panel that had a small door embedded in it. However risky it might be, Masashi had no choice but to open it with his bare hands, if he wanted to see what was inside.

Inside the panel was none other than a red button. It was simply begging to be pressed, so there was no hesitation in his mind when he did the deed. Not long after, a rumble came from another part of the room.

Ah! Masashi thought, eyeing with wonder at the wall opposite to the door. By the wall was usually a billboard that listed information about the sundry facilities offered on this ship, but to his surprise, the wall itself had shifted, revealed to be truly a revolving door. At once, Masashi's curiosity waxed. He covered the panel back with the grassy decoration and headed through the door.

What he had imagined to await him was something like a hidden room full of strange equipment and having something that could tell him why this killing game was held in the first place. A hidden room must be of great weightiness, after all, if there had been efforts to keep it hidden. But to his further surprise, it was nothing like that. What awaited him instead was a narrow passageway both of whose sides were lined with shelves filled with books. The passageway went forwards at first before taking a turn to the left, from which direction came a bit of lighting. It seemed to be a private library of some kind.

After he stepped inside, he looked at the bookshelves for a short while and saw something odd on the bookshelf on his right. There was one space where no books occupied it at all, and the space looked wide enough to be filled by two books of average size. At the very back in this space was a red button. It was yet another thing that he could not but want to press.

Just as he was about to do it, however, without any warning, the revolving door moved back to its normal position.

"Wait, no!" Masashi exclaimed. Panicking, he tried to push it open with his body, but try as he might, his efforts yielded him nothing, as the door budged not an inch. Because of its very structure, no light from the merry-go-round room came through.

"C-Calm down… There should be a way out somewhere," he said, trying to think positively. "This room wouldn't be of much use if there were no way to leave."

Eventually, he remembered the button and pressed it, after which the door swung right open once more. Wanting to see how long it would take for it to shut, he stood there waiting. When the door shut once more, he had counted the time and estimated that it had been open a minute long.

Now aware of how he could leave, Masashi kept his way through the odd passageway. He turned left and headed forwards before finding himself at a much greater room. The walls were still lined with bookshelves, but there was also a table placed right in the middle. The passageway from which he had come continued at the room's other end, and the lighting came from lamps hung on the columns.

Though there had been books surrounding him ever since he had first come here, only now did he even think of checking what kinds of books that this room stowed. From a brief look, the shelves had sundry books such as kids' comics and medical textbooks. One book in particular caught his eye because of its title.

Let's see… Masashi thought. Recent Developments of the Use of Augmented and Virtual Reality Technologies for Clinical Purposes…

It was the part about "augmented and virtual reality technologies" that interested him the most. He had always wondered how far technology would go, seeing that many attractions had begun to feature augmented reality. Come to think of it, he could faintly remember hearing about in the news that there was a certain research lab dedicated to studying the book's topic—

"Now why are you here, you little wretch?"

Masashi froze, knowing all too well whose voice it was. He turned around, and sure enough, it was Atsushi Morokuzu, the archaeologist and the deputy. Masashi had been so focused on the book that he must not have heard the revolving door opening.

"It seems that you have broken the curfew," Atsushi said, none too pleased. "I expected not that you were such a man, but alack, mine expectations were off the mark."

"Well… haven't you done the same thing?" Masashi asked. "I mean, you were out last night, weren't you?"

Atsushi let out a small scoff. "I know not how you came to know of that, but I see that an explanation from me is nevertheless needed. Very well. Yesternight, I merely looked about the premises to see whether there was anything of interest. Futaba had done her own investigation, but I was not satisfied with her results. It was highly likely that she had overlooked something. Of course, I sought leave to investigate. I cannot very well do an unauthorized deed."

He then glanced at the nearby books and touched the spines one by one. "How fascinated I was when I first discovered what awaited me here! To be beset by so much knowledge about what mankind has uncovered… Why, words cannot express my joy! Amid the dreariness that is this ship, this was practically a hallowed sanctuary! 'Twas rather unfortunate, however, that when I reported this to Futaba, she bade me keep this a secret."

"Wait, she did?" Masashi said.

"Yea, I lie not. I had examined the room briefly, for I had waxed tired, whence she told me to come back hither and investigate it fully. After all, what secrets and dangers may be hidden here?" the archaeologist answered. "Until we finish our search, the room is off-limits to you."

Things were only getting more and more confusing. Masashi had thought that Atsushi had been keeping this a secret from the rest of them, but never had he suspected Futaba of knowing about this as well.

"It's odd…" Masashi murmured. "I thought Futaba to be truthful."

Atsushi laughed a short but mocking laugh. "Truthful? Masashi, none of us are without secrets. Rest assured, Futaba Inoshishi puts up a front that we are to gaze at without question, and so she is not loath to hide a few things from you." He shook his head with great disapproval as he wandered around the room. "Such a shame it is. Her kin is of high station, and yet she chose to dedicate her intelligence and opportunities to a figure skating career of all things. Think of all the good that she could have done the world if she had chosen the physicist's path."

It was then that Masashi could see what Atsushi's true feelings toward the rest of the group were.

Though he had sworn to keep the rest of the group safe, that did not mean that he would become kinder and more approachable. On the contrary, he became bolder in his belief that those whose talents he deemed worthless were lesser, even if such a person included his better. It certainly explained how willing he was to mete out such harsh punishment upon Arashi and Red Mask, however effective it might be.

And yet, Masashi was unsure as to how he ought to think of Atsushi. On one hand, it was undoubtedly disappointing for him to think of his peers like that, and he seemed so set in his thinking that Masashi was at a loss as to how he could convince him to think otherwise. But on the other hand, judging by his deeds, Masashi could not deny that Atsushi had done the group some good by disciplining the rowdier members and thus maintaining normality. And though he was harsh and condescending, it was not as if he were to ever use violence against him or the others. He was not that kind of man, for if he were, he would be rightly called out as a brute, and for the man, brutishness did not befit an intellectual.

Just as Masashi was about to say more, however, he heard the revolving door. He at first thought that the door had simply shut, but when he heard footsteps, he turned around at once.

"Ah, you're here as well, Masashi?" It was Mari, who looked only a bit surprised to find him here. "That's rather odd… I thought it'd only be us two."

"Deem him to be an unbidden visitor, then," Atsushi answered, looking slightly more delighted at her presence.

"Wait… what are you doing here?!" Masashi said, growing more and more confused.

"Have you not listened to me?" Atsushi said. "Futaba bade me investigate this room fully. But 'twould be rather tiresome if I were to work alone, so I asked Mari to help me."

Mari looked at the bookshelves with awe. "So many books… I wonder whether there are any about paleontology."

"Oh? Have you an interest in the field?" Atsushi asked, sounding truly surprised.

"To some extent," she answered, but for some reason, even though she seemed keen to talk more about the topic, Masashi could sense a bit of distance in her voice. "One time, I got into doing some informal research on dinosaurs."

Atsushi raised a brow. "Whence came the want to do such research?"

Mari stayed silent, but it was clear that she was hesitating. "I… wanted to occupy myself a bit. There was something going else in my life, and it was a nice change of pace."

Masashi wondered what exactly had been going on during then. Given the lack of fondness in her expression, he guessed that it had not exactly been a happy time for her.

"I see…" Atsushi mumbled, sounding more and more shocked. "Mari, you are a rather intelligent maiden. Once this whole kidnapping affair be over, I shall beseech my colleagues to let you participate in a paleontological dig. I am sure that you would find it to be a lovely experience."

"You really would do that?" Mari said, her voiced interest slight.

"Of course," Atsushi answered keenly. "Your expertise, however small it be, will be appreciated."

Mari showed a slight smile. "Well, if I ever get the invitation, I'll be sure to thank you."

Atsushi smiled back as well, and it was one of the few times that he looked truly blissful. He generally carried a great scowl, doubtless thinking about what he must undergo to manage his subjects, as it were. And given that the only other person he enjoyed being around was Mari, Masashi could only wonder with dread how the archaeologist might react if anything unfortunate should befall her.

In any case, Masashi could see that he had no more business to do here. He had found the answer to his question as well as a few other things about Atsushi, and however much he wanted to look more at the books here, Atsushi and Mari would be busy investigating this room, so it was time that he were gone.

"May I leave now?" Masashi asked.

"Oh, certainly. I will let your transgression go this time," Atsushi answered.

"Well, thank you very much—"

"Let me finish!" Atsushi ordered. "I will let you go, but you must keep the existence of this room hidden for now. Until we clear the room of any potential dangers, 'tis best that no one else know about this."

"Uh, all right."

"And!" he added. "You must answer me one question."

Masashi had no idea as to where he was going with this, but if it was only a question, surely it would not be anything too bad.

"Since I found you here, I have wondered wherefore you came," Atsushi began. "Tell me, what made you look for this room?"

In other words, he wanted to know his motivation for breaking curfew. It was understandable why Atsushi would ask about this.

"Well, I heard that you were out last night, and I wanted to see for myself what you were up to," Masashi answered.

"I see… You were simply curious about my deeds," Atsushi said, nodding along. "But let me ask you: why were you curious?"

"Why I was curious? Well, I…"

Masashi stopped. Though it was a simple question, he was utterly befuddled as to how he could answer it. He had never thought about it, after all. And yet, not only did he subconsciously know the answer, but he also accepted it as good. Why else would he be here?

Atsushi chuckled. "You are quite puzzled, I see. But fret not, for there is an answer to the question."

"There is?"

"Of course. 'Tis one that minds throughout the ages have known all along," Atsushi answered. "The reason for your curiosity is the same reason why all beings are curious. Forsooth, we are meant to seek knowledge in the same way that we seek food. In other words, curiosity is intellectual hunger."

"That's quite a metaphor," Mari remarked.

"Now, all food is not equal, and neither is all knowledge," Atsushi continued. "For the lesser creatures on this earth, knowledge pertains to survival and a few trivial things. But men are different. Men have been gifted with the capacity of higher knowledge. Men can think about their very nature and purpose and can ascertain how the world exactly works. It is why men who seek trivial knowledge are barely any better than the lesser animals."

"And how does it relate to me?" Masashi asked. Though he understood the man's line of thought, it certainly sounded more like a screed about his views on mankind.

"Simply put, you were intellectually hungry," Atsushi said. "Your want to find out what I had done was deemed great enough to break the curfew. Forsooth, mine expectations for you were off the mark, for I thought you to be a slacker. Next time, to sate your hunger, do something that does not involve breaking the rules, or woe betide you!"

"Uh, thanks for the advice," Masashi said. On one hand, he appreciated that he had been let off the hook this time, but on the other hand, he was not so sure that what Atsushi said was right. Obviously, he valued doing well in his academics, but it was not something that he mainly focused on. And sure, he liked learning new things, but he did not often go out his way to learn more about the sciences, which kind of knowledge was what Atsushi deemed the most important. In the end, Masashi did not think himself "intellectually hungry".

But if that label did not fit him, then whence came his curiosity?

Well, here it is. Things get slightly more interesting, now that Masashi has found the hidden room and has learned a bit more about the leadership. The motive still hasn't been revealed yet, but it will be shown in full detail in the next chapter. And yes, as you can see, I'll be doing Free Time Events for the characters as well.

Anyway, here's a question for you. Which characters (Masashi excluded) would you like to see as survivors (not necessarily the ones that you think are the likeliest to survive)? Your answer can be based on which ones are your favorites or which ones you would like to see develop.