Thank you for your hard work, Producer. You’re reading something… Are you taking a break right now?
What’s the genre? …A mystery, huh? If it’s interesting, I hope you can introduce it to me.
…Huh? You’re not taking a break? It’ll help us out when it comes to our next job?
You said we’ve gotten an offer for a mystery movie, right!? Let me see the proposal!
They’ll be doing a TV drama for its spinoff, too~… They’re sure putting a lot of effort into this.
Yeah. It looks like this job will be on a pretty large scale.
The detective and his assistant are wrapped up in an incident involving the night train which they happened to board…
If it’s a mystery, then the characters’ worldview and settings will become really difficult to untangle.
It sure sounds hard~. But I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to pull off any role, no sweat ♪
Yeah! The higher the hurdle, the more I get fired up!
Akuno-san will be the protagonist, huh? I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of acting he’ll show us.
We’ll cooperate with the members of FRAME and make the filming a huge success.
Aaron, Hideo’s character, is a prominent detective who searches through cases alongside his assistant Shooty.
He calls himself a detective whose nature is that he won’t rest until all the mysteries have been solved. He’s a gentle knightly type, huh?
Wow~, he sure sounds cool! He sounds like he’s nicer than the usual Hideo-san, at least.
All right, enough making fun of me. C’mon, let’s keep the conversation moving.
So you’re talking about the scene at the beginning, where Aaron and Shooty, who’ve just solved a difficult case, are returning to their home country of England.
Even though he’s just solved one case, he has to be involved in a completely different case. It’s like my own bad luck.
I guess you’re right that the way detective stories’ protagonists keep getting wrapped up in things does sound like bad luck…
Ryu can overcome any bout of bad luck without getting discouraged.
Detective Aaron is the same, isn’t he? No matter what difficult case he has, he’ll be led to the conclusion.
Hokuto-kun, are you done reading the novel you borrowed from Kazuki-san?
Almost. I have a little more to go.
Tell me what happened when you’re done with it!
What the heck would you gain from doing that? You have to read it yourself.
Huhhh~? But there’s way too many documents we have to read..
You’re right. The characters’ backgrounds are very detailed, so it’ll be difficult to build our roles.
The assistant “Shooty Dan” that Shouta’s acting has an important role, of course…
And Touma’s “Thomkin Gusman,” the revolting, high-class rich man…
Plus, there’s one of the wealthiest men in the country, my character, “North Knightley.”
Each and every one of them is a character who has more than one or two traits. He’s not written out straightforwardly.
I got the general mood of how the product turns out, but it’ll be tough for me to act it out in person.
The novel will become more interesting the more you read through it, you know. I’ll help you out, so let’s finish them all, one by one.
…Oui? You’ve some nerve to be keeping someone like me waiting, don’t you know!
…Huh? Touma-kun, what’s wrong? Are you in your rebellious phase or something?
Heck n…! I mean, non! Leave that aside. Hurry up and start about with the lessons, now.
Talking about useless topics is, indeed, nonsense! You must always be practicing to become someone who is truly top-class! Uwaahaahaha… Haah.
[sinks, dejected, then charges back up.]
…GAAAH—! THAT SPEAKING PATTERN IS A PAIN TO DEAL WITH…!
Wait, Touma-kun, were you imitating Kuro-chan just now?
Y-yeah. Did I resemble him?
Hmm… I think you got the key parts of it, but… Why were you suddenly imitating President Kuroi?
Well, I thought it’d help out if I used him to reference for this film.
Thomkin’s an aristocrat whose dealings in business have led him to be the center of rumors that he’s come into brushes with crime.
Plus, there’s his elitism. He looks down on all humans except for himself… isn’t that right?
Now that you say it, he’s got some points in common with Kuro-chan.
Right? That’s why I tried remembering the old dude’s speaking pattern.
This doesn’t mean I’ve accepted the way that geezer Kuroi does things, but… I wanted to do everything I could for the sake of our film.
If it’ll become more interesting of a work, then all the more reason for me to do it!
I see. It’s an idea reminiscent of you.
(Do everything I can for it… right? If that’s the case, the thing I can do right now is…)
We’re done~ with work! Hmph, I’m tired already. Hokuto-kun~, let me ride your car!
Sorry about that, Shouta. I’m going on the train today again.
You’ve been coming using the train recently. Is your car going through repairs or something?
No, that’s not it…
I thought it’d be better for me to make use of my time when I’m commuting.
If it’s on train, then I’d be able to read books or the documents while I’m commuting.
Heh. You’re sure getting into it.
I want to do everything I can… isn’t that right?
…Heheh. That’s what I said, wasn’t it? Yeah. You’re right!
“My apologies for having introduced myself so late. I go by the name of North Knightley.”
“Knightley…? Huh? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before…”
“He’s one of the wealthiest men even in this country, who made a fortune with investments, Shooty-kun.”
“Haha. I’m only just a trivial person with some money in his pockets.”
“No, no. You’ve got many rumors about you. You’re much younger than you look in pictures.”
“Well, thank you. Actually, I’m preparing to start up a brand new business in London right now.
I’ve gathered up related peoples concerning that business in order to meet them all in this party.
As such, a majority of the passengers of the train are people whom I’ve invited.”
“I see. These circumstances confirmed my expectations.”
“Good gracious! My, that previous deduction… I’d expect nothing less from the famous detective Aaron. I commend you!
I’ve come to want to test my wit against such a detective. How would you like a game?”
“A test of wit? …Ah, you’re inviting me to play chess with you? In that case, I accept.”
“The knight and rook have been hindered… Hm. This is…”
“Three checks as a result of the same position… Also known as Perpetual Check. It seems we’ve tied.”
“Phew. I believed myself quite skilled, though to think I would be done in by this.”
“Haha. Chess is my specialty, after all. Well, then. The settling match will be the next opportunity we meet.”
“Very well. I’d like to have a bout with you in the future.”
“…!? That scream just now was…!? It sounded like North-san’s voice…”
“Something may have happened. Let us go, Shooty-kun.”
“Chess pieces are scattered all around… Knightley-san’s gone somewhere… What is this!?”
“…!? What… What in the world happened here? Where’s Mr. Knightley!?”
“What? Knightley disappeared? You’re all going on and on about meaningless things…—! Th-This is…!”
“After that previous scream, Mr. Knightley disappeared from his room… Hmm…”
“Aaron-san. You’re a famous detective, aren’t you? You’ve solved all sorts of cases…
Please. Could you lend us your help?”
“…There is no way a single person could simply disappear from a moving train.
I’ll take you up on this. I will definitely solve the mystery of Mr. Knightley’s disappearance.
After all, my nature is such that I cannot rest if all mysteries have not been solved.”
What an unexpected development. I wonder if everyone will be surprised?
Even though I know what’s going to happen later, I can’t help but feel excited~!
“Now, then. The main clues left in his room are… these two.”
“Huh? Could this be… Sir! There are blood splatter-like stains on these chess pieces…!
Could this be… North-san’s blood…!?”
“…Please, calm down, Shooty-kun. These blood stains are quite the old relic.”
“Oh, they are. You’re right… So, does that mean they’re not related to North-san?”
“Well… It’s too early to decide that for sure.
Plus, this sketchbook that you found is also quite intriguing.
‘Don’t forget’— Don’t let it leave your memory… It may just be a message meant for someone.”
“I asked around from the other passengers, but there were no witnesses.
The only one from whom I haven’t heard talk from is that room’s… Bean Sapp-san.
He seems to have been shut in his room due to having felt unwell ever since he was on the train.”
“Hmm… Well, then. I hope he’ll allow us to question him and investigate briefly.”
“…Hey. If yer done with yer investigation, hurry up and leave. My head’s achin’.”
“Thank you very much for your cooperation, Sapp-san… Hmm. We couldn’t find any clues.”
“There wasn’t even anyone underneath the bed, either~. I wonder where he could’ve gone?”
“I tried searching around the engine room and the operating room, but I couldn’t find him anywhere…
Could this possibly be… Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock…?”
“…Huh? Conductor guy, did you say something just now?”
“Ah… I’m so sorry! I remembered a rumor that I heard when I was still a student.
When the clock hand points to 12 and you create the shape of Perpetual Check upon the chessboard…
A door to another world will open. The urban legend states that you’ll be dragged inside…
Around thirty years ago, the rumor came entirely from the fact that a student named Rain actually did disappear…”
“Speaking of which… The time that the two of them were playing chess was exactly at 12:00 A.M., wasn’t it?”
“Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock… It’s the first time I’ve heard of such a rumor, but something about it unnerves me…
Shooty-kun. Please gather up the people. I would like to know the amount of people who recognize this rumor.”
“…Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock… Y-Yes. I heard of a similar rumor when I was a student.”
“Hmm. It looks like there are people here and there within the train who know of this legend.”
“Legend, you call it? Hmph! Like hell I’d care about this. It’s absolutely foolish…!! I’ll be returning to my room now!”
People who saw the spinoff drama must be thinking, “Oho?” at this point in time.
Heheh. We’re gonna make them speculate their heads off about what this means!
“(What does this mean… What in the hell are those old chess pieces…!
No. It’s obvious that they’re completely different pieces. I most definitely buried those chess pieces…
But what is this farce that’s happening right now!?
Who in the world would do this, and for what reason…)”
[room darkens...]
“…!? …You’re… You couldn’t be…!!”
[the screen turns black.]
“…Gh… Agh—! …”
“I can’t believe it! Even Thomkin-san has gone missing, too…!”
“Scattered chess pieces… There are more blood splatters on these pieces as well.”
“This has to be from… Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock…
Have Knightley-san and Gusman-san been dragged into a-another world…!?”
“Honda-kun. To lose your calm in this situation is a foolish thing to do.
Even if this is an event purposely created by someone…
There is only one person without an alibi… That is, Mr. Bean Sapp.
It seems we’ll need to question him in more detail.”
“Bean-san’s also disappeared too!? Could this sort of thing even happen…”
“Certainly, the blood-splattered chess pieces are the same as well…”
“It’s Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock… I knew it… The three of them are in another world…!?”
“…McQueen-san. You have some knowledge of what is going on, don’t you?
Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock… As those words came up more frequently,
the composure in your eyes continued to disappear.”
“…I guess I can’t hide it any longer. I understand what you’re asking. I’ll confess everything I know.”
“…What!? Bill-san, you and Thomkin-san were classmates!?”
“…Yeah. At the same time, I was doing research alongside a man named ‘Rooks White’.
And I was tempted by Thomkin… No, I can’t talk my way out of it anymore: It was my sin.
I stole the results of Rooks’ research and publicly announced it as my own…
Rooks never openly denounced me. I began work as a researcher and achieved successes…”
From here on, the story’s going to come in contact with developments one after another. It sure pumps you up!
Yeah. The way things are proceeding are happening in great leaps and bounds, but let’s finish acting until the very end!
“Rooks didn’t blame me for anything. He believed that Thomkin himself was the source of all evil.
He called out Thomkin and rebuked him, saying things like “I know all of your evil deeds.”
And while he was distracted by that, enraged… Thomkin took a knife he had hidden and… used it on Rooks……
I later heard that Rooks’ corpse and blood-covered chess pieces were buried on the hill behind the school.
‘If the truth behind Rooks’ death is ever exposed, then your sins will become clear as day…’
…Thomkin threatened me with that statement. And I… chose self-preservation over justice…
Up until now, all of my... no, Rooks’ research, has been funded by Thomkin’s money.
The rumors spread in school that Rooks had disappeared due to Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock.
This is… most definitely, Rooks’ rage. It’s a punishment that he imposed upon us.
Rooks must be cursing me and Thomkin from that other world! It has to be it…!!”
“(…That’s impossible. ‘Rooks’ has no connection to Mr. Knightley and Mr. Sapp’s disappearances.
The Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock… The ‘Don’t forget’ on the sketchbook…
A killer from ten years prior, as well as chess pieces which should have been buried…
…There’s something about it. I feel as if I’ve overlooked something…… Wait a moment. ‘Connection…’?)”
[flashes of light]
“…I see now. I didn’t even realize something this simple…!”
“…Everybody. Thank you very much for gathering here for me.
Allow us to talk now about who the culprit behind this case is, as well as the truth behind it.”
“Please, wait! What do you mean by culprit…? Isn’t this the fault of an urban legend!?”
“No, it isn’t. This is most definitely an incident done with purpose behind it.
What are the requirements to be a culprit in this case? Do you know, Shooty-kun?”
“Wha!? Umm… To be able to make people disappear from the train car…?”
“You’re slightly off. Think of it as being those without alibis when the victims disappeared.
As such, it was someone capable of performing the crime…
Someone who could gain something from making Mr. Knightley, Mr. Gusman, and Mr. Sapp disappear… isn’t it?
Aah, also…
Someone who knew about the legend of Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock and brought forth those circumstances for it to happen…”
“By ‘brought forth Perpetual Check’, you mean… It couldn’t be…
Wait, huh!? Then you’ll be talking about yourself, Aaron-san, and Knightley-san…
Knightley-san was the first victim, so there’s no way he’d be the culprit…”
“Indeed… That is the blind spot of this case.”
We’re finally heading into the last part. Here comes the scene where the famous detective really shows off his specialty. I’m gonna pull it off and look good while doing it!
“First, this case happened with Mr. Knightley’s disappearance…
Following that, Mr. Gusman and Mr. Sapp went missing.
Before Mr. Knightley went missing, was there anyone who had contact with Mr. Sapp?
Could it be that no one interacted with him?”
“…Sapp-san said his head hurt, so he locked himself in his room…
Even when he presented the ticket, he stayed behind the door. You’re right that I haven’t even seen his face…”
“A majority of the passengers who happened to take this train were invited by Mr. Knightley.
No one would notice if there were one guest who didn’t actually exist. It was made to look like the legend, as three people disappeared all in a row.
This case would evade pursuit as an ‘incident’ and be treated as a supernatural phenomenon instead.
This is a rumor well known enough to be spoken about in school. The fact that a great number of people are here who know about it was also likely done to reinforce its pretense as an urban legend.
Preparing invitees and staff members who know about Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock was also… possible,
if it were Mr. Knightley to do it.”
“His first trick was to play chess with someone at 12:00 and make Perpetual Check happen.
He would scream as if some distress or danger had befallen him, and then he’d exit the stage.
He scattered the chess pieces and sketchbook in his room to pretend as if he were in there…
Then, he shut himself in the room of a passenger who didn’t actually exist: Mr. Sapp, pretending to be him as well.
Mr. Knightley made all the guests believe that he had disappeared without a trace…
In the meanwhile, he obtained his true objective: bringing an end to Mr. Gusman’s life.
The only one for whom these chains of crimes was possible was Mr. Knightley, the first one who disappeared…
The only one to have created the circumstances for this to happen was, as well, Mr. Knightley.”
“Please wait, sir. So where in the world is North-san right now!?
He was neither in the engine room nor the operating room, so how and where was he able to hide…!”
“The answer to that is simple, Shooty-kun. He simply ‘returned’.
It was the place where we were forced to have the preconceived notion that ‘no one was there’… His own room.
However, there’s still a mystery I still cannot solve… Could you resign yourself and show yourself, please?”
“…Haha. You’ve done splendidly, detective. Very well. I shall explain from here on.”
“Since you knew about Perpetual Check at 12 o’clock… Does that mean you were affiliated with that same school?”
“Indeed, it does. …I hope you’ll allow me to take a walk down memory lane with you.
My true name is ‘Piece Border’… Does this name ring a bell, Bill?”
“Piece… you say? No— It couldn’t be…! You’re Rooks’ friend who often talked with him…!”
“…Yes, that’s me. That same Rooks who was said to have disappeared as a result of an urban legend…
Ever since I figured out that he was killed by someone else, I swore to avenge him.
I changed my name and appearance and fabricated this entire scenario over a long, long time…
In order to deal death upon Thomkin and Bill as they writhed in such despair and fear that nothing would be scarier…
I thought it a fitting end for the people who stole everything from Rooks.”
[leans down and picks something up.]
“See, take a look. Look at this face filled with suffering.”
“…W-what…! Thomkin-san…!! You were hiding him inside the trunk…”
“I was so close… I can’t go on without apologizing to Rooks.
Well, whether or not my plan failed, I meant to do this since the very beginning, anyway…
……Rooks. I’m going to where you are now.”
“I didn’t solve this mystery so that you could force yourself into death!!”
“…I said it, didn’t I? I was already planning to do this from the beginning! Don’t get in my way!”
“Is that truly what Rooks White would have wanted from you…!?”
“Yes, of course it is! I would erase all his regrets from this world and pass away alongside him!
I am his best friend. That’s what Rooks wants… That’s obvious, can’t you see…!
If that’s not the case, then up until now, all this time… What have these past ten years been for…!!”
“…I cannot say I would have forgiven the things that Gusman and Bill had done.
However, if you act for revenge, then nothing will come about as a result of that. If you were really trying to act for the sake of your friend…
Wouldn’t you have revealed their wrongdoings and taken back Mr. White’s good name and honor!?”
“…ngh! …Ten years… I used up everything on revenge… If I could bring back those ten years… to do that…”
[steps backward, drops down, and shakes.]
“…I’m so sorry… Rooks…! I’m…… I’m… ugh… Uugh…!!”
“…All the mysteries have been solved. The law shall carry out the remaining punishments that must be dealt.”
Good job there, Hokuto! Your crying act at the end was really amazing… It touched my heart too, not gonna lie.
Fufu. Thank you. It looks like it paid off for me to read through books themed after revenge.
I sorta feel like going, “Whoo, we did it—!” All we gotta do left is wait for the premiere, huh~
Yeah. I hope our Little Angels will be able to check out our hard work as soon as possible ♪