CHAPTER 2 · END · A trial with no culprit

It was time to head to the elevator, but Mina gestured for me to come closer and showed me her discovery… before enunciating it out loud.
“Although most of them are drowned in blood, there are a few stains of foundation on the side of Benjamin’s t-shirt.”

And then, we all left the chapel and went downstairs. Ciel and Lois joined us on the way…
We were leaving Benjamin behind and I knew it – and it felt too early – but this was the logical sequence of events. Having been there once before… It didn’t pain me the way I thought it would.

When we arrived, the door to the elevator was already open. Neither Monokuma nor Kumakuma were there, but we all figured out we didn’t have a choice but to go in.
No one knows what to say… And soon enough, the door closes on its own. A shiver goes down my spine... Why do I feel like I should be seeing Noah, here among us? When Ben is the one who just went missing…
In truth, everyone’s here – Alice holds the hands of both her best friends, Keith slaps the back of Andi's hand as she tries to bite her nails… “How’s that any of his business?” Mina leans against Oscar’s leg as if he were a statue, Chris, Chloe and Isabella stand almost in a circle with their arms crossed, and Ciel and Lois stand behind me, on either side of me, leaning against the wall.

Maybe if he didn’t have a tendency to appear out of nowhere, I wouldn’t be expecting him to right now.

But in any case, right as the elevator starts to go down, someone finally breaks our silence.
“I see you’re holding up a little better.”
Isabella takes a few slow steps towards me—uh, no, past me.
“Can you tell me now?”
She faces Lois.
The latter flinches, but doesn’t move. The tall woman hovers over her, and her large hairdo gets in the way… of my field of view. I don’t care why, but I feel uncomfortable being unable to see Lois in this situation, and get closer, placing myself between her and Ciel.
“…What do you want?”
Lois’ speech is still a little slurred, but discreetly so.
“How does it feel?”
Isabella smirks.
“How does it feel to lose your beau? Or is it just… the only person you cared for among us, the only one you trusted… Victim to someone here.”
“Tch.”
I reflexively shake my head; Lois grits her teeth. Why is she going about this again? It’s straight-up… It’s just… rude, isn’t it?!
“Drop it, Isabella.”
The Make-up Artist doesn’t even turn her attention to Alice.
“No one asked for your opinion, freckles.”
…See?
“...I don’t remember anyone asking for yours either.”
“I’m talking to Lois,” Isabella insists, violently placing her hand against the wall, next to her face.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
I can feel my cheeks getting warm. I interjected without thinking… but she ignores me.
“How do you feel? Say it. You just have to say it.”
“I feel…”
Lois looks exhausted.
“I feel…”
She places her hand on Isabella’s chest to push her away, taking a step forward with, though she looks completely imbalanced, impressive firmness.
“An incomparable amount of sorrow.”
Isabella smiles a small, yet twisted smile, revealing her teeth.
“Whoever killed him, I want to end with my own hands.”
She flinches again, tears starting to well up at the corners of her eyes…
“…But surely there is no one I could hate more than I hate myself.”
Clenching her fists, she sobs… And abruptly turns around and grabs me.
“Huh?”
“Hah. At least someone’s lucky.”
Isabella seems satisfied with Lois’ reaction—aaaaand she hugs me.
“H-huh?”
Lois hides her face against my chest and starts to sob louder and louder, without saying anything…
She simply sobs…
And if I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s giggling maniacally.
“Are you… Are you okay?”
This feels weird… Why did she pick me? I thought she hated me. Is it that she hates herself so bad?
My clothes have started to dry, but they’re still covered in blood. It’s disgusting, and yet, she continues to sob.
“I guess it’s better to let it all out now,” Ciel whispers next to me.
And Lois doesn’t reply… She doesn’t have time to before the elevator stops.

“Thank you all for coming! Please step outside ay-es-ay-pee!” Em- Kumakuma’s voice announces through the speakers.
…
No one moves.
Finally, Lois calms down. She removes her head from my chest before she lets go of me, and takes a step back.
Her face is oddly normal for that of someone who just sobbed their heart out.
“I don’t know who the killer is.”
She spins on her left foot, turning her back to me.
…I feel a little used.
“Please continue to ridicule me… by finding them out before I can.”
She passes her hand through her hair, clicks her tongue, and walks out.
For a second, no one else moves, as we all stare at the elevator door she passed through…
“Ahem, ahem! I said… You know? ASAP!”
“…Let’s get it over with.”
Jan tugs on Alice’s hand, cuing her and Akiro to follow him out.
“This sucks.”
“It certainly does,” says Mina, who’d stayed oddly silent on our way down.
She stretches her shoulders.
“What are we waiting for? Only life awaits.”
She heads out in turn, and Oscar follows her without question.
“Maybe for you…”
I grab Ciel’s hand without thinking and together, we walk out.

We end up inside the same trial room as last time. Monokuma sits on his giant chair… with Kumakuma on his lap.
“Welcome, welcome! Aaaah, it’s so good to finally see you guys! Kumakuma missed you, you know?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
…Chris came in right behind me.
“Hell yeah! That’s your line!”
Kumakuma giggles…
“Arg… Why is it so enthusiastic… I hate it…”
Ciel lets out a long sigh as they let go of my hand.
“I don’t know…”
Without paying mind to what I say, they walk to their podium.
“It’s always like that…”
Seeing everyone else come in and do the same, I guess I have no choice but to walk to mine.

Spoiler:

More than ever, I feel that we’re much fewer than we’d been before. As if Emily’s portrait wasn’t enough, two more have been added…
One between Oscar and Andi…


…And the other between her and Isabella.


“Can I take someone else’s place?”
“Hmm…”
“Nope!”
“Nope!”
“Aww…”
Andi is surrounded by these two portraits…
I see how it is.
On either side of me are Lois and Akiro… Neither of them are the killer.
Neither is the girl facing me…
But then who is it?
“I’ll trade places with her if that’s what it takes.”
“Still nope!”
…
Alice faces a portrait as well, like she did last time.
No matter what happens, I don’t want either of these girls to be in such an uncomfortable position ever again.
Alice isn’t the culprit either, and it’s neither of those standing around Emily’s portrait…
This is Ben’s legacy.
I’m aiming for the true culprit.
I’m aiming for the mastermind.

“Maaan… You know I’m in a really uncomfortable position when even Keith offers to help…”

“Our places… in th-this room are the least of our problems… Aren’t they?”
“They are, but I’ll admit I’d feel a little better if we could change them as well.”
“Is that so? Where would you move to then?”
“I don’t think I’d move. I’d have Alice come next to me.”

Lois and Jan are chatting to my left, and to my right stands Akiro, in complete silence. He stares in front of him…
Him too. I’ll make sure he doesn’t have to be in this position ever again.
“If you’re done with your grievances, maybe we should get started.”
“Yep.”
“There’s no rush, is there?”
“Hmm? Oh wait, do you want to get started? Oh yeah, you were fine, since I didn’t announce that it started. But I can do it now if you want! Let’s goo… Class Trial…. START!”
“Motherfucker.”
“I’ll give her a point for the lack of cultural appropriation…” Akiro moans to himself.
“Her?” Well, it doesn’t matter now.
I need to pay close attention to everyone… To find out who, among us, delights themselves in the tragedy we face.

But right then it hits me.
My eyes widen and I lose focus.
This stench, right next to me…
I can smell it as if instead of blood, I were covered in almond extract.

“Then it’s settled.”
All chatter turns to silence, and our eyes turn to Mina. She’s already sitting on her podium – Chris must have carried her there immediately. Unless Oscar did it?
“Here is my exposé – I couldn’t investigate. Soon after I woke up, I rushed to the chapel specifically, but could only confirm the state of the body and find very little clues. My investigation wasn’t thorough enough by a detective’s standards. That being said, I was able to read your discoveries thanks to the Kumakuma file. Do we know for certain that the information it gives is accurate?”
“We confirmed with Kumakuma that it was real.”
“...Besides, the clues it lists match our discoveries.”
“Good. Still… I don’t know the conclusion to that investigation. For that reason, it’s particularly important that we go over the details of the crime together.”
“D-do you mean that… You don’t know who the killer is?”
Mina nods.
“Correct.”
Chloe’s anxiety spikes so strongly even I can feel it—unless that’s just my own?
“Don’t lose hope, though. That’s even the point.”
“The point..?”
“That’s right. For the sake of his game, Monokuma would profit off of us winning and continuing to go forward with the mutual killing.”
“I’m here too!”
“... In which case, it’s very likely that he wouldn’t have ended the investigation if we didn’t have a chance to find out the killer.”
“Oh, I don’t know if we’re that smart.”
“That… would be… boring by all means. A Killing Game that ends on Chapter 2..?”
“The fuck do you mean, chapter?”
Lois passes her hand through her hair.
“I… earlier felt the same way but… all things considered, I think we’ve made it clear enough this whole thing is… a Danganronpa imitation.”
“Tsk. Still… Still…”
“Danganronpa games have six chapters, that end with an execution. Speaking in terms of gameplay… We’re technically in Chapter 2.”
He gestures forward, more so to draw attention to the rest of his line than to point to anything in particular.
“But technicality aside, the killer is a real person who most likely had no intent to follow the games’ particular tropes.”
“It’s true… If this were really a game, I could ea-easily point to each chapter’s themes… but this killer’s motive is individual.”
It clicks inside my head. It feels like we’re wasting time by talking about Danganronpa… And that encourages me to speak up when the idea comes.
“Let’s bounce off of that. What was the killer’s motive?”
“Oh? Interesting. The details of the killer’s intent may come into play later on, but we could start by exposing what we know of this “chapter” we’re in, so to speak. Monokuma gave us a motive.”
If I remember well…
“A new life… A new identity, a new home, a new job, and no worries about the murder.”
“N-no more Ulti-ultimate either.”
“Well, the person would have an Ultimate, but it wouldn’t be known by anyone else.”
“An entirely new start. That’s what I remember too.”
“I do not know specifically who is interested in this.”
“Indeed…”
“Does that mean… the killer is someone who hates their life?”
“Hmpf…”
“Maybe the killer has a dangerous life.”
“Kumakuma said it right… Someone like Noah…”
She swallows her spit—twice. I can almost feel the dryness in her throat.
“A criminal on the run.”
“How many criminals on the run can there be among a group of sixteen..?”
“Up to sixteen.”
“Speak for yourself!”
“Alice doesn’t really look like a criminal on the run.”
“Imagine, though…”
Ciel’s voice is coarse, and they chuckle nervously.
I feel like I’m struggling to participate but it sounds like they have it worse.
“Focus, you idiots.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Still, we’re expressing a sincere sentiment. It’s not like one of us have been overtly open about needing a different life.”
“Even then, that wouldn’t be justification enough to blame someone for the crime.”
“Yeah! It’s okay to be emo!”
“That’s true. All we can do is keep the motive in mind when time comes to corner the killer.”
“Ugh…”
“Now, another thing is that as you all know, I was unconscious during the body discovery… Which appears to have been high in action. I would like you to go over what happened, and in what order.”
“I can do that…”
“Sure. Tell us what you know, and the others will fill in the gaps.”
I’m surprised Ciel designated themselves… but all things considered, it makes sense. Due to our actions, but also our investigation, they and I have a good idea of the entire suite of events.

Ben’s face flashes in front of my eyes.

I groan. That I saw him as he was about to die… I don’t know how to handle it.
“Well, from my point of view… And from what I know… At 11.30, Neo and I finished talking to Chris in the auditorium. At the same time, Isabella and Chloe heard a loud noise from the 1st floor and rushed downstairs. They found you and Oscar… At which point they called for help, and Neo and I heard and joined them. We were unable to move Oscar on our own, so while Isabella stayed in the storage room, we split to search for more help.”
“I remember Chloe and Isabella coming in, but nothing after that. Please continue.”
Ciel swallows their spit.
“While Chloe went downstairs… Neo and I went upstairs… And found the door to the church open. We went in and… found Benjamin. He was still alive.”
I think the shiver that crawls down my spine also crawls down theirs.
“…Neo stayed with him, while I ran downstairs to call for help and… hoping to get some supplies from the infirmary. I found everyone else on the 1st floor but only Akiro came with me. We ran all the way to the infirmary, grabbed whatever we could… Then made another beeline upstairs… And when the two of us arrived in the church… we heard the body discovery announcement.”
Mina turns to the boy in-between us.
“Can you confirm?”
“Uh… Y-yes… I wa-wasn’t much help for Oscar and y-you, so… I took, I took the responsibility to go with, with Ciel.”
“Noted. When you say “everyone”… Do you mean that absolutely everyone was on the 1st floor in that moment?”
“Of, of course not. I wasn’t there.”
“Neither was I.”
“…Or I.”
“Or I…” duh.
Hearing everyone honestly reveal what they were doing at the time of the murder reassures me… It reminds me that we’re working through this together.
Unless the mastermind is among us…
They would be a traitor.
“Then, Alice, Akiro, Chloe, Chris, Isabella and Jan were on the 1st floor when Ciel arrived. Me and Mina being fainted.”
“I’m not dreaming… He listed them in alphabetical order.”
“That’s, uh… That’s right.”
“As for you, Neo… you stayed with Benjamin, on your own, until his death.”
“Y… yes.”
Here it is again. This guilt…
“Did you see anyone else, or move from the room at any point?”
“N-no.”
It’s my turn to loudly swallow my spit. I can’t leave it at that… I need to be helpful too. It’s important…
“I tried to wrap my overshirt around his torso to stop the bleeding but… it was no use… and he died.”
“W-when did he d-die? Was it… How long was it… before we came b-back?”
“That’s… he stopped… he… when you arrived upstairs. I heard you.”
“O-oh.”
…
“Oh…”
“Then we can infer that Akiro and Ciel arrived in the church almost exactly at the time of death.”
“Hm…”
“That is, if Neo is telling the truth.”
“Huh?”
Arg… It’s back..! But I didn’t do anything…
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m not making any accusations, but with there being no witness, there could easily be a lie, or an omission, somewhere in his testimony. It’s important that we keep it in mind.”
…
There’s nothing I can say to that.
“I-I don’t think he’s lying… It… It wouldn’t make much sense…”
“I wouldn’t worry about it.”
Akiro smiles ever so slightly.
“R-right!”
Is this about me..?
“It’s true. There’s no reason to worry about it now. Let’s continue.”
“What’s… next, Mina?”
“Well, I have a testimony of my own.”
“Yes.”
“We’re listening.”
“This morning, I found something inside my room.”
“Oh, that’s right…”

Sleep medicine:

A bloody sword:

A letter:

…

“The letter… right?”
“Correct. In the middle of the room, on the floor, I found a letter that said, I quote… “I found the mastermind. Meet me in the storage room at exactly 11.30AM. On your own to draw less attention. Don’t tell anyone”. It was written entirely out of cut-out letters.”
“Is that the reason why... you went to the storage room?”
“Yes. I thought I was being smart by telling Oscar… So the two of us headed there at exactly 11.30.”
“And that’s when you activated the trap.”
“At this point, I need someone else’s testimony again. I have Oscar’s word that he noticed I activated a trap, of course… But I couldn’t investigate and confirm that there was, indeed, a trap.”
“Ah, so you need whoever gathered the clues from the storage room to give their testimony.”
“Exactly.”
“That would be us.”
“As in..?”
“Akiro, Jan and myself. We investigated together.”
“Tha-that’s right.”
“Then please let us know what you saw.”
Mina turns to Alice, but she shakes her head.
“Ah, uh, well, we found a bunch of crap in my opinion... So I don’t really understand how it all comes together. You gotta ask Big Brains McGee over there, he understood how it worked.”
“Alright.”
Mina turns to Jan instead.
“Ahem…”
He inhales deeply.
“She meant Akiro.”
“Oh, oops.”
Oops…
I, uh… Can’t say I realized she was making the wrong assumption… and hearing Akiro chuckle dejectedly, I feel a little bad.
“It’s okay… I get it…”
“Seriously? I can’t believe you mistook Housewife McGee for Big Brains McGee.”
“My dad thinks I’m smart...”
“And so does everyone else, apparently.”
“Honestly… Who cares?”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“You’re just jealous because no one knows how smart you are!”
“…What?”
…Neither Keith or I can tell whether that was an insult or a compliment.
“Hmm… M-may I..?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay… S-so… The trap. Maybe it’ll make more sense if you, if you look at the clues while I explain…”
Anything he asks. Taking my Monopad out of my pocket, I oblige.

- STORAGE ROOM : two thick metal rings glued to the floor, right of the door, and ceiling, above where the shelf used to be.
- STORAGE ROOM : metallic cord attached to ring on the floor, passing through ring on the ceiling, with a metal case attached to the highest end.
- STORAGE ROOM : metal case on the floor.
- STORAGE ROOM : crushed pile of binders on the floor.
- STORAGE ROOM : fallen shelf with feet sawed off. One foot glued back to the middle.

“I-it’s a bit vulgar, honestly… In a way… Ahem, but it works, s-so…”
Akiro panickedly looks everywhere around him, before he shakes his head, I figure reasoning himself.
“The killer used… s-super glue a lot for this. J-Jan..?”
“Yessir.”
Jan takes a pen out of his pocket… Wait, no. A double pen.
“What the hell is that?”
“There was a partially used tub of super glue in the storage room, so to confirm that it was efficient enough to have been used for the trap, I used some of it to glue these two pens together.”
“And?”
“Oscar, can you catch them?”
Oscar immediately extends his hand, and Jan throws him the double pen. He catches it.
“Please try to separate them.”
“Okay.”
Oscar places his thumb between the two pens to act as lever, and pushes as hard as he can.
They don’t move at all.
Realizing that it won’t work, he instead grabs each pen in one of his hands and tries to pull them away with all his force.
“Aaaaah, stop! You’re gonna hit me in the face if it works!”
I don’t think him arms are wide enough to reach Andi… It’s Ciel who should be worried.
“No. It is useless. I can’t separate them.”
“Case closed.”
“Y-yes, so… I’m gonna tell y-you that the killer used super glue for some things… And now y-you know it’s, it’s possible.”
“Impressive.”
I don’t know if she means that about the demonstration, or the super glue’s abilities… because it’s definitely true of both.
“What a waste of time…” Isabella comments, yawning.
Seriously?
That’s her one and only comment since the start of this trial?
After what she did to Lois…
I turn to the woman next to me. She appears to be flinching a little bit, in a way that highlights the light slurring in her speech whenever she speaks up, and simply looks at everyone turn after turn, standing with her arms crossed.
“And I know why she smells so strongly, but what do I do with that information?”
“A-alright, then… The killer had glued two metallic rings. One to the, to the floor, on the right of the door, and one to the ceiling, above… where the shelf used to be.”
Akiro doesn’t know that I was getting lost in my thoughts, and immediately starts to talk about super glue.
“The, the rings came from the storage room t-too. Oh, and the, the ring on the floor wasn’t in the way of the door, because uh…”
“It opened outwards. That I know.”
“Oh, I… never really paid attention to that.”
“That’s forbidden in public establishments.”
“Similarly to how there are no door stoppers, the Academy doesn’t seem to comply to safety measures.”
I didn’t know there were safety measures around doors…
“Ah, yes… The infamous doors with no stoppers.”
She’s visibly still upset about the incident in the gym.
“Yes… I know now. Sorry.”
“In any case… A cord was attached to the ring on the floor on one end, by a simple knot. And, uh… It passed through the one on the ceiling, and the other end was attached to a metallic case.”
“A big, heavy case like the one Jan used to store away the knives. We know that because it was still attached to the ceiling, by the ring.”
“Oh yeah, how’s that key in the stomach treating you, big guy?”
“Sometimes when I walk up the stairs, I can hear it clicking around…”
“Wait what? Really?”
“…No.”
…That would imply he swallowed other metallic objects, anyway.
“What a t-terrible joke…”
“Cry me a river, h… haha.”
“Haha…”
Neither of them are actually laughing. This is making me uncomfortable.
“Get on with it.”
“Y-yes. Okay, so… Cord through the rings… A case attached to it. O-oh, and there was an identical case on the floor. W-when Oscar and Mina were still there, it was next to Oscar’s head…”
“Oh. Is it what hit me in the neck?”
“Most likely… You’ll see… Uh, let me continue.”
Akiro scratches the back of his head. He’s obviously uncomfortable giving this speech.
“I th-think I know what the metal cases were for. S-see… The shelf that was on the fl-fl-floor, its feet had been sawed off. And instead, it was standing on only one leg, in the middle… That had been glued on.”
“Hm.”
Oscar remembers the double pen inside his hand and throws it back to Jan. The latter sees it a little too late, and fumbles with it, but finally manages to catch it.
“That sounds stupid. Even just using super glue sounds stupid.”
“If it works…”
“It’s Kuma glue, darn it. Not made out of actual bears. Probably.”
“Oh, gross.”
“Daddy’s glue is the best!”
“Gross!”
If we ignore Kumakuma maybe we can pretend it’s not there…
Andi imitates the noise of throwing up.
“I don’t care! Get on with it!”
“O-okay..!”
“Hey, this isn’t his fault!”
Akiro sighs, and gets on with it anyway.
“So basically… The metallic cases were b-balancing the shelf. Both were p-placed on top of the shelf… One towards the wall, and, and the other towards the room… And uh, there. So, uh, the case that was closest to the wall, was also the one the cord was attached to. When someone t-touched the cord… They tugged on it an-and the case took off… So the shelf lost balance.”
“I see. Because of the weight of the other case, it was sure to fall towards the person who touched the cord.”
“But… Why did Mina touch the cord?”
Wait, no… Someone already told me, didn’t they?
It was…

Chloe’s testimony:

Oscar’s testimony:

Mina’s testimony:

…

“Oh, wait… She tripped on it, didn’t she? Which is when Oscar realized something was happening.”
“Y-yes. The c-cord was at such an angle… And so close to the, to the door… It was probably… possible to trip over it.”
“It is what happened.”
“I tripped as soon as I walked through the door. The rest is history.”
“What I don’t get, though… Is how the killer knew that the person would be in the exact right place to be hit by the case.”
“You don’t know that that was their goal.”
“Hm?”
Andi’s cheeks redden a little, but it goes away quickly. It seems that she interjected without thinking.
“Mina’s the one who received a letter, so that means the trap was meant for her. Mina and Oscar are completely different heights, so for Oscar to have been hit instead would mean the calculations were waaaay off.”
“Oh, I see what you mean… The case on the floor was nowhere near Mina’s head.”
“It makes sense. The cases were meant to balance the shelf, but the shelf was ultimately the weapon. At least that was… the killer’s… he hesitates saying this word, intent.”
“I see. So I was very unlucky.”
“I guess so! You were the exact right height, and fell at the exact right time to be hit by this damned thing… Talk about coincidence.”
Is it a coincidence, then..?
“In any case, Andi is making another assumption that is most likely correct.”
“A-ah?”
“You’re assuming that the person who gave me the letter is also the person who installed the trap.”
“Oh. Right.”
“It makes the most sense, else the person who wrote the letter might have been caught in the trap, or been the one to find us. They would most likely have been on their own too, and neither of those who found us first were on their own.”
I think I get what she means. Chloe and Isabella were together, and so were Ciel and I, when we came anywhere close the storage room, and we didn’t see anyone on their own.
Well…
“So let’s assume that they’re the same person. There’s another assumption Akiro has been making.”
“M-me?”
“Yes. Speaking of whoever installed the trap, you kept saying “the killer”…”
Akiro’s eyes widen… and with a little delay, so do mine.
Mina grins.
“But is there anything to link Benjamin’s killer to whoever tried to trap me?”
…
No one answers immediately.
“I was assuming the killer needed you out of the picture for a better chance to win the trial…”
“That’s a possibility, but cannot be confirmed.”
The way she grins means… She already knows the answer… And the fact that she’s asking us… Means it’s accessible.
Let me think… Why were we assuming the killer was the person who trapped Mina?
It doesn’t make much sense for it to be someone else. Logically speaking… What would someone gain out of trapping her, and nothing else? Unless they thought… they could kill her?
In that case, did they decide to kill Benjamin instead, or is it that two murder plans were going on at the same time?
…
No, that can’t be the right path. I have no proof either way. I need to explore the clues.

Messy chairs inside the computer room:

Sleep medicine:

Letter in Benjamin’s pocket:

…

I gasp.
“I know! I know!”
“Pff…”
“Oh, uhm, sorry.”
I got a little too excited, for some reason.
“Let me hear it.”
“It’s that… Benjamin had a letter just like yours in his pocket.”
Hearing my own words, I immediately calm down. Back to reality it is, and reality is grim.
“Good job. That’s it.”
“Ah… The letter… It was also made out of cut-out letters.”
“Yes. And it said, I quote… “I have something from your past. Meet me in the church at exactly 11.30AM. On your own to draw less attention. Don’t tell anyone”. Starting with “attention”, some letters “a” and “e” are missing.”
“Why would letters be missing..?”
“Maybe… they ran out.”
…That’s silly.
“I don’t know if it’ll give us hindsight on the killer in the end, but right now I fail to see how it matters.”
It definitely feels like it doesn’t…
“There’s a lot to unpack here.”
“There is, but let’s sort out what actually matters. I told no one but Oscar about the letter I got, so it’s definitely not an imitation.”
“Granted Oscar isn’t the culprit…”
Arg. I hate that I just thought that.
“Benjamin was told to go somewhere at the exact same time… It confirms that the person who wrote these letters never intended to meet me.”
“Yes… But… Why does it mention his “past”..? Does it have something to do with the motive?”
Oh. Oh, no. I didn’t think someone could assume something like that.
“Hmm… “Past” would be an odd choice of word…”
Mina seriously considers it.
No, that’s not right. Benjamin’s past… I know what it meant to him, but who else does?
I could explain, but… I can’t tell for sure whether or not it was meant to stay secret.
When Ben revealed to me his amnesia, he didn’t make a big deal out of it. He didn’t say anything about it being a secret. Still… he’d never casually mentioned anything about it. What does it mean..?
“There’s… something about Benjamin’s past.”
“Ah?”
I swallow my spit. I just want to be careful.
“There’s something that matters a lot to him in his past… That’s all. I don’t know if he wants it to be kept a secret, so I’d better say nothing… But I can guarantee it has nothing to do with the motive or anything.”
“Wait… Really?”
…This means Ciel doesn’t know it.
It hurts, somehow…
Ah, within my field of vision, she nods.
“I can confirm. Benjamin… could… have been… baited using his past.”
“Huh…”
“Hmpf… I can’t forcefully make professionals out of you. I’m guessing we don’t know for sure who knew and who didn’t?”
“I didn’t know Neo knew.”
“I... didn’t know if anyone else knew.”
“It’d be easy for the killer to claim they didn’t know. I guess we can’t do anything with that.”
She shrugs.
“Still, this is our first major clue towards the killer: they planned the storage room’s trap as well as the murder.”
“Is that really it? What a waste of time.”
Isabella stretches her shoulders.
“We’ve been at this for way too long, and your first major clue is something that doesn’t tell us anything. We’re definitely fucked.”
“Tch. I can’t expect you to know how it works.”
“Okay then, tell me. What’s next? What clue will you use to bounce off of that and find the killer?”
“I…”
Mina frowns.
So
she doesn’t know…
It’s true… She did confirm something major, but it was also something we’d assumed from the start anyway. It feels like we haven’t made any progress at all, save for understanding what was already laid in front of us.
But I know we’re not over…
Let’s see…
Has someone been acting weird during this trial? I can’t forget that it’s the mastermind I need to find out. So if someone has been enjoying themselves… or behaving abnormally…
“I, uh… It’s useless, b-but… There was something else in the trap…”
“What was it?”
“It’s…”
He turns to Mina, but she’s deep in thought.
“There was, uh, a pile of bind-binders..?”
…I sigh.
“Oh…”
“…Hm.”
Of course, he’s able to tell we’re disappointed.
“I’m the one who used them, when we tried to elevate Oscar.”
“O-oh.”
Well, he couldn’t have known.
We need to bounce off differently…
We still have clues to explore. But where do we start?
…
Mina shrugs one more time.
It looks like she knows.
“Perhaps it is going to be time to take a different approach… and turn to accusations. You’re right in that. But let’s assess one last thing.”
“Sure..?”
“Here’s an easy one. We all know the murder weapon. What is peculiar about it?”

Its location:

The fact that it’s a sword:

Its color:

…

“It’s… the place we found it, right? A random classroom, with seemingly no link to the murder.”
“Yep. The killer left it there… which confirms that they moved from the scene of the crime to this classroom, bloody sword in hand.”
“Huh.”
“Evidently, because of the letter, and confirmed by the fact that he was found bleeding to death… Benjamin was stabbed between 11.30 and the time of his death, 11.43.”
“B-but…”
Mina smiles once again.
“The killer fled in front of your eyes.”

This reveal is met with complete silence.
Complete silence…
In face of the realization that we are utmost fools.
The killer fled in front of our eyes…
It makes the most sense. She is, with 100% certainty, right about that.
That is what I think.
And with that in mind…
The killer isn’t just fooling us now. They’ve been fooling us the entire time.
Like a mastermind among us…
They are legitimately a traitor.

“No… I’m sorry, Mina… That’s way too unlikely.”
Chloe is the one to break the silence. The words she says contradict the detective… But the denial in her voice only confirm her righteousness.
“Is that so?”
“Even assuming that it was somehow possible… they’d have been facing a great risk of getting caught. I can’t believe the killer would willingly put themselves in such a situation.”
“That is worth exploring. Maybe they didn’t have a choice.”
“That, or they wanted to mess with us.”
I turn my head to Keith. He’s staring at no one in particular, frowning, standing completely upright—I don’t like him, but he’s a victim of the killer’s plan just as much as anyone.
“If they actually managed to pull that through… their genius is all the more terrifying.”
“Genius? Maybe they were just lucky.”
“It would be a lot of luck involved. The luck that stunned me in the trap. The luck that no one saw them with the weapon in hand.”
“It’s not just that…”
“What else is there?”
“Wouldn’t the killer… be covered in blood?”
…
Mina chuckles.
“If “yes” were the answer, it would be easy to narrow down the killer, right?”
…
“…That’s completely insensitive. Neo and I found the body.”
“Ah..?”
Chloe bites her nails.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…”
“Feelings don’t matter during the trial. However, what you said is factual. Yourself and Neo testified that you found the body – having been close to Benjamin as he was bleeding out, it’s normal for him to be covered in his blood.”
…I know.
“Yeah.”
“It’s not very visible being that they’re black, but there is blood on your trousers. Why is that?”
“I kneeled next to Ben both during the body discovery and the investigation.”
“That’s true,” I confirmed without thinking.
My voice came out a little too grave.
“Hm-hm. That means that the fact that there is currently blood on your clothes doesn’t make you any more or less likely to be the culprit.”
“…Unless there was blood on them before they supposedly found the body.”
My muscles tighten.
I feel like I hate him, but I know it’s unfair.
He’s searching for the killer too.
“I testify against that. I saw them both at exactly 11.30 and neither had any blood on them.”
“Me too. Besides…”
Chloe hesitates… and doesn’t finish her sentence, starting to look away. Mina notices, and stares at her.
“Maybe Neo was hiding the blood under his overshirt!”
I think—aww, not you too. Stop listening to this guy.
But once again, it’s unfair.
“That doesn’t make sense. If he’d just killed him, the blood would have been recent and soaked the overcloth too.”
“Oh. Yeah. And we already know when the crime took place. That makes sense.”
“With the victim bleeding out, it’s unlikely he was stabbed any longer before 11.30.”
She continues to stare at Chloe.
And for a reason or another, we collectively mark another pause.

Nobody has anything to say.

Maybe it is still the same revelation dawning on us.

“Then… I’ll say it just for the sake of clarifying things.”
“What now?”
Chris doesn’t like Lois – that much is clear from her reaction whenever she gets mentioned, or worse even, speaks up… but I don’t mind that she broke our silence.
“Upon the body discovery, another person was covered in blood.”
“Aw, come on…”
Is that her line? She can’t do that. I don’t agree with it, so…
“Damn it. I knew someone would bring it up.”
The person she’s talking about…
I don’t need to question who it is. Right next to me… He nervously crossed his arms as soon as he was brought up.
“Spell it out.”
“...Most of us saw him anyway... Akiro.”
“I…”
“Innocent.”
Jan slams his hand on his podium – I figure louder than he expected.
“Hm?”
Despite the way he brought attention to himself, Jan looks perfectly calm. He looks at Lois with simple confidence, although she continues to look at Akiro.
“Everyone can testify that Akiro’s clothes only became bloody after the body discovery. Either way, his alibi is rock solid. To target him is only a waste of time.”
The ghost of a smile draws itself on Lois’ lips before she turns to him.
“How aggressive.”
To that, Jan doesn’t respond. It’s a weird thing to say anyway… He definitely didn’t come off that way.
“Tha-that’s right…”
I turn to Akiro – he tries to look in Lois’ direction but is quick to turn his head away, blushing.
“Yeah, it’s totally a waste of time. I’m sure Ciel and Neo could even describe how his t-shirt got bloody in details.”
There’s no need for details…
“Well, yeah.”
“It was from holding me, right?”
“That’s right. Akiro’s clothes were spotless before we reached the chapel. Neo was trembling uncontrollably and wouldn’t move, so Akiro grabbed him and calmed him down.”
“Huh.”
...I was trembling? I don’t really remember that.
“Y-yes, it’s true…”
“So he’s just an innocent angel after all!”
“Hum…”
“Then a waste of time it is.”
Lois shrugs, unbothered. Finally, Mina speaks up again.
“Well, Lois isn’t the only person to waste our time.”
“Ugh…”
Chloe reacted immediately, drawing our attention to her… Which must have been Mina’s goal…
“…Okaaay… I get it…”
…She’s been continuing to stare at Chloe the entire time. The latter sighs.
“Let’s get back to your theory that the killer slipped in-between our fingers…”
“Great.”
“So let’s clear things up together… Benjamin’s body was found in the chapel, on the second floor.”
“That is correct.”
“…Chris, Isabella and myself guarded the room right in front of it the entire morning.”
“If you say so.”
“…And we didn’t see the killer enter, or leave the chapel.”
“Interesting.”
“Neither did we see Benjamin.”
Oh.
Oh.
It sounds out like a “BONG!” in my head—
Another revelation that matters so much…
Even though I don’t understand it yet…
To that, Mina smiles.
“That’s true!”
Chris is the one to hit her podium this time but with much, much more conviction than Jan when he did it.
“And he would have had no reason to be stealthy, right?”
“I wonder…”
She twirls one of her pigtails around her index finger.
“I truly do. Here’s a theory – unlike me, Benjamin chose to obey the letter and show up on his own, which he was careful about. But that’s just a theory.”
“But there is no way to either prove or disprove it, is that right?”
“Correct.”
“Hmm… I don’t think all hope is lost in this very case.”
As if Ciel’s intervention had been notably more unexpected than anyone else’s, everyone shuts up and turns to them.
“In this very case, huh?”
“Yeah... Uh, I’ll just get on with my idea. It’s true that we don’t know what was going on in Ben’s head…”
They look to the side and suddenly shake their head – probably shaking off their own bad thoughts.
“…For the most part. But there was someone Ben always came back to.”
I find myself tilting my head to the side. Do they mean..?
“Figuratively and literally.”
…
She yawns.
It only smells stronger when she does.
“I g- I get what you mean… if I went somewhere on my own… a-and had someone I was always supposed to be with, I’d, I’d tell them s-something at least.”
“There’s no use beating around the bush. Lois, what do you think?”
“Wha… What do I think about..?”
She yawned again. What a joke…
“You have to tell us when you last saw Benjamin.”
“Hmm…”
She closes her eyes. Why is she taking her time like that? She wants to find the killer…
Doesn’t she?
“Last night.”
“Last night…”
“Please give us a detailed testimony. The victim’s whereabouts and condition may come into play.”
“Sadly...”
She, too, shakes her head, before she opens her eyes again.
I can’t help but stare…
If looks could kill…
I wouldn’t really mind.
“He made me wait a while… but he came back in the afternoon, and we spent the entire time together. We ate the food he’d brought, and then…”
She stares at her own nails, marking a pause.
“… at some point, I woke up, and realized that he was gone, but I immediately fell asleep again. It happened again… and again… until the body discovery announcement. Only then did I manage to move.”
No one replies immediately.
I grimace… why are her alibies always so wonky?!
“You were… asleep?”
“Yeah…”
Lois crosses her arms.
“Will you believe me if I said I’m furious about it?”
…She does look annoyed.
“Uuh… Yeah, probably.”
“So what? Are we supposed to believe he couldn’t tell you anything because you fell asleep?”
“No… He wasn’t supposed to leave with me sleeping. If he… she sighs, if he had anything to tell me beforehand, he still had a few hours to do that before I even fell asleep.”
“So either he chose not to tell you, or he didn’t know yet.”
“But he wasn’t supposed to leave.”
“What if he… needed to go to the bathroom?”
Lois answers in a snap, surprising of her dormant state – and telling of her annoyance.
“He could have gone directly to his room. He didn’t need to show himself to anyone.”
“Directly, you say.”
“Where were you even? You already revealed that your hideout was inside the dorms during the previous trial…”
“It’s a… secret.”
“Talk about shady...”
“It will be difficult for us to believe Ben couldn’t possibly have ran into anyone if we don’t know where you were in relation to his room.”
“But I’m telling you it’s the case.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.”
“Far from me the idea to accuse you, but you will most likely need to prove this one way or the other.” Isabella enunciates calmly.
“C-c’mon, guys..!”
Of course, Lois isn’t being much help, standing still with her arms crossed, going as far as closing her eyes. She looks like a sulking child in an adult woman’s body.
Still, I strongly believe that what she’s saying is justified.
From deep within me, it’s clear…
But I wonder…
Am I just biased?
I don’t know why I feel this way, but I always feel the need to be on Lois’ side, at least figuratively. It’s a bit ridiculous, so… Maybe I should ignore it and focus on the facts.
But what are the facts..?
Let’s see… Lois is saying Ben could have gone directly to his room from their hideout, without running into anyone. Of course, we don’t know where that hideout is… But I believe she is saying the truth.
Am I just delusional..?

Yes:

No:

…
And I don’t know why, but I smirk. Finding the answer may just be that liberating.
“Hey, Keith.”
…I shouldn’t be smiling so much.
“Hm?”
The Ultimate Sexologist massages his own back. It would look a little weird, if I didn’t know he was meant to be broken all over.
“Only you can help me prove this.”
His body and face stiffen – but I can’t focus on that now.
“From their hideout, Benjamin and Lois could directly access any room they wanted. Is that correct?”
“Oh.”
He doesn’t look any friendlier, but obviously and immediately relaxes.
“Hmm...”
“What the hell?”
“Good thinking, Neo.”
“Wh-what’s that about?”
He glances at Andi, but simply continues.
“Our first few days here, both Neo and myself refused to come out of our rooms.”
“Ha..!”
Mina’s interested.
“I can guarantee my door was locked. I wouldn’t have answered to anyone. At some point, when I opened my eyes, Lois had shown up inside my room and I don’t know how.”
“…And the same happened to me with Ben.”
I feel a special type of ache in my heart. It’s still so recent, and I remember how unhappy I was to see him back then… I really wanted it to be Lois.
But now, I cherish every memory I have of him…
Is that wrong?
“…So you remembered.”
With her eyes still closed, Lois’ attitude hasn’t changed, but I’d like to think she’s deep in thought.
Of course I did. My memory isn’t faulty…
“So what you’re saying is… Lois and Ben somehow had a secret access to any room from the dorms.”
“At least they did to ours. It definitely legitimizes the possibility that he could do the same to his own room.”
“That is very dangerous. I can’t allow that.”
“I am of the same opinion. That is why I decided to guard it for as long as we’re here.”
“Seriously..?”
“Only Benjamin found me out… but he agreed to help. Thanks to him, I knew the secret passage would always be guarded. It didn’t matter if one of us fell asleep or needed to leave.”
“Is that why you were always hiding?”
Lois yawns, finally breaking her pose.
“Exactly.”
“B-but without Ben... you, you’ll be on your own ag-again…”
“Thanks for rubbing it in.”
“Aaah… that’s not…”
She doesn’t appear to mind much, however… and again turns to an odd interlocutor – instead of looking at Akiro, who just spoke to her, she turns to me.
“I’ll show you when this is over.”
“Huh..? Me?”
“Yeah.”
Her unwavering gaze locks with mine…
“That’s… a really weird decision, but we’ll go over that later. Let’s settle this for now.”
Mina clears her throat, and I have to force myself to look away from Lois.
She wants to show me..?
Is she just trying to distract me?
“According to Lois’ testimony, Ben wasn’t supposed to leave their hideout, but he could have left to go to the bathroom, for example.”
“...I guess so.”
“But since he could go directly from the hideout to his room, he shouldn’t have run into anyone.”
“Hm.”
“That information is worthless, however.”
“…What?”
“Oof.”
“Oof…” That sounds about right…
Mina smiles.
“Well, it isn’t completely worthless that I know. Still, it doesn’t serve your argument that no one could have given Benjamin the letter. Remember… I also got a letter.”
“Tch.”
“… I don’t believe the person who left it intended for me to see them, and I did not. I found the letter in my own room. Now as to how it was left there… It could go either way.”
“But… What does that mean? Is Lois… lying?”
“No...”
I can feel a droplet of cold sweat fall against my temple. Why would she reach that kind of conclusion..?
“Not just. Lois didn’t say anything.”
“That’s right. Lois’ entire testimony is… “I fell asleep before he left, and he was already gone when I woke up”.”
Which is wonky. I know.
“And it pisses me off.”
“…We know.”
“The question is why you were asleep. You were saying you struggled to wake up…”
She nods.
“More so than usual, of course. All I wanted was to find him, but I couldn’t even move, and time passed weirdly…”
She flips up her fringe and holds it with her index finger, staring upwards at it.
“I have principles, but my feelings overtake me. I would have left the hideout and searched everywhere for him if I could.”
“Did you trust him to stay with you that much..?”
Lois closes her eyes again and nods.
“We’d agreed. I can’t believe he left without telling me about the letter. He’d have at least told me about it…”
“But he didn’t tell you, and he did leave.”
“Tch.”
She clicks her tongue and lets go of her fringe. I can feel her frustration…
Almost as much as I can smell the obvious answer.
“So your real testimony is that you couldn’t get up no matter how hard you tried.”
“I hoped we’d get there eventually.”
“I think we know why that is.”
“Do we..?”
…I’m glad I’m at least not alone.
Keith vaguely points to me.
“Your turn to prove something for me, Neo.”
I’m not happy by any means, but I find myself smiling a little again. Somehow… Keith’s attitude – the fact that he references what I asked him – just now, makes me feel that way.
“Yeah… Okay.”
“Does Lois emanate a particular scent?”
“What?”
…Is it possible she can’t smell her own stench? She clearly doesn’t appreciate the question. It makes me a little scared to say it but… I really, really have to.
“Hm-hm. I think everyone can tell… She smells very strongly like almonds.”
“What the hell? Almonds?”
She frowns. Does this matter right now, Lois..? In any case, she’s making it clear she has no idea about the sleeping pills or their secondary effects.
“…I can confirm.”
…I think Jan may have been hoping someone would say it.
“What?!”
“C-c’mon guys, why does that matter? You’re being very rude right now..!”
“Well, let’s say that’s on me.”
Keith sighs.
“If you care enough to look at the clues… We found out that copious amounts of sleeping medicine had been taken from the infirmary.”
“Sounds about right…” Lois mutters.
She’s more talkative than usual.
But that’s the truth of him too.
“It’s a very dumb brand of medicine… probably made up by Monokuma… but the notice very clearly states ingesting it gives the person a scent of almonds.”
“Kids nowadays just don’t understand my genius.”
“But if Monokuma made it… is it real sleeping medicine?”
“What?!”
The bear immediately gets mad, shaking his arms in all directions, making me fear that Kumakuma is going to fall over Akiro once again.
“Of course it is! Everything I make is the real deal! What use would I have in producing fake medicine?!”
“I-if the super glue is any-anything to go by… it’s probably… the r-real stuff.”
“Damn right! I want your murder plans to work, you know?”
“Okay, okay... Let’s believe that it works. It makes the most sense for us right now.”
“I think so too.”
“Either way, calming the bear down will probably ensure Akiro’s safety.”
“Well… Lois couldn’t wake up and stinks of almonds. Do I really have to spell it out?”
“It’s quite the secondary effect… Unless…”
Mina places her thumb and her index around her chin in a stereotypical thinking pose.
“Did you take a sleeping pill, Lois?”
“Of course not!”
“Then someone drugged you.”
He crosses his arms.
“…That’s awful. I’m sorry.”

“Quit being weird…”
“Yeah, can’t you say something like “serves you damn right!”? Be in character, you know?”
He closes his eyes.
“…Shut the fuck up.”
“Hmm… That’s a good train of thought to follow. Let’s see… the culprit couldn’t have Lois as a witness, so they made her ingest the sleeping pill.”
“How, though…”
“If only we could find out who took all the pills…”
“You have to be fucking kidding me.”
Mina chuckles.
“I won’t have you endure this again, Chris…”
“What? What are you talking about?”
I spoke up without thinking. It seems Mina and Chris both understood something…
What is this about?
Now that I think about it, this entire conversation has been going on for too long without much break. It’s starting to make me feel overwhelmed... Taking a second to put my thoughts in order can’t hurt.
Let’s see… what is it Mina and Chris already know?

How Lois was drugged:

Who took the pills:

Who killed Benjamin:

“Oh, right.”
I swallow my spit.
“Oh, crap.”
“What is it, Neo?”
“Neo, Chris, Oscar and myself know the same thing.”
Mina takes the lead.
“And finally it comes. This person must be satisfied… It’s time for an accusation.”
“D-do you know the culprit?!”
She shakes her head.
“No. I have but a lead. But without their defence… I won’t know whether they’re the culprit or not.”
Akiro tilts his head to the right, confused, and the Ultimate Detective shrugs.
I know what she’s going to say…
So I can only wait for it to be over with.
“Isabella, you are in possession of the pills that drugged Lois.”
“Oh, am I?”
That is how Isabella calmly responds.
When my heart tightens…
Because I wished she could get along with everyone again…
But she doesn’t mind.
“That’s not all. You were on the second floor, at the time of the crime…”
“That is correct…”
“Wait! Wait, Mina… You know it’s impossible… I was on the second floor with her the entire time.”
“…Or were you?”
Chloe loudly swallows her saliva.
Wait, what?
What am I missing?
“What are you talking about this time..?”
Chris sounds frustrated. Of course she would. But she’s obviously trying very hard to follow Mina’s reasoning.
“My belief is that Chloe was next to me the entire time.”
“That’s… that’s right…”
Chloe is the type of person who doesn’t know how to lie…
I close my eyes, frowning. Aw, this is bad.
“...Chloe.”
…
The Ultimate Gardener stiffens and doesn’t reply.
“Wouldn’t you happen… let’s say, to have gone to the bathroom? You were the one who suggested that of Benjamin.”
“Ugh…”
“Is this really what it all boils down to?”
“N-no. I don’t think it matters. Please… don’t take advantage of that.”
“Take advantage? Don’t make me laugh.”
“Aw… And to think I trusted you…”
Isabella speaks with no emotion… I’d say in a mocking manner.
I’m confused… because she actually upsets me, but I don’t want it to be the case…
“Oh, who cares. No one’s taking advantage of anything. Just tell us what happened and we’ll see from there.”
“Yes, please!”
Mina looks satisfied with Chris’ intervention.
“O-okay, please don’t make it sound like I’m trying to… do anything bad…”
Chloe sighs.
“A few minutes after Chris left, I went to the bathroom… Isabella was asleep anyway, so I decided to rush. I was about to come out when I heard the loud noise from downstairs.”
“Was the loud noise the trap?”
“I, uh, I think so… even though only Isabella and myself heard it…”
“Maybe what you heard wasn’t the shelf falling, but the metal case hitting the ceiling.”
“Ah, surprising. That makes much sense.”
“…So she was asleep.”
“Yes…”
“Obviously a terrible alibi. Been there.”
“For the love of fuck…”
… Chris rolls her eyes. I’d be tempted to be a little annoyed too, but I think Lois’ attitude is just so weird all around—after all, aren’t we trying to prove that Isabella was the one to drug her? If anything, she’s being nonsensical.
“W-w-wait. I think I’m uh, I think I’m a little lost. Why did we… uh, start talking about s-something else? Y-you said that Isabella had the drugs… How… do you know that?
“Tch.”
“Easy enough. I found them in her pocket.”
“What? R-really?”
“Yes… It would appear to be the case.”
Akiro opens his mouth to speak, but closes it again right away, looking shocked.
I also feel a cold sensation taking hold of my body. Is she really just… admitting to it? Just like that? Somehow, I can’t believe it.
“So Isabella was the one to take the missing pills from the infirmary.”
“...”
She marks a pause to stare at her well-manicured nails.
“It sure appears to be the case.”
“No way…”
I reacted without thinking. Seriously, there’s no way. I refuse to believe she’s admitting to the entire crime so calmly, just because of those pills.
“Don’t you think maybe… those were planted?”
“Judging by her reaction when I found them, I would assume not.”
“Why not? You found a clue on her person. Whether it was planted or not…”
“They were not.”
“Huh?”
She continues to look at her nails, expressionless.
“I was the one who took these pills from the infirmary.”
…My stomach hurts.
“… Why?”
“Hm?”
“Why did you take them?”
“Why do you ask?”
“…Isabella, you’re being too weird about this.”
Yes… Those are my thoughts exactly. And for some reason… It feels like it makes it unlikely for her to be the culprit…
Somehow… But we need to find out how.
“Well, that makes me sad.”
…And she’s not willing to help.
“Isabella… Why do you always try to harm yourself?”
“Hm?”
Finally, Isabella looks up from her manicure. Chloe always looks confused and sad… But this time, it’s a specific brand of it.
“I don’t understand…”
She starts to tear up.
“But I’ll try to help you, okay?”
Isabella doesn’t respond immediately, and everyone in the courtroom stares at the two girls in silence. For some reason, it felt appropriate for all of us to let those few seconds pass.
…
“Thank you.”
I gasp.
Isabella stays expressionless, but something… Yes, I can sense it… Something about her voice… Tells me that she was sincere.
Chloe must have felt it too… Because she slaps her podium with more conviction than I’ve ever seen from her.
“Okay! Well, everyone… Listen to me, okay?”
“Yay! Uhm… I mean, yes.”
She doesn’t appear to mind Andi’s reaction. Honestly, I felt it.
“During the investigation, I… slipped up and said something, remember?”
Huh? Isn’t that a little vague?”
“…Yes.”
…How.
“You mentioned Isabella’s perfume.”
“Exactly. Isabella has been wearing an almond perfume since yesterday.”
“Hmm…”
“Well, at least, that’s what I thought. But now… I believe this means Isabella has been consuming these sleeping pills herself.”
“Do you have anything to prove that statement?”
Chloe hesitates ever so slightly, but forces herself to continue, her voice sounding a little strained.
“It’s not just the perfume! Ever since yesterday, Isabella has been consistently falling asleep. Actually, it’s been very hard to keep her awake.”
“I concur! It felt like we were dragging dead weight.”
“Ahem.”
“… That was a little rough.”
Ah, uh… so that’s why she reacted? I feel a little embarrassed. Because of her behaviour, I sort of forgot… Not technically, but unconsciously… That she had feelings that could potentially be hurt.
“Alright. I believe you. So let’s say Isabella’s been consuming these pills since yesterday…”
“But why would you do that?”
“Pff.”
Isabella turns her head to Andi.
“Have you ever wanted to die?”
“Huh?”
…
Suddenly, the trial room feels cold.
Colder than it was before.
Like rather than having left death behind us… Inside that chapel…
“Have you ever craved death… but been too scared to reach for it?”
“I…”
“Have you ever wished you could fall asleep forever…”
Andi flinches. For some reason, this seems to get on her nerves.
“No, I haven’t!” she exclaims defensively.
“Then…”
“Okay, that’s enough! Let’s resume.”
… The two girls fall silent. Mina clears her throat.
“So Isabella has been using the sleeping pills. What does it prove, exactly? If anything, she had tested their efficiency for herself.”
“I… It means… C’mon..!”
“I think what Chloe means is that since she took them for her personal consumption, they weren’t linked to the murder.”
“It doesn’t mean she could not use them for the murder too.”
“But the fact that she had them isn’t proof that she did!”
“Do I really need to explain how little that means?”
“Shut up.”
“Pardon?”
Mina turns to Keith like he’s some peasant who dared to bother the Queen.
“Ah. Sorry. I wanted to interject and that’s what came out.”
Keith sighs, like he’s the one being bothered.
“Seriously…”
“So. Just as a test. Isabella.”
“…What do you want?”
“How many boxes are missing from the infirmary? Of the sleeping pills, I mean.”
She frowns vaguely.
“I took two.”
He shakes his head.
“A lot more than that were missing.”
“I didn’t take those.”
She answered in a snap, sounding almost like she cared to defend herself. As a matter of fact, she looks very serious.
“Then who did?”
“How the fuck should I know? There were 20 boxes. I took 2. That’s all.”
“… But 16 of them are missing.”
Isabella inhales a little bit stronger than usual, accidentally revealing her shock.
“16..? That’s… A lot…”
“Well, I guess that if anything, I proved that whoever took the 14 other boxes did so after Isabella.”
“We weren’t looking for that, though.”
“Have you said anything useful since the start of the trial?”
“... Hey now.”
“I had no need for 16 boxes. I would have only taken so many if I’d wanted to kill myself for sure.”
“Or if you’d been planning to kill someone else. But I’m seeing that you’re now claiming it wasn’t the case.”
Isabella turns to Mina, and falls silent. She stares at her for a few seconds, before relaxing her pose and expression, and looking at her nails again.
“Seriously? What is with that attitude…”
“I guess I am. After all…”
She marks too long a pause.
“Not only could anyone have accessed the sleeping pills… But most importantly, who could have forced Lois to consume them?”
“Hm.”
I jump a little. Oh right! She’s still there! Next to me!
Man… This has been dragging out for too long… Will we ever see the end of it?
I stare at my podium dejectedly. I know that we’re nowhere near the answer.
…
But it makes sense, doesn’t it? Benjamin could only have been killed by the mastermind.
Somehow, I’m convinced of it.
This is why… This is such a difficult trial. The mastermind can’t be just anyone…
“Ah, yes, thank you. That is an excellent question indeed.”
… Right.
“Yeah…”
Isabella has gone back to her slow, relaxed speech.
“How could I have done it? Does Ms. Davids perhaps remember me attacking her?”
“I do not.”
Lois combs her hair with her fingers.
“Besides… Like I said, I never left Benjamin and I’s hideout in the dorms.”
“…And Isabella doesn’t know where that is.”
“I definitely don’t assume that she does.”
“And you don’t remember anyone attacking you.”
“That is correct...”
Actually, Isabella and Lois sound similar… And I now understand why. While both girls may have a particular attitude, both were also drugged with the same shady pills.
It’s hard to believe Isabella did it of her own volition…
“But since you already mentioned that you didn’t take one… let alone 16 boxes of them…”
“The only conclusion is that you consumed something else, not knowing that it contained the drugs.”
…
“Which if I recall correctly… You did.”
I take a glance at Ciel. They look upset… But then again… That’s nothing new.
… I gotta concentrate on the trial. Ciel is participating, at least. What am I doing? I’m following the discussion, but…
Let’s see… What we’re saying now is that… The food that Lois ate contained the drugs? Is that useful somehow? If it is, then, knowing Mina, we’ll need to prove it.
And in order to do that…
I’ve got an idea.
“Isabella… Do the pills taste of anything?”
She glances at me. It stresses me out.
“Bitter.”
Then…
“Was the food that you ate last night bitter at all, Lois?”
The woman next to me crosses her arms, and closes her eyes. She nods.
“It was… extremely bitter. But since I hadn’t eaten anything else that day…”
…
“In that case, there is no doubt. Lois was drugged via this food.”
“So we have to find who could have accessed it before she ate it.”
…
…
Someone who
touched Lois’ food…
(“Take good care of Neo while I’m away, okay? After all, the two of us have something in common…”)
His voice echoes through my mind. Why did he say that?
And…
(“Feel free to remind Lois that she’s welcome to our table…”)
“Huh…”
Yesterday, after he’d talked to me, Ben asked someone for Lois’ food.
And that person…
“What a stressful position to be in.”
That person is Jan.
“Multiple people are looking at you, Jan.”
“Indeed they are. It makes the most sense, after all.”
The Ultimate Pianist, next to Lois herself, grimaces.
“I’m definitely in charge of everyone’s food, and I provided Lois’ food to Benjamin in front of a few witnesses…”
“Indeed…”
Ciel sounds nervous. If I recall correctly, Ciel, Andi, Alice, Akiro and myself were there.
Jan shakes his head.
“Please, everyone… If I give you food and it tastes bitter, do not consume it.”
“Yeah… Because nothing you make ever tastes bad, right?”
Alice’s voice lacks in strength. Is it possible that…
“I didn’t mean it that way... I just mean that even if it may hurt my ego, you shouldn’t be too trusting.”
“…I’ll sure keep that in mind next time.”
He sighs.
“Good advice for sure, but the damage has already been done.”
“It sure has. First of all, may I remind you that my alibi is rock solid?”
“Yes! It is!”
“I spent the entire morning with Akiro and Alice. Even if I had drugged Lois for some reason, I wouldn’t have been able to… kill Benjamin.”
“Hmm…”
“That’s not all... At no point was I ever alone in the kitchen. Every single time I went, I was accompanied by either Akiro, or Alice, or both… And neither of them ever saw me tamper with the food.”
“Correctamundo!”
“Of course you didn’t…”
“The only time I wasn’t accompanied by one of them was when I went to the kitchen with Benjamin, to give him her share.”
He marks a short pause.
“Do you believe that he would have watched me tamper with her food and then given it to her?”
For a few seconds… No one answers. His words die out in the courtroom… But somehow, linger around.
Finally, Mina chuckles.
“Huhu. It’s always refreshing when the witness you interview is innocent beyond doubt.”
…Wow.
So that’s it. Even the Ultimate Detective was convinced.
And it’s true… There is not a single hole in his testimony. It’s almost too good to be true.
His lips curl in a slight smile. His signature smile.
“Wait, I refuse!”
“Really?”
Mina’s expression is one of fake surprise. I turn to look at Ciel – they’ve become red in the face, for some reason.
They shake their head.
“It can’t be…”
“And yet…”
What? Is there something I’m missing?
“There has to be someone else!”
Someone else? Huh… I thought they were saying that Jan had to be the culprit. If they think it has to be someone else, then why are they upset?
“Think about it! It doesn’t make sense!”
“Ciel…”
“Think about it!”
…
I need to gather my thoughts.
Ciel believes that Jan isn’t the culprit. It means that we’re back to square one, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it?
…
Anyone could have taken the pills.
Anyone could have tampered with Lois’ food…
… Wait, no.
Only someone who had access to her food at some point could have done it.
And since Jan, who prepared it, didn’t…
Then…
The only person who could have…
…
“What?!”
Confused, I turn my head to look at the Ultimate Detective.
She’s smiling.
“…But…”
“Think about it…”
“I have.”
“Clearly you haven’t!”
Ciel starts shouting.
“Did you see the wound? You’re a detective, are you not? Are you gonna try and tell me that he stabbed himself?!”
“Wh-what?”
…
Mina calmly shakes her head.
“I am not. I have looked at the wound and I know for certain that it couldn’t have been self-inflicted.”
“Then…”
“But that doesn’t mean Benjamin wasn’t the person who drugged Lois.”
…
“Lois…”
As always… I called her name without thinking.
She hasn’t budged an inch.
“I thought so…”
“Really?”
She finally turns her head to me, looking serious as ever.
Yet, she’s perfectly calm.
“I trusted Benjamin.”
She turns back to face the rest of the trial room.
“I may not know what truly happened, but… If he had seen me fall asleep in the middle of the day… If he’d smelled this almond scent… Without knowing why… He wouldn’t have left me behind.”
…
“What a weird sentiment to have about someone who drugged you on purpose…”
“You’re one to talk.”
Lois snapped back with the same eternally calm voice.
“Besides… The only thing I know for sure right now is that despite the position I was in, he did not kill me.”
She closes her eyes.
“For that reason, I know that I was right to trust him.”
Chris stares at her, but doesn’t reply.
…
Wait… There’s no way. I don’t even understand what’s happening anymore.
“If he used all 14 boxes, I’d tend to assume he was trying to kill you.”
“But she didn’t die…”
“… And the large quantities she consumed explain why she couldn’t even wake up. I may be sleepy… But at least I can open my eyes for more than a few seconds.”
Hearing Isabella concur makes it even weirder.
Like everyone’s in agreement.
“Plus, Lois’ scent is much stronger than Isabella's… That of almonds, I mean.”
“S-so it would mean that she ingested a lot m-more…”
“He really didn’t want you to wake up, huh…”
Next to me, Lois sighs.
“That’s enough, don’t you think?”
“Yes, it is. Besides, we’re not done.”
“Yeah…”
“Do you have anything to say, Ciel?”
“… Maybe… Maybe Ben just thought that Lois wouldn’t let him go meet the person who left him that letter…”
“Is that so?”
I grimace. Why does she sound so confident that they’re wrong? I’d been assuming the same thing, because…
But why…
I think about it…
It’s true, something doesn’t match up…
It’s…

The meeting time inside the letter:

The time of death:

The time when Lois was drugged:

“For it to still be active even now… Yeah, I guess he must have given her a ton of the drugs.”
“What?”
“Sorry… I was just thinking… Because Lois was drugged via the food Jan had prepared for her yesterday, right?”
“Hm-hm.”
“But the letter Mina received… She found it inside her room this morning.”
“Correct. At 7am.”
“A-and…”
How can I be sure of what I’m saying? Should I even be saying anything?
“Mina said both letters had to be from the same person… That one of them couldn’t be an imitation…”
“And? What about it? The killer could have given them each letter at a different time. You can’t…”
“It’s very unlikely, isn’t it?”
“But…”
“Why would they have risked giving them out in broad daylight? But that’s not all…”
“Seriously..?”
Chloe sounds tired.
I am, too.
“Yes, seriously. There’s another thing I’ve been thinking about.”
“What now?”
“… Do you remember the contents of Benjamin’s letter?”
“I have something from your past. Meet me in the church at exactly 11.30AM. On your own to draw less attention. Don’t tell anyone.”, Oscar recites.
“What about it?”
“If you recall, we weren’t able to determine how many people Benjamin told the secret of his past to.”
“…And?”
She shakes her head.
“But you, his dear friend, weren’t one of them…”
“That’s…”
“C-C’mon!”
“Yeah… You don’t have to be mean about it…”
“I don’t care. Let me know, everyone. Did Benjamin tell you about his past? Aside from Lois and Neo, of course.”
…
No one replies.
“Of course, that’s not proof of anything. But let’s assess what we do have. Who do we know knew that something was up with Ben’s past?”
“W-well… Lois and N-Neo…”
“And are either of them the culprit?”
“…No?”
She nods.
“It would appear that they’re innocent. We’ve assessed that Lois was asleep, at the hand of the victim no less… And that Neo not only discovered the body along with Ciel…”
“Argh…”
“… but also had an alibi up until then, that of having been with them the entire time.”
“So?”
“There is only one other person we know for sure knew about Benjamin’s past.”
“What? Who?”
“Oh, come on, no! Not that crap again!”
… My eyes open wide. For Ciel to react like that…
“Ben… himself?”
The Detective nods again.
“Exactly.”
“What are you implying?”
“… Maybe there’s a reason Benjamin told Neo about his past in the first place.”
“Huh…”
“Since you’re so reactive… Tell me. Did he tell you about it before… or after the motive was announced?”
…
“N…”
I swallow my spit.
Be brave.
“It was… after the motive was announced.”
She sighs.
“In that case… What if he told you just so you’d understand the content of the letter, and be able to infer that he was baited using that? Especially with Lois potentially out of commission…”
“C… Stop…”
I feel cold and hot at the same time.
I don’t know what to think.
“Well, that’s just a detail anyway. My only real conclusion is that the third person we know to have known about that element was Benjamin himself.”
“But why would he write a letter… To himself..?”
“In reality, it wasn’t meant for him. It was meant for us.”
She speaks with utter confidence.
As if what she’s saying makes any sense at all.
“Think about it… How could Benjamin have known the contents of the letter in advance… early enough to drug Lois the day before the plan was even put in motion?”
“You’re saying that he wrote it himself…”
“Yes. After all… Him having drugged his dear friend opens the door to doubt him, doesn’t it?”
“No, no!”
Ciel shakes their head vehemently. I can only watch.
I don’t know what to say anymore. What to think.
“What are you even going on about? You agreed that Ben didn’t kill himself, didn’t you? Then…”
“He only orchestrated his own death.”
“Gh..!”
My head feels cold. Too cold.
Like my brain is starting to freeze.
“Plus, who better to take a gamble on the Ultimate Detective walking right into their trap… Than the Ultimate Fortune Teller themselves?”
“Stop! Stop! This is baseless!”
Mina stares at Ciel, emptying herself from all emotion.
“Then how did he know to drug Lois before the letters were even distributed?”
“…Who distributed those two letters without either of us seeing or hearing them?”
Hah…
“Yes… Who had the entire night for themselves, without anyone to look over who came in and out of the dorms, but the person who drugged the guard?”
“This is all coming from nowhere…”
“Who took such a risky gamble on the detective tripping on their stupid trap?”
“But ultimately, what does any of this MEAN?!”
Ciel shouts again.
It hurts… Not my ears, but my heart…
“In order to win, you have to lose.”
What does this mean?!
“Yes… Where does this lead us? After all… We’re looking for the person who killed Benjamin.”
Mina nods.
“Yes… And we’re going to find that person.”
She looks at every single person in the courtroom, pausing for a millisecond on each of our faces.
“That person, remember… Who miraculously slipped in-between our fingers.”
“Are you trying to say that… this was also one of Benjamin’s gambles?”
…
“Baseless… Senseless…”
After marking a pause, Mina stares at Ciel.
“Remember Chloe’s testimony, during this very trial?”
“This trial that’s been dragging on for too long…”
Ciel turns to Chloe. Poor her.
“Neither her, or Chris, or Isabella ever saw Benjamin walk into the chapel.”
“Stop it…”
“With everything in mind… We can’t exclude the possibility that he was already inside the chapel before they even arrived.”
They shake their head.
“You can’t prove it…”
…
“… I…”
“No..!”
“It’s just… maybe…”
“Please tell us what you have in mind.”
Chris sighs.
“There was… This bench, inside the chapel. It was placed weirdly next to the door.”
I remember that…
“There were markings on the floor, that indicated that… It had been moved towards and away from the door… At least, they could be looked at this way…”
She shakes her head.
“It’s not that I want to…”
“Chris…”
Ciel doesn’t shout anymore.
Have they finally accepted it?
… Have I?
“The bench was pretty heavy, but not impossible to lift… I think someone like Ben could have done it, with some effort.”
“Interesting.”
“Sorry… I guess I haven’t clarified that yet. Basically, my idea is that maybe… In order to ensure that no one came into the chapel and found him before… 11.30, I assume, he could have placed the bench in front of the door.”
“What would have happened if someone saw him inside the chapel, though..? What does that change?”
“Well, consider it. Benjamin devised the whole plan himself. While we don’t know that for sure yet… There is reason to believe that he supplied the weapon himself.”
“No..!”
I reacted without realising. The weapon was… A sword!
“I g-guess a sword… would be d-difficult to hid-de…”
How could he possibly have… Decided to let himself get killed with a sword? That’s… That’s too…
“But then again, who killed him? And what brought them to the chapel?”
Mina nods.
“That, we still have to find out.”
“Yes…”
“But how are we going to do it?”
The detective closes her eyes, and lets out a long sigh.
“Everyone, please bear with me.”
“What’s your plan?”
“I’m going to have to explore every single theory, one by one. But first, we have to agree that Benjamin was the one who came up with the whole plan.”
She opens her eyes again.
“Do you agree?”
No one says anything.
No one objects, mainly.
But she waits.
“…Okay,” Ciel finally says.
She stares at them.
“I’ll bear with you. I don’t have anything better to bring to the table, after all.”
…
More than ever before, it feels like we’re abandoning Benjamin.
“Thank you. In that case…”
The small girls grabs her handbook and starts scrolling through the clues.
… Is this the final part?
Everyone lets her do her thing.
Everyone… How? Why?
“…Isabella.”
…What?
True to herself, Isabella doesn’t react.
“Around the time of the crime, you were on your own for a few minutes, while Chloe went to the bathroom.”
“Uh..!”
“… Was I?”
“Yes, we’ve already assessed that. Chloe heard the trap activating from the bathroom, didn’t she?”
“…I did… But I rushed out, and Isabella was there..!”
“I was asleep. That noise was what woke me up.”
“But for those few minutes, you had no witness.”
“…So? Are you assuming that I walked into the chapel, for some bloody reason, killed Benjamin, for some bloody reason, and immediately backed my way into the hallway, with no drop of blood on my clothes?”
“We’ve already assessed that no matter the reason, the culprit had no blood on their clothes.”
“Is that really your only issue here?”
“Someone did it. It could have been Isabella.”
…
My breath stops.
This is too much.
Is Mina really accusing Isabella again? I thought we’d “assessed” that she was innocent already… Hadn’t we? Do we need to prove it again?
…There has to be something, right? Come on… Something doesn’t sit right with me.
Something… Yes, there is something.
I think about it… I scour my brain for clues… When suddenly, it clicks.
The biggest clue of them all.
“Ben’s last words…”
“The killer…”
“Hm?”
“Oh, right!”
“His… last words?”
My heart starts beating fast again. How could I forget? So much has been happening…
“I asked Ben who did this to him…”
“Don’t do it…” Ciel whispers.
…
“Wow, really?”
“…And he didn’t have enough time… Unfortunately… But he said… He clearly said the killer was a “he”.”
“…Really?” Keith repeats.
“Yes… He said… “The killer… he… he’s…” … And that’s it.”
“Phew…”
“Hmm… Interesting…”
“So..! It couldn’t possibly have been Isabella!”
…Why am I defending her?
Oh, well… I’m saying the truth, after all, aren’t I?
“Are you sure?”
“Wh-what?”
“Who told you that? Benjamin?”
“Y-yes?”
She shakes her head.
“… He was the one to come up with the plan. For some reason, Benjamin wanted to be killed.”
…
“He knew that the trial would ensue. Don’t you think… That he knew exactly what he was doing? After everything he did…”
“I…”
Maybe I…
Maybe I still don’t believe it.
My head feels cold again.
Ben didn’t devise his own death. He didn’t. Ben valued life… I personally know that for sure, after all…
“If anything, that he went out of his way to mention the killer’s pronouns when he’s the one who came up with that plan… Confirms to me that those are pronouns the actual killer didn’t use.”
“Argh…”
“Hmpf… Thanks for the help.”
“But…”
His last words to me… Were a lie?
In the middle of dying… Benjamin lied to my face?
How am I supposed to believe that?!
“So it doesn’t matter after all. Isabella, I have another element against you.”
It doesn’t… matter?
“You’re the Ultimate Make-up Artist, aren’t you? You clearly wear a lot of make-up.”
“Yes...”
“The truth is, you’re the only person in this room to wear make-up.”
“Huh…”
“Hmm… Yeah, I guess.”
What now?
“Benjamin didn’t wear make-up either, I checked that for myself, and yet… The bottom of his t-shirt was covered in foundation stains.”
Isabella frowns.
“What does that have to do with me?”
“While I don’t know how they found their way there… You’re the only person to wear foundation, aren’t you?”
The Make-up Artist finds no retort.
It’s true, she is.
But…
What?
Finally, she finds something to say.
“What shade was it?”
“What? Do you think I know that kind of stuff?”
“Seriously? Can’t you tell if it was anywhere near my shade?”
“Uhm…”
Wow…
The Ultimate Detective truly hesitates.
“I think it was too dark to be Isabella’s shade.”
“Really..? But then, who…”
“Don’t waste your time on that, Mina.”
Suddenly, Lois interjects.
“Hm?”
“I know who the foundation belonged to.”
“You do..?”
She nods.
“You said it was at the bottom of his shirt, right? Could it have been on his right?”
“Yes, exactly.”
The detective listens attentively.
“Then it was Benjamin’s.”
“What?”
She ignores me. Well, at least, she doesn’t look like she pays attention to me.
“Benjamin wore foundation on his right hand.”
The little girl tilts her head.
“Why… Would he do that?”
Lois turns to Ciel, staring at him coldly.
That’s just how she always looks.
“…His skin was burnt. As a palm-reader, he chose to hide it.”
My eyes go wide.
“Burnt..? Was it during…”
She nods before I can finish my sentence.
…During the fire? I thought… I thought he wasn’t injured…
Mina shakes her head.
“I wish I could check the body… Because with only your testimony… I regret not being thorough enough, but…”
For once, she looks upset.
“I… I…”
The detective turns her head to Akiro, who blushes immediately, but continues with his train of thought nonetheless.
“If Ben’s h-hand was… bu-burnt… Then it explains…”
She tilts her head once more.
“When he r-read my palms… He touched my hands with his… And… And… His right hand fel-felt weird.”
“Weird…”
“Like s-some part were uneven… maybe… s-some felt weird, it’s hard t-to describe… And…!”
He inhales deeply.
“After the rea, the reading… There were a few… yellow-ish st-stains on my left hand…”
“Ah…”
“I didn’t really… p-pay attention back then, but…”
“I see.”
She nods.
“Thank you. In that case, it confirms that the foundation was his. Especially seeing where it was placed.”
I let out a heavy sigh.
Then that was another one of his secrets…
But should I really be mad at him for that? For hiding his burns? That has nothing to do with me…
“Are you done accusing Isabella, then?”
“Not really…”
“Seriously?!”
Chloe is starting to tear up. This is getting on her nerves…
… It’s getting on mine, as well! Does this never end?!
Should we just vote Isabella as the culprit?!
“She doesn’t really have an alibi…”
“Are you sure?”
Alice scratches the back of her head.
“Aren’t you?”
…Alice… Isabella… Aren’t you enemies?
Oh, what am I even thinking anymore?
“You’re saying Isabella could have walked in and out of the chapel while Chloe was in the bathroom, and I hear you… But would she have had the time to walk down and up the stairs as well?”
Mina quickly catches on.
“Oh, I see.”
“For some goddamn reason, we found the weapon in Classroom 1-A… It’s not just Chloe’s estimation of how long she spent in the bathroom; it’s also the time we know the trap activated.”
The detective nods.
“Indeed. If Isabella had been carrying the weapon, Chloe would have seen her with it beyond doubt.”
…
“Then Isabella is innocent.”
… Silence.
No one says anything.
No fanfare, no nothing.
Because we’ve gotten nowhere.
Is that really it? “Oh well, she’s innocent.” Then what? What can we do?
But Mina ends up smiling.
“Well, with that out of the way… Next question!”
“Wow…”
“Chris was on her own as well.”
“We saw her in the auditorium downstairs at the exact time the trap activated.”
Ciel shaked their head as they said that.
“And no one who was downstairs heard that noise anyway, did they?”
Why does she speak so childishly?!
“We only heard Chloe screaming for help after the fact.”
“And the auditorium is completely soundproof anyway!”
… I don’t know how I managed to exclaim that.
I’m
spent.
“Uh, yes…”
She looks a little confused, but it doesn’t matter to Mina, who smiles even more.
She looks proud.
“So, Chris has an alibi. Isabella and Chloe are each other’s alibis.”
“Yes..”
“Alice, Akiro and Jan have an alibi. So do Oscar and I. So do Ciel and Neo…”
She nods to herself.
“… And Lois was obviously out of commission. Am I correct?”
“Sure.”
…
My insides are twisting. They’re telling me something that my mind can’t yet comprehend. I even feel myself shivering.
I repeat those names in my head. Chris, Isabella, Chloe, Alice, Akiro, Jan, Oscar, [Mina], Ciel, [myself], Lois.
…
Torture
This
is
torture.
“Upupuu…”
Did Monokuma really laugh, or did I just hear it?
That’s all he does. Laugh.
…
Why does no one say anything?
Please, someone, make it end.
“Against all odds, someone walked right past everyone else, bloody sword in hand, and made it to safety without getting caught. Amidst the panic caused by the trap and the body discovery, someone managed to escape without being seen. Was that the work of a genius… An incredibly lucky person… Or had it all been foreseen by an incredible fortune teller?”
I find myself shaking my head, not remembering when I started.
“That person couldn’t have been Chris, or Isabella, or Chloe, or Alice, Akiro, Jan, Oscar, Ciel, Neo, Lois, or myself.”
They won’t say anything.
“Then somehow... It could only have been one of you two… Keith and Andi.”
Keith and Andi.
Keith and Andi.
Keith and Andi.
Who will it be?
No… I don’t even want to think about that. How can it be?
I finally find the strength to look at each of them in turn.
Each stares at their own podium…
Silent.
“Thanks to the Ultimate Fortune Teller’s instructions, one of you escaped without getting caught. That is what I believe. It’s one of you…”
“B-but… Then… It has to be…”
Neither of them have an alibi.
“It can’t be…”
They each went their own way, and didn't show up during the body discovery.
“Yes, beyond doubt…”
…Something we’ve already mentioned points to one of them in particular…
And it’s…

“Enough!”

Finally, Keith hits his podium with both his fists.
“I’m tired of your bullshit. Alright! I’ll admit it. I did it. I killed Benjamin! Are you happy now?!”

It was… him, all along?
Keith Acker… The Ultimate Sexologist… Clenches his fists, staring at the Detective with hatred in his eyes...
…
Until all of a sudden. He calms down.
“…Yeah.”
“K-Keith… Why..?”
He turns his eyes to Andi, but quickly adverts his gaze to look at Mina again.
“I’m pissed.”
For some reason, he chuckles, shaking his head.
“I can’t believe your little method worked one more time.”
“My method…”
Now… Mina looks disgusted.
… Because Keith… Is the killer.
Keith
is the one who killed Benjamin.
Why is this reveal so unsatisfying?
“Wasn’t it what you were doing?”
He shrugs. He sounds aggressive as always.
He’s just being himself.
“I may be a dick, but I’m not enough of a dick to let a girl take the blame for me. No matter how annoying she is.”
“Oh no…”
…I…
I’m so tired, but… Deep down… I hate him so much…
“At least she’s not as annoying as this trial was. But now you’ve won. Yay.”
“Why did you do it?”
Keith turns to Jan, looking at him like he’s the most incredible hindrance in his life.
“… Does that matter? We came to an agreement. Benjamin wanted to die. I wanted to escape.”
That’s…
“He gave me this whole plan, and all I had to do was follow his instructions and escape. Now the guy’s dead… And well, so am I, I guess…”
“Guh… huh…”
Disgusting…
“How did you do it?”
Keith frowns.
“Why do you care?! I don’t want to talk to the likes of you.”
He shakes his head.
“Just let me die already. If I can’t kill you all off, give me some peace at least.”
“It shouldn’t be that hard to answer, should it? After all, those are your last words, aren’t they? You should take advantage of them somewhat.”
…
… Why is Jan so insistent?
Keith loses his cool once more… He clenches his fists, and desperately tries to stay calm.
This feels weird.
After all that we learned during this trial… I didn’t expect to hate the killer’s guts so much.
“… I followed his instructions, and sneaked right past everyone. They were perfect. The guy was amazing. What else can I say? I was able to sneak into the chapel when Chloe went to the bathroom, since Isabella was asleep. I stabbed him, and by hiding from room to room just like he told me, I managed to run without getting spotted.”
“How… Do you… How…”
Andi’s voice is weak. Keith vaguely looks at her.
“… Pff.”
My blood is boiling.
I want to scream at him. I want to… I want to throw up all over him! Is that how he treats Andi?! Is that how… Is that it?!
“That’s pretty amazing. It must have been quite the feat of athleticism, too.”
“Hmm…”
Keith stares at Jan, and his looks disgust me more and more by the minute.
“… I would never have believed that your injury would allow you such a thing.”
“Ha!”
Keith laughs exaggeratedly loudly.
Ugh…
“I guess I should have used that for my defence, shouldn’t I have? Don’t even worry about it. It’s all better… It’s been for a while, now.”
“Has it?”
“Yeah. What’s your problem?”
“I mean, you’ve been doing a pretty good job of pretending to be hurt.”
“Hmmmm…”
“Aight. Thanks, I guess. Appreciate the compliment.”
I take a look at Jan. He continues to stare at Keith, his gaze unwavering.
…Why is this even happening? This entire thing is too gross. I just want it to end.
“Oh, well!” Alice exclaims.
I immediately turn my head to her. Is it me or… Is she behaving weirdly as well?
“I can’t believe our old buddy Keith…”
She backs her hand up behind him.
“… was just faking it all along!”
Suddenly, with strength I wouldn’t have expected even from an athletic Ultimate, she slaps him in the back.
“URGH..!”
“Oh no..!”
Keith lets out a violent scream, his eyes turning blank, and collapses onto his podium.
“Urgh… huh…”
He sounds on the point of throwing up, and struggles to push himself up…
“You whore…”
Wait, what?
With jerky movements, he turns to her with difficulty.
“What’s wrong with you, you dirty bitch?!”
“That’s enough, now.”
What is happening?
Keith turns his head to Jan again, his eyes filled with savage rage.
“Why do you only treat women this way? Why am I not a whore to you?”
“What’s wrong… with you…”
He struggles to breathe. He looks like… This seriously hurt him.
On the right of my field of vision, I can see that Jan shakes his head.
“What’s wrong with you? What do you think you’re gaining out of…”
“Do I look like I care about your shitty opinion?!”
He finally finds some strength again.
Jan doesn’t react.
My heart is beating too fast again. I’m not sure…
“Why won’t you just get this over with? Monokuma!”
“No!”
Why are they going against…
“Don’t you realise that you’re all going to die if you don’t get rid of the killer?! Don’t you fucking want to live?”
So many of us don’t know what to say…
“I do! And that’s exactly why I have to…”
Keith slams his hand onto his podium.
“I can read right through you. I know your kind. You always have to please someone, somehow… Because you have no self-esteem…”
“Ugh…”
This seems to get to Jan.
I’m… upset…
But I don’t understand…
“It’s trashy, rea-”
“THAAAAAAAT’S EEENOOOOOOOUUUUUGH!”

A piercing scream interrupted him.
It interrupted everything.
Akiro grabs his podium violently, completely red in the face…
“How da… How dare you…”
Akiro’s breathing is jerky, he struggles to inhale. He shakes his head vehemently.
“This needs to stop!”
He raises his left hand, and suddenly points to a specific person.
“You’re the only one who can do it!”
His voice becomes normal again, but he speaks with the uttermost confidence.
“Please! Andi!”
I look at her.
We all look at her.
“Please put an end to this.”
Andi’s eyes are filled with tears, and with her mouth slightly open, she looks at everyone in turn. She’s panicking.
She closes her mouth, then opens it again…
“No!”
“I…”
“Shut the fuck up! I don’t want to hear you say a word! Shut up—”
She shakes her head, tears falling down her cheeks.
“No, he’s right, that’s enough…”
“Ugh…”
Why does his face start to look distorted like hers?
She sniffles.
“It’s okay… I did it. I stabbed Benjamin.”
She cries… But at the same time, somehow, she laughs. She looks at Keith.
“It’s the truth, I… I accidentally stabbed him! Hahaha…”
She shakes her head, and suddenly looks down, sobbing.
“So that’s it…”
“No… Damn it…”
“Yes, it is… But I have… I have one last thing…”
She’s trembling, but she looks up again, staring at Mina, frowning… with some sort of pride.
“I have one last thing to say… In my defence.”

…
Andi is the killer.
I can only stare at her, dumbfounded.
My emotions broken all over the place.
Like she’s suddenly overcome with strength, she dries her tears, continuing to stare at the detective.
“… In your defence?”
“Yes.”
She nods slowly… Sadly.
Still too shocked to understand what happened, I glance at Keith.
His face is one of indescribable despair.
“It’s true… I was the one who stabbed him with the sword.”
She enunciates her words clearly,
stabbing my soul with each syllable.
She looks down again.
“It was a coincidence… I was alone in the computer room… I was bored. I tried to turn on all of the computers…”
…It checks out. She left a mess.
“But they didn’t work, so eventually, I came out… I was looking for something to do, so I randomly walked upstairs… There was no murder going on at that point, you know? I saw Isabella lying down on the floor, so I got close, but I saw that she was just sleeping… When suddenly, I heard a door open behind me…”
She sighs. Somehow, it looks like speaking about it is calming her down.
“I turned around, and noticed the door to the chapel opening. I got curious, so I looked in…”
… She hesitates.
“He… grabbed me… And put his hand over my mouth, so I couldn’t scream. I tried to fight him off, but…”
…
I can’t believe it…
“He closed the door behind us, and… He whispered in my ear…”
She looks up again, her eyes suddenly completely blank.
“That word…”
Tears well up her eyes, but they continue to stare into nothingness.
“I don’t know why… I don’t… remember why…”
She shakes her head slightly.
“But that one word… Whenever I hear it, I… Whenever someone says it to me, I… It’s like I’m not there anymore…”
“What…”
“I don’t know how he learned it… I don’t know when… But he called me that… He said it, and… It was an awful feeling…”
She sniffles, and her eyes find emotion again.
“I couldn’t see where I was anymore… Well, not exactly that, but… I didn’t know where I was… All I could feel was fear, and pain…”
Her breathing becomes faster.
“I lost control of my surroundings… I think… He forcefully put the sword in my hand… I even slightly remember struggling to grab it.”
She clenches her fists, slamming them onto her podium.
“… And then it happened so fast. I’m not even sure what it was. He attacked me, and… before I’d realised it…”
… She closes her eyes.
“I’d stabbed him…”
“What the hell?!”
“Yes…”
…
Andi…
The lively Andi… Her head often in the clouds.
The lovely Andi… Her strong, beautiful voice speaks words of horror that I would have never expected from her.
“At that point, I realised what was happening, and… I was back, I guess. I panicked, and he gave me specific instructions… I don’t know how you guessed it…”
She looks at Keith, who’s still staring with his mouth wide open, like a deformed ghost.
“He told me what rooms to go to and the exact time. I had no choice but to try, and… He was right. By following this exact route… No one saw me. I made it back to my room, and pretended to come out when I heard the body discovery announcement.”
She crosses her arms
She looks so upset
Too upset
This
is
the person who killed Ben.
“But he also told one other specific thing… And I know how weird it sounds, but… Do you realise what position I’m in?!”
She asks no one in particular.
“He said that… No matter what… I had to win this trial.”
…
She looks at Mina again.
“… Is that your defence?”
“No, I…”
She can’t help but look away.
“I have something else…”
… She sighs.
“It’s… I stabbed him, it’s true.”
…
“But he took the sword out himself.”
“Ah…”
He… Took the sword out himself…
“I’m… I’m sorry, but I don’t see…”
“Benjamin died of hemorrhage.”
“Uhm…”
“Bleeding out. If the sword hadn’t been taken out, he wouldn’t have bled out like he did.”
“Wh… wh…”
Everything…
Everything Benjamin did…
“Then… Then maybe…”
Keith stares at Andi… Emptily.
“You didn’t actually kill him…”
She looks away.
“Maybe.”
“That’s actually a difficult call to make. Maybe not my own, but…”
Frowning, Mina turns to the bears, who haven’t moved since the start of the trial.
“This trial room functions by your rules, doesn't it... Shouldn’t you clarify what happens in this case?”
“Hmm? Should we?”
Kumakuma tilts its head back slightly to look at Monokuma.
“Meh!”
“Yeah… Meh!”
It tilts its head back towards Mina.
“Honestly, just think about it. It’s not that hard.”
“It’s…”
“Yeah, just do it. It’s voting time, by the way. You know? VOTING TIME!”
“Wh-what?”
… I glance at Andi again. She stares at the floor…
It’s… voting time?
The tops of our desks convert into a tablet displaying a photo of each of us, and a timer counting down.
…
It’s running down fast.
I have to make a choice, fast.
I just have to think about it…
The culprit is…
…
“Pff…”
Taking everything into account…
At the last second, I press one of the profiles, completing my vote.
“Alright, it looks like everyone has voted! Let’s see how everyone did! Man, I can’t wait, who will be revealed to be the killer?”

https://i.imgur.com/ERutcqG.mp4

This time
The killer is
It shows

Her.

Andi.
“Aaaand the killer was officialllyyyyy… Andi Evaaaan! The Ultimate Guitarist! Did you idiots vote for her? Let’s see, let’s seeeee… Hmm… That’s weird, a few of you voted for the victim, why’d you that? He’s the one who got killed, you know? Oh, well, the majority still voted correctly.”
…
“No…”
This can’t be right… This isn’t fair…
Everything’s falling apart.
She’s not actually the culprit…
She’s not!
“This isn’t fair…”
“Why do you care?”
Andi’s voice is oddly calm.
Extremely so.
“You hated me, didn’t you?”
“…You…”
He shakes his head.
…
Of course he didn’t.
Keith never hated Andi.
That much was obvious.
She smiles.
“You didn’t?”
She even giggles.
“Hey, tell me, how long had you known that I was the culprit? Huh, Keith?”
He continues to stare at her.
Dumbfounded.
I probably look just the same.
“…All along…”
“Ah, yeah… I was definitely under that impression… But you never told on me! Hehe! What a true friend! You even tried to take the blame for me…”
“…When you came out of your room… I helped you calm down…”
“Yeah…”
“That’s when I knew…”
“Ah, I see… Hmm…”
She chuckles, but she immediately turns sad… Incredibly sad.
“You even tried to take the blame… I wonder if that was included in his plan…”
“His plan…”
Alice speaks up through her own tears.
“Andi… I can’t believe it…”
The Ultimate Guitarist sniffles.
“Honestly, me neither.”
“And yet.”
“Yeah, you’re totally gunna get executed.”
“Argh..!”
“This… Isn’t fair…”
…
“Executed…”
“No… I don’t… I can’t…”
Keith turns to the bears.
“Just…”
“No, we’re not going to execute you instead of her.”
“God damn it…”
“God damn it…”
“God… damn it…”
“No!”
The Ultimate Guitarist suddenly loses her cool, and starts to cry uncontrollably.
“I… I don’t want to die..!”
She shakes her head so violently that it almost looks like it could fall off.
“Please! My life… My life had only just begun… Believe me!”
She tries to look at the bears, but her eyes go all over the place.
“I’m not… I’m not even sure I fully understand what death even… What it even means… I don’t want to leave! I didn’t want this! I didn’t… I didn’t want anything to do with this stupid motive…”
My heart hurts…
I have to find something to do…
I need to find something…
But no matter how much I look around… There’s nothing…
“Please… Someone… Do something!”
Argh…
“I swear I’ll be good… I’ll do anything. I’ll change, I’ll… I’ll…”
She doesn’t try to look at the bears anymore. Instead, she stares into nothingness.
“Tell me what I need to do. I want another chance. Another one. This wasn’t fair. Help me go back. Help me!”
“Pff… I guess that’s what “nuts” looks like.”
“I’ll… Stop… I haven’t even lived yet… I want to live..!”
…
Suddenly…
He inhales, and grabs her hand.
“Then live!”
“H-huh?”
She looks at him.
Keith.
He was melting under stress and despair – just like me – but suddenly, he grabbed her hand with strength, and looked her right into the eyes.
“Let yourself live! What do you think you’re doing right now?”
“I’m…”
“Those feelings that you experience, they’re you, living. They’re your life, they’re who you are, they’re you breathing. Those things that you say, they’ll have been said forever. They’re immortal. They’re life itself.”
“What…”
“And our memory of you will continue to live with us. Your experiences never really die. But in order for them to be immortal, you need to live first, so live! We all die eventually, and we don’t know when, but we live our life nonetheless, don’t we? So be you, say the things you think… You’re alive right now, aren’t you? Don’t you want to be a star, visible for so long after…”
“Haha..!”
She grabs his hand with her other one.
“Right!”
… But she quickly lets go, and takes a few steps inside the trial room.
We all look at her.
“What am I even worried about? It’s about the now – it’s about me, and I’m here right now, so why worry about anything else?”
“Huh?”
“I’m alive, and I’m talking, and I’ll never stop for so long that I’m alive… I can be me, be the things I love, the things I need… Man, those pancakes were awesome!”
“Th…”
“Oh man, the guitar picks that Emily made me made me so happy!”
Andi speaks happily, but tears start to fall down her cheeks again.
“It’s so nice to feel so special! No one can take that away from me!”
She lunges towards Alice, but stops right in front of her.
“Those boring games, what an experience, right? Something that I lived, it’s with me now, it’s real now!”
She spins on her feet to lunge towards Jan. Alice is too shocked to react…
“Take notes, okay? I want one of our songs to have lyrics, but just one! The rest can only be music… Ah, music…”
She walks backwards, back next to Keith.
“Aah… The thing that I want to share the most… Learn to play the guitar some day, okay? And when you play, think, “Andi!” “Andi!” “Andi!” Sniff…”
She starts to sob a little too hard.
“Andi, that’s me… That’s all I know, but that’s me! ME!”
Somehow, her eyes meet mine.
“Man, I hope she’s not too contagious…”
“It feels so good to be defended, to be helped… Hehe… Yes, I have those memories… Sniff…”
“Okay, okay, I’ve seriously had enough! It’s execution time!”
“I once wrote a song called “Table”, just because I saw a pretty table. It was super pretty, I swear! Bright red wood… The song got so popular, man, I was… I’m so happy!”
“Die! Die! Die!”
Andi breathes heavily,
and so do we all.
“Man, I’m pretty damn scared right now… And you know what that means?”
… She chooses to turn to Keith
One last time.
“I’m feeling scared… Because I’m alive… Because I’m here..! Right now..!”
Three pieces of thick metallic string fall from the ceiling and wrap themselves around her.
“No..!”
“ANDI!”
“Keith!”
The strong strings take her away—Keith grabs one of them.
“No..!”
The Ultimate Guitarist laughs, but it sounds obviously
fake.
“Oh, Keith, you seriously need a haircut!”
She is being dragged away, and him with her.
“Oh my God!”
A lot more reactive than any of us, Alice jumps towards Keith to try and grab him but—
He doesn’t let go, and he gets dragged towards a hole in the ceiling—
Oscar suddenly runs after them too, and tall as he is, tries to jump to reach him, but—
The hole swallows Andi, and closes itself right on Keith’s nose, throwing him towards the floor in a violent bounce.
The Bodyguard grabs him before he can hit it, but he continues to reach towards the ceiling—
“No! NO!”
He screams desperately.
“This was all bullshit I just came up with! Why did you ever believe in me?! Don’t die! Please!”
… But it’s useless, she’s already gone.
Soon enough, screens all around us turn on, showing us… Andi, the Ultimate Guitarist.

The young woman finds herself in the middle of a strange, oddly dark city. She looks around, confused, when it starts to rain. The rain drops clap violently against her skin, to the point that her arms start to bleed – scared and hurt, she runs to the nearest building, but right under her eyes, it disappears. In fact, the entire city disappears.
The rain continues to hit her skin, and she stands in place, not knowing what to do, or where to go… When she hears a violent snap in the sky, prompting her to look up. It sounds like a violent thunderstorm at first, but she quickly realises that…
Who-psh!
Giant strings… No, she recognises them immediately – guitar strings specifically, are falling down from the sky, violently hitting the ground. She quickly starts to run away when one of them falls right into her direction.
She runs away, but she takes a wrong step, and one of the strings hits her, causing an explosion of blood behind her neck. She screams, but continues to run, though she doesn’t know where to.
She avoids the strings swiftly, managing not to get hit again. The rain hurts her skin, but it’s the least of her problems now, and as she continues to run forward, she starts seeing a small town. She smiles, and starts to run even faster, avoiding more and more of the giant guitar strings on her way.
She gets closer, and closer, and closer, miraculously avoiding each of the enormous whips that aim for her – but right as she reaches the entrance of the city, she suddenly stops in her tracks, and turns her head to her left.
It’s like something has distracted her. She frowns at first, but her expression quickly turns to horror. Instead of going in the city, she starts running in a completely new direction, struggling to avoid more and more of the huge strings.
She runs towards a new goal, and soon enough, they can be heard… The eardrum piercing wails of a small child. She continues to run in his direction, covered in her own blood from the small but violent raindrops, still running in zigzags to avoid being whipped to death. She runs, until she sees him… A little boy, screaming in pain, covered in his own blood too.
She lunges towards him at the same time as one of the giant guitar strings aims for him, and protects him with her body.
Who-psh!
Blood goes everywhere, the violent hit taking off so much of her skin that her spine becomes visible.
The child continues to scream, and she hides him completely underneath her body before another string whips her,
and another one,
and another one,
both Andi and child scream in pain and terror, but under the whips, more of her flesh taken away with each strike, she eventually stops breathing.
The rain stops, a bright sun replaces it, shining on the bloody remnants of the Ultimate Guitarist.
The little boy whines, and whines, but when he notices that she stopped moving, he takes a good look at her, from underneath her body, and…
He cries;
“- Mommy!”

“Wh… Wha…”
“What the hell was that?!”
Their voice is trembling. Ciel runs towards one of the screens.
“Where…”
“Where’s this kid?!” Chris completes.
“K… Kumakuma! Where is he?!”
“Huh? What?”
“The little boy…”
She turns to one of the screens.
“She… She sacrificed herself for him!”
“Hmmm… I guess she did!”
“He can’t be too far from us…”
“Yeah you… can’t you bring him here?”
“Wut?”
“I don’t know where this is, but someone has to take care of him..!”
…
“Yes..!”
“Nope! We’re keeping him!”
“What? Why?!”
“Why not?”
“We can’t just leave a kid to you… What are you gonna do with him?! Bring him to us at least!”
“Nuh-uh!”
“Motherfucker!”
“Urgh…”
“Why would you refuse? Having a child to take care of would only be more work for us…”
“Yeah! Don’t you wanna give us a burden like that?”
“Nice try, but no…”
“C-c’mon…”
“We’d take care of him… We’d protect him…” Keith mutters.
The image of the small boy with brown hair soon fades away.
A few of us say nothing –
Are we even alive anymore?