Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 1 Chapter 3 part6

Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 1
Chapter 3: Murder at the Sirius Observatory 2

I suddenly saw the men ahead of us, stopped in the road and apparently considering something. Kirigiri and I jogged up to them. They were standing in front of a large sign.

"Welcome to the Despairesque Sirius Observatory".

I didn't know if this was some prank or what, but someone had taken red spraypaint and changed "picturesque" into "despairesque". At the time, we were strangely indifferent to the ominous hint. Well, that was because we were more concerned with the fact that it meant we were getting close to the Sirius Observatory.

We followed the arrow on the sign, and sure enough, we found a narrow road in that direction.

"The arrow isn't part of the prank too, is it?" quipped Amino, crossing his arms.

"I don't think they're trying to get us in an accident." Inuzuka was calm, but perhaps that was to be expected. "Even if this is a trap, we don't have to worry about keeping warm. I got enough booze for everyone!" he said, patting his bag.

"What about the minors?"

"They can use their body heat." A lecherous grin appeared on his face.

Inuzuka may have been Class 3, but I couldn't summon an ounce of respect for him. A great detective should be an upright and virtuous gentleman... Maybe that was just a stereotype coloring my opinion. Regardless, when it came right down to it, he was Class 3. Surely detectives who were Class 2 or 1 were more wonderful people than he was. To say nothing of Zero Class detectives, who must be on a completely different level...

Enbi led the way down the road, and the other men followed.

At this rate, if the sun sets on us, we really might be dead meat. The snowy forest road grew gradually darker, and the wind grew stronger. There was no sign of anything moving other than our group continually trudging forward. The men didn't bother slowing down for me or Kirigiri, and they pulled further and further ahead of us. In the dim light, we had nothing to follow except their shadows and their footprints.

Suddenly, Kirigiri pointed ahead of us. "Look, Yui-oneesama. There's light."

I peered through the veil of the snowstorm, and sure enough, I could see the faint lights of a building. But, wait a minute... "You're still calling me that..."

Kirigiri ignored me, walking forward.

—Well, whatever.

The building stood on a slightly elevated clearing, its warm light tinting its white surroundings red. The light was probably spilling out from the interior through the glass panels. Fittingly for the representation of the brightest star down here on Earth, its radiance cut through the gaps in the darkness. But—maybe because the snowstorm blowing around us was obstructing my vision—the panorama looked warped, like a mirage or illusion.

Finally, we had managed to drag ourselves to the Sirius Observatory.

Just like Inuzuka had explained—and, well, like I had already found out from my research beforehand—the Sirius Observatory was a pair of star-shaped buildings. Though, from our viewpoint, it was hard to say whether it really was a star. It just looked like a flat wall to me.

We came across the smaller building first. This was Building B, modeled after Sirius B. I was pretty sure this one was supposed to be the separate building for the entranceway. The walls were all glass panels, so I could see everything inside. I could see the main Building A gleaming off behind Building B, too.

We all ran into Building B to escape the snow. The automatic front door opened to greet us. Finally, we were somewhere protected from the snowstorm. I patted down my chest, which felt chilled to the bone.

As we entered, the stairs leading underground were right there in front of us. This was the way to the real front door.

"Why'd they have to build it in such an annoying way?" Amino deplored, brushing his disheveled hair back into its exacting part. "We have to go through this underground tunnel just to get to the main building?"

"They wanted to put observational guest rooms going in all directions, so that's why they didn't put the front door on the main building, apparently," I said, remembering the answer from my research.

"Still... No one's coming to get us." Inuzuka stepped down the stairs to stand in front of the large double doors that formed the true entranceway. There was an intercom on the wall next to them. Inuzuka slammed his hand on the button—but there was no response. "It looks like the lights are on, so I doubt it's that no one's there, but..." He tilted his head.

"Maybe they stepped out on some urgent business?"

"There weren't any footprints around the entrance, were there? No one's come in or out of here in hours."

"Oh! Now that you mention it, it was exactly as you say," Amino said in admiration.

"No Kiba is one thing, but what's with the proxy being missing too?" Inuzuka put his hand on the door. "Hm? It's open."

The door opened silently.

"I don't sense anyone," Enbi said, peering warily past the door. "You people wait here." He nimbly crept through the door, and then called back, "Clear." We entered too, as directed by that over-dramatized signal.

"They're not even gonna come greet us? This client is absolutely incomprehensible," Amino said, irritated.

From there, we traveled down the underground passage for about 20 meters. It wasn't as dark and damp as one might envision from the words "underground passage"—there were recessed lights every few meters which made it seem more like an aisle in a movie theater. At the end of the passageway, there was another double door just like the first one. There was no keyhole. It opened easily with a pull of the handle.

At last, we'd made it to the main building.

Stay tuned for the next update next Sunday (PST)!
You are encouraged to comment and form theories on the mystery,

Chapter end