Danganronpa Zero Vol. 1

4

10 minutes after Matsuda Yasuke left the lab.

He had arrived at a building with a door that practically oozed a grave atmosphere. He felt tense. He wanted to tell himself off for having such a stupid response, but at the same time he understood why he felt like that. It was the first time he had entered the faculty building. This place was, so to say, Hope's Peak Academy's centre. Although the facilities for the regular students were in the east district, this was the only place they were forbidden from entering. On his way here he had to explain himself many times to the faculty teachers who stopped him. Inside the faculty building there was an especially special place.

Matsuda Yasuke raised his head and his eyes met the door to the room.

The wooden doors were immensely decorated. It overflowed with a feeling that no one was allowed to enter them. The plate on the door read, "Hope's Peak Academy's Steering Committee Room". It was as if this was the very centre of the building in the centre of Hope's Peak Academy. This room was a special place where students and even staff rarely entered. This was the only place no one could even possibly talk about without feeling nervous. But anyway...

"... Pull yourself together." Matsuda quietly cleared his throat.

The atmosphere was so intense it was almost impossible to muster up any courage. He held fist up and knocked on the door two times.

"Batch 77 of Hope's Peak Academy, I'm Matsuda Yasuke." He slowly opened the heavy door. "... Excuse me"

The atmosphere in this room was clearly different to any classroom on campus. The ceiling, pillars and walls were all extravagantly decorated, and gave a very heavy, dignified impression. Matsuda took a step forward, his footsteps were absorbed by the carpet.

"We are sorry for calling you all the way here." There was an unexpectedly light voice. It was the voice of Hope's Peak Academy's headmaster, Kirigiri Jin. No matter how many times Matsuda sees him, he always thinks the same thing. That guy really is young.

When Matsuda thought of principles, he would imagine an old man with a grey moustache, wearing a plain suit. So, Kirigiri Jin, despite being in his thirties, looked younger.

"In any case, please take a seat. We don't expect you to stand while talking."

In the centre of the room was a large, circular table, around it were several antique chairs.

"Excuse me." Matsuda sat on the chair closest to him, it was directly opposite to Kirigiri's seat.

The moment he sat down, he could feel the gaze of several people on him. Around the circular table sat four older men, each spaced at regular intervals, all staring at Matsuda. They all dressed in jet black suits and ties, as if attending a funeral. Matsuda felt them evaluating him, as discomfort flooded his breathe.

"Do you know who we are?" One of the old men began, his voice was grainy.

"You're the steering committee, aren't you?"

"We seem to be indebted to you for your help over "that incident"."

"..... What do you mean?" The wrinkles on the old men deepened at Matsuda's response. They seemed annoyed that he avoided the topic.

"You don't need to be so cautious. We know everything about it." Another of the old men spoke out. "We know you're the one who helped us interrogate the student who was first to discover the scene."

The first to discover... as soon as Matsuda heard those words, his heart begun thumping. After hearing that he immediately replied.

".... Are you asking me to interrogate them again?"