Half The People Twice The Work [Trial 3 | 80A]

[Monotaro]

Upon hearing Kio say this, Celes lets out a sad laugh.


"I...suppose it's time to make a gamble...despite the fact that my own alibi for Nana's murder is quite shaky...but Nahiri can confirm the worst parts for me..."

"But Kio...I believe that you are wrong. The culprit is not a member of Hufflepuff. It is a person we all know rather well...who could have tailed Nana, since he knew she would be going to the Infirmary..."

Celes then looks at Austin.

"I believe the culprit was you...Austin. You snatched some tape while Kio was in Storage at the start of the night using Accio...to give yourself an alibi, since you were with Noa at the time. You likely weren't focusing on the screen, like she was...you were just waiting to get your tape..."

"As for your Infirmary visit? I have my doubts about that. Your statements about yourself in that room are odd, almost like you weren't even there yourself. I'm willing to be you used Veritaserum on Erica and found her there alone. Since she was dead, you made a guess on when that was...to give yourself an alibi...although you most likely went to Storage to get the rope...which you would later use to kill Nana..."

"You then went to the Dining Hall with Nana and Noa, and got yourself into a nasty surprise. However, you saw this as an opportunity to frame a Hufflepuff, as you knew Nana was heading to the Infirmary, which was next to the Hufflepuff Tower...so you tailed her..."

"How much did she struggle, huh?! The door to Hufflepuff Tower was open...I know because I saw her in her final moments...so you devised a plan...after asphyxiating her with the rope..."

"You couldn't enter Hufflepuff Tower, being a living Ravenclaw, but Nana could, as she was no longer among the living...so...you tied the ends of the rope you killed her with with in two nooses so that you could lasso one end onto the chandelier, and tie the other end around Nana...You also used a tape rope as well, and this was likely the end tied to the chandelier...all for the express purpose...of moving Nana's body which was tied between this tape rope and the rope you killed her with..."

"All that was required of you...was a strong tug of the rope...to break the chandelier...which...as a result of its pendulum effect, dragged Nana into the room, without any resistance on her end...you had likely tied another tape rope by Nana's body, so you could retrieve the rope and the tape. You disposed of the tape on your person, but threw the main rope into the Vine Hall, thinking we wouldn't even consider the possibility a non-Hufflepuff committed the murder...as your trick was complete..."

"T-Then...Noa walked into the Vine Hall, and...and you...hide yourself in an invisibility cloak you had on you...and struck her head against the wall! After doing so, you fled...into the Conservatory...and you found Momoe's book on the bench..."

"So...how about it, Austin...? Any rebuttals for me...or are you about to let your house lose another Ravenclaw...since you will die for killing Nana if you are her killer?"

After saying this, Celes looks down at her podium, full of melancholy...

[Austin]

It was Noa. She claims to be unconscious during the actions the murder took place, but no one saw her or can confirm. She could easily have faked being unconscious. Plus only her and I saw Nana go to the infirmary, and since I was barfing in the bathroom, shes the only one who could have killed Nana.

[Sachi]

"Okay... From what I understand, eleven Blackened points total were spent throughout the night. Six of these were spent by the Blackened. Two of these were spent by my Deluminator, and the final three were spent by the mystery Accio that Kio saw during the first action. I say 'mystery' because I don't think it's relevant to the trial at hand. 

I think I know what happened during this case. Let me go over it from the very beginning:

During their first action, the culprit visited the Headmaster's Office and read whatever was on that computer. They did this... alongside Austin.

During their second action, the culprit entered the library alongside myself and Nana. Here, they read a book on the school rules... or something. It's not relevant, so let's move on.

During their third action, the culprit was in the Dining Hall with Austin and Nana. After the explosion went off, Austin and Nana quickly left the Dining Hall for different reasons. The culprit... pretended to stay in the Dining Hall for their next action.

In reality, they went after Nana, casting Accio on the way to obtain some rope from the Storage Room. This left them with three Blackened points remaining. Unfortunately, due to my Deluminator spell, Kio and I did not notice the culprit pass through the Knight Hall as they tailed Nana into the Vine Hall... I'm sorry for my failure, everyone.

In the Vine Hall... they killed Nana in cold blood, probably strangling her with the rope and then throwing her body into the Hufflepuff Tower. They elected to stay in the Vine Hall after this, for Action 5. They purchased the Invisibility Cloak with their three remaining Blackened points and knocked themselves out.

Since the Invisibility Cloak lasts only for one action, we were none the wiser when Kio discovered the culprit knocked out on the ground. They knocked themselves out after killing Nana... that's the only thing I can think of.

This is truth I've discovered... Noa Sancho!"

[SmolOverlord]

Noa slammed her fist on the podium, her eyes wide and hands clutched to her chest.

"You're insane!  I wouldn't have had time to get a detailed look at the dining room during my fourth action if I did it, and the crack in the wall is proof I was slammed against it. I swear to god I didn't do this besides, Nana would have been in the infirmary action 4, not the vine hall, as you claim I followed her Momoe. The bandages are proof of this. And do you know how stupid that sounds? That I knocked myself out with my own invisibility cloak on? The invisibility cloak would be still on my body if that happened. The purchase of the invisibility cloak in the case you're describing, Momoe, is utterly useless. I don't now was else I can say to change your minds.

There is proof I was knocked out.

Let me ask you all this, Austin is just as easily the killer as I am, he was alone the same actions I was. Who's to believe he was barfing in the bathroom, do we have proper proof? It's just as easily Nahiri too, did you all forget? Please, look over the actions more, you're going to let the blackened escape.

I promise you all, I am not the damned killer."

[Austin]

Nana didnt grab the bandages Noa, I did.

[SmolOverlord]

Noa's lips open in an 'o'.

"Sorry, my mistake. However, the rest of my argument still stands and I still have proof for when I was knocked out. Is there proof you were puking, Austin? Nahiri is also still a liable case, and I haven't heard them say anything this trial."

Austin

[Alucard]

(OOC)

I blocked the door from the potion room from the inside and we have proof I was still inside action 4&5. It wasn't me, I havent left the room all night because my potions need the entire night to make anyway

Is it not possible that you knocked yourself out to fake innocence, noa? Of course after removing the cloak.

[SmolOverlord]

She furrows her eyebrows, her fingers drumming on the podium.
"It is possible, I guess, but not in any of the manners suggested. I wouldn't have been able to slam my head against the wall with so much force to cause a crack, especially not by myself. The human body has restrictions, if I had knocked myself out on a wall the force needed wwould have been ridiculously less than the force actually used to knock me out- if that makes sense.

Physically, it's not possible. If I had used any other part of my body to cause the crack and make it appear as if I was knocked out i'd be found with bloody knuckles or something, and there were no objects lying around that I could have cracked the wall with.

I could have knocked myself out, yes, however both the manner of which I was found and the crack on the wall go against that theory.

Let me ask you this. We assume Nana as heading to the infirmary A4-5 but got caught by the murderer, in none of my actions would I have had time to get rope, stalk her down, successfully kill her and put her in the hufflepuff room, then knock myself out by action 6. It sounds like a rush job, and poor planning. If I had been stalking her there would be no need for an invisibility cloak, and if I had an invisibility cloak there'd be no need for me to knock myself out, I could have just put it on when Kio approached.

Does that make sense to you all? I promise you i'm not the blackened, we need to think of other options."


She tilts her head, a perplexed expression on her face.

"Possible suspects are me, Austin, Celest and Nahiri. 

Austin clearly has no proof of his whereabouts a4 to a5. He doesn't go over any details about the room for action five, from Femt's alibi I would assume him to see a random teacup or staring into his tea before getting into telling the future. His two actions in general seem rather vague and undefined, an easy lie.

From what i've been told Nahiri and Celest's alibis work in tandem. Celestia attempts to get into potions action five, and Nahiri heard her. Of course, Nahiri could easily lie about hearing these noises and could have stated this happened after seeing all of our alibi's- and if Nahiri lied, that'd offer up Celestia's own suspicion.

We've already heard why it can't be me, but you all have your own opinions about that.

I briefly considered Femt due to him going to the shed for his third action, however his transfiguration action supplies information for Celestia's sixth- tying him out of this and further proving Celestia as innocent. If she wasn't, she would have spent a6 either cleaning up or going to a crowded place to make an alibi.

Now, riddle me this. If In celestia and Femts actions (in transfiguration) random objects laying around were mentioned, why was the teacup from Femt's a2 not mentioned in Austins a5? Hmm? Would the teacup not be something he'd examine if it was just randomly there, and perhaps appeared tampered with? 

I also have an issue with the 'future' he saw. I experienced my own which went over two actions  in the previous night, of me vividly falling and then smashing into something, mimicking the deaths that occurred. Why would his be of a chess board, I understand its supposed to be symbolic of what happened to our friends... but you're not experiencing something or seeing the future, you're not even feeling anything. In comparison to what occurred with me... I find it stupid.

And why exactly was he puking in the bathroom? Me and him suffered the same, albeit similar circumstances with the dining room. There's no proof or no description as to why he suddenly went there. Very iffy to me.

Which is why I believe it's Austin. For now i'll trust Nahiri's words. He has done almost nothing- at least in trial- to defend his actions. Rather, he shifted the blame."

With that Noa rests her head in her hands and sighs. Too much talking was incredibly tiring.

[Vocalo_Cain]

"Noa... Didn't you say this? 'The hufflepuff tower's door was open and I saw somebody laying on the floor' Did you mean you opened the door and found the body, or it was left open..? Remember the body was discovered near the door."

[SmolOverlord]

Noa nods,

"It was left open, and I could see somebody laying on the floor, I hadn't opened it. I was knocked out before I could do anything else."

[Vocalo_Cain]

"If it was left open, then recall what you said during the investigations on the first murder... Only Hufflepuffs were allowed in their tower, but when it comes to investigations, then entering another's tower is fine... Am I wrong about that?"

[SmolOverlord]

Noa raises her eyebrow,

"I don't believe you're wrong about that, no, however the door could have just as easily been left open by another hufflepuff or propped open somehow. If I had murdered Nana would I have really done something as detrimental as throwing myself to the rats like this? 

Besides, from the first trial many things have changed. Mitsuha also had been alive, as far as we know she could have done something to the door- did anybody investigate it?"

[Vocalo_Cain]

"Femt in-depth the crime scene, he didn't say anything about the door..."

[SmolOverlord]

Noa lets out a huff,

"Them i'm at a loss to how the door was opened, i'm just as confused as all of you. Perhaps there's some way around the rules? Or a spell somebody could have used like alohamora?"

[Vocalo_Cain]

"Alohamora? Does that type of spell even exist?"