Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace (乱歩奇譚 Game of Laplace)

Is that Teacher?

In that moment,

I knew that my boredom had come to an end.

Good morning, Officer.

So, that him?

Yes, sir.

I'll take it from here.

Yes, sir.

Well, young man, looks like you're our key witness.

I hope you plan to cooperate.

Aren't I a suspect, though?

We haven't ruled it out.

Though at a glance, my gut tells me

you're just a pawn in all of this.

Please let me through!

You can't go in!

Kobayashi!

Hey, Hashiba.

Hold it!

Tell them there's no way that you're the murderer!

I already did.

But when I woke up I was the only one here.

But you had no reason for killing the teacher, Kobayashi!

If you wanna make a statement

of your own, we can take you in, too!

Alright, then! Fine, I'll go in with him.

Who are you, kid?

I'm his best friend, got it? He needs me!

You're going to have to do better than that.

Okay. I'm also his class representative

and the President of the Student Council.

I need to be able to explain what's happened

to the other students.

Well, at least you're more on the ball

than your teachers.

But getting involved in this case would be a mistake.

Go on, kid, go home.

You heard him!

Let go!

What's the problem?

Hey! This area's off limits to students!

Oh, he's okay.

Huh?

I asked him to come help out.

He's a licensed detective, believe it or not.

Sorry! My mistake.

--Imperial Household Agency. -- A detective?

This headache is killin' me.

So... Dismembered body of a homeroom teacher, huh?

Very showy. I like it.

Don't be morbid in front of the students, Akechi.

Gotta say, this looks pretty bad for you, kid.

Well, I'll just have to prove I didn't do it.

And how're you gonna do that, enlighten me.

By proving who did. Sir.

I appreciate you coming in to talk today.

Well, considering that I was found

holding the murder weapon,

it's completely natural for you to be suspicious.

Y'know, kid, you're awfully calm.

Shouldn't I be?

So, do you still think Kobayashi's guilty?

Officially, he's still a suspect.

But personally, I'm inclined to believe you.

You're lucky you aren't of age, kid.

If you were, we would've had to keep you here

until we were finished with the investigation.

Lucky me.

-- -- Come on,

your parents are waiting.

Crazy. There goes our prime suspect.

You really feel okay about releasing him like this?

We're following Akechi's instructions.

Aah... the young detective strikes again.

Seems a nice kid.

Hard to imagine he could have done something like that.

Killing his homeroom teacher.

Well, they're definitely out there, though-- Messed up kids.

You'd have'ta be naïve to think they're not.

Right.

That came out wrong!

Forgive me, Superintendent. I was out of line.

No, Nakamura, you're right. We can't rule anything out.

They still haven't found the killer, right?

Come on, it was obviously the kid

who was in the classroom!

Hey, look!

Seriously?

I can't believe he's back at school already!

If I was the new teacher,

I would not be good with that.

Morning!

Hey, Hashiba.

So, um, is it true that

Kobayashi's the one who, uh...

There's no need to worry.

I was with him when he went to the station.

They said they don't believe he did it.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, I guess if you're cool with him.

You okay?

Don't listen to them, all right?

Oh, it's fine.

Doesn't bother me.

Well, that's good.

I mean, I get why they're upset.

After all, the suspect is still among them.

But don't worry.

Once I figure out who the real killer is,

hopefully, everyone will be able to move on.

Okay, Children, time for class!

Everyone, take your seats, please!

Oh, are you going to be our new teacher?

I sure am!

And you must be Hashiba, the class rep!

-- Uh, yes. -- Well, my name is

Ms. Hanabishi, and I'm so pleased to announce

that I'll be your homeroom teacher, starting today!

I know you've all been through quite a scare,

but I truly believe we can

get through this trying time if we all

--pull together! -- The reason

the killer arranged the body so deliberately

was because they were trying to say the teacher deserved to die.

When I woke up, it was morning.

Before that, I'd fallen asleep in class.

No, it was more like I had been put to sleep.

I must have been, huh?

I can't think of another reason

I would've spent the whole night here.

The person who did it had to be in a position

to frame me for the murder.

That's right. The killer is someone who knows me

--fairly well. -- Kobayashi.

I don't have many friends, so please

--don't hestiate... -- What do you think?

New teacher's quite a character.

And I can help you with your schoolwork

any time at all!

You guys are pretty smart-- you should be able to make up

--for lost time quickly, right? --Yeah, quite.

Oh, Kobayashi!

You poor little thing.

I hope you know I'm here if you need to talk.

This must have been such an ordeal for you!

That's really nice of you.

Thank you very much, Ms. Hanabishi.

It's my pleasure!

Get this. You're going to die laughing--

I totally thought you were a girl when I saw you!

Believe me, I get that all the time.

Yeah, he's cuter than we are!

Even though he's a boy; it's totally not fair.

We all thought he was a girl

in elementary school, too! He used to get embarrassed.

Remember?

Aw, is that true, Kobayashi?

-- --Aww! How sweet!

I'm so jealous of you cute, young things!

Hey! What do you think you're doing?!

Sorry, it's my first day as a teacher

and I tend to get a little bit huggy when I'm nervous!

Anyhoo, see you tomorrow!

Ms. Hanabishi, I love your outfit! It's so cute!

Oh, thank you, Sweetie! How's the rest of me...

Our new teacher's a little weird, isn't she?

Yeah, she is. But at least she seems really nice.

Yeah, she's just overcompensating

because of all the pressure she's feeling.

You think so?

She's taking over in a class

where a murder was committed.

Can you believe our teacher

was put into that crazy shape?

I know... I really liked him, too.

Yeah, so did I. It's a shame.

I-I'm sorry. I gotta go.

Uh, see you tomorrow.

Where exactly is it that we're going right now?

You'll see. Thanks for coming with me.

Yeah, no problem.

I decided something.

And what's that?

I'm going to do it.

Huh? Do what?

What do you think?

What he does.

They should fix the freaking elevator.

Mr. Detective, are you in there?

Please open the door!

I can't remember ever seeing him

this interested in anything before.

Answer me!

Wanna just... go?

You shouldn't be here.

But here I am.

How'd you find this place, anyway?

I got the idea at the station.

I saw your call come in on the detective's cell phone.

I knew that number belonged to this area.