Chapter 662

"How could Shiki be the murderer?"

"Wow, that's a wonderful thing to say."

After taking a sip of tea, Shiki said, "So, my dear, you believe the murderer is one of Fujino, Touko, or Aoko, right?"

I didn't say that.

"The murderer can only be one of us. Since it's not me, it can only be them, or perhaps—"

Ryougi Shiki smiled and said, "Did you, my dear, kill Rin and Azaka?"

Why should I kill my own wife?

"That's true, haha."

Ryougi Shiki placed the teacup back in its original position, straightened her posture, and then spoke.

"You have something to say, darling. Let's just say it's a way to pass the time while we're having tea. Let me hear your reasoning."

Shirou nodded and then said, "I've never understood why Rin and Azaka were the ones who were killed."

Did the killer harbor such intense hatred for both of them that he felt compelled to kill them both?

Ultimately, serial killings are extremely rare in reality.

"Hmph, families like ours are the most common setting for serial murders."

Ryougi Shiki spoke in a graceful, almost singing tone.

Although she had no interest in finding the real culprit, she seemed to quite enjoy this kind of topic.

"It could be a dispute over inheritance, a past event, a secret everyone's been hiding, or something like an illegitimate child."

In detective novels, large families with complex interpersonal relationships, such as the Amamiya Residence, are the most common story backgrounds.

Unfortunately, the Amamiya Residence doesn't have the dark past typical of detective novels; at most, Shiki, Fujino, Azaka attended the same school in the past.

The idea of illegitimate children is utter nonsense.

Shirou currently has only one child, his daughter with Shiki, who is temporarily staying with Shiki's family.

Shirou stroked his chin and said, "Leaving aside Shiki and Fujino, Rin and Azaka only met after they became my wives. I can't think of anything they have in common."

Shiki raised an eyebrow. "That's as if saying that if I and Fujino were the victims, the incident would make perfect sense."

"I think I understand what's going on."

A woman's voice came from the doorway, and Shirou turned around to look.

"Aoko?"

"I'm sorry to disturb your precious time as a couple. I just barged in because the door wasn't locked."

Although Aoko said sorry, her face was all smiles and showed no remorse.

She walked through the Japanese-style room and sat down cross-legged next to Shirou.

If Fujino were there, she would probably be frowning at this point, but Ryougi Shiki is a magnanimous woman.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have allowed her husband to marry three more wives after they had married.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Aoko?"

"I know who the murderer is."

"Aoko I said with a smug look on my face."

She was already a beauty, but her smile gave her an even more special charm.

"... oh?"

Seeing Aoko Shirou and Shiki were both looking at her with curiosity, Aoko cleared her throat and said.

"Mr. Shirou, you seem to be constantly troubled by the reason why your two wives were murdered, right?"

Actually, I think the same way.

After all, the manner of their deaths was so surreal that the only explanation is that the killer possessed some kind of supernatural ability.

In that case, the method of crime becomes meaningless.

The key point is the killer's motive.

"Rin and Azaka are both my wives, so is this a crime committed by those who hate me?"

Aoko said, "No, no, no, if that's the case, shouldn't we be targeting you personally?"

Shirou said, "That's right."

Aoko said, "Therefore, I think that's not the killer's real motive."

Shirou said, "You just said you understood everything."

"Yes."

Aoko proudly puffed out her ample chest and gave her answer.

"The murderers are not the same person; the murderer who killed Rin and the murderer who killed Azaka are not the same person."

Shirou nodded. "... I've thought about that too."

Aoko said smugly, "Hmph, that's indeed a blind spot that's hard to come by. The perpetrators of the serial killings aren't the same person... Huh? You figured it out? You're kidding!"

Aoko believes that two different murderers killed Rin and Azaka.

When asked about the murderer of Rin, she replied, "It was the second victim, Azaka, who killed Lady Rin."

As Mrs. Fujino said, she was the only one without an alibi for the time of the fire.

I think we can find out the results once the heavy rain stops and a professional forensic doctor conducts an autopsy.

If my reasoning is correct, Lady Rin must have been burned alive.

"..."

Shirou and Shiki exchanged glances.

"So, who killed the Azaka?"

"It's Mrs. Fujino," Aoko answered directly.

Shirou said unhappily, "I must remind you that Fujino stayed by my side all night last night."

She didn't leave the room until dawn; I can be her alibi.

Aoko stared straight at him and said, "At a time like this, is an alibi still important?"

Mr. Shirou, the deceased was twisted into a spiral like a towel, you know?

"..."

Aoko continued her analysis, "I speculate that Lady Fujino possesses the means to observe from a distance and kill humans."

I don't know what kind of method that was, but she definitely used it.

It might be some kind of prop, or it might be some kind of trick set up using the structure of this house.

This technology, which we neither understand nor can understand, I call "superpowers."

"The ability to observe objects from a distance... Clairvoyance, right?"

"Clair... what was it again?"

Aoko tilted her head, puzzled.

Although she mentioned superpowers, she didn't seem to have any knowledge about them.

"Is that what Miss Aoko is trying to say, that Fujino can kill people remotely?"

"No, that's right, that's exactly it."

Although I can't go into details, she must have used something like a small radio.

Aoko was absolutely convinced of her reasoning.

He then asked, "So, what is your so-called most crucial motivation (Whydunit)?"

What were Azaka's motives for killing Rin, Fujino's motives for killing Azaka?

"That kind of thing, you'll understand if you investigate it a little afterwards, right?"

Without any hesitation, Aoko filled the teapot with green tea for herself, took a sip, and then said...

"Lady Azaka, Lady Rin, and Lady Fujino have lived in this mansion for many years, serving the same husband as wives."

They must have some friction in their daily lives, right?

Isn't it very common for resentment built up over trivial matters to eventually escalate into murderous intent?

Ultimately, Aoko also didn't know the motive for the crime (Whydunit).

She simply broke down the serial killings into two separate murders.

In this way, the two victims would not need to have the same criminal motive (Whydunit).

Although Shirou could not agree with her point of view, he had to admit that there was really no room for rebuttal.

Because as a husband, he knew his wives inside and out.

Only he knew that the Azaka truly possessed the power to burn Rin to death.

Only he knew that Fujino actually possessed the superpower to curse and kill Azaka.

"Hehe, looks like I guessed right."

Aoko noticed something amiss in Shirou's expression.

"It's confirmed. The culprit in the second case is Mrs. Fujino. Where is she now?"

"He should be staying in his room."

Upon hearing this, Aoko smiled slyly, "Let's hurry and go find her. If my reasoning is correct, the murder case isn't over yet."

"What?"

"What I mean is, I'm afraid someone's targeting Mrs. Fujino, and she might become the next victim... uh, huh?"

Aoko covered her mouth with her hand.

However, it was too late; blood spilled from her mouth and splattered onto the ground.

"Ah... ga, ahh..."

She made a mess of the tea table and started dancing and rolling around on the tatami mats.

Ryougi Shiki quickly stood up, picked up the Japan sword that was decorating the Japanese-style room, and held it protectively in front of her husband.

Aoko looked up at the couple, who seemed oblivious to what had happened, her face contorted in pain.

Why... why was I the one targeted by the murderer...?

The one who should be killed next is Fujino... it should be her... Ahhh!!!

Struggling, she let out a final scream, a mixture of confusion and resentment, Aoko died.

Shiki calmly walked over, examined the teacup Aoko had drunk from, and then shook his head.

There was no poison in the tea; Aoko must have been poisoned before she came here.

She was certain that she couldn't be targeted, so she was completely unsuspecting in every way.

But... why was Aoko killed?

If the first two deceased Rin Tohsaka (former surname) and Azaka Kokutou (former surname), at least had one thing in common: they were both Shirou's wives.

The third victim was a completely unrelated outsider.

Aoko happened to be caught in a downpour and stayed at the Amamiya Residence, but she was unexpectedly drawn into a series of murders and became a victim.

Rin Tohsaka (former name), Azaka Kokutou (former name), Aoko.

What was the reason behind the brutal murder of these three seemingly unrelated women?

Do they have a dark past that even Shirou doesn't know about?

Shirou looked at Aoko's tragic death and remembered the words she had spoken before she died.

Since it involves supernatural crimes, it doesn't matter who did it (Whodunit) or what the method was (Howdunit).