And so, all fifteen of us stood at our podiums.
There was nothing but emptiness in the circle at the center.
As though it symbolized the podium opposite Rekida's.
"...!"
Karafuru's black-and-white memorial portrait had been marked with a colorful X, as though to represent him.
"Monotwins... what the hell is that supposed to be...?"
"Keisha, please do not mind it! It is the bare minimum of a funeral we can show you!"
"...Just ignore them. We're wasting time."
"Yeah!! Just like Kadra says!! Now then, I'll explain the basic concept of the Class Trial, so open your damn ears and listen uppp!!"
*
*
Monotwins / First, we shall provide a brief explanation of the Class Trial!
Momono / In the Class Trial, you will discuss [Who is the Blackened?], then determine the result through your votes.
Monono / If you identify the correct Blackened, only the Blackened will receive punishment. But if you get it wrong! Everyone except the Blackened will be punished, and the sole surviving Blackened will earn the right to 'graduate' from this academy!
Momono / And naturally, you must vote for someone! Otherwise, regardless of whether you win or lose, you will be summarily executed! Of course, there is no problem at all with voting incorrectly!
Monotwins / Now then, the long-awaited first Class Trial shall begin!! Put your minds to work, and work even harder at suspecting one another!!
Rekida / W-wait just a minute!! What the hell is this bizarre interface!? Why are names floating next to us!?
Tsurudo / Hey, where are you even looking when you say that...? What are you talking about? What do you mean names are floating next to us!?
Momono / Ah, just let it slide! It's for the sake of smooth proceedings! Hawaah... and now the proceedings have gotten tangled up from the very start because of it...
Kitsui / We'll get those proceedings underway, so could you be quiet for a little while?
The Monotwins shut their mouths in unison.
Sakabaku / Hey... even if you tell us to get things underway, where the hell are we supposed to start? Anyone got an idea?
Ubauchi / Well, even I've lived as a thief all my life, and this is my first trial. How do these things normally work?
Hiranui / Tch... a trial. This is an unwelcome development.
Narita / Hmm...? Hiranui, have you been in a trial before? Then could you please tell us how it works? It would be helpful!
Hiranui / Ah, it is an unimportant story. In this courtroom... there is no visor-wearing prosecutor who would ruthlessly press me, nor any spiky-haired defense attorney who would gently wag his tongue for my sake.
Rekida / Ah, fuck, what was that...? It feels familiar somehow, but also nostalgic...
Niseato / ...Enough with the pointless tangents.
Akano / Sonoconsigliere... I do not mean to push this onto you, but surely you must have some thoughts on how we should proceed?
Akano's gaze slowly settled on someone.
Akano / Keisha, I mean you. As a detective, you should be familiar with trials, should you not? There is a reason they call them criminal trials, after all.
Keisha / ...Of course, this is my first trial in a format like this... but I can offer a suggestion from an investigative perspective. First, how about we establish the facts surrounding the victim's death?
Komada / I see, certainly... I want to know about that too.
Sakabaku / All right! I'm in favor too! I mean, it feels like if we can just figure that out, this whole case will be solved!!
...Something about that felt off, but riding that momentum, the discussion began.
{ Nonstop Debate }
Kadra / ...First, shall we recall Karafuru's final moments?
Narita / Hmm... it certainly was a gruesome end. { The moment it became seven in the evening, he fell onto the Common Floor, correct? }
Tana / Tana doesn't know because Tana didn't see it! But... it must have hurt so much! Ugh... I'm really sorry I couldn't be there with you...
Sakabaku / Yeah... it must have hurt terribly... emotionally, too.
Kitsui / ...? What do you mean, Mayumi?
Sakabaku / It's simple... if he fell in the first place, then someone must have pushed him, right? But...
Sakabaku / Who would ever do that!! So Ikiro { fell on his own and committed suicide!! }
...There it was, the hole in her logic.
[That's wrong!! (それは違うよ！)]
Keisha / ...No, Mayumi. Karafuru committing suicide... that couldn't have happened.
Mayumi / W-what...? Why!? There's no way Ikiro didn't commit suicide...!
Keisha / I know... But there's evidence.
The evidence I brought out was the [Sleeping Pill Powder] found around Karafuru's mouth.
Keisha / Everyone, look at this photograph. Around Karafuru's mouth... there's a tiny amount of purple powder, isn't there?
Tana / I-it's true! Grapes, it's grape powder! Is the Grape Devil the culprit!?
Kaiju / [Tana, could you be quiet for a moment...? Keisha, continue.]
Keisha / To get to the point, this is sleeping pill powder. You can get it anywhere, but what matters is that it was still clinging to Karafuru's mouth.
Tsurudo / I see...! If it had been that recent, then there's a high chance Karafuru was unconscious until just before he fell...!
Keisha / Yeah, exactly. In that state, I don't see how he could have climbed over the railing and fallen of his own accord.
Sakabaku / Hmm... I see, damn... I didn't think it through! Sorry!
Roshiya / No, Mayumi. If we discuss things like this and correct ourselves, we'll naturally arrive at the truth!
Sakabaku / Shuko... yeah, thanks! I'm feeling better already!
Rekida / Ugh... the polar bears, the polar bears are going extinct!!
Ubauchi / What the hell are you suddenly talking about!? Shut up!
Kitsui / In any case... then Karafuru was ultimately pushed off by someone? If so, what exactly was his cause of death?
Cause of death... Certainly, there might still be people who did not know.
Keisha / All right, let's make that clear while we're at it. Karafuru's cause of death was...
[This is the answer!!]
Keisha / It was written outright in the Monotwins File. "Death by falling," it says.
Komada / Death by falling...? Then he really did die from that fall, right in front of us?
Akano / Yes, without a doubt. Any hypothesis that he fell earlier would also be refuted by the time of death recorded in the Monotwins File.
Hiranui / Tch, then here is the second question. Even taking the circumstances into account, if he had been somewhere ordinary, we would have noticed him at least before he fell... so why were we unable to detect his presence?
Tsurudo / What's with you? You already know and you're asking on purpose, aren't you? It's so obvious!
Hiranui / Naturally. It is a leader's duty to assess the abilities of those beneath him. I would appreciate your cooperation...?
Akano / ...Good. Then I shall set an example and answer it.
Politely lifting the hem of her skirt, Akano answered.
Akano / It is not much of a question, really. Karafuru fell from the third floor. That is all.
Ubauchi / What? The third floor? How can you say that so definitively?
Tsurudo / Because from the Common Floor, the third floor is the first level where Karafuru couldn't be seen. Considering the height and the time he spent falling, the fourth floor is impossible too.
Rekida / Th-then! Ikiro was pushed off the third floor by someone! Is that what happened!?
Keisha / For now, that seems likely. But... to make that work, there are a few contradictions we need to resolve...
Niseato / ...Contradictions?
Tsurudo / Yeah, I agree. First and foremost, why the hell did Karafuru fall from the Dormitory—specifically, from its third floor?
Narita / Hmm, indeed. He was part of the Annex group from the start, was he not? Yet at some point, he was falling from the Dormitory... how strange.
Tana / Mmm! Then we all discuss it again! Put our heads together and whirr, whirr... anyway, we think really hard!
{ Nonstop Debate }
Roshiya / How Karafuru left the Annex, and when he headed to the third floor of the Dormitory... that is the question.
Kadra / Let me make one thing clear: { Our Main Building group never encountered that guy. Not even once. }
Kaiju / [Then isn't it simple? He just snuck out, right?]
Kitsui / He snuck out... could you explain that in a little more detail?
Kaiju / [Just like I said. Even if you searched thoroughly, there would have been gaps because of the limitations.]
Kaiju / [In other words, he somehow { avoided everyone's eyes and secretly headed to the Dormitory! }]
Tana / Whoa! Toto is amazing! Tana thinks so too! It's spy play!
Ubauchi / Whaat...!? Isn't that a way too irresponsible claim!?
[That's wrong!!]
Keisha / Wait, Kaiju. Isn't that argument still flawed?
Kaiju / [(°ロ°) ! And why is that!?]
Keisha / Sure, you could misunderstand if you didn't know what happened on both sides... but we have evidence. Evidence that lays out "everyone's movements."
Komada / "Other than Keisha, who returned the Monophones to everyone, nobody left their assigned area"... What do the rest of you think...?
Akano / Yes, I can guarantee what happened on the Annex side. I am an Ultimate Puppeteer, after all. I remember practically every action and every movement.
Keisha / And I can guarantee the Dormitory side. For the same reason, trust a detective's ability to keep track of things.
Tsurudo / Hmph... now it's only us from the Main Building group who have been left feeling awkward.
Niseato / ...That can wait. What matters is Karafuru's movements.
Sakabaku / Yeah, Tetsumi's right. Then let me ask the Annex group: did any of you happen to see him? Or see him doing something separately?
Roshiya / Like I told Shoko earlier... I cannot say I remember anything specific about Karafuru... To be honest, he might have been able to sneak out...?
Hiranui / Tch... then let us change who we ask. This is repayment for what you said earlier. Puppeteer, will you prove your competence for us?
Akano / As you command. To give the conclusion first, like Roshiya said, we were not particularly interested in Karafuru. He was frail from the start, so we did not expect much of him. We may have neglected him a little.
Rekida / A-Akano! Couldn't you choose your words a little more carefully!? What a tragedy of home education, a tragedy!
Akano / Please do not be so angry, Rekida. It is true that I do not know much about Karafuru's movements, but allow me to put on a comedy of private tutoring here.
Keisha / What...?
As everyone's attention turned toward her, Akano grinned in response.
Akano / In the end, all that matters is whether Karafuru 'left through an exit or not,' is it not?
At those words, the students' eyes—especially those of the Annex group—went wide.
Komada / I-is that... what it comes down to...?
Akano / Is it not obvious? To put it bluntly, it does not matter whether Karafuru abandoned the investigation and secretly masturbated or anything else like that. What matters is only whether anyone saw him leave the Dormitory. Now...?
As if asking for testimony, she spread both hands wide toward everyone.
Then, from the Annex group came answers mingled with all manner of circumstances and excuses.
And to summarize them in a single word:
Annex Group / ...No.
That was all.
Akano / Good...! That is enough, is it not? It seems Karafuru Ikiro never left the Annex at all.
Tsurudo / H-hey...! Does that even make sense?! Are you saying he used teleportation or something!?
Rekida / ...Ah, right! Niseato! You could do it, couldn't you!? You're a psychic, aren't you! You made bolts float, and when I begged and begged, you even juggled monkey wrenches!
Niseato / ...
Everyone's gazes turned toward Niseato this time.
Kadra / In simple terms, you mean an esper... If we connect the dots, she could have used that power to forcibly move Karafuru's body to the Dormitory...
Tana / Tetsumi! Is it true!? Did you use psychic powers!? That's so bizarre! You're not human! Ugh!
Kaiju / [That's not really something you should be saying, is it...? ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌]
Niseato / ...Sigh. Let me make this clear while I have the chance.
Contrary to what I had feared, Niseato continued very calmly.
Niseato / My psychic power... e-esper power... only works on things these gloves can grab. Do not make me say it twice.
Akano / Oh my, then fortunately, there will be no need to spout such sophistry as "[Knox's Second Commandment! The intervention of supernatural abilities is prohibi—]"?
Rekida / Ah! That, that! Isn't that from the game [When the Seagulls Get Pissed Off]! It's the absolute rule forbidden in mystery stories!
Niseato / ...Both of you, shut up. Anyway... this much, I sincerely guarantee.
Hiranui / Of course, you will never be able to prove that. That is what it means to deny something outright, you know?
Niseato / ...You're annoying too. Think whatever you want.
Ubauchi / Hey, Hiranui! If you say it like that, nothing's going to get resolved! Making a girl bounce you away like that is the worst!
Hiranui / Women are like boomerangs. The more they bounce away... the stronger and faster they eventually return to my embrace. Shall I patiently await your flight as well...?
Niseato / ...I really hate you.
Tsurudo / So, has the little play nobody wanted finally ended? To begin with, even Niseato's telekinesis has limits, right? Nobody saw Karafuru's actual body, did they?
Keisha / Right... even if someone forcibly moved his body, it makes no sense that nobody saw it during the process, or saw the body after it was moved, for several hours.
As though sharing that sentiment, the students sank into a moment of ignorant silence.
Because no matter what method we imagined, there would be a problem with secretly getting Karafuru out of the Annex, then making him fall from the third floor of the Dormitory.
"...Pfft."
At that moment, someone let out a derisive laugh.
Keisha / ...?
Tsurudo / What's with you...? Why are you suddenly laughing?
??? / Ah, pardon me. It simply struck me as such a simple, yet frustratingly confounding riddle.
There was only one person here who spoke in such refined language.
Akano / Everyone, would you like to think about this very, very simply?
Akano Kiramari, the Ultimate Puppeteer.
Kaiju / [Think simply...? About what, exactly?]
Akano / The point is how Karafuru managed to breach everyone's watch and reach the Dormitory... But what if there is a fatal "error" in that premise?
Keisha / An error...?
Akano / It is simple. If what everyone's testimony has produced is an "impossible reality"...
For an instant, the flow of air stopped.
Akano / Then should we not begin by doubting that "everyone's testimony"?
But such things did not matter to her.
Tsurudo / ...Don't tell me. Akano, is this what you're trying to say?
Tsurudo swallowed heavily.
"Someone among us saw Karafuru leave the Annex... but lied that they didn't see him...!?"
One by one, I could hear breaths catch.
Narita / W-who in the world would do such a thing!?
Kitsui / Let's think calmly... if there was some trick regarding Karafuru leaving the Annex, then naturally, that person would have to be one of the "Annex group"...
Sakabaku / Then one of the Annex group lied!? W-why...!?
Akano / Why? Now that we have come this far, surely you have some idea? It is a simple matter. Among the five members of the Annex group, excluding the victim... even in a situation where one wrong judgment could cost them their lives...
She paused again before speaking.
"There is someone who benefits from lying."
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