* * *

“…Akashiterika-sama, please explain the situation.”

After quickly offering a silent prayer… Director Rakigataa asked Akashiterika, his voice low and quiet, suppressing his emotions.

But his body is trembling slightly.

It’s probably not from fear.

What he’s suppressing is grief… or perhaps anger.

Even though he was told beforehand that the person was likely the culprit of the theft… the one lying before him now, covered in blood, is his subordinate, whom he has worked with for many years.

Director Rakigataa isn’t heartless enough to not mourn his death.

“N-No way… This is so crazy!?”

“What in the world happened here!?”

Beside him, Yarkinek and Security Guard Jimmyyak, who were still in the museum, were also panicking, sweating profusely.

And so were the several police officers who were brought here by Detective Munodes without any explanation.

They all couldn’t grasp the situation… and were exchanging confused glances.

“…………”

Emi was silently watching them.

“…As you can see, the one who stole the Superbad Jeweled Crown was Gaisha-san.”

Akashiterika, saying that, picked up the crown that Deputy Director Gaisha was holding.

The white jewels, embedded in the crown, which was barely stained with blood, shone emptily in the light of the magic lamps illuminating the corridor.

“However, he had an accomplice. And it seems that some kind of disagreement arose between Gaisha-san and his accomplice. That’s why Gaisha-san was killed.”

“W-Wait a minute! An accomplice… you say!?”

Security Guard Jimmyyak interrupted Akashiterika, who continued to explain, her eyebrows furrowed, a look of remorse on her face.

He’s sweating, and holding his temples.

He seems to be desperately trying to keep up with the influx of information.

“Yes. This was probably done by the accomplice. If it was a robbery, there’s no way the Superbad Jeweled Crown would be left behind.”

Akashiterika, holding up the Superbad Jeweled Crown, said that, and looked around.

“C-…Crazy…”

Yarkinek, whether he’s listening to Akashiterika’s explanation or not, just stared at Gaisha’s corpse, dumbfounded, his face pale.

“A-An accomplice… But how… did the culprit kill Deputy Director Gaisha!?”

But Detective Munodes, although he screamed when he saw the body earlier, is surprisingly used to this.

He tilted his head, calmly asking his question, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.

“Certainly… weapons are prohibited in this museum! Even I, as a security guard, only carry a baton! What kind of weapon did the culprit use!?”

Security Guard Jimmyyak, nodding deeply, also voiced his question.

“…It must be a blade that is sharp enough to easily cut through a person’s neck, and judging from the wound, a very thin one.”

Akashiterika, crouching down, and checking the wound on Deputy Director Gaisha’s neck again, voiced her deduction.

“Hmm, I don’t know… It’s hard to identify the murder weapon.”

Detective Munodes sighed, after hearing Akashiterika’s words.

But—

“Not really… Everyone, please look at the wall of the corridor.”

Akashiterika, standing up, immediately denied that, and pointed at the wall.

What remained there were bloodstains, extending in a straight line horizontally!

“The height of these bloodstains… seems to be about the same height as Gaisha-san’s neck.”

“I-It’s true! B-But why… are there bloodstains like this!?”

Detective Munodes shouted in surprise, his eyes wide!

“It probably indicates that the murder weapon… was spinning. The centrifugal force, generated by the high-speed rotation, caused the blood on the weapon to fly off, and create those linear bloodstains on the wall.”

“I see! So a throwing weapon like a chakram… was used!?”

Detective Munodes, clapping his hands together, looked pleased with his idea… but immediately held his head in his hands!

“But, Akashiterika-chan! No one brought any weapons into this museum!”

But Akashiterika is calm.

“Yes. But it’s not a problem. The weapon wasn’t brought in from outside… It was already here, in this museum.”

Saying that, nodding, she carefully looked around at everyone present…

“…Isn’t that right, Jimmyyak-san?”

Lastly, she glared sharply at the narrow-eyed security guard!

“You… seemed to assume from the beginning that the murder weapon was a weapon… Why? Why didn’t you think it was ‘done with magic’? It would be more natural to think that, if weapons can’t be brought in. Is it because you’re the culprit, and you knew that Gaisha-san was killed with a weapon, so you were influenced by that?”