"... What's all this guys ? Care to explain ?"

>>8459
"It's probably a murder. This sort of thing happens wherever a detective goes. Kinzo-sama really shouldn't have invited me here if he didn't want something like this to happen."

>>8460
"Watch what you're saying, brat. I didn't ask for your opinion.
... Even if it sure sounds accurate."

"No amount of words will suffice."

Genji lifts the key in his hand and unlocks the door to the study...

As you walk in, you see a room that is terribly cluttered. Clearly something happened here, as it is a complete mess. Desks, chairs, armoires, flasks, beakers, books, shelves, vases, just simply everything, in complete disarray. Still, you can understand the original outline of the room. Kyrie seems to be crying over something in the room. You cannot make it out as her body is over it. Certain pieces such as the portrait and the desk still sit towards the back of the room. You can see 3 doorways to other sub-rooms in the study.

"A few minutes ago, she requested a moment of private time to weep."

I walk further into the room to see what Kyrie is crying over.

>>8462
"Very well, I'll wait for her to finish before I examine the corpse. It is Rudolf-san, right? It must be; the other family members are all accounted for and she wouldn't be so sad about a servant. Right then, down to business. Has Kinzo-san disappeared? How many keys exist that can open this room, and who possesses them? Was the door locked when you arrived? Were the windows locked when you arrived? Can they be locked from the outside? Are any of them broken?"

>>8463
I do the same as Tomitake

>>8462
"...I see... Then, where is <Mister> Kinzo? Didn't he say he was going to be locked up in here until someone solved this 'epitaph' of yours?"

>>8463
Getting a closer look near Kyrie, you see that she is crying. Battler rushes over and mutters something about "not deserving this......." Upon closer inspection, Kyrie is crying over the corpse of her husband, Rudolf. Rudolf's body seems to have a large piece of a bone protruding from his torso.

>>8464
It is Rudolf, but that's a hasty conclusion... Kinzo is not in sight currently.

"Aside from Kinzo-sama's key and my key, no others should exist. The door auto-locks, so it was locked."

The windows are intact and locked from the inside.

>>8466
Genji points to one of the doorways, to the back-right part of the room.

>>8468
Nodding to him, I quickly walk over to the door he pointed out and look inside.

"Over there?"

I walk over to the doorway where Genji pointed and enter.

What do I see?

>>8468
I enter that room.

>>8469
>>8470
>>8471
A bedroom. Kinzo appears to be laying in his bed, sleeping. Compared to the mess outside, this room is much more neat. Nothing turned over or out of place, aside from a metal flask on the floor.

>>8467
"Well then, this is pretty easy to solve, isn't it? Someone killed Rudolf-san and left the room. If the door automatically locks behind the culprit, it's incredibly easy. ...Which is pretty annoying. If anyone could have done it, then we can't narrow down the suspects. I suppose I'll have to collect alibis. But first..."

I follow the others into the room.

"Kinzo? Can you hear me?"

I call out to him seeing if he wakes.

>>8472
Staying silent, I carefully check out the flask and Kinzo's state

>>8472
"Hm, now this is interesting. I assumed that Kinzo-san let Rudolf-san into the room, but perhaps he slept through it. In which case, that would put Genji-san under suspicion, wouldn't it?"

I wait to see what happens.

>>8475
Empty, however it certainly smells like alcohol.

>>8474
>>8475
Kinzo gives no response

I walk up the Kinzo and shake him, just in case. I then check his pulse."

>>8478
*up to Kinzo

>>8478
Nothing. Shaking him does nothing. He has no pulse.

>>8477
I return to the main room

"Is there anyone with some medical knowledge ?"

"Hmm...But if Genji-san was the culprit, it'd be silly to leave the body in a place that only he could open. ......What's this, Kinzo-san isn't answering? ...Wait, he's dead as well!? Well, that's interesting. Natural causes, perhaps? He was pretty old, after all. ...Hm...there are so many possibilities, it's difficult to make any firm conclusions at this stage."

>>8481
"If you are referring to Kinzo-sama, I have confirmed his death earlier. I am Dr. Nanjo, Kinzo's friend and personal physician. I have not had enough time yet to make an autopsy, however"

>>8483
"Well then, get on with it. Perhaps an autopsy will shed a little more light on this."

In the mean time, I'll move to the other part of the room and examine the other body.

I leave this room and go back to the main one. I go over to the windows and see how the locks work.

>>8484
Rudolf's corpse has bruises on it. However, it seems the cause of death was certainly the sharp bone pieces stick out from his torso.

After several minutes, Nanjo returns from the room.

"I have concluded that Kinzo-sama was probably not murdered. The cause of death is undetermined, but I can say with certainty that it was not due to any amount of force applied. It's as if he passed from drinking too much alcohol."

>>8485
A brass latch. This would be impossible to set from the outside.

>>8483
"... I see. Please begin as soon as you can."

I turn towards Genji

"I'm sure you understand the situation more than anyone here, Genji-san. There's been at least one murder here, possibly two, and we're trapped here for at least one day, as outsiders of this family, I think we are the most fit as of now to pursue an investigation, which needs to be done.

I hope that you understand and are willing to cooperate, as much as anyone here."

I turn towards the family members to see their reactions, and turn back to Genji

"Now, can you confirm the location of these two keys for the whole night ?
As well as how these windows are opened"

Annoyed by Erika's senseless blabbering, I call her out

"Hey, be a cutie would you ? Bring those peoples out of this room, there's no need for them to stay longer with corpses, and start asking alibis"

>>8477
I carefully check around Kinzo's face, collar, and shirt, and the bed he's lying on, for signs of spilled alcohol.

>>8489
While I'm at it, I also check whether Kinzo appears dressed for bed, and whether he's wearing shoes or not.

>>8488
Krauss, Natusuhi, Jessica, Hideyoshi, George, Maria, Dr. Nanjo Shannon, Kanon, Genji, Kumasawa, and Gohda are all watching. The shock seems to keep them from objecting to your observations.

Kyrie and Battler are crying over Rudolf's corpse

>>8489
>>8490
No alcohol is spilled. Kinzo is wearing the same outfit you saw him wearing at dinner time. He does not have shoes on, but he does have socks on.

I enter the other room that has yet been investigated.

What do I see?

>>8492
There's two, a bathroom and a kitchenette.

>>8493
Oh, the kitchenette then.

>>8491
"So Genji, I assume you can confirm that you didn't left your key.
Wait... Where is Kinzo's key ?"

I look around in the main room to see if the key is there. It not, I continue the search on Kinzo's corpse, in the back room

>>8494
What one would expect, typical objects such as a refrigerator, range, sink, counters, etc. Cabinets line the walls. The room appears to be in order and undamaged.

>>8495
There is a key in Kinzo's pocket.

"My key has not left my possession today or yesterday. That key you just found is Kinzo's key."

I will check the bathroom now as well.

>>8498
A bathroom, complete with toilet, shower, and sink. Notably a western style bathroom where the washroom and toilet are not in separate rooms.

Ouro, you can still play if you'd like. You haven't posted at all so far, just making sure you know.

>>8500
Dunno about the others, but I'm done for now.

>>8497
I come back out to the main room and join the conversation with Genji while looking over Rudolf's corpse.

"Would I be correct in assuming that you and... Kanon, was it? The two of you were watching the guesthouse doors all night, then? If you went to sleep, someone could have stolen your key and then brought it back later."

>>8497
"Genji-san, could you explain the mechanics of the auto-lock on this door? Does it lock whenever the door is closed? Can it be opened from the inside without a key?"

Is there a clock in the room at all?

I look for one.

Seeing that Erika didn't follow my orders, I set to do what I asked her to do, and speak to the whole room.

"Ok, everyone listen. Would the family members kindly go with me ? We need to know check alibis and stuff, got it ?"

I take everyone out in the hallway and start asking for their locations during the previous night, as well as any strange events they might have witnessed, in fact, anything they could think of that could be related to the murder

>>8507
I'll go out and listen, since I was going to ask what happened that caused Rudolf to be alone in the first place anyway.

>>8502
Genji replies, "It was in my pocket, even as I slept. Kanon and I took turns guarding the doors later on in the night."

>>8503
"The auto-lock is completely automatic. You cannot turn it off. It locks as soon as it shuts. It can be open from the inside without a key."

>>8505
6:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk35u7N_xWw

Krauss - "All of us aunts and uncles were together all night. We stood up late into the night working on solving the epitaph. We separated and went to sleep shortly after getting drinks."

Natsuhi - "My husband and I went to sleep late in the night. It was a shame that we had made little progress, but we were all too tired."

Jessica - "All of us cousins locked ourselves away in our room. We stayed up late playing cards, but none of us left."

Hideyoshi - "Eva and I went back to our room and we both went to sleep."

George - "I went to sleep shortly after Maria did. Like Jessica said, none of us ever left."

Kyrie - "After we broke away, my husband and I went back to our room. We were both tired so we laid down. He must have left at some point in the night, probably to smoke, but I don't know how he ended up in the study..."

Battler - "After all my cousins went to sleep, I went to the bathroom. Then I laid down and slept as well."

Maria - "I fell asleep first because I was so tired. Uu~ we had a lot of fun playing cards."

Kanon - "Genji and I alternated door guarding duty shortly after you all retired."

Shannon - "We cleaned up after dinner and then returned to the servants' quarters. Later we were given a call for drinks. Gohda delivered the drink and then returned. Because the bottle was almost empty, Kumasawa and Gohda convinced me to share the rest of it with them."

Genji - "Kanon and I alternated door guarding duty shortly after you all retired"

Kumasawa - "After cleaning up after dinner, we stayed on call. Gohda delivered a drink later in the evening to the aunts and uncles. We split the remaining wine as a celebratory 'successful first day.'"

Gohda - "Late into the evening, drinks were requested. I delivered a fine red wine to the aunts and uncles. Kumasawa, Shannon, and I drank the rest of the bottle and threw it away."

Dr. Nanjo - "I went to sleep shortly after you asked me about the epitaph."

>>8510
"Thank you, everyone. Then, let's see...Assuming that Genji-san's key was not used, the door must have been opened by Kinzo-san. I think that he was serious about not wanting to speak to anyone until the epitaph was solved, so here is my hypothesis.

Rudolf-san had a sudden flash of inspiration during the night, and thought that he had found the answer to the epitaph. Maybe he went to investigate some place to check his answer, or maybe he just went straight to Kinzo-san to confirm it. Either way, he eventually knocked on the study and informed Kinzo-san that he had solved the epitaph.

Kinzo-san naturally let him in, and they spoke for a while. Then he went back to his room to sleep. However, after that, one of the other adults - or perhaps the unknown 23rd person - knocked on the door. Not wanting to wake Kinzo-san, Rudolf-san opened the door for them. This person had solved the epitaph themselves, and when they heard from Rudolf-san that he had solved it, they were afraid that Rudolf-san would be made the head since he had solved it first. So some kind of struggle broke out. I have a feeling that this murder wasn't premeditated, since the bone is a very unusual murder weaopn that someone wouldn't just be carrying around with them. This room is full of strange occult items, so it wouldn't be odd for such a bone to be lying around here somewhere. The culprit grabbed it and killed Rudolf-san. Upon realising what they'd done, the culprit left the room, the door locking itself behind them. Maybe Kinzo heard some of the struggle from his room, and the shock killed him. Or perhaps he simply died some time during the night from natural causes.

Of course, I'm making a lot of assumptions regarding the motives of the people involved, but I believe that the events must have played out something like this.

What do you think, everyone?"

"Well it is surely possible, but is there any way to confirm it? The same could be said for some other theory. Perhaps Kinzo killed Rudolf and then dropped dead? That too is a possibility."

>>8512
Well, it is possible, but I don't see any reason for Kinzo-san to do something like that. I got the impression that he was going to stay put and wait for someone to solve the epitaph. Inviting Rudolf-san into his study and murdering him wouldn't make any sense. I can't deny the existence of a motive X that could cause him to do this, but I think it quite unlikely."

>>8513
"When you put it like that I see your point... I think I will continue to look around some more."

I go back into the room and search Rudolf's corpse in depth as well as the floor around Rudolf for anything in particular.

"Thanks for your help everyone. I still have some things to ask, however : Would you be able to tell us the hours at which the events happened ?
Also, Genji, Kanon, didn't the moment you shifted positions could have been used by someone to get out without being noticed by either of you ?

>>8511
"Well kid, looks like you do have some brain after all, the main problem with your hypothesis is that I can't see mister Kinzo letting that Rudolf guy inside the study when he himself was going sleeping, that just doesn't seem right. And I don't think searching for a motive now is gonna help us, with what few information we have.

The biggest mystery is how Rudolf-dude entered that room, and there's a handful of solutions to that :
First, as you said, Kinzo could simply have let him in.
Second, a window could have been opened yesterday night, he used it to get inside and then closed it from the inside, or someone else did.
Third, he could have obtained Kinzo's key beforehand for some reason, and then got in, and the key was put back by him or someone else.

Now these three option are the means by which anyone could have entered, even a third person, if a third person is the culprit, then there's no real mystery, once he got in by one of the aforementioned methods, he simply walked out of the room.
Now there's another possibility, which would be an fight between our two deceased.
By the looks of things, if a fight happened, Rudolf died of it and either Kinzo died of natural causes or some kind of poison, or illness, I don't know, there's too much in the dark about his death.

Now for motives ? I don't think we have enough solid ground to pick one. I'll let you on to that for now.

>>8515
"Yes, in the end, it really comes down to why Rudolf-san entered the room, doesn't it? If he'd really wanted to get in, he could have done it through several methods, but the question is why. Of course, it's also possible that someone else brought Rudolf-san here, before or after his death.

Doctor Nanjo, you said that Kinzo-san wasn't murdered, right? Is there any room to suspect that he was poisoned, or is that definitely not the case?"

>>8514
Rudolf's corpse is thoroughly dead. The half of a bone sticking out of his torso is rather large and is definitely stuck-in very deep. The area around him is cluttered. There is a great deal of blood soaked into the carpet. All sorts of oddities such as glass beakers and flasks sit near and around him.

>>8515
"We all went off to sleep around midnight, about a half hour after getting drinks."

"The front and the back door are in view of each other (opposite sides of the hallway). I don't believe anyone would have been able to leave through the doors."

>>8516
"It's certainly possible that poison was used. However, I do not know how it could be administered. There are no signs of struggle, and he shows no signs of being poisoned. It is possible that he ingested it... or perhaps an injection that is in a very obscure place."

>>8514
"...half of a bone?"

I walk over to Genji.

"Genji, the bone that was used to kill Rudolf, because it was Kinzo's you must have seen it before this murder correct? Is it any different from how it is now? As in, was it intact before this?"

>>8518
"Well, that makes for quite an obvious possibility, doesn't it? His alcohol was poisoned somehow. Hence the flask on the floor. It's a shame we probably won't be able to do an analysis on it right now, but it seems quite probable to me."

>>8519
"Kinzo-sama kept that in a case near his desk. It seems to have been broken, as it was intact. I remember the master ranting about how the ancient Chinese believed in the 'magical properties of dragon bones'"

"I see, thank you Genji."

I enter the room again and investigate the case.

>>8522
The case is located on the wall near the desk and the portrait. The case is empty. There are fragments of bones below the case.

>>8521
"A bone uh ?... That already seemed odd at first but now it just seem even stranger. This isn't a practical weapon at all. Isn't there anything that could have been used as a weapon ?"

I go back to the main room and start to search for a weapon or something resembling one

"If there's nothing, then the culprit had no choice but to use that bone eh ?"

>>8524
"It would seem that way. What I am thinking is if there is half in Rudolf then there must be another half somewhere else."

I move to the kitchenette and search the refrigerator, range, sink, counters, and cabinets for the bone.

>>8520
"I wonder. A flask like that isn't something that easy to poison without the owner knowing about it. Wouldn't you normally carry it around in a pocket and drink from it directly? And probably refill it yourself, even. He'd be unlikely to leave it lying around anywhere but this room, so the chances to tamper with it would be pretty scarce... Not to mention that it would be hard to control when he died unless the culprit was actually there with him while he was drinking. Judging from last night, I don't think I'd be far off in guessing that <Mister> Kinzo's list of drinking partners in this family is pretty short."

I turn to Gohda.

"...But that reminds me. He didn't eat with us last night, so did one of you servants bring him dinner at some point?"

>>8524
Nothing, there doesn't appear to be any sort of easy-to-wield weapon.

>>8525
Normal kitchen items. It isn't exactly amazingly well stocked, nothing that would make a good weapon.

>>8526
"He ate before he came down to the dinner table... I had sent the food up to him early as per usual."

>>8527
"Sent? You didn't take it up yourself?"

Search the bathroom, sleeping room, and main room for the rest of the bone. Every nook and cranny.

>>8528
"I'm not allowed in the master's study. I believe Genji delivered it."

>>8529
You find the other half of the bone under Kinzo's bed. It has blood on it.

>>8530
"Hmm. And did the plates and such make it back to the kitchen afterward? Or was <Mister> Kinzo left to eat alone?"

I scan the room for any remnants of Kinzo's dinner.

>>8532
"I brought the dishes downstairs after Kinzo-sama finished dinner. He came down to the dining room shortly after."

It is as Genji says, there are no dirty dishes

>>8524
"Well, it isn't a conventional weapon, but I don't think that's surprising. There was quite obviously some sort of struggle; the state that this room is in makes that clear. During that struggle, the culprit must have just grabbed the first thing that they could find and attacked Rudolf with it."

>>8526
"The flask itself doesn't need to have been poisoned, does it? One of the bottles could have been poisoned, and Kinzo poured the poisoned alcohol into the flask before drinking it. Of course, this raises the question of when exactly this was done, and who by. Such an act would be clearly premeditated, which is quite a contrast to the seemingly spontaneous nature of Rudolf-san's murder. The two deaths may be completely independent."

>>8534
"Yeah, I had this weird impression that there was something else that could have been used. Must have been my imagination."

I shift my attention to Genji

"So the bone really is the only weapon that could have been used in a rush ?
Do you think it would have been easy to access in the middle of a fight ? Or heck, even easy to notice ?
How many people here knew of this bone, according to you ? "

>>8535
"It's very possible that there may be a reason as to why they used the bone in particular. Also it is rather expected that a rich man who owns odds and ends may have something ridiculous like this. Seeing as how it's in a stand, I would imagine anyone who just simply looks around would easily be able to notice it. Then, we have the question as to who all has even been in the study."

>>8533
"Damn. Then we can only pinpoint his time of death to 'sometime after he left the dining room', I suppose."

>>8534
"You may be right, but I hope the culprit didn't do something as indiscriminate as poisoning a liquor bottle. If they really didn't care who the victim was, the rest of us might be in danger too.

Anyway, they could have much more easily poisoned <Mister> Kinzo's dinner while it was sitting in the kitchen, which would let them control both the victim and the time of death. I could even see him collapsing in the hall, and the culprit stealing the key off his body to drag him into the study."

Suddenly, I notice the bone Jiro is holding and take note of where the blood on it is. I frown and look back at Rudolf's body, doing the same for the bone protruding from the corpse and counting the number of stab wounds.

"Wait a tick. <Mister> Tomitake, where did you find that?"

>>8537
"Under Kinzo's bed."

I place the bone beside Rudolf's corpse.

"There is a good chance that this may be our murder weapon. Kinzo didn't have any wounds from the look of things, so I can only imagine the blood is from Rudolf."

>>8538
I take a picture of Rudolf's corpse from 4 different angles. I then remove the bone in his chest and compare it to the one I found under the bed.

>>8537
2 wounds, the one with the bone still in as well as one other. The blood is on the sharp end.

>>8541
It's not exactly perfect symmetry, but clearly the idea was to break it evenly in half. They are obviously the 2 halves of the same bone.

>>8538
"So this crime scene is asking us to believe that in the middle of a struggle, the killer stabbed him once with each half instead of repeatedly with one half? And then he pulled out one of them and tossed it under <Mister> Kinzo's bed for some reason, but left the other one in place? If they wanted to implicate him, there were tons of better ways than that, and the bed is a bit far from the crime scene for the bone to have ended up under there by accident. ...Hmm."

I go back into Kinzo's bedroom, pry open Kinzo's mouth, and look carefully inside.

>>8543
Nothing odd and/or out-of-the-ordinary.

>>8543
"Well, it was worth a shot. I thought he might have been stabbed through the back of the throat while he was sleeping so the doctor wouldn't notice it, but I guess we're stuck with poison for him."

>>8543
"Yeah, something about this doesn't seem right."

I go back to the bone case and look at the bone fragments, is there any blood on them?

>>8547
No blood on the fragments on the ground. The fragments are located only near the bone case, particularly in near where the wall meets the floor.

>>8548
I check the portrait mentioned earlier above the bone case.

>>8550
It is a portrait of a white-haired man. There appears to be swords sticking out from all over the ground. Very large metal gears appear to be spinning in the background.

>>8551
Wait hold on. Are you serious? Is that really the portrait?

>>8552
You've never seen it before though... were you expecting something else?

>>8551
Having been too busy paying attention to the crime scene until now, I finally look at the portrait after seeing Jiro's surprised expression.

"...That is...quite an unusual portrait, isn't it? Genji-san, do you know who the man in this portrait is? And the portrait's significance to Kinzo-san?"

>>8554
"To be honest, I am not entirely sure, myself. I believe it is some sort of arcane practitioner. Perhaps Kinzo-sama believed this to be himself, or perhaps he aspired-to-be-like or admired this sorcerer.

>>8555
"So even you don't know, huh? Hmm..."

I check beneath the portrait to see whether there is a copy of the epitaph there.

>>8556
Nothing written below it

>>8557
I address Rosa.

"Wait a second...when everyone was giving their alibis...Rosa-san, you didn't say anything, did you? The only other person to stay silent was Eva-san, but her alibi was covered by Hideyoshi-san. ...Rosa-san, where exactly did you go after you all stopped trying to solve the epitaph?"

>>8558
Neither Eva nor Rosa are in the room/vicinity.

"What are you guys getting surprised for ?"

I walk up to the painting and try to notice any kind of hidden devices or words near it

"Well this guy on the painting... Damn. He's pretty handsome isn't he."

I turn towards Erika who is talking to the wall

"Hey girl, did you hit your head or something ? We interrogated everyone out in the hallway. Good call though"

I go over the windows, open one, put my head outside and look at the ground below and the surroundings. Is there anything noteworthy ?

>>8559
"Wait...Does anyone here know where Eva-san and Rosa-san are? Hideyoshi-san, you should know where Eva-san is, right? Why aren't they here with everyone else? It's not a good idea to leave people isolated when a murderer is on the loose!"

>>8560
Nothing hidden.

You see the walled-in courtyard. Also, it's raining so you get your hair a tad bit wet.

>>8561
"I didn't even notice until now....."

>>8562
"You didn't notice? But you would have noticed if you'd woken up and your wife wasn't there, right? So Eva-san did come here with everyone, didn't she? If that's the case, then she must have sneaked away at some point before the alibis were collected. And what about Rosa-san; does anyone remember seeing her this morning? We should postpone this investigation immediately and go look for them!"

I try to discern if there are traces in the mud ( Since it has been raining ) just below the windows.
I then back out of the window and close it.

"Wait, what ? How the hell could everyone here not notice that ? When was the last time they were seen ? Where ?"

>>8563
>>8564
"She was gone when I woke up this morning... I assumed she had awoken before me and had gone somewhere. I guess I forgot with the shock of this scene....."

There are no traces in the mud

>>8565
"Ah ! That's not good. Really not good !
We should search for them right now, but where to begin ?"

>>8565
"But, that's- oh, never mind. Let's just get searching. There are 18 of us here; if we split the search between us, we should be able to cover the whole mansion fairly quickly. If that doesn't get anything, we can do a search of the guesthouse and the surrounding area. Detective's authority, you're not allowed to disobey. We have to find them as soon as possible!"

>>8567
You don't have the detective's authority.

They may still listen to you, though. Where would you like searched?

>>8569
"Hm...Does anyone know which room Rosa-san was staying in? That seems like as good a place to start as any. Maybe she just slept in or something. ...Why didn't one of the servants go and get her when they heard about this, anyway?"

>>8570
"There was no response at the door or phone, so I just assumed she was up and about"

>>8569
"Listen everyone ! Eva-san and Rosa-san are missing and we need to look for them as soon as possible. To augment our chances of success, it would be good to split in groups, but as not to put ourselves in danger, I recommend that we split in 4 groups. Each of us guests will be in a different group, now if you would please gather in 4 groups of equivalent number ?
Let's regroup at the parlor afterwards, if anything happens, go immediately to the parlor."

>>8572
"Mi-. That sounds like a good plan to me."

>>8572
>>8573
"I see, you would divide yourselves up so we can keep a better eye on you all? Very well, any preference as to how the groups are made? Otherwise we will try our best to associate family members together and have servants fill in spots."

I agree, groups of four sounds good. We should also try to have a servant for each group.

"There are 18 people here in all: the four of us, Krauss, Natsuhi, Jessica, Kyrie, Battler, Hideyoshi, George, Maria, Nanjo and the five servants. Four groups of four would still leave two people. So, two of the groups will need to have five people. I don't have any particular preference as to who goes with which group."

>>8574
"I agree with Jiro, at least on servant for each group would be good. I'd like to have Genji in mine. The rest is up to you."

Is this agreeable?
Keeping Krauss's family together, Maria with George and Shannon. Granted, Erika does end up without any actual family members in her group....

>>8578
"I'm fine with this.
Oh there's a thing I need to do before we go."

I look for the key I found in Kinzo's pocket

"Genji, you still have this room's key, right ? Could you hand it over to me ?"

>>8579
You are now in possession of both keys.

>>8580
"Good. Thanks Genji."

I wave to Erika

"Hey girl, come over here."

"Alright sounds good."

For now my group and I will go to the first floor right to the main entrance.

>>8586
I am the bone of my sword.
Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.
I have created over a thousand blades.
Unknown to death, nor known to life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons.
Yet those hands will never hold anything.
So, as I pray

UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!

The air is filled with a terrible smell. It's strong enough to make you feel a bit nauseous.

>>8587
"So this is the epitaph Kinzo told everyone to solve. I'm surprised we didn't notice it until now."Anyway that is besides the point, right now we should be looking for Eva and Rosa. I have a bad feeling about this smell..."

I try to find the source of the nauseous smell.

>>8588
To the northwest.

With my group I head over to the boiler room.

>>8578
"No objections here."

My group heads down the hall to check the Waiting Room first. If there's nothing there, we'll go down to the second floor and start working our way counterclockwise around the building.

(Calling back to the others) "Ah, maybe one group should go check back in the guesthouse, just in case? They might have gone over there for some reason after we left."

>>8583
"Mi-? What is it?"

>>8593
"Look at this."

I hold up the two keys to the study in front of her face.

"Those are the only two keys to this room, assuming Genji is telling the truth, of course.
There's no need for our group to have both. If anything happens, or if we have to *come here again for some reason, it'll be best that you have one. I'm trusting your... instincts I guess. Now take it, and be very careful with it"

I give her the key.
I come back with my group.

"Okay, is everyone ready ? Let's go."

I take my group and do a thorough search of the east corridor of the 1st floor, including the rooms.

>>8590
The door is blocked from the inside..... is it a chair barring the door? Perhaps applying some force may open it.

>>8591
Nothing.... even on the second floor you notice the smell a bit.

>>8594
Nothing seems too out-of-the-ordinary. The smell is quite strong.

>>8594
"Why, thank you. It is only fitting that the detective should have access to a key."

I address the other members of my group.

"Well then...since Genji-san didn't tell me earlier...Kanon-san, Kumasawa-san, could either of you tell me where Rosa-san was staying? That should be a good starting place. After all, Genji-san never actually entered the room, so it's entirely possible that she was murdered in there or something. Alternatively, we may find some clue as to where she went."

>>8596
I ask Gohda if it's possible for him to open the door with his master key. If not him and I will attempt to break the door down.

>>8597
>>8591
Rosa's bags are all in her room. However, she either made her bed in the morning before disappearing, or she didn't sleep in it, as the servants have not made their rounds yet (for an obvious reason).

>>8598
The door is not locked, per se. Rather, it seems barred closed.

The combined strength of you and Gohda are able to break down whatever is barring the door.

As you come through the door, you are overwhelmed by the smell. This is definitely the origin of the foul odor. The furnace room, Gohda hits the light switch. The furnace is on, you can hear it. A storage room, of sorts, as odds and ends are lying around. A ladder, old buckets of paint, etc. There appears to be some broken board on the floor in front of where the door was. It must have been propped against the door to keep it from opening.

A thought enters your head... why didn't you smell it until just now? You had come into the mansion through the front door earlier....

>>8596
"This smell truly is sickening. Where does it come from ?
Well, I think that, seeing how much it stench even from here, someone has thought about checking it out.

... I have no real idea where to go now. Maybe outside the mansion ?

Well, I still don't know that island that much, is there any building or place outside of the mansion ? Not considering the guest house of course."

>>8600
"There are all sorts of constructs created at Kinzo-sama's behest. A Catholic chapel, a well, in fact, rumor has it that there is supposed to be a hidden mansion somewhere in the forest."

>>8601
"Rumors eh ? How swell. Well we're not in a situation to search for mirages right now.
Let's check out the chapel first, please lead me."

>>8599
I'll check the contents of Rosa's bags.

>>8599
I go over to the furnace and try to turn it off or look inside some how. If I can't see inside without opening it I will wait for it to cool down enough so I can open it.

>>8602
"We will first need to make sure we get the key. It should be located in the desk in the 3rd floor study."

>>8604
It looks like a typical hotel room. There's a bed, a bathroom, a closet, a television set, etc. There is even a desk and chair. The toilet cover is up but the seat is down, clearly it was used.

Rosa's bags appear to be untouched.

>>8605
A gas furnace. You turn off the gas line and it shuts off. You will need to wait a bit for it to cool down still.

>>8606
"Hmm, I don't think we're going to find anything here. It doesn't look like Rosa-san used this room much. It's possible that she may have solved the epitaph herself while everyone was discussing it, kept the answer to herself, and then sneaked off somewhere soon after everyone split up. ...Speaking of the epitaph, I think it's about time that I checked it out for myself. Kanon-san, Kumasawa-san, would you lead us to the epitaph's location, please?"

>>8609
See
>>8587

Also, it smells really bad, etc.

>>8606
"Well then let's go"

Let's go

>>8610
"...What kind of riddle is that!? But, if I gave up here, I wouldn't be a true detective...Nn, let's start with the first line.

'I am the bone of my sword'...Wait, could this have something to do with the bone that was used to stab Rudolf-san? ...Then, the next line, "Steel is my body and fire is my blood"...Ah, this sounds like it's referring to a boiler, doesn't it? Could all the lines refer to locations in the mansion!?

Then that means that Rudolf-san went to Kinzo-san's study because he wanted to check out that bone! Maybe someone else had the same idea, and that's how the struggle started...Maybe that person was even Eva-san or Rosa-san, and that's why they went and disappeared afterwards!

Then the next line..."I have created over a thousand blades"...What would create blades? ...Well, maybe the lines from this point aren't solvable until the previous lines have been investigated. Okay, it's decided; to the boiler room, everyone!"

>>8611
You retrieve the chapel's only key back in the study. I assume you're going to run across to the chapel then?

"I spoke with Natsuhi and Jessica and we all feel that we would rather not go on a wild goose chase. It's just not safe. If you are going to leave the mansion, you're going to be leaving alone."

>>8612
It should be cool enough to open the furnace now...

I open the furnace and look inside

>>8614
A terrible sight, equally horrifying to the smell. Two corpses, both being greatly scorched. Upon pulling them out, Dr. Nanjo points out by examination of the pelvis that both of these bodies are female.

>>8615
I arrive at the boiler room just as the corpses are exposed.

"Wh, what on earth...so at both the locations mentioned in the epitaph, we find two corpses? Does this mean that someone is carrying out a plotline murder based on the epitaph, or that the victims are heading to this places in an attempt to solve the epitaph and being killed for some other reason? Ah, there's not enough information..."

I quickly explain to the others about my deductions regarding the first two lines of the epitaph.

>>8616
Dr. Nanjo was in your group, hence why I was able to make that Nanjo say they were female.

Right, also forgot to mention that they are attached together... on a steel beam like a shish kebab.

>>8613
"Are you saying you want to be left alone ? That's no safer.
If you aren't willing to go out with us, then let us get you with another group, so as not to put anyone in danger."

I search the mansion except for the boiler room for another group in the goal of joining them with Krauss Natsuhi and Jessica.

>>8620
"R-right then....."

>>8618
It doesn't seem like any group of npc's think it is a good idea to venture out. None of the family, none of the servants, and not Nanjo.

>>8596
"Ugh, does anyone else smell that? Is that... burnt meat...?"

I start following the smell back to its source and eventually wind up at the door to the boiler room a little after Erika gets there. When I see the corpses, I quickly move to block George and Maria's view.

"Oh, dear God, what happened here? ...<Mister> George, maybe it would be best if you kept your cousin out in the hall. This is... not something that anyone should have to see, let alone a child."

>>8621 (Whoops, edit got ninja'd)

>>8621
I was just trying to get those three with another group. Stop forcing me geez.

I follow the smell

>>8622
"This room was blocked up when you all got here? I saw a door in the courtyard earlier that looked like it would connect to this room, did anyone check that?"

I quickly scan the room for doors other than the one we came in through.

>>8622
lol ya we did get ninja'd

>>8623
Wait, I think I'm misunderstanding... you're trying to get rid of the npc's so you can explore by yourself? Ya that should be fine.

>>8624
There is another door. It is latched from the inside.

>>8625
I open the door to see what's on the other side. If it's the courtyard, I check the ground for footprints.

>>8626
'Tis the courtyard. There are no footprints noticeable.

>>8627
"Whoever did this doesn't seem to have come out this way, even if there was a way to set this latch from the outside. Could they still be hiding inside the room? ...No, they'd be crazy to try hiding in a confined space like this. The other door, then?"

I come back inside and re-lock the door behind me. Then I go over to the other door and take a closer look at it and the board that was apparently holding it shut.

>>8628
A very solid piece of wood. Albeit, it is now broken.

>>8629
"Hm...would it have been possible for the culprit to put the board in position from the outside with the door open, and then close the door behind them in such a way that the board would hold the door closed afterwards?"

I notice Squitcher asking people about going to the chapel.

"Squitcher-san, what's this chapel that you're talking about? Did I miss something?"

>>8630
"Well apart from this scent, there was nothing to note in the mansion. Genji told me about a catholic chapel outside the mansion, as well as a well and a silly rumor about another mansion. I thought I might check out the Chapel, but I don't know the way and no one is willing to guide me. We even went to get the chapel key."

I hold up the chapel's key

"But... I feel like I'm the one who missed something here. What happened ? That stench i coming from here right ?"

>>8587
>>8612
>>8615
>>8616

>>8632
Nop, it's Jiro's group. I just got there.

>>8633
I explain to Squitcher about what has happened while he was gone.

"Still, a chapel...The third line was something about creating a thousand blades, right? Religion has been one of the main causes of war throughout history, so maybe the line could be metaphorically referring to that? I haven't been able to think of any other location that it could be hinting at. ...At any rate, if you have the key already, I'd say it's probably worth checking it out."

Hmm... I wonder. Genji can you come with me? I think I will need your master key for this theory. I will then go to the kitchen assuming he says yes.

>>8635
"Why, yes, of course."

You are now in the kitchen.

>>8636
I look to see if there is anything odd in the room also if any knifes are in the room.

>>8637
Plenty of knives, and you cannot move your piece on the gameboard.

>>8638
Wait what? Why not?

>>8639
That will need to be discovered by the other pieces.

After a while, I speak up.

"...Jiro-kun has been a long time, hasn't he? I knew it wasn't a good idea to send him and Genji-san on their own...something may well have happened to them. We should all go to the kitchen and see what's going on; it's probably better for everyone to move as a group whenever possible."

>>8641
"No objections"

>>8629
"I'm guessing the culprit must have somehow set up these boards so they'd fall into place after he left the room. Eventually the stench would build up and...Wait, shouldn't this furnace have a vent to the outside somewhere so that kind of thing doesn't happen? Do any of you servants know?"

I look around the furnace for a vent, and if I find one, I check it to figure out why the stench didn't vent outside.

>>8641
"...Yes, I think that would be best."

I look around and make sure nobody else has vanished while we weren't looking.

>>8643
There is a rather massive vent. Even with the smell being vented out largely, it was still overwhelmingly powerful due to the nature of what it was caused by.

Aside from Tomitake and Genji, everyone else is still here.

>>8641
>>8642
We're moving to the kitchen then?

>>8644
Mi-. It would seem that way.

>>8645
The door is locked. Upon undoing the lock on the door, you discover the deadbolt is also set. After unlocking the deadbolt, you gain access to the room.

As you walk in the room, you discover another ghastly sight. A corpse, or rather a mangled corpse. The body is largely destroyed by a great many stabbings. Knives protrude everywhere all over the body. The face is difficult to identify due to the sheer number of knives in the face, but the clothing clearly gives it away. This must be Tomitake Jiro. The kitchen is still rather neat, there must not have been much of a struggle. Aside from the blood on the floor (a drop of which also appears to have landed on the counter), the empty knife block, and several glasses in the sink, everything else appears largely untouched. These untouched items include cabinets, ovens, a microwave, a large walk-in cooler, pots and pans hanging, etc. You even notice a set of keys on the table in the kitchen. There is a window and a backdoor in the kitchen as well.

>>8646
I thought so. Well thanks for the chance I enjoyed it.

>>8647
What are you talking about? Only your piece died. Observe and wait for end-game. You will be needed for the red vs. blue at the end.

>>8648
Alright that makes me feel better. I guess I will go back to lurking until then.

>>8646
"Jiro-kun!! Dammit, I wanted to ask him what his theory about this place was...But, where on earth is Genji-san? Could he be the culprit? No, that would be too obvious, and in violation of Van Dine's 11th. He's probably been killed and moved somewhere else. Likely to wherever the fourth line of the epitaph refers to. "Unknown to death, nor known to life"...Well, we can think about that later. We need to investigate this murder more closely first."

I'll take the keys, and ask the servants which rooms they open. Then, I'll examine the deadbolt to get an idea of how it operates.

>>8650
It appears to be the master key set that belonged to Genji

A typical deadbolt. It can be locked and unlocked from the outside using a key but only needs a simple turn to lock and unlock it from the inside.

>>8646

"I somehow had a feeling this would happen if we split up. I'm sorry, <Mister> Tomitake. We'll figure out who did this."

I check the back door and window to confirm whether they're locked too, then look inside the walk-in cooler to make sure Genji isn't hiding inside.

>>8652
Both the back door and the window are locked. The window lock is a latch lock and the backdoor has the deadbolt set.

The cold storage has a vault lock. Upon opening the door, you take note the fact that your vision is now completely blocked by boxes. The boxes stack high and wide enough to be completely in the way of the rest of the cold storage.

"This is interesting, isn't it? A closed room, AND everyone has an alibi. It seems like some sort of trap must have been used, unless..."

I ask the servants whether there is any key that can open the front and/or back door besides the keys that they are holding.

Then I'll examine the corpse more closely.

>>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