Chapter Five - Part One

“I'd like to make a suggestion.”

Having gathered everyone in the recreation room again, Kamo drank some coffee to wake himself up. He began his speech as soon as he finished.

Since his smartphone had gone dead and he didn't wear a watch, he checked the clock on the wall for the time. It was so dark outside, it was hard to believe it was only 4:30 P.M. It was probably because of the heavy rain clouds.

“We're dealing with a very crafty culprit. Even if you lock yourselves in your rooms, there's no guarantee that it will protect you.”

Tsukihiko laughed mockingly. He took a sip of milk tea before responding.

“We know that even if you don't say so. It seems impossible crimes are a fact of life in this villa.”

He said that as though it were someone else's problem, but his bloodshot eyes exposed his concern. He licked his lips before continuing.

“So you all can just kick back and relax, right? According to the detective's reasoning... the only people left on the culprit's list are Dad and I, the two remaining pieces of the Nue.”

Soujirou dropped his teacup, spilling the reddish liquid across the table. He stared at Kamo as though he hadn't even noticed.

“Isn't there anything we can do?”

Amamiya and Tsukie got up and went to the dining room to get a dish towel. Kamo glanced sideways at them as he continued.

“This is a common proposal in closed circles, but... the only option is for everyone to gather together and keep watch on each other all night.”

Soujirou's face twitched.

“We can't just do something so passive! Do you really think you'll be able to protect us like that? We don't know what sort of tricks the culprit has set up in the villa!”

“If you don't feel comfortable with a room in the building, we can always use the wood chopping shed or the camping trailer. The important bit is that we have to monitor each other's movements.”

“The wood chopping shed or the camping trailer?”

Internally, Kamo panicked. Amamiya had muttered with the dish towel still in his hands and an indescribable expression.

“I'm sorry for saying things without thinking. Is there perhaps a reason why we shouldn't gather there?”

Amamiya's face immediately turned apologetic.

“I'm sorry, it's just... the wood chopping shed is full of gaps, so I don't think it will be usable in this rain... on the other hand, even though it's small, I think the camping trailer is usable. The Master brought it from overseas because it was a rare find. It's sturdier than it looks, and we keep it in good condition, so we can use it at any time.”

Soujirou cut him off, apparently not liking the direction their talk was going.

“It's not a matter of location. Have you forgotten that the culprit has hidden a hunting rifle somewhere? If they were to take aim at us while we were unarmed, they could easily kill all seven of us.”

Kamo spoke slowly in what he hoped was a calming tone.

“If we search everyone, they won't be able to bring the gun with them. It will be fine.”

“That's useless, the enemy has already committed multiple impossible crimes. I'm sure they could come up with plenty of ways... and let's not forget that 24 bullets have gone missing. The culprit would have three shots for each of us.”

Three bullets for a person was the textbook definition of “excessive force”. Seeing that Kamo had gone silent, Tsukihiko decided to speak up.

“For the time being, nobody disagrees with the claim that Dad and I are the ones in danger, correct? In that case... Dad and I are the ones who have the right to decide how we spend the evening. You all are just spectators, but we're the ones who are being forced to risk our lives.”

An awkward silence ensued. It was only interrupted when Tsukie brought Soujirou a new cup of lemon tea.

That made Kamo remember that Amamiya and Tsukie, who were acting as waiters for the group, hadn't asked anyone other than him what they wanted to drink. It seemed Soujirou and Tsukihiko always took tea, Ayaka drank cocoa, and everyone else took coffee.

Tsukie placed the teacup in front of Soujirou, then asked her brother:

“So what do you propose?”

“I don't want to spend the night in the same room as a murderer. I'd rather lay an ambush in my room.”

“You say that, but Mr. Taiga may have been attacked by the culprit within his own room. Even if you hole up in the Snake Room, that doesn't necessarily mean you're safe.”

Tsukihiko didn't seem the least bit worried. He answered Kamo's concerns with a smile.

“I know that much. I can take care of myself.”

From Kamo's perspective, that sounded an awful lot like a death flag, but Soujirou didn't seem to think so as he timidly interjected.

“I also don't have the nerve to spend the night in the same room as everyone else. I wouldn't want the culprit to attack while I was sleeping.”

Although this was a predictable development, Kamo had hoped it could be avoided if at all possible. He sighed.

“I won't force anyone to do anything... In that case, I'd like to gather everyone who does agree with my proposal to spend the night together.”

“Now, who's actually going to listen to you?” Tsukihiko asked.

Ayaka looked up from sipping her cocoa with an annoyed expression.

“I'll follow Mr. Kamo's suggestion.”

“Then so will I.”

Genji was the next. Seeing the way Tsukihiko's eyebrows shot up, he gave a wry smile.

“After all, this girl's only in middle school. I've been worried about whether she can be left alone like this for a while now. If Ayaka wants to do it, then I will too... Besides, I think there's something to Mr. Kamo's idea.”

“You mean you're actually listening to this pathetic detective?”

“Certainly, if we want to protect you and Soujirou, it's best to gather everyone else together. That way, we can keep eyes on each other and make sure nobody has a chance to commit any crimes.”

Hearing his argument, Amamiya, who had previously looked hesitant, nodded with relief.

“I agree with Mr. Genji.”

After looking at Amamiya with cold eyes, Tsukihiko turned to look at his sister next to him.

“And then there were four. Well then, we'll-”

“Brother, I will also follow Mr. Kamo.”

Tsukie spoke without even looking at her brother. Tsukihiko recoiled in shock.

“What are you saying? Are you going against me?” he screamed, slamming his teacup on the table. The sharp sound made Tsukie flinch, but she quickly shook her head.

“No. I'm doing this for your sake, and Father's, too.”

Kamo saw Tsukihiko's fingertips start to move and quickly intervened.

“Then it's decided... I promise, the five of us will all work together until morning and do everything we can to prevent the crime. At the same time, Mr. Soujirou, Mr. Tsukihiko, please do everything you can on your side, too. Please take any measures you can to protect yourself.”

Tsukihiko was still fuming at his sister, but he slowly turned his attention back to Kamo.

“So, what's your plan to stop the crime, Detective?”

“We've investigated this building many times, and we can say with certainty that there are no secret rooms or hidden passages. The culprit is either inside the building, or lurking outside. We need to ensure no outsiders can enter the building.”

There was already a lock on the back door, but after talking amongst themselves, they decided to take some tables and chairs out of storage and barricade it further. Afterwards, Tsukie, Ayaka, and Soujirou stayed behind in the rec room while Kamo and the others went to the warehouse.

Some of the the chairs in the warehouse were coated in dust, but nobody cared enough to clean them, so they just piled them in front of the back door. As a result, all of the men who'd worked on the barricade were covered in dust. Tsukihiko, who seemed to be a bit of a neat freak, wouldn't stop complaining about how he wanted to take a bath as he rubbed his stubbly chin.

Whatever the case, now the back door couldn't be easily opened, whether from the inside or outside.

As for the front door, while they could have done the same thing, it would be a problem if they ever needed to leave the building, but couldn't... If the culprit were allowed to enter the building, the barricade could delay their own escape.

For the time being, Tsukihiko was given all the keys to the front door and told to lock it from the inside.

However, there was the possibility that the culprit had at some point made a duplicate key to the front door, so that wasn't a foolproof solution.

In the end, Amamiya got a bicycle chain lock from the bike shed and wrapped it around the handles of the double doors as an extra measure. There were spare keys for the chain lock, so Tsukihiko and Soujirou were each given one.

No matter how many precautions they took, there was no way they could stop the culprit from just physically forcing their way in. However, the noise that would make would give them time to prepare to defend themselves or escape.

Next, they prepared countermeasures in the event that the culprit was among the seven of them. As soon as they started talking, Tsukihiko burst out laughing.

“Alright then, I guess the Detective will have to spend the night out in the camping trailer.”

Kamo raised an eyebrow.

“I did suggest that earlier, but why should I be the only one to go out there?”

The heavy rain was still pelting the window panes. When Amamiya saw that, he couldn't take it any more and ripped into Tsukihiko.

“Even though the weather's like this... It's not just me, but Mr. Genji, Ms. Tsukie, and the Young Mistress will all be together, right? I'm sure it would be better if we all stayed in the recreation room.”

Tsukihiko snorted. From the look of delight on his face, it was clear to Kamo that he'd made the suggestion just to rile him up.

Ever since they'd gotten into the argument over Taiga's guilt, Tsukihiko had been openly hostile towards Amamiya. From the moment Tsukie had announced she was siding with Kamo's proposal, he'd turned the same hostility towards her as well. Apparently, this was Tsukihiko taking a moment for a tasteless revenge.

Tsukihiko turned to his sister, smiled, and spoke in an eerily calm voice.

“I know I'm not the culprit, and I don't think Dad would ever do something so drastic. To be honest, I suspect the culprit is among the five of you. Try putting yourselves in my shoes for a bit... Isn't it only natural to want to put as much distance between the suspects and yourself as possible?”

Giving up on uselessly arguing further, Kamo acquiesced.

“That's fine. If Mr. Soujirou agrees it's necessary, we'll spend the night in the camping trailer.”

Soujirou accepted Tsukihiko's proposal, but he looked like he hadn't even heard it. His mind was full of only how to protect himself. He didn't even seem concerned about his own children.

Afterwards, the rain lightened up, and Kamo and Amamiya took the opportunity to go outside and push the camping trailer up about five meters from the villa's front entrance. That would make it easier to see any suspicious figures approaching the front entrance.

Luckily for them, the trailer could be moved with just a few people pushing, as long as they removed the stop first. In the end, the trailer was placed with the entrance facing away from the building.

Amamiya suggested they have dinner, so Kamo dragged his exhausted body to the dining room. The dinner they made while everyone kept an eye on everyone else couldn't be called “a meal”, but nobody complained. They forced food they couldn't taste down their throats.

By the time Kamo was finished the coffee he took after dinner to keep himself awake, it was almost 8:00 P.M.

 

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