‘But it shouldn’t be like this.’
The victim died a miserable death and now lies in the morgue.
An innocent man will be murdered in prison by someone who feels like a father to the victim.
After that, the one who took revenge for his child will also go to prison.
Only the guilty party will walk the streets in broad daylight, laughing.
‘It shouldn’t be like this!’
I desperately tried to persuade the detective.
“It is still too early to finalize the suspect. That is, I mean…”
Ah, right!
“You must verify if the housemaster’s statement is true. You shouldn’t just believe a testimony blindly, should you?”
I had to buy time somehow. However…
“I’ve already received the report. While you were rummaging through that pile of gifts.”
“What?”
“It was exactly as the housemaster said. A number of ink bottles matching the number of students was found in his room, and there’s a record of the housemaster purchasing the gifts at a nearby general store.”
No, this can’t be.
Right! Luhr hasn’t returned yet!
“The results of the investigation into signs of an outsider’s intrusion…”
“I’ve received a report on that as well. They said not a single trace of intrusion could be found. The only thing they found was a piece of glass from a bottle dropped near the victim’s window—”
“That is suspicious! Anything could have been inside that glass bottle! If we examine it…”
“We did, and they said nothing was detected except for ink components and some weed extracts common in this area. It seems a hollow ink bottle was tossed carelessly and broke in the bushes. I wonder who would do such a thing when someone could have stepped on it.”
Detective Beron shook his head slowly.
“As a result, no evidence related to the case has been discovered.”
“……”
I had nothing more to say.
I couldn’t think of anything.
“…You can’t. Please don’t arrest him yet.”
Even so, I had to block the detective’s path.
The culprit was plain as day to my eyes.
That black void was the symbol of the true criminal.
I had an obligation to catch him. I had held his calloused, warm hand and firmly promised that if there was a culprit, I would catch them.
I couldn’t back down like this.
I couldn’t let everything end in tragedy like this.
“Don’t arrest him? On what grounds?”
I had nothing else to offer the detective when he asked that. No excuses, no evidence, nothing plausible remained. All that was left was my pure sincerity.
“It’s my intuition. As a detective, I don’t believe Zaphard is the culprit. There is definitely someone else! We can’t close the case like this. Please, delay the arrest!”
“Hmm… I’ll speak honestly.”
Detective Beron looked at me with an expressionless face.
“I don’t find you very trustworthy.”
My breath hitched.
“You haven’t proven any ability as a detective. You haven’t deduced the culprit’s murder method, and you failed to guess the recipient of the mystery gift. Your deductive skills seem mediocre. Since even the gift you were so obsessed with turned out to be nothing, I have no more expectations for you.”
Because it was the truth, I couldn’t say a word. Nothing he said was wrong.
I hadn’t deduced anything properly. Every single thing had been a mess. But even so.
“Deduction isn’t my specialty.”
I couldn’t give up.
I stared straight at the detective.
“My specialty is catching the culprit. By whatever means necessary!”
“……”
“One night. Give me just one night. I won’t ask for more.”
Within that time, I will definitely overturn this case!
“Mmm…”
The detective let out a reluctant sigh.
“If you’re so determined to work overtime voluntarily, I have no reason to stop you. Fine. I will wait one night.”
“!!!”
“Investigate the interior of the academy to your heart’s content until this night passes. I’ll grant permission. Currently, the dormitory is completely empty, and only a few officers will be guarding the entrance to prevent outsiders from intruding, so you can investigate freely.”
“Thank you, Detective. I will definitely catch the culprit!”
When I bowed excessively low, Detective Beron flashed a cynical smile.
“There’s no need to thank me. I don’t expect you to be able to change anything. I simply think you need to fail to learn how to give up.”
The detective turned on his heel and left, and I smiled quietly to myself.
‘Give up… right. That might happen.’
When you can’t find evidence no matter how hard you look, what other choice is there but to give up?
That is, if I were some hot-blooded officer under that detective. I’m sorry for betraying those innocent expectations, but I clearly warned him.
‘I said it clearly. Deduction isn’t my specialty.’
Right. Deduction and investigation aren’t my areas of expertise.
I realized that painfully this time. I hadn’t found a single piece of proper evidence, and I didn’t think anything would change just because I was given one more night.
However, I will catch the culprit.
By whatever means necessary!
The excuse was long, but the plan was simple.
‘No evidence? Then I just have to make some.’
Evidence fabrication.
To catch the culprit, I chose a method that was the least detective-like of all.
* * *
After my conversation with the detective ended, I immediately went looking for Luhr.
‘Evidence fabrication is impossible alone.’
I needed an accomplice, and Luhr, who was employed by me, was the perfect fit.
“Teacher!”
Luhr was sitting in the tea room on the first floor.
“What took you so long? I heard the interrogations were all over, but you didn’t come down, so I was worried something happened.”
“Ah, the conversation with the detective went a bit long.”
“Ah, could it be…!”
Luhr looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Did you find a clue?”
“Uh, well…”
“You did, didn’t you!”
‘I couldn’t find a single thing, so I’m thinking of just making a new one.’
It wasn’t something I could just blur out.
“It’s a bit complicated. I’ll tell you later.”
“…?”
“More importantly, how was it on your end? Any results?”
“The external investigation?”
“Yeah. I heard you found some kind of glass bottle fragment or something—”
“It was the ab-so-lute worst!”
Luhr poured out her grievances as if she had been waiting for me to ask.
“It would have been better if I had just investigated alone. Are those police officers really investigators? Aren’t they just people who came to nap in the corners?”
‘They must have been incredibly uncooperative.’
I had expected as much from the beginning.
I had just forgotten for a moment because of Detective Beron.
‘I guess that detective is just a rebel and the others represent the original police standard.’
“Since the police were no help at all, I tried my best to investigate on my own. That’s when I found that glass shard among the bushes in the garden!”
“You were the one who discovered it?”
“Yes! Besides, it’s no ordinary glass. It’s an extremely suspicious glass shard.”
Luhr said confidently.
“That glass was dropped right under the victim’s window.”
“…!”
“Do you know what’s even more suspicious? They say there definitely weren’t any glass shards there before curfew that night! The housemaster said he was sure of it.”
“You said there was ink inside? Then an ink bottle fell from the victim’s room window that night… Could the victim and the culprit have gotten into a physical struggle?”
“If a struggle had broken out, there’s no way it wouldn’t have caused a commotion.”
‘Oh boy. Then this is also evidence that works against Zaphard.’
Even Luhr’s evidence couldn’t solve the case.
As expected, I had no choice but to push forward with my initial plan.
I made a secret resolution to myself.
“If it weren’t for me, such an important clue might have been overlooked. Honestly, the police must have no will to solve the case!”
“You’re right, Luhr. The police are actively trying to cover up the case.”
“…!”
Luhr’s eyes widened.
‘I’m sorry, but this is because you can’t catch the real culprit, so please understand.’
I apologized to Detective Beron in my heart and began to lie.
“Luhr, I’ve found the real culprit of this case. The culprit is Edward Burr, without a doubt. But the detective is intentionally trying to arrest someone else.”
“My goodness, really?”
“Yes. Because the real culprit has a high social status and is difficult to touch, they’re trying to pin it on someone else. On Zaphard, who used the room next to the victim’s.”
Hmm, but is Zaphard actually of a lower status than Burr?
‘Whatever. Luhr wouldn’t know anyway.’
Sure enough, Luhr clenched her fists in indignation.
“Goodness. When trying to pass it off as an accident didn’t work, they’re framing an easy target? How trashy! That must be why the Chairman told me to be careful of the police!”
“We have to stop it, right?”
“Of course!”
“By whatever means necessary?”
“Huh? …Yes!”
You definitely said you’d stop it by whatever means necessary, right?
“Good. We will arrest the real culprit and achieve justice. For that, we need very strong evidence pointing at the culprit.”
“Searching for evidence? Leave it to me, Teacher!”
Luhr rolled up her sleeves with her eyes shining.
“Finally, some activity worthy of a detective’s assistant! Tell me where I need to search. I’ll do my best to look for evidence!”
Mmm, a very desirable attitude.
I nodded satisfactorily and said,
“We can’t find it. There is no such evidence.”
“…Huh?”
“So I’m going to make it.”
Silence fell.
“…Uh, Teacher. I’m not very smart, so I don’t think I understood what you meant. Could you say that again? You’re making evidence?”
I kindly explained it for Luhr.
“You know the dying message the victim left.”
“Yes, there is one.”
“I’m going to forge it and turn it into a piece of evidence that points to the culprit.”
“That’s manipulation!”
Luhr shouted in shock.
“No way. That’s not something a detective should do. That’s something a criminal would do! Absolutely not!”
“Manipulation? It’s not like that, Luhr. Think about it. What is the purpose of a dying message left by a victim?”
Luhr gave me a fierce glare as if asking what kind of trick I was playing, but she soon replied reluctantly.
“…Well, it’s to accuse the culprit.”
“Right. If it were left for any other purpose, it would be called a suicide note, not a dying message.”
I nodded and continued my sophistry.
“So, a dying message has a set answer. It’s not an artwork; it’s a letter of accusation. A dying message that correctly identifies the culprit is a ‘correct’ dying message, and one that doesn’t is a ‘wrongly’ written dying message. Now, Luhr. Then what is the dying message we encountered in this case?”
“…A ‘wrong’ dying message?”
“Calling it ‘wrong’ is a bit much, so let’s call it ‘unfinished.’ It’s a dying message that can’t perform its proper role because it’s too vague and leaves too much room for interpretation. Was that the victim’s original intention when leaving the dying message? To hinder the investigation?”
There was no way.
“The victim definitely wanted to accuse the culprit. So, I’m trying to help the victim by completing the dying message according to its original purpose. So, rather than manipulation… hmm…”
I soon found the right word and smiled.
“We should call it ‘editing’.”
Luhr looked confused.
“But that’s…”
She seemed to be looking for something to counter with, but I already knew the conclusion Luhr would reach.
‘She’ll come around.’
I wouldn’t have even mentioned it if I didn’t think she’d come around. No, even before that, I wouldn’t have hired her in the first place.
Because the reason I hired Luhr wasn’t simply because she was a volunteer.
‘Luhr is weak to authority.’
I didn’t know the reason, but Luhr was exceptionally prone to believing and following the words of superiors.
It wasn’t exactly a good trait for Luhr as an individual, but for me, who operates based on grounds that are difficult to explain to others, she was the perfect assistant.
Sure enough.
“…It does make a bit of sense.”
Luhr said, though she still looked uncomfortable.
“But how on earth are you going to manipulate the dying message? If you change the message ‘ROSE’ to something else now, that detective uncle will notice immediately. Won’t only you end up getting arrested, Teacher?”
She’s asking for specific methods?
She’s already halfway there.
“I don’t plan on editing it so obviously. I’ll edit it so it’s not noticeable at first glance. That alone will be enough.”
I had no intention of crossing out the dying message and writing ‘Edward Burr.’ I planned to use a much more sophisticated method.
“Thinking about it, the police missed a really important test.”
“An important test?”
“Handwriting verification. Handwriting analysis wasn’t performed on this dying message.”
This was a fact that suddenly occurred to me while I was trying to buy time in front of the detective earlier.
‘Actually, rather than missing it, it was probably impossible…’
The dying message was only four letters, ‘ROSE.’ On top of that, the handwriting was a mess. They probably thought it would be difficult to get good results even if they appraised such letters.
‘But that’s only if I don’t manipulate it.’
“I plan to forge the true culprit’s handwriting into the dying message so that anyone can clearly see who wrote it just by looking at those short four letters.”
Considering the technological level of this world, handwriting analysis wouldn’t be conducted very precisely.
At best, they would check for specific writing habits, stroke lines, or general style.
Those were areas where forgery was fully possible.
The dying message was only four letters long and the handwriting was a mess?
‘Even better.’
It was good news from the perspective of someone manipulating it.
Even if it was a bit strange, I could make an excuse for it.
“I’ve already found a sample of the handwriting to forge. There was a good one in the culprit’s room.”
A short while ago, I had moved around from room to room with the detective by my side, using the excuse that I wanted to compare the mystery gift the victim received with other gifts.
Naturally, I had entered the culprit’s room as well, and I found something good there.
“Here, come this way.”
I dragged Luhr into the culprit’s room. A handwritten motto was hanging on the wall of the room.
[gnôthi seautón (Know thyself)]
It seemed he hung up a particularly favorite maxim, but the important thing was the shape of the letters.
“See? This habit of writing ‘O’. Both of the ‘O’s seen here have decorative flourishes on the left and right.”
People who wrote in this manner were rare.
“Let’s edit the ‘O’ in the dying message ‘ROSE’ like this. At first glance, it won’t look any different than before, but if you look closely, we’ll make it so the habit of writing those flourishes is visible.”
The culprit didn’t leave any mistakes at the scene?
Then I’ll just create that mistake myself.
“It would also be good to draw the flourishes and then erase them so only a faint trace remains. That way, it will explain why the police didn’t discover those traces beforehand, and it will look even more suspicious as if the culprit tried to erase them in a hurry.”
Of course, this wouldn’t be decisive evidence to arrest Burr. Because there is a strict difference between it being likely that Burr wrote it and Burr actually writing it.
But it would make the suspicion tilt heavily toward Burr, and that was enough.
‘Burr wasn’t even on the list of suspects, so no proper investigation was carried out.’
Once the suspicion tilts and he is subjected to an intensive investigation, various other pieces of evidence will surely come to light.
Not what I manipulated, but real, proper evidence.
As a bonus, I could stop Zaphard from being arrested right away.
“I really don’t think this is right, but… Teacher, you’re certain about the culprit, right?”
“Yes. I’m certain, betting everything I have as a detective and betting my very eyes.”
“And Edward won’t be taken away immediately because of this evidence manipulation?”
“If he is innocent, nothing will happen.”
Not that such a thing would happen, of course.
“In that case…, all right.”
Finally, Luhr nodded solemnly.
“I will never tell anyone that you forged the dying message, Teacher. Because this is an unavoidable sacrifice for justice.”
“Huh?”
Look at her.
“If I were going to do it alone, I wouldn’t have bothered to persuade you one by one, would I?”
“Huh? Then, d-don’t tell me you want me to keep watch??”
“Oh, no way. I’ll keep watch, and you’re the one who has to edit the dying message.”
“…What? What did you say?”
Luhr looked as if she were desperately praying that she had misheard me.