>>8654
They reply saying there is a specific kitchen key that can unlock both the front and back door, and that it should be located in the servant's room.

The body has a ridiculous number of knives protruding from it. Steak knives, carving knives, chef knives, paring knives, boning knives. You name it, it's there. By this point, you figure many of the stabs may even have been post mortem. Whoever did this, did it in excess.

>>8655
"Then it's possible that someone took the key from the servant's room and used it here. I'd suggest going there to see whether it's missing, but the culprit could have returned it by now, so there probably isn't much point. And that still wouldn't solve the fact that everyone has an alibi, unless we choose to suspect Genji-san or the fifth guest.

Also, this murder sets an interesting precedent. Up until now, all the victims have been members of the Ushiromiya family, so it was plausible to suspect that the culprit had some particular grudge against them. But Jiro-kun only arrived here yesterday and has no connection to anyone on this island. It seems bizarre that he would be chosen as a victim. In other words, this murder was almost certainly indiscriminate. Some kind of trap was used that would activate regardless of the victim. We just need to find out what that trap is."

I'll examine the empty knife block and the walls of the room for any kind of secret mechanism. I'll also try to move some of those boxes in the cold storage to get a view of what's inside.

>>8656
"Yes, I came to the same conclusion as well, this mean that everyone must be careful, even us. Nobody should try to split up, got it ?
I think we should try to find Genji as soon as possible. He doesn't seem to be the cuprit, but he's the closest to a witness we have, hoping he's not already dead.
As for the culprit... It may be that someone faked their death. That might seem crazy, but it's a possibility.
So what do we do ? Either we try to find Genji, or we can always go to the chapel, I have a feeling the 4th verse of the Epitaph is in reference to the chapel.
"Unknown to death nor known to life"

Just my thoughts anyway. What's your input on this ?

>>8657
"If Genji-san isn't the culprit, then I think it's probably safe to assume that he's dead. In which case, I imagine that we'll find his corpse in the place that the fourth line of the epitaph refers to. ...I don't really see the connection between that line and the chapel, but it's probably worth looking into in any case.

...Also, I've been thinking that Kinzo-san's death is the odd one out in these murders. It's the only one that doesn't correspond to any line of the epitaph. It may not even have been the work of the same person.

If we're going to suspect someone of faking their death, it would probably be Eva-san or Rosa-san, since their corpses are unidentifiable...It's certainly worth considering."

>>8656
"A trap? You think something was set up to pitch a knife at him when he opened a cupboard or something? I don't know about that. You're assuming that the culprit has a grudge against the family, but if it's a plotline murder then the culprit may just not care who the victims are as long as he can follow the epitaph."

Noticing the single drop of blood on the counter, I look above and below it to see if there are cabinets there.

>>8657
"A state that's neither dead nor alive. Could that mean... frozen?"

I start helping Erika pull down the wall of boxes in the cooler.

>>8658
"In any case, since everyone was together when <Mister> Tomitake was killed, that means it was either one of those two, <Mister> Genji himself, or an extra person on the island that we don't know about. ...Well, there are a few other possibilities, but I wouldn't credit them just yet."

>>8659
I help those two getting the boxes out of the way

"I have a feeling we should still try to go to the servant's room...
Maybe Kinzo's study, too..."

>>8656
No secret mechanisms.

Further back in the cold storage, there are a bunch of boxes and cuts of meat. All except for one of the slices of meat are hanging on hooks. It's very far in the back so its hard to get a closer look.

>>8659
There are no cabinets above the blood. It is also very close to the sink in proximity. Also, looking intently at it, you are able to identify it as being not blood. It must be some sort of wine or juice.

>>8659
"Well, the main reason to suspect a trap is simply that everyone seems to have an alibi. And, well, people don't just commit plotline murders for the sake of it. There must be some kind of reason for it, even if that reason is simple insanity. Though I'd prefer something less third-rate than that.

At any rate, I can't find anything here, so maybe I'm on the wrong track. ...So, we have several options at this point. Maybe we should vote on where to go next: the chapel or the servant's room? And Squitcher-san thinks that we should check Kinzo-san's study as well, though I don't imagine that anything will have changed since last time.

What do you think, everyone?"

>>8661
I ignore Erika and approach the meat.

>>8663
Upon closer inspection, it's actually more of a pile of meat chunks.... and they're covered in blood

>>8664
I call Gohda into the cooler.

"<Mister> Gohda... I assume you're familiar with what you keep in your kitchen. Please tell me this isn't what I think it is."

>>8665
"It's pork, I can tell just by the texture and color."

>>8666

I approach Eccaia and Gohda

"Is it pork blood as well ?"



>>8662
"The servant's room is the closest, it's best to go there first. I just have something I need to check in the study, it won't take long.
Now for the chapel, it's just that religion is the first thing that came to my mind when I red the 4th line of the epitaph. "Unknown to death nor known to life" sounds kinda spiritual I guess, like a spirit, or a zombie... Or a witch ?"

I check the content of the boxes in the cooler.
Then I go back to the kitchen and inspect the sink.

>>8668
It's pork blood

The boxes are full of all sorts of food items.

The sink has a bunch of dirty glasses in it. They look like they were placed there to be washed later

>>8666
"Well, that's a relief, I think... But judging from your expression, you weren't expecting this to be lying here. I'm guessing the cooler isn't normally blocked off with boxes either, is that right?"

>>8670
"No, it should not normally be here. As for the boxes the same applies to them. Normally they would be stacked along the walls."

So are we moving to the study? Or the chapel? Or what?

"This seems.... Almost too obvious, but pork's blood resembles human blood very closely, and, well seeing how we found this place the way it is, I think it's safe to assume that this blood was used... Probably so that someone would mistake it as human blood... In short to fake his death.

This is a big assumption with few proofs backing it, but this is what was I thought of first entering the cooler...
I have a bad feeling about all this crap.

Let's quickly go to the servant's room and the study for now."

I lead the way to go to the servant's room, not before checking everyone is here and safe and with their consent of course.

>>8674
Everyone chooses to follow you to the servants room. When you get there you discover the the door is locked. One of the servants uses a master key to open the door. Once inside they direct you to the where the keys are normally stored. The key to the kitchen is found to be inside.

>>8675
"Ah, Ahaha... AHAHAHA !
What a joke, what a freaking bad joke, a double closed room, ahaha !..."

I try to regain my composure

"So, we got ourselves two cute linked closed rooms eh ? Heartwarming...
Toshiro, is there an unique key that opens this door, the same way as the kitchen key works ?

Also, servants, I'll need you to hand your master keys over. "

I investigate the room in search of anything of interest. Is there other exits/windows ?
I investigate the key storage, is there any key missing from it ?

>>8676
"No, only the master keys can lock this door."

The servants hand over their master keys.
There is a window in the room. It is locked from the inside.
There are no keys missing.

>>8677
"Hm, this is...quite the mystery, isn't it?"

Clarification, please. Previously, the keys found in the kitchen were referred to as Genji's "master key set". In this game, do the servants each have a single master key that opens all doors, or do they have a 'master key set' which contains keys that open all doors?

If the latter, I would like to have the servants check all five master key sets, including Genji's, to be sure that one of them hasn't had a key removed from it.

If all the keys seem to be present on all master key sets, I will then try the kitchen key from each set on the door to the kitchen, in order to ascertain whether the kitchen key on one of the sets may have been replaced with an identical, but useless, key. I would also like to do the same with the servant's room.

>>8678
Hmmm... how very systematic. It's a single master key, though.

>>8679
Then what was the master key set referring to? We definitely found more than one key in the kitchen, didn't we?

>>8680
Well, it's just that the trick isn't reliant on it being a "set" so it is much simpler to simply have it be a single key. It's just to keep things from getting trite....

>>8681
"Well, then...this certainly makes it seem like a trap is involved, doesn't it? When you add these closed rooms to everyone's alibis, then it seems like the obvious option. Of course, I couldn't find anything in the kitchen, but it's not impossible that we missed something. At least that way, there wouldn't even be any need for the culprit to enter this room.

At any rate, the first order of business should be to find Genji-san...We should probably check out the study and the chapel, unless there's anything else that the rest of you want to investigate here first?"

>>8682
Everyone moves to the study and Squitcher uses one of the keys to open the door. Everyone is now back in the study.

>>8684
I'll look in all the rooms of the study. Has anything changed since last time?

After that, I'll wait for Squitcher to check whatever he wanted to check.

>>8685
As you enter the sleeping room you check the empty bed... Kinzo's corpse is no longer there! As you search the rest of the rooms you conclude that the corpse is no where in the study.

>>8686
"What!? ...Well, actually, there's nothing impossible about this. Genji-san, or any other Person X outside our group, could have brought him out of the study after entering through the window, right? ...Still, this does seem to suggest the existence of a culprit outside our group...hm.

By the way, Doctor Nanjo...do you think it's possible that Kinzo-san faked his death? Perhaps using some kind of drug to make it seem as if he was dead, even to a trained doctor? Could such a thing even exist without violating Knox?"

>>8687
"I wouldn't put it past Kinzo to have ordered some exotic drug like that. However from a professional stand point I would find it unlikely."

>>8688
"I see. I only ask because if Kinzo-san was alive somehow, that would allow him to disappear from the study AND create a culprit outside of the group. But I have to agree that it doesn't seem very likely."

"Heh. My instincts are sharper than I thought. It was a good thing we came here after all.

>>8687
"I think you're forgetting something. Those windows are impossible to set from the outside, and they clearly were set when we left, it'd be impossible to get in there through them..."

I ponder for a while

"...Wait I don't remember checking that actually. They were, right ? "

I check the windows. Are all properly locked ? Isn't there any impacts, broken parts or small holes in any of them ?
I then open one of them and look outside. Are there any footsteps in the mud below ? Or marks of any kind ?

I also try to find an empty intact flask in the surrounding chaos.
And check Rudolf's corpse, any changes ?

>>8690
Each window's latch is set in the locked position.
The glass is perfectly intact and you can't find any holes anywhere in the window. Looking closer reveals that a part of one of the latches is slightly bent.
When you look outside you see the water pounding on the mud. The courtyard has started to fill with water. If there were any footprints at all they have been covered by now.

You find one of the glass flasks near Rudolf.
Rudolf's corpse looks the same as how you left it.

>>8691
Close the window opened

"Uh, Kanon, Shannon, you are used to this room aren't you ? It seems like this latch here is slightly bent, it wasn't like that before right ? "

Check the latch in question : does it allow for the window to be opened ? Does it seems to have been bent by a tool or applied strength ?

>>8692
You cannot tell if something was used to bend it. It appears that with the latch bent like this even when it is set the window can still be opened.

Kanon and Shannon inform you that it was not bent the last time they recall using it.

"Wait, when did you last recall using it ? That's a critical information !"

>>8694
They tell you the last time was the day before yesterday.

"Good eye, <Mister> Squitcher. I'm curious, though, why the culprit would go to the trouble of climbing in a third story window to get the corpse after we'd already seen it. ...So maybe the culprit needed us to see it for some reason, but then either it had to be gotten rid of to keep us from noticing something subtle about it, or else we'll be finding another unidentifiable destroyed corpse soon."

I join Squitcher at the window and poke my head outside, taking a close look at the windowsill and surrounding walls. Are there any scuff marks or signs of damage? What about footholds or places where a rope could be attached?

"...Here's something, though. If the culprit really came in here from outside, he'd be completely soaking wet, and if he came in via the courtyard, then his feet would have gotten caked with mud."

I check the floor throughout the study for signs of mud or water being tracked in.

>>8696
There is no damage anywhere outside the window. You notice under the ledge of the window there is a small crevice.

There doesn't seem to be any drops of water on the floor but you notice in the sleeping room the sheets are slightly damp.

>>8697
There is no mud either.

>>8697
Where is the bed in relationship to the window with the bent latch? Also, what rooms are directly below that window?

"By the way, <Mister> Gohda, I've been thinking... That pork we found chopped up in the kitchen. It should originally have been a whole bit of meat hanging from a hook like the others, right?"

I feel around in the crevice to see if there's anything there.

>>8700
The window with the bent latch is in the main room while the bed is in the sleeping room. You can see half the bed when the door to the room is open and you are standing by the window.

Gohda informs you the meat was already cut in preparation for an upcoming meal. Looks like that meal won't happen due to the murders.

There is nothing in the crevice.

>>8695
"Well that's a bid window of time we have there, two whole days. Ah, why didn't I think of checking the latches before ?
DAMN IT !

...Uh... Well with this new information I think we pretty much know how Kinzo's body could have be gotten out of here, and also how a third person could have accomplished the murder by getting in this room.

Now the thing is why would someone actually carry the body out ? Judging by the weight of Kinzo's body, I don't think he used the window to get it out, but obviously the door since it can be opened from the inside...
Now where the hell would he have put that body and why ? Carrying that body must have been pretty slow and difficult, and on top of that Jiro died, it may have been a trap though, but Genji's disappearance still is a mystery.

Ah... I'm confused about all of this...
Anyway, we have now a dead body to find along with a missing person, without counting the culprit. Let us just continue. Someone lead the way, I'm taking a break"

>>8702
"Then I suppose that we should check the chapel next. Could someone lead us there, please?"

>>8701
"I see, where was it being stored then?"

Is there another window by Kinzo's bed?

>>8705
As Krauss has said, " It's just not safe. If you are going to leave the mansion, you're going to be leaving alone."
If you go to the chapel all the npcs wish to stay in the parlor of the mansion. They will point you in the right direction however.

>>8706
He tells you it was stored in the cooler.
There is another window in the sleeping room. It is locked from the inside and you don't see a single thing wrong with it.

>>8707
"But Krauss-san, it's only unsafe if we split up. Up until now, the culprit has only targeted people who have been isolated from the group. If we all go together, there shouldn't be any danger. Your suggestion that we go on our own is what's really unsafe."

>>8707
"What I'm getting at, <Mister> Gohda, is that it's possible that the culprit dumped that meat out of whatever container you put it in to make room for something else. Was it in a cabinet, a box, a bag, lying out in the open?"

>>8738
I had it chopped up and stored in several freezer bags... Since they're the disposable type, I can't imagine them being very useful in terms of wanting to dump it out to use it for something else.

Third thread
https://archive.seacats.net/gameboard/res/8774.html