Part 57: Chase the Devil

MUSIC: Despair Searching







Perhaps there are clues here?





No, let's decide that after we search it! Investigate anything that stands out!





All sides of the tank seem to be made of a special type of glass. I see no hidden doors... Kehehe... Very mysterious. How, I wonder, did Himiko escape from the tank?

Well, if we figured it out easily, it wouldn't be a magic trick.



That is true... There is a high probability that they used the same route. To reveal how Ryoma got *into* the tank... I need to reveal how Himiko managed to get *out* of it.





At first glance...there's nothing particularly suspicious about it. There might be some trick to it, but only a magician would know.





This isn't a puddle from when we broke the tank... The floor around it is completely dry. Perhaps...someone who was wet was here, doing something...



But how would you get from the water tank to this space behind the staircase? This may be a vital clue for understanding the underwater escape trick...







Hmm, I estimate it is roughly 65 feet in length.



I am well versed in ropes. I once visited a village where their...use...was commonplace.

Kehehe... When it was time for me to leave, the women of the village all begged me to stay...

...I find that deeply disturbing, but I have to focus on this investigation.

We already know way too much about this subject.

Anyway, what is this rope? Could this be related to the case?



The game won't let us leave until we check the staircase again.



Inspecting it closely, I can see that some places on the side are wet... That might have something to do with the puddle next to it.



But I still don't know how the trick was performed.



Come on, let's go.

Ah, wait! Kaito!



Kiyo will bring us backstage again if we want, but there are other things to check on right now.



It is the control panel for the stage lights. It allows you to raise and lower the batten.

Ah, I see...











If you're wondering why we skipped over Kirumi last update, it's because we have to get up here with her to talk.



No, I did not hear a word. Furthermore, my help consisted of sewing the banner and curtains.

So I do not know the details of her trick.

I see...





I didn't realize...it was also a timer to reveal Ryoma's body.





It was set up so that the bottom would open when the timer had reached zero. The bottom is open now, and the tank is empty. It doesn't look as though it has a lid... I can see the ceiling straight through. And only the front side is glass. The other sides are made of wood.



Oh yeah. That tank was from Himiko's research lab.

Hey, Kaito, you helped carry supplies for the show, right?

Yeah. Me, Keebo, Himiko, and Angie. It was a lot of work.



It was a heavy tank full of water and piranhas. It couldn't have been easy to lift.



Ah, Kirumi.

The control panel on the side of the stage allows you to raise and lower the batten. It seems they lowered the batten, attached the piranha tank to it, then raised it again.



Since it was built to lift heavy objects, it is probably quite sturdy.







What's the matter? You wanna check that window out?

Ah, yeah, but—

Oh, it's too high up to reach, huh? Yeah, it is pretty high... Even higher than the piranha tank.



That's right! There was a ladder next to the stage! I'll go get it!



He returned carrying the ladder that was set up beside the stage over his shoulder.



Ah, y-yeah, I suppose so... Thank you.

After setting up the ladder on top of the stage, I climbed up the rungs...

MUSIC: Living in a Lazy Parallel World

AUDIO: Disquiet on Stage





If the window's open, does that mean the culprit used it?

The culprit may have gone in and out through this window...

So what's on the other side of the window?

I can't see much...but I think it's the pool.

A pool, huh? I heard we had one here somewhere. Alright! Let's check it out later! The culprit probably went through there!

Ah, wait... What is this...?

Hm? What's up?

Nothing, it just looks like marks on the window frame...



This might be related to the case... I should remember it.



MUSIC: Despair Searching





Yeah, that would be great. Thank you, Kaito.

Shouldn't the sidekick be doing this!?

Quit grumbling or it'll turn into a habit.

He complained... but he still put the ladder back for me.



Hm? We all done here? Then let's go.

Yeah, okay.



This area is inconsistently displayed in investigation mode, but it's right here, front and center.



Did you guys really need to break the glass? Everything's soaked now.

Well, if we had left Ryoma's body there, we wouldn't have been able to investigate...

I guess it woulda taken way too long to just empty the whole tank with a bucket.

It was a lot of clean up... but at least we can investigate the tank now.



Yeah, you're right.



But I should investigate the area thoroughly. There's bound to be something.





Gonta said that he picked up all the piranhas and put them here.

I can't believe Gonta would do that with his bare hands... Ah, wait, yes I can.

When I think that Ryoma is inside their stomachs, I don't even feel like eating them...

...Why would you even consider eating them in the first place?



The least we can do is pray for Ryoma's soul, so that he may enter Atua's kingdom.

Can he really go there looking like this?



...What are you talking about?

I noticed it right as the show started...

I feel like there are more piranhas today than yesterday when we were preparing.



What, did they multiply overnight? There's no way they could reproduce that fast.

But, but compared to yesterday...the piranhas looked super crammed into that tank.

Ah, so they looked more crammed together...



But anyway, it was super super super super super crammed.

Super super super super super crammed.

Geez, we get it.

More piranhas than yesterday... there might be something to that.







Tch...what the heck is this? Hey, is this really Ryoma? I didn't see the moment it happened, so I can't believe it...

...I'm certain of it.







The water filled with blood so fast, we didn't see the whole thing, thankfully... But this skeleton is unmistakably Ryoma's.

Geez, I know he wanted to die, but he didn't have to actually go and do it.

No...l don't think that's right, Kaito.





Huh? What do you mean he was jealous?

I'm positive that Ryoma wanted to join us. That's why he needed a reason to live. So that he could have the same feelings we do, so that he could have that reason to keep going.



...Then...he was a real idiot. Who cares if you don't have a reason to live? Can't your reason for living be something simple like good food or your friends?



...





His clothes are intact now? Kirumi must be really good at sewing.



Hm? What's in his room to investigate?



We should find out whose video Ryoma had.

Then...you think Ryoma was killed because of that video?

I can't say for certain...but we should check, just in case.



If that were the case, I might be a suspect... Well, no point thinking about that now.





There are so many tiny pieces...

Gonta and Tenko certainly didn't hold back when they threw Keebo at the glass.





It doesn't look like a broken piece. The other fragments are far more random than this.

It's nearly impossible for the broken water tank to produce such a perfect square of glass. Then what exactly is this pane?









The cuffs appear to be stainless steel, so not too hard to scratch.





But I've never seen handcuffs in the warehouse. Where'd they come from?

That's true, there weren't any in the warehouse. So where did they come from? If they weren't in the warehouse, another place that might have handcuffs is...



Ryoma's lab wasn't just for the Ultimate Tennis Pro, but also for the Ultimate Prisoner... So perhaps some element of that was in his lab as well.







Well, our investigation's over now... So who's the culprit?

I...can't say for certain yet. There are other places I need to investigate.

What!? You still don't know? I never thought detective work would be such...work. So where else do we gotta investigate?



They're connected by the window above the stage, so that needs to be looked at.

After that, I want to go to Ryoma's room and find out which motive video he had. Then, I want to investigate the Ultimate Tennis Pro's lab. I've deduced that the handcuffs we found in the water tank probably came from there.



Last of all, to the Ultimate Magician's lab. I want to know more about Himiko's trick... If we go there, I'm sure there'll be some kind of clue.

So we've still got a lot to do then, huh?



Ah...right.

What do you mean "right"!? Are you saying I'm useless!?

...ls there a right way to respond to that?



We'll go here first, since it's closest.





The trick that Himiko used in her magic show. ...I need to figure out how it worked.

Well, you say that, but what if it was real magic, with no tricks or mechanisms?

...Well, that would be a problem.









Well, it makes things...kinda boring.

Huh? Kaito, are you the type who wants to believe in magic?

Ooh! Kaito believes in Himiko's magic!

That's not what I mean.



Ah, yeah. I guess you could think about it that way...

Besides, it's just like my dream to go to space! I believe I can travel across the Milky Way! I believe I will meet aliens! Flying around space with thoughts like that is the true spirit of adventure!



Kaito, that's...

...the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Your idealistic dreams won't help this situation!



Ah, n-no need to yell...



I know it's not actually magic. Anyway, let's just start the investigation!





Huh? Well, I'm investigating. I know I'm plain, but it's plain to see I'm investigating.

So? Did you find any clues?

I'm...still thinking about that.

I don't think...you can uncover clues just by thinking about them...



Then get to it! Looking around is how you find clues!

But, I think leaving that guy alone is just plain bad...

Tsumugi gave Kokichi a meaningful glance.



That way, even plain old me can help out.



Speaking of "that guy"...



I'll tell you aaaanything you wanna know. You are my favorite, after all.

When he says that, it sounds like he means the opposite. It makes me nervous...



You snuck into our rooms to steal our motive videos, right? But is that *all* you were doing? You came back pretty late.



The gym is off-limits during nighttime, so Ryoma was probably killed before or after... Which makes nighttime yesterday so suspicious, since everyone was doing their own thing.

And what were you doing then?



After you regained consciousness, Shuichi, Gonta brought Himiko and Angie... That was about five minutes before 9 pm. Right after that, I left Gonta's lab and headed toward the dorms. I thought I'd be back in an hour—the start of nighttime—but something happened...



Right when I got to the entrance hall, Kirumi spotted me. That was right after I left Gonta's lab... so it was right around 9 pm. She started throwing questions at me left and right, asking if I was up to no good. Then she started criticizing my behavior, and lecturing me on my manners and relationships...



Didn't you ask Kirumi to "be your mom" earlier?

She just kept talking...then finally let me go at 10:00 pm, when nighttime rolled around.



Well, only the first half hour was a lecture, then we played tag for the other half. She was starting to bore me so I turned around to leave, and then...



I don't gotta listen to you! You're not worthy of lecturing the Ultimate Supreme Leader!

C'mon, Miss Maid! Catch me if you can!

Is that...a request?



I tried my best, but in the end, she caught me a little before 10 pm.

Then she started lecturing me again, and let me go when nighttime started.

So do your alibis still hold up, even when she was chasing you around?

We ran into each other a bunch of times, so yeah, they should hold up.



After Kirumi let me go, I finally went to the dorms and collected everyone's videos. But by the time I returned to Gonta's lab, it was already 11 pm.





...Something odd?



It was too dark for me to make out who it was, but I saw her walk around for a bit. I wonder who it was...

A girl in her underwear? What the hell is he talking about?



By the way...you didn't get captured by Gonta yesterday, did you Kaito? Where were you? And what were you doing?

I was running around the whole time. I hid in bathrooms, bedrooms, all over the school...



...



Nothing else in Himiko's lab is worth looking at but this.



It looks like the same tank Himiko used in the show. I guess this one was a backup. That's what Himiko told me and Keebo when we carried the tank out of here...

Then perhaps if we investigate *this* tank, we can learn the secret of the trick...



I was looking for anything that could be a switch or mechanism...











Good time to stop. Next time, no murder in the ool.

Truth Cylinder Blue Theme
Truth Cylinder theme.
A cool theme with a blue base.



Here's where we get to some of the more boring themes.