Part 68: Super High-school Level Update #61

This world doesn't work according to the rules of classic manga. You can't hope to bring someone back to life with just the power of tears...



Your heart really is made out of stone. I hope your body at least gets some good minerals out of it.



...This is irritating.
Not only did we have to watch him breathe his last breath, he also managed to say more than he should have.
Thanks to that, this game is spoiled.



He did say... "Yasuhiro", did he not?



Yasuhiro...
Yasuhiro Hagakure... He couldn't have meant anyone else.



And with that... we have our decisive evidence.

The person who attacked people one after another, and then killed Ishimaru-kun and Yamada-kun...
...The culprit who hid his identity...
...Disguised himself in a strange costume, and called his weapons "Justice Hammers"...

...Is it really Hagakure-kun?



If it's him, he won't get away with this. I'll never let him get away with this...
Killing two of his friends... just like that!!



In any case, shouldn't we begin? Our lives depend on this game, after all...



No, this time we're relatively safe. We learned the truth so easily...



Yeah, so it seems...
............

Again. It starts again...
We must start it again...

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

I know this already.
We have no choice. It's for our own survival...

...We have no choice!



Investigation Start!





...First, I should check what the Monobear File has to say about the situation.



"The victims are Hifumi Yamada and Kiyotaka Ishimaru. Both were killed by a blow to the head."
"A similar weapon was used for both murders."

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

...is that all?



It really is strange... Compared to the previous times, there isn't much information here.



...It's not really a problem, is it? This time, we've seen how it all developed with our own eyes.
I'm sure we know more about the situation than any Monobear File can tell us.



I guess you're right...
............



There is one thing that still worries me...



We have one more person still missing.
You mean... Kirigiri-san.
It is true that she has an alibi for the time Celes and Yamada were attacked, but...
What if this is not a one man crime, and she assisted as an accomplice?
A...an accomplice!?





A...an accomplice!?



...Why are you here again?



Don't be alarmed. I just came to answer your question!
Question...?



You were just talking about accomplices.
I think I explained this to you before... That's right, it was during our first school trial...



As long as we’re raising this possibility, I want to ask the stuffed bear something. If there is an accomplice to the murder, is that person also considered a culprit?



Well then, let me answer!!
I will not disallow anyone from assisting with a killing, but the only one who can “graduate” is the single culprit who actually carried out the murder.



In that case, it doesn’t matter how much of a help you were, there is nothing to gain from being an accomplice...



So I guess we don’t have an accomplice after all...



In short, someone who becomes an accomplice has absolutely nothing to gain!



Does that mean this was the work of a single person?



Oh, I can't go on revealing specifics about this case, now can I. It will just ruin your own imaginative power!
I just didn't want you to forget the rules. It doesn't matter how much you help with a murder...



Only the one true culprit can graduate. An accomplice gains nothing!



So you're confirming that we're going to vote for a single culprit who committed the murders, as always?



...Well, let's make this super-clear on this occasion.
The person you're voting for in this school trial...



Is the person who planned and executed these murders. The "single true culprit"!

A... single true culprit?

Well, I think I'm done with the explanations.
The rest is a battle of wits between you bastards and the culprit!! I wish both parties luck!!





If there's one culprit... and an accomplice has nothing to gain...

So Kirigiri-san is not involved in this after all...



...So it seems.



But if she isn't... then where did she go...?



...It is sufficient that she is not involved. Let us concentrate on the investigation.



An investigation... It's true that Hagakure-kun is likely our culprit, but...
We should probably investigate a little, in case we're wrong.



Um, shouldn't we add that person to the suspect list, just in case?
I mean... Genocider Syo, the serial killer...



I can't believe my ears! I'm shocked!!



Kya!!



When did you...



I've been looking for you, Byakuya-sama! When I woke up you weren't there!



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



...but leaving that aside for a second. Hey, Big Boob Swimmer!!



Big Boob Swimmer...



How come I'm a suspect?!



You're a serial killer, aren't you?



And just for that, I get to be on the suspect list every time!? I have an alibi, you know!



She's right. She does have one.
When we heard Yamada scream, she was with us...
And when the bodies vanished, she was lying unconscious in the physics lab.
She may have had a chance to move Ishimaru's body, which was there in the room with her, but it was impossible for her to reach Yamada at the infirmary.



Furthermore, don't be surprised, but I always plan ahead. I won't kill if there's a chance I'll get caught in the act!



Being a serial killer isn't just for show, you know!



You shouldn't boast about such things!!



...By the way, what are we doing about guarding the crime scene? I fear someone will try hiding the bodies again.



I will guard together with Asahina. Asahina, do you mind...?



Sure. After all, I'm never much help with the investigations...



...It's decided. Let's begin.



Despite what everyone is saying... there is something strange about this case...
Everyone has an alibi... and that's why the culprit's identity is clear.

But...

It's probably just my imagination, but I don't think this is as clear cut as it seems...






We can finally explore freely. There's quite a bit in this room, but let's be proper detectives and start with the bodies.



Ishimaru-kun will never move again...

According to the Monobear File, Ishimaru-kun's death was caused by a blow to the head.
The weapon was probably Justice Hammer #4, which was at the scene where we first found his body...

Furthermore, there's a tarp spread under the body...
Maybe the culprit used it when they moved the body...?

That is, to keep blood from dripping all over the place.






Next, the other body.



Yamada-kun's huge cold body is lying on the floor.

It really is huge.

How could the culprit even move such a huge body?
Not to mention they had to carry him upstairs from the infirmary on the first floor...

Carrying such a huge body from the first floor to the third without being seen or heard...
How did they do it...?

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

...It's no use. I can't think of any way.
I'll leave this problem for later, and see what I can learn from the body itself...



That wound on his head does indeed seem to be the cause of death.
He must have been hit with Justice Hammer #3, which we found back in the infirmary.

Huh? Wait a second...

Something is not right about this body.

Why do I have a feeling... something is wrong...?

Something is... different...
Yamada-kun's body back at the infirmary, and Yamada-kun's body on the floor over here...



...That's it! It's the glasses!
When we found him at the infirmary, Yamada-kun's glasses had blood all over them...



...but now they're clean.
Did someone... wipe the glasses clean of the blood?

But who...? And for what reason...?






Now that we're done with the bodies, we can get to the rest of the evidence, starting with the most obvious thing right in front of us.



Hammers of various sizes are hanging on the wall. But... there seem to be some gaps...

Wait, some gaps...?

Maybe these hammers were used to create the Justice Hammers...

Furthermore, every hammer here looks like it has been heavily used...
They're dirty, and shards of stone are still stuck to them here and there.

Huh...?



This hammer alone is wet, and isn't dirty at all...

Did someone recently wash it?






Next, the thing that was most likely used to move the bodies around.



It's a dolly without a handle...

I've seen them in the art room in my old school. They're used to carry statues and such around...
They're a pain to use, but if you lower yourself down and push, they're not difficult to move around.

Huh...? This dolly...



Didn't I see it in the physics lab when we found Ishimaru-kun's body?



Sure enough, if I check the tire...
It has some blood stuck to it.

This dolly moved from the physics lab to the art room, and has blood on it...
That means...






There doesn't seem to be any other suspicious items in this room, so let's see if the others have something on their minds.



A lot has happened since this morning. Or maybe I should say... too much has happened.
It may be smart to recollect our thoughts and look back at what we have been through.
Do you require help remembering the events...?



Yes / No

Choosing Yes makes Sakura go on a long, long bland recap of the events so far, including plenty of flashbacks to help the confused player. I'm going to skip it, if you don't mind.



Instead, I'll go speak to someone who may have a better idea what's going on.



...Togami-kun. Is the culprit really Hagakure-kun?
...I can't imagine it being anyone else.
There was a series of murders and body hidings, and we all have an alibi for when they happened.
And then, there are Yamada's dying words.
He said... "Yasuhiro", didn't he.
...Therefore, it can be no one but Hagakure.
But, even if it really is Hagakure-kun...
Why did he go through the trouble of disguising himself in that weird costume?



Maybe he thought we wouldn't know it was him if he hid himself in some sort of costume?
...He is a world-class idiot, after all.

It's true that Hagakure-kun isn't the brightest bulb in the room, but...
...Can we really just let it go with this reasoning?

I feel there's some deeper clue to be found there...



Are we done here? Or do you have something else bothering you?
Yeah, I have one more thing I don't understand...
...The reason the culprit hid the bodies.



He probably thought if there are no bodies our investigation will be held back.
But wasn't it relatively easy to find them?



I think... we can attribute that to the culprit's stupidity as well...
Is that really a good enough reason...?
............
There's one more thing...
Why did the culprit kill two people?



...What?
I mean, according to the rules, a culprit who can kill without being found can graduate.
Shouldn't the culprit's main goal be to murder without anyone noticing they did it?
If they murder two people... doesn't that just increase the amount of evidence they leave behind...?



Wait. Could it be that...
I see... So that's how it is...
W...what are you thinking...?



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



Don't speak to me as if we're buddies.
Eh...? Why all of a sudden...?



I will tell you one thing, though.
You just made things much more interesting.

Saying that, Togami-kun left the art room.

I think he figured something out...
I wish he told me what it was...



Finally, we should check on Asahina. She doesn't seem to be taking any of this well.



Hey, Naegi. There's something that's bothering me.
It has to do with this storage area...
...What's wrong with it?



After we discovered Yamada and Ishimaru's bodies were missing, we split up and went searching for them, right?
I was a little scared, so I went along with Sakura-chan...



The first place we came to investigate was the art room.
But when we looked around, the door to this storage area was locked, and we couldn't go in...
...The door was locked?

You have a very short memory, Naegi. I made you check it yourself!



We went to the art room immediately after we split up, and we saw no one else in our group enter it before we did...
So who could have locked the door? And who opened it later...?
You're right... that is strange.

The door that was locked immediately after the bodies disappeared... is now unlocked.
There must be some secret behind that...

I think I should look at the door more closely to try and figure it out..



Let's do just that.

There is only one exit to this room...

The door that Asahina-san says was locked.



This door does have a locking mechanism, but it seems it can only be locked from over here, on the storage area side.



I can't find any way to lock it from the art room side...

Hmmm...

If it can only be locked from the storage area side, that's certainly interesting...
Asahina-san said this door was locked right after we started searching for the bodies.



And since it can only be locked from the storage area side...

I see... That means...

When Asahina-san and Oogami-san came into the art room, there was already someone inside the storage area who locked the door.
Sometime later, that person unlocked the door and left the storage area.

In addition, Asahina-san said none of us, who went searching for the bodies, could have gone into that storage area before she and Oogami-san entered the art room...

In that case, the only one who could do it is...






Um, I think I'm done with this crime scene for now...

I should try looking at other places related to the murder.
The ones I can think of are...

The infirmary, where we first found Yamada-kun's body, and the physics lab, where we found Ishimaru-kun.

We'll do that next time.