ジレンマ : 𝐊. 𝐎𝐌𝐀

𝟖 : 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 (𝟐)

Shuichi was in the hotseat. People threw accusations left and right, yet he didn't defend himself. Kaede had to fight for him, saying it wasn't possible. She begged him to say something, anything, but he didn't. His silence was speaking for itself.

Kaede gulped. "Shuichi was with me the whole time we were on lookout, so when are you suggesting he killed Rantaro?"

"Were you really together the whole time?" Maki asked.

Kaede gripped her podium tightly. "What do you mean?"

"I'm asking if you two were on lookout together the whole time," Maki said.

"Well..." Kaede's voice shook. "I guess we weren't together the whole time. He did leave for a few minutes once the router went off..."

Kokichi grinned. "So that's when Shuichi killed Rantaro!"

"No!" Kaede yelled. "Shuichi wouldn't kill anyone! Besides, it's not even possible. The security alarm didn't ring until after Shuichi returned to the classroom. It only rang after Rantaro moved the hidden door, which means he was still alive. If Shuichi was with me when the alarm went off, then that means he's not the culprit!"

Kokichi hummed. "By the way, I wanna confirm one thing with you, Kaede." His tone darkened. "Who set the security sensor on the bookcase? It was Shuichi, right?"

Kaede nodded. "Y-Yeah...Shuichi was the one who set up the security sensor. What about it?"

"Did you actually check for yourself if the sensor was set on the bookcase, Kaede?" Kokichi asked.

She shook her head slowly. "No, I didn't check..."

Kokichi snickered. "Did it ever occur to you that Shuichi could have lied about setting the sensor, hmm? Shuichi pretended to place the sensor on the hidden bookcase door, but in actuality, he was holding it the whole time. And when he met up with you, he secretly triggered the sensor to make the security alarm go off."

Shuichi still didn't say anything. Why wasn't he defending himself? Was it because he was actually the culprit?

You didn't want to believe it. Shuichi, the shy boy who lacked self confidence, commit murder? It just sounded unbelievable.

"The security sensor was armed, but the moving bookcase isn't what triggered it," Kokichi continued.

Kaede furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait a minute, this is weird. If the security sensor wasn't placed, then we wouldn't have been able to take that picture of Rantaro. We were only able to get it because the sensor was triggered by the hidden door."

Kokichi scoffed. "Oh, that? It's easy to explain. Well, you see..." He fell silent for a few moments. "Uhh...I guess you're right. Sorry. I didn't think that far ahead."

Tenko looked at him confused. "You're giving up that easily?"

"Yeah, I mean, whatevs." Kokichi shrugged. "I made a mistake, big deal!"

Kaede smiled. "So, you see? Shuichi can't be the culprit!"

Ryoma hummed. "Wait just a minute. The security sensor had a power supply, so what if it went like this? The security sensor was set up on the bookshelf, and Shuichi had its receiver. However, Shuichi turned the receiver off. It would get you a picture, but no alarm when Rantaro moved the bookcase. Then when Shuichi says he's gonna check the basement, he actually goes to the library. And thanks to the thirty second interval, he's got time to go in after Rantaro."