The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village Bonus 1 Part5

Day 2 12:00 - 1:00 AM

Hayabusa's Notes:

Lights out. Starting with the bedroom group, people are giving in and falling asleep. Hatsutomo Naru wanted some coffee to help her stay up, so she went to borrow a grinder and siphon from the kitchen. Perhaps subconsciously, she likes to make coffee the same way as Yatsui Tos.h.i.+.

Enbi's Memos:

Enbi-chan won't sleep! Matsus.h.i.+ma Ren, the maid, left the living room. Something seemed to bother her. To keep her awake, the maid is taking a shower before it's even light out. (2nd time) The detective feigned disinterest but still stared. (Grr) Akua, the wife who had joined the bedroom group, complained about the noise of the shower. She says she can't sleep with that racket!

Enbi: "…"

Hayabusa: "Again? I thought we already settled this!"

Enbi: "Let's get back on topic. The main point here is the maid's shower scene. Even the all-encompa.s.sing gla.s.s fogged up from the steam."

Hayabusa: "And keeping the lights on would have been better, but they were turned off by a timer that ran on an internal clock."

Enbi: Yeah, that's the normal thing to think. But in that case…?"

Hayabusa: "Pay attention to one person's behavior in particular. It looks normal enough, but this was in the middle of a murder mystery. Would you really feel that way then?"

1:00 - 2:00 AM

Enbi's Memos:

The detective fell asleep. Zzz Enbi-chan can't believe it.

Enbi: "I couldn't bring myself to say it then, but you look really cute when you're asleep."

Hayabusa: "Sh-shut up. Either way, you have to sleep at some point during these long-term battles."

Enbi: "But detective, it looks like you trusted me. A pistol-style crossbow would have a relatively weak bowstring, so even a child could have used it."

Hayabusa: "Yeah, but I'd written you off as innocent pretty early on."

Enbi: "…"

Hayabusa: "Anyway, we ended up taking turns getting some sleep from here."

4:30 AM

Hayabusa's Notes:

Enbi was gone when I woke up.

Hayabusa: "Things had gotten pretty bad. Everything was dark and I couldn't see through the transparent walls without any lights on. I had no choice but to search for Enbi. A few others were asleep in the living room, but I avoided waking them. This was simply because I had no way of knowing if the person I asked to accompany me was the murderer or not."

4:30-5:00 AM

Hayabusa's Notes:

I spotted a light that looks like a flashlight, so I headed in that direction. I found Enbi in the kitchen. Kariba, the bandaged butler, was preparing for breakfast. He had made some hot milk for Enbi.

Enbi: "So to sum up, there wasn't any trouble at all!"

Hayabusa: "I can't believe you!"

Enbi: "Sorry, sorry. But I saw the butler on the way to the kitchen, so I ended up following him."

Hayabusa: "?"

Enbi: "It didn't actually happen, but it was a possibility. If the murderer who had the crossbow and keys had wanted to kill us all, the keys were actually scarier than the crossbow. I mean, if they turned on the gas in the kitchen, started a fire, escaped on their own, and locked the front door, we'd all be burned to death."

Hayabusa: "Are you serious?"

Enbi: "There are other ways of starting a fire, though. I just wanted to monitor anyone getting close to something that could start one."

6:00 - 6:30 AM

Hayabusa's Notes:

We ate the breakfast Kariba made. Enbi took one of the wieners next to her fried egg and placed it on my plate. Some people are refusing to leave their rooms.

Enbi's Notes:

Take that! Time to win his heart with food!! Kanpa, the wheelchair daughter, took a shower. Kariba, the bandaged butler, helped her out.

Hayabusa: "It's kind of important that Kariba was the one to help with Kanpa's shower. That means she didn't get the help of Akua, a woman in her own family."

Enbi: "Unless there's a romantic explanation, some bitter possibilities present themselves."

Hayabusa: "Kanpa and Akua didn't get along."

Enbi: "Since their ages were too close to be mother and daughter, it felt like the kids weren't getting along with Shuuren's younger second wife."

7:00 - 8:00 AM

Hayabusa's Notes:

The storm is still going strong outside. The landline and cellphones still aren't working. For a change of pace, Kanpa demonstrates her own fortune telling. Hatsutomo Naru is just one of many false names, but her real name can't be seen yet. She's an expert at falsely representing companies and dragging their image through the mud and the Yatsui General Trading Company was one of her victims in the past. …Supposedly. The Hos.h.i.+mi family supposedly increases its power to see into the past and the future by bringing the family together and not keeping any secrets from each other. However, Kanpa has a habit of mocking the people being manipulated by the fortune telling. If it was really 100% percent accurate and all-knowing, she says she wouldn't have to live in a wheelchair and Kariba could have avoided his injury.

Enbi's Memos:

Ren, the maid, fell asleep again. She quickly takes a shower. (3rd time) The detective stared as usual. (Roar!)

Enbi: "What are we supposed to do about this?"

Hayabusa: "If you don't like it, then quit drawing attention to the shower scenes!"

Enbi: "The morning of the second day arrived and nothing had improved. I was gradually accepting this abnormal new life."

8:00 - 8:10 AM

Hayabusa's Notes:

To preserve the scene of the crime, I checked on Shuuren's body in the entrance hall. There was no sign of anyone messing with it. It bothered me that Shuuren had crawled a few meters before dying. I moved his corpse and investigated the ground floor's marble floor. I found a removable panel and discovered an entrance leading underground.

Enbi's Memos:

Shuuren had apparently been killed before he could "lock up" here and the murderer apparently didn't notice the door there. In other words, the door to the bas.e.m.e.nt wasn't locked.

Enbi: "It wouldn't be a mansion mystery without a hidden pa.s.sageway! What's next? Will the mansion spin, lift up, or move horizontally!? Stay tuned!"

Hayabusa: "Oh, shut up. And it's important that the murderer overlooked the door."