The sight that lay before Masashi was unreal.
A dead man now sat in the chair, his body tarnished with numerous stab wounds, the blood having flowed out and spilled onto the floor. Even after he had seen so many corpses, Masashi found this to be the most brutal and horrific of them all.
"H-He's dead…" Kasumi said. "Sorao… Sorao's dead!"
"Wh-What is the meaning of this?!" Maiha cried out, sounding more puzzled than outraged. "How… How can this be?"
"S-Someone's murdered him... and so horrifically, too!" Faye said, gaping at the sight, eyes fixated on the corpse with utter befuddlement.
"It's certainly defied my expectations on what we should find," Haruyuki said, his voice showing a mix of shock and awe.
"Ugh… so bloody…" Takumi muttered, holding onto his dear teddy bear. "I… I don't wanna stay here for too long now…"
Sayua said nothing, looking as if she were trying to suppress her speech, her face quite wan.
"Well, well, congratulations!"
Monokuma arose from underneath the floor, and by this point, Masashi had learned not to be startled by his appearances.
"It looks like one of you made him kick the bucket at long last!" Monokuma whistled with admiration as he gandered at the corpse. "Oh, boy, someone sure had it out for him! Would you look at all those stab wounds!"
Faye let out a fearful cry, looking somewhat pale. "Th-This isn't what I expected at all! I thought we might find him here... but not like this... not like this..."
"Well, either way, his death's a good thing for you, don'tcha think?" Monokuma replied. "After all… it's not even midnight yet! Since someone has died before the deadline, I won't release your secrets to the outside world after all!"
"Huh… that's right!" Kasumi yelped. "Our secrets! They're safe with us now!"
"I should imagine that a heavy burden has now been heaved off our shoulders," Haruyuki said.
"Puhuhuhu… I'm sure that you guys must be very, very happy!" Monokuma said, spreading out his arms. "Sorao Mineta's dead! That nasty, scheming rogue! Surely you're aware of how much trouble and anguish he gave you! Now he's gone from this world at last! And his death has stopped your secrets from being published! Don't you just want to… rejoice?"
Feel happy… Rejoice…?
Masashi looked once more at the bloody sight. Finally, the cunning foe was dead. He had gotten his just deserts. Masashi had failed to do the deed last time, but this time, someone else had managed to do it. He had gotten exactly what he had wanted. Indeed, Monokuma was right. He was, for a moment, happy that Sorao was dead.
But the longer he peered at him, the faster the feeling of joy fleeted, and eventually, Masashi realized the new feeling that now lay in his heart:
Nothing.
He felt nothing.
Emptiness was what reigned supreme in his mind.
Why…? Why do I… feel this way…?
He could not say that he cared for Sorao Mineta at all. One might say that the world was now better off without him and his manipulations. And yet, why did he feel so empty now?
"Hmm? No one's seriously rejoicing? Even though I'm sure you hated him?" Monokuma said, everyone having gone silent. "Eh, whatever. You had your chance. Now, time for everyone's favorite part… find the killer!"
"Th-The killer!" Takumi said, hiding the lower half of his face with his teddy bear. "One of us… really killed Sorao... I… I still can't believe it..."
Maiha snarled. "I never wished for things to play out like this… I had my grievances toward him, certainly, but his just deserts did not lie in death."
Sayua looked back and forth at the others. "Whoever did this to him must've been… such a deplorable person…"
"Well, deplorable or not, that person is certainly right here in this room!" Monokuma said, covering his mouth. "Take a good look at one another's faces, everyone! Think about which one of you is putting up a mask, a false persona! Someone here is hiding the truth!"
The others looked at one another, and sure enough, the shock in the air that had come from the discovery of Sorao's corpse was now replaced by unease and mistrust over which of them had done the awful deed.
"Puhuhuhu… You really oughta chew on that more," Monokuma said. "In the meantime, let me give you the fifth Monokuma File! You'll probably find it… surprising."
"What?" Masashi said. "What do you mean?"
Not answering his question with words, Monokuma instead handed each student Monokuma File 5, and the students read it at once:
"The victim is Sorao Mineta, the Ultimate Celesta Player.
"The victim died from carbon dioxide poisoning.
"When the victim died, his consciousness was in the virtual world of the Planet Explorer game.
"There is one wound on the back of his head, but it is determined not to have been fatal.
"There are several stab wounds throughout his body, but these are determined to have been made after death."
"What in the world…?"
He reread the file once more, wondering whether he had missed something, but sure enough, all the information was there.
"Sorao… didn't die from those stab wounds?" he said, befuddled.
"Nope! They were inflicted on him after his death!" Monokuma answered. "Now isn't that a doozy?"
"That's… odd," Maiha said. "If the killer used poison to kill him, then why bother with the stabbings?"
"And on top of that, it seems that Sorao was using the VR machine at the time," Haruyuki added. "For what purpose did he go into the virtual world?"
Yeah… what a mysterious killing… Masashi thought. Mysteries lying on top of each other… I can't even imagine where to begin.
Kasumi groaned as she rubbed her head. "My memories… I think… I'm starting to remember more…"
"You are?" Haruyuki said, eyeing her.
"Yeah… I… I think I should step outside… Need some fresh air…"
Kasumi walked out of the Simulation Room.
"Hmm… I'm quite concerned about how Kasumi is doing," Haruyuki said, looking somewhat concerned now. "And on top of that, I still have some questions for her… I must tend to her at once."
"I think that I shall investigate the Control Room," Maiha said. "It's quite obvious what its connection to Sorao's murder is."
"I-It is?" Takumi said.
"You're not quite right in the head if you cannot see the connection," she replied. "I'll have you accompany me, then, just so that you may understand."
The three of them left the Simulation Room as well, which left Masashi alone with Sayua and Faye.
"Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma said. "Things have really gotten interesting now… I'm looking forward to seeing what you can uncover!"
Monokuma disappeared.
"All right, then…" Masashi said. "I guess this is the best place to start investigating."
Faye looked to her left, only to immediately flinch and draw back at the sight of Sorao's corpse right next to her. "Ugh… so much blood… Still, I guess I'll have to keep an eye on the scene, then. Are you all right staying here, Sayua?"
A few seconds later, however, the cheerleader, who stood at the other side of the room, let out a sigh and faced away from them, her gaze fixated on the floor.
"Hmm?" Faye said, looking at her with a mix of confusion and interest. "Sayua, are you all right?"
Sayua did not respond.
"That's weird…" Faye muttered. "Something's not right with her. What do you think is going on with her, Masashi?"
"Maybe… she's shocked at seeing Sorao dead?" he suggested. "I mean, she hated him, that's for sure, but seeing him dead… that's still bound to have an effect on her."
"Yeah… maybe…" Faye said, looking intently at her for a few more seconds before speaking once more. "Hey… could you go to her and ask her? I've… not talked with her much, but you've talked with her more, haven't you? I think you'll have better luck."
"Sure, I'll give it a try."
He had a feeling that getting her to speak her mind might prove difficult, if not fruitless, but it was worth giving it a shot, anyway. After all, there was no doubt that something weird was going on with her, and it might be tied to the truth behind the case.
"Sayua?" he said, walking a few steps toward her. "Is something the matter?"
"Huh? Oh… nothing, really," she said, refusing to turn her head. "I… I was just thinking…"
"Thinking?"
"Yeah… thinking…"
"Well, in that case, could you turn around and watch the body?" Masashi asked. "You can do your thinking at the same time, right?"
"F-Fine…"
She turned around, and surprisingly, she bore neither irritation nor frustration in her face. Rather, she looked quite pensive, leering at Sorao's corpse with some dread and caution. It was almost as if she thought that she would be cursed to remain in its vicinity, odd as it might sound. Nonetheless, she did not leave the room, though she kept her distance from the corpse as she guarded it with Faye.
"All right, then… let's begin the investigation," Masashi said, trying to sound as resolute as he could.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Monokuma File
First things first, there was the matter of Sorao's corpse. Even now, Masashi found it difficult to withstand the gruesomeness of the scene. Blood stained most of Sorao's chest as a result of the many stab wounds dealt to it.
"Do you think there's something on Sorao's person that might serve as a clue?" Faye asked carefully.
"Maybe. I guess I'll have to search through his… pockets…"
He gulped as he touched one bloody spot to assess how dry the blood was. Sure enough, the blood had not fully dried yet, though the effect of the stain was so small that he would never mistake his bloodied hand for a fresh wound, and it was easy to rub it off.
"Thank goodness the blood's dry for the most part," he remarked. "The room is a bit warm, so I guess the blood dried up faster than usual."
"I'd faint if I had to touch the body while the blood was still wet!" Faye said, looking a bit pale.
"Well, I'm the one doing all the touching, anyway…"
He looked at the inside of Sorao's jacket, and besides the numerous piercings, he noted that most of it was sullied by the blood that had leaked from Sorao's stab wounds. He found one small pocket near the zipper, and when he peered into it, he saw blood all over the inside. When his finger touched part of the blood, for a second, he shuddered, but grew relieved once he saw that the blood had dried enough to be rubbed off. Still, it was not going to be pleasant to search a bloody pocket. Mustering courage, he placed a hand inside the pocket and took something out.
"Look at this!" he said as he took it out. It was a key, and though it had some blood on it, the amount was quite minimal, so he easily recognized what this key was. "It's the other key to the Simulation Room."
Masashi examined the key closely and compared it with the key that he had found in the Relaxation Room, the latter of which he had used to unlock this room's door. There were no differences.
Huh, that's weird… he thought. There's not much blood on the key.
He would have expected that there would be much more blood, given the state of the corpse. Yet somehow the key avoided being bathed completely in blood. He wondered whether it had been simply pure luck, since he doubted that he would recognize the key if it were fully drenched in blood, but the small amount of blood was still peculiar. Thankfully, the blood on the key was dry enough, so he felt no unease about putting it in his own pocket.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Simulation Room Keys - One key was found by the shattered painting in the Relaxation Room. The other key was found in one of Sorao's pockets in his jacket. There is very little blood on the key.
"So Sorao had it with him?" Faye said. "It's odd… Maiha had both keys to the Simulation Room on her. I know that for certain since I saw her take them out at one point. But we found one in the Relaxation Room, and the other's right here…"
"Maybe Sorao left one there for some reason?" Masashi suggested. "Hmm… but that doesn't really make sense."
"Well, either way, someone attacked us and stole the keys from Maiha."
"Could you tell me about that, by the way? What were you two doing?"
"We were only cooking a few treats and chatting," she answered calmly. "At one point, Maiha left for the restroom. I was working on something at the counter, so my back was facing the entryway."
"And when you heard footsteps from behind, you assumed it was Maiha?"
"Yeah, I didn't think she'd take long, so of course I thought it was her. Then… I felt it! I was struck on the head, and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor, and my sight turned white. Maiha said she saw the attacker standing by me, and she was in turn attacked as well! I-It's all so horrible!"
"And what time were you two attacked?"
"Sorry, but… I don't remember…" Faye said before she let out a small gasp. "Wait a minute… Oh, I know! I know how we can find out! Captain Monokuma!"
Monokuma popped up from underneath, which so startled Sayua that she let out a yelp.
"You wanna find out the time of your attack, don't ya?" Monokuma said. "Well… I suppose I can tell you this much. If I remember correctly… Faye was attacked around 7:10 PM. Maiha was attacked not long after. So you can say that both girls were both attacked at 7:10 PM."
"So that's it!" Faye said excitedly. "And you can confirm that we really were knocked out with that blackjack Maiha mentioned, right?"
"That's right! That attack wasn't exactly full of finesse, but don't worry, I'm not grading people based on how well they attack others."
"What about when the others and I discovered Faye and Maiha?" Masashi asked. "I know it was after we finished watching the film."
"You wanna know that? Pfft, I don't really see how that's important, but fine!" Monokuma said. "Let me see… you found the two girls at 10:10 PM."
I remember checking the time right after the film ended, Masashi thought. And I think it was a few minutes after 10:00 PM… since we talked with Sayua and Kasumi right afterwards, that makes sense.
"Wasn't I pretty helpful?" Monokuma said. "In return, I expect a nice warm treat from you later!"
"Uh, are you talking to me?" Faye asked, befuddled.
"Sure am!"
"Oh, um... sure, if that's what makes you happy."
Monokuma chucked rather creepily, clapping his paws. "Ooh, I can't wait! I'm getting excited already!"
Faye sighed, looking confusedly at the bear. "I... don't really know whether I've responded correctly."
"Probably not, if that damn bear's all happy about it," Sayua remarked.
Yeah... there's something pretty irritating about a happy Monokuma, Masashi thought.
After Monokuma disappeared, Sayua turned to Faye with a wary expression.
"You guys never saw the attacker's face, right?"
"No… Maiha said the attacker was wearing a cloak, a pair of goggles, and a scarf over their mouth. It was impossible to make out any of their features."
Sayua scoffed. "Who it was isn't much of a mystery... Since Kasumi found Sorao in this room, that means he must've had the key to unlock the door… so he was the one who attacked you."
"That… makes sense," Faye replied, albeit with hesitance. "And Sorao attacked Kasumi as well, right? Kasumi said so herself! Yeah, I could definitely imagine Sorao attacking us!"
I see where Sayua's coming from, but… Masashi thought. Sorao was locked in his room. If he were the attacker, then how did he bypass the lock in his room? To unlock the door, you need the keycard, and only Maiha had it.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Attack on Faye and Maiha - As confirmed by Monokuma, someone knocked out Faye and Maiha in the Mars Cafeteria's kitchen at 7:10 PM with a blackjack. Masashi and the others discovered the two women at 10:10 PM.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Sorao's Door - It can only be unlocked from the outside and requires Sorao's keycard, which Maiha had on her person. Was there a trick that Sorao used?
Masashi looked further into Sorao's belongings, and with some groans of disgust, he took out his Monopad. It was almost completely covered in blood, but thankfully, the blood was dry for the most part. He found nothing noteworthy about it, however, so he set it on the floor.
He then looked at Sorao's right hand and noticed that they were quite bloody. Normally, that would not be unusual, given how bloody the body was, but what stood out was that the arms had not been wounded and as a result looked quite clean. And the blood on the hand was too much to be the result of blood splatter from his other wounds.
Hmm… I wonder what the cause of this bloodstain is, Masashi thought. His hands aren't wounded at all.
Masashi touched the blood on Sorao's hand. Sure enough, some of it managed to get onto Masashi's own finger, but like the blood on the rest of the body, it was dry enough to easily rub off. He then looked at Sorao's body some more and remembered that the Monokuma File had mentioned a head wound. He looked at his head, and sure enough, there was a small but noticeable bloody spot on the top of his head.
"Hey, do you remember what Kasumi said?" Faye said. "Didn't she say that after Sorao managed to attack her with her own tranquilizer, she attacked him back with his wooden club and knocked him unconscious?"
"Oh, yeah, that's right…" Masashi replied. "So I guess Kasumi caused this head wound."
"Well, thanks to that, his head's bloody now…" Sayua added, not dropping her rather gloomy tone. "And there's the club."
Sayua pointed at a nearby wooden club lying on the floor. It had a small bloodstain on it, and according to Kasumi, the club had come from one of the wooden boxes in this room. There was even a small splatter of blood by the club, and it must have come from Sorao's head wound after he had been knocked unconscious and had fallen.
Hmm… The wound wasn't fatal, that's for sure. He died from poisoning, not an attack on his head, Masashi thought. So does that mean it's not important?
Obtained Truth Bullet: Sorao's Right Hand - There is some blood found on Sorao's right hand. It does not appear to have been the result of a hand wound or splatter from one of Sorao's bodily wounds.
Masashi looked at the chair at which Sorao's corpse now sat, and he noticed that by Sorao's hip was a metallic helmet. He had seen it before, for it was the same kind of helmet that he had needed to wear in order to access the Planet Explorer game.
"The Monokuma File said that his consciousness was in the Planet Explorer game at the time of his death," Masashi said. "That means that Sorao was playing the game. But why?"
"Well… maybe he was looking for something?" Sayua suggested half-heartedly.
"But what? I don't see how something in a virtual world would help him in the real world," Faye replied. "It sounds pointless, useless, and unneeded."
"Also… Sorao died while in the virtual world, right? That means that he was wearing this helmet during the time of death," Masashi said. "The culprit must've removed it afterwards."
"Probably to make sure that Sorao was dead. You know, to check his eyes and the rest of his face," Sayua suggested.
Masashi looked at the helmet one more time and noticed that on the right side of the helmet was a bloody handprint. It did not take long for him to reach a certain conclusion; he compared it with Sorao's bloody right hand and saw that the two handprints matched.
I wonder what the significance of this is… Masashi thought. So much blood is involved in this case… I'd better note this down.
Obtained Truth Bullet: VR Helmet - The helmet of the seat that Sorao's corpse was found on has a bloody handprint on the right side. The handprint matches Sorao's bloody right hand.
It was then that Masashi noticed something else lying on the floor.
"A knife…" he said as he picked it up. "It looks like an ordinary kitchen knife…"
"Well, no mystery as to what the killer used to stab him with," Sayua said sardonically. "Too bad that knife has no clues. Anyone could've gotten that knife from one of the kitchens."
"Yeah… Still, I wonder why the killer even stabbed him to begin with," Faye said, looking truly puzzled. "Sorao was killed with poison, right? And yet the killer stabbed his corpse. But for what?"
"Judging by how many wounds there are, it feels like… the killer had a lot of extreme emotion toward him. Maybe like anger…" Masashi replied.
"Anger…" Sayua said, glancing away. "Yeah… the killer must've felt pretty... outraged…"
"Still, why didn't the killer just use the knife to begin with?" Faye asked, scratching her head. "Wouldn't that have been easier than using poison?"
"Well, maybe it's one thing to stab a living human being, and another to stab a corpse," Masashi guessed. "I guess stabbing him while alive may have been too extreme even for the killer."
Faye groaned in frustration as she smacked her head with her hand. "Oh, so our killer has standards after all… Why does that have to make things so confusing?!"
Masashi looked around the floor some more and found what appeared to be a bloody cloak. When he picked it up, he failed to suppress a groan as seeing how much blood had stained it. Given the erratic placement of the bloodstains, it did not seem as if someone had deliberately smeared the bloodstains on it.
"Hey, wasn't the one who attacked you and Maiha wearing a cloak?" Sayua said.
Faye gasped. "That's right! I never saw it myself, but Maiha did. I bet it's the same cloak she saw!"
If their attacker were Sorao, then it means he used this cloak to disguise himself… Masashi thought. And yet it's here all bloodied.
"I think it's clear why there's so much blood on this cloak," Masashi said as he looked back at all the stab wounds on the corpse. "The killer thought to stab him, but needed protection against all the blood. So the killer used this cloth as a shield of sorts."
Sayua said nothing, but merely gave a troubled expression as she glanced down at the body. Though she showed no sign of being disgusted by the wounds, Masashi sensed that there was something about it in her mind that bothered her.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Stab Wounds - Several stab wounds have been inflicted on Sorao's body, mainly his upper body. The culprit appears to have used a kitchen knife, as well as a cloak for protection against the blood splatter. Both the knife and the cloak were left behind near the corpse.
Thinking that he had examined the corpse and its surroundings well enough, Masashi looked hither and thither around the room. Since Sorao's corpse now sat at one of the eight metallic chairs that formed a circle in the center of the room, Masashi wondered whether there might be any clues in the other chairs. Unfortunately, a search yielded him nothing.
He next looked at the contents of the wooden boxes lined up against the walls. Most of them had various items such as spotlights and spare VR helmets, and it seemed that these boxes simply stored spare pieces of equipment. But two boxes in particular stood out. One box held wooden clubs, and it was not hard to tell that this was the source of the bloody wooden club that Kasumi had managed to snatch from Sorao and had used to hit him in self-defense. The other box, on the other hand, held gas masks of all things.
Masashi picked up a gas mask and tried wearing it. He found it to be a perfect fit, though his line of sight was more limited now. From what he could tell, the gas mask had a respirator, so it prevented him from inhaling any toxic gas.
"Geez, those things look eerie, don't you think?" Faye said, gawking at him. "They cover the whole face… if I saw someone wearing that, I'd be unnerved!"
Sayua scoffed, crossing her arms. "Doesn't frighten me."
"I certainly wouldn't want to look at myself with this," Masashi said. "They don't really make gas masks with beauty in mind, I guess."
As he took off the gas mask and put it back into the box, Masashi saw that the inside of the box was quite large. In fact, he thought that even with the gas masks, there was enough room for a person. Wishing to test this idea, he told Faye and Sayua what he planned to do and then carefully placed himself in the box.
"Y-You fit…" Faye said, eyeing him with shock.
"Okay, yeah, sure, but so what?" Sayua said. "How does this help us?"
"Well… I thought it might be good to note," Masashi said as he stepped out of the box and put the lid back on it. "Maybe it had something to do with the killer."
Obtained Truth Bullet: Wooden Box - There are several wooden boxes in the Simulation Room. These boxes appear to hold spare equipment such as wooden clubs. One of the boxes holds gas masks, and a person can fit into that box.
There was one more thing that Masashi wished to investigate. Atop one of the wooden boxes was a chest that belonged to Mitsuji Mizugami, the founder of Brightmere Research. Until now, he had not seen for himself its contents, but he recalled that one person should know.
"Say, Faye," he said. "You asked Monokuma what's inside this chest, right?"
"Oh, uh, yeah, that's right…" Faye said, nodding. "You remember that we played the Planet Explorer game a while ago, right? I think there was a bonus reward, and it was the chance to ask Monokuma a question. I was the one who was given the reward…"
"You don't sound that certain. Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Oh, sorry about that… It's just been a long while since that happened," Faye answered. "I asked Monokuma what was inside the founder's chest. He'd mentioned it to us before we started the game, and my curiosity grew, so…"
Faye crossed her arms, her countenance growing rueful. "Now that I think about it, though… maybe I should've chosen a different question."
"Huh?"
"Monokuma told me that inside the chest were clothes and trinkets. But that's pretty vague, isn't it? And we don't know what Monokuma exactly considers to be a 'trinket'. For all we know, there's something incredibly important inside, and he just calls it a trinket. Nothing about the whole bonus question required that he be honest."
"Oh, yeah, good point…" Masashi replied. "I guess that if we can't open the chest, it's impossible to verify its contents."
"How do you open this thing, anyway?" Sayua said.
"I believe there's a voice password," Faye answered. "Unfortunately, as long as we don't know what it is, we're out of luck."
Obtained Truth Bullet: Founder's Chest - This chest belongs to Mitsuji Mizugami, the founder of Brightmere Research. It is locked with a voice password.
Hmm… The password… Masashi thought. I wonder what it could be…
Masashi looked around in the Simulation Room some more, but found nothing else of note, so he decided that it was about time that he were off to other parts for the investigation. He left the Simulation Room and headed out to the hallway. He headed off back to the roller coaster station, remembering that there was one clue to investigate there. When he arrived there, however, he found Kasumi and Haruyuki standing at the platform.
"Oh, Masashi, you're here," Haruyuki said, who looked quite relieved. "I've been talking to Kasumi, and thankfully, she's all right, even if she still suffers from a headache."
"Yeah, and... thanks for being concerned about me, Haruyuki," Kasumi replied with gratitude in her eyes.
Haruyuki chuckled, looking surprisingly giddy. "Oh, it was nothing, really. I'm just glad that you're still safe and sound."
He then turned toward Masashi, returning to his more usual collected countenance. "Ah, and I've also been talking with Kasumi about her account of events. Thankfully, she has remembered a few more things."
"She has?" Masashi said as he approached them.
Kasumi nodded. "More and more of my memory's come back to me. I guess I should start from the beginning. I left the Neptune Clubroom to go to the Simulation Room on this floor. And I remember the time. Just before I left, I looked at a clock, and I saw that it was around 7:40 PM."
"7:40 PM?" Masashi said. "That's not long after our fireworks show."
"Uh, excuse me? Fireworks, you say?" Kasumi said, looking both confused and interested.
"Oh, I forgot to mention it to you, but Masashi, Takumi, Sayua, and I launched some fireworks around 7:30 PM," Haruyuki answered. "Sayua insisted that we try one more time to reach the outside world with Arashi's fireworks, so we launched the remainder of them."
"Wow, really? Now that I think about it, I think I heard something like that while I was at the Neptune Clubroom. I should've known it was fireworks!"
"Yes… Unfortunately, there was no sign that we had been noticed," Haruyuki added. "At 7:45 PM, the four of us headed over to the Neptune Clubroom for a better view. By the time we arrived, you had already left, I believe."
"But no ships ever appeared," Masashi said. "So Haruyuki, Takumi, and I just went to the Saturn Theater. And Sayua left to keep an eye out on any ships that might appear."
"Or so she claims, anyway," Haruyuki added, sounding quite doubtful.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Fireworks Show - Around 7:30 PM, Masashi, Haruyuki, Takumi, and Sayua launched the rest of Arashi's fireworks on the main deck of the woodland kingdom. It was Sayua who insisted on it. At 7:45 PM, the four went to the Neptune Clubroom.
"Anyway, what happened next, Kasumi?" Masashi asked.
"I walked down to the lobby and then down to the roller coaster station. That's when I saw that the roller coaster wasn't there," she continued. "That didn't come off as unusual, though. I figured that someone had taken the roller coaster to the Simulation Room. So I pressed the button on the nearby post to summon the roller coaster."
"And once you boarded the roller coaster and reached this side, you headed to the Simulation Room?"
"Yeah, that's right! And I saw Sorao!" Kasumi answered, her face growing slightly pale. "But you know what's odd? When I crept toward him, I saw that he was holding something in his hands. It looked like… sorry, I don't remember right now. But I know it was something large. Large enough to get him to hold it with both hands."
"Holding with both hands? Are you sure?"
She nodded. "Yeah, and guess what? He was carrying it to that one chest. You know, the chest that belonged to the founder of Brightmere Research."
"Huh… he was?" Masashi said. "But when I investigated the scene earlier, I didn't see anything particularly large other than the boxes in that room."
"Well, let me finish!" Kasumi replied. "The reason you didn't find it is… he put it inside the chest! The chest was already open!"
"Wh-WHAT?!" he cried out. "Are you sure?! The founder's chest was open?!"
Kasumi nodded profusely. "I'm positive! He placed it inside the chest, no doubt about it!"
He had thought that the founder's chest might be related to the case somehow, though he had been unsure as to its role in the incident. But with Kasumi's account, the answer was starting to make itself known.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Kasumi's Account (1) - Kasumi left the Neptune Clubroom and headed down to the Simulation Room around 7:40 PM. When she arrived at the Simulation Room by roller coaster, she saw Sorao carrying something large into the room. She saw him putting it inside the founder's chest, which was open at the time.
"And just as he turned around, he spotted me! He looked really shocked for a second before he grabbed a wooden club from a nearby box and tried to hit me with it!"
"And that's when you two got into a scuffle," Haruyuki said. "You tried to subdue him with your tranquilizer, but he managed to snatch it from you and injected it into you instead. But right afterwards, you grabbed his wooden club and hit him on the head with it. That knocked him out, and you fled."
"Yeah… I knew that I'd soon fall unconscious, but I was frightened that he'd wake up and kill me!" Kasumi replied. "That's why… I used the pair of scissors in my belongings to cut the wires of that post."
She pointed at the post that stood at this platform. The post had a button that one could press to summon the roller coaster if it were on the other side of the ride. However, Masashi and the others had seen the back of the post earlier, and he knew that the wires were now cut, so the post was no longer functional.
"Since the post no longer works, if the roller coaster is taken to the entrance side," Masashi said, "then whoever's still on this side is essentially trapped since it's no longer possible to summon the roller coaster back. That's what you were thinking, right, Kasumi?"
"Yeah, I figured that as long as I got onto the roller coaster and got it running, I'd be safe from Sorao," she answered. "Just as I boarded the roller coaster, and it began to move… the tranquilizer's effects began to set in, and I fell unconscious."
Obtained Truth Bullet: Kasumi's Account (2) - After knocking Sorao unconscious with his wooden club, Kasumi fled from the Simulation Room. Before boarding the roller coaster, she cut the wires of the post so that Sorao might be trapped on the Simulation Room side of the roller coaster ride. Just as she rode the roller coaster, however, she fell unconscious.
"When you woke up, you found yourself on the roller coaster, right?" Masashi said. "The roller coaster should've arrived at the entrance side by that time."
Much to his surprise, however, Kasumi shook her head. "I… I actually wasn't on the roller coaster."
"You weren't? Then where were you?"
"I don't know why, but I was lying on the platform at the entrance side… and the roller coaster wasn't there anymore!" Kasumi answered. "I… I didn't really question why at the time. My memory had gotten all hazy from the tranquilizer."
"I can think of only one possible explanation accounting for your location and the roller coaster's disappearance," Haruyuki replied, crossing his arms. "After you fell unconscious on the roller coaster, it arrived at the entrance side. But someone soon came to the ride and needed to traverse to the Simulation Room side. However, you were in the driver's seat, so that person had to remove you and place you on the platform. Afterwards, that person rode the roller coaster to the other side, and you woke up."
"That… sounds pretty plausible," Masashi said, finding it easy to imagine such a scenario. "Could that person be the killer?"
"Very likely. If an innocent person had done it, don't you think that person would've come forth already with an explanation for such actions?" Haruyuki replied, sounding slightly proud of his deduction. "Kasumi, could you continue? There's one more part that Masashi ought to know."
"O-Oh, right!" she replied. "Um… you see… right after I woke up, my memory was pretty hazy. But I remembered something about how I wanted to go to the Simulation Room. So… I pressed the button on the nearby post to summon the roller coaster."
"You did?" Masashi said. "And did the roller coaster come?"
She nodded. "But when it came… I got a feeling of foreboding. Something within me told me that it was a bad idea to go to the Simulation Room. I trusted my instinct, so I decided not to board the roller coaster. Instead, I simply fled back to my room."
"And do you know what time this happened?"
Kasumi set a finger on her chin. "Thankfully, I thought about checking the time right after I pressed the button to summon the roller coaster. The time on my Monopad said 8:00 PM."
Hmm… So Kasumi caused the roller coaster to come back to the entrance side at 8:00 PM… Masashi thought. That means that the roller coaster was no longer at the other side…
Obtained Truth Bullet: Kasumi's Account (3) - When Kasumi woke up from her sleep, she found herself lying on the station platform on the entrance side of the roller coaster ride. Her memory being hazy, she thought about going to the Simulation Room, so at 8:00 PM, she pressed the button on the nearby post to summon the roller coaster. After the roller coaster came, however, she had second thoughts and returned to her room.
"A while after that, I remembered that Sorao had attacked me!" Kasumo continued. "So I left my room and Sayua wandering around the space station. Then I told Sayua this, and the two of us went down to the Saturn Theater to tell you guys!"
"And then we headed down to the Mars Cafeteria and found Faye and Maiha unconscious in the kitchen," Masashi said. "Then we went down to the Simulation Room floor, found a key to the room in the Relaxation Room, and… found Sorao's corpse."
Masashi felt that he had a fairly good idea on what each person had supposedly been doing tonight. Of course, Kasumi's witness account would all be meaningless if she were the culprit, since it would all be a pack of lies, but for now, he decided that it was better to keep track of her account.
"Thank you, Kasumi, I believe that you have provided us with valuable information," Haruyuki said with a slight smile. "I hope that you will get better."
"Oh, don't worry about me… I've been through worse, trust me," Kasumi said reassuringly. "Still.. I don't think I'm up for investigating right now."
"If that's the case, then I suggest that you go back to the Simulation Room," Haruyuki replied. "Sayua and Faye are there, so if you need any help, you can always ask them."
"All right, will do."
The three of them then headed back to the hallway where the entrance to the Simulation Room lay. Kasumi entered the room, leaving Masashi with Haruyuki.
"Well, I suppose that you have only my company now," Haruyuki said, keeping his soft and mild disposition. "Where do you wish to go now?"
"I think it'll be best to investigate the Control Room now," Masashi said. "Since Sorao died from carbon dioxide poisoning, it seems clear to me that the killer used the smoke machine there."
"An excellent idea, Masashi. I look forward to seeing your progress on the investigation."
Uh… sure, go ahead and observe, I guess, Masashi thought.
The two of them turned to the right and walked through the hallway. They soon found the door to the Control Room and entered the room. The Control Room was quite small, a panel of buttons on the left wall, a bunch of crates and tools gathered together at a corner of the room, a sink set nearby with a pair of gloves lying on the counter, and a certain door on the right wall. Already at the scene were Maiha and Takumi, the latter of whom appeared to be more standing in sheepish silence than actually helping out with the investigation, though Masashi sensed that this was due to Maiha's bidding.
"Found anything new?" Masashi asked.
"Well, we've found that quite a few things from this room are missing," Maiha replied.
"Missing? Such as?" Haruyuki said.
"For one, a tub is missing," Maiha said with a grave expression. "I saw it here this morning, so its disappearance is almost certainly related to the crime."
"A tub… certainly not what I expected to be involved in this case," Masashi said.
"M-Maybe the culprit needed to take a bath!" Takumi suggested. "There's a sink here, so the killer could've filled it with as much hot water as needed!"
Maiha frowned, glaring at him. "What did I say about being serious for once?"
Takumi shrank, hiding his face behind his teddy bear. "S-Sorry… I was just playing, really."
She shook her head, clicking her tongue in disapproval. "Let's move on already. I tire of your poor attempts at humor. There's another thing that you ought to see, Masashi."
Maiha then pointed at a hatch near the panel of buttons. It was the same hatch as Masashi had seen yesterday, and it was for the purposes of burning the dry ice inside to emit smoke in the Simulation Room. When she opened the hatch, however, Masashi saw that the box that had stored the ice was not only open but also completely empty.
"All the ice is gone…" Masashi said. "So the culprit must've used the smoke machine to kill Sorao."
"You're correct about that," Maiha said. "But here's an interesting thing that Takumi and I heard from Monokuma a few minutes ago. Apparently, the smoke machine has been activated only once today at exactly 8:00 PM."
"So Sorao was killed around 8:00 PM?" Masashi said.
"Yes, and not only that… but the ice box actually only had a fifth of ice left when the machine was activated, even though Monokuma said it was full this morning."
"Intriguing… someone must've removed the ice, then," Haruyuki said. "I imagine that the nearby gloves were used for protection against the dry ice."
"Not that it made a huge difference if the ice was removed. A full box of ice would let the machine run for fifteen minutes straight," Maiha said. "But a fifth of the ice is enough to have the machine produce gas nonstop for about two minutes. The amount may be smaller, but in an enclosed space, it is still quite deadly. Anyone trapped in the room with that amount in the air would already be at great peril."
Takumi groaned, his face growing white. "H-How awful… I don't wanna imagine being trapped in a room like that…"
"Incidentally… I've been wondering…" Haruyuki said. "What exactly is dry ice, anyway? How is it different from normal ice?"
Maiha looked at him annoyedly. "You're only asking this now?"
"I thought that it was needless to let you know of my ignorance in chemistry."
"Really? With that attitude of yours, I thought that you knew something about everything," she replied before taking a deep breath in. "Well, it's nothing complex, anyway. Dry ice is simply the solid form of carbon dioxide. It has no liquid state, so when it melts, it directly turns into gas."
"I see… and does it melt if you leave it out in the open?"
"At room temperature, yes, but to speed the process up, you can simply put the ice in some hot water."
"Oh, wow… You sure know a lot more than I thought, Lady Maiha!" Takumi said with some admiration, despite having shrunk at the thought of death by gas poisoning earlier.
Maiha, surprisingly, nodded with a modest expression. "If truth be told, I simply had asked Monokuma about this earlier."
"Ah, so everything you said was simply from him, then. Not from your own knowledge," Haruyuki replied. "He answered all your questions?"
"About the machine, yes. In fact, he said that any of us could ask him about it any time," Maiha said. "That includes the panel of buttons right there. I asked him about all the functions, including the Air Purifier buttons."
Huh, really… Masashi thought. So any one of us could've learned more about the machine and used it to their advantage…
Obtained Truth Bullet: Dry Ice Box - According to Monokuma, the box was full this morning, but when the smoke button was pressed at exactly 8:00 PM, there was only a fifth of its ice remaining inside. That amount of ice was still enough to produce carbon dioxide non-stop for about two minutes. Normally, a full box would allow the machine to run nonstop for fifteen minutes.
"There is one more thing you must know," Maiha added. "There was a sledgehammer here, but now it's gone. Not that it's a mystery as to where it went. We saw it earlier in the Relaxation Room."
The Relaxation Room was a great room in which the color white reigned supreme. There were several equally white benches set through the room, and the one feature that added sundry colors to this whiteness was a piece of artwork that stretched across the walls. This artwork showed what looked like a premodern village, and it reminded Masashi much of a glass painting that he had seen in a church once.
But there was one part of the artwork that stood out at once as different and unsightly.
"Wh-What in the…?!" Masashi said. "Th-That part of the painting… it's… shattered!"
Indeed, a gaping hole now stood at one part of the wall on the left side of the room. Masashi remembered that formerly, the painting had shown a clock tower, but now, there was hardly any sign of the magnificent structure in this ruined artwork. The hole was crudely made and was great enough for anyone to walk through, and near the hole were several glass fragments, as well as a sledgehammer.
"I suppose it's no mystery as to what happened here," Haruyuki said as the three approached the hole. "Someone grabbed the sledge and smashed a hole in the glass painting, presumably to reach the other side."
"Well, that's one mystery solved at least," Masashi said.
"In exchange for another mystery: why did the culprit smash that painting to begin with?" Haruyuki asked. "I believe that smashing glass paintings is not a usual pastime."
Maiha scoffed mockingly. "The culprit's goal must've been what was behind the painting. In fact, Takumi and I have already investigated what lies there. Follow me."
Maiha then left the room, Masashi following after her with Takumi and Haruyuki. They walked out to the hallway and then turned to the left. At the end of the hallway was the Relaxation Room, and though he had seen it already, Masashi still felt some tinge of dissonance at seeing the shattered portion of an otherwise beautiful painting. Maiha bade them to be careful as they walked over the glass shards and through the hole in the painting. The other side of the painting was in actuality a hallway that was dimly lit and had dully colored walls. There were only two ways to go from the opening: to the left and to the right. Maiha guided them down to the left, and shortly after, they found themselves at the end of the hallway. There was a door that looked somewhat familiar.
"And where does this door take us?" Haruyuki asked.
Maiha did not answer but merely turned the knob. Once the other side was revealed, Masashi gasped, for it was none other than the Control Room. It was then that he realized why the door looked familiar, for it was the same locked door that he had seen earlier.
"So the locked door in the Control Room is connected to this secret hallway!" he said.
"Well, yes, we can see that now," Maiha said. "But whether it's of any importance is yet to be determined. In fact, Takumi and I have not explored the other part of the hallway yet."
"You haven't? So you don't know where it leads," Haruyuki asked. "Then let us go now. I have a feeling that this may lead to an interesting clue."
"Before that… look at the lock," Maiha said as she shut the door. "Try opening it."
Masashi did as she had bidden, figuring that doing it would lead to quicker answers than asking her why. When he did so, however, the door would not budge.
"Huh? The door locks once you close it?" Masashi said. "How do you unlock it?"
"The lock there has a card reader. Without the right keycard, we should be out of luck," she explained. "Luckily, I've been provided with one."
She took out a card from one of the pockets of her black dress. It was a small blue keycard and looked unremarkable, and yet its utter presence smote Masashi with slight unease. Maiha held up the card to the reader. As soon as it showed its acceptance with the sound of a small beep, a sound came from the lock, which caused the door to open. The four walked back to the opening in the shattered painting
"How did you get that?" he asked. "And what is this hallway for, anyway?"
"Takumi and I explored this part of the hallway earlier and stumbled upon this door. Naturally, I called for Monokuma and demanded that he provide us with an explanation for this," she answered. "It seems that this is a secret hallway that some staff members use to observe the Relaxation Room in secrecy. As for why… he never bothered with the details, nor do I find it important. What's more important is that he provided me with a card for the purposes of the investigation."
"Um… Lady Maiha?" Takumi said. "Didn't Monokuma say something about the other keycard?"
"What? 'Other keycard'?" Masashi said.
"Ah, yes, that's right…" she said. "When Monokuma handed me this keycard, he mentioned that there was one other keycard. Apparently, he had placed it a long time ago in the founder's chest."
The founder's chest… Masashi thought, recalling the chest in the Simulation Room. The mystery around the chest grew more and more. Just what exactly is the significance of all this?
Obtained Truth Bullet: Keycard - According to Monokuma, a while ago, he had placed in the founder's chest a keycard that could be used to access the secret hallway.
Instead of going out to the Relaxation Room, the four proceeded forth to the other end of the hallway, as Maiha said she and Takumi had not investigated that end yet. Surprisingly, what awaited them was a spiral staircase going up. They climbed the stairs, which took little time, and at the top was a door that looked like the Control Room's door connected to the secret hallway, for it too had a card reader. Maiha used her card once more to unlock the door.
"Wh-What the…?"
When Masashi opened the door and stepped into the room, he recognized it at once, for it was none other than the Projection Room in the Saturn Theater. Yes, there was the projector, and there was the screen in the auditorium, which he could see through a transparent window in this room. In other words, he had a clear view here of what was played by the projector.
"Intriguing!" Haruyuki said, sounding more interested. "It seems that this small room held a great secret after all."
From this side, the secret door was disguised as part of the wall covered with a shelf full of bags of equipment. As soon as Masashi looked closely at the nearby wall, however, he noticed that there was a small hatch covered by one of the bags. He moved aside the bag, opened up the hatch, and found an identical looking card reader inside.
"So that's how the secret passageway can be accessed!" he said. "You can use the door in the Control Room or the door in the Projection Room!"
Obtained Truth Bullet: Secret Passageway - There is a secret hallway connecting the Control Room and the Projection Room in the Saturn Theater. To access this passageway, one needs to have a staff keycard.
"Say, Masashi," Maiha said. "You were here in this movie theater with these two, weren't you? Did you notice anything strange in this room?"
"Well… I came to this room to look at it briefly, but no, I don't think I saw anything strange."
"And what about during the movie?"
"I didn't hear anything strange, either," he added. "Then again, the movie was pretty interesting… if anything happened in the Projection Room, I may have missed it."
Maiha furrowed her brow. "What were you three watching, anyway? I don't think that fool Monokuma ever told us when he said he'd play a film tonight."
"Ah, yes, we first heard the details about the film from Monokuma at the theater, and we haven't told you and the other ladies what it was," Haruyuki said. "It's an animated film called Magically Loving You. It's quite a romantic film and ended up being pleasanter than I had expected. It made great use of its fantasy setting to create a beautiful world. I can tell you more details about it if it pleases you."
"Romance, you say…" Maiha then waved a hand dismissively, putting up a stern frown. "No, no, not right now. And besides, I should prefer watching it myself rather than have some third party describe it to me."
Obtained Truth Bullet: Film - At 8:00 PM, Masashi, Takumi, and Haruyuki watched an animated romantic film that takes place in a fantasy setting. Monokuma had not told anyone what the film was beforehand.
The four briefly looked around the room for any clues, but found nothing of note.
"Um… maybe we should investigate the kitchen?" Takumi suggested sheepishly. "It was where you and Lady Faye were attacked, right? So maybe the culprit left behind a clue!"
"Why, that's not too bad an idea," Maiha said. "For once, you've said something that doesn't make me forget it at once."
Takumi smiled sheepishly. "Th-Thank you, Lady Maiha."
The four then left the projectionist room and found themselves back in the main room for the Saturn Theater. They left the theater and went downstairs to the Mars Cafeteria. When they entered the kitchen, it was still the same disorderly mess as he had seen upon discovering Faye's and Maiha's unconscious selves.
"Hmm… look at this."
Haruyuki pointed at something beside a few fallen trays. It looked like a small white folded piece of paper, and when Masashi picked it up and unfolded it, he saw that it was a note:
First, turn off all six air purifiers.
Next, turn on the smoke machine. The machine should run for a few minutes.
Once the machine stops whirring, wait for a few more minutes before turning on all the air purifiers.
Wait for about five more minutes to be safe.
"What the…?" Masashi said. "Did the culprit drop this?"
"It certainly doesn't sound like a recipe you'd find in a kitchen," Haruyuki remarked. "Maiha, do you know anything about this note?"
"Of course not!" she answered, looking perturbed at having to be asked so. "No, wait… I remember now. During the attack… as I struggled to escape from the masked attacker, something small and white slipped out of their pocket. I'm sure that it was this note."
"Yeah, it doesn't seem like anything else here matches the description," Masashi said, looking around. "Do you have any idea who could've written this?"
"Unfortunately, I don't recognize the handwriting," Maiha added. "It looks like the writer took their time to disguise their true handwriting."
Takumi groaned. "I'm confused… this note sounds pretty weird. What's it for?"
Haruyuki stroked his chin. "One possibility is that the culprit wrote down the steps for the murder scheme to keep track of everything. Personally, I have been quite amazed at how complex the murder schemes that we have encountered ended up being."
"I think that killing someone should be more straightforward, honestly," Masashi said.
"Yes, but that would not be interesting now, would it?"
Obtained Truth Bullet: Note - During the attack in the kitchen, a note fell from the masked attacker's person, according to Maiha. The note contains instructions for the murder scheme involving the smoke machine.
"Um, Kasumi said that Sorao had attacked her, didn't she?" Takumi said. "So it means that it was Sorao who attacked you and Lady Faye, right? And he's the one who dropped this note?"
"I'm inclined to believe so. He attacked us in order to steal all the keys in my possession… especially both keys to the Simulation Room," Maiha answered. "However, I am rather bothered by one particular question now: how exactly did he escape from his room?"
"Yes, there's no doubt that he found some way to leave his room," Haruyuki said. "Is it possible that someone forgot to lock the door after feeding him dinner?"
Maiha profusely shook her head, however. "I'd be very much remiss to let that slide. It was Faye and I who delivered his dinner to him at 6:00 PM, and we made sure that the door was locked after we left the room."
"I see… So we can exclude that possibility," Haruyuki said, looking none too bothered at being contradicted. "Then perhaps there was a trick involving the door somehow?"
"Only one way to find out," Masashi said.
The four then began their long way to Sorao's room. They left the Mars Cafeteria and walked all the way down to the lobby. Then they left the space station and traveled through the Egyptian palace to return to the woodland kingdom. Finally, they went down the decks all the way to their living quarters, and they stopped in front of Sorao's door. Just as they arrived, however, a certain bear popped out from the floor.
"Well, well, it looks like you wanna snoop in a dead man's room!" Monokuma said. "To think that you plan to loot his belongings! Have you no shame?"
"Oh, spare us the indignation," Maiha said, rolling her eyes. "We wish to investigate Sorao's room. Since you're the captain, you should be able to help us with this."
"Oh, yes, yes, that's right! Let me open the door for you first. Ahem!" Monokuma then clapped his paws and stretched out his arms. "Open Sesame!"
A short click came from the door.
"Well, go on!" Monokuma said. "There's a whole new world waiting to be explored in that room!"
Masashi opened the door and found that it was a bedroom of the same kind as he had been accustomed to for this whole game. Indeed, there was nothing out of place, the bed's blankets undisturbed, the drawers closed, the chairs set neatly by the wall. One might think that no one had ever slept in this room. The window was slightly open, but Masashi doubted that Sorao had climbed out of it, nor did he see anything suggesting it.
"I suppose you want to know first whether there's anything fishy with the door here, right?" Monokuma asked.
No need to ask. You've already listened in on our conversation, Masashi thought.
Monokuma briefly looked at the lock on Sorao's door. The lock had been put there after Sorao had become a prisoner, so the door could only be unlocked from the outside now.
"Let me see here… Nope. Nothing!" Monokuma said. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with this lock."
"There's nothing?" Haruyuki said. "No signs of tampering?"
"Are you doubting my trusty Monokuma inspection?" he replied. "The lock works just as it normally does!"
Masashi briefly looked at the door and saw nothing remarkable about it. It really seemed that the door and the lock had been left alone.
In that case… how did Sorao leave his room? Masashi thought. If he didn't fiddle with the lock, then what exactly happened?
Updated Truth Bullet: Sorao's Door - It can only be unlocked from the outside and requires Sorao's keycard, which Maiha had on her person. There are no signs of tampering with the door, and it works as it normally does.
"I don't see anything of note here," Maiha said after the four investigated the room some more. "It seems that we shall find no clues here."
"Puhuhu! Disappointed, aren't you?" Monokuma said. "Well, have no fear, for Captain Monokuma's here to save the day! You see, I have a few sweet details about the case!"
"You do?" Maiha said. "Pray tell, are they actually important?"
"Of course they are!" Monokuma responded, looking somewhat annoyed at her skepticism. "In fact, I'll have you know that I had a lengthy conversation with Sorao last night!"
"Y-You did?!" Takumi said, reacting at the news with utter astonishment. "Wh-What did you talk about?!"
"Oh, a lot, really. But I'll not get into everything. It's part of captain-passenger confidentiality," Monokuma said. "I suppose I can tell you two things, at least. First of all… you remember that chest in the Simulation Room, right?"
"The chest that belongs to Mitsuji Mizugami?" Masashi said, his interest having risen upon hearing word of this chest.
"Bingo! Now, as you know, you can't access the chest without saying the password to it!" Monokuma said. "Take a wild guess as to what Sorao asked me last night."
Takumi gasped. "Y-You told him the password?!"
"Hey, looks like even the dimwit here's gotten it!" Monokuma replied, guffawing for a few seconds. "Yes, that's right, he asked me for it, and I gave it to him. It was that simple!"
"H-Hang on!" Masashi said. "What do you mean, 'simple'?! Are you saying that we could've just asked you for the password to the chest?!"
"Sorry, bud, but you have that wrong," Monokuma answered, raising a paw. "I only told Sorao because he told me quite a few… interesting things."
"What interesting things?" Maiha asked sternly.
"Bzzt! Not telling! Captain-passenger confidentiality!" Monokuma answered with a frustratingly fake display of concern. "But… I suppose that I can tell you the password to the chest. There's really no point in hiding it now."
"Okay… what is it?" Masashi asked.
The four had to wait a few seconds as Monokuma adjusted his white captain's hat.
"The password to the chest is… 'time hides all wounds'."
"Hmm? That's… a rather intriguing password," Haruyuki said, furrowing his brow. "Is that really the password that Mizugami set?"
"Oh, yes, yes. I don't really care about the meaning, but if I had to guess… It's meant to subvert your expectations! See, you expected to hear 'time heals all wounds', but since you didn't, your expectations were subverted! You get it, right?"
"Um, no, I don't get it…" Masashi said.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Password - The password to Mitsuji Mizugami's chest in the Simulation Room is "time hides all wounds". Sorao obtained the password from Monokuma last night, apparently after interesting him with his words.
"Whatever. The password's meaning doesn't matter for our purposes," Maiha replied, looking uninterested. "All that matters is that Sorao asked Monokuma for the password to the founder's chest in the Simulation Room. But for what purpose?"
"Perhaps we shall have a better idea if we hear the rest from Monokuma," Haruyuki replied before he faced the bear. "I believe that you mentioned that you had one other thing to tell us."
"Oh, yes, yes, that's right!" Monokuma said. "There was one thing that he wanted to do, and he needed my help for it. You see… he wanted to talk with someone."
"What? With whom?" Maiha asked.
"Come on, you think you'll get the answer that easily? Nope, you should know by now that that's not how I work," Monokuma answered. "He asked me to bring that person to his room. So I did and told that person to go to Sorao's room. It was easy enough since I have the authority to unlock the doors in this ship."
"I should ask what the two talked about, but asking would be futile," Haruyuki said coolly.
Monokuma snickered. "See, this is why I like you more. At least you know me."
Ugh… all this new information, and still, I feel more and more lost… Masashi thought. Just what in the world did that person and Sorao talk about? It has to be related to the case somehow…
Obtained Truth Bullet: Sorao's Meeting - Sorao asked Monokuma to arrange a meeting with him and a certain person. This was made possible because Monokuma can unlock any door in this ship. What the two talked about is unknown.
Maiha grimaced, looking much less pleased. "What's more important is that someone here has been lying to us. Someone met up with Sorao, but failed to inform us of this."
"I highly doubt that someone would choose to hide this for innocent purposes," Haruyuki added. "The only possibility that I can imagine is that the person… is the culprit."
"But… doesn't that mean that Sorao himself called for the culprit?" Masashi said.
"Perhaps that person did not intend to become his killer at the time. Perhaps Sorao only sought that person for his own purpose," Haruyuki suggested. "But after the meeting… that person schemed to kill Sorao. Mind you, this is only one possibility. There are a few other scenarios that I can imagine, but without evidence, all we have is idle guessing."
"Puhuhuhu! I've been a pretty great help, haven't I?" Monokuma said. "I'll get going now. I'm sure that you want to have some, uh, privacy."
Don't talk as if we were about to do something dirty… Masashi thought before the bear sank into the floor.
"Um, what now?" Takumi said. "I don't think we're going to find any more clues here."
"Yes, it seems that we've found all that lies here," Haruyuki said.
Maiha scoffed. "Obviously, our next move is to investigate the founder's chest in the Simulation Room. Now that we know the password, we can access it and see whether that fool Sorao did anything to it."
And so the four left Sorao's room and began to wend their way back to the Simulation Room in the space station. Though it was quite a trivial complaint, Masashi still found it annoying how much he had to walk between the two vital locations.
But just as the four arrived at the main deck of the space station, an announcement played from a nearby monitor.
"Wh-What the?" Masashi said.
The four looked at the monitor, which showed Monokuma as usual. However, Monokuma now looked oddly anxious.
"Erm… Pardon the announcement, everyone, but I'm afraid that the investigation is over," he said apologetically. "I'm so, so sorry if you planned to investigate more, but it's urgent that you go to the main deck of the space station at once! Got that?"
The announcement ended, leaving the four stupefied.
"What…?" Maiha muttered, looking rather confused. "The investigation has been… ended prematurely?"
"Indeed, this is quite unprecedented," Haruyuki replied with a careful tone.
"Wh-What's going on right now?" Takumi said, trembling.
"I don't know, but… I can't help but fear for the worst," Masashi said.
Not long after the announcement played, Faye, Kasumi, and Sayua were already there. As they had been in the Simulation Room, naturally, it had taken them little time to arrive. None of the seven remaining participants of this killing game bore a hopeful countenance.
"Ugh… I don't want to think about what'll happen to us at the end of the class trial…" Faye bemoaned, looking quite uneasy. "To think that one of us killed Sorao…"
"Oh… I'm shuddering at the thought of seeing another execution!" Kasumi said.
Maiha and Sayua said nothing. The former looked quite frustrated and annoyed that she had not managed to complete her investigation. Meanwhile, the latter had the same quiet and pensive air as she had borne earlier.
"Masashi? Could you come here for a moment?"
He looked to his right and saw Haruyuki and Takumi standing a bit away from the others, the former beckoning him. Puzzled, he did as he had been asked.
"What is it?" Masashi asked.
"Before we head on to the class trial, I'd like to hear about your opinion on one matter," the art critic answered. "According to the Monokuma File, when Sorao died, his consciousness was in the virtual world of the Planet Explorer game. Why do you suppose he was in the game in the first place?"
"To be honest… I don't know," Masashi answered. "The only reason that we played the game in the first place was that Monokuma promised us a reward for completing it. And that reward ended up being the newspaper report about Mitsuji Mizugami."
"Since you believe that there was no reason for him to enter the virtual world, do you think that the killer deliberately placed him there? It is not necessary that the one wearing VR headset be the one that presses the button to activate the headset. The culprit could have placed the headset on Sorao and then pressed the button to launch him into the virtual world."
"It's possible… Still, I don't see the point. What was the killer's objective in doing that?"
"Umm… could I say something?"
It was Takumi.
"I think you should tell him about that thing, Sir Haruyuki," the sheepish storyteller said. "I don't know whether it'll help, but it wouldn't hurt to tell him the secret of the virtual world."
"What? 'Secret'?" Masashi said, gazing at him bemusedly.
"Ah, yes… the secret. It slipped my mind," Haruyuki said, nodding along. "Masashi, do you remember that Monokuma mentioned something about a secret after we had entered the game?"
"And one more thing... besides the reward, I'll also give you a bonus!" Monokuma said. "At the end of one of the paths, you get to ask me one question, and I'll give you the correct answer… if I feel like it."
"'Maybe'?" Faye said.
"I'm not gonna answer any question, you know. Don't ask me obviously dumb ones like 'what time is it' or 'when will the next update of this game come out' or 'will there be cosmetics added soon', okay? And I'm not going to tell you where the secret of this world is!"
"What? 'Secret'?" Sorao said, looking intrigued.
"If you look hard enough, you may find a little something that can unlock something else in this world."
"What? I thought that was just some dumb off-topic comment," Masashi said, his interest piqued. "You mean that there was actually a 'secret' to the virtual world?"
Haruyuki shrugged. "I'm afraid the word 'secret' may have raised your expectations too much. What turned out to be the 'secret' ended up being… lackluster."
"Go on, tell me how you guys found out."
"It's quite simple. After we locked you up for almost killing Sorao, we had dinner. Afterwards, we received the newspaper report about Mitsuji Mizugami from Monokuma. But a few minutes after we started to clean up the dining room, Maiha remembered that Monokuma had spoken of the virtual world's secret. Wishing to see whether it was of any importance, she ordered Monokuma to appear again and explain what the secret was."
"And he told you?"
He nodded. "He apparently found it boring to just withhold it from us, so he agreed to tell us. But first, do you remember what our starting location looked like?"
Masashi pondered for a moment. "Umm… I recall that we were in the middle of a forest. There were multiple paths… and there was also a spaceship."
"That's because in the game's story, we were on a planet to get resources for our colonies!" Takumi said excitedly. It seemed that he had enjoyed playing the game greatly if he bothered to remember the game's lore.
"Yes, supposedly, if one goes south from the spaceship, one will soon find a great tree surrounded by sunflowers. By the roots of the tree lies a key. If one takes the key back to the spaceship, one can unlock the door there and enter the spaceship."
"A-And then what?" Masashi said with anticipation.
Haruyuki shook his head, letting out a sigh full of disappointment. "That's it. Once one enters the spaceship, the game ends, and one returns back to the real world."
"Wait… that's it?" Masashi said, staring at him with great befuddlement. "The whole secret that Monokuma was alluding to was only a secret exit?"
"I'm afraid so. I should imagine that it was put in by the game developers so that they could leave the game much more easily than the players. Supposedly, the process of finding the key and going back to the spaceship takes about two minutes," Haruyuki replied matter-of-factly. "Remember, when we played the game, there was no option to log out. Monokuma told us that the only way out was to go down the paths and finish the game. And it took at least fifteen minutes to finish the level. It's not particularly good design, in my opinion."
"I guess so…" Masashi said. "I'm not sure how important this 'secret' is to the case, but just to be sure, did everyone else know about this?"
"Oh, no. There was one person who was not present the whole time."
"Who?"
"It was Sayua!" Takumi answered. "She said she wanted to be by herself, so she went back to her room after we got the newspaper report about Mr. Mizugami. Though if you ask me, I think she just didn't want to help out with cleaning."
"So Sayua was absent when Monokuma told you about the virtual world's secret?"
"Yes. And given how inconsequential the information was, as we had no plans on ever returning to that game, I highly doubt that anyone thought to tell her this," Haruyuki remarked. "Even I forgot about it, and I fancy myself to be someone with an excellent memory.
I don't doubt that everyone else has forgotten about it, Masashi thought. No one had even bothered to mention it to me until now.
Obtained Truth Bullet: Virtual World's Secret - According to Monokuma, there is a key located south of the starting location in the virtual world of the Planet Explorer game. Taking this key to the spaceship at the starting location and using it on the door unlocks a secret exit. Apparently, the process of finding the key and taking it to the spaceship takes about two minutes.
Maiha and the others learned about this after dinner. The only ones who did not learn about it were Masashi, who was locked up in his room, and Sayua, who had gone back to her room.
"Hey! What are you three huddling over there for?"
It was Sayua, who approached them with a rather perturbed look on her face.
"You've been talking for some time," she said accusingly. "What's going on here?"
"Oh, uh, we were just talking about the case and who we think the culprit may be," Masashi answered, figuring that it was best not to mention the Virtual World's secret to her.
Sayua scoffed. "Whoever did it sure didn't really make it tough for us... I already know who the culprit is."
"What? You do?" Takumi said.
"Sure do. Just use process of elimination," she answered as she crossed her arms. "You three were busy watching that animated fantasy film, so you didn't do it. And Maiha and Faye were knocked out, so they couldn't do a thing. So that leaves only that thief chick."
"And you," Haruyuki said matter-of-factly.
Sayua scowled, baring her teeth, her eyes boring into him. "So that's what you think, huh... Suspecting me as well... Hmph, whatever."
Huh, she doesn't sound that angry over being suspected, Masashi thought. I guess she must've seen it coming, since she doesn't really have an alibi for much of the evening.
Just then, however, Kasumi cried out.
"Look over there!" she said, pointing at the sea. "The ship's coming!"
Indeed, the great black menace emerged in the horizon of the starry night, coming toward them slowly but steadily. When it stopped right beside this ship, the same old gangway was set on the deck, connecting the two ships. Without further ado, the seven participants stepped onto the ship and into the elevator, which then began its descent.
It's so quiet… Masashi thought as he looked around. Only seven of us left… It's so tiring to go through this again...
Even though the previous descents had been empty of chatter, something about this one was more agonizing, the elevator's whirring being the closest thing to a sign of life.
Eventually, the elevator stopped, and the seven participants slowly stepped out into the courtroom. This time, the courtroom walls were painted various tones of white, and the interior looked much like a space station's. Though the space looked quite clean, something about it came off as overbearing.
"Well, hello there!" Monokuma said, sitting on his throne as usual. "Like the redecorating I've done? Let me tell you, it wasn't as easy as you may think it was! It pained me a lot to see all my previous work be erased… And that's why I expect you to put on a real good show for me! Don't make my hard work go to waste!"
"I demand an explanation!" Maiha said at once. "What is the meaning of ending the investigation prematurely?!"
Monokuma flinched, looking hesitant for a second. "Sorry, but that's… classified. It was a last-minute decision, I assure you. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that I have caused you, ladies and gentlemen."
You can hide behind your deferential language all you want, but you're definitely avoiding the issue, Masashi thought. Just what in the world happened to make Monokuma end the investigation early?
Maiha let out a sigh of frustration. "Fine. If that's what you are willing to say, then I see no purpose in pressing the issue any more for now."
"We have to solve the mystery of Sorao's murder first and foremost!" Faye said.
"Yeah…" Sayua said half-heartedly. "Let's just get this over with."
As all the students went to their respective podiums, Masashi's mind flashed back to the sight of Sorao's corpse.
I still can't believe it… Sorao's dead…
It was easy to say how he felt toward Sorao Mineta, the Ultimate Celesta Player. After all, Masashi had tried to kill him a few days ago and would have succeeded had it not been for Maiha. There had been much to loathe about the man. He had been an arrogant but dangerous schemer who had come dangerously close to success a few times. Still, Sorao had had his good qualities such as his intelligence and had helped the whole class a few times in the past.
With how much of a pleasant first impression he had given Masashi, it had pained him to learn that it was all part of his public persona. Even now, he shuddered at how willing Sorao had been to lie to the common people, those whom he saw as "empty" human beings. It still unsettled him why Sorao had even created a false persona. It had all been part of what Sorao had seen as a two-way relationship: as long as he had told people the things that they wanted to hear, the people would praise him as special. He had loved them, and they had loved him back. In his eyes, it had been beneficial to essentially live a lie.
It was a twisted worldview befitting a twisted man.
And now, someone had chosen to end his life. Just what kind of emotion had stirred the killer into taking Sorao's life?
There's only one way to know for sure, Masashi thought. Time to find the truth of this case.
Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I'm glad that you're still here if you've been keeping up with this story. I am still amazed that we've made it this far! Hopefully, you'll stick around for the rest!
Now that you've seen the investigation, which character do you think killed Sorao? I think it's possible to piece much of it together. Even though this is the fifth case, it may actually be somewhat easy to guess who the culprit is. After all, there are not a whole lot of suspects left at this point…
As usual, the trial seating order:
1. Masashi Kousaki
2. Maiha Hanazawa
3. Murphy O'Hagan (DEAD)
4. Abraham Zargari (DEAD)
5. Arashi Seiya (DEAD)
6. Sister Hikari Shinto (DEAD)
7. Takumi Takamitsu
8. Haruyuki Kanagawa
9. Mari Anzai (DEAD)
10. Futaba Inoshishi (DEAD)
11. Atsushi Morokuzu (DEAD)
12. Faye Nirigiri
13. Kasumi Ayukawa
14. Sorao Mineta (DEAD)
15. Haruka Minami (DEAD)
16. Tanjiro Urata (DEAD)
17. Sayua Tomi
18. Hikari Fey (DEAD)
It's getting sadder and sadder to see the survivors surrounded by all those victims.