Part 22: Super High-school Level Update #20

Ma...maizono-san...?



I...if that’s the case, the person who stole the knife was...!



Sayaka Maizono / Monobear / Aoi Asahina

You get quick multiple-choice selections at some points during the trial. There's a time limit on answering them, but as you can see it's a pretty generous full minute. Choosing wrong lowers your damage meter.





So, it was Maizno-san who... took the knife?



There is no other possibility... In fact, now that I reflect upon it, she did act somewhat peculiar...
As soon as she came into the cafeteria, she proceeded straight into the kitchen without even greeting us.
She said she was just getting a cup of water but... undoubtedly, at that time...



In short, the one who took the knife was the victim herself, Maizono-kun!



I’m sure... she just wanted it for self defense...



That means the culprit managed to snatch the knife away from her, and then killed her with it.
In that case, the fact you didn’t steal the knife yourself doesn’t clear any suspicion regarding you.





Eh...!?



S...see? I told you...! Naegi-kun is the culprit after all...!!



No, you’ve got it wrong...!



So you thought to steer the conversation away and lead us on a fool’s chase!?
That sure if a high-level skill to have!



T...that’s bad! If things go on this way, I’m going to be voted the culprit...!
Why doesn’t... anyone understand?

If I’m voted the culprit... everyone is going to be killed...!





...wait. Isn’t it still early to decide Naegi-kun is the killer...?
The culprit of this case did something the owner of the room would never do.
As long as we don’t explain this mysterious action, we can’t point the blame at anyone, can we?



Something the owner would never do? What the fuck is that!?



There weren’t any traces in the crime scene of something that naturally belongs there...



Naegi-kun, you know what I’m talking about, don’t you?




Something... that naturally belongs in the crime scene but wasn't there... I feel like that word...



...is flashing in my mind...

The Flashing Anagram is the second of the four types of minigames we get during the trial, and probably also the lamest. Just as the tutorial says, we get to discover and then fill in the blanks in a keyword related to the case by shooting flying letters. The letters actually have to be shot twice - once to lock them in and then to drop them into the puzzle.
Also, I don't think the designers know what an anagram is.

Phase 4 (Youtube via Polsy)



FLASHING ANAGRAM START



__ __ I __





H A I R



That's it!









That’s it! We couldn’t find a single strand of hair in my room!



Is that... because the culprit was destroying evidence...?



But, you see, if I were the culprit...
Why would I need to do such a thorough cleanup of my own room?



I mean, if someone found some hair of mine in my own room, there wouldn’t be anything strange about it, would there?



Maybe you cleaned up to erase traces of Maizono-san visiting your room...
...isn’t that also a possibility?



If he wanted to hide traces of her, I think getting rid of the body would be his first priority.



Mmmm... there is some truth to that...



So why wasn’t there any hair in that room?



The culprit cleaned the room up, of course. They wanted to erase any traces of being there.



...so that means!



That’s right. It doesn’t seem like our culprit is the room’s owner.



So... Naegi-kun isn’t the culprit...!?





But can we really decide such an important thing based merely on the lack of some hair!?



No, there is more evidence in support of Naegi-kun not being the culprit.



Let us hear it...



Try to remember the condition of the area around the shower room.
Maizono-san was first attacked in the main room and then escaped into the shower, wasn’t she?



The culprit chased her into the shower room, and then stabbed and killed her there.



I wonder if the culprit could enter the shower room that easily.



What do you mean...?



When they tried to enter the shower room, the culprit found themselves facing a problem.
There is strong evidence left in the room pointing to that fact. Naegi-kun, I’m sure you remember it.

The culprit faced a problem when they tried to enter the shower room... The evidence pointing to that is...

One more thing the game wants you to do during the trial is straight up choose the appropriate evidence from your Evidence Bullet list, Phoenix Wright style. In this game, though, you're on a timer so you can't take your time analyzing the evidence.



Evidence Bullet: Shower room door knob





The evidence pointing to the culprit’s problem... is the shower room’s door knob, isn’t it.



What’s wrong... with the door knob?



It was broken. The knob to on my shower's door...



See? The screws were taken out, and the knob was removed.



It’s true... But, why do that to the door knob...?



The culprit wanted to break the shower room’s lock, so they removed the door knob.
That’s more proof that Naegi-kun isn’t the culprit. It’s yet another action that’s unreasonable for the room’s owner to take...



You’re saying he wouldn't break the door in his own room?
But -- if he wanted to open it he had no choice!! How can you say it’s an unreasonable action!?



So... you still don’t understand. In that case...



Let’s go over the flow of events one more time. When we do that, I’m sure you’ll all understand...



The meaning of the “unreasonable action for the room’s owner” is hidden in the flow of events... What is it?


Phase 5 (Youtube via Polsy)





Bullet: Stuck shower door



The murder took place in Naegi-kun’s room.



Maizono-san was first attacked inside the room...



And then escaped into the shower.



The culprit chased her...



...and entered the shower room.



To do that, the culprit broke the door knob...



They had to because the door was locked.



When they were done, Maizono-san was cornered by the culprit...



And in the end, was stabbed with a kitchen knife...



N...Naegi-kun did all that, didn’t he!?



W...we've already established that, didn’t we...!!

It’s true that my shower’s door couldn’t be opened...

But... the true reason for that is...

Even with three Weak Points, the game is still going easy on us. We're not going to be tricked by Leon's first Weak Point, and shoot his second instead.



They had to because the door was locked.





YOU'VE GOT THAT WRONG!







The reason my shower’s door couldn’t be opened wasn’t because of a lock.
I mean, aren’t the showers only locakable in the girls’ rooms?



Now that you mention it... that is indeed the case...



So... why couldn’t the door to Naegi-kun’s shower be opened...?



It’s because that door gets stuck...



Huh...? The door gets stuck?



The door to the shower in my room is bad, and gets stuck easily.
Monobear over there can testify to that.





Yes, it’s just like he says!!
But, see, the door to “Super High-school Level Good Luck” Naegi-kun is the only one that gets stuck...
Upupu...! That’s not good luck at all...!





The reason the door couldn’t be opened was because it was stuck...
But the culprit mistook that for a locked door. That’s why they went and broke the door knob.



But... why did the culprit thought that door was locked?
The fact that the doors to the showers in the boys’ rooms can’t be locked should be well known to all of us...



The reason the culprit mistook that door as locked was because they didn’t know something very important about the crime scene...



Something important about the crime scene...?
Something that the culprit didn’t know, and thus thought my shower’s door was locked?

That means, what the culprit didn’t know was...



That the crime scene was Maizono's room / That the crime scene was Naegi’s room





The culprit... probably didn’t know the crime scene was my room...



Huh!? A culprit that doesn’t even know where the crime scene is is unprecedented!



But it’s right.



Are you making fun of me?!



To put it more accurately...
What the culprit didn’t know was that Naegi-kun and Maizono-san exchanged their rooms...
That’s why the culprit made the mistake. He thought the room Maizono-san was in was her own...



And that’s why he thought the door to the shower was locked, and tried to break his way in...



Not even knowing it was a meaningless act. I see...



In the end, I don’t know if the culprit opened the door by brute force or through sheer luck, but...
Since they probably were in a state of confusion by then, they probably also did not realize why the door opened...



In any case, they acted in a roundabout way. Trying to break a lock that wasn’t even there...



Would I, a person who knows the reason the door doesn’t open, ever act that way...?



You have a point there...



So... the culprit is someone who didn’t know the rooms were exchanged...?



But... that doesn’t fit Naegi-kun at all...!



That’s what I said from the very beginning...



In that case, who the fuck is the culprit!?



I’m sorry, but this is where I give up!



If we go on not deciding on the culprit like that, it’s all over...



Right, for the time being let’s take a majority vote!



Are you sure we can do it... “for the time being”?



The situation doesn’t look that good, ‘right? Really, someone should do something...



Doesn’t anyone have any more questions? Any trifling thing will do.



...Ah! I have a question!!



Oh, it's you...



Why do you look so disappointed?!



Asahina-kun, just say what’s on your mind!



Oh, right, right. You see...
I’m not clear on how the culprit entered Naegi-kun’s room in the first place.



I see... the method the culprit used to gain entry...



Maybe Maizono dropped the key somewhere, and the culprit picked it up...?



That would be too much of a happy coincidence...



So... they picked the lock?



No, the doors should all have an anti-picking mechanism installed!



Well then, I shall answer. The culprit used a much simpler way to enter the room.
That is, the culprit pretended to be a simple visitor, and Maizono-san let them enter the room herself!



No, that also can’t be...



Ho, you have no idea what you’re up against, matching wits against me!



So let’s hear it! What’s the reason you’re so sure of that?!

Evidence that Maizono-san wouldn’t invite anyone in...



Evidence Bullet: Exhanged keys

See the Evidence Bullet list in the second post to see that, indeed, the description for this Evidence Bullet includes the required information.





Maizono-san was scared wasn’t she? That’s the reason why she asked me to exchange rooms with her in the first place.



And you too... if anyone comes by don’t open the door.
I will not open it even to you, Naegi-kun. If I do, there wouldn’t be any meaning to exchanging the rooms.



...that’s what she said. I can’t believe she opened that door to anyone...



But what if her claims of being afraid... were a lie?