User blog:Seieireppa/Nanako’s Magical☆Mystery☆Adventure, part 4

Author’s note:  In this chapter, I will be taking a cue from Umineko no Naku Koro ni and employing colored text for certain statements. If a statement is written in red text, it is an absolute truth that needs no backing as far as outside readers should be concerned, and as such it should be considered a premise of the mystery. This also means, of course, that anything not stated in red text may or may not be true. This applies especially to the prior chapters – the general events therein are to be assumed true, but details of the investigation stated prior to this chapter may or may not be true.

If a statement is written in blue text, it should be considered an official theory or a statement that becomes the truth if not countered with the red text.

In addition, I will now define the concept of a closed room:  a room where all the entrances therein, including doors and windows, have been sealed, meaning that nothing and no one can enter or leave. For the purposes of this mystery, Julius’ room should be considered a closed room.

Finally, although I don’t think it needs to be said, as per Knox’s Seventh and Van Dine’s Fourth, the detective – in this case, Nanako – is not the culprit.

Nanako paced about within the confines of Julius’ room, the body of its occupant still where it was upon its discovery by Kota Fujiki.

 No one who was physically capable of killing Julius could have entered the room ', mused Nanako''. And the one person who could have entered the room – Soma Schicksal – couldn’t have made it to and from the room prior to Kota’s discovery of the corpse. This means, of course, that no one could have killed Julius through direct means … and this in turn means that the only way someone could have killed Julius was through indirect means. My first thought was to examine the room for traps and mechanisms that could have been set up in advanced to kill Julius after a certain amount of time had passed, but no such mechanisms exist in this room, nor do traces thereof. This leads me to believe that no traps or mechanisms were used to kill Julius. All that this leaves me is the option of poison, which is the only other modus operandi that can kill on a timer.''

Therefore, Nanako continued, '' two possible culprits present themselves :  Mutsumi Chikura, who prepares food for everyone at Anagura, and Ciel Alençon, who brings Julius his evening tea. Either of them would have had opportunities to slip poison into Julius’ food or drink, and depending on the type of poison used, it could easily have taken effect after Julius had fallen asleep .''

With this information in mind, Nanako left Julius’ room, locked it, and turned to the crowd. “If Ciel Alençon is among those gathered here, could she please step forward?”

Nanako’s inquiry was met with a reply from Nana, who by now had composed herself sufficiently. “Ciel just left to head down to the lounge,” the latter noted. “She should still be there, though, so if you leave now I’m sure you’ll be able to catch her.”

“Great,” Nanako responded. “In that case, Director Sakaki, could you please leave all keys that can open Julius’ room with me?”

“I don’t see a problem with that,” replied Sakaki, “at least until this investigation, if you will, is over.”  With that, Sakaki left, returning moments later with four keys – the individual key to Julius’ room, as well as the three master keys. Nanako took these and pocketed them, then left and headed down to the lounge.

Mutsumi looked up from her position at the lounge’s counter as the automatic sliding doors to the lounge open, permitting Nanako entry thereto. Nearby, Ciel Alençon, Julius’ bodyguard, sat at the counter on a stool, sipping tea. She, too, looked over at Nanako upon the latter’s entry, setting her tea down on a saucer.

“My, Nanako,” remarked Ciel. “I certainly didn’t expect you to be back from your investigation so soon.”

“In a way, I’m not,” retorted Nanako. “I’ve come here to question the both of you regarding Julius’ murder.”

Mutsumi gasped. “But why would you suspect us?” she pleaded. “What reason would either of us have to kill Julius?”

“That’s just it,” Nanako replied, taking a seat at the counter. “I don’t know. But what I do know is that both of you, in some fashion, gave food or drink to Julius yesterday, meaning that either of you could have poisoned Julius and killed him that way.”

Upon hearing this, Ciel stood up, enraged. “I may not have been on the best of terms with Julius,” she began, her hands clenched into fists, “but under no circumstances would I have had reason for murder!”

“Calm down, Ciel,” advised Nanako. “I’m not calling either of you guilty – I’m merely here to make sure you aren’t guilty. Now…”  Nanako motioned for Ciel to take a seat, which she did. “I understand you’re Julius’ bodyguard and have been since your days at Magnolia Compass. Is this correct?”

Ciel nodded.

“I also understand that you never really bonded with him to the degree that the others have, correct?”  Ciel nodded once more. “Was there a particular reason for this distance?” Nanako asked. “Perhaps a reason because of which you could have eventually been driven to kill Julius?”

Ciel shook her head. “While I may not have been on the best of terms with Julius, this was merely out of obligation to him as his bodyguard. If I let any harm come to him, either directly or indirectly, it would sully my honor as his bodyguard.”

“That may very well be,” replied Nanako, “but that’s not exactly the point here. Yesterday, at approximately 7 PM, you made tea here in the lounge and brought it to Julius, correct?”  Ciel nodded in the affirmative. “In that case, the only way you could have put poison in Julius’ tea undetected was in your own room, on the way to Julius’. Can you provide proof that you did not in fact stop in your room on your way from the lounge to Julius’ room?”

“I can indeed,” came Ciel’s reply. “ Yesterday evening, shortly before 7 PM, I prepared a cup of chamomile tea at Julius’ request – chamomile tea, you see, is a proven sleep aid, and Julius had been suffering from recent bouts of insomnia – and departed the lounge. On my way out, I passed Emil in the entrance lobby, and when I stepped out of the elevator onto the Blood members’ floor, Nana was there. You can ask both of them for their corroboration in the matter.”

“I think I shall,” affirmed Nanako. “With that settled, Mutsumi…” Nanako turned to Mutsumi, the small girl who prepared food for all of Anagura. “Did you poison Julius Visconti’s meal at dinner yesterday evening?”

“ No I did not! ” replied Mutsumi emphatically. “Nuh-uh! No way! I mean, in the first place, I don’t prepare food on an individual basis for regular meals. What I make is for all of Anagura to eat, so even if I DID want to poison Julius, there’s no way I could have ensured that he’d eat the poisoned food and no one else. And second…” Mutsumi glanced over her shoulder. “He… she… that thing is always watching me whenever I cook,” Mutsumi muttered, motioning at Kigurumi, a mysterious individual who constantly wore a mismatched rabbit suit, sitting nearby. “ If I had tried any funny business, Kigurumi would have seen. Feel free to go ask him...it? if you want.”

“Thank you, Mutsumi,” Nanako responded. With that, she got up and headed over to where Kigurumi sat nearby. Without saying a word, Kigurumi merely shook its head, indicating that it had not seen Mutsumi do anything suspicious to yesterday’s dinner.

Returning to the counter, Nanako smiled. “Pending discussion with Emil and Nana, I think it’s safe to say that both of you are cleared of any suspicion.”  Upon hearing this, Mutsumi jumped for joy, and Ciel sighed a sigh of relief. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”  With that, Nanako turned around and left the lounge.

On her way back from the lounge, Nanako happened upon both Emil and Nana, who confirmed that they had indeed witnessed Ciel go directly from the lounge to Julius’ room to deliver his evening tea. With that, both Ciel and Mutsumi had officially been cleared of any suspicion, which meant that poisoning was completely ruled out as a modus operandi.

This, however, left Nanako at an impasse. If Julius could not have been killed directly, and if killing indirectly had also been ruled out, then how could the murderer have committed the act?

Nanako was snapped out of her stupor by the sound of the elevator doors opening at the executive floor, letting on another passenger. This was someone Nanako had only heard about in stories told by members of Fenrir here and there. A member of Cradle for well over a year, this man was a living legend among employees of Fenrir far and wide – the God Eater known as Baluar.

“I understand you’re the one who’s going around investigating a murder,” Baluar began. “Is that true?”

“Y-Yes,” Nanako replied, somewhat nervous to be in the presence of someone so accomplished. “Julius Visconti’s body was found dead in his room early this morning, and I’ve been trying to find out who could have done it. So far, though, none of my leads have turned up anything. No one could have killed him before the body was found, no one could have set up any traps or mechanisms to kill him remotely, and no one who could have poisoned his food did. I’m fresh out of ideas here!”

Baluar thought for a moment. “Isn’t there something you’re missing?” he inquired. “You said it yourself, no one could have killed him before the body was found … think about that for a second.”

Nanako was puzzled. She had no idea what Baluar meant by that – was he trying to say that someone could have killed him after he had been killed? Wait–

Nanako reached into her pocket and felt the keys still there. That’s it, she thought. She’d forgotten the circumstances of Julius’ room before and after the body had been found. Certainly, his room had been a true closed room before Kota unlocked the door, and Nanako had had her eye on it or had sealed it herself starting from an hour after Kota found the body , but what about between then? Could Kota in fact have mistaken a sleeping Julius for Julius’ corpse, rushed out to tell me, after which point our culprit took the opportunity to slip into Julius’ room and carry out the deed then?

“I guess this puts me back at square one… but thank you, Baluar,” Nanako exclaimed. “You’ve really helped me out here.”

“There’s really no need to thank me,” Baluar replied. “I only helped you arrive at a conclusion you could already see using knowledge you already had.”

The elevator dinged, signaling Nanako’s arrival at the Blood members’ floor. “I’m getting off here,” exclaimed Nanako. “Thank you again for all your help!”

Baluar gave a knowing nod as the elevator doors closed behind Nanako and the elevator sped off to its destination.

Sakaki was the first to notice Nanako’s approach. “So?” he began, as Nanako neared the crowd. “How’d it go?”

“Great, actually,” Nanako replied. “ Both Ciel and Mutsumi have been cleared of all suspicion regarding the matter of poisoning. On the other hand, though, I’m pretty much back to square one with regards to who could have killed Julius, because now my only window for when the murder could have been committed was after Kota discovered the body, when Julius’ room was no longer a closed room. ”

“After the closed room was broken, hmm?”  Sakaki mused to himself. “Interesting… very interesting, indeed. How did you arrive at this conclusion?”

A smile crept to Nanako’s lips. “I met a… certain someone in the elevator on the way here,” she answered. “He helped me get past my impasse in reasoning.”

“I see,” remarked Sakaki. “In that case, where will you go from here?”

“That’s the thing,” replied Nanako. “I have no idea. As far as I’m aware, anyone could have entered the room after Kota left, and unless there was a camera feed on the door to Julius’ room, then I have no choice but to suspect everyone…”

“It just so happens,” Sakaki interjected, “that I departed my office upon hearing Kota’s initial scream this morning, which, I presume, was the moment he discovered the body. As it happened, I arrived at the door to Julius’ room, which was at the time open, right after Kota had left. After examining the scene myself, taking care not to disturb the body or the room itself, I took the liberty of locking the door with my personal master key so as to prevent anyone else from disturbing the scene… of course, when this crowd began to gather after hearing Kota’s frenzied shouts, I was forced to unlock the door at the behest and insistence of those who wished to see the scene for themselves and confirm Julius’ death. ”

“So what you’re saying,” Nanako confirmed, “is that Julius’ room was in fact a closed room the entire time, except when it was already under direct surveillance? ”

Sakaki smiled and gave a knowing nod.

“God, isn’t this just great!” Nanako exclaimed. All this meant was that, unless there was something crucial she was missing, no one could have killed Julius. This was an impossible crime in the truest sense of the word – Julius could not have been killed, yet here he was, dead within a perfect closed room.

“I suppose I might as well hand you back all your keys, then,” muttered Nanako, taking the keys out of her pocket and handing them back to Sakaki. “Just… give me a moment alone. I want to take some time to examine the scene and see if there are any clues I might have somehow missed.”

With that, Nanako opened the door to Julius’ room once again, stepped inside, and closed the door behind her. Walking over to the window, she slumped against the windowsill and gazed out at the bleak landscape beyond.

“Tell me, Julius… if you were here, what would you do?”

Nanako’s reverie, however, was suddenly interrupted–

–by a rustling coming from directly behind her.

Nanako whirled around… and came face to face with the culprit.

“So you mean–”

“–it was you all along?!”

Who is the true culprit behind the murder of Julius Visconti? What truth will Nanako arrive at when presented with this evidence with regards to how the murder was committed? All of the events that have transpired thus far are about to come to a head… in the climactic final chapter of Nanako’s Magical☆Mystery☆Adventure!

Now, dear readers, this is where I turn the table over to you. Before I write and publish the final chapter, I would like to hear your theories. Who could have killed Julius, and how? Post your theories in the comments – I will not respond to any of them, but I would nonetheless like to hear if anyone has arrived at the truth.

Keep in mind which statements have been made in the red and which blue statements have been unchallenged by the red. The evidence is all in plain sight; everything necessary for solving the mystery has been presented plainly to you, the readers. Although perhaps the use of colored text has made it too easy...?

As a freebie, I will provide you with one final piece of red:   Julius Visconti did not commit suicide.

Can you solve the murder of Julius Visconti? I will be waiting…