After the altercation between Sorao and Sayua, the rest of the evening went by peacefully, Masashi relishing every second of being outside. He was still no free man, as Maiha had chosen to have him locked up at night and move outside with supervision during the day. Still, it was a far better arrangement than being confined in his room all day, and talking to his fellow humans was a privilege that he now appreciated all the more. Once nighttime began, Maiha escorted Masashi to his room, unlocked the door, and told him to step inside. She bade him goodnight and then locked the door. Though he was back in his cell once more, this time, he felt no sense of being trapped. He got ready for bed and fell fast asleep, keen to see what the next day would bring.

The next morning, Masashi woke up and readied himself for the day. Just as he had finished, he heard the door being unlocked. As he had expected, it was Maiha.

"Good morning," she said. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, not too bad," he answered. "What about you?"

"I'm… fine." It was then that she clicked her tongue. "I've been trying to get answers from Sorao about what Sayua said to him. I even questioned him when I delivered him his breakfast a short while ago. But Sayua was somehow correct that Sorao would remain silent about their conversation."

"Really… How did Sorao look?"

"Quite unsettled," she answered. "I sensed no agitation from him. He seemed to be completely docile."

Hmm… If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably a bad sign, Masashi thought. But since he's locked in his own room, what can he do?

"By the way, Maiha, you have the keycard to his room, right?"

"That's right. I also have the key to his handcuffs, as well as the two keys to the Simulation Room," Maiha answered, setting a hand on one part of her black dress. "They're all safely stored on my person."

"So you're the only one who can visit Sorao?"

"Yes, but I'll lend out the keycard to anyone to whom I assign the duty of sending him food," Maiha said. "And I know what you're thinking. You think that someone may try something suspicious with Sorao. Well, rest assured, if anything bad befalls him, then we'll know for sure which person did it, based on whom I shall have lent the keycard to."

"Well, that's… reassuring."

After some more talk, Maiha escorted Masashi to the dining room, where everyone else besides Sorao was. When they entered, however, he sensed little ease in the air, as most of the others looked so unnerved that there was hardly any conversation. Breakfast had already been prepared and laid out on each table, everyone eating it quietly.

"What's the matter?" Masashi asked as he sat down.

"Isn't it clear, obvious, and transparent?" Faye said, looking slightly edgy. "The motive! Three days left until Monokuma reveals our secrets to the outside world!"

Haruyuki heaved a sigh as he leaned back on his chair. "Not a pleasant topic for breakfast conversation, as you can imagine."

"You got a plan to deal with it?" Sayua asked, looking at Maiha. "Or do you plan to just wait it out and let our secrets go loose?"

"Well… it certainly would be the nonviolent option," Maiha said, though looking uncertain herself. "I'm sure that quite a few of us are unwilling to adopt that solution, however. Yes, one of us must be already scheming something…"

As Maiha said that, Masashi noticed that her gaze was slowly directed at Kasumi. It was clear whom she was most suspicious of. Kasumi must have noticed it, too, as she gave her the evil eye as well with a momentary scowl. Masashi still remembered that when he and Haruyuki talked with them both, the meeting ended with a physical altercation, and the two women swore to distance themselves from each other.

"Um… maybe someone will finally find us and rescue us?" Takumi said.

"Even then, so what?" Sayua said, slamming a hand on the table. "Even if we were rescued, what difference would that make? Those scientist guys or whatever at Brightmere Research would just release our secrets, anyway! We're screwed either way!"

Takumi whimpered. "I… I was kinda hoping you wouldn't point that out."

"Yeah, well, it's the truth! The only way to stop this is if one of us dies. Don't fucking deny that's what you're thinking."

The others briefly looked away from her, embarrassment on their faces. It hardly needed to be said that she was completely right about the situation. And at this point, Masashi did not bother with the delusion that none of them had murder in their minds.

Maiha sighed. "This is quite a predicament that we're now in. There's a time limit in place, so the option of simply waiting it out is no longer available."

"Assuming that any deaths are off the table, then I suggest that we find our own ways to cope with what's coming," Haruyuki said. "Ready yourself for a world that knows many of your personal secrets."

"You say that, but... how many of us can do that?" Faye said, eyeing the others back and forth.

No one responded. They all wanted to give the impression that they would become ready. But which of them had a weak enough heart to yield to the temptation?

"Let's change the topic to something more… worthwhile," Maiha said. "I actually have reinvestigated the library and found something odd."

"Odd? In the library?" Masashi said as a vague remembrance sprang in his mind. "Wait a minute… was it something like a panel?"

Maiha widened her eyes. "Why, yes, it was! How did you know?"

"The truth is… Mari and I actually found it a while ago."

"Look at this."

Mari walked to one of the shelves at the right end of the room and removed a few books therefrom. Afterwards, she reached into the open space and then moved out of the way. Masashi peered into the space and let out a small gasp.

"What in the world?"

There was a small panel embedded onto the inside of the bookshelf. It had only a smaller rectangular pad that looked like some kind of scanner, and though it did not look at all threatening, something about it unnerved him greatly. Moreover, the panel seemed to have a slidable cover that looked exactly like the rest of the shelf.

"Is that so?" Haruyuki said. "Why did you not tell us this?"

"To be honest… I forgot about it, since there was also the matter of the missing clinical dictionary. And as we now know, it was Sorao who took it," Masashi explained. "I think Mari chose not to tell you because she wanted to find more clues about it first."

"A scanner of all things!" Kasumi said. "My phantom thief senses are tingling! I know that it must be the key to something hidden in the library! A hidden room in the hidden library!"

"Ah… Mari said something like that, actually," Masashi said, finding it somewhat amusing that both girls had reached the same conclusion. "In fact… now that I think about it, she guessed that it was a hidden room that only the mastermind could access."

"That certainly would not be surprising," Maiha said. "In fact, to be sure, when you and Mari found the panel, did you close the cover?"

"No, I don't think so. We left it open."

"Has anyone else touched the cover?"

No one answered.

"Then it's settled," Maiha said. "Someone definitely used the scanner at some point."

"How do you figure?" Sayua asked.

"When I found the hidden panel, the cover was closed," she explained. "It seems that the mastermind had been a tad careless and forgot that the cover was supposed to be left open, as Masashi and Mari had left it that way."

The others let out murmurs of surprise at this discovery.

"Wh-When did you find that out?" Takumi asked.

"I discovered the panel yesterday afternoon," she answered. "Unfortunately, all this shows is that the mastermind must have accessed this hidden room after Mari and Masashi discovered it, and before I did so."

"That's too wide a timespan to yield any worthwhile clues," Haruyuki remarked.

"Yes, but nevertheless, it shows that the scanner in the library serves a purpose for sure," Maiha replied. "If only we had the keycard to unlock the library's secret…"

"A keycard, huh…" Faye said, glancing off to the side. "All right then… we should be on the lookout for anything like that."

As the group talked about what might lie hidden in the library, Masashi was reminded once again that one of the people in this room was the mastermind and was therefore only pretending to be confused. Of course, Sorao was technically still a suspect, but since Sorao had screamed at Monokuma for his "betrayal", any possibility that all his previous actions had all been part of elaborate trickery seemed unlikely now.

I wonder… Masashi thought. Why did the mastermind trick Sorao in the first place?

After some more idle talk, the group agreed to hold off any further discussion. Masashi was glad as well, having begun to feel tired from all this theorizing.

"Now, then, time to assign guard duty for today," she said. "Masashi, since I feel generous right now, I'll give you the choice of which person you want to spend the rest of the day with."

Hmm… I guess I have some free time right now, Masashi thought. Now, which one to go with…?

After some time, he made his choice. "I'll go with Kasumi."

"Ooh, really?!" Kasumi said, beaming. "Well, this is gonna be fun!"

Not long after, the others soon left the room, off on their own devices.

"Let's go to the arcade!" she suggested. "I'm in the mood to play a few games! How about you?"

"That'll be fine," he answered, seeing how keen she looked and not wanting to disappoint her. "What do you have in mind?"

"What else but the arcade!" she responded. "I'm in a competitive mood right now, and I need a partner! It's not that fun to play against a computer, you know. Now, let us haste to the arcade!"

"Right…"

And so the two of them headed off for the arcade in the pirates' cove. Despite everything that had happened, Masashi found it relieving to spend his time on a casual activity, forgetting for a while that they were all trapped in this killing game. Kasumi went from one game to another, and the whole time, she looked as if she had the time of her life. Meanwhile, Masashi was busy acting as Kasumi's competitor, and though he was often dismayed by how he had performed, in the end, he too had his share of delight.

After a round of the action game Battle of Blue Earth, Kasumi leaned back on her seat. "Phew! Now that was a doozy! You sure gave me a tougher fight than I'd expected!"

"Well, I'm a bit familiar with this kind of thing," Masashi replied. "Back home, I like to play games with my younger sister."

"Oh, really?" Kasumi said. "Guess we're not so different now."

"Hmm?"

"You remember what I talked about last time, right?" she responded. "When I was young, I was separated from my biological parents… and in return, I found myself in the care of the Ultimate Thief… the man going by the moniker of Thief King. He forged a new identity and is officially my father."

"Oh, right… You said something like that," Masashi said. "So… does the Thief King like playing video games with you?"

"Nah. He's not that kind of guy. Nowadays, he pretty much just goes drinking with his buddies," Kasumi said carefreely. "In fact, he's not really much of a technology guy, you know? He likes to write everything down on paper."

"It sure sounds like he's more on the old-fashioned side."

"Totally! And the funny thing is that there is one more person in my new family. He's the opposite in that he knows his tech pretty well."

"Really? Who?"

"I mentioned last time that the Thief King had a son of his own blood," Kasumi said. "His name's Hirohito, and officially, he's my younger brother. Course, I see him as such, even if we're not actually akin by blood. That's what years of living together as a family do."

"That's interesting…" Masashi said, nodding along. "And you say he's the most tech-oriented one in your family?"

Kasumi clapped her hands happily. "He totally has an affinity for computers! Even when he was still in elementary school, he was already learning how to hack computers and other electronic devices!"

"W-Wow… that sounds pretty extraordinary…" Masashi said. "So if he's a hacker, I take it that he helps you out in your heists?"

"You've got it!" she answered. "Capable though I am as the Ultimate Phantom Thief, even I can't do everything by myself. You know how many buildings use those complicated electronic locks nowadays? Far more than I'd like!"

"So that's where your younger brother comes in, right?"

"Yep! He handles the tech side of my thieving," Kasumi said. "And besides that, we do usual sibling stuff, you know. Like going out to the movies and playing games."

"And he goes along with it that easily?"

"Usually, but he usually likes to do other stuff like reading manga and hacking into other people's systems to play around. One time, it took him a few days to hack into thousands of printers and have them print a message to subscribe to someone's foodmaking channel! It even made it on the news!"

"That's… one heck of a feat. And why foodmaking?"

"Believe it or not, but Hirohito has a bit of a sweet tooth. He liked the treats that the guy made on his channel, so he decided that it'd be both funny and rewarding to give the guy free exposure."

This time, Masashi let out a smile. "You two sure make an interesting pair. A phantom thief and her tech-savvy younger brother."

"Aww, thanks, Masashi," she replied. "In some ways, I feel that he's more capable than I am, even though I'm his older sister. Do you feel that way with your own younger sister?"

"Well… kinda," he answered, his mood going down a bit. "I admit, when my younger sister's the Ultimate Maid, and I'm just a regular guy, I feel a bit… inadequate."

"Oh, sure, I get that. It's hard not to feel envious! But you know, I don't let that hang over me for long."

"You don't?"

"Nope. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. Despite all that Hirohito knows about tech, no amount of knowledge will ever make him run faster than me!"

"Huh, you have a good point there…" Masashi said. "What are my own strengths…?"

Kasumi stopped for a few seconds, pondering. "If you ask me… you have a special kind of protectiveness in you. There's something about you that shows that you'll go out of your way to protect what is dearest to you."

"Protectiveness, huh…" he said. "But you know, it makes me sound a bit… obsessed. It sounds like a flaw as well."

"That's like what Hirohito says about my speed. He says I have a tendency to rush into trouble." Kasumi then snorted as she made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Even if that's true, so what? I can get out of any jam easy-peasy!"

Actually, I think your younger brother has a point there… Masashi thought, but in the end, he did not have the heart to tell her.

"Oh, speaking of getting out of jams, that reminds me of this one heist!" Kasumi said, energy entering her voice as she became ready to recount one of her tales. "There was a necklace that had a valuable gemstone called the Azure Illumination. A certain woman bought it and had it on display in her mansion. I thought it'd be fun to get my hands on it, so I sent her a calling card…"

The next morning came, and the beginning of the day played out largely as it had for yesterday. The whole group's secrets would be leaked to the world two days hence at nighttime, and the current solution was still to find a way to cope. After all the discussion ended, Maiha asked Masashi to choose someone as his guard.

Hmm… Masashi thought. I guess I should go with that person.

"I think I'll go with… Haruyuki."

"Oh?" the art critic said, looking somewhat intrigued. "So you wish to converse with me. This ought to be interesting."

After all the others left, Haruyuki asked Masashi to accompany him to the Neptune Clubroom in the space station. He sat at one of the booths and invited Masashi to sit with him. With how much this room had a lively vibe, Masashi found himself in the mood to relax.

"Masashi, I've been wondering something since we last talked," Haruyuki began. "Have you ever… made your own art?"

"My own art? You mean, like something from… painting and calligraphy?"

"That's more on the traditional side of art, and I suppose that it counts, if you have no better answer," Haruyuki answered. "But to me, art encompasses more than paintings and calligraphy. No, it is anything that leaves an emotional effect on the beholder. Not everything is art, but art can come from anywhere."

"Huh… when you put it that way, I think I get your point," Masashi said, finding his views on "art" perplexing and yet gripping. "Well, one time… I drew a pretty crude picture. I had the idea of a character that has fire powers."

"Hmm…" Haruyuki furrowed his brow, his face suggesting slight disapproval. "Quite unoriginal… but still, let me ask you: where did you get that idea from?"

"I'd watched a show on TV the other day, and that show had a character using fire powers. I thought it looked pretty cool, so I based it on that character, pretty much."

"No wonder it sounded derivative… but that does not need to be a bad thing. As art continues to develop, derivation from certain pieces is inevitable. In fact, one can see it as a good sign if a piece of art manages to inspire so many others to imitate it. It shows that the art has had a strong lasting impact on the imitators."

"I guess so," Masashi said. Though he found the man to be somewhat strange in his demeanor, it still did not detract from his points.

"Now, tell me: did you show that work of yours to anyone else?" Haruyuki asked.

"Well… I showed it to my younger sister," Masashi answered. "She laughed at it and said that it looked funny."

"Hmm? How old were you when you drew it?"

"Five."

"Ah. That explains it," Haruyuki replied, looking unfazed. "In what ways was your picture deemed funny?"

Man, he sure cares a lot about the details… Masashi thought.

"I think she said that the character looked like he had too much to his appearance," he answered. "It looked like someone in a funny costume, so she couldn't help but laugh. I guess it didn't help that I was pretty bad at drawing."

"Nonetheless, it was art that you produced,," Haruyuki said. "But as your intent failed to be conveyed because of the poor execution, that is enough to say that it was bad art."

"Hey, I was only five at the time. Don't you think you should adjust your standards?"

Haruyuki looked contemplative for a few seconds. "Hmm… You make a compelling point. I suppose that the art of elementary schoolers is bound to be rougher. I'm used to dealing with art made by more competent figures, so my standards are naturally higher."

"You seem focused on finding flaws."

"One can say that I have a natural eye for them. But don't misunderstand. I don't go out of my way to be negative. I simply point out what I see," Haruyuki said. "That includes the things that I like. Even I cannot avoid bringing up their weaknesses when I critique them."

"Is that why people like your reviews?" Masashi asked. "It sounds like you try to balance out the positives and negatives."

"Perhaps. But make no mistake. There are some reviews in which there is no equilibrium. I can be a harsh critic if the work pushes me so," Haruyuki answered plainly. "In fact, I've heard that some of my reviews were so harsh that they dashed some aspiring artists' hopes of success in the industry. Oh, they were pained to hear some of my followers mockingly parrot my opinions! It's such a shame."

"A shame?"

"Those fans of mine do not truly think for themselves. Their opinions were brought from somewhere and not from their souls. There is hardly anything original as a result. Where's the fun in engaging with those people, even if they are my fans?" Haruyuki said, sounding somewhat annoyed. "Moreover, much as I may find some artists' work to be of low quality, I do not wish to destroy hopes and dreams. I'd rather that they improve their work and make a better attempt at moving my heart."

"I see…" Masashi replied. "With how… effective your reviews can be, I'm surprised that you've not scared off artists."

"Ultimately, I'd like to think that I am the critic that they deserve," Haruyuki said. "I am negative where I am rightly negative, and I am positive where I am rightly positive. It's no surprise that I've managed to get the attention of various companies and institutions who wish to have me review their upcoming works and hopefully speak highly of them. I get early copies of games and even free tickets to exhibits."

"Wow… That sounds pretty nice," Masashi said, imagining all the privileges that came with that.

"It is. But I must confess, whenever a museum invites my family and me to visit so that I may review an artpiece there, I look into whether the museum features an artist that I like. Otherwise…"

He let out a disgruntled sigh and showed a somewhat childish frown. Now, he had little of his usual cool demeanor, looking more like a young boy who was displeased at the thought of doing chores. "Otherwise, the whole trip becomes a lame family trip... And I have to bear with my parents' gawking and shallow commentary...!"

Masashi did his best to stifle his chuckle, showing a mix of bewilderment and amusement. There's something funny about seeing Haruyuki complain like that. It's a bit silly, but in a good way.

Haruyuki took in a deep breath, and once he exhaled, he bore his usual cool countenance, Masashi pretending not to have noticed this momentary departure in his demeanor. "Ah, forgive me for that little indiscretion. It was just that the very thought filled me with some unavoidable annoyance."

"Umm… I see," Masashi replied before a certain question suddenly sprang in his mind. "Say, Haruyuki… from all this talk about making art, I now want to ask you something."

"Hmm? Speak."

"You're an art critic, and you've reviewed tons of different artpieces. But have you ever wanted to make your own art?"

"My own art, you say…"

Though Haruyuki did not look angry at all, the calmness on his face had been replaced with a sort of apprehension, and in the air now lingered a sense of tension. Had he said something that had surprised him?

"I must admit… I have desired to make such a thing," he said, his tone quiet.

"Really? Care to share the details?"

"Perhaps another time… I was not expecting that question from you at all, Masashi. I need some time to… think about my response. This is a problem that I must try to fathom now..."

Oh…

Once again, Masashi felt a sense of foreboding coming from the man. Though he could not tell whether there was anything malicious about it, he could sense from Haruyuki's apprehension that the topic that he had broached was not to be spoken lightly of. As Haruyuki changed the topic and began to chat about an exhibit that he had gone to, Masashi wondered what was going on in his mind.

The next day, Maiha did not provide Masashi with a choice on who should become his guard. Rather, she simply ordered that he accompany her. Apparently, she wanted to take a quiet walk, but she wanted someone to accompany her as well, so she chose Masashi. Wanting to respect her wishes of having a peaceful walk, Masashi decided to stay quiet as the two of them walked around the ships.

After some time, Maiha walked over to the space station. He wondered why, but he reasoned that in a few minutes, he would find out the answer. Like last time, the two of them went down from the lobby to the roller coaster room and rode the roller coaster to the other side. After they got off, they went through an extremely short hallway and arrived at the main hallway. Maiha took out from her pocket one of the keys to the Simulation Room, unlocked it, and then bade him to step inside.

Ugh… this room…

Physically, nothing about the room had changed. There were still the same eight metallic chairs placed circularly in the middle of the room, and there were a bunch of wooden crates sitting by the walls. Still, the sight of this room was enough to bring his mood down. He saw this as the place where he had forsaken all reason and had fallen prey to a deadly temptation. Had Maiha not been here to stop him, he would have killed Sorao, and he would have lost his life.

Maiha closed the door, turned around, and pointed at a certain chest that lay on top of one of the wooden boxes here.

"Do you remember what that chest is?"

"That's… the chest of Brightmere Research's founder…"

If he remembered correctly, besides the newspaper report, Monokuma had given the group a bonus reward for completing Planet Explorer. The bonus reward was that one of the groups playing Planet Explorer was allowed to ask him a question. As it had happened, the one given this opportunity had been Faye, who had asked him what was in this chest. Unfortunately, Faye had said that the only thing inside was clothing and trinkets. There was nothing actually useful.

"Do you know what that man's name is?"

"Mitsuji Mizugami."

How could he ever forget his name?

"Ah, so you've really read the newspaper report. After Monokuma gave it to the rest of us, he told us that he'd give you the report as well," Maiha replied. "Now, what do you think of the man? He strikes me as rather unhinged."

"Unhinged?"

"Yes. He had the initial goal of wanting to improve the world with his technological therapy practices," she explained, sounding increasingly disapproving. "Despite how naive he sounded, it was quite a noble goal. But now he's gone off the deep end and begun this killing game! He must've realized that his original goal of changing the world through therapy was foolish, so now he'll achieve it through twisted bloodshed."

At first glance, Masashi was inclined to agree with her. This killing game was a twisted idea, to put it lightly, and with how noble Mizugami had sounded in the newspaper report, it was shocking to think that he would end up doing this. It really felt as if the man had gone insane.

Still… something doesn't add up.

"Mizugami's goal still seems to be the same, though," Masashi pointed out. "Monokuma said that the goal of Project Shining Morrow was to realize an ideal world."

"Well, he still strikes me as mad. He must've had the mad thought that culling the population of Ultimates would help. Perhaps he thinks that our talents pose a problem to the world," Maiha said disgustedly. "I've had this theory for a while now, and the more I hear about this man, the more it sounds plausible."

So the purpose of the killing game is to lower the population of Ultimates? Masashi thought. If Mizugami thinks that Ultimates are the problem with the world, then she may have a point, but…

He wondered whether Mizugami truly harbored a grudge against Ultimates. Nothing in the newspaper report suggested so, though one could argue that Mizugami would never reveal such intentions in a newspaper report in the first place. Still, Maiha's theory struck him as iffy.

Just what does Mitsuji Mizugami aim to achieve with this killing game? How does this help him realize an ideal world?

"It's such a pity..." she continued after a short period of silence. "He seems to have gone off the deep end... nothing like my first impression of him."

"Wait... what?" Masashi said. "'My first impression'? That sounds like you had a different impression of him, but it changed after you read the report..."

"Oh, that's right... you weren't there when I remembered," Maiha said. "I remembered something when the others and I first read the report about him: I actually have met him before."

"You WHAT?!"

Of all the things that Masashi had expected her to say, never had he expected her to say that.

"Contrary to what you may think, it was a perfectly normal encounter," Maiha answered, unfazed by his sudden interest. "My father owns a real estate company, and a few years ago, he managed to sell a nice piece of property to Mitsuji Mizugami's paternal uncle. In case you've forgotten, Mizugami's parents had perished in his childhood, so he had been taken in by his uncle."

"Oh... so that's the connection," Masashi said as he heard a quiet sound of something moving outside. "When did you meet with Mizugami?"

"During one of my father's meetings with his uncle. He happened to be brought along, and that was when we met," she answered perfectly calmly. "He was still a college student at the time, and he struck me as quite friendly, though somewhat quiet and reclusive."

That pretty much matches how he was described in the report... Losing his parents must've really changed him drastically... Masashi thought.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"Well, there's one more thing," she added. "Mizugami's uncle is not exactly the average man. That is to say... he's the owner of a shipbuilding company."

"A shipbuilding company—Oh."

Now Masashi saw the connection. "I guess that explains how all these ships in this amusement park came about. Mizugami could've used his uncle's connections to build these ships for his own purposes."

"I believe so. My theory is that these five ships that make up this... unorthodox seafaring amusement park were once built for innocent purposes... perhaps part of his therapy program," Maiha replied. "I've noticed since the beginning that parts of this park incorporate novel technology. Do you remember the use of AR in that Haunted Woods ride back in the beginning?"

Masashi nodded, though not without some sadness from remembering that the very first killing had happened there. "Come to think of it, you were checking out the rides at one point."

"Yes, notwithstanding all the horrible things that we've been subjected to, I must admit that this place is quite interesting to explore—"

Before she could continue, however, they heard a strange sound coming from this room.

"Wh-What the heck is this?" Masashi said.

It took only a second to see where the sound came from. Up on the ceiling was a small device resembling a speaker, and it was spewing white smoke.

"Someone's in the control room!" Maiha yelled.

She rushed out of the Simulation Room at once, Masashi following after her. The two of them turned to the left and the control room was not far from the Simulation Room's entrance. As soon as they opened the door to the control room, they stopped, seeing who it was.

"O-Oh! It's you!"

It was Faye, who was standing at the left side of the room. Upon their entry, Faye raised her hands up, looking quite tense.

"Faye! What are you doing here?" Masashi asked, hearing what sounded like rumbling coming from somewhere in this room.

"I was just looking around this room!" she said. "And I pressed one of the buttons there!"

She pointed at a panel of buttons on the left wall. Now that Masashi took a closer look at it, he saw that the buttons were given different labels such as "LIGHTING" and "DRAW CURTAIN". These all appeared to be buttons meant for a stage, and Masashi recalled Monokuma saying that the Simulation Room had formerly been a stage room. Hence, all these buttons were for special effects.

"Which one did you press?" he asked.

"That one." She pointed to a button labeled "SMOKE". "Oh, it's still on. Let me turn it off."

She pressed it, and it was then that Masashi noticed that the rumbling in the room had stopped. That seemed to be confirmation that the smoke had been stopped.

"Why did you press it?" Masashi asked.

"I was curious to see exactly what the smoke would look like, that's all," Faye replied. "I don't see a whole lot of theater productions, so I grew curious, inquisitive, and interested."

Maiha looked at her curiously. "When did you get here?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know exactly. Maybe a few minutes ago?" she said. "I came here by riding the roller coaster. Didn't you hear it?"

"Come to think of it, I heard a muffled sound that seemed to have come from outside," Maiha said. "The door to the Simulation Room was closed, so I suppose that explains why I had barely heard it."

Hmm... I think I heard something like that, now that I think about it, Masashi thought.

"In any case, you should have been more careful. Masashi and I were in the Simulation Room when you decided to test out the smoke button. And the smoke is more dangerous than you may think it is."

"I-It is?" Faye said, sounding confused.

"Yes. I asked Monokuma about this some time ago," Maiha answered. "Do you see the tank over there?"

Maiha pointed at a half-open hatch not too far from the panel of buttons. What was inside appeared to be a blue container that held tons of ice, as shown by the small transparent glass that was part of the container. The space that the container was placed in seemed to be connected to a vent on both the left and the right sides, such that even with the hatch closed, there was a good amount of ventilation.

"The container contains dry ice," Maiha explained. "Apparently, the space that it's put in is designed to melt the ice so that it may produce smoke. There are a few small devices in the space that activate once the button is pressed."

"Really?" Masashi asked, peering at the space some more. "That's pretty nifty. You don't have to melt the ice with your own hands, then."

He assumed that the rumbling sound from before had come from this after the smoke button had been turned on.

"But what's so dangerous about that?" Faye asked. "I get that touching the dry ice with bare skin is bad, but is the smoke dangerous?"

"Of course. The ice is simply a solidified form of carbon dioxide," Maiha said. "If one were to breathe in too much of the smoke, one would die from carbon dioxide poisoning."

"Th-That's terrible!" Masashi said, shocked by what he had just learned. "I can't believe that theaters use this kind of stuff!"

"Before you panic, allow me to finish," Maiha said, looking somewhat annoyed. "It is true that a high concentration of smoke is dangerous. But fortunately, theaters usually have sufficient ventilation to let the smoke go through, so this is not really a threat."

"But I didn't see any windows in the Simulation Room," he responded. "All I saw was the entrance door."

Maiha rolled her eyes. "It's no problem here as well. There are air purifiers in the Simulation Room. See, the buttons are right there."

She pointed at a set of buttons on the panel. They were labeled "AIR PURIFIER 1", "AIR PURIFIER 2", and the like. There appeared to be six air purifiers in total.

"Hmm… I guess there's really nothing to worry about if there are air purifiers," Faye said. "Once again, I'm sorry for surprising you. I was going to go down to the room and see what the smoke would look like."

"It's all right," Maiha said. "But I have a greater concern now that I've seen you."

"Wh-What?" she said.

Maiha crossed her arms. "Don't think I've not noticed. Over the last few days, you've grown quieter and quieter. It's clear that you've been troubled by the motive hanging over our heads."

Faye groaned as she lowered her eyes, looking quite sorry. "All right, fine, you have it right. I am troubled… How can I not be? Many of our secrets will be released to the whole world in a day! A day! Once that happens, who knows how much damage will be done to our reputations! I… I'm having a hard time trying to accept all this."

Masashi said nothing, but he understood the feeling all too well.

"You're not wrong in finding this hard to accept," Maiha replied, her voice full of consolation. "I too… have felt tempted at times. On some occasions, I've fretted over how the world will react to my secrets. But I've managed to conquer those thoughts."

"H-How?" Faye said, looking keenly at her.

Maiha smiled. "You must remember that you are an Ultimate, Faye. You are the Ultimate Patissier, and being an Ultimate is an acknowledgement of your strength. Even if you are a commoner, you still stand out amid the crowd with it. Even with your secrets out there, you have your title to reassure you that you are strong."

Faye looked at her skeptically. "Do… Do you really think so?"

"You can ignore all the ignorant commoners who know nothing about you," Maiha said. "You don't need to care about what they say. You can stand on your own as the Ultimate Patissier."

"I… am the Ultimate Patissier," Faye said, her tone filled with more certainty. "Yes, that's right… I am the Ultimate Patissier. I should be proud of it… I should be strong enough to handle a few secrets of mine coming out… Yeah…""

Maiha smiled a small smile full of satisfaction. "Do you feel better now?"

"Oh, well… no, but it's a start," she said, looking at Maiha with some level of appreciation. "Once again, thank you, Maiha… Ever since you stopped Sorao from further attacking me with his words, I've been seeing you in a different light."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, really. I honestly thought that you were an arrogant, haughty, and condescending elitist," Faye replied. "But lately, you've been quite kind and thoughtful… it's quite a turnabout!"

"Oh, I very much appreciate hearing that from you," Maiha said. "It may surprise you, but I treat my friends quite well."

"Then do you consider me to be one of your friends?"

Maiha paused for a second. "Well… I have enjoyed your company lately. I suppose that it would not be too off to consider you a friend."

Faye smiled. "Thanks, Maiha. It's nice to hear that from you."

"I'm glad to hear that. If you need someone to talk to, you can always turn to me."

"Yes… I'll be sure to remember that."

Bidding them goodbye, Faye headed off elsewhere, leaving Masashi and Maiha here. Masashi had said nothing the whole time, figuring that it would be better to have Maiha talk with her some more.

"Well, that was nice," Masashi remarked.

"Yes… And I hope that it will stay that way," Maiha said. To his surprise, the expression on her face was that of concern rather than that of relief.

"What's the matter?" he replied. "Do you think she's up to something?"

"Not necessarily… but I suspect that she is still struggling with the motive's temptation," she said. "That's why I believe it's best for me to spend the rest of the day with her tomorrow. Perhaps with some company, she can spend tomorrow with more ease before Monokuma follows through with his threat."

Masashi shuddered. He still could not believe that in just one day, everyone's personal secrets would be revealed to the world. But there was no point in despairing about it. The only thing that he could do was hope that Monokuma might somehow be stopped.

"By the way… I've been wondering," Masashi said. "Do you know what's up with that?"

He pointed at the door located in the back of the right wall. When he had first seen that door, he had asked Monokuma what was behind it, only to be given no answer. He wondered whether Maiha might have found out something behind it.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea as well," she said. "The door requires a keycard to unlock it, and none of us has seen a keycard anywhere."

"What do you think is behind it?"

"It's pointless to speculate. For all we know, it just leads to a storage room or the like," Maiha responded. "Let's move on already. I tire of staying in this room."

There was nothing but mist.

That was all that Sorao saw when he opened his eyes.

He did not wonder where he was. He felt no reason to question his surroundings. All that he wondered was what would come next.

The mist partly went away, and though his surroundings were still shrouded, he could see his vicinity a bit more clearly. He seemed to be standing on the roof of a building.

"Sorao… Mineta…"

A voice came from somewhere. Sorao looked around him and saw nothing.

"Sorao… Mineta…"

There it was again. This time, he could hear it come from a certain direction. He looked that way and saw someone standing a few feet away from him. It was a shadowy figure with no discernable features, looking more like a generic silhouette of someone.

"Who… are you?" he asked warily.

The figure offered no answer.

"What are you?"

"Sorao Mineta…" the figure said, its voice dull and lifeless. "You have committed… a most grievous crime."

"Wh-What?" he said, taken aback by its words. "In what way?"

"You tried to kill Tanjiro Urata, the man who was truly your younger half-brother…" the figure replied. "A grave sin… A stain on your soul…"

Sorao bit his lip. Something about this was all wrong.

"What if I did?" he said, mustering up as much pluck as he could. "What did I do wrong? He was nothing more than a louse!"

"Is that your way of describing one of your own kin?"

Sorao paused, the air growing chillier, the mist slowly clearing away.

"You know what you said," the figure said, unmoved by his declaration.

It was then that Sorao heard a voice coming seemingly from nowhere.

"What's special about family relationships is that they are concrete and real… Deep down, we understand that someone who kills one of his own kin also kills a part of himself."

Sorao could not say anything. Those were his own words.

"I-I didn't know!" he replied to the figure, feeling surprisingly flustered. "I didn't know that Tanjiro was one of my kin! At the time, I only knew him as a total stranger! How could I have known when he had never told me! I only intended to kill him while thinking he was a stranger!"

"Do you think that your excuse is enough?" the figure said, sounding undeterred. "You know what you said."

The voice from before came back.

"Likewise, what's most important in an action is the effect, not the intention. That's because the effect is most apparent, for we cannot read minds."

"N-No…!"

Sorao remembered having said that to Masashi. At the time, he had justified how lying to other people about his true intentions was justifiable. The reason was that ultimately, the result was the same. Intention did not matter.

But now, his very words were being used against him in ways that he had never imagined.

"Do you see now?" the figure continued. "It does not matter if you did not know that he was one of your kin. Your intention does not matter. The fact of the matter is that you plotted to kill Tanjiro Urata, your younger half-brother. That was the effect of your scheming. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Wh-Who cares if he was a family member of mine?!" Sorao said. Despite all the pluck that he had mustered, his voice was now shaking. "Tanjiro… He was a threat to me! He knew my other secrets! He was totally going to tell the whole world about them sooner or later! It was totally justified to try to get rid of him!"

"Is that all that you have?"

Sorao waited with the expectation that his voice would come back and haunt him with his own words again. But instead, he saw something materialize in front of him. It was a small book, one that he was all too familiar with, and he glanced down at the pages with dread.

"Despite everything that he has done, deep down, I love Sorao as one of his kin. I do not wish for him to suffer any ill.

"All I wish is for him to learn from his mistakes and become a better person.

"If that day ever comes, then I will tell him this secret. Until then, I can only hope."

Sorao winced. Those words came from Tanjiro's diary.

"Do you see now?" the figure said, his voice still monotonous, but it sounded slightly more aggressive now. "Those are not the words of a man who wished to harm you. It is quite clear that he loved you as one of your kin."

"No… No, that can't be right!" Sorao said, insistent in his denial. "Tanjiro… he never meant it! He only wrote those things to make himself look good to the others!"

"Do not flee from the truth," the figure replied at once. "He never revealed the diary to anyone, not even Sayua Tomi. He had no plans to show the diary to anyone while he was still alive. Nothing that he wrote was for his social image. Everything that he wrote was from the heart."

"Th-Then…"

Sorao's lips quivered, his will faltering.

"What was I doing all this for?"

He had no further arguments to gainsay the figure with.

It was completely right.

He had committed a most grievous crime.

"It is truly pitiful, Sorao Mineta," the figure replied. Despite being proven right, it had no sense of satisfaction in its voice. "You no longer have any principles. After all, even if you failed in the attempt, you still violated your own principle of not killing any of your kin. And you did all that for nothing. Tanjiro was never a threat to you. It was completely pointless."

"I…"

What could Sorao say?

He wished that he could declare his virtue and righteousness.

But hearing the facts laid out like that, he could not earnestly say it.

He had neither virtue nor righteousness.

If not even his principles remained with him, what remained with him?

It was then that the figure, which had no discernable shape, began to change. In a matter of seconds, the figure morphed into the silhouette of someone that Sorao recognized full well, for it was none other than Sorao himself. Yes, its outer features seemed to match his perfectly, and for a second, Sorao was unnerved at the resemblance.

But what drew his attention next was that a hole suddenly appeared in the figure's chest. Rather than something that one might expect to see in a human body such as organs, there appeared to be a circular hollow space. Sorao gasped at the cavity, and when he looked up at the figure's face, he yelped at the sight of the blank and lifeless expression of his own face.

"Wh-What are you?!" Sorao cried out.

"I am what lies beneath the mask."

Sorao shuddered, hearing his own voice coming from the shadow. And yet, even though it was clearly his voice, it sounded quite warped.

"N-No, I... I...!"

"For all your life, you have only connected to others with a carefully crafted persona. You have managed to fool them with it.

"But you have blinded even yourself. Now you must learn what lies beneath."

The shadowy figure then approached him, reaching out an arm.

Relying on only his instincts at this point, Sorao backed away.

But no sooner had he taken a few steps did he feel that he had put his foot on what felt like air.

He had realized it too late.

He had stepped off the building.

Letting out a great scream, he fell and fell. The only thing that he could see was the building from which he had fallen, everything else covered in mist. He tried to look for something to stop his fall, but there was nothing to reach out to. His fall would not be stopped.

Eventually, he saw the mist from below clear away.

And in just a few seconds, he saw the very hard ground awaiting him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The very moment that he struck the ground, all disappeared, and Sorao opened his eyes, finding himself in a completely different place. He fearfully looked around at first, only to be soothed upon seeing that it was none other than his own room.

It was all… a dream…

Yes, he was lying in bed, his hands still in cuffs. As night had come, the room was covered in darkness, which was broken only by the moonlight shining through the window. He waited a few more seconds to see whether anything would happen, and indeed, nothing did. He was firmly back in the realm of reality now.

Just what was that dream…?

Sorao had had nightmares before, and some of them were almost as horrible as this one. But this one had struck him far more in the heart than the others, and he was now left with a strange and dreadful feeling within him.

Damn Sayua Tomi… Damn her to hell!

This was all her fault.

Had she never told him Tanjiro's kinship with him, then he would never have to bear this feeling.

He would still be able to live his life blissfully, not being haunted by the truth.

But it was too late now. He could not forget what had happened in his dream.

What lies beneath the mask…

Had it been a message from the soul?

He thought about what he had seen.

He thought long and hard about what he had learned.

How long it had taken him, he soon lost track.

But eventually, he finished thinking.

He reached a conclusion.

It took him a few more minutes to accept it. But eventually, he did.

Now, it was time to begin.

"Monokuma!"

No sooner had he called out his name than the bear appeared in his usual white spiffy outfit.

"Well, now, what can I do for you at this hour?" Monokuma asked. "You were thrashing about in your sleep earlier. I was honestly wondering what you were dreaming about."

"I was thrashing, huh? Well, it certainly made me realize something," Sorao said with a devious smirk.

"I know what that look on your face shows," Monokuma said. "You have a plan, don't you?"

"That's right. The others think that they've already won by locking me in here. But they are fools. I'll snatch their victory away from them."

"Oh? Mind sharing your plan with me?"

"Before I share, do you mind answering some questions for me? Your answers will help me decide whether I can pull it off."

"What questions?"

Sorao told him what his questions were.

"What? Really? Hmm…" Monokuma said. "I don't know… Is it really best to help you? Even if it means revealing information that I'm normally supposed to keep hidden?"

"I see that you need something to sweeten the deal. Fine, then, I'll talk. Maybe that'll get you to listen to me."

Sorao told him his plan.

"Whoa, now! That's what you plan on doing?" Monokuma said, looking somewhat surprised. "Are you really willing to go that far for your goal?"

"Oh, rest assured, I am," Sorao said, his voice full of resolve. "I have nothing to lose at this point."

Time for some FTEs! Is it surprising that they would happen this late in the chapter? I didn't find it fitting to put them earlier in Chapter 5, given Masashi's behavior back then, and after the dramatic moments in the previous parts, I thought that it would be nice to have some light-hearted moments.

Anyway, Masashi spends some time with Kasumi and Haruyuki, and that's about it for FTEs. And something else goes on with Sorao… Next time, we'll see what will come out of that!