Part 128: Super High-school Level Update #115

First on our list is the single open private room.





It's a shredded bed...

No, this isn't even a bed anymore. It's just garbage now.





I took a peek through a crack in the door, and quickly turned away.

There's nothing left of the shower room. It's just a big pile of rubble.

There isn't actually anything else interesting to look at here, so let's move on.









This is the room next to the toilets.



This looks like a locker room...

It was probably used by the students of Hope's Peak Academy before we got here.

In other words, these are the lockers of our upperclassmen...



Most lockers are ruined, but a few seem intact. Let's try one.



This locker seems to be in one piece. Maybe I can open it.

* rattle rattle *

...It's locked.



There's a card reader above the handle...

It's probably used as a key to the locker.
It looks just like...

...just like the card readers to the changing rooms on the second floor.

Those card readers are activated by our Electronic Student ID Cards.
So, maybe this locker will also...?

It's worth a try.

I took my own ID card, and swiped it at the card reader.

And then...

* bzzt *

It didn't work...

...It probably only works with the card belonging to the locker's owner. That means it's impossible for any of us to open them.

Nothing left to do here, so let's continue.







Finally, the big room on the far end of the floor.



This room... doesn't feel like it belongs to a student.

It has a... mature atmosphere.



This is the headmaster's private room.
...Kirigiri-san! So, is this where you're investigating?!



I searched this room thoroughly before, but I feel like there's still something I'm missing...
That's why... I thought it would be a good idea to search this room one more time.

Eh? She's missing something...?



Maybe she wants to elaborate on that?



............

She has a troubled expression on her face...

I think something is worrying her... I have a feeling I shouldn't start a conversation right now.



In that case, let's investigate.



There's a personal computer on the desk. It's turned on.



It seems that man investigated Super High-school Level Despair...
The investigation report is still stored in the computer.
So, is this where you got the information on them from?!



There's not much to it, though. It's just what I told you before.



The words "Super High-school Level Despair" do not refer to an individual, but to an organization.
They're the group responsible for last year's Worst, Most Despair-inducing Incident in the History of Mankind...
They act only for the sake of despair. The worst, lowest bunch...



...That's it. It's not much, is it?



I guess leaving the Kirigiri family made him lose the ability to conduct a proper investigation.
B...But... any information is better than none if we want to expose the mastermind...
I think we should thank him for leaving even this much behind...
I see.
Good for him, then.






The back wall doesn't look quite right.



Huh? There's a strange crack in the wall...

Is it just faulty construction?



It's not just a simple crack. You can feel air coming through it.
...Air?
There must be a space behind that wall.

A space...? So...

..A secret room?!
I think I know the way to open it.



But, that's where I'm stuck. That's the thing I'm missing I told you about.

the way to open it

So, what's the way to open it? Is there a trick to it?



It's a simple trick. I wouldn't even call it one...
There's a program to do it installed on the computer.
It asks for a password, and it seems the door will open when the correct one is entered.



But, I have no idea what the password is.
I only know it's a word of some kind. Nothing more.
There aren't many hints, are there...



I looked up that man's personal information that's stored on the computer, and tried all sorts of things...
...But nothing worked. All I ended up with is a bunch of facts about him I didn't even want to know.



Honestly... it was a waste of my time.



Nevertheless...
It's a secret room... It's no wonder Kirigiri-san feels like she's missing something...

A secret room inside the headmaster's private room... there has to be something useful in there.

I have a feeling that's not the only reason she wants to go in there, though...



But, if we want to open that door, we must find out what the password is.
And, if even Kirigiri-san can't figure it out, there's no way I'd ever be able...

...No, wait. Perhaps...!

The password to the headmaster's secret room...
It's possible Kirigiri-san hasn't tried it... It's possible she doesn't want to try it...

It could be...

Your name...



...Eh?
...Um, I was just thinking about that password. I thought it might be that...



............

So she didn't try it, as I suspected. It might work...!

She didn't even think of trying her own name as the password.
From the way she speaks about her father, I think her mind was blocking the possibility...

...So, is it okay for me to try it, just to make sure?



............
It's not like you need my permission.
If you want to try it, go ahead. Do as you please.
S...Sure...





She said it's okay for me to try her name, but...

...If I'm wrong, it may just hurt her even more.

............



Naegi-kun. You don't need to worry about me.
I know it won't work. You're just wasting your time.
S...Sure...
So... I'm going to try it.



I straightened up, and turned to the monitor.

This is where I should type in the password, right?

"KYOUKO"... I typed the name carefully into the keyboard.

My nervous fingers hit the keys slowly, and then, when I typed the last letter...



* creeeeeeeeeeeak *





Eh...?!
It worked...?
...It worked, Kirigiri-san!!



............
............



...Why?
K...Kirigiri-san...?
............



Ignoring me, she disappeared into the hidden room with that grim expression still on her face.

Kirigiri...san...







............
H...Hey, Kirigiri-san...

She didn't look in my direction.

Her eyes were fixed on a single spot.



A present...?
It's a box wrapped in a cheerful wrapping paper...

...That just makes it even stranger.





It's a cheerful box that feels completely out of place in this dreary room.

The more I look at it, the more suspicious it looks...
Should I open it...? I have a bad feeling about this...

But, we can't just leave it closed...

O...Okay...!



...Naegi-kun. Be careful.
D...Do you think it's dangerous?!



I don't think it is, but...
I think what's inside is going to shock you.
Eh...?



It's just a suspicion. I think whatever is inside...
...is not something that's pleasant to look at, at the very least.
Do you have a guess what it is...?



...Just don't scream after you open it, okay?



It's something... that's going to make me scream?

............
A...Anyway! Here goes!

I held my breath as I stood in front of the box.

And then, after I tried to convince myself to calm down, I took the cover in my hands...
And slowly... carefully... I lifted it up.



Light poured into the box, revealing what was inside. And then, I...

Peeked... inside... the box...

U......
UWAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

Despite Kirigiri-san's warning, I screamed from the top of my lungs.





They were bones...

Inside the box...

...Human bones.

It's not something you expect to find inside a box wrapped in such cheerful wrapping paper.



...It's just as I suspected, isn't it.
Eh...?





Just as you suspected...? Did you know what was in there...?
But... those are human bones inside that box..!
It's not bones that I suspected were in that box...
I thought it would be a parts of a dead body.
T...That's just the same! That's a body inside that box...!



It's my father...
Eh...?
...What did you just say?



What's inside this box...





Those bones...
That... body...
That's... my father...
My father's... remains...
T...That's...!

Is that really Kirigiri-san's father...?

The father she's been looking for...?



W...Wait a second! How can you tell...?
How can you tell that's your father in there...?



When you put all the information together, that's the only conclusion.



It's highly likely that the mastermind is that same headmaster, the man behind the plan.
By the way, that headmaster is a man in his late thirties...
...and there's a high chance he's currently somewhere inside this very school.



Hee hee hee... I think I'll bearmit you one more hint.
I think I've said it already before, but...
There are 16 and only 16 high school students participating in this school life of mutual killing...
By the way, ever since we started this game, those beary same students are the only people to have set foot in this school.
Those 16 students. No one else.



It was highly likely that the headmaster was inside the school. But...
The only people who have set foot inside the school are us, the 16 high-school students...
If you put those two facts together...



It's highly likely that the headmaster was inside the school, but that he was already dead...
...That's how I know.



Kirigiri-san made that analysis with her usual calm tone of voice.

No... that wasn't a calm tone of voice. She was clearly... just pretending to be calm.

"It's just as I suspected"... That's what she kept saying, but...

But... there must have been a part of her that desperately wanted her suspicions to turn out false.

After all... since I've opened it, she hasn't even looked inside the box once.

Kirigiri-san came to this school to meet her father and come to terms with her past.
But, in order to do that...



I... ended up twisting that pride.
I wanted to enter Hope's Peak Academy, so I promoted myself to the recruiting committee.
It was an action... unworthy of a Kirigiri detective.



If coming to terms with her past was her only goal... she wouldn't have twisted the thing she took pride in the most.

...I can't help but think that.






There are several other things in this room worth investigating.



It's the headmaster's desk...
There might be something helpful in there, so I want to search it, but...

I can't just look through Kirigiri-san's father's desk in front of her.



...Don't worry about me. You should investigate as you please.
...Is it really okay?
I don't have any right to hold back your investigation, do I?
S...So... I'm going to look through it...



I opened the drawers one by one, from top to bottom, and checked their contents.
They all had nothing but boring documents related to work in them.

But, in the bottommost drawer...



Oh! Is that...?

It's an Electronic Student ID Card, isn't it? The words "emergency use only" are printed on it...!

It's an emergency ID card found inside the headmaster's desk... That probably means...



An Electronic Student ID Card for the headmaster's use... An almighty ID card without any limits...
...That's what I think that is.
Yeah... I think you're right...
It may help us with the investigation later...



...You should keep it.
Eh, but...



...I don't need it. If you don't want it, just leave in the drawer and go.
I...In that case, I'll keep it for now...
............

Is she... really okay with that...?








This cabinet... There might be something helpful in there, so I want to search it, but...

I can't just look through Kirigiri-san's father's things in front of her.



............
...Don't worry about me. You should investigate as you please.
...Is it really okay?
............
S...So... I'm going to look through it...



I opened the drawers one by one, from top to bottom, and checked their contents.

They all had nothing but boring documents related to work in them.

I think that man was obsessed with his work...



He had nothing else.
He hated his family, so he ran away from home.



If he didn't have this job, he would've been a simple failure.
He didn't want that, so he put everything he had into his work. That's all there is to it.
............





Huh...? That photo...



It's a bit faded... It's probably pretty old, but...

Is that...?!



H...Hey, Kirigiri-san...!



...!!



............
That man... So annoying...
I... came all the way here just to come to terms with my past, and yet...
And yet...



I'm being shown this thing...
What am I supposed to make of it...?



It's just as I thought...
This is a photo of Kirigiri-san as a child...

But, if he kept this photo all those years...

The headmaster must have always had Kirigiri-san in his...

Why...? Why would he...?
I was just about to cut him away from my life... Stop being the girl who was thrown away...
That's why... I went to all the trouble coming here to meet him...
But all I got... was him being gone again...
Even the opportunity to forget him was taken away from me...
He's really... the worst father...

Kirigiri-san...






............
Hey, Naegi-kun.
...Eh?
I have a small request from you...

A request...? Right now...?

request

...What do you need?



I know this is unreasonable of me...
I know it may be inconvenient, but...



...Can you please leave this room?
...Eh?



I want to... be alone. Just for a little while.
K...Kirigiri-san...
Don't worry. I'm fine.
It's just that... I need to calm down. Become rational again.



I need some time to sort out my feelings.
............
Hey, Kirigiri-san...
What you told me before about your relationship with your father...
"Being connected by blood does not mean being connected by heart"...
Y...You see...



He probably held this photo next to him all these years while he gave himself to his work because he was waiting for me to come and find him...
...Is that what you think?
............
That's a good inference, I agree. But...
But... this isn't something that can be settled with good inferences.
My past doesn't change just because this photo exists.



It's... not as simple as that...
You're right... I'm sorry.
...When I calm down, I'll come straight back to the investigation.
So, please... let me be alone for a while...
S...Sure... I got it.
So, um... I'll see you later...



............





Is she really going to be okay...?

I think it was a real shock to her...
I mean, it was a real shock even to me...



Who thought we'd find the headmaster like that...

The mastermind... this has to be his work.
He's the one who killed the headmaster... Kirigiri-san's father...

Killed...

...The headmaster is dead.



The person in charge of Hope's Peak Academy's head office, the office that locked us down...
...That was Hope's Peak Academy's headmaster.
It's highly likely that the mastermind is that same headmaster, the man behind the plan.
By the way, that headmaster is a man in his late thirties...



But, that was wrong. The headmaster isn't the mastermind.

So, the mastermind's true identity is...



Hee hee hee... I think I'll bearmit you one more hint.
I think I've said it already before, but...
There are 16 and only 16 high school students participating in this school life of mutual killing...
By the way, ever since we started this game, those beary same students are the only people to have set foot in this school.
Those 16 students. No one else.



The fifteen students who met at the entrance hall... And the sixteenth student, Mukuro Ikusaba...

The only people still alive among those sixteen are the six of us...
Everyone else is...

...Dead.



















Even that mysterious Mukuro Ikusaba girl...

She is also undoubtedly dead...



In other words, the only people left in this school are...



Me...



Togami-kun...



Hagakure-kun...



Fukawa-san...



Asahina-san...



...and Kirigiri-san.



...Just the six of us.

So... could it really be...?

...No, I can't accept that!
I'll never believe it. There must be another option...
There's definitely another option...!