Vol 2 Chapter 3 (2/2)

X The Adventure of the Three Gables

◯ The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire

◎ The Adventure of the Three Garridebs

△ The Problee

△ The Adventure of the Creeping Man

△ The Adventure of the Lion's Mane

X The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger

Upon seeing those, I quickly dispelled Chitanda's concerns

”What's so strange about those? They're probably just ou”

”Is that so?”

Though she didn't seem too convinced, she decided to let thethis ti, as I was about to ask hiesture that said he wouldn't know either, and turned his attention back to the map

”Let's leave that aside,”

Tapping his fingers on the table, Haba spoke

”Rather than that, let's begin with the deduction,”

Sigh Seemed like he couldn't wait to start with his own deductions already Then again, I too wanted to hurry up and get this over and done with So I grabbed Chitanda's hand to stop her fro up another book, and she only then realized that Haba aiting, and reluctantly placed it back on the mountain-like pile

”I'in”

Haba gave a nod, and took a ballpen out of his chest pocket Probably an item needed in order for the lecture to proceed, so pay attention, folks

”All right The way I see it, this mystery isn't that difficult In fact, it could be classified as an easy one”

He paused to watch our reactions I didn't give any, by the way, and I had no idea what reactions the others were giving either

”First, this murder was unpremeditated, or rather, it was only half-premeditated So it's not one of those 'Just as planned' cases It just so happens that the conditions were right for the killer to carry out his plans Are you following me?”

Not a bad opening speech No, to be honest, that's not exactly what I was thinking I see, now that he mentions it, no matter what technique the movie employs, it won't be able to portray an elaborate plan without it notsense As for the reason,

”What's the reason for that?”

Chitanda just asked so incredible Haba looked rather displeased that he was interrupted so soon after starting, but quickly replied with a cheerful expression, ”The reason being that if everything was planned, Kaitou would be asked to go to the right side of the theatre Instead,was that he picked the key at random and went off to that side on his own So I believe the killer ood use of this condition Well, it shouldn't be too far from the truth, since there are many such examples in murder mysteries”

Though there area person pick the exact card that he wants to be picked, it didn't see sense so far

Haba continued by pointing his ballpen at the Right Stage on the map, the room marked ”body found”

”As you all know, this is a sealed room murder The only exits available at the scene are here, here, and here Two of them are sealed off and unusable, while the other was locked when the body was found There are also ts, with one sealed off while the other was covered by tall grass on the outside, which showed no signs of anyone treading through it In other words, Kaitou's killer did not escape via normal means,”

He'd now reached the point where Nakajou had stopped, to which he smiled

”That said, the killer was no longer in the room after Kaitou was killed, a typical sealed rooht of this before, a sealed room situation is usually established the moment the body is found Or to be more precise, when everyone else has entered the room and found the body No is this established? One only has to think along the lines of detective fiction writers past and present

”Let's start with the simplest method The killer may choose to take the master key and use it to enter the scene of crime, and then return the master key to where it was

”But this is totally uninteresting There would be an uproar if that was actually the case Not even an aou would choose such a method So let's have a look at the facts

”The keys were found in the theatre office In order to get to the office, one has to go past the lobby And anyone passing through the lobby would be seen by Sugimura in the second floor equipment room, or would at least attract his attention So if the killer had wanted to get the et seen by Sugimura It just doesn't make sense for a killer to take such a risk

”Nohat if it were Sugimura that was the one to take the key? That wouldn't do either, as he too would have to risk being seen by Senoue, Katsuda and Yamanishi+”

Hmm, he's quite prudent with his deductions, isn't he? Now if only he could do the same with his attitude

”Now, this fact that the lobby cannot be entered without being watched is quite ie, but the entire corridor cannot be entered by the killer fro behind this?” he asked as he lifted his face fro for a student to answer his questions, he looked at us one by one

Oh! Ibara noticed his gazehers

After a brief silence, she gave a short reply

”The killer used some sort of physical trick?”

A limpse of disappointment was shown on Haba's face

Though he soon returned to his upbeat manner

”Exactly”

What's his proble his questions correctly? He see in prudence and blunt about it

”Indeed, if the killer used so to lock the door from outside the room But that doesn't make sense either As the killer would not be able to coht corridor, which is effectively a second 'outer sealed room' In other words, it was not possible to create a sealed room from the outside

”One ue that this sealed room is made by none other than the victim himself Perhaps the victim wasn't killed instantly, and decided to lock hi in there But that doesn't change the fact that this 'outer sealed room' still exists

”Then, what other possibilities are there available? These include the killer not being present when the victi place when the victim was found To put it simply, the victim was killed by some mechanics, or he was quickly killed without anyone else knowing Do you get it now?”

Yeah, I get it

Though there were also people who did not get it, especially Chitanda, who had hardly read any detective fiction She raised her hands apologetically

”Umm, excuse me, but could you please elaborate further?”

Haba seemed pretty pleased with Chitanda's request, and nodded as he began explaining cheerfully, ”Mechanics basically ed with so Kaitou For exa quickly killed without anyone else knowing means Kaitou was still alive the moment the door was unlocked, and thethis brief moment when everyone went to confirm whether Kaitou was dead or not”

Chitanda let out an unsavoury gasp

”Anyway, these two possibilities are rejected as well as they have the same flaw, do you knohat that is?”

Haba turned to Ibara as though goading her to respond Ibara raised her brows indicating she knehat he was up to She didn't need to answer but still decided to

”Yes, it's the condition of the body, right?”

”Exactly It is indeed interesting to speak with soets it”

Though he was being unreasonable, I sort of got what he was doing, and I laughed in hts Haba cleared his throat and said, ”The condition of the body, in order words, the theory that Kaitou could have had his arm severed and been killed by aentered is rejected First, for such a machine to kill hiht away Second, as a strong force would be needed to kill hi him discreetly under everyone's noses was just not possible

”This means

”It is difficult for the sealed rooou to be entered from the front”

Haba finished his explanation, sat further back into his chair and took a breath He soon resumed his extremely confident attitude and turned to me

”You, Oreki-kun, was it? What do you think of this deduction?”

At that reat, can we go now? But I get the feeling Haba is purposely saving the best of his deduction for last He probably had a standard answer prepared in advance no matter what I said But as I re to , Hurry up and say you don't get it!

As expected, he h and raised his voice

”No, this won't do! But this isn't iht?”

He then slowly stood up and walked toward one of the rucksacks seen in theand carried it like that over to us

”As you know, I' the necessary equip of the movie It ho made Kaitou's 'blood' as well as his 'severed arm'”

The object he pulled out fro was exactly what I expected it to be

A rope

”Hongou can be quite careless in her preparation For exah she intended there to be lots of blood to be used in that scene, the fil creas in a panic e found out our stock of fake blood was not enough Still, she specifically requested us to get a rope She told us as someone would be required to climb down it, so ould need a very sturdy rope So I asked if a standard safety rope would do, and she was fine with it Do you realize what she was intending to do with this?” he said while returning to his seat, placing the rope on the table He puffed up his chest confidently as he continued, ”Let ive you a hint Despite her slender appearance, Kounosu is actually aClub”

He took a glance at every one of us Ibara probably gets it Satoshi+ continued toat his notebook, but he probably didn't get it Chitanda siet it

In any case, seeing as we all said nothing, Haba spoke in a voice as though telling us an incredible secret

”In other words, if the killer can't enter from the first floor, then he only needs to enter fro viable route The right corridor on the second floor was occupied by Kounosu, and it was no coincidence that she was assigned there If I had to guess, it's probably due to her being in the Hiking Club

”Hongou's trick is actually quite simple: To have the killer cli a rope, kill Kaitou without anyone noticing, then return back up the same rope”

”Uht?”

”Well, duh If the killer had entered from any other route, the locked door would serve no purpose Now, I'ot a title, if it's to have one, then it ought to be named 'The Invisible Intrusion'”

Haba puffed his chest as though declaring, No's that?

As though what he just said was the undeniable truth, he said, ”Now, let me hear what you think of it”

He asked us e think of it, huh? We exchanged glances with each other Ibara's face looked as though she was prodding nore her, I had no intention of wasting any unnecessary energy just to rebuke him as we did with Nakajou yesterday While Nakajou was very passionate, Haba was extremely confident I turned aze I sensed what she wanted to say and gave her an approving nod

Nodding back, she turned and said to Haba, ”We think it's a wonderful deduction”

While Haba ht her response ait out of courtesy

”Oh, you flatter me too much,”

He then turned to Ibara with a smile

”What about you?”

da to provoke her Yet Ibara, despite feeling frustrated, decided to nod upon seeing Chitanda's response

Haba see the time had come, I proceeded to speak

”It was a great deduction, Haba-sempai We shall be able to provide Irisu-seood day”

Haba nodded satisfactorily I stood up upon finishi+ng We each bade hioodbye and moved to leave the Class 2-F classroom

Before leaving, Chitanda looked at the Sherlock Holmes books on the chair and said, ”Excuse me, Haba-san, but do you mind if we borrow these?”

Though it was a strange request, as Haba was in a good reed

”Those are Hongou's books Make sure you return them as you have borrowed them,”

Don't freely lend out other people's belongings I said within hts

Ibara and Satoshi+ too left the classroom As I was about to close the door, I stuck

”Haba-sempai,”

”H else?”

”No, it's nothing i if you've seen the ht Kaitou-sempai's severed arm effect was done rather well”

Thereupon Haba shook his head and smiled bitterly

”To be honest, I've yet to watch it myself”

That ansas good enough for me

”Man, he pisses y Rooer within such a brief sentence, I had no intention of teasing her

The only person capable of doing that would be Satoshi+

”What's wrong? You look as though you got struck dumb by Sempai's provocative attitude”

Ibara gently shook her head

”Well, if you're talking about provocative people, I get provoked by you all the time,”

Her description was apt in a strange way Though Satoshi+ was known to live his life withoutcalled provocative before Because I would have thought that she would find Haba's in-your-face way of presenting hiet what she hed and continued, ”What I didn't like was the way he treated me like some idiot”

”Mayaka an idiot, huh?”

”Besides that it's not just ou-sempai and the rest of Class 2-F were treated the sary doesn't mean I'm not”

Rather than being angry, she's feeling peeved because she couldn't find a good reason to be angry, huh?

To h to Ibara it was nothing but a show of arrogance, as she said Haba was looking down on everyone Indeed, there's a fine line between confidence and arrogance Perhaps they're actually one and the sary with that, I felt Ibara pretty much matched the description for the card ”Justice” and smiled to myself in amusement

”He even made fun of Sherlock Holmes! Aren't you mad about that, fuku-chan?”

She sounded really forceful Yet Satoshi+ ed his shoulders and took it quite well

”Not really”

”Why!?”

”Well, it is indeed true that Sherlock Holinner level stuff forsoht she would look into would be Sherlock Hol as well, Mayaka? So don't be so angry, okay?” he said while patting Ibara's shoulders Rather than Haba's arrogant attitude, she was actually more pissed off by his disrespect of Sherlock Hol what she wanted to say, there was no need for me to intervene

Now for the main problem; I shi+fted around on my seat and said, ”So, what now? Do we subhness?”

Including Chitanda, as looking at the Holmes book she opened, the other three all turned to look at me

First was Satoshi+, who said with so in his mind, ”Well, why not? To be honest, his conclusion was hardly interesting, but he did say Hongou-se the details aside, I think perhaps he's got it spot on”

Ibara followed, unexpectedly nodding in agreement, ”I don't find any particular problems with it either There are no contradictions in his deductions, nor any inconsistencies with the script I' to reject it for the sake of rejection alone”

The ayes have two votes now What about the third vote?

As we looked at Chitanda, for some reason, she looked rather troubled Unable to stay calm, she widened her eyes and opened her mouth, but was at a loss for words

”What's wrong, Chitanda?”

”Eh I, I just couldn't agree to it for some reason”

Hmm

Ibara asked in a sociable hich I could never do, ”Chi-chan, how come?”

Chitanda looked even more troubled

”Umm, well, I'ou-san's true intention Ahh, I just can't accept this deduction While it's different from the sense of disorientation felt from Nakajou's deduction yesterday, I just couldn't accept it!”

As long as we don't hear it froet it, then there was no way I could get it either It would seeainst the deduction Suddenly, Chitanda turned her eyes towardsme like that with those eyes!

”What about you, Oreki-san? Do you think that deduction is correct?”

Ugh I never thought I would attract socarefree I shi+fted on s about, and shook my head as dramatically as possible

”No, I don't”

Ibara fired a response at ht away, ”Why, Oreki!?”

Those are so sad for her, I answered, ”Because Haba's proposal is unworkable If a murder were to really take place in such a theatre, such preparations ht have worked But it is impossible for that movie”

Satoshi+ urged me on with his usual smile

”In other words?”

”In other words, it's contradictory to e have seen in the movie Leave the map aside and try to recall the moviethe day before yesterday What do we see outside theof the Right Stage?”

I' I wasn't particularly paying attention atching the ard the map, it wasn't hard for them to recall it either

Satoshi+ led the way nodding

”Ah yes, that ”

”Exactly The building had fallen into disrepair for soKatsuda-se thatI'led to push it open, showing it to be quite hard to open

If they were to shoot a scene showing the killer entering via the , then they would have had to arrange for Kounosu-se a rope, and in order not to disturb the grass, she would have had to open the hileposition That is quite difficult to acco such a ould take time, not to mention the sound it would lass may even have shattered Besides, what do you think Kaitou-se? Would he have just stood there and watched? Of course not

”Had Hongou not visited the location herself riting that script, then thisshe wouldn't have known about the 's condition Haba's suggestion is based on thethe movie itself”

”Oh, so that hy you asked Haba-san whether he'd seen the movie!” Chitanda raised her voice as she exclaie with Haba? I have never failed to be amazed by her extraordinary senses

”Right If he had seen the movie, then he would have known it was impossible to enter the room from upstairs

”The truth is that Hongou had been to the site herself and wrote the script based on her observations Nakajou said so If Hongou had really intended for theto be used as Haba had described it, and assu adivision to prepare for some lubricant to be used on theat the crinored such defects in the building

”In short, I can't agree with Haba's deduction How about it?”

I didn't even need to ask I could tell Satoshi+ thought ave an expression as though she didn't really want to agree

”Well then,” a voice behind reeht?”

As I turned around, I found Eba standing there without even realizing it

Sheof this h she didn't show it as she said, ”Then I look forward to guiding you to meet the third person tomorrow”

”Oh Yes, thank you We look forward to your assistance”

Chitanda bowed right after finishi+ng Eba shook her head, and added so important

”But tomorroill be the last day If the proble of the day after tomorrow, then the script will not be able to be ”

Today's Wednesday I see, we're running on a tight schedule here

As we felt a sense of unease, Eba relaxed her expression and bowed her head deeply

”It is I who should be looking forward to your assistance”

Translator's notes and references

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