Part 79: Levelled Accusations

[BGM: Stampede of Truth]


Entering the room, I realized just how big this place was. This was going to be a pain, wasn't it?

Do you think we'll actually find something in here? If we search this whole place and we don't, it's going to be a real waste of time.

The fact that it's so big means that searching it is all the more worthwhile.

...Not really, but let's get to it.

We started by walking up to the stage and looking around behind the curtains and on the walls. For a while it seemed fruitless, until Ox called over to me.

Hey Mouse! Come over here.

What is it?

Does this look out of place to you?

[BGM: Ox's Logic]


I looked at what he was gesturing to. In the midst of a bunch of papers hung up on random walls that looked like they had to do with scheduling things and procedures, there was a sheet titled 'RULES TO FIND SAFE'.

This probably has something to do with the race! I bet the clues lead to a trinket!

Okay, let's see what they lead to...

There was an ordered list which oddly started at 0. The clues were as follows:

0 – The number is odd.
1 – The letter's position in the alphabet plus four is the number.
2 – The number isn't 8 or 11.
3 – The letter's position in the alphabet times two is a lower number than the number.
4 – The letter isn't a vowel.
5 – The number is less than 10.
6 – The letter is A, C, or E.
7 – The letter's position in the alphabet is a lower number than the number.
8 – The number is prime.
9 – The letter is C.

In pen, an arrow was drawn from the top of the list to the bottom.

What... is this all about?

I'm pretty sure it's referring to the front section of the seats. I noticed earlier, the front section is divided into rows A through F, and they 're numbered from the left going 1 to 14.

What's weird about this is why there are so many clues to the location. You only need hint 1 and hint 9. It should be row C, and if C's alphabetical position is 3, then it would be column 7.

Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go get the safe!

We should at least see what this is about.



We made our way down the aisles and over to the appropriate seat, and sure enough, hidden below the seat was a miniature safe.

We found it!

Hold on. Let's not start celebrating until we actually open it.

I started to examine the safe, and realized that it needed a four digit combination to open.

As I figured, it wouldn't be that easy.

But look, there's a note attached to the top of it!

What does it say?



'Following the arrow, choose the numbers who certainly led to me while all being useful'. ...The hell does that mean?

Ah, I see. This is a puzzle.

It is?

Yes. It has to do with that list of hints we got earlier to the safe.

I thought it was weird how superfluous it seems, but now it makes sense. If I had to guess, this note means we need to choose 4 hints from that list that would lead us to this location perfectly, no guesswork needed.

However, 'all being useful' probably means that none of the clues should be superfluous. That is to say, you couldn't remove any of them without being unable to know the location.

And 'follow the arrow' probably means that the digits should be input in order from 0 to 9.

Wow! How'd you figure it all out?



I didn't figure anything out, I just interpreted the rules.

Maybe, but you were really good at it.

It's not entirely like translating arcane legalese. Plus, I like to visit escape rooms from time to time.

That explains it.

We should start trying to solve the puzzle.

We should...

Four rules that would lead us to C7, huh? What could the answer be?



Well, here goes nothing!

You know the answer?

...Maybe?

That's not confidence-inspiring.

Just let me try!

I started to input the code...

And here we are at the final puzzle we can encounter in the early stages of the routes- and man, what a puzzle to go out on. Full disclosure, I HATE this puzzle, not only because it feels incredibly clunky compared to the others, but because this puzzle is potentially unsolvable if you play the game yourself.

There's an image for the puzzle text that Mouse read off (that I intentionally did not show in the LP) so the player has a reference point when trying to solve it, but Themis messed up and accidentally duplicated 3's text in 7's line, so if you weren't paying close attention to the actual narration you would just assume the image is correct and find yourself arriving at the wrong solution! And for some reason Themis hasn't fixed this error yet, despite the VN being out for over two years at the point this update was posted.

Thankfully, the store page for the game accidentally spoils the answer to this puzzle in one of its example screenshots, and Mouse's actual narration is correct, so it is still solveable after a fashion. I'll still spoiler the answer if you guys want to try to solve it, but for those who are curious, the answer is 3589.

This has to be it!

I input the code, and the safe opened!

You did it?

Yep!



Looks like an escape room king is no match against a Puzzle Master such as myself!

Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just see what's inside.

I reached inside and grabbed another token. It was a familiar shape.

A Minor Trinket!

Great. So this wasn't a waste of time.

Thank God! It would've sucked if it was something stupid like a gun or whatever. So, should we go bring this to Tiger?

That is the plan, yes.

Then let's get going!

[BGM: Silence]


The two of us left the auditorium and made our way down the stairs.

*bang! bang! bang!* ...*bang!*

Just as we started to descend the stairs, I heard three gunshots, and after a pause, another one.

What the hell was that?!

Quickly! Get down to where Tiger is!

[BGM: Steadfast Gallop]


Ox urged me to start running, and I was in no position to argue with him. A familiar sense of unease started to rise up in my chest. There was no way this was good. We started going down the hallway to the Front Entrance, when I saw Bunny running towards it from the other side of the hallway. He must've also heard the shots. I rounded the bend and looked at the lobby, only to see a horrifying sight!



Tiger! Dragon!

The two of them were lying limply on the floor. Tiger was on her side near the office, with a metal pipe and the sniper rifle lying by her side. Dragon was face down on the other side of the lobby, with a bloody lamp right next to her. This was...

No!

Quickly, check their statuses!

Snake piped up from behind me. When did he get here? ...Who cared? He was right! I ran forward and started checking on Tiger. As I got closer, I saw a bit of blood behind the hair on the back of her head. ...But it wasn't that bad! I had to believe in her. I got down and felt for a pulse. I was so worried I'd be met with an eerie silence. But to my relief, I felt something.

Just as I confirmed she was alive, I heard her start to softly moan. She was definitely injured, but she wasn't killed or completely out for the count. On the other side of the room, Ox had been checking out Dragon. I looked over to him with hope. But when he met my eyes, he shook his head. Tiger might've survived, but Dragon wasn't so lucky. The race had seen its first casualty.

And I began to feel sick to my stomach.

[BGM: Somber Howl]


After the discovery, everyone eventually made their way to the scene of the crime. After all, gunshots weren't exactly something you could ignore. It was a huge, chaotic mess, with people on the verge of tears and shouting at each other. However, cooler minds eventually prevailed. Ox reminded them that this would all be for nothing if the Minor Trinkets weren't found. And while people weren't happy about it, they realized he had a point. And so, without clearing much up, the majority of the group returned to their search for items in this haunted school.

The ones left behind were Ox, Tiger, Snake, Bunny, and myself. For my part, I'd mostly just stood there feeling sick the entire time. Luckily, I had kept myself from vomiting, but the urge was definitely there. Part of it was pathetic. I was supposed to be a criminal defense lawyer, and I couldn't even look at a dead body? But having it happen so suddenly, so close, to someone you knew, for the first time? It was just a lot at once. Still, I couldn't just stand there forever.

Dragon didn't just die of a heart attack. She was murdered. If I did nothing, that would mean letting her murderer run free. And that wasn't something I was going to let happen. I stood up from the chair I had been sitting in, and walked over to the group. This was a life or death race.

I had to run.



Hey Mouse, are you alright?

I'm fine, trust me. If anything, I should be asking you that!

Tiger rubbed her eyes and gave me a pained smile. A bit after everyone had arrived, Tiger had woken up. She was in a lot of pain, but it didn't seem like there were any serious injuries. The blow to the head just put her out of commission for a few minutes.

You talking about the hit to the back of my head? I'm fine! I've taken worse than this plenty of times!

...You have?

Stop getting off topic! You're sure you don't know who did it?

I'll tell you what I told you ten dozen times already.



I thought there might be a Minor Trinket hidden in the nurse's office over there, so I walked over to that front desk. I tried looking in to see if there was anything, but it's not like I was abandoning my post! I was standing right there!

Anyways, all of a sudden, in the corner of my eye, I saw someone moving quickly at me from the hallway. I started to turn towards them, but before I could really make a move, I felt a blow to the back of my head, and that was that.

They must've rushed at me with that metal pipe and knocked me out before I could even realize what was happening!

I didn't ask for a recap, I asked who did it! If you 'saw them in the corner of your eye' you had to at least see some part of them!

I didn't! Or maybe I did, but... I don't remember it. Look, my head's still kind of messed up from that attack, you know?

With an attack like that, it's not unreasonable that her memory would be hazy, especially at the point immediately before the hit.

Fine, fine. I just want to know who did this.



More importantly, what's the damage done? ...Obviously besides Dragon.

There... isn't any.

Huh?

Tiger still has all the Trinkets in her pocket, and even though the sniper was brought out and fired four times, all the weapons are present.

Seriously? What a lucky break.

Indeed.

So what should we do now?

It may be crass, but might I suggest nothing?

What?!

Hear me out.



I am, perhaps more than anyone, deeply wounded by Dragon's passing. She was a deeply spirited woman, and her impact on the group will not go unnoticed.

I hope that the full extent of the law can come down on whoever killed her, and I am certain the police will be able to use forensic evidence to get an idea. However, as much as I am an idealist, I am equally a pragmatist.

We mourn the dead for the living. 'Avenging' her only does her as much good as it does us. And in a literal sense of speaking, this isn't that much of a setback. No trinkets were stolen. Nor were weapons.

True, Tiger was caught offguard and attacked, but after this I'm sure she'll be on high alert, facing the hallway, an unmoving warrior.

Perhaps she can even proactively arm herself with a pistol. I see no reason why this horrid assault should disrupt our plans.

Hence, we should go back to searching for our lifelines, the Minor Trinkets.

Makes sense to me...

Hold on.

[BGM: Silence]


We can't let that happen.

We can't?

I don't want Tiger guarding the weapons anymore. In fact, I don't entirely feel comfortable with letting her walk free.

What?!

I'll be blunt here.

[BGM: Eyes of the Dragon]


Tiger, I suspect you for the murder of Dragon.

Well, this is certainly an interesting turn of events. Do go on.

Leaving this lobby, there are four main routes you could take. After hearing the gunshots, Mouse and I immediately started rushing down the staircase and got to the crime scene fairly quickly.

Bunny ran in from that classroom wing. Snake was running down the hallway that the staircase connects to. The last exit is through the commons. However, there are big windowed doors leading to those commons, and it's quite wide open.

When I ran down, I briefly checked that direction, and I didn't see anyone running away.

...To sum it up, there shouldn't have been anywhere for the criminal to escape. The killer also didn't take any weapons or Trinkets, even though they are likely someone affected by Brian's third round rule change.



With all that in mind, I think there's a reasonable explanation as to who the killer is: the person who didn't, or couldn't, leave the scene. That'd be... Tiger.

That's totally ridiculous! You seriously can't be suspecting me! I'm a victim here!

A victim with a very fishy story. I can't imagine someone getting the jump on you like they claim they did. It's entirely possible you faked your 'injury' to divert suspicion.

Seriously? Ox, you're suffering from a serious case of victim-blaming right now! You're supposed to be a cop or whatever, right?

Prosecutor.

Well then, you should know you can't accuse someone without evidence! Where's your evidence, huh?

...If you insist.

Ox walked over to Dragon's body.



Take a look at that lamp. It is majorly bent, and Dragon's skull is practically caved in. That requires a feat of tremendous strength.

The only other people I think could easily pull this off would be Dragon, the victim, and Horse, who has an alibi in the form of Sheep.

Pshh. Haven't you heard of the power of adrenaline? If a mother can lift a car to save a baby, a murderer can dent a lamp to kill someone. Shouldn't a cop like you know that?

Prosecutor.

And yes, some extraordinary things can happen, but that's the exception, not the rule. I'll also point out that despite your testimony Tiger, you were found unconscious on the other side of the lobby.

How do you explain that?

I don't know! The killer must've moved me for some reason! That still doesn't prove anything.

I haven't even shown the most damning thing.



He then picked up a form on a clipboard which was sitting on the counter. It appeared to be some sort of signout sheet for students. It had a few bloody flecks on it. And written in scrawled letters...

TIGER IS CRAZ

What's that?

I believe it was Dragon's last scribbles. After being injured, she hurriedly scribbled a message to us. She wasn't able to finish it, however, because she was finished off by a lamp.

No way! That can't be right!

Face it, Tiger, the evidence is stacked against you.

Clearly someone's trying to frame me! To waste your guys' time! Mouse, you believe me, right?

Well...