Part 100: December 5 Part 1: XVIII. The Moon

> Today is the day the school was founded, so you have the day off from school. You need to investigate the town. You wonder if you'll be able to gather the information you need to catch the killer...

-Omen-

Here, you have to ask two questions to certain NPCs around town. You only get the second question once you've spoken to this woman here, so we might as well start with her.


Shopping woman: Oh, you have a question for me?
About those murders...
Shopping woman: A little while ago, they said that a suspect had been caught. It was in the newspaper. It was that Namatame-san, right? I remember seeing him around from time to time. Oh, how horrible...It really does frighten me. I don't recall seeing any other strange people, so I'm sure he's the culprit.

> Is it true that there were no other suspicious individuals...? Perhaps you should ask someone else about this...

Recall anyone suspicious?
Shopping woman: Have I seen any other weird people, aside from Namatame-san? Hmm...Uh...Nope, I don't think so.


Loud old man: It'll be so cold on New Years that I'll never be happy! What do you want?
About those murders...
Loud old man: I can't remember something from that long ago!
Recall anyone suspicious?
Loud old man: There isn't anyone like that in this town! I even know you. You're that kid who's staying at Dojima-kun's house!


Gas-masked man: Why am I outside? When I'm at home, I just see more news about the murders. I thought I'd stay out here and watch the sun set. Of course, I'm going to watch TV when I go home anyway...Even then, I can't see the sun set because of all this fog! Ah, I hate it! It's so depressing! Ah, do you have a question?
About those murders...
Gas-masked man: Oh come on, don't make me even more depressed! They said on the news that the suspect had been caught. So that whole thing is over now, right? What else is there?
Recall anyone suspicious?
Gas-masked man: It's a small town. If there was anyone suspicious, there would be rumors going around all over. But at least I haven't heard any news or rumors like that. So I'd say there's no such person.


But rumors they hear from friends and TV get remembered for a long time...Why is that? It's been a while since the first two incidents...Do you think we'll find anyone who still remembers them?


They're all like, "Oh yeah, that guy in the bear suit from Junes"...But nobody has seen him, yesterday or today. He's loved by so many different people...Where the heck could he have gone...?


Businessman: This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing! I asked her for her autograph, and what type of guys she's into. Anyway, what do you want? I'm sure you can see how busy I am.
About those murders...
Businessman: Didn't they capture the suspect and put a lid on that case? Are you done asking questions? Good, now go away. I'm very busy talking to Risette right now.
Recall anyone suspicious?
Businessman: Hmm? No, I don't think I've seen any suspicious people. Except for you, who's interrupting my conversation with Risette!
"I'm just here to let her borrow my shovel. Nothing shady about that."


Guy just ignored me and walked off...I know it wasn't personal, but it kinda hurt...
Damn fog...Hurry up and go away!


You know, about that first murder...I wonder why it happened...?
Let's ask around and gather as much information as we can! I'll see you later!

-Music Box-





-Aria of the Soul-

...Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!


I put that in my pocket! It doesn't make any sense! It's got to be--Hey! Don't read that! You inconsiderate scumbag! Why would you read my heart's voi-NO! I-It's not my heart's voice!
Hush now, Marie. If you need to release your impulses, please do it somewhere else.
Shut up! Th-This is just...
Huh...? Impulses...Release...!?
...I will never let this go. St-Stop. Reading. My. Stuff.

> Marie returns to her seat, quivering with either rage or embarrassment...


The Trumpeter is a Persona of the Judgement Arcana. It's a powerful Persona, but very difficult to create. So be extremely careful, and use your best...judgement...Never mind. I look forward to your return.

Margaret's last request has a fixed formula.



It includes two familiar faces from earlier requests: Matador and Taotie. Taotie will learn Mind Charge on his own, if you couldn't manage to fuse it onto any of the others.



















Sound the trumpets.




That was my last request...Congratulations. You've been through many challenges, and I hope you grasped their meaning. You see, the results never mattered. I wanted to see you yourself struggle and complete the requests. You approached each challenge thoughtfully...And in doing so, you trained your soul...As I predicted, you have shown me that your soul is strong. It's been wonderful...For the first time in ages, I became very excited. But remember, one's soul is fragile. The purer it is, the stronger it gets, but it can easily be led astray. It can take so little as a handful of senseless words...such as a lie or a rumor. Please remember that. Now, I have to give you something as a reward. Here...I want you to have this.

> Obtained Spiral Brooch.

It's only an object...But at the same time, it's an expression of myself. I'm sure you'd know, since you've struggled so much for me, right?



-The Path is Open-

Our responsibility to our children is not to pretend that if we don't look, evil will go away...



...but to give them weapons against it.



-Aria of the Soul-

There's nothing more of your heart that I need to see. I understand you quite well now, so...Thank you. As I thought, you're the person I had been waiting for. When the time comes...It is you who will provide my answer. *chuckle* I look forward to it. I have nothing more to ask of you...You understand now, don't you...? How important it is to build connections with others in your life?
This is where you get the Deep Blue Clothes outfits, if you don't have them already.

-Omen-


I wonder if we can really find any new clues about the killer...
...Eh, no use whining about it now! Let's step up the search and get that info!


About those murders...
Female student: Uh...What are you talking about?

> You explained about the incident involving Saki and Yamano, the female announcer.

Female student: Did all that happen just last spring? Wow, it seems so long ago, haha. Who's gonna remember something from that far back anyway?
Recall anyone suspicious?
Female student: A strange person? Nah, I don't think I've seen any. I mean, this is a pretty small town, wouldn't you say? If I had, I'm pretty sure I'd remember.


About those murders...
Middle-aged woman: That incident last spring? I still wonder what happened...It was a pretty big deal, wasn't it? I'd almost completely forgotten about that...Wow, I must be getting old, huh?
Recall anyone suspicious?
Middle-aged woman: A suspicious person? No, I can't think of anyone...Not from this town, anyway.


Kind man: My wife is all business as usual, but I'm a little worried...By the way, do you need anything?
About those murders...
Kind man: I'm sorry. All I remember is that something happened. I know it was pretty shocking, but what can I say, a lot of time's passed...
Recall anyone suspicious?
Kind man: We've had a lot of people come to our store, but I can't say anyone was particularly suspicious.


About those murders...
Elderly person: Now that you mention it, the town was all abuzz last spring...You remember that, don't you?
Recall anyone suspicious?
Elderly person: Have I seen a strange person? I don't know...Out in the country, if there was anybody strange walking around, everyone would know about it right quick.


Saki Konishi, and Mayumi Yamano...There should be a commonality between the two.
Surely, there were some witnesses...Any scrap of data could be useful, no matter how small.


Female student: Can I help you?
You can stop hiding under the text box, for starters.
About those murders...
Female student: Eh? The incident last spring? I don't remember anything from that long ago! I'm gonna be studying for college entrance exams next year, so I've got no room for useless information like that.

> It doesn't look like you'll find any more information on the incidents last spring...
This line means you've asked "About those murders..." everywhere you need to progress. Halfway done.

Recall anyone suspicious?
Female student: A suspicious person...? Ah, now that you mention it, my friend was saying she saw someone...I think she's just wandering around the shopping district, so why don't you ask her?


Holding out on us!? GET THE HOT POKERS YOSUKE
Female student: Uh...Oh! That! You remember Saki Konishi, don't you? You know, she passed away a while ago...She told me how that Namatame person came to her one day and started spouting all this craziness. Something about the TV...I wonder what that was all about. His relation to Saki? Hey, I know what you're implying, but you've got it all wrong! Saki was a good girl! It's just that people misunderstood her!

> She must be referring to the time when Namatame tried to warn Saki. It seems the thing about Namatame making advances on Saki was a misunderstanding. It doesn't look like you'll find any more information on a suspicious person. You have gathered as much information as you could. You should report back to the group.

> Chinese Diner Aiya...You met up with your friends after you finished gathering information.


This stuff's a lot harder when you don't have a badge to flash...I walked around all day and didn't hear anything good.
It was the same for me. There was absolutely no talk about the case whatsoever, let alone the true culprit.
Ditto for me. Actually in my case, I kept getting bombarded with questions and couldn't get them onto the main subject at all...*sigh* The killer must be pretty good to have pulled this off without being seen by anyone in this small town...
What should we do...?
Well...One steak bowl please!
That's not what I meant!
But then again, I guess we might as well take a break...I'll have a crab and egg fried rice.
I'll have...roast pork ramen with extra noodles.

> You all finished eating the dishes that you ordered.

-Deduction-


Let's share what we learned...Even if it wasn't much.

> You spoke with everyone about the information you gathered today.

So, to sum up: There really was no new information...The end?
The police had an unusually large number of officers in their initial investigation of the first two incidents. To find facts that even they overlooked would be difficult indeed, now that over half a year has passed. There wasn't a single report of suspicious persons being witnessed to begin with...Ms. Yamano had ardent fans whereas Saki-san didn't, but otherwise the conditions are the same.
Y'know, every time I tried to ask about the case, everyone ignored me and kept ranting about the damn fog.
Yeah. That or the Midnight Channel. I asked around about Teddie too...But no one's seen him.
Gee...I wonder where he could've gone.
Do you have anything, Naoto? Any new, uh...deductions?
Without any new data to work with, there isn't much I can do...
But there must be someone in town who meets all the criteria for this case. The killer must have a connection to both Saki-san and Ms. Yamano...As well as be in a position to observe our actions periodically, to some extent...Finally, it must be someone who could approach Senpai's house without arousing suspicion...I need some fresh air before I give it more thought. I'll be outside.

> Just sitting here won't help you think any better...You decide to go outside to get some fresh air.




Maybe this'll help clear my head and get my deductive muscles flexing.
Hey, is it snowing...? Too bad the fog's so thick...The snow just gets lost in it.

> There must be something that's been overlooked...It's urgent that you get over the roadblock facing you. The clues you need must already be in your hands...

What's the matter?

> You should go over everything you know one more time...The culprit had some sort of connection with both Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. And judging by the warning letters, the culprit most likely knows about the "other side" and what you did there. It's highly likely that they also knew what Namatame was doing and stood back to watch. Who would know all these things...? Another oddity about the case is that there were almost no witnesses. Both warning letters seem to have been delivered directly to your house, but no one saw anything suspicious. No one unusual was seen around Mayumi Yamano or Saki Konishi, either...Despite the police dispatching an unusually high number of officers to perform a thorough investigation. There must be someone in this small town who fits all the facts...



...is who?