Not a detective

Page 204

Although it's possible for the other party to see through the flaws, it can also provide a lot of misleading information; it's just unknown whether it will be effective.

As expected, Asuji Shi showed considerable interest after seeing these contents, her eyes glued to every single word without blinking.

"Oh...? The murder weapon's disappearance has been expanded to the entire house, and the dismemberment has also been concealed... This is quite an interesting mystery."

Yes, Asakawa Riku's last two lines of "red text" even further expanded the depth of the puzzle.

None of the three suspects had time to discard the murder weapon, and it wasn't found in the house. So even if the murder weapon disappeared from the locked room, it's still nowhere to be found.

Dismembering a person is a difficult task in itself, requiring considerable strength and suitable tools. The process inevitably involves significant blood splattering. After dismembering the body, the murderer could not possibly emerge from the room completely unscathed. Even if a wealthy person's living room has a bathroom, maintaining the original cleanliness of their clothes would still require…

[Red text: The victim's room had no bathroom, no toilet, and not even a faucet.]

As if anticipating her thoughts, Asakawa Riku promptly added the last sentence to the paper.

He smiled and put down his pen, his eyes brimming with pride.

"How about it... can you solve it?"

Tamamo no Haru: Chapter 10 Locked Defense

Asukai Shi stared at the paper in silence for a long time.

After a while, she finally gave a "I'm really at my wit's end" smile and complained:

“Senior, there’s a contradiction in those two red words. You said earlier that this rich man usually lives in his room, and other people rarely go in, and he doesn’t come out either. But this living room doesn’t even have a bathroom or toilet. How is he supposed to meet his basic needs for excretion and washing? This setting itself doesn’t make sense.”

"It's ok."

Asakawa Riku smiled and shamelessly began to act like a scoundrel: "Because this is just a [reasoning game], it doesn't need to conform to real-world logic."

He's right. This isn't really a mystery novel; it's more like an outline and a prototype.

Since it's just a game, all you need to do is win.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't conform to real-world logic, it doesn't matter if you create a fictional, illogical living room, since it's all just a castle in the air anyway, as long as it satisfies your imagination.

As long as it doesn't violate the logic of the reasoning, and as long as the reasoning makes sense, everything else, no matter how absurd, can be touched upon.

I like it~

Asukai Shi smiled.

Asakawa Riku knew that this kind of extreme orthodox school of thought was capable of accepting such a crazy idea that disregarded everything for the sake of trickery.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have proposed this strange game mode.

"So, can you figure it out?"

Asakawa Riku asked, "Although we've given you three candidates, we can't choose them by blind guessing and elimination. That would be too unfair to the 'culprit.' For a detective, the moment they reveal the truth, they must hit the bullseye. They must select the 'real culprit' on the first try and also describe their 'method' of the crime in order to win."

Although detectives have unlimited opportunities to make mistakes during the investigation phase, they cannot make a mistake when identifying the culprit; this is a basic requirement for detectives.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be considered a detective, but rather Kogoro Mouri.

Faced with Asakawa Riku's somewhat demanding additional rules, Asukai Shi readily accepted: "Of course, solving problems by guessing alone doesn't make you a detective."

well.

Now that things have come to this, all the riddles that Asakawa Riku had set up have been revealed. Now, it's up to her to see if she can solve them.

He was still quite confident; although the trick wasn't particularly ingenious, it was something most people would find hard to come up with...

However, Uta Asukai suddenly leaned her head over, still wearing that mysterious smile on her face:

"Senior, you may have read a lot of mystery novels and be an excellent [reader], but you're not exactly an excellent [author], are you?"

"……What's the meaning?"

"You deliberately added two 'distractors' to the list of murder suspects. Perhaps the author thinks this has a good misleading effect, but it's quite obvious to the reader, isn't it?"

Her finger hovered over several potential murderers on the paper—

One is a "wife", one is a "servant", and one is a "doctor".

"The wife's desire for the inheritance is an obvious motive. You want to suggest that the wife had the idea of ​​murdering the rich man and might actually do it. The servant, who also works as a bodyguard, is strong and healthy. You want to suggest that he has the strength needed to dismember a body and can do the work that women and the elderly cannot. One has a motive, and the other has the ability. On the contrary, the doctor seems to be the cleanest. He has a relationship with the rich man like a friend, and he is an elderly man with little strength. He seems to have neither motive nor ability, so he should be the first wrong option to be eliminated."

Asukai Shi laughed: "But readers who frequently read mystery novels know that [the one who seems least likely to be the murderer is often the murderer]."

The more the author tries to hide the murderer, the more obvious and suspicious it becomes to onlookers!

"so--"

She picked up the blue pen, and a moment later, held up the paper with the new words written on it:

[The killer: The doctor.]

"This is the only possibility."

"...!"

Asakawa Riku was startled for a moment, and the next second he knew that his change in expression would not escape the other party's notice.

Unexpectedly, his defenses were breached by this kind of authorial psychology; it seems he really lacks experience.

So, all that can be said is the classic, helpless line: "Your guess is no different from mine... So, where's the evidence?"

"You're asking about the [technique], right?"

Asuichi Shi pressed the paper down with satisfaction, which meant that the "doctor's" answer was correct.

However, this only identified the murderer; the final method remained a mystery. The doctor was the murderer, but how did he commit the dismemberment and escape?

"The murderer is the doctor, right... Then it's very simple. When a wife goes to say good morning, she usually doesn't carry anything in her hand, at most breakfast. And if a servant brings lunch, it's just lunch, and the knife and fork used for eating can't cut bones. Only a doctor's briefcase can contain medical equipment, which makes perfect sense."

Asu quickly came up with a method, so fast that it made one wonder if she had even thought it through: "It wouldn't be surprising if even a tool to break the lock could be hidden in the suitcase."

"Are you saying the murder weapon was hidden in the suitcase?"

Asakawa Riku's eyebrows suddenly relaxed: "I already said that, [a search of the mansion did not find any trace of the murder weapon being hidden]."

"That was just inside the mansion, right? It was a search of the building, not a search of personal belongings, you know?"

Asuai Shi retorted without backing down, "Senior is very cunning, but that means you've also mastered the rules of this detective game. Because it's a word game that relies entirely on imagination, the traps in the text are also very important. In a normal case investigation, it's impossible not to search the suspect's personal belongings, but in this game, you can do that."

Because this is a mystery game built on abstract concepts, it cannot be approached using the same logic as ordinary detective work.

Wherever the scarlet letter doesn't touch, everything is Schrödinger's cat, existing in a fictitious and untrustworthy superposition state.

[Blue text: The murder weapon was hidden in the doctor's briefcase, and the doctor, with his knowledge of human anatomy, was able to dismember the body efficiently and conveniently.]

"It's a word game, after all. But it's a pity..."

Asakawa Riku laughed, looking at the blue characters written by Asukai Shi, and shook his head: "This is not right."

[Red text: There was no murder weapon in the doctor's briefcase. He only came for a simple physical examination that day, so he only had diagnostic tools such as a stethoscope, not a knife.]

He used his unbreakable shield to block Asukai Shi's fatal arrow.

Tamamo no Spring: Chapter Eleven Inside the Body

Upon seeing this, Asukai Shi paused only for a moment before drawing his bow and nocking an arrow once more.

[Blue text: The doctor was wearing a looser, more spacious white coat, which concealed the murder weapon. Moreover, simply draping it over his body would cover the blood-stained clothing.]

[Red text: The doctor's white coat was spotless, with no weapon or bloodstains hidden inside.]

However, Asakawa Riku quickly gave a ruthless rejection.

After writing this sentence, he couldn't help but laugh:

"...How could a normal investigation not involve searching the suspect's clothes and pockets? This is definitely a technique that only appears in this game."

The two exchanged a few rounds of intense and dangerous blows, and Shimi Asu's ability to come up with answers in such a short time was truly impressive.

If he can't defend against it, the trick will succeed, but fortunately, she hasn't hit the bullseye yet.

"Hmm...it seems I underestimated you, senior. Perhaps I need more imaginative ideas..."

Looking at that slightly troubled face, Asakawa Riku felt even more pleased.

"How about it? Why don't you just give up now? I can explain the truth to you now, okay?"

Unfortunately, his pleasure didn't last long; the next arrow pierced his ear and struck his head.

"No need. The mystery of the locked room has been solved. The final mystery is how to hide the murder weapon. Once that's solved, everything will be fine."

"Now that the outer residences have been ruled out, all that remains is the inner residences... Question."

[Blue text: The previous text stated that the doctor was too old and weak to commit the crime and dismember the body. Does this mention of old age and weakness imply that there was something wrong with his health?]

Swish.

wrong--

Asakawa Riku could almost feel the wind piercing his ears and the arrow swaying gently.

With no way to escape left in his silence, he could only write:

[Red text: The doctor has a physical disability.]

"Snapped."

A smile returned to Asu's face as she snapped her fingers: "Found it."

Soon, she picked up her pen and wrote:

[The killer: The doctor.]

[Method: The doctor has a physical disability; his right hand is not his natural hand but a high-tech prosthetic. Therefore, even in his old age, he can exert strength beyond that of an elderly person. He can temporarily detach his hand, and the internal serrated blades can be used as a weapon to dismember the body. The doctor possesses professional medical knowledge, allowing him to perform the dismemberment precisely and efficiently. After dismemberment, the prosthetic can secrete a cleaning solvent to wash away the bloodstains. Once reattached, the murder weapon can be hidden without a trace. After leaving, he can secretly use a miniature laser at his fingertips to melt the internal parts of a door lock, creating the illusion that the lock is damaged from the inside. After leaving, the door lock, due to its fragile structure, cannot be reopened, creating a sealed room.]

"This is the 'truth'."

She held up a sheet of paper covered with writing.

"A high-tech prosthetic limb..." Asakawa Riku couldn't suppress a smile. "This prosthetic limb has too many functions. Is it some kind of Swiss Army knife?"

"Senior, please don't change the subject. Just tell me whether this answer is correct or not."

Asukai Shi, however, was experienced and kept a close eye on him, preventing him from making any smooth-talking excuses.

"Okay, that's correct."

Rikuo Asakawa could only admit it helplessly, but more than feeling frustrated, he was curious: "How did you deduce that? Do you have the superpower of mind reading?"

"If there were such convenient superpowers, wouldn't it be better to just tell us the final answer without all the guessing?"

Asukai Shi smiled and held up one finger:

"The same line of thinking applies. Since the murder weapon can't be hidden on the outside, it must be inside. If it's not in the clothes, the last choice is—inside the body."

Hit the bullseye.

Yes, weapons can be hidden inside the body. Rather than hiding them in the throat or inserting them from below, he used a more elegant method: a "prosthetic limb."

She said, "If we're talking about cunning, then you're definitely more cunning than me. This level of high-tech prosthetics is something that modern technology simply couldn't possibly produce, right?"

This is almost entirely a product of the cyberpunk worldview.

"Haha, because the red text doesn't mention the historical context. Anyway, as long as the red text doesn't contain any specific information, everything could be fake. I haven't broken any rules."

Asakawa Rikuya laughed. He himself thought the method was absurd. If it were written into a novel, it would definitely be criticized by readers. How could there be such a cheating multi-functional prosthetic limb?

So he used a little trick: he hid the historical context of the story, so that such props might be possible if the story took place in the future.

He thought this method would be enough to mislead Shii Asu and prevent her from finding out the truth.

I never expected that she could see right through me... Aside from the superpower of "mind reading," I really can't figure out how she did it.

Looking at the smug little girl in front of me, I really think she's amazing.

No wonder he makes a living in this industry.

Before arriving at the mystery club today, Riku Asakawa overheard the teachers talking about the upcoming "entrance exam" as he passed by the teachers' office.

They discussed whether this year's entrance exam was too difficult, and they heard that the students' average score was much lower than in previous years. They are currently holding a meeting to discuss this.

In such a difficult test, Asu's Uta managed to come in first place, which is enough to prove that she is no ordinary person.

This "genius" is the real deal...

Asakawa Riku even thought that it would be great if he could bring Shinonome Suetsuki here today, and watch the two of them clash under these rules. Maybe he could see an even more exciting show.

Or perhaps it wouldn't be two detectives, but rather Chizuko-senpai would be invited back to the mystery club to take charge, playing the role of the real "culprit" against the "detectives"—that would surely be very exciting.