Now, let's get to the game Veerle has prepared for us, shall we?

　It's a guessing game.

　A dead body (role) is found in a locked room of a hot spring hotel.
　The goal of the game is to solve the mystery of how the victim was killed and identify the culprit.

　The scene is, as usual, a locked room.

Why would anyone want to lock up a murder scene?

　It's like "if it's not in a locked room, it's not a trick murder".
　I used to read a lot of mysteries when I was in my old world, but maybe that's why I don't like the idea of a locked room murder.

　For all the work that goes into the secret room trick, isn't it questionable how useful it is when it's done with so much effort and ingenuity?
　Killers usually use tricks to avoid getting caught, don't they?

　If that's the goal, the fact that there was a murder should be covered up, but leaving the murder scene itself, which is apparently very likely to be a crime, in plain sight, to cover up the fact that people came and went?

　You create a riddle, but the riddle is the worst thing you can do!
"Come on, solve it! That's what I said!

　That's not good enough, is it?
　Aren't you prepared to commit the crime of murder and risk your life to get away with it?

　And you're trying to pinpoint the culprit by presenting your case and leaving a half-baked mystery in its midst!
　Why commit a crime in a closed circle?

　In a dozen or so people, 'the killer is in here' is too narrow a choice!
　They say it's definitely more difficult to squeeze out of hundreds of thousands of people in a city by making it look like a street crime!

　.........
　Sorry, I got too heated.

　Well, it's a game this time. Let's try to solve the mystery without worrying about the details.

　A murder has been committed in a room at this hot spring hotel just after it opens...!

It's just a case of closure!

　A hot spring resort inn that you worked so hard to open is on the verge of bankruptcy!
　Inns have a reputation, and a murder case is a mortal wound!　New customers won't come around!

'I have a feeling this isn't a very good plan!　Why don't we rethink this from the ground up?
We'll worry about that later. For now, we're trying to solve a locked room problem!

　Yeah, yeah.
　It's a trick that Veerle worked very hard to come up with.
　In order to respond to her hard work, let's just take this game seriously and think again about what to do with the rest.

'Then I'll give you a rundown of the case.

　Veerle says with great skill.

''The victim is the Great Demon King Baal. He was once the king of the demon kingdom, but was ostracized by his subjects for his wanton management of the state and kicked off his throne. The son who took his place on the throne is much more capable than the one who is determined to be remembered as a dark lord by natural comparison.
Is that what you say now?

　The dead protest.
　Why did you take on the role of a dead man in the first place?　This guy?

The Great Demon Lord has always loved these kinds of games.

　It was an old man in a yukata that I had never seen before who was going to give an explanation in a disgusted tone.
　Don't tell me........is this Lukif Fokale, the Prime Minister of the Demon Kingdom?

Oh, nice to meet you. I'm the builder of this inn.
"Oh, you are...?　By the way, Daimyon-sama has a habit of calling himself a patron of culture and taking the initiative in his own endeavors. He has a habit of taking the initiative in all sorts of things, even appearing in plays.

　Like this one?

"You're going to neglect important government business.　How hard did we have to work to reschedule...?

　The thoughtful lament was impressive.
　The hardships of this talented bureaucrat were evident.

''........So the ones who pried open the locked door and entered the secret room were the master, Prathi, Junior, the corpse-modderer, and our guest, the old man. Let's be clear here.

　Veal, who doesn't seem to be in the head count as a moderator, says.

"The killer is in this room!
What did you say?

　Is that how it works?
　It's true that if you're playing a guessing game, it's easier to proceed if you have a good idea of who the culprit is.

Does that mean the killer is already in agreement with Veerle?

　And pretending to be a bareheaded person and playing one of the guessing roles?

That kind of meta-directional reasoning is out! You have to find out the trick from the clues given to you!
..........

　Even if the culprit is here, it's not me, who was not informed beforehand.
　Then I'll play the role of detective and try to solve this mystery.
　I'll do it in my grandfather's name!

Then let's check out the crime scene. The slain Daimyo-san, but...?

　The Great Demon Lord Baal is still playing the role of a corpse and lying face down on the tatami mat.

　Although he is a corpse, he is only a "pretend", so of course he doesn't have any fatal wounds, and there is no workmanship to imitate it.
　It's not like there are any glues of blood or a knife toy that looks like it's being pierced.

''.......What was the cause of death?''
What?

　I asked Veerle, and he gave me a very honest response.

'No, so how he was killed is a serious clue to your theory, isn't it?

　Stabbing, beating, strangling, crushing, burning, and poisoning.
　Since ancient times, mysteries have been invented in a variety of ways to kill the victims, as if to say that the way the victims are killed is the highlight of the mystery.

　Moreover, the methods of killing the victims not only catch the reader's attention with their flamboyance, but also serve as the first clue to unravel the trick and identify the killer.

For example, if a man is beaten to death with a heavy blunt instrument or something, the presumption is that it was a man of great skill. That would naturally rule out a female prathi, wouldn't it?

　

　What do you think about that?
　Prathi spends a lot of time in contact with Veer and it wouldn't be surprising if he was secretly asked to play the killer.

　I was going to try to find out........

''That's sweet, Master, I'm not the killer.

　It was instantly denied.

When I gave birth to Junior, I made a vow to him that I would be a great mother who would not be ashamed of him. When I gave birth to Junior, I promised myself that I would be a great mother who would never be ashamed of her. So I will never do anything sneaky like sneaking around in secret.

　Prati.
　I can't believe you're being so serious about this....

　I was struck by your desire to be a serious parent to Junior, but to say that now?

So, in order to be a parent that Junior can be proud of, I'm going to smash him to death head-on and proudly if he wants to kill me!
Huh?
We're not gonna let you hide in plain sight and get away with it!　I'd rather justify it and make sure no one complains about it before I carry out a righteous murder!
"You're going in the right direction with 'proud'!

　Prathi was s*xually incapable of playing a mystery crime role.
　She's the type of person who says 'revenge is mine' and comes to beat you to death head on!

　This is another way Prathi is off the list of suspects.

'Well, I suppose, from an angle, the character of the perpetrator might be important too.

　Some personalities, like Prathi's, are not suited for trick killing by any stretch of the imagination, and she has no motive to kill Mr. Baal in the first place.

　Motive.

　The reason for wanting to kill the other person.
　Sometimes this is the deciding factor in uncovering the killer, and it's very important.

　However, there are very few people in the room right now who have a close relationship with Mr. Baal, and none of them would want to kill him even more.

　If there is only one person........

''.........what?''

　Everyone's gaze was drawn to one person.

　The Prime Minister of the Demon Kingdom, Lukif Fokale, the Prime Minister of the Demon Kingdom.
　He was closely related to the Great Demon King Baal, and the fact that Baal-san was the active Demon King was a tripod that kept the Demon Kingdom in check?

　I'm sure that's a lot of emotions swirling around........

"I did it!
"I confessed as soon as I could!

　Singing (a cloak for confessing) so fast?

I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to kill him since he was the active Demon King. Maybe that desire to kill him grew so strong that he ended up getting his hands dirty without even knowing it...?
''Wait, Lukif-san!　You can't call it 'done' if you don't remember it!

　The game won't work!
　You can't let them see the darkness in your heart before that!

'Every time that guy comes up with something, he loses sleep, the hardships bleed through as he loses contact with his children and grandchildren...!　Why would I do that for that guy...!　If only he wasn't there, if only he wasn't there...!
''So retract the darkness in your mind, eh?

　He was so busy calming Lukif Fokale-san who was having some kind of seizure that he was no longer able to play the guessing game.

　The great demon king Baal-san, who was watching those things while acting as a corpse........

''Something sorry........?''

　He muttered briefly, "I'm sorry.......