Part 99: Super High-school Level Update #89

Chapter 4 Trial / 14 (Youtube via Polsy)



As expected... it was just as I suspected.



Those footprints were made by a pair of sneakers.



In our group, the only people who wear sneakers are...

Sneakers...? The people wearing them are...



Naegi and Asahina / Naegi and Kuwata / Naegi and Togami





It's just me and Asahina-san... I see, so that's why you asked me that back then...



Are these footprints...
...Yours, Naegi?
They're not!!
Is that so? Show me your shoes. I want to check if the sizes match.



If those footprints aren't Naegi's, there's only one possibility left.



Just Asahina-chi...!



Incidentally, Asahina has been behaving strangely ever since the school trial started.
She seemed eager to get to voting, didn't she?



That was so she could blame someone else for her own crime. That's why you wanted to finish the trial quickly, isn't it?



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



T...That's... I can't believe it...



...What is there not to believe?



I...I mean... Asahina-san and Oogami-san were best friends...



That's exactly why she got that chance.
Oogami-san probably drank the protein her best friend brought her without a single doubt entering her mind.



"Best friends"... Asahina simply used that to her advantage!
And so, she managed to fool the victim, Oogami. And then she tried to fool us as well!



Asahina... that's a pretty devious trick for someone like you.



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



Asahina-san... is it true?
Did you... really kill Oogami-san? If it's true...



Why...? Why did you do such a thing...!?



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



When I found Sakura-chan in the recreation room with her head wounded...
She had a request for me. She told me she wanted protein...
But... when I went to the chemistry lab to get the protein, I suddenly had an idea...



You thought... that was your chance to go for the kill, didn't you?
So you swapped the protein for poison, and handed that to Oogami...



And then... Sakura-chan drank it all in one gulp...



And then... And... then...



Wait...!
I can't accept that explanation.



Don't tell me even you are going to try to say best friends won't kill each other?



Are you still not getting it? This game has no place for such naivety.
You can't trust people blindly because of "friendship". You have to outthink the culprit, and beat them instead.
There is no such thing as a human who'd sacrifice themselves for the sake of others... Ultimately, everyone thinks about themselves first.
That girl... simply sacrificed Oogami for her own sake.



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



Nevertheless, I can't accept it.



How many times do I have to repeat myself...?



Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this out of sentimentalism...
It's just that... I can't accept an unsolved mystery.



Are you talking about... the locked-room trick...?



...Asahina-san. If you are the culprit, please explain it. How did you lock that room?



T...That's...
............



W...Why does that even matter?!! Do I have to explain everything just because I'm the culprit?!



No one is forcing you to... but I'm worried about why you don't want to tell us.



Don't tell me you're going to say Asahina isn't the culprit...?



...What if I did?



Impossible. She did the swapping, so it goes without saying she's the culprit.



Is that... really true...?
Even ignoring the fact that I find it hard to believe... there's something not quite right here.



Something...?



I mean... why would someone just leave such obvious footprints behind...?
How should I put it...? They were a little too eye-catching...



That's right... It's as if the culprit was trying to tell us how suspicious they are.



T...That's...



I...I was just nervous and didn't notice leaving those footprints behind...



...You didn't notice?



T...That's right... That's exactly what happened...



............
Hey, Asahina-san... Can you describe what you did in more detail...?



I'm talking about the time you exchanged the protein for poison.



W...Why? There's nothing else I have to say!



Asahina-san... Please. I'm asking too...



............
O...okay...



...Give me a break. It's obvious Asahina is the culprit...
There's no one else to suspect... She's the only one who could possibly be the culprit...



...Asahina-san, you may begin. Tell us what you did after you went into the chemistry lab.



U...Um...
First, I went to cabinet C... and took a poison bottle from it.



Did you scatter the powder in front of the cabinet at that time?



Y...Yeah... When I took that poison out, I carelessly dropped a bottle on the floor...



I understand. Please continue...



Next... I went to cabinet A to get the protein, and I exchanged the contents right there...
After I finished the swap...
I... took the poison-filled protein can and left the chemistry lab.
Before I did, I carelessly put the poison bottle I filled with protein back into cabinet A...



And that's why I got caught... That's... the end of the story...



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



Hey, Asahina-san. About that story right now...
Are you saying you first went to cabinet C to take the poison, and then took it to cabinet A?
In other words, you walked from cabinet C to cabinet A?



Y...Yeah... That's how it happened...



But, if that's what happened...



Isn't something... a little strange...?



...Asahina-san. Can you tell that story one more time?



What's wrong, Mako-chin?! You're being awfully aggressive, aren't you!?



She can tell it a hundred times and it won't change a thing... How long do you plan to keep this going...?



...How long?
That should be obvious...!

...We'll keep it going until we reach the truth behind this case!

Phase 11 (Youtube via Polsy)



DISCUSSION START



Evidence bullets: Source of the powder on the floor, Footprints in the powder, Yellow powder stuck to shoe, Kirigiri's testimony based on investigating the body, Chemistry lab cabinets



First, I went to cabinet C...



...and took a poison bottle out of it.



That's when you scattered powder in front of the cabinet?



When I took the poison out, I dropped a bottle...



What did you do after that...?



I moved from cabinet C to cabinet A...



That's where I made the swap...



After I finished swapping the bottles' contents...



I returned the protein-filled poison bottle to cabinet A...



I took the protein can with me...



And left the chamistry lab...



That's the end of the story.



That's enough... How much longer do you plan to keep this up...?

As I thought... Something is strange here...
There's a clear contradiction between Asahina-san's story and what I know...!

As I'm sure you all figured out, the thing that doesn't quite add up is:



Evidence bullet: Footprints in the powder
I moved from cabinet C to cabinet A...





YOU'VE GOT THAT WRONG!





Chapter 4 Trial / 15 (Youtube via Polsy)



Asahina-san first went to cabinet C to take a bottle of poison, and that's where she scattered some powder on the floor, right?



W...What's wrong with that...?



After that, you say you moved from cabinet C to cabinet A to take the can of protein...



But, the footprints left at the scene aren't leading from cabinet C to cabinet A...
Doesn't that contradict the story you just told?



Eh...!?



Maybe she just took the long way around in order to camouflage her footprints?



That's unlikely... I mean, Asahina-san just said so herself, didn't she?



I...I was just nervous and didn't notice I left those footprints behind...



Ah...!



Oy... what is the meaning of this, Asahina...!



U...Um... I mean...



Asahina-san, you're telling a lie.
Judging by the footprints alone, these are the actions you took in the chemistry lab:



You entered the room after the powder had already been scattered and went straight to cabinet A...
In other words, you did something in cabinet A without ever going near cabinet C.



B...But... That's...
............



W...What's going on here...?



What is this? What's happening!?



In addition, the footprints aren't the only strange thing about Asahina-san's story.



What... did you say...?



Before I explain, I'd like to present a new piece of evidence.



New evidence!? That's ridiculous! No such thing should exist!



...Oh? It was you who just handed me that evidence.



Me...?



This evidence was hidden inside the poison bottle I borrowed from you a few minutes ago...



Not noticing it was a fatal oversight on your part.



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



Tell me...! What was in there...?!



Here's what I found...



Eh? A glass shard...?



It was hiding under the powder at the very bottom of the bottle...
It revealed itself because you were kind enough to drink from it.



I managed to solve this mystery thanks to it... I offer my sincere gratitude.



W...Where did this shard come from...!?



I see... You still don't get it, Togami-kun... In that case...



Naegi-kun, can you please answer instead?



Eh...? Me...!?



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



N...Naegi... Tell me...! What's up with this glass shard...!

The light-blue shard of glass Kirigiri-san found in the poison bottle probably came from...



A Monobear bottle / The recreation room door window / The poison bottle





That shard... came from the window on the recreation room door, didn't it?



The window...?



I broke that window, and it was also colored light-blue... it can't be anything else.



That's right, it can't be anything else. And that's exactly what's strange here.
How did a shard from the window on the recreation room door found its way into this poison bottle?



...What's so strange here!?



It is strange... I mean, according to Asahina-san's story...



The place this bottle should have been at the time the window was broken...

According to Asahina-san, that was...



The recreation room locker / Cabinet A / Cabinet C





You said you left the poison bottle in cabinet A at the chemistry lab, didn't you, Asahina-san?



U...Um...



Nevertheless, a shard from the recreation room window got into the bottle...



Does that mean Asahina-chi's story was all a lie!?



The bottle of poison was actually in the recreation room.
At the very least, it was there at the time the recreation room's window was broken. That is, when the room was unlocked.
If that wasn't the case, there's no way to explain how a shard from that window got in there.



And then, after the locked room was unlocked, the bottle was returned to the chemistry lab...
...and the can of protein we found at the scene was brought in to take its place.



It all took place after the room was unlocked. That is, after Oogami-san was already dead.



Wait... You're taking too big a leap...!



I guess it's true that bottle of poison was at the scene when the room was locked...
But how can you be so sure the can of protein was brought into the room after it was unlocked...?!
In any case, what Oogami drank from must have been a can of protein filled with poison!
If that can of protein wasn't at the scene, why would Oogami drink poison...!?



I see... I have to explain that as well, don't I.
But before I do, I want to confirm one thing...



...Confirm?



It's about that can of protein...
When we found Oogami-san's body, did any of you kick that can?



...What are you talking about? Isn't that a leading question?



Just answer, will you...?



...I don't remember doing so.



I also didn't...



I...It wasn't me...



I concur!



I...I didn't kick any can...



I see. It's all clear now...
As I thought, that can of protein was brought into the room after it was unlocked.



Give me a break! How can you be so sure...?!



How can you be so sure... of something I don't understand...!?



If Kirigiri-san is sure about this, I'm sure she has evidence...

Evidence that proves the can of protein was brought into the room after it was unlocked...!

Phase 12 (Youtube via Polsy)



DISCUSSION START



Evidence bullets: Source of the powder on the floor, Asahina's testimony, Empty protein can, Locker hand prints, Chemistry lab cabinets



I have no doubt...



About that can of protein...



That up until the time the recreation room was unlocked...



It wasn't even there!



So, that can...



...was brought in after the room was unlocked?



No, that's impossible..



It was... always there inside the recreation room...



Even before the recreation room was unlocked...!

Proof the can of protein was brought into the recreation room after the room was unlocked...

If nobody kicked the can, there can be only one explanation for the state it was in...



Evidence bullet: Empty protein can
Even before the recreation room was unlocked...!





YOU'VE GOT THAT WRONG!





Chapter 4 Trial / 16 (Youtube via Polsy)



Did you notice the shards of glass scattered around the protein can on the recreation room floor?



It was glass from the window you broke...! So what...?



Those shards of glass... they weren't just around the protein can...



There were some under it.



W...What did you just say!?



The fact that there was glass under the can...
It means it was placed there after the window was broken, doesn't it?



In other words, after the room was unlocked!



...Keh!!



I...I see... That's how it is...
When Kirigiri asked if someone kicked that can...



The can might have been on top of the glass just because someone kicked it around.



Oh, so that question was just so you could discard that possibility...



It made things very clear, didn't it?
The bottle of poison was the only container inside the locked room. The can of protein wasn't there.
They were exchanged after the room had been unlocked, and as a result...
The can of protein was found in the recreation room, and the bottle of poison in the chemistry lab.



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



But in that case... why did Oogami drink that poison...?
Didn't she drink poison just because it was disguised as protein...?



No... that's not what happened at all...
Oogami-san... probably drank directly from the poison bottle.



That's the only container that was inside the locked room. There is no other possibility.



So... she drank the poison fully knowing what it was...?
Such a foolish story couldn't possibly...



...Oh, but it did.



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



Tell me...
Please, tell me...



The first thing we must make clear...
...Is who took the bottle of poison that was inside the locked room from the chemistry lab.



Asahina-san took it and gave it to the ogre, didn't she?



...Naegi-kun, what do you think?

The person who took the bottle of poison from the chemistry lab and brought it into the recreation room...
That's probably...



Sakura Oogami / Yasuhiro Hagakure / Aoi Asahina





I think... it was Oogami-san herself...



Huh? The ogre-chin that was killed brought the poison herself?



W...What are you saying!? There's no way that would happen!!



No, I'm certain that Oogami-san visited the chemistry lab, and that she even went to cabinet C, where the poisons are stored.



You're lying... You're just full of lies...



Why?! Why are you telling such lies!?



No, they're not lies... Oogami-san must have gone to cabinet C...

I must... make Asahina-san accept that...!

Phase 13 (Youtube via Polsy)



MACHINE GUN TALK BATTLE START





Do you have any proof the Sakura-chan took that poison from the chemistry lab?!



Source of the powder on the floor / Yellow powder stuck to shoe / Footprints in the powder















Chapter 4 Trial / 17 (Youtube via Polsy)



Asahina-san... Did you know Oogami-san had yellow powder stuck on her instep?



............
...instep?



That yellow powder... it must have been the same thing that was scattered on the chemistry lab floor...



That was also yellow powder, wasn't it...?



In other words, the thing stuck to Oogami-san's shoe must have come from the chemistry lab's floor.



Ah...!



But... why...? Why was there powder from the chemistry lab on the ogre's shoe?



And on the instep, of all places!



I think it's because Oogami-san was standing right there when the powder was scattered.



That is, she was the very person that scattered that powder near cabinet C!



Ahh...!!



When the bottle dropped, she was probably standing opposite to where the powder spilled...
That's why she could avoid the powder getting all over her feet...
But a little bit of powder flew in the air and reached the instep of her shoe...



...That's a good explanation, isn't it?



So, why did Oogami-san go to cabinet C?
I can't think of any other reason than to pick up a poison. There's nothing else in that cabinet, after all.



Y...You're wrong... It was me...! I took... that poison...!
I mean... I mean...



I mean, I am the culprit!!



That's wrong... You're not the culprit...



The culprit... the person who killed Oogami-san...

The relation between Oogami-san and the poison... The unsolvable locked-room mystery... There's just one possibility that can answer it all...

...The culprit must be that person!



CHOOSE A PERSON!