NOVEL NEXT Chapter 72
In the end, someone died.
Who would have thought a person would die this quickly?
It’s only been a while since we all met, and here we are, stirring up trouble.
These guys are definitely not in their right minds.
Of course, I didn’t kill anyone.
“Such a shame…”
Even though there was a nice target in front of me named Chihaya, there was no command to commit murder.
I won’t deny feeling a little empty inside.
It’s the most fun to go on a rampage in survival games, after all.
It seems this game is designed for the protagonist to escape without killing classmates.
They can’t let the protagonist, who must show a righteous persona, commit murder.
The victim is nameless Namseong A.
He mentioned during introductions that his dream was to be an inventor.
He was set to investigate the gym but was found collapsed inside all alone.
– “Ehh, Yuki-kun…!”
– “Why…?”
– “To think this would actually happen… What a scary place.”
Students fell into panic upon seeing Yuki-kun’s corpse.
Afterward, suspicion reigned, leading them to distrust each other, and despair began to set in.
In this space, no one can be trusted, only oneself.
But still, we had to uncover the truth of this incident!
“Well, this seems like the story so far. So, do we just need to catch the culprit now?”
[Please explain why you were drooling over Chihaya earlier.]
[Molru wants to kill someone…]
[Chihaya does look delicious.]
[Hey now.]
[2D sexual harassment;;]
[This is not that kind of room.]
[The Bangjang’s true nature is really unmanageable.]
[It’s a detective game~]
I wonder what kind of misunderstanding people have.
I’m thoroughly enjoying this detective game.
“Okay, what should we do first… We should investigate our surroundings, right?”
Having experienced various games, I had a feeling about how the story would unfold.
In the end, physical games like EOW became my main game, but I was familiar with this genre since I played every new game that came out.
“The weapon is a baseball bat. A baseball bat…”
Isn’t that a bit too obvious?
Well, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to give it a poke.
My target is the baseball club ace B, who dreams of being a baseball player.
– “I-I could never do that! Nonsense! M-Mor, are you accusing me?!”
He looked profoundly flustered.
He seemed quite serious during introductions, but it seemed abrupt situations sent him into a panic.
A reaction that’s not surprising.
Now, I need to start analyzing their personalities and observe their corresponding reactions one by one.
[A baseball bat means a baseball player? This is… ]
[Crazy emotional deduction;]
[Look at Yamota panicking, totally losing it.]
[If someone was sane, getting flustered makes sense. Investigating casually is way more suspicious.]
[That’s quite a one-dimensional deduction, teacher.]
“No, I’m just poking around. That doesn’t mean Yamota is the culprit.”
[Haha, it’s all part of the detective’s essential trait of gathering information.]
[Gathering information by saying, “Hey, are you the culprit?”]
[You’re putting a bit of pressure on him, aren’t you?]
[Seriously, there are plenty who actually do stuff like this; I’m a police officer. Home detectives do this all the time.]
[The basement FBI Molbu, yikes.]
Ignoring the usual nonsense from the viewers, I continued with the investigation.
Just now, my conversation with B about the baseball bat updated my list of clues.
Like this, collecting clues one by one is probably the ultimate goal.
Yeah, it’s not that hard.
I’ll clear this in no time.
*
Now, it’s time to gather all the clues and deduce the culprit.
Students, who had been scattered, began to gather and share the information I gathered.
Some of it was trivial, while other pieces were quite crucial.
Well, it’s good that we brought in so much information and are discussing it together.
But I couldn’t help but think:
Do they even intend to find the culprit?
– “I have no intention of getting involved in this case. You all deal with it yourselves.”
I sent off a vibe that I already knew the answer without actually offering any help in the deduction.
– “Oh, there’s a separate auditorium in the annex? I’m sorry, I forgot.”
A surprisingly cheerful guy.
– “The culprit is you, Yamota! Since a baseball bat was used as the weapon, it must be you!”
A guy who’s both stupid and very assertive, making him hard to deal with.
– “Let’s start from the beginning and reevaluate the case. Mor, you must have noticed something odd here?”
A guy with the brains and deductive skills to solve the case, subtly pushing this off onto me.
His comments felt sly as he let clues slip for me to catch.
“Why is he throwing everything on me instead of solving it himself?”
[He has to do it all himself or the game won’t progress.]
[He’s in the supporting role, right?]
[It’s fun to watch Molru flounder around.]
[That’s very much a Bangjang style.]
[Molru’s in self-hate mode right now.]
What are these people saying?
I would never act in such a petty manner.
Somehow, the discussion did progress.
Though it was pretty slow due to the trolls mixing in, we were indeed stepping closer to the truth.
By now, the direction of the deduction had been more or less determined, and the character to blame was finally revealed.
– “Please identify the culprit.”
“The culprit is Namseong C!”
This is too easy.
Is it because this is Chapter 1?
I confidently named the culprit without hesitation.
– “Morikawa-kun… Why did you do such a thing?”
– “Why did you murder Yuki so cruelly, Morikawa?”
However, the so-called Morikawa just stood there, silently grinning.
– “Hehe… Heh… Huh…”
“What’s wrong with him?”
When I asked the viewers, I got a nonsensical answer back.
[Here comes phase two.]
[It’s not over until it’s over, haha.]
The next step was to uncover the motive behind the crime.
Huh? Why?
Wouldn’t it just end if we locked this Morikawa idiot up?
I couldn’t understand.
“Do I really have to find out the motive? That sounds like a drag.”
– “Mor-kun, please find out why Morikawa-kun made that choice!”
“No, you do it. Don’t keep throwing this at me while doing nothing.”
[If Chihaya asks, you got to do it.]
[Your friend asked you, after all.]
[“Do it.”]
[Curious about the motive behind the crime, right?]
[Honestly, I’m curious too, I agree.]
[That’s kind of a must, so let’s lock him up for now?]
Amidst tearful Chihaya and the laughing viewers, I succeeded in uncovering the reason behind the crime.
As I pressed further, he eventually spilled everything.
– “Grr… That guy trivialized my dream. My precious dream!”
Yuki was a promising inventor who had participated in various competitions from a young age.
He was supposed to enter a famous institution after graduation to conduct personal research.
In contrast, Morikawa was a mechanical engineer but had yet to produce any noteworthy results.
The talent of his peer, a childhood friend in the same field, was enough to make him feel small.
The incident was triggered by something Yuki said to Morikawa.
– “Morikawa, wouldn’t it be better to approach it this way instead?”
As he offered advice looking at Morikawa’s carefully crafted design.
That was the supposed masterpiece Morikawa had worked on for years.
If he successfully built this machine, it would only be a matter of time before he gained recognition in academia.
But Yuki immediately pointed out a flaw in the design.
– “You think I’m wrong…? That can’t be.”
Morikawa, realizing the truth, probably couldn’t acknowledge it.
That the result of his hard work was, in fact, flawed.
So, in a fit of rage, he ended up murdering Yuki…
Once this truth was revealed, students were left in an uproar.
– “Just for that reason…?”
– “Just? Just? It was no small matter to me; it was my life’s work! Yet that guy blabbered about what was right and wrong without even understanding!”
For Morikawa, Yuki’s advice had turned into ‘unwanted interference’.
This incident proved that advice should be given with discretion.
It’s truly a tragic incident.
There were parts I could quite relate to.
It was quite a lesson, and I hoped the viewers would feel the same.
“Giving unwanted advice is this dangerous, everyone. Carelessly giving advice might just break your skull.”
[For real, should not give unwanted advice.]
[Can’t resist giving advice, though;]
[So you’re threatening us now? Is this a warning that if we give advice, we’ll die?]
[Oh no…]
[Molru/controversy/viewer threats.]
[That’s scary, ㅠㅠ]
[I’m sorry; please spare me.]
[Hug me, please.]
[Hugging might solve everything, right?]
“What are you talking about hugging? Seriously.”
Aren’t these viewers like patients suffering from delusions of grandeur and mass hysteria?
I shook my head upon seeing the tidal wave of sobs.