Kirigiri Novel Book 4

Chapter 3- Part 6 Twins Ability Development Institute - Kirigiri Kyōko

The group decided to return to the surveillance room first, and then walked again.

"Speaking of which, there was no murder weapon found in Shikon-kun's room, can we consider that the murderer took it away?"

Hachisuka was talking to no one in particular.

"That should be the case." Nagate responded lightly. "It's tempting to suspect suicide in such a tightly locked room, but now at least this possibility can be ruled out. If it was suicide, the murder weapon would've definitely stayed in the crime scene."

"Suicide...? Right!" Tsutsumi suddenly thought of something and called out. "It's suicide. That should explain it logically."

"But—, didn't I just say—? If it's suicide, where did the murder weapon go? He can't take it away after his death—?"

"For example, how about this, he stabbed himself with a knife made of ice—"

"Rejected!" Nagate vetoed it in a second. "You don't want to add a side note to what you just said, do you? A weapon made of ice is like thinking a Walkman is more of a gramophone than a portable music device, right?"

"What does this level of thinking have to do with the actual case? The gramophone can still play as long as it's not broken!" Tsutsumi could not hide his mood swing, his voice shaking a little. "If you start thinking that Shikon-kun committed suicide, then Suō-kun's death can also be explained."

"What do you mean? Let's hear it." Hachisuka said.

"Th-thank you. Uhh, that's... I just wanted to say... the weird person in white who appeared in Room R could be Shikon-kun from Room L. The older brother of the twins killed his younger brother and committed suicide, by a heart-to-heart. That is the structure of the murders that took place in this institute. The reason why the monitor in Room L was made a black screen was to prevent us from seeing the scene of Shikon-kun committing suicide after returning to the room."

"Why would anyone carry out this absurd behavior?"

"This... I'm not sure... I think it was a sign of contempt for us. In their opinion, we're just a group of despicable scientific researchers who wantonly fiddle with the twins as research materials. The ones who called us here are also them. Yes, they were Ashvins. As you probably know, Ashvins is the name of the twin gods in Hindu mythology, and wouldn't that name suit these perpetrators?"

"Uh-huh, it makes sense so far– It's not impossible." Hachisuka said, pushing his round glasses. "But the issue of the locked room hasn't been solved at all. Even if the strange man in white was Shikon-kun, how did he get in and out of Room L? And besides, we were the ones who locked him in Room L, even if he was Ashvins. And registered his fingerprint on the padlocks as the master key, he wouldn't be able to touch the padlock outside the door at all while he was locked indoors."

"Ah, yeah... you're right. Then there should be a secret passage in Room L..."

"A murder weapon made of ice followed by a secret passage? Don't get me wrong, I'm actually a big fan of secret passages, but it's unlikely this time– right, detective lady?"

Regarding Nagate's question, Kirigiri didn't answer, but stared into the distance.

"In the end, if we don't solve the mystery of the locked room, we won't know who the murderer is."

Hoshī whispered haggardly.

"The mystery of the locked room– It's indeed a leak-proof locked room." said Hachisuka, touching the beard on his chin. "But I have an idea to solve the mystery of this secret room..."

"An idea?"

"Yes, the Ultimate Locked Room technique that only the twins can do."

"What Ultimate Locked Room technique, speaking so exaggeratedly again."