Chapter Five: Demo Playtest, Day Two, Investigation Time ①, Scene One

Saturday, November 23^rd, 2024, 7:00 A.M.

Kamo's sleep was shallow and restless.

In a lucid dream, he relived yesterday all over again.

...He left home early to catch the first Shinkansen.

Yukina was still asleep, so he was careful not to make a sound. Rena was still sleepy as he left.

“Be careful of traffic.”

Rena was wearing a smartwatch on her left arm.

...The poisoned needle!

Kamo was startled, but the oblivious Rena had already shut the door with a smile. Even in his dreams, he was powerless.

In the blink of an eye, he had arrived at Okayama Prefecture and Port K.

The boat ride to Inunojima was 20 minutes. The weather was nice and the sea was calm.

Yuki fiddled with his cell phone next to him. He didn't say a word to Kamo until they entered Megalodon Manor.

After a while, Yuki got to his feet and walked towards the steps off the ferry. Kamo saw him and shouted “Don't go! Or else...”

But Yuki ignored him and got off the boat.

Director Juumonji, who he had gotten acquainted with while supervising the game, served as their guide.

Juumonji was average size but strong, with a round nose that made him look like a teddy bear.

Excluding the captain, there were seven people on the ferry, including Kamo and Juumonji. Seeing the smiling woman with almond eyes next to Juumonji, Kamo suddenly shuddered.

...That's right. Kurata Chikage was also on the ferry with us.

Even though it was a dream, what Kamo saw was exactly what he'd seen back then. Kurata and Juumonji had been talking closely the whole way there, but they were too far away for Kamo to make out what they were saying.

Suddenly, a question surfaced in his mind.

Is Juumonji Kurata's accomplice, or is he one of the staff she's kidnapped?

Although their interactions during his preparation had been brief, Kamo knew that Juumonji was a vibrant person who enlivened the atmosphere wherever he went, and everyone on the dev team liked him because when he was around, the work he supervised always went smoothly. That Juumonji, who was so cheerful and who'd organized a special feast in Kamo's honor... would he ever involve himself in something like this? Kamo hesitated to believe it.

The ferry dropped off Kamo and the other seven on Inunojima and left. And just like that, they were trapped on this diabolical island.

After that... the dream suddenly blurred until Kamo couldn't make anything out.

The smartwatch's alarm sounded sharply, and Kamo woke up.

Cream colored walls. This was his room in Megalodon Manor.

The time was already 7:15 A.M. Although he'd only slept two hours, his mind was unexpectedly clear.

After taking a shower to wash away the remains of his dream, Kamo quickly ate a rushed breakfast of just bread. The game ended at noon on the 24^th... There was still a long road ahead.

But when he thought about what had happened just before the end of his time in VR, he lost his appetite.

At 2:50 A.M., Kurata had ordered everyone to log out and then back in again.

“Mystery Maker 2 is still in the developmental stage, so if players remain logged in for two whole days, it's prone to bugs. So I'm going to need you to all log out and back in now.”

A bug is something in a game that occurs outside of the intended settings. Common bugs include things like characters getting stuck in walls and enemies not dying when they're supposed to. There have also been particularly nasty bugs that could delete an entire file.

“If a bug that violates the laws of physics occurs, then there's no way to ensure that the deduction game is still fair, right? So to avoid that, all players are required to log off once every day.”

That was the first Kamo had heard of that rule.

Immediately after that, KENZAN asked a question over the voice chat.

“Does this rule also apply to the Murderer and the Executioner?”

“Of course. Your daily logouts can be performed at the save point. Oh, but those of you who've already been horribly murdered have done their logging off for day one.”

That someone was MICHI, who was killed by Kamo.

Kurata continued “The most common type of bug is when a character goes through a wall or a locked door... But I can assure you that there are absolutely no bugs like that in this game! No matter what sort of weird motions you make in the real world, your character's body will definitely come to a stop when it hits a wall or door, it won't go through or get stuck halfway.”

At that moment, AZUMA interjected.

“Then what sorts of bugs are there?”

“Please rest assured that, Murderer or Executioner, no one will never utilize bugs or glitches, wall penetration or otherwise, to commit crimes. In the event that a bug or glitch does occur during the course of the game, I promise to immediately notify everyone.”

Kamo sat down on the dark gray armchair and took a sip of water.

It was the fifth time he'd saved since the start of the game. The water he'd initially poured in the glass was almost finished. The word “Saving...” popped up in the lower left corner of his vision.

All he had to do was log out of the game, return to the real world, then log back in again.

However, just as he thought that, the voice communication was filled by the sound of someone choking.

“Wh... What's going...”

There was a dull, heavy thud.

Kurata said in a sing-song voice “Oh, there's another victim.”

Kamo's face turned white with fear... Did that voice just now sound a bit like Yuki?

“That just now happened in the VR space, right?”

He managed to force out his question, but Kurata's laugh shattered his hopes.
“Even though it's a VR time period, I never said people won't die in real life.”

Kamo gasped in shock, and Kurata continued pitilessly “Don't panic, we'll see what happened come morning. For those of you who haven't completed today's logout, please do so and log back in immediately.”

Kamo absentmindedly logged off and returned to the real world.

He sat inside the RHAPSODY with his lenses raised, his insides all confused. With a flick of his wrist, the screen of his smartwatch was illuminated, and he checked the time.

It was 3:00 A.M.

...Yuki, are you okay?

Another murmur from Kurata came to his ears.

“Excluding the one who lost her life during VR time... You're the only one who hasn't logged back in yet.”

The implication seemed to be that if he refused to log in it would be considered a rule violation, but Kamo wasn't listening.

His mind went blank as he lowered the VR lenses and logged back in through pure muscle memory.

When he returned to his senses, he was already sitting back on the save point in VR space.

He only heard Kurata continuing to narrate “Everyone, welcome to the 23^rd. The game has now officially entered its second day.”

KENZAN asked a question.

“Hey, you didn't erase evidence of the VR crime while we were logged out, did you? As a game developer, I'm sure that would be easy for you.”

“How could you accuse me of something like that? High schoolers these days really lack trust in their fellow man. This building accurately reflects 'the condition of the interior of Puppet Hall saved at 3:00 A.M. on the 23^rd', and I wouldn't lie about something like that. Otherwise, how could we call this a detective game?”

As far as Kamo knew, no matter what game it is, when the player logs in, the system reads the last save made before exiting.

The doors, windows, furniture, and items (including virtual corpses and all traces thereof) in this building were the same as they were in Puppet Hall when Kamo logged off. Since Kurata had asserted it as Gamemaster, they should be able to trust that.

Kurata continued with a grin “Then, for now, please take some time to rest. I don't mind if it's in VR or the real world, as long as you don't leave your room you can do whatever you like. Starting at 8:00 A.M. Tomorrow will be what everyone's been waiting for, VR Investigation Time!”

***

It was almost 8:00 A.M. now.

The sunlight pouring in through the window made Kamo squint his eyes as he put on his VR operation suit and glove controllers. He kept thinking as he completed his synchronization with the RHAPSODY.

...Was that voice being strangled really Yuki's?

As time passed, he felt more and more sure that it was someone else's voice. It might have been wishful thinking from someone who wanted Yuki to be safe, but by dawn he had convinced himself that Yuki was, in fact, fine.

However, Kamo had another worry.

The character at the biggest disadvantage in this game was without doubt the Murderer.

Every time he committed a crime he risked another failure, and even if he succeeded, he still had to avoid getting found out by the Detectives. Not only that, but if he was found out, he'd be punished harder than any other player.

There must have been a reason why Kurata, who already hated detectives, had specifically picked him out to play the Murderer.

Kamo had faith in his memory. He remembered basically everything he'd ever seen and he never forgot the face of someone he knew. He was certain that the first time he ever met Kurata Chikage was when he was invited to this demo playtest.

Despite that, Kamo sensed a certain persistence in Kurata. “I, for one, am most eagerly looking forward to seeing you flailing in desperation.” When she'd said that, her voice sounded extremely abnormal.

...Why is she so obsessed with me?

***

Thinking about it, it was almost 8:00 A.M., so Kamo entered the VR space.

He first looked at his avatar's right hand.

The bleeding had stopped, but the wounds on his fingers were still evident. It was hard evidence that exposed him as the murderer.

With a soft sigh, he walked out of the room and crossed the corridor with heavy steps.

The moment he opened the door to the main hall, Kamo froze. For all that lay before him was darkness.

At first he thought all the lights in the building had gone out.

As the Murderer, Kamo had the authority to extinguish all light in the stage of the incident. He suspected that the Executioner, who also had that permission, had done it to make the scene invisible to everyone.

But he quickly remembered that could only be done during Crime Time. And upon further inspection, everything was still normal in the corridors of the northern section; the lights there were on.

...What's going on here? Only the lights in the main hall are out? I remember they were on at midnight, so why are they off now?

 The only source of light in the room was from the model a ways away, dim glow emanating from the miniature windows.

The darkness in the hall was impossibly thick, possibly because outside of Puppet Hall was nothing but a void.

Because there was no starlight or moonlight outside, the interior was plunged into a darkness that couldn't be experienced in the real world. Although there were cat flaps in the doors, they were covered by black plastic, and the light from the corridor and the other rooms could barely penetrate them.

KENZAN, who'd come from behind Kamo, also stared wide-eyed.

“Hey, did someone on the criminal's side turn off the lights?”

“Seems that way.”

Kamo fumbled and pressed the switch to the left of the room's door.

All the wall sconces went on at the same time, and MUNAKATA, who'd coincidentally just come from the southern section, squinted. It was just after 8:00, and Kamo and the others were the first ones to arrive.

MUNAKATA looked at the round table and crossed his arms.

“I see... Two people were killed.”

There were two puppets on the round table.

One was a female puppet that looked similar to Michi and wore a tuxedo. The puppet had a silk thread wrapped around its neck. The other looked like a king with a wine glass in his raised right hand, and looked a bit like Yuki. The corners of both puppets' mouths were stained red, and their limbs were twisted at unnatural angles to their bodies.

After looking at the dolls, KENZAN frowned.

“One was strangled and the other was poisoned, right?”

Kamo had strangled MICHI, and the person who placed the puppets knew that... No doubt, this was the Executioner's doing.

He looked over at MUNAKATA and felt a sudden cramp in his stomach.

MUNAKATA was checking the door to the southern corridor and yanked something off the knob. He must have been recovering the blade he'd planted.

...No, there's no point in focusing on MUNAKATA's actions now. Whatever happens, I just have to go with the flow.

While he waited for the others to arrive, Kamo decided to take a look at the light switch.

The building had wide switches, and he eyeballed the button as being about 10 cm x 4 cm.

Just a moment ago, Kamo had pressed the switch on the north side... He'd been wearing Investigator's Gloves at the time, so if there were any traces on the switch, they must have been left by the Executioner.

KENZAN, who'd started checking the switch at the same time, made a regretful face.

“There aren't any traces.”

“Yeah. What about the other switches...”

Kamo looked around and realized there were only two light switches in the room, one on the north side and one on the south.

“Okay, let's take a look at the switch on the south side then.”

After saying that, Kamo went towards the other side of the main hall.

The shelves to the left of the door were cluttered with puppets. The south side was the only one in the hall to have shelves of puppets on it, and the two on the round table should have been taken from there as well. Kamo remembered that during last night's VR investigation time, MUNAKATA had closely investigated those shelves.

To the right of the door was the model.

The moment he saw it, Kamo realized that the roof had been lowered, so the inside of the model was no longer visible. He remembered the interior of the model was still visible at midnight, so someone had lowered the roof after then.

But what was the point of that...?

Kamo kept that info in mind as he went to look at the light switch on the wall on the model's side of the room. A moment later, he heard KENZAN whistle.

There was a large black stain on the switch on the south side, and... the imprints of a thumb, index, and middle finger were visible on the stain, is if someone had pressed the switch panel with their right hand.

“These fingerprints should have been left by someone on the perpetrator's side, I just don't know what this black smudge is.”

Kamo muttered, and KENZAN grinned.

“Whatever it is, it's a strong clue.”

Kamo turned to inform everyone of their discovery, but was instantly shaken. MUNAKATA was checking the door to the northern section of the building, which no longer had the utility knife blade on it, and should have nothing left but congealed glue. MUNAKATA nodded in satisfaction as he tore something off the round knob.

As he left his room, Kamo put on the white Investigator's Gloves to cover the wound.

But he'd only had them on for a few moments before bloodstains faintly oozed to the surface of the glove. MUNAKATA must have noticed that he was injured by now.

It was only a matter of time before MUNAKATA would expose Kamo.

How long would the calm before the storm last? This false calm... It hurt Kamo more than any confrontation could have.

Soon, AZUMA came in via the northern corridor.

With her joining, there were still only four people inside the hall. YUKI still hadn't arrived, and Kamo was starting to grow uneasy.

...Could it be that the voice I heard at 3:00 really was Yuki?

Just then, KENZAN sighed and muttered “We're still missing Mr. Yuki, Ms. Michi, and Mr. Fuwa, we'd better check out their rooms.”

“I don't want to stay here, I want to go check on them in the real world... But that crazy woman said we can't go back to the real world during the VR Investigation Time. She's so overbearing!” AZUMA complained.

KENZAN reached for the door to the northern section and said “Let's split up. I'll check Fuwa's room first...”

The moment he touched the doorknob, someone suddenly pushed the door open, nearly knocking KENZAN to the floor.

“Ah, sorry... I didn't expect anyone to be there.”

FUWA stood in the doorway with a tired look on his face.

“What took you so long?” MUNAKATA asked pointedly.

FUWA smiled in a pained way.

“I have low blood pressure so it's really hard for me to get out of bed in the morning, plus ever since I stepped into Puppet Hall this morning I've had this heavy feeling. I can't breathe if I move even a little, and my ears are ringing.”

FUWA was in fact breathing a bit strange. KENZAN stifled a yawn and said “Actually, it's the same for me.”

“It's probably prolonged stress and lack of sleep. I fell asleep in a daze and dreamed I was being attacked by living mushrooms, although that's still better than being attacked by tofu.”

Listening to FUWA, it sounded like he had dreams like that often. Kamo had never had such strange dreams, so maybe Fuwa was the sort of person who was serious on the surface but had wild ideas in his head.

AZUMA spoke up with a generous amount of worry. “Are you okay? Don't push yourself, you should get some rest.”

“It's okay, my blood pressure will sort itself in no time. Don't start talking about me yet...”

“I'm fine, even though I'm a ghost.”

At some point, MICHI had appeared in the door to the southern section.

She looked the same except for the angelic halo over her head, which was the sign that her character was a ghost.

Looking at MICHI, who didn't resemble an angel so much as a demon, FUWA smiled.

“I'm glad to see you're alright.”

“The moment my avatar was killed, the system kicked me out... Then I just waited around in the real world. Didn't they say we weren't starting until 3:00 A.M. the next day? I waited until then before logging back on and returning to my room. But, well, I was already a ghost by then.”

Kamo had been counting on the ghosts having login restrictions to explain why YUKI hadn't arrived yet. Now that MICHI was here, that last glimmer of hope was dashed.

The worst case scenario flashed through his head, and he couldn't hold back anymore. “Let's go check on Yuki, he's probably in his room–”

“What's the point of rushing now?” MUNAKATA grunted.

“What do you mean?”

“You should know that perfectly well, Kamo. The fact that Yuki hasn't appeared in the hall at this time of day means he was most likely killed in the real world... No matter how much you hurry, it's already too late.”

That might have been true, but Munakata's impersonal declaration still left Kamo speechless. AZUMA was the first one to find words for her anger.

“Forget it! Let's ignore someone like that and hurry to YUKI's room.”

She stomped towards the southern corridor, and Kamo hurried after her.

YUKI's room was on the far end of the southern corridor on the left side.

They knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside. KENZAN bit his lip.

“There don't seem to be any spare keys, so we'll have to break it down.”

Kamo and KENZAN combined their efforts kicking at the door until it finally loosened. Finally, the lock broke and the duo went crashing into YUKI's room.

The guests rooms were all laid out similarly.

The bathroom, bedroom, and number of puppets were all the same... the only difference was that the configuration of the furniture in this room was mirrored left-right relative to Kamo's.

AZUMA, who was the first to see into the room, gasped.

YUKI's fallen body leaned over the save point.

There was a streak of vomit near his mouth, and his face was twisted and bloodless.

KAMO realized when he'd killed MICHI that the bodies in “Delicious Death for Detectives” didn't have their presentations softened. For Kamo, the body was infinitely close to what he'd seen back in “The Deadly Tragedy of Shino”. It was eerily realistic.

FUWA's face screwed up as he muttered “Mr. Yuki really did become a victim...”

Kamo ran over to YUKI and lifted his arm.

The bodies of people who died in the game were no longer recognized as characters controlled by players, and if Yuki had been killed in the real world, that wouldn't have frozen his character. Therefore, even if he could move YUKI's arm, that didn't tell him whether or not Yuki was safe in the real world.

The ghost of MICHI knelt next to the corpse and asked a question.

“Is this a poisoning? Could it have been in the water?”

Kamo didn't answer, but lightly touched YUKI's carotid artery in an attempt to determine if his avatar was still alive.

Then... the save point began to glow.

Kamo was startled, and MICHI next to him reacted even more.

She seemed particularly easy to surprise, and she let out a horrid scream as she stepped back and bumped into AZUMA, who was behind her. AZUMA, who was sitting on the bed, was fine, but MICHI couldn't control her body and faceplanted into the pile of puppets piled in the corner of the room.

“Are... Are you okay?”

The man who asked that in a confused voice was another YUKI who had appeared on the dark gray armchair.

He had an angel halo hanging over his head and looked at MICHI, who was struggling in the puppet pile, with a complicated facial expression.

Before this scene occurred, a line of text had appeared in the corner of Kamo's vision.

The death of Aoba Yuki's character has been confirmed by a third party... Ghost YUKI has been released.

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