Part 115: Super High-school Level Update #103

Huh...?



I said, this school life of mutual killings is being completely broadcasted live on TV all over Japan!
............

Even after hearing it twice, I couldn't understand what he was saying.

I understood the individual words, but I couldn't understand what they meant together...



W...What is this? Broadcast...? All over Japan...? Is this a joke...?



Don't tell me... You've hijacked the airwaves..?!



The security camera footage... is all over TV? That's impossible in all sorts of ways!!



That kind of confidence just shows how much you bastards suck at crisis management.
Hijacking the TV signal is very easy if you have the right equipment and knowhow!!
A...Are you telling the truth...?



Of course!!



I could hear it breaking.

I could hear my spirit itself breaking. It made a terrible sound.

A squeaky sound, like fingernails scratching on a blackboard...



There was a purpose to everything...
Everything I did... Even the little hints I dropped about this school's mystery...
They were all leading to this moment.
No one does anything without purpose. Don't you agree?



It was all for the sake of our viewers... For the sake of my unprecedented despair-inducing live programming...



I created a new genre! Despair Entertainment!
It's the ultimate reality show! Genuine Despair Entertainment!



You're lying! If everything is shown on TV, the public and the police would be all in an uproar!!



S...She's right... They'd come and save us...



Why would anyone come...?
...Eh?



...I mean, when all is said and done, it's not like it's their problem.
Some people may shout "look out!" when they see someone in trouble on TV, but no one would ever get up and head over to help them.



That's the way the world works, isn't it? I don't really get it, but you learn to live with what you have.



...But, in order to hijack public TV signals, you'd need astronomical funds and special equipment!



So, do you want to know why I would spend so much on such a thing? Upupupu...
That's still a secret!! I mean, there's something you bastards have to do first, isn't there?
Something... we have to do...?



Of course. The usual thing.

* ding dong ding dong *







A dead body has been discovered!
After a short period of free investigation, we will commence our school trial!

Eh...?



A s...school trial...? So, we're really...!!



Upu... Upupupupupu...
Upupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupu...



Here's Monobear File 5. Good luck, everyone!



Well, then! It's gonna get busy soon! I'm sure we'll get a huge reaction!
I can't wait!





Then, Monobear disappeared...
...leaving us with a senseless truth that was impossible to understand.

Leaving us with only "despair"...



Some time passed, but we still stood there, unable to move.

We couldn't move... but we couldn't just remain standing there either.



I don't understand anything anymore...! Despair-inducing live programming...?
Why is Monobear even alive!?



Just when I thought we could finally get out of here...



A...And on top of that, we have to go through school trial again...!



There's nothing we can do. A school trial is a school trial.
It means we must discover who the culprit is, as usual.
The culprit who killed Kyouko Kirigiri...
Eh...?



W...What are you saying? Wasn't it Mukuro Ikusaba who was killed?



A female corpse... That fits Kirigiri as well.
And, if Monobear is still moving...
That means the mastermind, Mukuro Ikusaba, is still alive.



In other words, that body doesn't belong to Mukuro Ikusaba. It was Kyouko Kirigiri all along.
There's no other option...



That body... belongs to Kirigiri-san...?

Is Kirigiri-san... dead...?

That can't be! I won't believe it!
I mean... I still don't know anything about her...

I never even got to ask her who she really is...

For it to be over, just like that...



I... don't believe that...
I'll never believe it!!



It has nothing to do with what you believe. The truth is the truth!
If you still choose not to believe it, try confirming it by yourself.
By myself...?



Anyway, let's begin.



B...But, if we're having a school trial...
Could the culprit really be...



Yes, that's correct. It's one of the students in this school.



S...So...! Did one of us kill Kirigiri-chi?



No... That's still to be seen.



...Eh? Isn't that what you just said...?



I don't have time to explain it to you now. There are many things I want to investigate.



...Let's begin. If your lives are important to you, I suggest you do the same.
Those are the rules in this place.



INVESTIGATION START



First, let's see what the Monobear File says...



"Due to severe injuries suffered by the explosion, the body's identity is unclear."
"The explosion occurred after the victim's death."
"The knife wound in the abdomen area extends all the way to the victim's back. There is just one wound caused by the knife."
"There are also signs of a blow to the back of the head. It seems to have been caused by a cylindrical object, about as thick as a metal pipe."
"Other than that, there are signs of many other wounds on the body. However, they are old wounds that were not inflicted during the last few days."

As expected, not even the Monobear File tells us who the body belongs to...



An unnamed victim... Could it really be Kirigiri-san?

I must...



I must confirm that on my own.

There's no choice but to confirm it with my very own eyes...

But, whether that's true or false, I must figure out the truth or we will all be killed...

I have to go... back to the crime scene...!






Okay. Let's do this. I have to investigate everything. Leave no corner unturned.

It's just the same as every other time... Nothing is different.



Our first order of business is the body itself, of course.



If I investigate the body thoroughly, I'll probably be able to tell...

Is it... really Kirigiri-san...?



We can look at several things in this closeup.

The robe covering the body is completely burned...

There's only one part of it left intact...



The bottom part of the body... It isn't even wet.

When the body was on fire after the explosion, I threw water only at its upper part, which was burning.
...And that's why the bottom isn't wet.

That's all there is to it, right?



The body's upper part was caught on fire by the explosion, and turned into black ash.

Also, only that upper part is wet...



It's wet because I threw water at it.
I only threw water at the upper part of the body, which was on fire. That's why the lower part is still dry...



In other words, there's nothing strange about only one half of the body being wet...

There's nothing strange about it... is there?






Huh...?
There's something attached to some of the fingernails. Are those...?



Clip-on nails...? Fairly long ones, too.
Long enough to be a nuisance...






Additionally, there's something on the back of the right hand...

Is that... a tattoo...? Thanks to the burns it's not very clear, but...
It seems to have a dog motif. I don't think I've ever seen this design before.






Next, what must be the murder weapon.



There's a knife on the ground next to the body...

Could that knife be...?



...the same knife we've seen thrust into the body before it exploded...?

It must have flown away by the force of the explosion...



The Monobear File mentioned a knife wound going through the body all the way to its back.
...Does that mean, this knife is the murder weapon?

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

There's one more thing about this knife...



I think I've seen it before.

Could it be...!





That's it...!
It's the same knife that masked person had in their hand...!



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

It's strange...

There are too many things that match...



Yesterday, I was attacked by a masked person. In their hand was this knife...



And now, we find the knife thrust into the stomach of a person wearing the same mask...



Could this person been stabbed at that time...?!

Back then, I was delirious. Perhaps I managed to snatch the knife away...

And then, perhaps I...

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

Also, if this body belongs to Kirigiri-san...
The masked person who attacked me must also have been her.

But, why was she wearing a mask...?

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

I have no idea. I can't remember anything about yesterday night...

But... It's probably just my imagination. There's no way that's what actually happened...








There's something else on the floor next to the body.



Those seem to be shards of something...



They're scorched, so I can't tell exactly what it was...

But, I think I've seen it somewhere before...
Where... was it?

Could it be... over at that place...?!

I'll have to go there later and check it out.






Next, let's see if everything else in the garden is as it was before.



That's the control panel for the sprinklers, isn't it?



It turns them on automatically every morning at 7:30, and that setting can't be changed.

Wait...

The sprinklers turn on at 7:30 in the morning...

So, if the body had been here since before that time, it should be all wet...

Which means the murder took place at...








It's the chicken coop... The chickens are inside.



There are four chickens here...

Huh...? Four...?



What's wrong, Naegi-chi?
Hagakure-kun, just in time.
...Do you remember how many chickens there were in the chicken coop?



Of course I do. There were exactly five.
Yeah... Just as I thought...



...Oh? Is something wrong?



There's one missing. There are only four in there now.
Eh...?
AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
Strange, isn't it? When did one get away?



When I came here last evening, all five were in there.



What are we going to do?! When 5 becomes 4, it's a huge problem concerning the welfare of the entire world!



It's just like a jigsaw puzzle! When one piece is missing, the world itself becomes incomplete!

I'm going to just leave him alone now...

But, could the missing chicken have something to do with this case...?






Now that we're done with the environment, let's see what insight the others have to offer.



Hey, Naegi, maybe you remember...?
What was the body like before it exploded?
Um... Sure...



It had a mask over its face... It was covered with a white robe...
And it was stabbed in the stomach with a knife... There was blood on the robe all around the knife wound...
The flow of blood had already stopped, but it wasn't dry yet.
I remember Togami-kun warning us not to get dirty by touching the blood...
But... even though there was a good amount of blood there, I don't remember seeing any on the floor...



That's great! You're a life saver, helping me remember!
Explaining it to you helped me remember myself...
I think we helped each other.








Who does this corpse belong to...?
W...Whoever it is... I'm not going to look... I'd just pass out again...!





The time is now 11 o'clock!
...Why are you telling me this?



No, I was just trying to remember at what time we discovered the body.
The time we discovered the body, huh...?



I should retrace my actions since this morning, and try to remember...

I woke up at 7 o'clock with Monobear's announcement, and went to the cafeteria a short while later...
I met Asahina-san there. That was probably around 7:30.

After that, I joined everyone in the gymnasium. Later, we decided to go to the headmaster's office.

That's when Fukawa-san discovered the body, when she was gone to bring the pickaxe from the garden shed.
What time was it back then...?



By the way, Fukawa. What time is it?
Um... We left the gym just before 9 o'clock.... S...So it's probably exactly 9 now...



That's it! It was around 9 o'clock!



Yep, I think you're right!



So, to summarize, we discovered the body around 9 o'clock. And with that, my role here is over.

That wasn't much of a role...








Naegi, you're just in time. There is something I want to discuss with you.

discuss

What is it...?





I want to hear your alibi.
M...My alibi...?!



What were you doing after Night Time yesterday? Tell me.
U...Um... I didn't feel well, so I went to bed early...
...But, why are you suddenly after an alibi? And why last night...?



It should be obvious. This murder took place after Night Time began last evening.
H...How can you tell?



Yesterday, just after Night Time started, I visited this garden.
I was looking for everyone after Monobear stopped moving.
I found Hagakure-kun here. He's been hanging around in this garden a lot the last couple of days.
There is one thing I can say for certain. There was no body here at that time.



In other words, the murder took place later.
It took place after we left the garden. After Night Time began!



That said, Hagakure, Fukawa, Asahina and me spent the night together in the gymnasium.
Eh...?



After I met Hagakure in the garden, we went to call the girls, who were in their rooms.
After that, the four of us headed to the gymnasium, and spent the night taking Monobear apart.
For safeness sake, we avoided leaving the gymnasium alone. We even went to the bathroom in pairs.
In other words, all four of us have an alibi. A perfect alibi.
On the other hand, the people who don't have one...
It's just me... and Kirigiri-san...



And, assuming this body belongs to Kirigiri...
I'm the only one left without an alibi...!



Additionally, when we went to call Asahina and Fukawa, we also visited your room...



We rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. Where were you at the time?
I was in the room, honestly... I was just sleeping... I didn't feel well...



That is not an alibi.
Yeah... I guess...



...What are you going to do? The situation isn't currently to your advantage.

It seems I'm the only one without an alibi...

That's bad, isn't it...?








There's also the shed. Let's take a peek inside.



I guess I should check inside the shed, too...



It's covered in dust and thrown messily on the floor. An archetype of things one finds in a garden shed, but...



Was this white tarp here before...?

It might have something to do with the case. I should look at it more closely...





It's dirty with mud and earth... It's also completely drenched.

But, on its other side...



...It's completely clean. It isn't even wet.

A white tarp that's only dirty and wet on one side.

That's interesting...




That was the only interesting thing in this shed. I should go back outside.



Anyway... I think I've looked at everything in this crime scene.

But, I'm not done yet...
There are other places I should investigate.



Those shards I found earlier...

I must go to that place and confirm what they are...



I should also gather more information about Kirigiri-san...



Does the body really belong to her...? And if it does...



Was it her who attacked me last night?



If I find out more about her, I might find the answer.

She never talked about herself, but...
If I search her room, I might find something helpful...

But, the key to her room is currently...



I must limit your actions somehow. We can't have you doing who knows what in secret.
Limit my actions...?
Give me your key. The key to your room.



I have no choice. I have to ask him to lend me that key.