Chapter 2: The Trial

[Ryo Asuka]

"I think we should ignore my previous theory about Caster. I think that CASTER IS NOT THE CULPRIT!"

Ryo cleared his throat.

"With that out of the way, I still think somebody from the sixth floor did the crime. Nanashi was in his room, I was in the hall, and Caster was in Yoff's room. Which leaves Pierrick, Lloyd, and Monika. Pierrick went into my room apparently and checked in the 5th floor through the hole in my closet that leads down there. Which leaves two people: Lloyd and Monika. So, to solve this, I think we should first look at HOW the murder took place.

"Revising my earlier theory, I think the culprit cut the wire to the fourth floor early in the morning, which keeps the elevator from going to the fourth floor from the inside buttons, before sliding the notes under all of our doors. Then, the culprit went to breakfast like normal before going up to the sixth floor. Then, they planned on using the elevator to go downstairs so that they could follow Owen, but realized it wasn't working since Rin was causing shenanigans. Instead, they had to find another way down: the fourth floor window, since it was the only window in the complex that can be unlocked. The culprit then went into Axel's room, which was still unlocked since he is very much dead and ghostly. From there, they went through the hole in the floor, the hole that leads from Axel's closet to the fifth floor. Then, they used bedsheets from some of the rooms to make a rope. After making the rope, they stabbed one end into the ground, as seen by the hole in the floor on the fifth floor. Then, he tossed the other end of the rope down the chute along with the other length of rope; this would also serve as to keep the chute door on the fifth floor open since the chute door cannot be opened from the inside of the chute. He then went down the chute and gathered the rest of the bedsheets to make a second rope. He stabbed something else into the end of the rope to pin it to the ground, hence the hole in the floor by the window on the fourth floor. The culprit then used the PVC pipe as a form of climbing mechanism to help them down. After that, they went over to the gym, being careful not to be seen by Mishy who was cleaning outside. After entering, the culprit snuck up on Owen while he was lifting the 245 pound bar that was found at the crime scene. Owen struggled, hence the look of agony, the scuff marks on the ground form his feet, and the death grip on the bar. Then, after killing Owen, the culprit needed to make it back to the 6th floor to establish his alibi. He simply climbed back up the rope to the fourth floor, pulling rope inside and closing the window. This would explain the bedsheets left behind on the fourth floor along with the PVC pipe left behind hidden in Itriot's clothing on the fourth floor. Then, the culprit climbed up to the fifth floor via the rope in the chute, pulling up the rope behind them. This explains the bedsheets left behind on the fifth floor. After that, they simply climbed back up through the hole in Axel's closet. This would allow them to come back out at 11am, blending in with everybody, since everybody on the sixth floor who was there at the beginning of the elevator being stuck was at the elevators at 11am for Cessair's announcement. Then, they simply went back to Axel's room and waited for the body announcement at 11:20am to come back out and go down to find the body with us."

Ryo caught his breath again.

"So...with all that being said, there are only two people that could have done this crime: Lloyd and Monika. Since Monika has already spoken, I would like Lloyd to speak up as well."

[The City [EclipseZwolf]]

-Pierrick laughs-

Pierrick: "Haha! Interesting, Interesting! Now you have your mind out of that ditch it was in earlier! Let's enjoy this!"

-Pierrick spreads his arms, spins while doing a backflip and looks at everyone with a piercing glare-

Pierrick: "Its a good idea! but...but...but....BUT! You are wrong! I'll even deny you with your own reasoning! First, The only place you can obtain Duct Tape and PVC Pipe at this time is The Lord's Blessing or through Itriot! None of these items are on Itriot's List! So they came from The Lord's Blessing!"

-Pierrick cackles, a bit madly at that-

Pierrick: "I think your reasoning was that the culprit had to perform this improvised escape in order to get around Rin who they didn't know about prior? Yet, this escape of yours requires the use of the Pipe and Duct Tape for this...mysterious apparatus!"

-Pierrick spins and points both hands at Ryo-

Pierrick: "So, the culprit did all these things because they didn't suspect Rin, so why did they prepare materials to escape out the window in advance? As long as your escape relies on those, its meaningless!"

-Pierrick spinning intensifies-

Pierrick: "Also, Also, Also, Also! The total missing sheets from the Empty Apartments and the Laundry Bin contents from the staff quarters are indeed enough to go from the 5th floor to the ground! BUT! Some of those were used with the PVC for something! Based on the amount of cloth on the pipes, I bet three or so sheets were used! Assuming these were prepped in advance, the culprit most likely couldn't re-purpose it into a rope, especially since they had to cut it off the pipes based on the bits left behind! If we subtract those from our rope....We have enough to get to the 2nd floor! Enough to drop down, but not get back!"

-Pierrick's cackling continues-

Pierrick: "Come on! Come on! I knew who it was before we even found the body! I need to have some fun somewhere before I go NUTS!"

[Ryo Asuka]

Ryo was finally smiling fully again. Things were once again on track and going according to plan. Finally, an adversary worth facing.

"If that's the case, the answer is simple. You asked why the materials were prepared in advance if the culprit did not know Rin would stop the elevator. Well, the simple answer is, the culprit didn't prepare the PVC pipe invention in advance. If what you said is true, that the rope would be enough to reach from the fourth floor window to the second floor, the culprit didn't need the PVC pipe to get down. So, they simply dropped down from the end of the second rope to the ground. Then, they went and killed Owen. After that, they realized that they could not reach the makeshift bedsheet rope again. Which is when they thought of a new plan: make some way to reach the rope. So, the culprit went to the shop to get the supplies. Like you said, the supplies came from The Lord's Blessing. Meaning the culprit could have acquired the duct tape and PVC pipe any time after going down the rope to kill Owen. Then, the culprit simply used the PVC mechanism to reach the bedsheet rope and climb back up to the fourth floor. Do you have any problems with that theory, Pierrick?"

[King V]

"Sorry, mister... insane person. This witness has some trouble understanding exactly what is wrong here. Certainly, with three sheets missing the culprit may not have been able to climb from the 5th floor to the 1st floor, but aren't you forgetting that a hidden passage exists between the 4th and 3rd floors? If the culprit uses the laundry chutes to travel to the 4th floor, then takes the hidden passage down to the 3rd floor, the climbing distance is reduce by 2 stories, making it possible to reach the ground."

"The argument that the culprit must have prepared the pipe apparatus for something is irrelevant. The culprit prepared something with pipes and duct tape for some unknown reason X before 8am. However, during the course of their plan the pipe apparatus became unusable, either due to difficulty of transport upon discovering the elevator malfunctioned, or simply because the apparatus did not live up to their expectations. The culprit then hastily repurposed their apparatus for climbing, or merely discarded it. In the end, the apparatus really serves no purpose in the murder, so why do we need to discuss it?"

"Although this witness is still not convinced. Everything is still far too convenient. If the culprit could climb back up to the 6th floor from the 5th floor, why not target someone there? Why not this insane person, who claims to have gone down to the 5th floor? There is still far more suspicion for Caster being the culprit than some mysterious evil force using convoluted methods to traverse the upper floors."

[King V]

"You know what, white hair person, you're right. Clearly the culprit is a mysterious evil force X which is completely incapable of being noticed by witnesses due to unexplained reason Y and committed the murder through supernatural force Z. That's how they managed to take the supplies from the lord's blessing without being noticed by Dayz who claims he was in there the entire time."

"..."

"This witness has disgusted themselves by merely uttering this line of dialogue."

"So, when is Caster going to die? How long must this witness wait for the execution?"

[Ryo Asuka]

Ryo smiled.

"Simple. The store is MASSIVE. There are aisles upon aisles of goods. So many that one could not possibly see every part of the store at once. Isn't that correct, Cessair? In fact, to clarify, Days. What part of the supermarket were you in the entire time?"

[The City [EclipseZwolf]]

Days: "I wasn't trying to find people, but I am fairly certain I would have noticed if someone actually came into the store. The trio was quite loud in their pursuit so I happened to look outside at the time and saw them passing."

Pierrick: "Not to burst the bubble! Or do I? But climbing four stories while carrying whatever that hunk of PVC is!? TRULY INSANITY! Haha!"

Cessair: "Just to chime in. The only windows in the Complex that open naturally are those on the fourth floor."

[Ryo Asuka]

Ryo thought back to the holes made by daggers.

"Hey. Nanashi. You had some daggers earlier. Whose all did you steal?"

[King V]

-RIN looks at Satone. She stares at Satone. Then she shudders and looks back over at Pierrick-

"Sorry for not understanding immediately, but... well, it's not every day that this witness finds out someone made a hangglider out of pipes, duct tape, and sheets to fly from the 4th floor to the 1st floor. And all this witness can ask is... why???"

-RIN shudders again-

"So then... clearly insane person who cartwheels around, did you see any nightstands that had been moved when you were down on the 5th floor? And if you could, please inform this witness which rooms they were positioned under."

[John Dark Souls]

[cemter]Mishy holds his head shaking it it really hard while thinking.

"Nuuuuuuuuuuu, Mishy dun get ittttt......... Think Mishy! You know you can do it! You can do it Mishy! Come on, don't give up! The culprit is... The murderer iiiiiiiiiiis... miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shiSession paused. *siiiiiiiiiiigh* He was so close too... Seems like accusing someone of murder is still too early for him, huh..."

Mishy just stops moving mumbling something looking down before mechanically lifting head up.

"Unfortunately, we meet again. I didn't plan to go out this time and leave up to Mishy. But looks like I have a choice. It seems like even Mishy himself was able to suspect somebody, but that's about as much as he could. So I suppose I should assist you now again. For Mishy's progress."

"First, let me state how stupid your argument is Ryo. You could as well completely ignore all logic and alibi and clues and just shout that aliens did the murder."

"Days was seen by the chuunibyo kids entering Lord's Blessing straight after the outside group (I'm gonna refer to Mishy, Days and 4 chuunis as that now) finished breakfast and went out. Afterwards he noticed immediately when chuunis sprinted by sometime later after Satone become victim of her usual kidnapping happening every murder. While he didn't seem to notice Mishy cleaning outside, I think its completely impossible to not notice anyone entering the Lord's Blessing and looking for and looting bunch of PVC pipes and duct tape. Which means, the pipes and duct tape were all prepared before breakfast that day or even earlier. I support the witness's claim that culprit might have had some grand plan for using them together with that Itriot scarecrow, but couldn't do it because of being unable to use the elevator. Better not to focus on them too much yet, since it will not reveal actions of culprit in the last day much. Oh, btw, even I am unsure if the PVC cornerpiece was there in front of complex after 11am when outside group went out searching before shortly discovering body."

"When Mishy was swiping northern part of the streets, I noticed chuunis running around at 10:30am split with Rikka staying at northeast, Shinka heading northwest, and Yuuta going southwest. Doubtless until then they were all together chasing the kidnapper who is unrelated to the case. But considering the time, I think it was impossible to do murder even for Yuuta who went in the direction of complex, arcade and gym to do that murder in 30 minutes and quickly reunite for 11am meeting in commons and act like nothing happened. Not to mention it doesn't explain other details much at all and just sounds dumb. So, I'm am 100% sure that this murder was impossible for outside group."

[The City [EclipseZwolf]]

Pierrick: "Haha! Well, its close to what I believe happened, so I accept! Indeed! I did find a nightstand that had been moved when I was on the 5th floor! The room under Axel's to be specific!"

[Exusiai]

"Wow, do you really know who the culprit is Pierrick!?"

"You're like one of those people in a detective anime with an amazing gut-theory!
I think there are other ways for there to be more fun in a trial, though.
This would be a fun joke: Accuse the culprit at the very beginning, but then provide a whole different breakdown of the murder.
You don't have to give out the correct murder method, but it'll really startle the culprit if you suddenly blurt out their name."

"I-Isn't 'steal' a harsh word, Ryo?
Aside from my dagger, none of them are in my room anymore.
While the hole in my closet was still there, I didn't want anyone trying to gain an extra dagger or two while I was venturing the streets, so I hid them!
I didn't check if the daggers were where I left them during the investigation, but they aren't in places too easy to find.
The last time I saw them was before I left the complex to explore the other buildings for the first time, so I'm n-not sure if someone managed to scavenge them since then.
Let's see—the ones I hid were Lloyd's and Axel's. I actually stopped by Yoff's room soon after his execution to look for his dagger.
This was after I asked Itriot to tidy up the damage done to the flooring of my room.
Strangely enough, Yoff's dagger wasn't in his nightstand.

His door was unlocked before I got a chance to enter, but this could have been from when Satone entered all of our rooms during the investigation for the last trial!
If I remember correctly, Yoff spent his investigation time in the elevator, so he probably didn't return to his room after Axel's death was announced.
If no one else entered Yoff's room before I did, then the dagger was likely left on Yoff, himself."

[Chatt]

*Axel beings to laugh and doesn't stop for almost a minute*
"okay, okay ... phew. Rin, by what leap of logic did you decide that it was a hang glider?"

[King V]

-RIN shudders at the word-

"..."

"... We are never going to talk about this ever again. This witness is also considering erasing all such objects from existence in the future."

[Chatt]

"So you expect me to believe you just saying 'it's a hang glider ya'll' with nothing to back it up? Please give a reason why you decided it was a *Axel floats closer* Hang. Glider."