Chapter 663

The only thing we can believe is the motive (Whydunit).

"... I think I understand now."

Shirou looked at his wife, who was dressed in a kimono. "Shiki, please gather everyone together for me. I have something to announce."

"Um."

He nodded, then turned and left.

Volume 9: 410 The Secret to Harmony in the Imperial Harem

Noon, in the room of the head of the Amamiya Residence.

Shirou warmed himself with green tea while listening to the pattering rain outside the window.

Will the rain not stop unless the mystery is solved?

The torrential rain has lasted for three days and shows no signs of stopping.

In the 4.6 billion-year history of the planet, there have indeed been periods when a large number of species went extinct due to the never-ending rainy season, namely the fourth mass extinction in the middle Triassic period.

He didn't know if all of humanity would perish if the rain in Fuyuki City kept falling like this, but the Amamiya Residence was definitely doomed.

Although it sounds absurd, the characteristic of second-rate mystery novels is that they are full of suspense and captivating in the early stages, but then plummet in quality and end hastily.

Let's end it all before it's over.

What's wrong with this woman?

Asagami Fujino (her former surname) walked gracefully into the Japanese-style room.

As expected of the sheltered daughter of the Asagami Family, her steps were steady and dignified, possessing a different kind of beauty compared to the elegant and graceful Ryougi Shiki.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw Aoko lying dead in the middle of the room, and she couldn't help but frown.

Shirou said quietly, "He's dead. He suddenly died while we were talking."

It seems someone poisoned you beforehand... Fujino, are you alright now?

"Ah?... Yes, thank you for your concern, sir."

Fujino showed a momentary look of panic, but quickly regained her composure and sat down next to Shirou.

When Azaka's body was found, she was in very poor condition; her face was deathly pale, and she could barely stand.

If Aoko's dying deduction was correct, it was because Fujino used her superpowers to kill Azaka that she became so exhausted.

According to Aoko's reasoning:

On the first evening, the Azaka set fire to Rin, killing her.

Then that night, Fujino used her superpowers to curse Azaka from a distance.

To make the story more dramatic, if another murder occurs next, the victim should be the suspect Fujino.

In the end, it was Aoko herself who died.

Hey, hey, hey, what kind of story is it if the detective dies halfway through?

That's right. In a mystery novel, someone like Aoko, who happens to stay overnight, would be the detective.

She should be outside the vortex of the conspiracy, in a completely safe position.

The busty female detective's gruesome death would only excite certain small circles, right?

The second person to enter the Japanese-style room was Touko Aozaki, the family doctor of the Amamiya Residence.

Unlike the conservatively dressed Fujino, she was disheveled, with the edge of her lace bra showing through her open shirt, giving her a rather risqué look.

Touko Aozaki yawned and pushed up her glasses, looking sleepy. It seemed she had been drinking alone in her room until almost dawn last night.

"Huh? Huh!? Another dead person?"

Upon seeing Aoko's body, Touko Aozaki sobered up instantly.

"It's poison. Could you help me identify what kind of poison it is, Miss Touko?"

"I've already said this isn't my area of expertise."

Despite saying that, Touko Aozaki still went to Aoko's body to examine it.

Unlike burning to carbonization or twisting into modern art, this is simply the work of identifying poisons, something even a quack like Touko Aozaki could do.

The last person to enter the Japanese-style room was Ryougi Shiki (of the old surname).

She didn't go back to sit down next to Shirou, but instead stood quietly at the door, holding her Japan.

That gesture seemed to be telling everyone that the murderer was among them.

In fact, since the servants all happened to be on holiday, only these people remained in the Amamiya Residence.

The murderer can only be one of these four people.

While Touko Aozaki was undergoing an autopsy, Shirou began to recount Aoko's deduction from ten minutes earlier.

The important thing about this incident is not the method of the crime (Howdunt), nor even the identity of the perpetrator (Whodunt).

-- Rather, it's the criminal motive (Whydunt).

The Amamiya Residence has virtually no normal women, so any surreal method of murder is possible.

Therefore, if we want to find out the truth, we must understand why the murderer killed.

Aoko's answer was "there was no common motive"—the murderer who killed Rin and the murderer who killed Azaka were not the same person.

"Yesterday evening, Azaka set fire to Rin, killing her. Last night, Fujino used her psychic powers to curse Azaka to death."

"What?"

Fujino frowned unhappily. "Sir, do you think I'm a murderer?"

Shirou said, "I was just repeating Miss Aoko's last words."

According to Aoko's speculation, none of us will be able to escape the fate of death.

With each new victim, a new killer emerges, and the killer becomes the next victim, killed by the new killer, until only one person remains.

"That's absurd. According to Miss Aoko, I should be the one who's dead now."

"Ah, so Aoko. Aoko's reasoning is wrong."

"So who is the murderer? Who committed such a horrific crime?"

"Although Aoko's reasoning was wrong, it gave me a hint."

Shirou said, "It's the motive for the crime (Whydunt)."

Aoko believes that Rin and Azaka were killed by two murderers with completely different Human Order.

So, can we also think of it that way?

"What if the murderer had the exact same motive for both Rin and Azaka, then this case would make sense?"

"Rin and Azaka... are they killed for the same reason?"

Fujino murmured to herself, "Both of them are your wives, sir. Indeed, they have a lot in common."

But the problem is... Aoko is dead now too, isn't she?

We first met her the evening before yesterday; she was a stranger who happened to be caught in a downpour and asked to stay overnight.

What reason did she have to be murdered along with Rin and Azaka?

"Does Fujino think the common reason they're hated is because of their 'relationship with me'? I see, haha."

Shirou gave her a wicked grin.

Although Fujino didn't understand the deeper meaning of that smile, she inexplicably felt a little embarrassed.

Shirou laughed and said, "You're overthinking it. The answer is probably something much simpler."

Fujino frowned. "Something even more... superficial?"

Shirou asked, "Your first meeting with Rin must have been four years ago, right? What was your initial impression of her?"

Fujino paused for a moment, then said, "Miss Rin is an exceptionally outstanding woman. She possesses admirable qualities that I lack, so it's only natural that the master would be fond of her."

As the master's wife as well, I should learn from her... It's such a pity that such an outstanding person died like that."

No need for formalities.

"I'm not just being polite, I genuinely believe it! Do you really think I'm such a jealous woman?"

Fujino gave him a resentful look, Shirou explained, "What I want to hear is Fujino's more direct first impression of Rin."

"..."

She frowned and thought for a while before speaking.

"To be honest, I was terrified."

There are women in this world who are so... like Azaka.

Whether it's her appearance, her temperament, her tone of voice, her style of doing things, or her love for fighting techniques and martial arts... Miss Rin is very similar to Azaka.

I once thought they were sisters, but it turns out they are not related at all, which is really unbelievable.

When I first met Rin, I often mistook her for Azaka, which was really rude of me.

It took us more than three years of living together to finally overcome this.

Shirou nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "And what about Aoko?"

"Aoko?"

Fujino glanced at the corpse in the center of the room, hesitated for a long time, and then stammered.

"Aoko... I always feel she's somewhat similar to Azaka and Miss Rin."

"It's not just a little bit, is it?"

"Um..."

Fujino nodded obediently.

"I was shocked when I first saw her."

Miss Aoko looks remarkably like those two men, so much so that I suspect she might also be taken as a concubine by the master in the future.

Eavesdropping... no, not eavesdropping.

That day, I happened to overhear Aoko's conversation with Azaka. Aoko also seemed to be a passionate martial arts enthusiast.

Are the three of them really not biological sisters?

Unfortunately, no, they are just three people who happen to look very similar but have no connection whatsoever.

"I see, I see. No wonder Fujino was hostile and wary of Aoko. She was worried that I would do something to Aoko- san... Hehe, how cute."

Fujino glared at her husband fiercely. "Sir, please have some self-respect."

"Rin, Azaka, and Aoko look very similar, so what's wrong?"

Shi, who had been silent all along, finally spoke, asking in confusion.

"Honey, are you suggesting they were killed simply because they looked and had a very similar demeanor?"

If someone kills three people for this reason alone, that would be an incredibly twisted and disturbing case.

"Yes, it's 'just for this reason' --"

All three of them were killed simply because they looked and had a similar demeanor.

"... What?"

Fujino looked incredulous, then suddenly, as if she remembered something, her eyes widened.

"Wait... Could it be... no way..."

"It's that 'could it be'?"

Shirou spoke with a sorrowful expression and a calm tone.

"From the very beginning, the only person the murderer intended to kill was Aoko; Rin and Azaka were killed by mistake."

"..."