Part 48: Trial 2, Part 5

Click here to watch this update's video.







: First of all, we know where Chihiro was headed... He was on his way to go exercise.
: So next we have to ask... Why did he choose the specific tracksuit that he did?
: What do you mean, the specific tracksuit?
: I got it! He picked that tracksuit because it matched the one the culprit was wearing!
: So what you're saying is the killer was wearing the same blue tracksuit as him? My tracksuit is black!
: I-I don't even have a tracksuit... Cuz exercising sucks!
: I have a white tracksuit, personally. I got it from the warehouse, if you must know!
: Did any of that really help us get any closer to figuring out who the culprit is...?
: No way... Not a chance...



: You heard him, right? What he just said without even realizing it?

Are you saying there's something off about what someone just said?

: This can actually be a really tricky debate if you weren't paying close enough attention. The game tries to prepare you for this by having a lot of bolded words in the preceding discussion segment but this game does like to bold lots of words and phrases often enough that you might not pay attention to every single one of them. It's one where you really have to stop and think about what you know versus what the other characters should know. I remember getting caught up on this when I played the game for the first time.
: In this case, someone said something about the jacket's color that no one aside from us and Celeste should know...



> Shoot "blue tracksuit" with "Celeste's Account"









: Hold on a second, Mondo! What did you just say?
: ...Huh? What'd I say?
: When Celeste testified a few minutes ago, she said...



: I saw him stuffing a track jacket into a duffel bag. And then, I assume, he headed off to exercise.



: She never said anything about the jacket's color.
: So why did you say Chihiro's "blue" tracksuit?



: What are you--!? You just--!
: Hey, Celeste. What color *was* Chihiro's tracksuit?
: As a matter of fact, it was...blue.
: And before we began the trial...did you tell anyone that?



: The only one I told about any of this way you.
: Then...Mondo, how did you know what color Chihiro's tracksuit was?
: B-Because I--! I just--!
: I-I'm sure he saw the clothes at some point in the investigation...!
: No, that can't be it. The bag and clothes were surely disposed of by the time we began our investigation.



: Then the only reason he could have known what color the tracksuit was is if he saw Cherry with it before he died! That's the only possibility!
: Cherry...? Are...are you talking about Chihiro?
: So, how 'bout it!? Did you see the tracksuit or didn't you!?



: J-Just by chance... I just happened to see it last night... He walked past me, and he was carrying the tracksuit in his hands.
: No, that can't be it, either. According to Celeste's testimony...



: She stuffed the jacket into her bad in a hurry. It was almost like she was trying to hide it... And just like that, she was gone.



: When Celeste noticed it, Chihiro made a point of making sure the jacket was completely in the bag. If you just ran into him briefly, you couldn't possibly have seen what color the tracksuit was.
: Gh--! Nggh...!
: It would appear you've dug your own grave.
: Perhaps, but you handed him the shovel, didn't you? That's why you said what you did. Focus on the tracksuit, and it'll be obvious who he met with? What a bunch of nonsense.
: ...Ah, now I understand. It was all one big bluff, wasn't it? Your true intention was to draw a slip of the tongue from the culprit...



: That's why you said you knew who did it, to put them on edge.
: That's right. However...
: Mondo was my target all along. I had my suspicions about him from the very beginning!
: But why...? What made you so suspicious?
: That's a good question.



> The way he talked



: There was a certain turning point that tipped me off. Maybe you didn't notice it, Mondo, but you tend to refer to men and women differently. You only call guys "dude." For girls, it's "chick". And after he was killed, you happened to refer to him as "dude." Once I picked up on that, it occured to me that Mondo knew something we didn't.
: You'd be forgiven for not picking up on this. Mondo only says it once and you may or may not be playing full attention in the wake of Chihiro's death. Thankfully, it's not hard to reason out what the correct answer to the above question is.



: Y-You noticed such a tiny detail!?
: Are you a witch? She's a witch! You're positively frightful!
: No, I'm not the frightful one.

♪ Music fades out. ♪

: Not nearly as frightful as someone capable of murdering a friend.



: Kh...!
: Mondo...was it really you? Did you really...kill Chihiro?
: I...I...I-I-I...





: I didn't kill anyone! You've been all over me, judging everything I say, putting words in my mouth... What gives you the right to treat me like a goddamn criminal!?
: Y-Yeah! He would never do something like that! This is a false accusation!
: It's true, my reasoning on that is pretty shaky.
: Th-That was fast...
: Well, this does present us with a problem. It seems we are all out of leads.



: Heh heh heh. My time has nearly come...
: That's what my little ghost friend is telling me!
: Oh yeah, that reminds me. Hifumi, weren't you telling me you'd found some evidence...?
: Really!? What kind of evidence!?
: ...
: Actually, you know...not that I'm thinking about it here calmly, it might not be all that relevant.



: Jeez, did your confidence just get up and walk away? It's fine, man, just tell us!
: I-If you really insist, then...



: Umm...here it is.
: Hmmm? What do you have there?
: It happens to be an e-Handbook. I found it laying on the ground, so I scooped it up.

You found it on the ground, right? Then it must belong to...



> It's Chihiro's



: We know Chihiro's handbook was missing from the scene of the crime, right?
: For a fact.
: For a fact indeed! I was totally sure I'd found it.
: Then it must hold some clue about the culprit, right!?



: Well, that's what I was hoping. But it's busted. It won't even turn on.
: I imagine the culprit broke it to get rid of any evidence after the murder.
: That's odd. I didn't think the handbooks were quite so...fragile.
: You're right, they're not! They're totally waterproof and shock-resistant! It would take an awful lot to break one...
: And yet, this one does appear to be broken. As is Leon's sitting useless in the main hall. For all your confidence, that is a remarkably high failure rate.
: Puhuhu. Do you think there might be some kind of mystery in there somewhere? How, precisely, did the handbooks get broken?

How did the handbook break? There's only one possible explanation...



> By hitting its weak point



: You already told us before that the handbook has one weak point, didn't you?
: Ugyah! You remember that!?
: S-Sure, maybe I let that slip, but I never told anyone what the weak point actually was!



: But if the handbook is supposed to never break, and two of them broke in quick succession, then...
: Then we can only assume that someone's figured out its weakness.
: You know what the weakness is, right Monokuma? So, what is it?
: Huh? You're asking me?
: I think it's a necessary piece of information if you want this to be a fair trial.



: But...if I tell you, and someone else decided to copy it, that would be very not good...
: Just tell us already! Why would we wanna break out own handbooks!?
: *sigh* Oh well... I have a weakness for pushy demands. But you're sure you won't follow their example? Then allow me to make a special announcement! The weak point of my cutting-edge e-Handbook is...!



: When it's exposed to high temperatures for too long, it will suffer a meltdown and totally brrreak!
: I flippin' knew it!
: ...You knew it?



: Yeah, cuz I found the handbook laying on the floor of the sauna!





: The temperature in the sauna can reach over 200 degrees. Strange how you don't get burnt, huh!? It's because as your sweat evaporates, it creates a cooling layer of air around your skin! If the hot air of the sauna were somehow puched directly onto your skin, you'd definitely get fried! That layer of air would get blown away. That's why you may feel a burning when you move around. So when you're in a sauna, make sure to keep nice and still!
: Wow, interesting! I learned one new fact today!
: That is a mere trifling speck of knowledge!





: Anyway... If you found the victim's handbook in the sauna then the killer must have been purposely trying to raise its temperature in order to break it.
: Meaning the culprit somehow knew its weakness...
: But how'd they find out? Monokuma said he didn't tell anyone, right?
: Indeed, quite the mystery...



: What if they found out by accident?
: What do you mean, by accident?
: What if the killer took their own handbook into the sauna, not knowing its weakness, and it broke? They'd realize it was broken, of course, and it wouldn't be hard to figure out why. And once they had Chihiro's handbook, they knew they had an easy way to dispose of it.
: I won't say it's not possible, but...who would have done something like that? I don't know of anyone who took their handbook into the sauna...



: ...I might know someone who did.
: Whoa, seriously?
: I think the one who may have taken their handbook into the sauna was...
: Gh...! Nrgh!

Who might have brought their handbook into the sauna...? Really, it could have only been one person...!