The Culprit’s Scheme Unveiled

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Takagi Masahiko’s Perspective

Takagi Masahiko: “Everyone, I believe I’ve uncovered the peculiar truth behind this…”

My words shattered the brief silence, drawing everyone’s gazes, filled with both anticipation and surprise, directly toward me.

Akino Atsushi: “Really? Do you truly know what happened?”

Takahashi Aki: “As expected of the brilliant Takagi… quickly, tell us your thoughts!”

Takagi Masahiko: “Could the crucial factor that caused Kamimura to lose her advantage be related to the surrounding environment?”

Kitajima Kazumitsu: “The environment?”

Katagiri Mimi: “As far as I recall, the library’s environment isn’t bad at all?”

Chisaka Erin: “I think… Takagi means that an external factor interfered with Kamimura’s senses, causing her to lose her judgment of her surroundings, right…?”

Arisumi Momoko: “Then what exactly was this external factor…?”

Takagi Masahiko: “The lighting.”

Habara Kazuhiro: “The lighting…? Did a light tube explode, plunging the area into darkness, causing Kamimura to lose her ability to judge?”

Takagi Masahiko: “The outcome is correct, but the cause is wrong. The light tubes didn’t explode; the true ultimate factor that extinguished the lights was the power supply!”

Akahira Yuusuke: “The power supply…? Is there a circuit breaker nearby that controls the power?”

Suzuki Minoru: “Anyone who uses their brain for a moment would know that’s obvious, wouldn’t they? The circuit breaker is in that room inside.”

Takagi Masahiko: “Ah… Suzuki is right, the circuit breaker is in there. Not only that, but I also discovered an extendable ladder placed directly beneath the circuit breaker.”

Osakabe Nanase: “That means… someone tampered with the circuit breaker… right…?”

Ishii Yoshimi: “Could it be that the extendable ladder was already there before we went into that room?”

Takagi Masahiko: “That’s highly unlikely. Kamimura and I had gone inside earlier, and at that time, the extendable ladder was not positioned beneath the circuit breaker.”

Chisaka Erin: “But if that’s the case, isn’t there something that doesn’t add up…?”

Arisumi Momoko: “Something that doesn’t add up?”

Chisaka Erin: “If Kamimura arrived at the crime scene and saw the culprit in the act, and the culprit, realizing they had no advantage, would surely have been intercepted by Kamimura during the process of entering the room, moving the ladder, and climbing it, right?”

Kitajima Kazumitsu: “Chisaka makes a very valid point. Wouldn’t the culprit be asking for trouble by inviting trouble into their own den?”

Takagi Masahiko: “What if… the culprit had already entered the inner room beforehand?”

Katagiri Mimi: “Beforehand? Are you suggesting the culprit knew in advance that Kamimura was coming to the library?”

Takagi Masahiko: “No, rather than that explanation, I believe it’s more likely that the culprit had already completed the act of murder by the time Kamimura arrived at the library!”

Akahira Yuusuke: “I see… We had all previously assumed that the culprit was still committing the crime when Kamimura arrived, unaware that this assumption only made the subsequent mystery even harder to unravel…”

Chisaka Erin: “If that’s the case, then after completing the act, the culprit, upon suddenly hearing the sound of the door opening, would instinctively hide, then rush to the inner room to cut the power, thus making it difficult for Kamimura to pursue them.”

Takahashi Aki: “But if that happened, wouldn’t the culprit also be unable to see their surroundings clearly?”

Takagi Masahiko: “No, they certainly would have been able to see!”

Takahashi Aki: “How exactly?”

Takagi Masahiko: “They relied on Kamimura’s student ID card!”

Akino Atsushi: “Huh? Kamimura’s…? Why wouldn’t the culprit use their own student ID card as a flashlight?”

Ishii Yoshimi: “Are you dense? If the culprit turned on their own student ID, wouldn’t shutting off the power have been pointless?”

Osakabe Nanase: “In that case, Kamimura would also have seen the culprit’s location…”

Akino Atsushi: “I-I see…”

Habara Kazuhiro: “Looking at it that way, wouldn’t the culprit only be able to gain an advantage through a sneak attack?!”

Takagi Masahiko: “Precisely, that was the culprit’s scheme!”

Katagiri Mimi: “Then where is Kamimura’s student ID? I recall not seeing anything like that when I was at the scene…”

Takagi Masahiko: “I already picked it up. Now… I presume it’s been placed next to Kamimura.”

Chisaka Erin: “Takagi is right. He asked me to give this student ID card to Kamimura, so I placed it on the table beside her.”

Takahashi Aki: “Could that student ID card have belonged to Amemiya…?”

Suzuki Minoru: “No, I personally searched her. Her student ID and keys were both on her, completely intact.”

Katagiri Mimi: “W-w-what?! You actually searched her?! It’s over… Amemiya has lost her purity…” Katagiri first appeared utterly shocked, then adopted an expression of profound pity.

Ishii Yoshimi: “It seems Amemiya not only died unjustly but was also taken advantage of after her death. Alas… what a pitiful girl.” Even Ishii wore a look of sympathy.

Suzuki Minoru: “I was only doing it for the case; don’t make me sound like some pervert, alright…? Besides, I don’t have necrophilia, you know?”

Akahira Yuusuke: “Alright, alright, that’s enough. Let’s put an end to these irrelevant topics. So, what’s next? How would the culprit have acted afterwards?”

Takagi Masahiko: “Judging by the two indentations at the scene, there were at least two locations where the culprit and Kamimura struggled, and from the currently known conditions, both indentations appear to have been made by a hammer.”

Takagi Masahiko: “Furthermore, there were several bloody footprints at the scene.”

Katagiri Mimi: “Bloody footprints…? Can this evidence provide any clues…?”

Takagi Masahiko: “From the direction of the footprints, I can roughly deduce the chronological order of the struggle locations between Kamimura and the culprit.”

Takagi Masahiko: “The first footprint was located near the pool of blood beside Amemiya, while the last footprint was in front of the first bookshelf on the left.”

Takagi Masahiko: “Therefore, Kamimura must have first struggled with the culprit near Amemiya, and then made her final struggle in front of the first bookshelf on the left…”

Osakabe Nanase: “Str-struggle…? Why does Takagi say ‘struggle’?” Osakabe questioned me, her brow slightly furrowed with doubt.

Ishii Yoshimi: “Perhaps… Kamimura was already exhausted at the end…? A hammer itself is a heavy object; someone not rigorously trained would certainly be overwhelmed after just a few minutes, let alone a frail woman wielding it…”

Kitajima Kazumitsu: “She’s right. Kamimura must have pushed herself to her absolute limits to hold on until the very end…”

Osakabe Nanase: “Why… why didn’t she ask us for help? Why did she have to bear this heavy responsibility all alone…? If only… I had discovered her plan sooner… it would have been better…” Osakabe squeezed her eyes shut, already glistening with tears, in a fit of grief and indignation, as tears slowly traced paths down her delicate, rosy cheeks from the corners of her eyes.

Takagi Masahiko: “Then, in that final moment, the culprit unexpectedly delivered a cruel kick to her… causing Kamimura to lose her strength for that instant, forcing the hammer to slip from her grasp…”

Takagi Masahiko: “According to Chisaka, both of Kamimura’s fingertips were covered in dust. It’s highly probable that after that, Kamimura, clinging to a glimmer of hope, began to crawl towards the door.”

Takagi Masahiko: “Even though she already knew her fate, in such utter despair, she still refused to abandon hope, holding onto it steadfastly.”

Takagi Masahiko: “Subsequently, the culprit delivered the final blow from behind her, then framed someone else for the murder…”

Osakabe Nanase: “E-enough… please don’t say any more… I don’t want to… hear these descriptions anymore…” When I came back to my senses, I saw that she was already weeping profusely, her continuous sobs rendering her words indistinct.

Consequently, everyone was affected by Osakabe’s weeping; some already had tears welling in their eyes, while others remained in a state of deathly silence.

Suzuki Minoru: “Ah… please allow me to interrupt once more. I also feel great sympathy for Anko’s plight and fate… I apologize, but before anything else, I have a very important question to ask Monokuma, a question that concerns all our lives!”

This time, it was his turn to interject abruptly.

Owing to his talent as the “Ultimate Performer,” I still couldn’t tell whether he was approaching this class trial with good intentions or malice…