Chapter 16 : Chapter 16
Chapter 16: The Mysterious Girl Who Stepped on Someone’s Back, and the Mysterious Man with False Testimony
【Nikaido Hiro】: Marg, your magic is “voice mimicry.” With magic like that, it should be easy for you to pretend to be Meruru over the phone, shouldn’t it?
【Houshou Margo】: My, how flattering. To receive such high praise from little Hiro-chan is truly an honor ❤
【Nikaido Hiro】: Unlike me, who has no magic, you really are quite proficient with your own, Marg.
(Voice mimicry? Why does this magic sound like it has absolutely none of the raw numerical beauty worthy of a purple-tier character? No, now is not the time to be making snide remarks about that.)
【Houshou Margo】: The more abilities one masters, the more people one can deceive, no~? Of course, I did not deceive anyone in this case. Trying to swindle people with a completely baseless guess like that is still far too forced, Hiro-chan ❤
【Nikaido Hiro】: No. This is not deception, nor is it baseless speculation. I merely eliminated every “incorrect” option, and what remained naturally was the only “correct” answer. And at the end of that correct path, the witch hiding herself away is you, Houshou Marg.
【Hasumi Reiya】: Uh... mm... right... mm...
(If I really cannot keep up with the discussion at all, why do I not just honestly stay on the sidelines and watch like a spectator, Lady Reiya...?)
Seeing Reiya’s awkward expression—the look of someone wanting to say something just to draw attention, yet like a bronze player who had somehow wandered into a master-tier match and could not force out a single word—Chang Rong quietly mocked her in his heart.
【Houshou Margo】: Mm-hm, I understand, I understand~ After all, the first step in deceiving others is pretending that you yourself believe it completely, is it not? What a pity. Your lies are of no use to me, Hiro-chan. In my eyes, your feigned pose is nothing more than a naked little fledgling, shivering in terror, desperately twisting its body in search of a shred of warmth before it freezes stiff ❤
(From the look on Hiro’s face, if I were the one saying something like that, the Warden would probably open another round of witch trials on the spot.)
([Information acquired: Nikaido Hiro does not like cloying, flirtatious remarks.])
【Nikaido Hiro】: Why was the sound of glass breaking forty minutes ago so muffled it was nearly impossible to hear? Because your ability can imitate a “reverse glass-shattering sound” and actively cancel out the sound of breaking glass. Those shards at the scene were produced at that very moment—when you stabbed Meruru and the medicine bottle fell from her hand and shattered!
【Milia】: Noise cancellation... this old man knows that! It is that kind of soundproof headset that has been really popular lately, right?
(Why does this Milia keep referring to herself as “this old man”? Is that some new trend among gyarus?)
【Hasumi Reiya】: Hmph, exactly. As long as you produce a sound wave that is perfectly opposite to a given audio wave, then in theory you can cancel it out and make the sound disappear. That is the basic principle of noise cancellation. Staaare—
【Chang Rong】: As expected of Lady Reiya. (Emotionless.)
【Hasumi Reiya】: It is merely the most basic operation for an idol... hmph hmph hmph.
【Nikaido Hiro】: As for the sound of glass breaking right before the body was found? It was the same trick as before. Only this time, what you simulated with your magic was the sound of a bottle breaking! Considering the arched corridor structure of the underground cells, not only could you control the approximate point from which the sound seemed to originate, you could also use echoes and reflections to mislead everyone and conceal the true source of the sound—inside the cell itself.
【Nikaido Hiro】: Even the fact that you managed to kill Meruru without alerting the people in the neighboring cells can now be explained. You canceled out and suppressed the sounds Meruru made while she was being stabbed. This was a method of murder only your sound-manipulation magic could achieve.
(Huh? Why does this magic suddenly feel absurdly high-skill and technical?)
【Kurobe Nayuka】: Although Houshou Marg stayed with me in the dorm the entire time before the body was found, I was not paying close attention to her every movement. But now that I think about it, that sound of breaking glass really was strange. Even I could not accurately determine where it had come from at first.
【Tachibana Sherry】: But there were no footprints belonging to Marg at the crime scene, were there~? So the culprit still has to be Hannah, the one with levitation magic~!
【Tono Hannah】: You gorilla woman, you are infuriating me!
【Chang Rong】: If it had been Miss Tono, the wound certainly would not have been so crude and messy. Given the refinement of a proper young lady, it would surely have been a precise, elegant, lightning-fast strike.
(Levitation magic, huh? Back when I was in lockup, I really should have asked Hiro what everyone else’s magic was while I had the chance.)
【Tono Hannah】: Th-that is right! Exactly so, desuwa!
If this young lady had made her move, it would only have been precise and graceful!
【Shidou Arisa】: Hey, then how exactly do you explain the footprints?! The paint all over the floor only showed yours and Meruru’s footprints, so do not tell me something ridiculous like “Houshou Marg twisted together a rope, swung herself from the wall, and killed Meruru that way”!
【Kurobe Nayuka】: If it were me, I might be able to do that.
【Shidou Arisa】: ...Hah?
【Nikaido Hiro】: It is simple. Marg used no tools, and she did not need to deal with any footprints. Or rather, was there not already a ready-made foothold at the scene? Something she could step on without getting paint on herself.
(A ready-made foothold? I remember that room being practically empty. Aside from the bed, the greatsword, the shattered glass, the corpse, and... huh?)
Chang Rong thought of something. He looked toward Nikaido Hiro, and at the speaking stand Hiro tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled faintly.
【Nikaido Hiro】: The foothold... was me, was it not?
(To say a theory like this CCB nonsense with such calm seriousness... Nikaido Hiro... what an unfathomable woman!)
Chang Rong’s eyes widened as he stared at Hiro. If their positions had been reversed, he doubted he could ever have stood there with that much righteous dignity and solemnly declared, “I was intended to be a stepping stone”—in the literal sense.
【Sakuraba Emma】: Hiro-chan...! Y-you are not hurt, are you?!
【Nikaido Hiro】: There is no need for your concern. I am perfectly fine. At the very least, I still have more than enough strength to take down that one over there.
Nikaido Hiro shot Chang Rong a glance.
(This brat is still holding a grudge! Was it really that serious? I only rubbed your head and, while I was at it, wanted to help you change clothes. Truly, good intentions go unappreciated!)
【Milia】: I-if that really was the case, then perhaps it really—
【Houshou Margo】: Perhaps it really would have happened that way ❤
Houshou Margo cut Milia off. The smile on her face remained as composed as ever, teasing and alluring.
【Houshou Margo】: You truly are impressive, Hiro-chan. Merely by imagining a “forged phone call,” you managed to weave such an interesting story. But if you are still going to keep twisting and struggling like this in an attempt to wriggle free of your crime, then that pretty face of yours can hardly be called beautiful anymore, can it?
【Nikaido Hiro】: The phone in my pocket, which originally belonged to Meruru, appears to have been restored to factory settings. Presumably, the killer had to personally “take off her gloves” and operate it herself in order to erase all the records and frame me. In that case, perhaps some fingerprints that should not be there were left behind as well.
【Houshou Margo】: ...Perhaps that is indeed the case. Or perhaps this is merely another one of your childish attempts to evade responsibility. In any event, we do not have the leisure to sit here and slowly examine fingerprints.
【Nikaido Hiro】: Ngh—
【Houshou Margo】: How beautiful, Hiro-chan. You dance in order to flee your original sin... but a monster in disguise can never possess a heart as beautiful as a human one. Hehe, what do the rest of you think? Was it truly I who imitated Meruru’s voice? Or was everything merely Hiro-chan’s own little performance from beginning to end?
【Nikaido Hiro】: There is no room whatsoever to refute the truth, Houshou Marg. You are the true culprit behind this atrocious act. Of that there is no doubt. And... I. Be. Lieve. In. Everyone.
A sincere, harmless smile appeared on Nikaido Hiro’s face as she turned toward the others and spoke.
【Sakuraba Emma】: I... Hiro-chan...
【Hasumi Reiya】: Ughhh, both sides sound so logical and well-supported...
【Milia】: D-do I really have to choose, this old man?
【Sawatari Coco】: It does not matter who it is—just vote for someone already! If time runs out, we all die!
【Tono Hannah】: N-no, no, no, this absolutely cannot be a matter of “just anyone will do,” can it?!
...No. That woman, Nikaido Hiro, did not believe in the others at all, nor had she ever expected them to believe in her.
Based on the discussion alone, there still was not enough to determine where the scales would finally tip.
At the end of the day, this was not the rules of Danganronpa. One could even say that, in theory, they could casually vote some random person to death, and the rest would then be free to continue carrying their talents elsewhere under the cover of their pretty invisibility. As for the “witch” who was executed, all anyone could do was wish her luck.
And besides—
Chang Rong glanced at the owl Warden perched on his shoulder. Just as expected, it was still loafing around.
And what did its loafing around mean? It meant it was a veteran corporate drone... no, that was not it.
It meant it did not care.
This was not a court that pursued airtight justice, nor was it a hero’s tale about judging witches.
It did not care who was executed, who was wronged, or who escaped punishment.
It only needed a result. The process did not matter. Even if that process... used lies.
Chang Rong had two choices.
He could choose to stand by, just as the Warden did, and watch this execution from the sidelines, praying that the wisdom of the majority would yield the correct result.
Or he could choose to interfere with this fragile balance and help one side, even if the price was the other side’s death.
“...”
Without realizing it, Chang Rong tightened his grip around the bell he had found earlier and looked toward Hiro. By chance, Nikaido Hiro’s gaze swept in his direction as well.
Their eyes met. Her gaze was as stern as ever, as firm as ever, as full as ever of anger toward all things “incorrect.” There was no fear in it, and still less any plea for help—even though Chang Rong could tell at a glance that she was only barely holding herself together at the edge of collapse.
That was what Nikaido Hiro was: someone who stubbornly pursued a “correctness” no one else could understand, and who would still keep walking forward even if she had to do it alone.
In the next moment, Chang Rong made his choice.
He might regret it. It might drag him into endless trouble. The act itself might even be idiotic beyond salvation.
But he still made his choice.
All of Hiro’s reasoning rested on one premise: that Meruru’s phone call had been fake. If that was the case, then...
“How interesting. Was the person on that call really Hikami?”
“—!?” “Chang Rong-kun...!” “Chang Rong!”
His voice was not loud, but every gaze in the room turned toward him.
“【False testimony】I know Hikami. She hated things like ‘group dinners’ more than anyone.”
Chang Rong wore a smile, and his tone remained as lazy and casual as ever. He looked like nothing more than a member of the audience who had noticed a flaw in a clumsy performance and casually pointed it out from behind the scenes.
—Please do not suddenly decide I really am the mastermind and pull out a gun to shoot me, miss. Please do not suddenly decide I really am the mastermind and pull out a gun to shoot me...!!!
At the same time, utterly unlike the calm and lofty appearance he presented on the surface, Chang Rong was inwardly praying with all his might that the mysterious sniper girl would show mercy and hold back.