“I have no obligation to give you an alibi! I didn't do anything wrong!”

Kasumi, I didn't mess up my line!

Good job! Keep it up.

“Neither did I! I'm innocent. I have no reason to attack Honoka.”

“Are you sure? Didn't Shizuku say that the reason could be something super trivial?”

“If that's the case, then the same goes for you too, Kayoko!”

Kayo-chin didn't do anything!

“How can you say that for certain?”

She's way too cute to do something as bad as that!

Aw, Rin…

That's not a good reason.

If cuteness proves her innocence, then obviously I'm way too incredibly ultra-cute to be the culprit!

It does seem kind of impossible for Kasukasu to commit such a perfect crime.

Ai! Please don't go off script. Also, it's Kasumin, not Kasukasu!

Uhh, where was I… “Then what about you, Ai? Couldn't you be the murderer?!”

“No way, I've got the perfect alibi. Until I heard Kotori scream, I was with Ayumu, Setsu and Umi. Isn't that right?”

Yeah, we were with her the whole time, so she's definitely not the culprit.

Yes, I can confirm that too.

“In that case, Kasumi, Rina, Shioriko and I were all in the Nijigasaki first year's room.”

Yep, we were listening to Kasumi bragging a lot.

Rinaaakoooo!

[Fade in/out.]

Here's some hot chocolate for you, Eli. I hope this makes you feel a little better.

Thank you, Karin.

Watching that horrible play-acting gave me a pretty persistent headache. I can't believe even Shioriko joined in.

I guess playing pretend can be fun if everyone's really into it.

I wish they could fix their terrible acting somehow. I'm so embarrassed for them.

Everyone is doing their best, so let's try to be a warm and receptive audience.

Even so, is Honoka just going to stay in the room like that? Should I go cover her with a blanket?

That's thoughtful of you, Kanata. However, let's leave her like that.

Yeah. She'll get lonely and come find us eventually.

*Giggle* You all know her so well.

[Fade in/out.]

“For now, we need to calm down. I understand we're freaking out, but it's not constructive to start accusing each other.”

“I agree. If someone got cast out because of our doubts, they would make a good target.”

“Target? Is someone else going to get killed?! Nooo!”

C-Calm down, Rin. We'll be fine as long as we're all careful.

“I disagree. We will be at risk if we let down our guard like that. I think we should assume there is a high possibility that someone else could be harmed tonight.”

I think Shizuku's right. A closed circle of suspects is standard in serial murder cases.

Huh? What's a closed circle of suspects?

It refers to a group that is cut off from communicating with the outside world, such as on a deserted island, or in a mountain cabin during a blizzard.

Oh, I see. Thanks for explaining it.

“It might be better for us to stay together, if we want to prevent a second or third victim.”

“Why? What if the killer is among us? Wouldn't that be more dangerous?”

“That is precisely why we should stay together, Kasumi. The culprit will have a harder time making a move if everyone is watching.”

“We have to keep an eye on each other to stay safe.”

But we're all friends… Do we really have to keep an eye on each other?

“You might have your reservations, but right now it's our best option.”

Um, should we keep discussing alibis?

Oops, that's right. We were in the middle of that, weren't we?

“Umm… Is there really any point to discussing any more alibis?”

“Why would you say that? You were the one who declared you were innocent because you have an alibi.”

“I know I did, but do you have any proof that the culprit was acting alone?”

“Ah…”

“There's also the possibility that the murderer had accomplices. If that's the case, then they could conspire to get their story straight.”

Accomplices?!

“I'm just saying there's a chance. But I don't think we should assume that the culprit is one of us in the first place.”

“No possibility has been ruled out.”

……

Nico, you've been really quiet. Is something wrong?

“Hmph. Are we sure there even is a culprit?”

“What do you mean?”

“I'm saying, what if this whole incident is the work of something…inhuman?”

“What are you talking about, Nico?”

“Remember that story from earlier, about the girls who—”

GAAAHHHHHHHHH!

Huh? What?! Whoa! Honoka?!

Honoka?!

Honokaaa! You're way too early!

N-Now's not the time to worry about that, Nico! This is really bad!

What going on?!

A z-z-zombie… I saw a zombie!

What? Zombie? Calm down a second. Were you dreaming?

It wasn't a dream! There is… There really is a zombie!

Honoka, give it a rest! That's enough fun and games for today. We have practice tomorrow, so it's time to get some sleep.

B-But Eli! I promise I'm not lying this time! There really was a zombie!

Those don't exist. I'll admit that bringing in the ghost story was a good idea, but I'm not going to be fooled.

Not you too, Maki! I'm telling the truth! Just take a look out the window!

GYAHHHHH!

What?

It's h-here! The window! Look out the window!

You're really putting your all into your acting. Honoka gets tonight's award for best actress. Fine, fine, I'll take a look.

Huh?

Ooopennn uuppp!

GYAHHHH! ZOMBIEEEEEE!