Blades of Despair

-Chapter Thirty-One-

Reconciliation

"It seems you have all finished voting!" declared Monomenon excitedly. "Now, let's see how you all voted. Hmm... remarkably interesting. The very first vote that was not unanimous."

"We didn't vote for the same person?" I asked.

"No, only six of you voted for Tokunaga, the other four voted for other students."

"But it's a majority, correct? Nishi pressed. "So, as long as we were right about Tokunaga being Ouji's killer, we have nothing to worry about!"

"Was our vote correct?" Mina demanded to know. There was a brief pause, but then Monomenon laughed.

"Oh, I hate suspense! You were right! Tokunaga Carluccio, the Ultimate Operatic Performer, murdered Ouji Bunjiro! As you correctly deduced in the trial, Ouji instructed him to sacrifice her for the sake of saving all of you. She wanted to use Tokunaga's celebrity status to quickly get the outside world to listen to what was happening inside the academy."

"Congratulations, students," Monomenon praised, "you have survived another class trial." I sighed heavily in relief and fell against my plinth. So, we were right after all. Tokunaga really killed Ouji.

"There's nothing to celebrate at all," Yoneda wept, "why did Tokunaga die for such an unfair reason?"

"That's just what he deserves for breaking the rules" interjected Monomenon.

"Then, you admit that you executed him," Morihei cried in horror. "But why did you cooperate with the traitor? Why did you let them mess with the crime scene?"

"There isn't a rule that stops a student from handling the crime scene," Monomenon reminded her, "the rule only applies to ursine members of staff."

"The traitor in your group acted of their own accord," Monoworth informed us. "After all, they could not escape as they had not murdered Tokunaga."

"So, they only tampered with the crime scene because they could?" Mina was horrified.

"It would seem that way," Nishi said sadly, "and it would seem the traitor is still alive and among us. But I'm glad that we don't have to watch another execution."

"Oh yeah, that's right. What do we do in situations where the culprit is already deceased?" I asked.

"You return to the first floor and wait for the next Motive Day," Monoworth replied simply. A knot twisted in my stomach.

"You're already planning the next one?"

"Of course. I would be a shameful excuse of a headmaster if I didn't have all my students' resources prepared long in advance," Monoworth said proudly.

"I'm tired of listening to them now," Saza groaned, "can we just leave?"

"Very well, students. You may go! Oh, and one final note. Since Monomenon is the owner of the key, we have removed the cabinet from the laboratory. It would be no good if it continued to tempt any attempts to break in and steal what's inside." Monoworth and Monomenon, who was cackling loudly, disappeared from the room. In uncomfortable silence, we all made our way back to the metallic confines of the academy elevator and slowly began to descend. I was lost in my thoughts, so I didn't engage in chatter with anyone. I noticed that Yoneda's face had become a sickly white colour as the trauma of what had happened plagued his mind. I didn't know if the Ultimate Polyglot would ever be the same after this trial. This trial had highlighted one very harsh truth about the game – its indiscriminate nature. We had come to expect a crime-and-punishment dynamic, but in this trial, we had discovered that the game could claim anyone's life for any reason, even one as noble as Ouji's.