The Dragon Bows His Head -o- Ryou -o- Trial 4.3 -o- ATTN: All
As Travis finished his apologies, Ryou took a deep breath. Ā This was it, huh? The last thing he had to say, probably the last thing theyād ever listen to from him. Ā Ryou Akiyamaās last words. Ā They werenāt going to like them, of that he was almost certain. Ā Nonetheless, they had to be said. Ā If he took everything to his grave, then the three deaths here would lose all their meaning. Ā He wasnāt about to let that happen.
But first, he had things to explain. Ā "I know you all want immediate answers on this, so Iāll do my best. Ā I didnāt go into this planning on killing two people. Ā I only planned to kill one. Ā I know that doesnāt really sound better at all, but.
ā⦠Naoās death wasnāt in the plan. Ā I really didnāt mean to kill him from the start. Ā I just wasnāt expecting him to be there to witness, and things were still in a frenzyā¦I panicked. I didnāt want to risk him talking. Iām sorry.ā
Ryou then bowed his head, and closed his eyes. Ā A bit quieter than before, he continued, āAnd⦠I have no excuse for killing Banri. I have no excuse for planning to kill him. I truly am sorry for the pain I caused you. Ā I know you wonāt forgive me, I donāt expect you to ā youāre completely justified. Ā I just wanted to make sure I said something.ā
He paused once more, looking out and addressing the whole courtroom before him. Ā "And, since some of you have asked, no. Ā It wasnāt worth it at all. Ā Iāve known that since before this trial began. Ā But thereās some silver lining to it.ā Ā He visibly cringed when he said there was an upside, but he kept on nonetheless. Ā "Spec decided that two deaths meant twice the motive, so I got to ask six questions about the mastermind behind all of this. Ā Iāve already asked four of them.ā
Then, his face shifted for the first time since heād started talking again.
āAnd what Spec didnāt care to clarify until I actually started asking my questions, is that I couldnāt ask any direct questions about who the mastermind was ā only their motivations and the like. Ā Because, y'know, why say what you actually mean!ā
After shooting some nasty daggers at Spec, he composed himself. Ā "I⦠tried my best, given what I had to work with. Ā Anyway, Iāll send you all the questions, and their answers.ā Ā Ryou then pulled out his DS Lite, and tapped out a sequence. Ā Soon enough, your own console beeped with a message from him:
Ryou:Ā What is the Mastermindās gender?
Spec:Ā Bzzt bzzt! Invalid question. Try again. No specifics about the mastermind themselves. Questions about the mmās motivation, the gameās purpose, questions like that, are the types of questions you should aim for.
Ryou: Why would the mastermind sell out the class; what motivated them?
Spec: I wouldnāt necessarily say they sold out this class or any of the classes before this. Still, the mastermind had the best interests in mind for Othello Isle. That was their motivation. They wanted to something for others, to gain recognition and praise, and they thought they could do it by solving Othello Isleās problem. That said, the mutual killings werenāt exactly part of their plans.
Ryou: What is Othello Isleās problem, according to the mastermind?
Spec: ⦠Overpopulation. Iām sure from the glitches, youāve gotten the idea that you arenāt the only ones on this island. As lovely as Othello Isle is, thereās only so many occupants it can hold, and thatās why after a few tamperings with the coding, Operation Reversi was put into play. What a mess that had been~. Not even the original developers of Kaleidescape could undo it.
Ryou: Ā Who else is on this island besides this class, Iris, Etyl, Vue, Ria, and you?
Spec: Hm, hm~. Just about anyone you can think of. Everyone? Weeell, not everyone if I think about it. Moooostly, refugees? Survivors? Anyone can fit in those categories. Weāve got those working in maintenance, those working in the agricultural fields, some in the development section, quite a few in security, but those are all workers. Then weāve got people-people too, regular civilians. You see, you might see this island as expansive, but others might see it as crowded.
Ryou: WhyĀ are all these other people at Othello Isle?
Spec: Think of it as an escape hub. As wonderful as you think Othello Isle is, I can tell you that itās much worse outside of here. Then again, you can consider yourself unfortunate since you came along after the mastermind tampered with Kaleidescapeās coding. Still, that doesnāt change Kaleidescapeās original purpose. Everyone here is set to take residency for an indeterminable amount of time until it is deemed safe enough to return home. As I had mentioned, thereās only so much one can do on an island for time on end, and thatās why Kaleidescape is here to help provide entertainment until then~. I donāt think the mastermind was ever aware about the -consequences- of their actions until now. After all, it wasnāt intentional that they would be a part of the mutual killings. They were investigating why people were going missing after all~. I guess they found out it was thanks to them!
It was as you finished reading it over that you realized Ryou had gone silent. Ā Once everyone began to look up from the message, he cleared his throat and turned to Spec.
"Now, I still have two more questions left. Ā First, why exactly are people going missing? And second, what is Operation Reversi supposed to be doing, and has it been doing its job?ā