On the way back to Kunagisa's room, I ran into Team Maki-san, Shinya-san, and Yayoi-san. They were apparently on their way to eat. I was a little jealous; with Yayoi-san on their team, they could eat amazing food whenever they wanted. Not that I had any complaints about Hikari-san's cooking.
"Ahaha… Boy. Ahahahahahahaha. Aaaaahahahahaha… Ha."
At the very sight of me, Maki-san burst into laughter. I was beyond finding this rude anymore. It was no less expected than the changing of the seasons.
"What is it this time, Maki-san? You're always so bustling with energy."
"Ahaha. Young man, it looks like Teruko-san did a real number on you. Oh, my stars. That's what you get."
"How do you know?"
"You're still asking me that? Thanks for an amusing show, Mr. Spineless. You must never get bored. I'm jealous."
For sure, Maki-san must have led a boring life. She knew all that had happened, all that was happening, and all that would happen. It was like watching a nonstop stream of movies where you already know the ending. There was no doubt that that sucked the fun out of living.
"That's not exactly true," she teased. Was she drunk? She seemed oddly high. The inside of her head must've looked like mentaiko.
Gah, she glared at me.
"Say, should you really be alone at a time like this in a place like this?" Shinya-san still looked a little blue, but he seemed to have calmed down quite a bit, and he was no longer pale. Even though it can be cruel sometimes, in the end, time really is kind to us all. "Kunagisa-chan and Hikari-san must be a little edgy on their own. They're just petite little things. And Hikari-san is the prime suspect right now, right? Your beloved Kunagisa-chan could be in danger."
He seemed to be half-joking, but it was clear that he really was worried about me. I bowed to him in gratitude.
"Eehehehe. You'll have to excuse us now, Mr. Half-Baked. Don't think too hard," Maki-san teased, and then turned her back on me. Shinya-san shot her a look.
"If you're feeling responsible for Sonoyama-san's death, I don't think you should worry about it. You did everything that was in your power. You couldn't have done anything else. You did your best," he said to me.
"Thank you so much." I bowed and thanked him.
"Well, see you later." With that, he turned around as well.
Yayoi-san had given me a few odd looks that seemed to mean something, but with no more than a slight nod of her head, she went off with the other two and headed for the dining room.
"What was that about?"
There wasn't anything suspicious, per se, but something was strange.
"Eh, I guess it's not really anything to worry about," I muttered to myself.
Upon returning to the room, I found Kunagisa nose-deep in busted-up computer parts while Hikari-san was doing some cleaning. Word had it that Hikari-san was a total neat-freak. Come to think of it, she did always seem to be cleaning. I supposed it was one form of workaholism. Was there not a single normal person on this island?
"Hey hey, Ii-chan. You're just in time."
"For what?"
"Putting my hair up."
Gotcha. I approached her from behind. I decided to give her a whole bunch of mini-braids and began braiding together small portions of hair.
"Ahhhh," she sighed with pleasure.
"Tomo-san. Is it okay if I clean up that mess?"
"Don't call it a mess. I can still use some of these parts, so I'm retrieving them now. You gotta reuse stuff. Recycle, recycle, for Mother Earth! Recycling's important, y'know. Mm-hmm. But what should I do, huh? Maybe I can make a secret weapon to stop that killer."
She sure knew how to keep her chin up. Not that I wanted to be like her, but you had to admire her positive thinking. Even if it was just because she had never known negative emotions.
Sigh.
"Oh, right. Hikari-san, do you have a memo pad or something? And something to write with?"
"They're in that cabinet. Do you need them?"
"I want to write up an outline of the current situation."
We had made an alibi chart yesterday, but the data had been smashed to smithereens along with the computers.
Therefore, I wanted to create a new chart that included updated information.
"I see," she said and headed to the cabinet.
"Oh, hey. Tomo, I forgot to tell you, remember that painting? I figured out what was strange about it."
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, you were saying something about that, weren't you? So what was it?"
"The watch."
"Watch?"
"Yes, the watch. When I was modeling for the picture in Kanami-san's atelier, I hadn't been wearing a watch. It was broken and I gave it to you to repair it. So there wasn't anything on my wrist.
"Nonetheless, on the canvas, there was a watch painted onto it."
Kunagisa looked puzzled for just a moment, then reverted back to her usual expression and delivered a stock question. "Mmm. Don't you think it's just an error? I can't imagine it's very important."
"Well, yeah, maybe, but…"
"Which?"
"How about a subject and predicate?"
"The watch display. Was it the blank one, or the one after I fixed it that displays backward?"
"Oh, well, actually, I'm sort of faced inward like this, so I couldn't tell."
"Mmm," she nodded. After a moment's thought, she said, "Yeah, I think it's just an error. More importantly, I thought of a clue, maybe. Akane-chan's murder was like… her headless body was all, errr…"
"Errr?"
"Her hand was kinda…"
She tilted her head to the side and folded her arms.
"Well, not her hand, but her fingers. There was something unnatural, I mean really unnatural about them, I think… Aw, man, my memory capacity has hit its peak. It feels like there's a big mosaic in my head. Hey, Hikari-chan, did you notice anything weird about her fingers?"
"Hmm…"
Hikari-san, who had returned at some point, sat down on the carpet next to Kunagisa so that she was facing me.
"Sorry for the wait. Here's some paper and a pen."
"Thanks."
I took the supplies from her and while recalling the chart we had made yesterday, whipped up a new alibi list for the Ibuki Kanami and Sonoyama Akane murders, including everyone on the island.
Ibuki Kanami
(murdered)
Sonoyama Akane
Before earthquake: X
After earthquake: X
(murdered)
Kunagisa Tomo
Before earthquake: O (Ii-chan, Hikari, Maki, Shinya)
After earthquake: X
O (can't go down stairs alone)
Sashirono Yayoi
Before earthquake: O (Iria, Rei)
After earthquake: X
X (sleeping)
Chiga Akari
Before earthquake: Δ (Teruko)
After earthquake: X
O (on the mainland)
Chiga Hikari
Before earthquake: O (Ii-chan, Tomo, Maki, Shinya)
After earthquake: X
X
Chiga Teruko
Before earthquake: Δ (Akari)
After earthquake: X
O (on the mainland)
Sakaki Shinya
Before earthquake: O (Ii-chan, Tomo, Maki, Hikari)
After earthquake: O (Maki)
O (Maki)
Handa Rei
Before earthquake: O (Iria, Yayoi)
After earthquake: Δ (Iria)
Δ (Iria)
Himena Maki
Before earthquake: O (Ii-chan, Tomo, Hikari, Shinya)
After earthquake: O (Shinya)
O (Shinya)
Akagami Iria
Before earthquake: O (Rei, Yayoi)
After earthquake: Δ (Rei)
Δ (Rei)
Phew. Or something like that. Staring at the chart, I let out a sigh.
"Alibis, huh? But y'know, this doesn't really mean all that much, does it? We've pretty much shelved the idea of it being a cooperative crime up until now, but if you consider that possibility, this chart doesn't mean squat. Especially looking at these two- and three-person alibi testimonies."
There was also the possibility that people other than the killer had lied just so they wouldn't be suspected, and if you considered that, this charted information was even harder to swallow.
Well aware of the futility of it all, I decided nonetheless to write up a similar summary outline of the murder incidents themselves.
FIRST INCIDENT
Victim:
Ibuki Kanami
Conditions:
Sealed room
River of paint (solved)
Time of incident:
Night, presumably after the earthquake
Notes:
Decapitated body
Killer unknown
SECOND INCIDENT
Victim:
Sonoyama Akane
Conditions:
Sealed room
Open window in a high location (unsolved)
Time of incident:
Between 2:00 and 9:30 a.m.
Notes:
Decapitated body
"And… killer unknown."
I finished writing and put the pen down.
"You're forgetting about the third incident, Ii-chan," Kunagisa immediately objected. "The Poor Kunagisa-chan Incident."
"Oh, right. It pales in comparison, but that's a mystery, too, huh."
"Don't say that! To me, this is a greater tragedy than having my head cut off! As long as they've gone this far, I wish they would cut my head off!"
"Okay, okay." I picked up the pen again.
THIRD INCIDENT
Victim:
Kunagisa Tomo('s computers)
Conditions:
Unsealed room
No lock, enterable by anyone
Time of incident:
Between 10:00 a.m. and the end of breakfast.
However, everybody in the mansion was together at that time. A time-sealed room?
Notes:
Destructor's goal presumed to be the destruction of image data taken from the scene of Ibuki Kanami's death.
"A time-sealed room, huh?"
The first incident involved a room sealed by a river of paint. The second, a room sealed by an unreachable window. A room sealed in terms of height. And the third incident was sealed in terms of time.
"The second, third, and fourth dimension, huh?"
"That sure makes it sound like a crime of enormous scope. Say, Hikari-san, this question pretty much completely undermines any pretense we've had up until now, but… is it possible there are other people on this island?"
"It is not," she stated confidently. "There's only one spot on the whole island where ships can dock, so I think I can say that for certain."
"I see."
But if that were really true, then it would have been absolutely impossible for this to have happened to Kunagisa's computers. With enough wit and wisdom, a person could feasibly get through a sealed plane or conquer height, but time was the one dominion impenetrable by man.
"So I wonder if there's some kind of trick to this as well. Like a remote control or something. Mmm, but this is obviously the work of a human being."
"Hikari-san, is it possible that one or two people maybe slipped away in the midst of all the confusion of discovering the body? I mean there was a headless dead body right before our eyes. Maybe someone took advantage of the situation and walked off while we were distracted."
"I… Don't think so…"
Hikari-san was still unconvinced. Even I couldn't help but scratch my head at the idea, and I was the one who had brought it up. In reality, we probably would've noticed if someone had disappeared from the room.
"First incident. Anybody could have done it — that is if you consider the possibility of a cooperative crime. But we've at least figured out how they did it, and we know it wasn't really a 'sealed room' after all. Now, the second incident. This time, we have no idea how they did it."
"But I, as an exception, could have done it," Hikari-san said.
I nodded. "And then the third incident. Nobody could have done it. Moreover, there was no possible way it could have happened."
The incident itself was rapidly growing more complicated. This didn't bode well for the next incident.
"Jesus, what the hell kind of a cycle is this?"
"Well, I don't think this was all planned out intentionally. Hmm, but it doesn't feel right to write it all off as a coincidence, either."
"Anyway, let's stop thinking about all this disheartening stuff," I said. "Alibis, sealed rooms. Tricks, gimmicks, setups, fakes. Whatever. Let's just agree that someone is using some unimaginable method to fool us all."
"Maybe it's a virtual machine."
"Yeah, that."
I guess.
They often say that in old mystery novels, it's harder to make a puzzle than to solve one, but I don't think that's true. Creating a puzzle or trick or what have you is far easier. In creating a puzzle, you're free to display events from whatever angle you please, completely catering to your own convenience. Solving the puzzle, on the other hand, can only be done from that one presented angle.
So, for now, we just had to place the issue aside.
"But don't you think we should at least consider alibis? That's pretty much all the information we have right now," Hikari-san said. "And if we start making emotionally charged arguments, everyone will become suspicious. I mean, didn't Sonoyama-san become the prime suspect after Ibuki-san was murdered because they hated each other so much? But look at what happened because of that."
"Yeaaah, but— It really would've made sense if Akane-san was the killer."
And now Akane-san was dead, too.
"What about the thought that Sonoyama-san killed Ibuki-san, and then someone killed her in revenge?"
"If that were the case, then I guess Shinya-san would be the most likely to have killed her. He was Kanami-san's caretaker and closest friend."
"But Shinya-chan had an alibi. Even if you set that aside, how would he have known Akane-chan killed her?"
"Maybe he didn't, maybe he just had a hunch. Mistaken revenge may not happen every day, but it's not unheard of. If you think about it, what's the deal with Shinya-san and Maki-san? They've got alibis two days in a row. In the middle of the night. Don't you think their having alibis is conversely kind of suspicious?"
"It is a little, huh? Maybe they're synchronizing stories in secret. But you know, Himena-san doesn't really seem the type."
Himena Maki. The indescribable fortune-teller with superhuman abilities. The absolute absolutist, able to gaze upon the inner workings of men's minds and hear any and all things. Something about her resembled Kunagisa. It was weird. And very weird at that.
"What's up with you, Ii-chan? Have you fallen for Maki-chan or something?"
"Geez, don't say that. But you know, a spaced-out woman like her can't be expected to have the best common sense."
Man, this really was all futile. I felt like we had already considered every possibility. It was like we were stranded. What else was there left to think about?
"It kind of seems like maybe Akane-san knew she was going to be killed."
"Huh?" Hikari-san leaned forward in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"It just seemed that way. Last night, I had a conversation with her through the door, and at the time, well, it was like she was at peace. She was quoting Ryokan and stuff. It was really out of character."
"Hmm, I wonder if she knew who the killer was," Kunagisa said.
Indeed, that was a possibility. She was Sonoyama Akane of the ER3 system's Seven Fools. Even without conducting an investigation, if she had a hunch about who the killer was, it was pretty much sure to be right.
"By the way, Hikari-san. I was just talking with Teruko-san—"
"What?!" She was even more shocked than before, as if I'd just made some ungodly remark. No, not shocked, exactly. It was more like she was thinking, "Why would you tell me such a blatant lie?!"
"Y-you mean… Teruko talked?"
"Yeah. I was pretty surprised, too, but the real problem was what she said."
I explained to Hikari-san and Kunagisa what Teruko-san had told me. Of course, I cut out the latter half. I was never one to go around boasting about my own faults.
"So what does it mean, Hikari-san? How much of it was true?"
Hikari-san wore a completely perplexed expression as she muddled out a vague response. "Um," she muttered. "Um, well, um…"
"Akari-san was ranting about something strange this morning as well. 'I'm so tired of this' or something like that. What was she talking about?"
She was still stumbling over a response. At last, she looked up at me, seeming to have made up her mind. But still, her eyes darted back and forth as she deliberated for another moment. Finally, she opened her mouth.
"It's all true."
Huh.
Admittedly, that was not the answer I expected.
This time, it was my turn to be speechless. It was all true? Huh? What did she just say?
"I'll talk because it's come to this and because I choose to trust you. And because I owe you." Hikari-san fell silent once again, and then, looking more lost than ever, finally continued. "Yes, my mistress is technically a criminal. We serve her in full awareness of that."
"And that's why you won't call the police?"
"We just work for her. We don't do anything else. Ever since coming to this island, various things have happened. That's how we eventually met Aikawa-san, who you've been hearing about."
Various things? What various things?
The incident on this island.
Come to think of it… Come to think of it, the other night…
"Hey, Tomo."
"Yeah, Ii-chan?"
"I seem to recall you saying something the other night along the lines of 'I'm interested in the incident that happened on this island,' but is this just another figment of my awesome memory?"
"Nope."
"Then you knew?"
"Yup," she nodded with a giggle. "It's a pretty well-known info. Lots of people know, but nobody ever talks about it. Not a lot of people are looking to make enemies with the Akagami Foundation."
So, Kunagisa's hobbies hadn't changed since the good old days. Maybe the passing of five years wasn't enough to alter her nature.
"Actually, it was mixed in with the rest of Chii-kun's information, but I thought it might be better to keep it a secret from you, so…"
"Why?"
"'Cuz I knew you'd make that face."
Aha.
Come on…
I was drained.
Pallidly, falteringly, painfully, Hikari-san continued.
"Once we started planning this 'salon,' my mistress was able to calm down a bit, but… I can understand Akari's feelings of frustration. But you know, this is our job."
A job, huh? If she really meant that, it was quite a statement. I was honestly impressed. I respected any person who lived solely to fulfill their role, regardless of what that role was. It was something I could never do.
So Hikari-san, too, was truly immersed in the deepest depths of her abyss.
"Huh, so that's the deal, huh?"
But what did that mean? If the killer knew all this and knew Iria-san couldn't call the police, then…
Then the remarkable boldness, audaciousness, and fearlessness of his or her actions all suddenly made sense.
"Okay, Hikari-san, well…"
Just as I was about to ask for the details of this famous island incident, there came a knock at the door.
It was Yayoi-san.