The class glanced at Masashi as Sorao directed their attention to him. They had deduced that it was Kumi that had killed Atsushi, and yet Masashi felt uneasy about the conclusion. There was definitely something that they had not talked about, and until he figured out what it was and how it was important, he could not very well let the class trial end already.

"Well?" Sorao said, gently smiling. "Go on. Say what's on your mind, Masashi."

"I... was just thinking that we should go over the whole thing first," Masashi answered. "I don't think we should vote until we're absolutely sure that Kumi's the killer. There may be something we've forgotten to talk about."

Kumi, weeping, looked at him as if he were his only hope. "S-Sir Masashi! Y-You believe I'm not the killer, right?!"

"I don't know," Masashi answered, "but if we talk it out and find another clue, then maybe we'll believe you."

"Oh, come on!" Sayua said. "Do we have to? We've already figured out who the fucking killer is, haven't we? So let's get to the damn voting already!"

Futaba clicked her tongue as she glanced elsewhere. "Well, I should conclude that there is no need for further deliberation."

"Hah! Even the rich girl agrees with me!" Sayua said. "What do you have to say to that—"

"Now hold on," Futaba said. "Let me finish. If I were of a hasty mind, then I would most certainly agree to end this miserable affair. But... I cannot but wonder whether it is right to do so. I am almost sure that our conclusion is right, but the very little bit of uncertainty that Masashi shows tells me that we may have indeed missed something. A bit more discussion will do us some good, I say."

"Wh-What? What the hell are you saying?!" Sayua scowled. "What's there to fucking talk about?!"

"Uncouth as those words are, I must agree with the commoner," Maiha said, arms crossed. "We shall only waste valuable time if we continue with this."

"Yeah, I say that we get on with the voting already," Sorao said, standing in a relaxed position.

Futaba shook her head, however. "In any other situation, I would gladly agree, but in the class trial, our lives are at risk, and I much prefer a decision not made in haste. And moreover, Sorao, if your theory that the storyteller killed him is true, then there should be nothing wrong with going through it once more, yes?"

Sorao lessened his smile, it being clear that he had expected her to say otherwise. A few others looked surprised at her decision as well; up to now, she had been by Sorao's side, taking in his every bit of advice and suggestion as Atsushi had fallen out of favor for her. But it seemed that she had enough sense to know when it was best to do things her way.

A few seconds later, the musician shrugged and showed off his usual gladsome smile. "Well, when you put it that way, I guess it'd be silly to get to the voting now. I'm pretty sure I'm right, but hey, if it suits you, I welcome the talk! And besides..." He gave Kumi a sidelong glance. "The more I think about it, the more I can see that it's only right that we give the boy a few more minutes before judgment time."

"Well... if he's saying that," Murphy said, "then I suppose we ought to take our time here."

"Yeah..." Sister Hikari said. "I really don't want to die here and now, just because of our haste..."

Now that the one who had spearheaded the theory had given up on fighting Futaba's suggestion that they discuss the matter, the others quickly gave in to the suggestion. Masashi readied himself, knowing that this was the last chance that he had to find what was off about all this. If he could, then the trial would keep going, but in a way that a certain person might not like.

Nonstop Debate

"To begin with, Kumi held his whole hunting thing," Sorao said. "That's the reason he gave for getting the pink glitter from the shop."

"Then once he was alone, the fool headed to the playroom," Maiha said. "Afterwards, he applied the glitter on his hands and opened the hidden door."

"He then donned the tablecloth that he had prepared beforehand," Haruyuki said. "And he waited by the hidden door until the carriages began to spin."

"After that, he went outside and opened the doors to the carriages, right?" Red Mask said. "All in the span of a minute!"

"Yeah. He headed over to Atsushi's carriage," Sorao answered. "Because of the note, he knew that Atsushi was alone and in the spade carriage."

"Then after he killed him, he left the tablecloth behind," Maiha said, "and fled to his original spot, pretending to have been there all along!"

"And he used his second can of glitter on his hands," Haruka said, "to make us think that the glitter had been there all along…"

"And that's exactly what happened!" Sorao declared.

Truth Bullet Chosen (Refute): Atsushi's Note

No, that's wrong!

"Wait a minute… The part about the spade carriage isn't right at all!" Masashi said.

Sorao raised his eyes. "What? What are you talking about?"

"You say that Kumi knew that Atsushi was alone in that carriage," Masashi explained, "all because he had directed him to do so with the note. But that can't be right at all. Look at 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.'"

"And what does that prove, exactly?" Maiha asked.

"The directions in the note... aren't that particular," Masashi answered. "Yes, it told Atsushi to be in the carriage alone. But here's the thing: nowhere on the note does it say which carriage he had to go on."

"Ah!" Haruka squealed. "Th-That's right! It doesn't say that at all!"

"And thus, if Kumi had sent him the note," Masashi continued, "he wouldn't have known that he was in the spade carriage only from the note!"

A few of the others looked at one another amazedly, especially Kumi, who seemed to have regained the courage to face his peers.

"Hey, now that I think about it…" Faye said. "How did Kumi know which carriage Atsushi was in?"

"I don't think we've talked about that at all!" Sister Hikari said.

"Well, duh! He simply looked into the carriages as he headed for the control panel!" Sayua suggested, none too fazed by this troubling development.

"Sorry, but that's not possible," Masashi said. "Remember, no one can see through the windows when they're up, so Kumi wouldn't have been able to see where Atsushi was."

"But Kumi had to open up all the doors with the control panel, right?" Sister Hikari said. "Wouldn't he have been able to see Atsushi then?"

Maiha nodded. "Yes, that must be it! That is the only sensible explanation!"

Could he have done that? Masashi thought for a moment and recalled what he had seen of the ride earlier.

"No, that's not it," Masashi answered. "It's true that during the ride, the whole merry-go-round had no lighting on the outside aside from the carriage signs. But even then, during the spinning part, all the lights in the carriages were off. It would have been very difficult for Kumi to see who was inside without being near the carriages."

"So why did he not simply go up to the carriages and check which one had whom?" Futaba asked.

"I don't think it would've been easy to look at who was inside," Mari answered. "Besides the lighting, the carriages were all spinning. It'd be too hard to take a good look."

"And not to mention that he would have to find Atsushi and kill him in about half a minute," Masashi said. "After all, the spinning part only lasted that long. With how extraordinarily difficult it would have been to find out where Atsushi was, I don't think Kumi could've killed him."

Though sure in his assertion, Masashi was much surprised at how things had unfolded. The one thing that they had forgotten about was that the killer must have known which carriage Atsushi was in, and yet they had not talked about it at all earlier, when they had worked out how the killer had entered the carriage.

"S-Sir Masashi!" Kumi said excitedly, beaming. "I-I knew you'd be on the side of good in the end!"

"So… Kumi's innocent?" Arashi said, gaping.

"I don't know about that," Abraham said, rubbing his chin. "That set aside, all the evidence still suggests that he's the killer."

"Yeah... the glitter's the most obvious piece of evidence, right?" Sorao said, who looked a bit startled at this revelation. "I mean... he had it on him, that's for sure."

"Exactly!" Maiha pointed at Kumi. "He's the killer! The addlepated commoner must have done it!"

"But… Masashi has a pretty good point here," Tanjiro said. "I'm not sure what to believe, really."

"I also do not think that Kumi could have killed Atsushi," Haruyuki said. "It may be a small detail, but even the smallest details can paint a picture in a wholly different light."

"Hmm… This is troubling," Mari said. "It seems that we're split down the middle."

"Hold on!"

This time, it was none other than Monokuma, who had opened up his arms, his expression stern.

"You're split on this matter, you say?!" Monokuma said, a bit of mirth in his voice. "Well, I've got a way to settle this once and for all!"

"You do?" Tanjiro said.

"Yep! As part of the process, the trial grounds will transform as well!" Monokuma answered. "It'll be spectacular, I promise you!"

The students here looked at one another with much bewilderment. Up until now, the class trial had gone rather realistically, but now, there was talk of having the trial grounds transform into something. It certainly was unlike any other court that Masashi had ever heard of.

"Can't we just talk this out without any transformations and whatnot?" Faye asked.

"And what would be fun about that?!" Monokuma said, outraged. "Now, then… Up we go!"

Once a circular panel showed up before his throne, Monokuma took out a great key and put it into the panel, whereafter his throne rose upwards, much to the students' surprise. And before long, their podiums rose as well. The panels in their podiums then showed something:

"Is Kumi the killer? Select 'Yes' or 'No'."

At this point, Masashi could not believe that he was. He selected 'no', whereafter the students' podiums then lined up in two rows in an area right below the roof.

Debate Scrum

Question: Is Kumi the killer?

Yes: Sorao, Maiha, Abraham, Tanjiro, Sayua, Murphy, Red Mask, Hikari

No: Masashi, Futaba, Sister Hikari, Faye, Mari, Kumi, Haruka, Arashi, Haruyuki

"Wasn't Kumi alone during the murder? He has no alibi, right?" Sorao said.

"Yes, but a few other people were alone as well, weren't they?" Sister Hikari said.

"Those people have alibis, don't they? So they're innocent!" Murphy said.

"Not all of them have alibis. For one, Arashi and Maiha were alone as well," Futaba said.

"M-More importantly, Kumi knew about the details of the ride!" Hikari said.

"Even if he knew of the details, he didn't know about Atsushi's location!" Haruka said.

"Is it not possible that he simply guessed where Atsushi sat?" Maiha said.

"In such a short time span, it would've been too risky if he had simply guessed!" Arashi said.

"But if he hadn't known, it would've been impossible to find Atsushi. After all, all the carriages look the same," Tanjiro said.

"No, they're not all the same! Each carriage carries its unique sign on the outside!" Faye said.

"What the hell are you saying? Are you saying the killer somehow used the signs, then?" Sayua said.

"The killer must've seen which carriage Atsushi went into and remembered with the help of the signs," Mari said.

"So the damn brat must've gone into the merry-go-round room before the ride to see him go inside the spade carriage," Abraham said.

"I never went to the merry-go-round room before the ride! I was with Sir Arashi!" Kumi said.

"Then what about all the evidence that points to Kumi?" Red Mask said.

"All that evidence must've been planted by the killer to frame Kumi for the murder!" Masashi said.

This is our answer!

Once no one made any further argument, the students' podiums and Monokuma's throne fell back to where they had been originally.

"We can all agree now that Kumi's innocent, right?" Masashi said. "He couldn't have done it, because he had no knowledge of where Atsushi was!"

"Knowledge, huh…" Mari said.

"And with the glitter," Masashi continued, "I'm pretty sure that the killer plotted to use it to frame Kumi, knowing that Kumi had it on him tonight as part of his fairy hunting. It was pretty convincing, if your reactions and accusations were any sign."

"Yeah… we were nearly had by this trick," Murphy said. "I don't think the boy's the culprit anymore."

Abraham scoffed. "I suppose it's fucking unlikely that he's guilty now."

"Even this phantom thief must admit that she was wrong about this!" Red Mask said.

"That's what I've been saying all along!" Kumi said, showing a mix of upsetness and gladness. "I was outside the merry-go-round room all along! I told you, I told you—"

"Yeah, yeah, no need to be so smug about it!" Sayua said, waving him away.

"Ahem!" Futaba said, getting everyone's attention. "I am glad that we have come to a conclusion about the storyteller's innocence. But I am afraid that we have found ourselves with a new problem now. If Takumi Takamitsu is not the killer, then who is it?"

Masashi thought for a few seconds. "It has to be someone who saw Atsushi go into the spade carriage. Only by doing so could the killer know which carriage to go to in the short time they had for the murder."

"Um... if I remember correctly," Haruka said nervously, "didn't Sorao see you guys go into the carriages?"

"Huh?" Sorao said, glancing askance at her.

"Yeah, you were definitely there!" Haruka continued. "You definitely saw Atsushi go into the spade carriage! After all, you're the one who pressed the button to get the carriages moving!"

"Hey, that's right!" Sayua exclaimed. "That guy was there, so he could've done it!"

"Wh-What...? H-Hey, come on, now..." Sorao said, raising his hands nervously as the others now glanced at him. "What you say is true, but weren't you there as well, Haruka? We left together, so you had seen him go into the spade carriage, hadn't you?"

The others now looked more intensely at the two suspects, both of whom looked a bit livelier than usual.

"I-I'm not the killer!" Haruka said, her voice squeakier than usual. "Sure, I knew which carriage he was in, but that doesn't make me the killer! After all, I have an alibi! I was in the storeroom in the second deck's port hallway! If I had tried to go to the third deck, I'd have needed to go through the dining room!"

"But neither Haruyuki nor I saw you before the body discovery announcement played," Futaba said, "so your alibi is sound."

"Well, if the clown is innocent," Maiha said, having grown much sterner, "it follows that the killer must be the other one."

"Hey, chill out, won't you?" Sorao said, setting his right hand on his head while sounding as sad as if disappointed by this turn of events. "There's no way I'm the killer. I have an alibi as well."

"You do?" Faye said.

Sorao furrowed his brows as he set his arms akimbo and heaved a great sigh. "Come on… I was in my room during the murder. If I'd tried to go to the merry-go-round room, Kumi would've spotted me."

"Right! But I only saw Sir Sorao when he headed downstairs!" Kumi said. "He must've been in his room the whole time!"

"But weren't you alone when you headed over to the men's restroom after you left the merry-go-round room?" Mari asked.

"Well, I was, but I swear to you, all I did was go to the men's restroom and then go back down to my room," Sorao said. "And besides, I did that early on. The spinning carriages' part happened in the latter half of the ride, so I couldn't have killed him before passing by Kumi."

"Then it seems that you too are innocent," Haruyuki said.

"That's right. I've done nothing wrong—"

"H-Hold on!"

It was Sister Hikari, but this time, she seemed much more unnerved and skittish.

"I'm sorry, but I can't agree with what you're saying!" she cried out. "After all... you've been acting oddly this whole time!"

"Wh-What? What do you mean, 'acting oddly'?" Sorao said, his tone a bit more serious than usual.

"Well... I've been thinking about it... and I've just realized that this whole class trial, you've tried to make us think that Kumi's the killer," Sister Hikari answered. "You were insistent on his guilt, weren't you?"

"Yeah... He even got Kumi to embarrass himself a few times," Mari said.

"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!"

"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!"

"R-Right... I accused him, all right..." But Sorao sighed once more, lowering his head in disappointment. "But you know, so what? I truly thought Kumi did it, and I happened to be wrong in my judgment that time. It's not surprising that even I make mistakes, right?"

"But... when you said those awful things... you... you sounded too keen about it!" Kumi said. "I-It's like... you really needed everyone to vote for me!"

"In other words, if you have been the killer all along, Sorao," Haruyuki added, "then it was in your benefit to try to pin the blame on him."

Sorao ground his teeth as the others gazed suspiciously at him. He must not have foreseen that the spotlight would now be on him, and Masashi could only imagine how much he loathed this.

"Wh-What? Get your head straight, man. I mean, I have an alibi, don't you remember?" Sorao said.

Haruyuki shook his head. "Are we absolutely sure that your alibi is as watertight as we assume? Perhaps you have somehow deceived us by appearing to have an alibi. You were alone at the time, so you definitely had the chance to do something suspicious without our knowing about it. And with your behavior, I have great reason to think that you are hiding something from us."

"I can definitely see him as the killer!" Haruka exclaimed. "After all, he's clearly tried to frame Kumi, our adorable little boy!"

"So something about his alibi must be off!" Faye said.

"Yeah… There's gotta be some trick involved here!" Sayua said, clenching her right fist. "And there's no way in fuck I'm gonna fall for it!"

"A trick, huh..." Tanjiro said meekly. "I wouldn't put it past him..."

"Huh? Deceived? Suspicious? You're talking about me?" Sorao raised his brow. "I don't know what to say, guys. I was in my room, and that's all you should care about."

But Futaba looked too troubled to appear in agreement with her unofficial advisor. "That is to be determined, I'm afraid, Sorao. I was a bit hasty in my judgment of the storyteller, so I am minded to think carefully. I want to trust you, of course, but at this point, it does not hurt to delve into your activities a bit more."

"And if we work together," Kumi added, trying to sound as encouraging as he could, "we'll find out how Sir Sorao tricked us all!"

As more and more of the class voiced their agreement, the glee on the musician's face waned, and yet, even now, Sorao, on the whole, looked far less irked by this sudden interrogation into his activities than Masashi would think. Was he that confident that they would not figure out his trick?

If I can't find what he's hiding from us, then I'll be out of leads! Masashi thought. I have to find it to survive!

Nonstop Debate

"So, Sorao," Haruyuki began, "were you truly in your room the whole time?"

"Well, not the whole time, really. After I left the merry-go-round room, I went to the men's restroom on the second deck," Sorao said. "Then I thought I should go back to my room."

"And I saw Sir Sorao a minute or two after Lady Haruka and Sir Arashi left!" Kumi said.

"Since he headed back to his room really early on," Mari said, "there's no way Sorao could've already killed Atsushi by that time."

"Yeah, that's right," Sorao said. "After I came back to my room, all I did was relax and chill there."

"Huh… nothing suspicious about that," Sister Hikari said. "But that means he can't be the killer!"

"Besides him and Haruka, could there be another suspect that saw Atsushi go into the carriage?" Tanjiro asked.

Truth Bullet Chosen (Refute): Hikari's Account

No, that's wrong!

"Sorao, are you sure that you were in your room the whole time?" Masashi asked, readying himself for his answer. There was no way that this was not going to end well, given what he had done.

Sorao raised his eyes a bit, as if his interest had been piqued. "Yeah, of course, dude. It was kind of boring, but I needed a break."

"Well, that's funny…" Masashi said. "Because someone actually saw you head into your room. It was Hikari."

Hikari started once everyone looked at her. "Th-That's right… I did."

"Well, what's so bad about that?" Sorao asked. "I didn't see her, but our doors aren't that near to each other, so I could've easily missed her. She must've seen me as I headed back."

But Masashi shook his head. "No, that's not what's suspicious. Hikari told me you'd gone back into your room a minute or so before the body discovery announcement played."

"Y-Yeah… I-I did," Hikari said, not even glancing toward him. "I-I was going to take a walk, but… I saw you!"

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Futaba asked, irked.

"S-Sorry… I-I didn't think about saying it…" Hikari said, her grimace worsening. "I-I'm not good at this kind of stuff!"

"Well, better late than never," Masashi said. "And what's more, she saw you dragging a rope into your room. It doesn't sound as if you'd been simply taking a nightly walk."

Haruka widened her eyes. "He had... a rope? Th-That's definitely not normal! I mean, I'm pretty sure musicians don't use ropes!"

"Gah!" Sorao said as the others now looked at him with wary gazes. "Y-You saw that, Hikari?"

"Y-Yeah!" Hikari said. "It was definitely a rope! I-It was pretty long, too!"

"L-Look, there's a good explanation for that!" Sorao replied, raising his right hand. "I found the rope nearby after I started my walk, and I was curious, so I took it back to my room. That's all. Now could we just let that go and focus on something else?"

"No way in hell we're gonna let this go!" Sayua said. "That rope's too fucking suspicious, and I know it!"

Sorao sighed as he set his hands on his hips. "Are you saying that it's related to the murder?"

"Well, you definitely must've used it for something!" Haruka said.

"Oh, really?" Sorao said. "If so, then tell me. Tell me how I used it."

What's up with him? Masashi thought, befuddled. Even after he had been caught on his lie, Sorao still looked not at all rattled as if it were no big deal.

Haruyuki chuckled. "If we reason how Sorao used the rope in his crime, we shall be able to determine his guilt."

"Are you sure about that?" Sorao said, a somewhat troubled look on his face "I'm pretty sure it's not related to it at all. It's just an unlucky coincidence that I was seen with it, really."

Since Sorao was less than forthcoming when approached about his suspicious activity, it was up to the rest of them to figure out what he had done.

"Hey, I was thinking…" It was Mari, who seemed to be deep in thought, glancing at nowhere in particular. "If Sorao used the rope for something, he most likely had to tie it to something, right?"

"Yes, I cannot imagine how else he would use a rope here," Haruyuki said. "But to what could he have tied the rope?"

Come on, think! Masashi thought. The issue here is Sorao's alibi. He insists on it, but if I think about the rope ties into the trick he used, then we'll get him to confess!

Hangman's Gambit

Question: What was the rope tied to as part of the trick that Sorao used to establish an alibi?

?-?-?-?-?-?-?

The rope was certainly not part of the actual killing, so it must've been used outside the merry-go-round room and the hidden room.

R-?-?-?-?-?-?

The rooms that Sorao went to after he left the merry-go-round room are the men's restroom and the third deck's garden. He must've done something in the latter.

R-A-I-?-?-?-?

What's in the garden? Hmm, let me see… There's a stream, there are a lot of flowers… And I think there's a great opening on the ground as well.

R-A-I-L-?-?-?

Yeah, that opening is the aperture on the ceiling of the fourth deck. All the decks have apertures that line up with each other, and they're certainly wide enough for a person to fit through.

R-A-I-L-I-N-?

Wait a minute… Is that what that rope was used for?

R-A-I-L-I-N-G

And the aperture comes with a railing that's definitely sturdy enough to have a rope tied to!

RAILING

"That's it!" Masashi exclaimed before he pointed at Sorao. "I know what the trick you used was!"

"What?" Sorao said, eyeing him nervously. "What do you mean, 'trick'? I didn't do anything, man."

"No, that's wrong!" Masashi exclaimed, a surge of excitement rushing through him. "You had the rope with you, there's no doubt. And the purpose of that was making yourself a fake alibi."

"A… fake alibi?" Tanjiro said. "But how?"

"Remember all the apertures on the ceiling of each deck?" Masashi said. "The aperture of the fourth deck comes with railing on the third deck, to prevent passengers from falling through it. What if someone were to tie a rope to the railing and let the rope fall through the aperture? If that person climbed up the rope, the short hallway where the merry-go-round and shop doors are would be avoided wholly."

"Because the fourth deck's and the third deck's gardens line up vertically, it'd make the perfect way to get around Kumi," Mari said, nodding along.

Faye gasped, setting a hand over her mouth. "That's… ingenious! Brilliant! Clever!"

The others looked amazed as well at Masashi's suggestion. Some like Arashi and Red Mask exclaimed at the solution, whereas others like Abraham and Haruyuki had more subdued reactions, instead mumbling their awe.

Sorao smiled, but this time, his smile carried a hint of nervousness and surprise. "Wh-What an interesting idea… But if that's true, then when did I set the rope to the railing? After all, I'm pretty sure someone would've noticed it if I'd done it much earlier."

"Well, that's easy to answer," Masashi said. "You must've done it after you left for the men's restroom on the second deck and before you encountered Kumi on your way back."

"The aperture on the third deck's floor is far from the hallway," Haruyuki said, "so it is fully possible that Kumi did not see it at all while standing before the merry-go-round door."

"N-No way!" Kumi said. "You mean there was rope hanging from the garden nearby?"

Masashi nodded. "This way of getting around you worked only if everyone was in set positions throughout the ship. If even one person left to go through the third deck's garden, there was a chance that Sorao's plan would be discovered."

"But… in the end, no one did, huh? What good luck he must've had!" Haruka said. "By the way… for the rope, where and when did he get it?"

"I reckon he got it from the storeroom you were searching in later, Haruka," Masashi said. "As for when he got it, it was most likely the same time that he got the tablecloth to shield himself with."

"And if I recall correctly, the tablecloth is said to have been stowed in the hidden room," Sister Hikari said. "So… I guess he could've done the same thing with the rope."

Sorao groaned as he tried to keep up his smile. "Come on, man… I admit I could've done that trick with the rope, but what about the glitter?"

"Sorry to say, but Murphy saw you take a can of glitter from the shop tonight," Masashi said. "You said that it looked interesting, but you must have actually taken it to frame Kumi."

"H-Hey now, that can't be right!" Sorao said, raising a hand in protest. "To do it, I must've known that there'd be glitter used in that fairy hunting thing going on! And I wasn't told about it at all! I mean, did you know about it, Masashi?"

"Well… I have to admit, I didn't know that there was a hunt until tonight," Masashi said. "Kumi, how many people did you tell?"

"Um… besides Lady Haruka and Sir Arashi," Kumi answered, "I think I only told Lady Faye about the hunt for the Woodland King."

"Then you truly didn't know that Kumi would use glitter, Sorao?" Sister Hikari asked.

Sorao sneered. "Of course not—"

"You lie!"

A loud and forceful voice rang through the courtroom, and it was Arashi that it belonged to. The pyrotechnician pointed at Sorao angrily, his expression bereft of any composure.

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

"Th-That man! He's a liar!" Arashi answered. "He knew about the hunt! He also knew about the glitter!"

"Huh?" Haruka said. "Arashi, what do you mean?"

"Um… This is something that I've just remembered, so that's why I didn't say anything earlier!" Arashi continued. "I was the one that suggested that Kumi use glitter as a good luck charm! But… I didn't actually come up with the idea on my own!"

"Did you get it from that guy, then?!" Sayua said.

Arashi nodded keenly. "I was looking around in the shop last night when Sorao came in and asked me what I was doing. After I told him about the hunt, he told me that if I wanted to use something shiny as a good luck charm, I'd better use glitter!"

"Why, you little…!" Sorao muttered as soon as all eyes were set on him. "W-Well… look, guys, I can explain…"

"You lied about not knowing about the glitter," Masashi said. "If there's a good explanation for it… please, tell us!"

"Well… I mean…" Sorao said, raising his hands defensively. "As you can see… I mean…"

"Sorao… are you the killer?" Haruka asked, eyeing him uneasily.

"I knew it! I knew you were fucking suspicious!" Sayua said.

"Y-Yeah! It has to be you!" Hikari added.

"N-No… Why, that's silly…" Sorao said. "There's no way… No way, no way, no way!"

"Well, Sorao?" Masashi said, looking sternly at him. "Have you anything to say for yourself?"

"One thing, really..." Sorao answered, nervously smiling. "There's no way… I'm the killer, man."

Masashi gasped as Sorao gave his answer, for his voice was wholly lacking of any desperation or unease. Instead, it sounded as calm and casual as if he were simply telling the rest of them what time it was. The look on his face was lacking in unease, and his hands were rested relaxedly in his pockets.

"Wh-What the…?" Masashi said, unsure as to what was going on. And from the looks of things, the others too looked befuddled by his change in reaction. "Why aren't you worried about what I've just said?"

"I admit, it's a pretty good theory. I do look awfully suspicious, and if I were you, I'd reach the same conclusion," Sorao said, showing no signs of anger or unease at all. "But… the one problem with it is that it's wrong."

"Wrong?" Mari asked. "What's wrong with what he said?"

"Well, think about it. Let's suppose that I had indeed done everything I've been accused of," Sorao said. "Let's go to the part where I killed Atsushi. Once that was done, I left through the hidden door and went back to the aperture in the garden, right?"

"Yeah, you needed to go back down to the fourth deck as soon as you can," Masashi said. "However brilliant your plan might be, it always had the chance of being exposed if you were not quick enough. After all, you can't fully guarantee that no one would see you or the rope. And in fact, Hikari did see you, so I guess your plan failed anyway."

Sorao chuckled. "True, true… But that's where your theory goes awry. Now, let me ask you: to get down from the third deck to the fourth deck, I needed to climb down the rope, right?"

"That's right!" Red Mask said. "You couldn't have simply jumped! After all, the height difference would've been great enough to hurt you upon the landing!"

"Exactly. But… once I climbed down, there was something I couldn't do." Sorao then looked at Masashi, keeping his smile. "Tell them, Masashi."

What? Why can't you tell them yourself? Masashi sighed as he thought about what Sorao was talking about. Let me see… Once Sorao was on the fourth deck, there was one thing he would have to do. And that is—

"Ah!" Masashi exclaimed as he faced the others uneasily. "He needed to get the rope back! But once he was on the fourth deck, it was impossible for him to do that! It was tied to the railing, so he couldn't have just pulled it down!"

Sorao laughed as he clapped for a moment. "You've got it, man! The only way to get the rope back was to go back up to the third deck and untie the rope from the railing. But then I'd have been stuck on the third deck."

"Wait, I've got it!" Sayua said. "You had an accomplice to help you with your plan!"

Sorao raised his eyes. "An accomplice, huh? That's a pretty interesting suggestion. Captain Monokuma, just to be sure... is the killer allowed to have an accomplice?"

"Well, sure, an accomplice is allowed!" Monokuma answered. "When you guys want to help one another out, who am I to stop you? But of course, only the one that kills someone else is deemed the blackened! An accomplice doesn't get any of the sweet and juicy rewards!"

"In short, an accomplice gains nothing." Sorao looked at his other classmates, giving them his usual winsome smile, but this time, with how carefree he was about the whole thing, it looked a bit unnerving. "And there's no evidence that suggests there even was an accomplice, right?"

"No... No, there isn't," Mari said. "The only other people who could've been your accomplice were Maiha, Arashi, or Kumi, since they could all access the third deck's garden without anyone noticing, but there's nothing suggesting that any of them helped you."

"So it's clear now that for me, it would've been impossible to pull off the crime," Sorao said.

"Then... you're not the killer?" Masashi said.

"That's right. I didn't kill Atsushi Morokuzu. Someone else did."

Many of the others gasped at Sorao's open declaration of innocence. Odd as it sounded, the man had been acting so suspiciously the whole time that it was all too surprising to see that the lead that they had been chasing the whole time was revealed to be wrong.

"But why did you try to make Kumi look like the killer?!" Haruka said.

"As I said earlier, I truly thought that Kumi might have done it," the musician answered. "Can you blame me for thinking that? He was alone, and there was the glitter..."

"He's only a child, you know!" Faye said.

"Oh, come on, really? He's no child. He's our age, but he still believes in fairies, elves, and all that baloney," Sorao replied, waving dismissively at the two women. "Really, it'd be weird not to suspect him, don't you think?"

"H-How could you say that, Sir Sorao?!" Kumi said, weeping once more, though thankfully, the cold pressure from his peers was already gone. "I... I thought you were better than that..."

"Well... even without the whole framing thing going on, I have to admit, Kumi is a bit strange..." Tanjiro said meekly.

"Even for a commoner, he baffles me greatly," Maiha said.

"The boy certainly has a few screws loose," Murphy admitted.

On the other hand, Sorao's excuse, however ridiculous it might be, got him a few sympathetic gazes from the others. Kumi might be innocent, but that did not change the fact that he was a rather eccentric boy. Personally, Masashi found his weirdness a bit charming, but he could understand why most of the others did not think highly of him.

"More importantly, why didn't you tell us about the rope, then?!" Masashi said, growing more and more befuddled by Sorao's deeds. The rest of the court too looked puzzled by his answer, looking askance at him. Even if he was not the culprit, he definitely had some serious explaining to do, though the lack of unease on his face suggested the opposite.

"Hey, man, don't get all angry like that. It won't make things go any faster, you know," Sorao said, gesturing with his hands as if trying to calm him down. "To answer your question, though... I forgot about it."

"You forgot?!" Faye exclaimed. "There's no way you forgot something like that! You took the rope into your room, after all!"

"I agree. I find it incredibly unlikely that you conveniently forgot about the rope," Haruyuki added. "The only possible reason that you did not tell us is that you were purposely hiding it from us."

Sorao shook his head as if he were a disappointed father. "Look, let me explain myself... I took the rope inside, yes, but right after that, the body discovery announcement played. Finding Atsushi's body really scared the wits out of me, and I was doing my best to tend to Lady Inoshishi. After all, she seemed at risk of fainting at any time. I may have looked calm, but believe me, there was so much to handle that I was kind of tired out. With so much going on at the time, I naturally forgot about the rope and whatnot. So, uh..." He let out a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry that I failed you there, guys."

"Well, now that you've explained yourself, I... guess it's possible that you happened not to remember it," Sister Hikari said.

"Yeah... If I'd been in your shoes, I might've forgotten about it as well," Murphy said.

"I-I sometimes forget about a few important things, so I understand!" Red Mask remarked.

As many of the others showed similar sentiments, Sorao chuckled happily. "Wow, gee, thanks, everyone... I didn't expect you to be so supportive."

Masashi could hardly say anything at this utterly bewildering sight. Somehow, Sorao had saved himself from censure with reasons that sounded plausible enough to get the others to believe him. Even with that account, Masashi found it hard to accept, and yet, he had no proof that Sorao was lying about it. And much as he wanted to show that Sorao was hiding something else, there was something of greater importance: the culprit's identity. Sorao had shown himself to be innocent with his explanation. It was almost impressive how Sorao had made himself free from suspicion, as if he had been used to this kind of thing already.

"Anyway... Now that you know of my mistakes," Sorao said, "there's something that we all should talk about."

"What is it?" Sister Hikari said.

"The rope, of course. Even though I didn't do the crime, I still had my hands on it in the end, didn't I?" Sorao answered. "Well, when I said earlier that it'd been an unlucky coincidence that I'd been seen with it, I meant it, really."

"You did?" Masashi said, growing more and more confused.

"Yeah. Once you reminded me of the rope, I remembered the whole thing exactly," Sorao answered. "You see, after I passed by Kumi and headed into my room, I relaxed for a bit before thinking to take a short walk. But imagine how shocked I was when I found a rope lying around near my door."

"The rope... was lying on the ground?" Sister Hikari said, puzzled.

"Yeah. It was on a spot right below the aperture," Sorao said. "Anyway, I was interested in it and thought to look at it a bit more, so I dragged it into my room."

"Th-That must've been wh-when I saw you…" Hikari said.

Sorao chuckled. "Well, thanks to your witness account, we remembered to account for this very important clue."

"More importantly, did you find anything important on the rope?" Futaba asked.

Sorao widened his smile. "You bet I did. Much of the rope was covered with pink glitter. Most likely, the killer unwittingly left glitter on the rope while climbing it, since we know for sure the killer had pink glitter on their hands."

"But how does that explain why the rope was there?" Haruka asked. "Thinking about it really makes my head hurt!"

"I think that we can't answer that until we figure out which deck the rope trick was used on," Mari said. "If Masashi's theory is correct, then it means that the rope was used. But all he had wrong was the location."

"Well, the third deck isn't where the rope was tied," Masashi said. "After all, the only people who'd benefit from it are those who say they were on the fourth deck all along. But not only were Hikari, Abraham, and Red Mask on the fourth deck during the body discovery announcement, but they also couldn't have known about which carriage Atsushi was in."

"And it wouldn't make any sense for Maiha or Arashi to use it," Mari said. "After all, they each were on the second deck by themselves. If they had wanted to go to the hidden room, they could've simply walked down to the third deck."

"Exactly. The addlepated and hot-headed commoner and I are innocent," Maiha answered.

"Th-Then the killer didn't hang it from the second deck?" Hikari said.

"Hah! Of course not!" Murphy answered. "There's no balcony in the servants' quarters or the storeroom in the second deck to access the aperture. Instead, it's blocked off by walls. There's only a window to look through in the servants' quarters. And as they've just said, it'd be utterly pointless!"

"Then.. the only other deck where the rope could be hung from," Masashi concluded, "is the main deck. The deck has railing around the aperture as well."

"That sounds about right," Sorao said, nodding along. "And now that I think about it, the killer used the rope trick to make a fake alibi. With that knowledge..." Sorao looked Masashi right in the eye. "Do you know who it was that was near the main deck and claims to have an alibi?"

It was then that Masashi knew exactly whom Sorao was referring to.

No way... He couldn't be... But that's the only answer!

Much as it pained him to say it, there was no other person who fit the requirements. But at long last, his reasoning had led him to a certain suspect, and he could not stop until that person confessed.

"Well, who is this killer that we've been hearing so much about?" Futaba asked.

Taking in a deep breath and readying himself, Masashi pointed at the culprit.

"The only one who comes into mind," he said, "is you, Haruka."

The whole group gasped as they stared at the clown, who looked the most surprised of them all.

"Wait… me?" Haruka pointed at herself, puzzled. "H-Hang on! Are you saying I'm the killer?! Th-There's no way you mean it! Th-This is a joke, isn't it? Y-Yeah, that has to be it!" She then put up a wide smile that nonetheless looked rather forced in this situation. "Y-You really had me going there for a moment!"

"Y-Yeah! That has to be a joke!" Arashi said, still recovering from the shock of hearing the accusation.

"I-It is a joke, right, Sir Masashi?" Kumi said, shaking a bit.

"Sorry, but what I've said is no joke," Masashi said. "The killer can only be you, Haruka."

Haruka then gasped once more, her expression worried. "B-But why?! C-Can't you see that I'm only a clown?!"

Masashi shook his head sternly. "Haruka, you said that you were in the storeroom in the second deck's port hallway, and the only other place you could've gone without being seen was the main deck. That's the reason why you're the main suspect now."

"B-But that doesn't mean I did it!" Haruka said, her voice full of unease and anxiety. "I… I swear to you, I was in the storeroom the whole time!"

"That's what you claim, but you have no one to back you up, commoner," Maiha said. "And not only did you know about that foolish commoner's foolish hunt, but you also saw Atsushi go into the spade carriage."

"And come to think of it… the storeroom has plenty of rope in it," Masashi said. "You didn't need to stow any rope in the hidden room, then. All you needed to stow was the tablecloth."

"Wh-What kind of accusation is this?!" Haruka said. "Are you really going to just listen to that guy, who's pretty suspicious?!"

"Well, if you think I'm lying about what I found on the rope," Sorao said, "we can always just ask Captain Monokuma to bring it. Right, Captain?"

"Yep! If it's important to the case, I can bring any item from the ship for examination!" Monokuma answered.

"P-Please! You have to listen to me!" Haruka said beseechingly. "I-I didn't do it! I mean... there's a good reason I'm not the culprit!"

Nonstop Debate

"All right, so if I'd been the killer, I'd have had to hang the rope from the main deck, right?" Haruka said. "But Arashi was at the servants' quarters, wasn't he?"

"I was!" Arashi answered confidently.

"What does that have to do with all this?" Maiha asked.

"Well, if I'd actually done it, the ruse would've been found out immediately!" Haruka replied. "After all, there's a window in the quarters! If Arashi had looked outside at any point, he would've seen the rope!"

"And that's why you can't be the culprit?" Mari asked.

"I know it sounds silly, but…" Haruka set her hand on her chest. "I'm definitely not the culprit!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Arashi said energetically. "Haruka can't be the killer!"

Truth Bullet Chosen (Refute): Red Curtain

No, that's wrong!

"No, Haruka. Arashi definitely wouldn't have seen the rope," Masashi said. "After all, there was something blocking his point of view."

"Wh-What?" Haruka said, eyeing him nervously. "Wh-What are you talking about?"

"In the servants' quarters, there indeed is a window," Masashi answered, "but that window right now is covered with a red curtain. Apparently, Atsushi had Faye put it up a few days ago."

"Oh, that's right!" Faye said. "I didn't really like to do it, but he forced me to do it as part of 'punishment'."

"And I bet that you had already taken that into account," Masashi said, "so you knew that anyone inside wouldn't have seen the rope! And with that—" Masashi pointed at Haruka again. "—your claim that you would've been seen was nothing but a lie!"

"Ah… Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" Haruka exclaimed as she reeled back.

"Lady Haruka!" Kumi cried out, holding onto his teddy bear for support.

"Um… I…" Haruka said as her smile faded. She must have prepared that excuse in the unfortunate event that she were ever accused, but now that even that had been demolished, she looked more and more helpless.

"I'm sorry, but you have to be the culprit," Masashi said. "You knew about Kumi's fairy hunting and could have framed him with the glitter. And you also saw which carriage Atsushi headed into."

"That's true… She knew everything that the culprit needed to know to frame Kumi," Mari said.

"You likely had found out the hidden room sometime earlier," Masashi continued. "Of course, I can't prove it, but since Kumi was standing before the front door the whole time, you couldn't have gone through that way. The only other way available was the hidden passageway!"

Haruka flinched yet again as the others murmured about this. This was good; the group's opinion was starting to sway in his favor.

"Then are you saying that after we saw her go into the port hallway," Futaba said, "she was not actually searching for nonexistent fairies? She was actually tying the rope to the railway in the main deck?"

Masashi nodded. "You both saw her go into the hallway, but neither of you actually saw her go into the storeroom and stay there. You only assumed so because you thought she had no reason to go to the main deck."

"Hey, so… after she went down to the third deck, when did she start using the glitter?" Tanjiro asked.

"I reckon she did it when she arrived at the playroom the first time," Masashi answered. "After all, the yellow mushroom there was covered with glitter, and she needed to move it to open up the hidden door."

"Then after she was done with the murder…" Sister Hikari said. "She had to climb back up, right?"

"Indeed. We found her near the entrance to the port hallway when the body discovery announcement played," Haruyuki said. "If she hadn't climbed back up, she would've been found in the third deck instead."

"Aah… Aah…" Haruka could only say as it became clearer and clearer how she had tricked them all.

"And once she climbed back up to the main deck," Masashi said, "she simply pulled the rope back up and—"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Once again, a loud voice rang through the courtroom, but surprisingly enough, it was not Haruka but Arashi that objected. He looked beyond angry, both his fists tightened.

"You… How dare you still insist that she's the killer?!" Arashi yelled. "Can't you just give it up already?!"

"But… Arashi, all the evidence shows she's the killer," Masashi said as calmly as he could.

"Shut up! I don't care about that!" Arashi responded, not growing any cooler. "There's a reason that she can't be the killer, and I'm gonna show you!"

Rebuttal Showdown: Arashi Seiya

"You keep saying that Haruka's the killer…" Arashi said. "But that's impossible!

"If she were the killer, then her hands would've been covered with glitter, right?

"Sure, she'd already left a bunch of glitter on some other things, but that doesn't matter!

"She should've had some glitter left on her hands!

"But her hands were clean! No glitter on them at all!"

"True, when you guys found her, I don't think you found glitter on her hands," Masashi said. "But doesn't that mean she had simply washed it off?"

"No, that's wrong!" Arashi said.

"There's no way she could've washed it off!

"The restrooms are in the starboard hallway, not the port hallway!"

"If she'd gone to the women's restroom, the people in the dining room would've noticed her!

"And if she'd cleaned her hands in the pool in the main deck, we would've noticed the smell!

"And there's no way for her to clean her hands in the port hallway, so I have to be right!

"Now take back what you said about Haruka!"

Truth Bullet Chosen: Vending Machine

I'll cut through your words!

"No, that's not right, Arashi," Masashi said. "There was a way for her to get rid of the remaining glitter on her hands. In fact, I saw it when I helped you during the investigation."

"What?! What are you talking about?!" Arashi yelled back.

"Remember when I got you that soda pop?" Masashi answered. "I got it from the vending machine in the port hallway."

"Ah! And that vending machine sells many kinds of drinks, right?" Faye said.

"Yep. Including water," Masashi added.

Arashi gasped. "Then.. you're saying she washed off the glitter with a bottle of water?!"

"It looks like it," Masashi said. "It doesn't cost anything to get a drink, so there was nothing stopping her from getting one."

"No... No waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Arashi exclaimed, only to fall silent and make no further argument. Meanwhile, Haruka grimaced as more and more of her plot was exposed.

"Hey, I was wondering…" It was Mari. "There's a stream of water flowing in the garden on the third deck. Why didn't she just wash her hands there?"

"When we think about the circumstances of her plan, it's pretty obvious why she didn't do it there," Sorao said. "Remember, her plan relied on no one seeing her and the rope. It was pretty risky, so at every part of her plan, she had to move quickly. If she'd spent more time in the garden, she would've risked being caught."

"Still, it is quite odd that she left glitter on the rope from climbing it," Haruyuki said.

"The glitter was only meant to frame the foolish commoner," Maiha said. "She had no good reason to leave glitter behind on the rope. I suspect that she forgot to account for this and realized it only after she was done climbing."

"So that was her mistake?" Mari said.

"Yep. If she'd worn gloves, she would've avoided it," Sorao said. "But… as we all know, she didn't and still doesn't."

"W-Wait, hang on!" Haruka protested, raising her plain ungloved hands. "Even if that were true, h-how would you explain the rope?! Wh-Why was it on the fourth deck?!"

Masashi thought for a moment. They had not talked about this, but he could now see how the glitter on the rope came into play. "I think it goes back to your error. Even though you easily got rid of the glitter on your hands, the same couldn't be said for the glitter on the rope."

"A-And?" Haruka said. "I-If I'd been the killer, why wouldn't I have just left the rope on the main deck?"

"You would've been caught, I reckon," Masashi answered. "Once the investigation began, we would've found the rope, and with the location, we would've figured out your scheme. After all, you were the only one near the main deck."

"So that's why she couldn't hide the rope in the storeroom, either," Mari concluded.

"But if that's the case, what did she do with the rope in the end?" Sister Hikari asked.

"Since it was pretty incriminating evidence," Masashi said, "she would've naturally tried to hide it. So she had to come up with a makeshift solution."

Haruka chuckled nervously, her smile growing unconvincing. "S-Solution? I-I'm sorry, but I'm really bad with problems! I wasn't the top student in my math class!"

"Just tell us what this solution Haruka used is already!" Futaba said.

All right, all right, no need to boss me around... Masashi thought, trying not to be annoyed by her attitude. Let's see... Sorao found the rope in the fourth deck, when he was about to go on a walk… So what did she have in mind?

"Oh, I've got it!" Masashi said after a few seconds. "If she wanted to hide it, naturally, she would hide in a place that no one would think to check."

"Ah, the hidden room, right?" Sister Hikari said.

Masashi shook his head. "No. Remember, at that point, she couldn't access it without being seen. Kumi was in the hallway, and it would've looked really damning on her if she'd passed by him while holding the rope."

Kumi cocked his head, showing a mixture of unbelief and bewilderment. "Th-Then are you saying that Lady Haruka used some kind of spell to make it disappear?!"

"No. Sorry, Kumi, but there was no need for magic," Masashi replied. "The only other room that no one else would check… is her room, of course."

"Aah!" Haruka shrieked again.

"But how did she plan to hide it in her room?" Futaba asked. "She would've passed by us if she'd tried to take the rope with her."

"The same way she sneaked to the third deck," Masashi answered. "She used the apertures to her advantage. All the main apertures line up with one another. Thus, she simply threw the rope down the aperture, and it landed on the fourth deck."

"Then that's why the rope was found there!" Abraham said.

"So… once Haruka threw the rope down," Tanjiro said, "she would've had to go to the fourth deck to put it in her room, right?"

"Yep. Too bad I found it first," Sorao answered. "I can't blame her, really. There was nothing she could do to stop me, and it was a pretty risky move in the first place."

"But come to think of it, wouldn't dropping it have made a bit of noise?" Faye asked. "People on the fourth deck should have at least heard it."

"Um... I was in my room, but more specifically, I was taking a shower!" Red Mask answered. "So that's why I didn't hear it!"

"I-I was meditating for a bit, so I was trying to forget all about any noises I heard..." Hikari weakly answered.

"As for me, I was reading something," Abraham said. "Now that I think about it, I think there was a noise like that. But since I had heard similar noises earlier, I had assumed that something had merely collided with the ship. That's why I didn't bother mentioning it earlier."

"Yeah, same for me," Sorao said. "Well, I wasn't reading, but you know what I mean."

"So it's clear now why none of the fourth deck denizens bothered to investigate the noise that the rope made upon landing on the fourth deck!" Masashi said. "All she had to do now was rush back down and stow it in her room."

"But the body discovery announcement played before she could even head down to the fourth deck," Mari said, "so it was too late for her."

"Hey, come to think of it... If Haruka's the culprit," Sorao said, "then doesn't that mean she's the one who framed Kumi?"

Kumi gasped. "N-No way... No way Lady Haruka's an evil witch!"

"Come to think of it..." Masashi said. "During the investigation, Haruka said something that I found to be a bit interesting."

"By the way… if you're going to talk with Kumi," Haruka said a bit more seriously, "you should be a bit careful."

"Careful?" Masashi said, puzzled.

"Yeah… While calming him down earlier, I don't know why, but I sensed something… weird about him," Haruka answered, giving the door a sidelong glance. "He's all right now, but… I had the feeling that he was hiding something from me."

"Huh… That is weird," Masashi replied, wondering what this meant. "All right, I'll be careful."

"Originally, I thought there might be something that Kumi was not telling us," Masashi said, "but now that I think about it, Haruka... you were trying to make me suspect Kumi, weren't you?"

"Aah!" Haruka squealed.

"No... No way... Sh-She said that?" Kumi said, trembling.

Sorao laughed for a bit. "Man, if she truly tried to frame you, then it means all those words about how horrible I am for blaming you... were nothing more than empty words meant to make you trust her."

"I... I... I... I can't believe this!" Kumi screamed as if he were the true culprit behind this. A few seconds, like Arashi, he too fell silent and had nothing to say.

As more and more of the group looked convinced that Haruka had done it, Arashi and Kumi glanced at their friend, beseeching her to give them all an answer already. It was funny that only minutes ago, Kumi had been in the same spot, but this time, Masashi was sure that they were on the right track here, and it was all due to her one little blunder. Meanwhile, Haruka looked down at her podium, her expression dreary, sweat running down her brow. It was such a travesty to see the gleeful clown like this, but this was the conclusion that Masashi had reached, and he must stick with it.

"Haruka?" Masashi said. "Will you confess now?"

"N… No! No, I won't confess!" she responded. "I… I'm not the killer…"

"But there's nothing else to talk about, right?" Mari said. "After all, we've uncovered your scheme."

"M-My scheme...? N-No... You have it wrong! I-I didn't do it!" Haruka turned to Kumi and Arashi for help. "P-Please... help me show them I didn't do it!"

But even her two friends were no longer there for her. With her betrayal, she had bereft them of any willingness to defend her to the very end.

"Wh-Why...?" she said.

"Oh? Shocked? Well, were you not fucking listening earlier?" Abraham said, arms crossed. "Think back to what the damn bear said to that stupid boy."

"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!"

"Grrk!" Haruka yelped, her expression turning more and more warped.

Much as he did not want to do it, he was nearly certain that Haruka was the killer. He hated having to see her like this, especially when she was usually joyful and blithesome, but there was nothing that he could do about the choice that she had made tonight.

"Puhuhuhuhu! It seems that the climax of our class trial has come!" Monokuma said. "And just to remind you... you know what's at stake here, right?"

"Y-Yeah..." Haruka mumbled, clutching her left arm. "I… I have to show them… I'm innocent... for my life... my life... my life..."

"H-Haruka?" Masashi said, worried about her as her expression darkened.

"I... I... I..."

But Haruka then gasped and turned toward Masashi, a sudden look of determination on her face.

"Ah!" she said. "I-I see it now... I see it!"

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Masashi said.

"Well, I'll have you know... there's a very good reason why I can't be the culprit!" Haruka declared.

"Huh? You're still not giving up?" Sayua said, more irked than outraged.

"O-Of course not! Let me explain!" Haruka answered, her voice containing a hint of hope. "I… I've just realized that you conveniently left out something very important in your explanation!"

"And what is that?" Masashi asked, confused. Whatever had he failed to account for?

"How I got the glitter, of course!" Haruka said. "And before you say 'you obviously got it from the shop', keep in mind… the glitter that both Kumi and the killer used is pink!"

"And?" Maiha asked. "What's your point, foolish clown?"

"See, that's the thing: pink glitter wasn't offered for sale in the shop until tonight!" Haruka answered much more confidently. "Murphy, you were in the shop, right? Am I right?"

Murphy sighed. "Yeah, you are. The thief girl took the last can of yellow glitter an hour before nighttime, and the captain then came with a new box of glitter. The glitter, though, was of a different color."

"And since you were in the shop all along," Haruka said, "you must've seen who took the pink glitter, right?"

"Yeah. It was Kumi and Sorao," Murphy answered.

"Captain Monokuma, had pink glitter ever been offered on the shop?" Haruka asked.

"Nope! Only tonight did I start selling it for the first time!" Monokuma answered. "And for your information, I had told no one that I'd sell pink glitter!"

Haruka giggled as a bright smile reappeared on her face. "Can't you see it? Tonight, not even once did I go to the shop and get myself pink glitter! And without pink glitter, I couldn't have done it!"

"Aah... Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Masashi exclaimed, reeling back at her counterargument.

"Th-That's a pretty good point…" Tanjiro said.

"Yeah, I can't disagree with her on that," Faye said.

"I must admit that for a foolish clown, she presents a good point," Maiha said.

"N-No way…" Masashi mumbled as he saw that the group now appeared to agree with Haruka. Though he had exposed how she had crafted her fake alibi, he had once again forgotten to account for one thing, and because of that, she still had a chance to persuade the others of her innocence. And moreover, since Monokuma had never told Haruka about the difference in color of the newly stocked glitter, it must be that Haruka had not planned to use the different colors to her advantage; the plan would have worked just as well if Kumi had used yellow glitter for his hunting as she must have originally intended. But thanks to Monokuma's choice in restocking, she had stumbled upon one last defense to make.

Haruka smiled a relieved smile as she stood with arms akimbo. "I've got to admit, Masashi, your theory really had me going there! But now that I've shown it can't be right, I can't help but laugh, you know?"

"So you're not the killer, right?!" Arashi said excitedly.

"And you're not a witch, right?!" Kumi added. It seemed that her last defense was enough to return to the two boys their trust in her.

"Yep! I'm a clown ready to make a fool of herself anywhere and any time to make you laugh! That's all I am!" Haruka then pointed at Masashi. "So can't you see, Masashi?! You've been chasing after the wrong person! Since I couldn't have gotten the pink glitter, there's no way I could've done it!"

Haruyuki chuckled, one of the few not taken aback by her rebuttal. "All of that sounds right... that is, if there truly were no point in which you could have gotten it. Perhaps like last time, there is something we are forgetting."

"Th-There isn't!" Haruka insisted. "If you think I'm wrong… then prove it!"

Masashi looked around and saw his classmates' faces. Though a few of them looked certain that she was the killer, there was still a hint of doubt shown by the others. That was the last obstacle that he needed to remove if he wanted them all to live, and the only way to do so was to show how the killer had pulled it off.

"I'll prove it, all right," Masashi said boldly. "Then this class trial will come to an end!"

Argument Armament: Haruka Minami

"I'm not the culprit!"

I'm sorry, Haruka, but you are!

"There's no way I did it!"

But we've just shown how you pulled it off!

"Please… You have to believe me!"

I wish I could, but all the evidence suggests otherwise!

"It wasn't me! It was someone else!"

Sorry, but I don't think so...

"Please trust me!"

I want to, but...

"I'm a clown! I'd never hurt a fly!"

Unfortunately, you've done more than that!

"Don't vote for me!"

But if we don't, we'll all die!

"I didn't kill Atsushi, believe me!"

Believe me, I don't want to think so as well, but…

"There's no way… There's no way I'm the killer!"

You keep saying that, but...

"I'd never kill anyone!"

That's what I thought, too!

"Killing others isn't what a clown would do!"

But if something else were at stake, you'd definitely think twice!

"Please… just stop!"

Sorry, Haruka…

"At no point did I go to the shop! In that case, how did I get my hands on the pink glitter?!"

Masashi remembered one moment when she had her hands on it. And indeed, she must have gotten it then. He readied himself and gave her the answer that she thought she would never hear:

"You stole it from Kumi's satchel!"

"Wh-WHAT?!" Haruka yelled out, arms raised. The rest of the group looked similarly confused and shocked at his answer.

"At one point, you helped Kumi put on his pink glitter on his palms," Masashi said, recalling what the storyteller had told him. "You applied a can of glitter, and supposedly, you put his two cans back into his satchel. But at that point, you must've stolen the can that still had glitter in it."

"Wait… Come to think of it, Kumi said that both his cans were empty now," Mari said. "If he's innocent, then at no point should he have used the second one."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot all about that!" Sayua said.

"Argh!" Haruka exclaimed as she clenched a fist, her face showing more desperation.

"So Haruka… stole the second can without his knowing it?" Faye asked.

"The cans were about the size of one's palm," Sorao said, "so for Haruka, it wasn't too hard to smuggle it out. All she had to do was pretend to put it back in Kumi's satchel. Then she could quickly hide the can on her person, and he'd be none the wiser."

"And... I never checked my satchel during the hunt!" Kumi whimpered. "Then… Lady Haruka… really stole from me?"

Masashi nodded. "Since she used the can as part of framing you, it's no wonder that it's empty now."

"But if Haruka took the can," Futaba said, "then the can should still be on her, yes? But why does the boy have it now?"

"Naturally, once Haruka used the can, she needed to sneak it back onto his person," Masashi answered. "She needed to frame Kumi, after all, and putting the can there neatly explained how Kumi would have used it if he had been the killer."

"But at no point did she meet up with Kumi after she left with Arashi, right?" Tanjiro said.

"True, during the third round, she didn't have the opportunity to put it back into his satchel," Masashi answered before looking right back at the frightened clown. "But an opportunity arose… after the investigation began."

"After it began… Oh!" Faye said. "Didn't Haruka go to the lounge with Kumi to calm him down?"

"Eep!" Haruka squealed as the others realized that her deeds had not been so innocent as they had thought.

"Kumi! Did you see Haruka touch your satchel?" Masashi asked.

Kumi nervously nodded. "I… I wasn't thinking too clearly then, so I think she could've put it in my satchel…"

"Then it truly was possible!" Futaba said, shocked.

"And the empty can now back in Kumi's satchel," Masashi finished, "the trick was complete! Kumi didn't understand why the second can of glitter was empty, but regardless, he still had it on him. Everyone would then think that he had used it as some point! You never needed to go to the shop at all for the glitter!"

"Ah… Ah… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Haruka shrieked.

Once she was done, she stood there silently, all willingness to fight for her life now gone. It was as if she were a dead woman walking, even though the bright colors that she wore showed nothing but life.

"Well… I suppose I had better go over the case once more," Masashi said. "That way, everyone here understands full well what you have done, Haruka."

She said nothing once more, life slowly disappearing from her eyes. The more he looked at her, the worse he felt that he must do it, but at this point, there was no turning back.

Closing Argument

"First, yesterday night, the killer was there when Kumi suggested that they go hunting for fairies during the night. Because of Sorao's suggestion, Arashi suggested that he use glitter, and so the plan was that Kumi get glitter the next night. Knowing this, the killer, who had plans to go on the Haunted Woods AR ride, later prepared for the murder. They took a knife from the kitchen as well as a tablecloth, and they hid the tablecloth in the hidden room. The killer thought that no one had known about the hidden room, so they thought that it was safe to keep it there. Next, after asking Monokuma and hearing from him that the carriages would be used in the AR ride, the killer then wrote Atsushi, the intended victim, a note instructing him to be alone on the ride during the third round.

"Later, after the killer rode the ride twice to see what it was like, the killer made sure to stay behind to see which carriage Atsushi would go into. Once they saw that he sat at the spade carriage, the killer left the room with Sorao and met up with Kumi and Arashi, both of whom were waiting outside the merry-go-round room. After Kumi got two cans of pink glitter, the killer helped Kumi put a can's worth of glitter on his palms. Afterwards, the killer put both cans back in the satchel, but unbeknown to Kumi and Arashi, the killer actually snatched one of the cans and hid it on their person. The size of the can was small enough to make this doable.

"Once the killer and Arashi headed up to the second deck, the killer headed to the storeroom alone. The killer was spotted by Futaba and Haruyuki in the dining room, and since they did not see the killer come back, it would look as if the culprit had been in the storeroom all along. Once in the storeroom, the killer got some rope and headed over to the main deck with it. Afterwards, the killer tied the rope to the railing by the wide aperture. Because the window in the servants' quarters was blocked by a red curtain put there by Faye days ago, Arashi, who was in that room, would not see the rope. Through the apertures, the killer then made their way down to the garden on the third deck.

"At this point, the killer had to hurry, and so they rushed over to the playroom. Now, it was time to frame Kumi for the crime, as the killer knew that Kumi was by himself. The killer put the stolen glitter on their palms and opened up the hidden door. Because the glitter was on their palms and not their fingers, the killer left nothing behind on the buttons themselves.

"Once inside the hidden room, the killer donned the tablecloth and headed over to the other end of the hidden passageway. There, the killer listened carefully for the music to change; the killing needed to happen during the part in which the carriages spun, and our sight was covered by bugs. When the music changed, the killer pressed the button, which opened the door for only a minute. The killer rushed over to the control panel, and there, they pressed the button to open all the carriage doors. None of us saw this, and the music was so loud that we could not hear the doors open.

"Afterwards, the killer, knowing that Atsushi was in the spade carriage, rushed over to that carriage. They then entered the carriage and found Atsushi, whereafter they stabbed him a few times with the kitchen knife. The tablecloth protected the killer from the blood splatter, though one drop of it landed outside the carriage. Once sensing that he was dead, the killer left the bloodied tablecloth behind, and the knife had enough glitter on the haft. The killer rushed over to the control panel. After all, it was only a matter of time before the spinning carriages part of the ride stopped. The killer shut all the doors and hurried back into the hidden door before it closed.

"Now the killer had to go back to the main deck as quickly as possible. The killer rushed back to the garden. But after they climbed back up and untied the rope, the killer noticed their one mistake: they had unwittingly left glitter on the rope. But first, the killer needed to deal with the remaining glitter on their hands. So the killer headed over to the vending machine in the port hallway of the second deck, and the killer used a water bottle to wash off the glitter.

"But there was still the rope to take care of. The killer could not very well leave it there or in the storeroom, since if it were discovered, the ruse would be discovered. The killer soon came up with a crude solution and thought to hide it in their room back on the fourth deck. The killer threw down the rope through the apertures, and it landed on the fourth deck's garden.

"The killer then began their rush to the fourth deck. But it was too late. Sorao had found it by accident and decided to take it back into his room, during which he was seen by Hikari. And before the killer could even make it to the dining room, the body discovery announcement played, which prevented the killer from completing their task.

"But to the killer's surprise, no one apparently saw anything suspicious on the fourth deck. The rope had somehow disappeared. Setting that aside, the killer had one more task: sneak the empty glitter can back onto Kumi. During the investigation, the killer took Kumi to the lounge, claiming to want to calm him down. But in truth, the killer used the opportunity to put the empty can back into the satchel. Kumi was too distraught to notice at the time. Once the can was back inside, the trick was complete!"

Masashi pointed at the culprit, who stood there overwhelmed. "And that was the scheme that you had come up with to kill Atsushi and get away with it! And you would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for your one mistake! Isn't that right, Haruka Minami, the Ultimate Clown?!"

The others looked at Haruka, amazed that she had gone to great lengths to win this killing game. But now that everything was clear, all chances of her winning were now gone.

"H-Haruka…?" Arashi asked, tears welling in his eyes.

"I... I can't believe it..." Kumi said with like eyes as he cuddled his teddy bear.

"Well?" Haruyuki said. "Are you willing to confess now?"

At long last, Haruka looked back up at her fellow students, and this time, there was no anger or shock on her face. Instead, there was nothing but sheer resignation, as if she had lost the energy to fight back.

"Yeah… I guess there's no point now in denying it…" Haruka sighed, frowning a dreadful frown. "You're right… I did it… I'm the one that killed Atsushi Morokuzu."

"It... It's all true, then!" Sister Hikari said.

"Holy fucking shit…" Sayua said.

Even though the killer had confessed, there was no mirth to find in this ending. It was now certain that one of them had taken someone's life, and the killer would soon be given her just deserts. In this courtroom, there would only be despair waiting for them.

"All right, then! It seems we've come to a conclusion at last!" It was Monokuma, the only one who shed no tears at this turn of events. "Now, then, let's get on with the voting. Remember, if you don't vote, you'll be punished, so you'd better do it! It's… Voting Time!"

Once he was done, all the students looked down as the panels on their podiums turned on. Masashi's panel now showed eighteen squares showing the students' faces. Atsushi's square had already been crossed out with a red X. Clicking on a square showed a fuller picture of the person and showed the name below it.

This is it! Masashi thought. Time to end this class trial!

Though hesitating for a moment, in the end, he chose Haruka's portrait.

"The voting has finished!" Monokuma announced. "Let us see the results!"

Afterwards, the room's monitors turned on, all showing that Haruka had gotten the most votes. It was not surprising at all, and yet, seeing her face up there only greatened the woe hanging in the air.

Monokuma chortled as he set his paws over his mouth. "Who will be chosen as the blackened?! Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one?!"

The panels then changed to show a roulette wheel showing all eighteen students' faces. The wheel spun and spun until it stopped at Haruka's pocket, whereafter a celebratory jingle played, and confetti fell from the roof.

At long last, the class trial was over.

Here it is at last! The conclusion of the class trial! As far as I can tell, you all thought that Musical Rantaro was the killer, but nope, it turns out to be Clown Tsumugi instead. I pretty much expected that Sorao would be seen as the most suspicious person, given his shady behavior and unusually blithe attitude, but even before this chapter, I think it was still possible to figure out that before this chapter that Haruka was the killer (her position and where the rope could have been used are some of the hints).

Anyway, the aftermath of the class trial is in the next chapter, as well as the execution, and including it in this chapter would make it too long, obviously, so I'll give my thoughts on Haruka then.