#511 The Dragon Hot Springs Murder Case: Commence Deduction

Allow me to briefly explain the deduction game Veil has prepared for us.

A corpse is found in a locked guest room at the inn.

The game’s objective is to deduce how the victim was killed and the murderer’s identity.

“Why do people love committing murder scenes in locked rooms anyway?”

It’s like they can’t commit their tricky, heinous crime until and unless it’s inside a locked room.

I used to read loads of mystery books back in my world, so maybe that’s why I’m so sick of locked-room murders.

Besides, the usefulness of the trick room is questionable despite the great effort and wisdom that goes into it, right?

I mean, don’t murderers usually use such tricks to avoid getting caught?

Going by that logic, they would want to conceal the crime they committed. But leaving the murder scene itself, which has the potential to be a crime, for all the world to see, and only covering up their traces of entering and leaving the scene? Really?

They try to be ‘mysterious’ about it, but isn’t the whole thing so overly conspicuous?!

You know, as if taunting us to see if we can solve it!

How are they okay with this?!

Aren’t they supposed to be prepared to commit a serious crime—murder—and get away with it with their life on the line?!

And yet, they’re making a big show of the case, leaving the mystery half-assed, thereby making it harder for the killer to slip past unnoticed!

Why would they commit a crime in a closed circle of suspects?!

If there are only ten people or so, narrowing the culprit would be all too easy!

It would’ve been a different story if it were a street crime since there are hundreds and thousands of people in the city!!!

...

Sorry, I got too passionate and went on a tangent.

Anyway, this is just a game. Let’s not get bogged down in the details and just work on solving the murder that took place in this onsen ryokan during its first day of business...!

“We would’ve had to shut down at this point!”

A hot spring inn that we worked so hard on is already on the verge of closing!

A murder case is a fatal blow to a reputable business like an inn! No new customers will come anymore!

“I don’t think this is a good idea! Maybe you should rethink this plan from scratch, Veil!”

“We’ll leave that for later, for now, we have to solve the case.”

Y-You’re right...

Veil has worked very hard on this skit.

In order to respond to her efforts, let’s take this seriously and think about other things later.

“Allow me to give you an overview of the case,” proudly says Veil. “The victim is the Great Demon King Baal, once the king of the Demon Kingdom, but was ostracized by his subjects for his licentious management of the state, and was kicked off the throne. The son who succeeded him was many times more capable, and by natural comparison is destined to leave a historical legacy.”

“Must you bring that up?!” protests the supposed dead.

Why did he take on the role of a corpse in the first place?

“The Great Demon King has always loved entertainments like this.”

The one who gave the commentary in an annoyed tone was an unfamiliar old man in a yukata.

Don’t tell me... he’s the Prime Minister of the Demon Kingdom, Mr. Lucife Focale?

“Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. I’m the owner of this inn...!”

“Ahh, I see, it was you... Lord Baal calls himself a ‘patron of culture’ and has a habit of taking the initiative in getting involved in the arts. He even plays minor roles in plays.”

Like this one?

“As such, he’s been known to skip out on important political duties. Oh, how oblivious he was when we had to rearrange our schedule accordingly...!”

His heartfelt lamentation is impactful.

The hard work of this talented bureaucrat is as clear as day.

“...Anyway, Master, Platy, Junior, the pseudo-corpse, and this other geezer guest pried open the locked door and entered the room. Just so you know...” Veil, who counts herself out as the moderator, says, “The culprit is among you!”

“W-What?!”

That’s how this story is going to progress?!

Well, it is easier in deduction games to proceed when the culprit has been narrowed down to a certain degree.

“Does that mean the culprit is in cahoots with you, Veil?”

And they’re blending in with our group, playing pretend?

“That kind of meta deduction is out of the question. You have to figure out the trick through the clues you’ve been given!”

“...”

If there is a culprit among us, it’s not me because I haven’t been informed beforehand.

In that case, I will play the role of detective and solve this mystery.

In the name of my grandpa!!!

“Okay then, let’s examine the scene of the crime. Our victim is the Great Demon King Baal...!”

Mr. Baal the Great Demon King, still playing the role of a corpse and lying face down on the tatami.

Although he is a corpse, he is only acting the part, so he has no real fatal wounds, no blood stains, no toy knife, nothing.

“What’s the cause of his death?”

“Huh?”

I asked Veil but got a very confused response.

“How he was killed is a major clue to solving the mystery, isn’t it?”

Since ancient times, various ways of killing a victim have been made up, as if to say that’s how you determine a plot’s brilliance—stabbed to death, beaten to death, strangled, crushed, burned, poisoned, etc. 

Moreover, the method of killing the victim is not only to attract the reader’s attention with its flamboyance but also to be the first clue to unravel the MO and the murderer’s identity. 

“For example, if the murderer beat the victim to death with a heavy blunt object or something, they’re assumed to be someone strong. That would naturally rule out a female like Platy, wouldn’t it?”

...Or so they would try to make you think, but there are plot twists where they make a fragile lady able to commit the crime through some indirect method.

How about that?

Platy spends a lot of time with Veil, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she was secretly asked to play the role of the culprit.

I tried to pry further, but...

“Too naïve, Dear. I’m not the killer.”

She instantly denied it.

“I swore to Junior that I’d be a good mother so that he’d be never ashamed of me. I wouldn’t dare to do anything sneaky or cowardly.”

Platy, I didn’t know you were that sincere about this...

I was struck by your desire to be a devoted parent to Junior, but must you bring that up now?

“So, if I want Junior to be proud of me, I would beat Lord Baal to death head-on and with dignity!”

“Hm?!”

“I’m not going to sneak around and hide to get away with it! Rather, I’m going to claim justification and make sure no one complains before executing a justifiable murder!”

“You’re going in the wrong direction with the ‘proud’ part!!!”

Platy did not play the crime role in the mystery because of her nature.

She’s the type of person who says, ‘Vengeance is mine,’ and comes straight at you to beat you to death!

So, in a way, she’s off the list of suspects.

“Well, the personality of the killer might be important too.”

Some people, like Platy, are not suited for sneaky killings by any stretch of the imagination. Moreover, she has no motive to kill Lord Baal.

Motive: a reason for wanting to kill the other person.

Sometimes this can be the decisive factor in uncovering the murderer, so it is very important.

However, of the few people who have gathered here, none has a close relationship with Lord Baal, and I doubt anyone would have the desire to kill him.

If there is one person, though, it’s...

“.........What?”

All eyes were on one person.

Mr. Lucife Focale, the Prime Minister of the Demon Kingdom.

He has a close relationship with the Great Demon King Baal. During Lord Baal’s reign, they ruled the nation together, right?

I’m sure there are a lot of emotions swirling around inside him...

“It was meeeeeee!!!”

“Confessing already?!”

He coughed (police lingo for confessing) immediately!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       “I’ve wanted to kill him many times since he was the Demon King, and since then, my desire to kill him has only grown. I may have gotten my hands dirty without realizing it...!”

“Please wait, Mr. Lucife! You can’t say you ‘did’ something you don’t remember!”

The game won’t work that way!

You’re not supposed to show your dark side this early in the story!

“Every time he comes up with something, I lose sleep, I lose touch with my children and grandchildren, and my stress levels keep increasing...! Why do I have to go out of my way for someone like him...? ...If he weren’t around, if only he weren’t around...!”

“Please keep those unfathomable dark thoughts to yourselffffffff!”

While I got my hands full trying to calm down Mr. Lucife Focale who was borderline about to go into a seizure, Lord Baal, who was watching us while playing dead, on the other hand...

“I...I guess I owe you an apology, huh...?” he muttered meekly.

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'in the name of my grandpa' is from kindaichi