1

Araya Ryuuo was particularly infamous, even among the eccentrics that made up the Crimes Circle. His rebellious style and rough manner set him apart from the prim and proper youths of Tokiwa Academy, but it was a deeper sense of peril wafting off him that had led him to be viewed as an irregular and a threat, and to be alienated accordingly.

This reputation may have been an extreme one, but it was in no way unearned. Quite the opposite—as the prodigal son of a powerful family, upending his standing so thoroughly had been a hard-earned victory, the culmination of a very deliberate attempt to ostracize himself from the masses.

The reason behind this undertaking lies in Araya’s very particular mindset. The core principle which drives him is a belief in the power of ‘words’. More specifically, it is the belief that the worth of a person is dictated by the weight of his words, in the power of one’s words to convince others.

If you were to boil it down, Araya Ryuuo valued being seen as correct above everything else. However, his fundamental precept was a bit more nuanced than that. After all, above the opinions of anyone else, what he desired most was for he himself to be capable of proudly and sincerely asserting his confidence in the power of his words. Araya wished to be able to see himself as right, no matter the situation.

Yet as he grew and matured under the care of his wealthy aristocratic family, he soon realized just how difficult it would be to live according to that principle. He soon realized just how empty, how vapid and how utterly weightless the words of those around him truly were.

As he watched his relatives spew meaningless platitudes and self-serving lies for the sole purpose of pleasing their interlocutors, he thought about how he’d rather die than let his words rot to that extent. He felt no hatred towards his family; as he imagined how it must feel to prattle on and on, day in day out without being able to truly express a single thing, all Araya could feel for those poor, miserable puppets was pity.

Even so, though he might not have hated them, he understood that if he continued on in the footsteps of his parents before him, he too would become no different. He knew well the fallibility of people—however dedicated to their principles they might have been, if you give them the leeway, people will allow cracks to form. They will let themselves get away with too much, and they will ultimately crumble. Be it a harmless unfounded boast or a well-intentioned white lie, whatever the form, empty nonsense will slowly corrupt one’s speech, draining away the weight of their humanity.

That is why Araya Ryuuo chose the thorny path of seclusion. If the desire to please others led to dishonesty, he would repulse any and all. If what it took to be right was to be hated by everyone, then that’s what he would be. If you were to ask him directly, this is what he might say: Talkin’ is my specialty, y’know? My words mean a lot—so why waste words on a guy, when a punch can do the job instead?

One might ask, then, why a man such as Araya Ryuuo would join the Crimes Circle, a group founded on debate and discussion. Why join hands with others when he’d dedicated himself to being alone. The reason was simple—maintaining the weight of his words by forgoing speech entirely would have been the emptiest of victories.

If he couldn’t prove his worth, there was no point in tempering it in the first place. Left unchecked, people will naturally put themselves on a pedestal—What Araya wanted wasn’t that kind of pathetic narcissism. It was only through friction, through interaction with others that he could ascertain his caliber.

That was why Araya chose to enlist within the Crimes Circle’s ranks, a place of academic discussion, where logic, deduction and persuasion were foremost. For him, this was no mere afterschool club—It was a battlefield. A battlefield where he would prove himself by challenging adversaries of equal intellect to his.

And today, in the Crimes Circle’s office, a battle more glorious than any before was about to rage—one in which Araya was sure to stand victorious.

2

In a scene reminiscent of the previous day’s, an outsider stood at the entrance to the Crimes Circle’s room, her expression unamused—just like before, it was the vice-chairwoman of the Disciplinary Committee, Moribe.

“Oh? What brings you by at this hour, Moribe-senpai?” inquired Shirahama, as if oblivious to any purpose she’d have for being there.

“What do you mean, ‘what’? I may be letting you do as you please, but I should at least have the right to spectate this farce with my own eyes.”

“Well, if that’s what your heart desires, don’t let me stop you. It spares me the effort of writing a report, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s a benefit to all involved. Someone, bring her a chair, would you?”

“Why dontcha bring her one yourself, asshole?” shot back Araya, though at that point Kanshou had already gotten up from the couch and, with a hurried bow and an awkward smile to Moribe, went to retrieve a chair from the edge of the room.

“Well, if everyone’s ready, then without further ado, let us begin,” announced Shirahama with a snap of his fingers, “It’s time for the first deduction!”

“Araya-senpai is starting us off, right?” asked Gekihara. “Let’s see what you got! Ahh, so exciting!”

“Hah. Well, sorry to all of ya, but I’m ‘fraid that all your thinking ‘bout the case so far has been nothin’ but a huge waste of time.” Araya declared with a smirk. “Since I’ll be solving this case here and now.”

“Fufu, someone sure is eager. You sound like a middle schooler the night before a field trip. Makes all your grumbling from yesterday seem like an illusion,” commented Damari.

“True, it was frustratin’ for sure. I mean, who wouldn’t be angry after having such a simple and banal case thrust at ‘em. Felt like havin’ my intelligence insulted, y’know? But then I thought ‘ahh, turns out I can squeeze some fun out of this after all—showing these boneheaded simpletons the full truth in a single day should be loads ‘a fun!’” Unswayed by Damari’s provocation, Araya wore a brutal smile on his face.

“Well then, how about you get on with the explanation? Or maybe you’d like to continue tooting your own horn for a while?” Sekimonji remarked irritatedly.

Do these people all just hate each other? Watching the exchange with an exasperated expression, Moribe wondered how this group managed to stay intact at all.

“Sekimonji-sensei is right.” The president silenced the clamoring at last. “Araya-kun, the floor is yours. Let the deduction begin.”

3

“As previously mentioned, this case is anythin’ but complex. Like ninety-nine percent of crimes that happen in this world, the motive is as clear as they come: simple self-interest, nothin’ more to it.” Making sure that all eyes were on him, casually leaning back on the couch with one arm hanging behind the armrest, Araya began his deduction speech with that declaration. “When tryin’ to figure out the perpetrator of a crime, it’s best to think who’d have the most to gain out of it, right?

“Now, the culprit’s goal seems pretty clear. Bungled execution aside, the intent was to render that bastard Kaneya unable to play in his upcoming match, ruinin’ his record and making a fool outta him in the process.

“But the question is, why? Just malice? If so, that leads us to a problem. See, the amount of people who’ve got something against that asshole is almost too much to count. I can think of plenty of folks who’d gladly do something like this.” Me included, Araya added with a wink. “Should I take it for granted everyone here is already well aware just what kinda guy our little victim to-be is?”

“Oh, we’re very aware, I assure you,” replied Damari.

“I assume you’re referring to the rumors of uncouth behavior surrounding Kaneya-kun.”

“Hah, what a cute way of putting it. That monkey will try to screw everything on two legs that happens to enter his field of vision. Speakin’ of, funny how you self-important bunch at the Disciplinary Committee always overlook his stunts. Talk about a waste of the school budget!”

“The Disciplinary Committee is too busy to move over some idle gossip. When concrete evidence of him breaking the Academy’s rules surfaces, we will impartially judge him as we would anyone else,” Moribe replied, pushing her glasses up with her index finger.

“Heh, whatever you say,” replied Araya with a mean-spirited cackle. “Anyway, point is, if I tried treating every ex-girlfriend he’s cheated on as a suspect, it’d take me a year to form a proper deduction. So I tried going for a different line of thinking.

“Why now? Why do this now, and in this way? If this crime was just someone’s attempt at revenge, then they coulda done it at any time and in any other, more effective and cruel way—Yet they didn’t. I’d bet there’s some reason for that.

“So then we come back to the question: who’d have the most to gain out of this? Well, if this wasn’t just a revenge plan, then the culprit’s aim wasn’t just to hurt the bastard, it was clearly to keep him from playin’ that day.

“And who’d want that? Well, despite normally being a scum-sucking waste of space, as an example of this world’s unfairness, Kaneya happens to be a great basketball player. He’s not shy ‘bout it either, guy never misses a chance to brag about it. Seems like his teammates can’t stand him, but they’ve just gotta deal with it—can’t argue with skill, after all.

“But the guy at the top never cares about the struggles of the little guy. For Kaneya, him bein’ there’s his God-given right or whatever, but others gotta work hard just to keep ‘emselves in the running.

“—Now, picture this with me, wouldja?” Saying this, Araya stands up off the couch, walking over to the left side of the president’s desk and leaning his waist on it, his back to the audience. “You worked hard to get on the basketball team. You’re not the most talented player out there, but you’re decent enough that the captain keeps you on the lineup for the Inter High competition. But then, right around the time before the semi-finals, you start gettin’ the vibe that you might be benched before you get to play in the finals.

“Right before the final match that you’d been looking forward to for so long? After all the work you put into this thing? And—all the while an arrogant prick who’s never felt that struggle prances around like he owns the goddamn place? Now that just can’t stand, can it?” Araya turns his head to face the others, the toothy smirk on his face deepening. “Now, if you were in that situation, whaddya do?”

“If this hypothetical individual’s goal was getting to play in the finals, why not wait till then to hatch this scheme?” Sekimonji asked.

“Oh, now that’s just a little somethin’ called sportsmanship,” Araya explained. “Our culprit’s above just cutting out a guy he couldn’t stand to keep his own spot. All he wanted was a chance to prove himself, without that ‘star’ hogging the limelight. If, even after that, he was deemed unworthy, he’d just accept it knowin’ he did all he could. Noble, eh?”

“Hmph. Just self-serving nonsense,” Sekimonji bluntly replied.

“Well, either way, our culprit would have to also meet our prior requirements: someone with access to the Arts & Crafts Club’s supplies and without an alibi in the timeframe of 4:45 to 5:00.

“And hey, whaddya know, there just so happens to be someone like that on the basketball team! A guy who, despite always diligently committing himself to practice, conveniently left early the day before the crime, saying that he was feelin’ sick. And after consulting my sister, turns out he also has a girlfriend in the Arts & Crafts Club. Real unlucky guy, eh, just coincidentally matching our culprit’s profile perfectly?”

“...And what exactly is this person’s name, Araya-kun?” Moribe asked hesitantly, not wanting to admit that her interest had been piqued.

“Ahh, should I? Should I really be snitching on this guy? I dunno, right now I’m feelin’ pretty sympathetic. Anyone trying to drag that dickhead Kaneya down a peg seems like an alright guy in my book. Hrmm, real dilemma ya put me in!” Araya said, feigned turmoil on his face.

“......”

“Aw well, ya forced my hand!” He immediately gave in. “Name’s Hide Marihiko. First year, class C. Check ‘im out if ya want.”

“You’re no less of a piece of work yourself, you know that, Araya?” Sekimonji said.

“Why thank you for your input, sensei.” Araya said with a wry smile, sitting back down in his place on the couch. “And with that, I think I said it all. Sorry for spoilin’ the whole affair on day one, really. Ya better figure out what else we’re gonna do for the next week now.”

And so ended the first deduction.

4

With Araya’s speech concluded, Moribe excused herself for a moment in order to make a call. Meanwhile, the president of the Crimes Circle decided to congratulate his fellow member on his work.

“Splendid work, Araya-kun. You always know how to paint a striking picture, that’s for sure. I dare say that presentation deserves a round of applause,” Shirahama said, clapping his hands, though none of the others joined in.

“Don’t mention it, Prez. I only said the obvious.” Araya smoothly ignored the glares prompted by his feigned humility. “Oh yeah, just in the spirit of the occasion, I brought a lil’ somethin’ for everyone to enjoy.”

Saying that, Araya went to his bag and roughly fished something out before turning around to show it to everybody. “Oooh!” Gekihara eagerly exclaimed upon seeing the object in his hands—it was a box of chocolates.

“I thought it’d fit in with our theme, y’see,” Araya said, still maintaining his humble facade with his best attempt at a bashful smile. The box was a simple rectangle in shape, bearing the unremarkable logo of a store brand product, containing a number of round hazelnut chocolates. He set the container on the table and removed the cap, allowing everyone to take some.

“My, awfully generous all of a sudden, huh?” Damari remarked.

“No idea what ya mean. I’m a well-bred gentleman, y’know?” Araya replied sardonically.

“Mmm, this earns you a few points, Araya-senpai,” Gekihara said, still chewing her chocolate. “Not many though~.”

“You’re too easy, woman. Cheap flattery like this shouldn’t be winning you over.” Sekimonji said, though he still ate his share.

“Thank you very much.” Kanshou conveyed his sincere gratitude.

“I’m surprised you’d be celebrating my little idea like this, I have to say. I thought you’d be more dissatisfied with it,” said the president.

“What can I say, Prez, this little gimmick you cooked up has been real fun. I thought I’d have it go out with a bang, since I just went and ended it with the first turn.”

“Oh, but this is just the beginning, Araya-kun,” Shirahama calmly said.

“But what need is there to keep goin’ with it at this point? The truth’s already been made clear.”

“What’s this, Araya-kun, feeling nervous? Are you perhaps thinking that if you let anyone else speak, they’ll tear down your neat little tale?” Damari asked.

“Hah? What, you think you can come up with a more convincin’ theory?”

“I don’t just think that. However forcefully you may have presented it, your theory is still backed solely by circumstantial evidence. Any one of us could have come up with an equally valid idea. Isn’t that right, Esuzu-chan?”

“Well said, Ari-san! Araya-senpai’s thinking is too stiff. No creative spirit at all~!”

“Sorry to break it to ya, but crimes happen for boring reasons just like this. That’s life,” scoffed Araya. “If you think otherwise, then you better put your money where your mouth is, shrimp. Tomorrow’s your turn, after all, right?”

“Sure thing. I’ll kindly show even a brute like you what a dramatic world we live in.”

Watching the sparks fly between the two with a thin smile, a doubt suddenly crossed through Shirahama’s mind, which he reflexively put into words. “By the way, if I may ask, Araya-kun, what makes you so sure that your theory is the right one?”

“Hah? Ain’t it natural to have faith in your own theory? Well, maybe not for Kanshou over there.” Araya sneered as he called out one of his fellow Circle members, though the first year boy in question simply returned a sheepish smile.

“That may be so, but it’s unlike a man of your caliber to stake everything on mere circumstantial evidence.”

“Hmm.” Araya raised an eyebrow, as if appraising his superior, before briefly looking over his back and then acquiescing. “...I admit I’m impressed, Prez. Ya got good intuition, I’ll give ya that.

“Alright, I’ll cough it up. The reason why I’m so certain that Hide’s the one who did it? Well, it’s quite simple, really—It’s ‘cause I’m the one who gave him the idea in the first place.”

“Oho?” “What now!?” “H-huh?”

Even the Circle members who hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation were at once sucked back in by Araya’s unexpected statement.

“Hey, now. Don’t look at me like a murderer. I’m not the mastermind or anythin’, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Araya explained amusedly. “He just happened to start a conversation with me, and we naturally got to the topic of how much we both hate Kaneya’s guts. I guess I must have let slip my idea of how I’d like to poison the asshole, if given the chance.”

“...” Even the normally indomitable Shirahama was left speechless.

“A meathead like him would never have come up with a plan like this without some inspiration. Ahh, too bad. He was a nice enough guy to come up and talk to a dangerous delinquent like me. Guess I was a bad influence, hyahaha!” The others could do nothing but watch as the man at the center of attention let out a truly foul cackle.

“What a lowlife you are, Araya.”

“Brute! You’re a brute after all! I’m taking back all the points!”

“That’s t-terrible!”

“Hmm…” Only Damari maintained her cool, viewing the scene with a sharp gaze. “Oh, Moribe-san, I see you’re back. Did you perhaps glean something new?”

Having finished her phone call, the vice-chairwoman returned to her seat in front of the chaotic group.

“What’s happening here? …No, never mind. Anyway, I got in touch with the rest of the Committee. I asked them to look into this Hide-kun. Well, not to boast, but our people work pretty fast. I decided to just stay on the line until getting the report.

“—We’ve confirmed that Hide Marihiko has an alibi between 4:45 and 5:00 PM. He really did go home after practice, because he was sick. We have corroborating testimony from one of his friends, who kept him company while he was recovering.”

The meaning of Moribe’s report took a few moments to sink into the minds of those present.

“Uh.”

“Well, how about that?” Araya appeared the most bewildered of them all as Damari’s amiable question perfectly punctuated the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Now h-hold on a moment here,” he finally managed to mumble out. “How’re you sure that friend isn’t just covering for him! Helping build an alibi, it’s a classic trick!”

“We have testimony from a neighbor that saw Hide-kun coming home. And besides,” Moribe added. “It seems he didn’t get to play in the basketball match the following day because he caught influenza. If he really was just making up an alibi, that’d be putting the cart before the horse, don’t you think?”

“Pfff—Bahahaha!” Unable to hold it in any longer, Gekihara burst into laughter, while Sekimonji also formed a rare grin.

“I’m not taking this shit! What’s that friend’s name!? How come I never heard about this!? I’m gonna look into it myself!”

“There’s no need for that. And we respect witness confidentiality at the Disciplinary Committee, so I’m sorry, but that person will remain anonymous.”

“But come on—”

“Araya-kun, how about you just accept your loss already? It’s the sportsman-like thing to do,” the president ordained with a composed smile. “Hey, it was an exceptional showing for your first turn.”

Araya seemingly didn’t hear Shirahama’s comforting words as he blankly gazed at nothing, his face frozen solid. Taking the last piece of chocolate in the box, Damari Arisa delicately put it in her mouth and ate it before speaking up once more.

“I guess you just assumed you were the cause behind it. Seems you were a little overconfident, huh, Araya-kun. What was this called again…” Damari put her finger to her cheek as she briefly pondered something, before seemingly coming to an answer. “—Ah! That’s right. They call this eighth-grade syndrome, don’t they?” she asked with a gleeful smile.

“G-Gggfffffhhh!” As his face twisted in an expression somewhere between fury and intense shame, Araya let out a garbled sound as he turned his back on everyone and ran out of the room.

“Uhhh… Will he be all right?” Gekihara asked awkwardly.

“He’ll be fine if he just gets some time to cool off… Probably,” Shirahama replied, equally flustered.

Grabbing her cup of tea off the table and taking a sip, Damari subtly commented, “That wasn’t too bad, for cheap chocolate.”

5

And so one deduction came to an end, inviting another to take its place. The truth was yet out of sight, no closer to materializing.

Though it was his own pride that had led to his ruin, Araya Ryuuo could hardly be blamed. There was no particular moment when he went down the wrong path, no fatal error in his judgment. He was merely another domino knocked over by fate’s hands, foolish enough to believe he could grasp anything for himself.

Thus, the chime of the clock tower’s bell signaled the end of the first turn. The Crimes Circle would keep on striving for an unreachable destination.

The Poisoned Chocolates Case was not yet over.