It was impossible for Maria to commit any of the murders in the guest house. So, the most Maria could do was kill Shannon.
Which means a third culprit would be needed for the guest house murders.
The third one would have to be Eva, Hideyoshi, Rudolf, or Kyrie. And that would mean we'd need a fourth culprit too, right?
You're right. In order for one of those four adults to play dead, the child who checked them would have to be a culprit, too. In other words, if Maria is a culprit, we'll need to have at least four culprits total.
If there are four culprits, then each one of them must kill at least one person.
In which case... thinks don't quite seem to add up.
The four culprits would then be two adults and two children. One adult is in charge of the murders on the first and second twilights. The other adult handles the murders from the guest house onwards. Yes, that creates a contradiction.
A culprit is defined as 'one who murders'. That means anyone who's a culprit must commit murder at least once.
Simply put, there are very few people that a child culprit could murder. The children could not have killed in the first and second twilights. They also can't commit murder after the first deaths in the guest house take place. The only one they can possibly commit is Shannon's murder on the fourth twilight.
A child culprit can only kill Shannon. A second child culprit couldn't kill anyone, so they couldn't be a culprit at all... It means there can only be one child culprit.
As soon as we pick Maria as a culprit, we need another adult culprit besides Rosa. However, it's impossible for there to be a second child culprit to lie about their parent's death. In other words, it's impossible for Maria to be a culprit...!
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The culprit of the first twilight really did kill six people. If she had said that at the time of the first twilight, I might've accepted it as it seemed. However, if we remember that she said it after the second twilight, a new possibility shows itself!
You don't mean... that the 'six people who were killed' includes the murders of the second twilight?!
That's it! The culprit really was hiding among the six in the dining hall! Later on, they snuck out of the dining hall, killed the two people in Natsuhi's room, locked the door from the inside, and hid somewhere in the room!
I see, now it all adds up! You can construct the closed rooms of both the first and second twilights without using master keys!
Well... you'd think so, but that reminds me of something else. Natsuhi's room was sealed immediately afterwards...
Yes, come to think of it... Lady Bernkastel used the red truth to say this: The group sealed the room at the same time they left. No culprit joined the group as they left.
And she also said this: All of the seals will not be broken.
In other words... the culprit is trapped in a closed room again.
That theory might explain the first and second twilights. However, the culprit would be sealed inside Natsuhi's room, unable to leave.
If you think about it, our theory needed an accomplice from the very beginning. In the first twilight, Eva, Hideyoshi, that old bastard, Kyrie, and Rosa, in other words, everyone who hasn't been confirmed innocent, had their deaths confirmed by people who also haven't been confirmed innocent. Unless those people were accomplices - fellow culprits - no one would've been able to play dead.
You're right! After all, the rules say that only culprits can cooperate with other culprits!
Culprits are capable of lying even before they commit murder. So, we have ourselves a theory.
The culprit who carried out the first twilight murders also carried out the second twilight, then locked themselves up in Natsuhi's room.
Then, the other culprit, who lied about the first culprit's death, carried on with the murders starting at the fourth twilight!
Yes, it all matches up that way! So, which of them was it?!
Unfortunately, so far, any one of them could be a culprit. However, we can say for sure that the crime wasn't committed by a single person. And, we know that the culprit locked up in Natsuhi's room was one of those five victims in the dining hall. We also know that the person who continued with the crimes was one of those who inspected the five suspicious corpses on the first twilight!
George. Jessica, who has been confirmed innocent, used the purple text to say that it was impossible for George to kill Shannon. So, doesn't that mean either Battler or Maria must have killed her?
I'd like to think that, but it's too soon to be sure. Battler, Maria, and every other person except George lacks an alibi. I've managed to prove the crime wasn't committed by a single person, but I didn't prove that there were exactly two culprits. At this point in time, it's still too soon to be sure.
I see. There might be a culprit of the first and second twilights, the culprit who lied about the first culprit's death, and another completely separate culprit as well. Yes, it was a mistake to overlook that...
The murder of Shanno was possible for anyone, with only one single exception. Also, that fact alone isn't enough to prove that George is innocent.
I thought this would be an easy one since there's no closed room, but on the contrary, we have no suspicious circumstances and no information to lead us to the culprit...
The four cousins and Nanjo. In other words, all the survivors at this point in time. Thinking about it on normal lines, that would make this an impossible crime.
However, that's where we can turn the chessboard over, correct?
You've got it. This actually gives us a simple answer. This twilight proves that there's a culprit who isn't Doctor Nanjo or one of the cousins.
Other than these survivors, everyone is supposed to be dead. And yet, it was impossible for the survivors to commit the crime...
And, since there exists a culprit who faked his or her death, that's absolute proof that there were multiple culprits. Only a culprit can fake an examination and lie!
The fifth and sixth twilights may seem to be a perfect impossible crime, but this one incident alone tells us so much.
Impossible crimes are a double-edged sword. They have the power to make your opponents surrender, but they also make it possible for theories to break deep into your lines of defense. Long ago, you would surely have surrendered. How far you've come!
Now let's move on to the crimes of the seventh and eighth twilights. I think we're getting pretty close to the core of things.
And yet... there's something I don't quite get. The culprit of the first and second twilights was one of those five victims from the first twilight. That person was sealed in Natsuhi's room, but we know their child was a culprit too, and lied when examining the death of the first. However, the only kids who can be a culprit are Battler, George, and Maria.
That's right. And we've provevn that they couldn't have committed murder for the fifth, sixth, and seventh twilights.
Interesting. It also happens to be a theory that makes sense. Plus, it would mean that the third culprit was also one of those who played dead. It might even be possible to have four or five culprits that way.
I'm not sure about that. At any rate, Gohda, Kumasawa, and Nanjo couldn't have been killed if there were only two culprits. There can be no doubt of that!
This is getting complicated. Was it a group of three culprits? Or was it a pair working together and someone else on their own? Ah, right, we can't forget the possibility that there are more than three culprits.
Now, the question is which of those five victims in the dining hall was faking death. We're getting close. I'm starting to like this!
Indeed. The narration says that George, Battler, and Maria could not have killed Jessica. The three survivors couldn't have done it.
The purple statements here sound like they have a lot of hints for us.
George's and Maria's purple statements are particularly interesting. If only we could trust them, they would be quite a powerful clue...
If George is innocent, then his purple statement about Maria being unable to kill anyone would be true, and Maria would be confirmed innocent. In the same way, if Maria is innocent, then her statement about George being unable to kill an adult would be true, and in the end, that proves George innocent.
If either George or Maria could prove the other was innocent, they would be innocent, too. It's like a chicken and egg dilemma. It almost feels like a useful hint, but not quite. Pretty annoying.
You're right. Feels like we're getting to the final stretch!
So, a three person group, with two adults and one kid? I see, that sounds like it'd explain all the crimes so far, doesn't it?
But hold it! That's actually impossible, too.
Indeed. It's clearly shown that George cannot be a culprit.
Hehe, pretty sharp. The kids can only kill Shannon on the fourth twilight.
That's it. Just one tiny alibi that only works for Shannon's murder. That's what proves George innocent for all of the crimes!
So, we need not suspect George! Which means all of his purple statements can be relied upon!
Yeah. It confirms George's purple statement saying 'Maria didn't kill anyone'. Since she couldn't kill anyone, she can't be a culprit. So, Maria is also confirmed innocent.
Since George and Maria are innocent, that also proves that their examinations of their parents' deaths were also trustworthy.
That's right. No one will mistakenly confirm a death, and people who aren't culprits can't lie. So, the deaths of their parents have been confirmed, and those parents are also innocent.
We've gotten rid of almost everyone... The answer is already clear, is it not?
To start, one of the adult culprits carried out the first twilight, then played dead.
Since we know that all of the servants with master keys were innocent, there was no way for the culprit to lock the door to the dining hall from the outside. So, we know the one who locked it did so from inside the room.
And, in order for them to play dead, they needed another culprit to lie when examining their death.
Since Genji is innocent, the examinations of all five suspicious victims were performed by their own children. So, the child of the first culprit is the second culprit.
Two adults, one kid. That's what our culprit group looks like.
Pretty much. All of the kids have been proven innocent, with one exception.
And the only corpse inspections that a child culprit could lie about were the insepctions of that child's own parents. So, the culprit group was a family of two adults and one child.
Murder with the family. How sweet.
So, who are the three culprits? There's hardly any point in stretching this out further, is there?
Hmph. Even in my games, Battler culprit theories were some of the most popular, weren't they?
It seems so. Sheesh, why does everyone think I did it?
There's no need for any more discussions or hints. Let's move ahead with the answer!
Is it over?
Well done. It seems a mystery of this level wasn't enough to beat those two after all.
