Part 86: Chapter 4 Daily Life, Part 2

We began our search as soon as we'd finished our breakfast in the dining hall. We had to find out what had opened up, what was waiting for us...





: The stairs to the 4th floor have opened up.



So now we have access to the 4th floor of Hope's Peak Academy...

: Maybe this time, we'll find some kind of clue... No! This time I HAVE to find it!



: The 4th floor has a lot of rooms to check out. Some of them look a little suspicious...





*Rattle rattle*

No good--the door's locked. I guess I won't be getting in here... According to the nameplate, this is called the data center... But what's behind the door is a total mystery.





: The music room, huh?





This is...the music room. It's hardly even a classroom. It's more like an actual concert hall...





: You know, you haven't told me what you think yet.
: What I think...?
: About the secret room in the boys bathroom...
: ...Ah! W-Well, um...I did find the secret room, but... As soon as I started looking around, I was attacked...



: Attacked? By who?
: Well...they came from behind, and I didn't have any time to react. So I didn't see who it was... And when I came to, the mountains of files and documents...were all gone.
: ...
: I'm sorry. I know how important those were.
: ...It's okay. I already saw what I needed to in there. And I half suspected the mastermind might come after you.
: What...?
: When I discovered the room, the mastermind must have seen me on the surveillance camera in the hallway. They must have seen me go into the boys bathroom, and not come out again. Still, I wanted you to go and see it... I wanted to see how the masterming would react. Essentially, I wanted to find out if the mastermind actually knew about that room.



: But to attack you, and steal everything in the room... That must mean there was some unknown clue in there that could reveal the mastermind's identity.
: Then...you knew I was gonna get attacked?
: You can handle that kind of thing though, right? After all, you're a boy.

What does she think a boy is...?

: Fine...I understand. Then let me ask you something else. Do you know about the note that was left in there? The note that said, "You must not leave"...
: We...shouldn't talk about that. Not here.

Kyoko stole a quick glance at the surveillance camera.



: ...I'm looking into it. If I find out anything, I'll let you know.
: Is that okay?

She made it sound like she was asking, but it was clear I wouldn't have any say in the matter.



: So, now it's your turn. Let's hear your secret.
: ...Huh?
: Did you think I wouldn't notice? You're hiding something. ...Am I wrong?
: Th-That's--!







: What's the matter? If you're worried about the camera, why not just write it down?
: U-Um...well...
: ...
: We're friends, so you should be able to trust me. Isn't that what you said before?

You're right that there shouldn't be any secrets between friends, but... There's nothing worse than expressing doubt about your friend when you don't have evidence for it...



: This is actually one of those "But Thou Must" scenarios. You have to choose not to tell her.

> Don't tell her

: S-Sorry... I can't tell you. Not yet...
: ... So...that's your answer.
: But do you think that's fair? You were happy to hear what I had to say, but now you're unwilling to share?
: I'm sorry. I really am...
: ...



: It's fine. Goodbye.

With those as her parting words, Kyoko left me standing there alone. I think I made her mad...





: Good job Makoto, we pissed off our biggest ally.



The nameplate on the door says "Headmaster's Room."

: The headmaster's room... There must be something worthwhile in there...

*Rattle rattle*

Huh? The door's locked... Dammit...!



: There are two classrooms on this floor as well.





: Nothing in here but Hiro.



: I'm glad this floor got opened up and all, but... there's like a ton of locked rooms up here!







: This one's completely empty, much like the other classrooms in the building. There is a transcription of Euler's Formula on the left wall though. Don't know why that's there but like other messages in these classrooms I think they're just flavor. Maybe this was the math room?







This is...the office. But of course there's no hint of any teachers that we'd normally be able to rely on...



: There's a Monocoin on each of the desks in the room but otherwise, there's one other big thing catching our attention.



Huh? There's a picture on the floor! This picture...





: ...What!?

Celeste, Hifumi...and Sayaka!? The smiling faces of three people who are dead now... A classroom without metal plates over the windows...

: It's...exactly the same!



It's just like that picture I saw before! There's no way this isn't important somehow...



They're smiling the way you'd expect any normal teenager to smile... Just a normal group of high schoolers, living a normal school life... I can't possibly believe they were able to smile like that in a world of despair like this. So does that mean this picture was taken before they ever came to Hope's Peak? Which would mean...everyone in the picture knew each other before they got here...? Including Sayaka...?

: No! There's no way! Monokuma did it! It must be fake!





: Nyohoho! YOU'RE fake!

Monokuma popped up out of nowhere and snatched the picture from my hand.

: A forgery plot? What are you, a middle schooler? You think the moon landing was faked, too? Come on!
: Then...you're saying this picture is...real?
: If there were such a thing as the Nobel Truth Prize, I'd take first, second, AND fourth place!



: Actually, that's probably not true!
: I asked you a question! Is this picture real, or is it a fake!?
: Oh, Makoto. You're so eager to split things in half, aren't you?


: But it's no use. It's just no use... If you try to split something that can't be split, you'll end up feeling like YOU'RE the one being split. The picture is real. No more, no less.
: Puhuhu...! *leaves*





Without another word, Monokuma disappeared.

: So the picture...is real?

It's really real? If that's true... If that's the case...



: Now that we've confused the situation even more, let's go check out the Chem Lab.





So this is the chem lab... I hope inhaling all this stuff doesn't do permanent damage...



: You can try talking to Hina and Sakura but Makoto will just remark that the two of them are deep in coversation.



It's a remarkably big shelf. And it's stocked with all kinds of medicine...



: Ah! Listen, Makoto! Listen! Just take a deep breath and calm down and LISTEN TO ME!
: O-Okay, Hina...just chill out...
: There's all kinds of stuff we didn't have before! Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, creatine--!
: And--! WHAT!? They even have Proteinzyme-X!
: Wh-What's that...?



: A high-quality protein drink! It's nothing like that cheap swill in the warehouse. It's connoisseur level!
: O-Oh yeah...?
: This is amazing! It's a gold mine! Ahh, my prayers have finally been answered! Time to load up some more prayers, then!

A gold mine, huh...?



: With that, our exploration of this floor is finished.
: I've already taken a good look at things around here.

There's a lot to think about, but for now I should head back to the dining hall and talk to the others.



Not long after I got to the dining hall, the others began to trickle in. And after a few minutes...





: So, is this everyone?
: Okay, let's discuss what we all discovered.
: Yeah, good idea...