Chapter 10 3. The Theory of the Black Umbrella

Yuno and his party immediately found the classroom where his brother and the others gathered. In front of the room next to the classroom where the relevant personnel were, a serious police officer was closely guarding. Seeing Li Ran's striding meteor approaching, the dignified police officer couldn't help but smile. "What are you doing here?" "Are the prefectural policeman Xiantang and the criminal policeman surnamed Hakamada in there?" "How do you know the names of the police departments?" "Can you let me in? I have something important to do."

"But, but..." The policeman in charge inevitably hesitated, and then caught Yukino with his wandering eyes. "Ah, ah! You are the witness... Where did you go! You actually left without permission!" "Stop talking about me, hurry up and let us in!" "Huh? But now we are investigating important insiders..." The important insider, without thinking too much, must be Minister Sagawa. You Nao no longer cared about his appearance, rushed to the door, and the police officer rushed in before he could stop him. This place was originally a career guidance room, and the cheap sofas and tables were arranged like a reception room.There were two detectives sitting in the teacher's seat, facing a girl with her shoulders shrunk and her head bowed.

The girl's distressed appearance was quite different from usual, and it was Minister Sagawa. "Pomelo, pomelo!" My brother was the first to stand up in astonishment. "What are you doing! Can't come in!" But Yuzuno ignored him, "Sagawa, are you okay?" "Hakamada... why are you here?" The minister's eyes were so blank that it could be seen that she was being threatened.Yukino couldn't help but shed tears. "Brother is too much to do such a thing! Release Sagawa immediately!" "No, that..." "Hakamada, take care of yourself."

Xiantang's words were filled with calm anger. "She, Nao Sagawa is now a suspect in the incident. If you continue to make trouble, we will deem you as obstructing the investigation and arrest you." "but……" "Okay, this is my kind reminder. Get out now and be honest." "That's exactly what I wanted to say." A loud voice came from behind. Li Ran was leaning against the door, not knowing how he got rid of the police officer outside.The response of the criminal police is of course "who are you". "Hello, I'm Uran Tenma from Class A of the second grade."

"It doesn't matter who you are. Unrelated personnel cannot enter! Get out!" "Otherwise you will warn me to obstruct the search? 'Nice reminder'? Haha, this is ridiculous. The position has been reversed, detectives. This time we are here to remind you." "……what?" Seeing that Liran in front of him was not timid, Xiantang also lost his momentum. "How about it, Mr. Criminal Police. Let me think about it, can I call you Mr. Xiantang? If you don't listen to me today, you will make the biggest mistake since you became a county policeman, wrongly arresting a wronged girl. This is not a serious matter." Good thing, for everyone."

"What do you mean?" "Now I want to prove that Nao Sagawa is not only not a criminal, but also the person who is the least likely to be a criminal." "Li Ran..." The minister said his name word by word, probably because he regarded Liran as the savior.Sude also had the same idea. ——However, this requires the police to agree with Riran's analysis. Because she left the activity room and rushed here just now (Kaori was already being watched by the police officer, so she didn't come), Yuzuno hadn't heard Satoran's reasoning yet.Although he himself is full of self-confidence, Yuzuno is still uneasy.

"...Did you witness anything related to the incident?" "No. When the incident happened, I was talking about the Macross series with the head of the news department in the classroom, and I didn't see anything. Speaking of which, I also heard from her what happened." Liran pointed at Yu Nao.The older brother stared at him as if saying, "Then what are you doing here?" Yukino didn't want to explain, so he hurriedly hid his gaze. "You mean, you found out that Sagawa was innocent just after hearing her testimony?" "In other words, after listening to her testimony, seeing the scene, and talking to witnesses, you didn't realize that Sagawa was wronged."

Liran returned Xiantang's contempt.The police department frowned. "...Okay, then you can talk about it. If you talk about this point, let me listen to your reasoning. Hakamata, make a record." "Oh? Are you serious, Xiantang?" "There is no loss for us. Your name is Liran, right? Tell me, why is Sagawa not a prisoner?" Xiantang urged Liran provocatively, his eyes were deeper and sharper than when facing the real criminal, as if to say "I will not let go of any ambiguous reasons". But Liran was not afraid. He resolutely sat next to the minister, adjusted his eyes to the same height as the criminal police, and then answered lightly.

"The reason is that there is a men's umbrella in the men's room in the backstage." "Umbrella?" Xiantang asked while looking to the side of the room. Along his line of sight, he could see the long table in the corner, on which leftovers in plastic bags were placed.Most of the remnants are small items, so the black umbrella stands out. "What happened to that umbrella?" "The umbrella itself doesn't explain the problem, the problem is where it fell." "The place...is the toilet." "Yes, toilets, and toilets in gymnasiums. You probably think it's a common thing to leave an umbrella in a toilet. However, this umbrella is not in a toilet at a station or a family restaurant. It's in a The toilet in the gym. Don't you think it's a bit weird?"

"I don't understand what you mean." Li Ran sighed exaggeratedly, "Then let me explain one by one. First of all, the umbrella fell in the men's room after the lunch break, because there is the testimony of the handyman, isn't that true?" "Ok." "It means that someone used the toilet after the lunch break. No, to clarify the clue again, it is from the end of the lunch break to the time after school, three o'clock. At three o'clock Sagawa and the others came to the gymnasium. If someone went to the toilet, they should be able to see it .”

"Well...that's right." "Okay. During this time, someone entered the toilet, holding an umbrella. This is the main premise. But in this way, two very strange questions arise." "Two questions?" "The first one is, the man is holding the umbrella." "...Nothing strange, right? Because it's raining." "No, it's just too weird. Hey, Hakamada-san." Liran suddenly looked over here.Yukino didn't expect that he would be mentioned, and responded in surprise, "Mmm, um". "What's the matter?" "During your previous school life, did you ever go to the bathroom with an umbrella before school?" "Huh? Let me think about it..." What does this matter have to do with Sagawa's suspicion, Yukino complained in her heart, but she still began to think about it. Elementary school, middle school, and now high school.In nine years and two months of school life, I took an umbrella and went to the toilet before school... "...No. After coming to school, the umbrella has been placed on the umbrella stand." "yes." Satisfied with Yukino's answer, Li Ran looked at the two detectives again. "As she said. After entering the teaching building, you will definitely put the umbrella on the umbrella stand. After school is another matter. Before school, especially when there is no need to go out, it is ridiculous to go to the toilet inside the teaching building with an umbrella. behavior. Needless to say, the roofed outer corridor connects the old gymnasium and the teaching building.” "You mean...it's unnatural to go to the bathroom in the old gym with an umbrella during this time?" Xiantang summed up his words.Liran nodded. "However, the status quo is that umbrella is left in the toilet. Whether there is a class or not, imagine someone walking around the building with an umbrella. The first thing that comes to mind is the students who leave early and the students who arrive late." "... Well, considering the school time, it is true. Students who arrive on time will put their umbrellas on the umbrella stand." Detective Hakamada agrees. "Yes. But there will be no students who are late after noon, so that the possibility can be limited to students who leave early. In addition, there are other possibilities, such as staff who leave the school due to business trips, move to The staff of the textbooks, the guests who came to the meeting. In short, they are adults. The class time is just a rule that binds the students, and has nothing to do with them." "Ok." "There is another situation that can be regarded as an extension of leaving early, that is, leaving get out of class early. Compared with this incident, it is the students in Class D of the second grade." When he heard his class, Minister Sagawa who had been listening to the conversation between the two in a daze before suddenly trembled. Li Ran, who was sitting next to her, didn't care and continued to reason. "Students who left early, my lord, Class D of the second grade. As long as there are people belonging to these three categories, the contradiction between the time zone and the umbrella can be explained. Is my reasoning okay so far?" "... Hmm. Can't think of any other possibility." "However, the second question can completely negate these three possibilities." "what?" Xiantang leaned out in surprise, and it seemed that he took Qi Liran's reasoning more seriously than at the beginning. "The second problem is the contradiction of the location. The location of the toilet in the old gymnasium is difficult to find. It can only be reached through the outer corridor on the side of the teaching building, through the gymnasium and into the backstage. It is old and unhygienic. The umbrella was soaked in water. up. "There are toilets everywhere in the teaching building, why go to such an inconvenient toilet on purpose? I can't understand." "But, it's normal for someone in the old gym?" Hakamata looked at his younger sister, who was a vivid example, and retorted at the same time.But Riran had anticipated his objection. "Of course, people who played in the old gym would go to that bathroom. But people who played in the old gym don't carry umbrellas." "Huh?... Mmm." "You've noticed that too. The people who go to the bathroom still hold umbrellas during class time. Going to a gymnasium that has a corridor connecting to classes, will you hold an umbrella? It's impossible. Because there is no chance to use an umbrella. If it is For the last class, I might bring an umbrella so that I can go home immediately after class, but today's sixth class, there is no class scheduled in the old gymnasium. "Thus, the only people who use the toilet are those who are not active in the gymnasium. However, such people can go to the toilet in the teaching building, and there is no need to go to the toilet in the gymnasium. There is a major contradiction here, which makes me think clear." At the end, he made a joke, and Li Ran stopped talking. Xiantang was concentrating on Liran's reasoning, and soon let go of his embraced arms. "...There is another possibility. The toilet cubicles in the teaching building are all occupied by accident. Therefore, someone has no choice but to go to the gymnasium to use the toilet." "It's wonderful, as expected of a criminal police officer." Li Ran put on a look-down attitude, "But according to my first question, that person is limited to the three categories of students leaving early, adults, and second-grade class D. Adults have special toilets for teachers, so it's unimaginable that they will Full occupancy. When class D of the second grade is dismissed, other classes are still in class. In this case, the toilets should be empty. If that person is a student who leaves early, it should be the same as dismissing early. In this way, the remaining The situation is only..." "During recess." The police picked up the conversation. "Although it is said to be the period between lunch break and school dismissal, classes are not always in session. There is a short break between the fifth and sixth periods. Some students leave early at this time and want to go to school before leaving school. I went to the toilet, but it happened that there were people in all the cubicles, so I ran to the gym helplessly. In this way, the contradiction is explained clearly." "Brahoo! Exactly!" Paji Paji Paji.The room echoed with Riran's exaggerated clapping. Is he going to deny it again? Yuzuno's intuition already had a premonition, and sure enough he said "but" next. "However, this only possibility does not exist. It is very regrettable." "...What? I don't think there is a contradiction in this reasoning." "There is a contradiction. Another big contradiction has arisen. "Let's say there's a student who leaves early at recess. He finishes in the gym bathroom, leaves his umbrella there, and then walks outside to leave school. — outside in the rain." "Ah!" The two detectives looked at each other. "Before three o'clock, it was still raining heavily. How could I not have noticed that I had dropped my umbrella when I went out. That person would have noticed it, and then went back to the toilet immediately. It is impossible to leave the umbrella there after school. "And imagine that that person could have gone back to the toilet, but saw that the umbrella was soaked in toilet water and didn't want it anymore? That's also not possible. It's better to have an umbrella than to have nothing than to stand empty-handed in the pouring rain. And The umbrella is still very high-grade, almost brand new. "Thus, the last possibility also disappears. All conceived possibilities are negated, but the umbrella, which is a practical problem, remains in the toilet.—Why?" Li Ran paused for a moment, picked up the pencil beside her and played with it, then continued. "I don't know the reason. However, considering the subsequent murders and the fact that the owner of the umbrella is still not found, the person who forgot the umbrella——because it was a man who left the umbrella in the men's toilet, it is likely to be a man. ——That man should have a lot to do with the incident." "..." "Let me ask you. Are the students you are investigating male or female?" "……I see." Xiantang thought for a long time before speaking. "Interesting reasoning. Indeed, the fact that the umbrella fell in that place is a fact to be taken into account. I find it a little odd that there are no fingerprints on the umbrella." "thanks." "According to your reasoning, the culprit is a man. So you don't think the female Sagawa is a culprit anyway, right?" "exactly." "However, this alone is not considered 'proof completed', right?" The pencil twirling between Ridy's fingers landed on the table. "why?" "...First of all, the man who dropped the umbrella is the prisoner. The span of this logical reasoning is too large. If you let an expert evaluate it, you were negligent at the last moment." Yuzuno, who was on the sidelines, also felt the same way. It is indeed wonderful that Liran's reasoning leads to so many contradictions from just one umbrella.But it was too simple and rude to determine that the man was a prisoner. Of course, as far as Yukino herself is concerned, in order to save Minister Sagawa, she needs to come to such a conclusion, and the current development is exactly what she is looking forward to.But Yukino still has some concerns in her heart. Xiantang continued to analyze. "You've heard her testimony, so you should be able to understand, right? The scene is a secret room. If the man who dropped the umbrella is a criminal, how did that man complete the crime?" "The routine of cracking the secret room has been so rotten that it can't be rotten anymore. After it rots, it turns into soil, and forests grow on the soil." "Oh? I've come up with a possibility. Do you want to hear it?" Sendo's demeanor when he said this was completely different from when he was interviewing Yuzuno and Sanae.Hidden in his gentle language are huge claws. Li Ran urged him "please", and the police department began to tell. "That man didn't exist at all. The umbrella was placed by Sagawa himself to distract the view." "Ugh." Yuzuno immediately understood what he meant. "how come……" "Yes. Sagawa wanted to pretend to be a crime committed by someone else, so she put the umbrella in the men's room. When she came to the gym... oh, she was with the teacher at the time, so the umbrella must have been hidden in the backstage in the first place. This also solves the problem of not having fingerprints on it. In order to disguise it as someone else’s item, you can’t get your own fingerprints on it.” "I, I wouldn't do that kind of thing!" "How is it, Riran?" The minister was about to deny it, but the police ignored her. Li Ran's expression was not as proud as before, and his face was sullen. "A reasonable guess. But will you listen to me?" Yukino was in a hurry.How is this going.The reasoning to save Minister Sagawa backfired. According to Xiantang's reasoning just now, both the umbrella puzzle and the secret room puzzle can be solved.And the one who is on the cusp is none other than Minister Sagawa... Yukino glanced at the minister.She once saw hope but was pushed down to the valley, she was even more lost.You Nao himself may have the same expression, but after all, it's all his own fault. Things have come to this, I can only beg my brother again.Just when Yukino was planning to get close to Hakamada detective with this in mind, "Mr. detective." Li Ran, who had been silent all this time, opened up the conversation again. "You think my reasoning is correct—the fact that the umbrella fell in the men's room cannot be explained by commonsense reasons, so it is likely the fault of the prisoner—on the basis that the person who placed the umbrella was Sagawa?" "um, yes." Xiantang was proud of his victory, and a victorious smile appeared on his face. but-- "Then the above reasoning has been proved, and Sagawa cannot be the criminal." "……what?" He wasn't the only one with a triumphant smile. "What did you say? It was proved that Sagawa was not a criminal?" "No, quite the opposite. It turns out that Sagawa cannot be the prisoner." "why?" "Because she gave testimony 'saw a girl enter the backstage'." After a while, "...Ah!" The two detectives exclaimed loudly at the same time again. "Yes. Please think about it carefully. Sagawa wanted to pretend to be someone else's crime, so she put the umbrella in the men's room. This speculation is indeed fully possible. However, the problem lies in the back. During the statement, she said 'A girl entered the backstage'. Isn't that weird? If you put a black umbrella in the men's restroom, you should have lied about 'a boy has entered the backstage'? Otherwise, her disguise work would conflict with each other and lose its meaning. " "No, no, but, that's because..." This time it was Xiantang's turn to be anxious. "There is no other reason. The crime of pretending to be a man, and saying that the confession saw a woman. There is no such thing. Absolutely impossible in theory. Equivalent, she is not the person who puts the umbrella. Equivalent, put The umbrella is someone else, that is, a criminal. It is equivalent to Nao Sagawa, who is not a criminal." "That's all." After Liran finished speaking, he leaned his back deeply on the back of the sofa.Xiantang still refused to let go. "But...but, this doesn't explain the Chamber of Secrets! With no one going out, it's impossible for anyone to commit a crime except her!" "That's true, but it's impossible to disguise the prisoner as a man and say he saw a woman. Sagawa is not a prisoner, so the secret room must have used some kind of trick. This is the most reasonable reasoning, brother?" "Ah, um..." While Hakamada-san replied, he twisted his neck, as if he was struggling with "why does this guy call me brother". "According to my guess, Sagawa did see the girl, and the black umbrella was the girl's disguise. This makes sense. As for how she disappeared from the secret room, I don't know." "Wait, wait! It's possible that she made that testimony on purpose!" Xiantang shouted, his forehead began to sweat. "Umbrella is Sagawa's disguise, deliberately providing contradictory testimony in order to confuse the search..." "I see. She thought that the disguise would definitely be seen through, so she specifically said 'saw a girl'." "yes!" "However, even though she was about to be arrested soon, she didn't point out this contradiction by herself. As an intelligent criminal, she was too wrong." "what……" "That's enough, Mr. Interpol." Li Ran's tone seemed to be teaching a child.Those present had accepted his arrogance and disrespect. "I logically derived the anomaly of the umbrella falling in the toilet of the gymnasium. You agreed. Then, you suggested that the umbrella was probably a prisoner's disguise. I also agree with you. To explain this anomaly, only use this Explain. Then, if the umbrella is a disguise, no matter how you think about it, Sagawa Nao is not a criminal. Everyone can see it. "So, to use your bumbling parlance - 'proof done'." After finishing speaking, Li Ran let out a long breath. Then he seemed to think of something again, and looked at the stunned minister of the same year next to him. "Why do you put on such an expression? The younger generation is very worried about you....Smile."