Now, the mysteries seem to be piling up. While they managed to get some answers, it's also evident that they're still missing something here ... Lutgarde ponders for a moment about the odd situation with the chef. "Why did he leave and come back to the kitchen ... or were there ... two?" they murmur, not quite believing themself either. For now, it might seem more plausible that something came up and the chef left for a moment - right?

Then, their mind is occupied with the revelation that the bathroom has been locked after Ruby has cleaned them. And apparently, Seiichi had the keys ... or should have had. "Mr Yukimura, do you remember when or where you lost them? I'm guessing right now that you didn't lock the bathroom, right?" they ask him.

"Maybe there's some more clue in the bathroom - if we can find the keys. Or do you think we should open it by force?" they wonder, looking at MAKI YUKIMURA with a questioning look. They've learned of some ways to minimise the damage while forcing a door open, but it's still damage ... so they'd rather not act without the permission of their host.

However, howard slayte produces yet another piece of evidence that is interesting. They look a bit puzzled at his general entrance, and even further puzzled by the flour-covered shoes. Since they haven't investigated the body at all, the sight of them doesn't really mean anything to them, and they look at the others for any clues if those shoes might mean something.

tl;dr
- ponders why the chef might've left, if there's been two? nahhh
- asks seiichi if he knows where/when he lost the keys
- suggests that there's a clue in the bathroom & breaking in with force if need be...?
- puzzled by howard and the shoes

Duplicitous Masquerade VIP Room

Elaine raised an eyebrow at the twist or multiple twists she had been presented. But, for starters, she at least had some sort of timeline with the Chef's last appearances based on what Josh Devlin , Elise Calcifet , and Lutgarde Dijkstra were saying.

The fact that there was also a room that nobody was unable to investigate and the strange behavior of the victim prior to were all added bonuses.

But what caught her off guard the most was howard slayte pulling out the pair of flour-doused shoes. He had seemed like a strange one, but that strangeness had shown that he had somehow pulled some weight even if he didn't intend and even if the lady of the party did not take kindly to his nonsense.

Without skipping a beat, she put her gloves back on. "Mind if I take a look at those?"

Even on closer inspection without taking hold of them, there was something odd. "They're identical?"

The shoes covered in flour were the exact same color, make, and even size as the ones currently on the late chef's feet. She had initially come to the conclusion that the culprit had discarded their own shoes after committing to the act, but the presence of these shoes called even that idea into question.

She had hoped to get a good look at the shoes themselves and hopefully elucidate both the kind of imprint it would leave in the flour as well as its size.

"I can also offer my own lockpicking skills if we need to by the way. An inaccessible space feels like a huge red flag at this point. There's a chance that the key is inside the locked area as well if it's been misplaced."

---

Case Notes from Elaine:

• Elaine's Dress and Mask
• Elaine notices the shoes and utters out that they're identical to the victim's
• Elaine wants to examine the shoes and asks howard slayte to pass them over
• Elaine offers lockpicking skills, suggesting the presence of a locked room

Tags: I tagged everyone lmao

The timeline was beginning to consolidate, and the suspect list was narrowing with every piece of evidence collected. Everything was going well until the remaining staff began scolding howard slayte . "Howard..." Josh sighed, looking as tired as a parent dealing with multiple rambunctious children. "You know better. I taught you better than this. We need your help to crack this case, too."

The shoes Howard had procured made Josh's heart sink. There was no way this was an inside job, was there? Did the culprit try to pay Howard off? Surely he wouldn't stoop that low, what with him being such a nice man that saved his life some odd months ago. "You need me to bust down that door, I'll do it," the Champion volunteered. "Racing Pokémon requires more muscles than you think."

"Hm?" Howard stuffed the bread into his mouth and chewed. After a moment, he brushed the crumbs from his expensive suit and swallowed. Elisabeth Fiorelli would throttle him for spending money on expensive attire and getting it filthy, but she was a million miles away, probably feeding innocent grunts to her snail. "Uh..."

He finished dusting off his clothes before looking at Josh Devlin.

"Who's Howard?" His hands gestured towards the flour-stained shoes with a casualness that behooved his internal screaming. "I'm..."

His eye fell on Elaine Highland's red dress. Huh, that reminded him of a Pyroar.

"Aslan." He beamed at Josh. Internally, he kicked himself. "Shoot, keep that secret."

He scratched his chin thoughtfully as he pulled out Maki's Black Book of Secrets and began to read, speaking as he did so. He started to engrave the numbers in the mausoleum of his memory.

"If the staff all wear the same shoes, then it would mean one of them is the culprit. If they don't we should be looking for someone disguised as the chef. Identical features, apparel, and so on." He nudged Maki and pointed at a line in the Black Book of Secrets. "How do you pronounce this?"

---

I AM NOT HOWARD I AM PYROAR FROM THE HIT THREAD THE SIGNER AND THE EMERGENT
Ponders if the culprit is staff of a chef lookalike
Asks Maki to help decipher her secret texts (death inbound)
eating bread

Duplicitous Masquerade VIP Room

Elaine frowned. Sometimes it was the simplest actions that set everything into place. Until that one moment, the whole case felt like a hodgepodge of disparate facts that didn't connect. But what Maki had frowned at, Elaine had seen all too clearly.

The sight of a simple contradiction that turned all of the nodes that made up this case into a single path.

"So, that's it. Everything connects into a path to a single truth." Her frown turned into a smug grin as she turned to face Maki and Seiichi.

"You're right, Ms. Yukimura. Everything was before us since the very beginning."

Elaine took a few steps away from her chair and walked away from the dinner table in an arc and began to speak up.

"The whole case felt like it was discontinuous. Between the odd presence of the chef, the appearance of the body, and the blackout, it almost felt like there was a phantom roaming the venue, but that's probably more accurate than I had thought."

Elaine faced back towards the hostess and her brother as she continued.

"The chef was seen walking to the kitchen late in the night." That was just one of the strange pieces of information. "The killer vanished, leaving behind identical shoes to the chef's, that were sitting in a closet. There was a blackout during which we didn't hear from one specific person despite being called out to over the five minites it lasted. The soup that was cooked at the last minute was mediocre at best but the same chef supposedly cooked multiple different dishes, each to the specifications of the guests' own tastes without even a hint of flaw."

And as she walked up to Seiichi, she leaned in from merely two feet away and while keeping her elbow flexed and shoulder at her side, she let her palm face the ceiling and pointed at him.

"And the Seiichi Yukimira who is clearly a klutz just now caught a small notebook with a display of deftness unbecoming of him."

Elaine had not been wrong. The death happened before any of them were even aware. It was exactly how she had described it.

"The point of the blackout was not simply just to allow the body to be discovered. It was also the best chance for the killer to go into hiding and slip right under everyone's noses. He seems to be quite the veritable Kecleon, after all."

She looked 'Seiichi' dead in the eye as she spoke out her final deduction.

"So, 'Seiichi Yukimura,' do you mind emptying your pockets for us? I'm sure you wouldn't mind submitting to a search."

If she was right, then the real Seiichi was probably in the one place nobody could access.

---

Case Notes from Elaine:

• Elaine's Dress and Mask
• Smug Elaine catches the oddity in Seiichi's behavior
• Elaine accuses 'Seiichi' and requests he submit himself to a search
• She also surmises that Seiichi is in the bathroom
• Elaine opts to leave a few blanks for the others to jump in on

Tags: None

Lutgarde frowns slightly at Seiichi's uncaring attitude - something to be expected, and yet also ... as ever, a dissonance in helpfulness is something that's like a weird edge to their side, nothing actually there, but just ... unpleasant. They shouldn't think too much of it - it's not like they've never seen it before.

However, the whole investigation seems to take another surprising turn. While the bathroom is the talk of the discussion, Maki then reveals that they already have everything they need - with the blackout being the central question. Indeed, somehow they haven't noticed before - the blackout would not have been used to conduct the murder, but instead ...

Their gears are still turning in their slow and careful, yet also airy and futile ways, as Elaine Highland steps up and rises to the occasion. They similiarly arise quietly while she's explaining her further deductions. They move during the explanation, as slowly, there would be a suspect. And they'd approach, not too close. While still utterly useless in the deduction part, at least it's not their first time when suspicions are moved around, and criminals are cornered. (Even if it's a game, people could get hurt in the heat of the moment!)

They trust Elaine's deduction here, and thus if she is right ... there might be need for Seiichi to be restrained should he attempt any unwise moves. Their ranger training and personal fitness and dedication to their body should be plenty enough to keep the potential murderer from completing unwise moves.

tl;dr
- (also still thinks it's a game but the atmosphere be thickenin)
- has absolutely no idea who it might be, but thinks elaine is right
- stands up quietly as well while everyone's focused on elaine, positions themself next to "seiichi?"
- readies themself to restrain him if needed

That was quite the gaffe, wasn't it? Calling his "friend" out because he recognized his voice... that sure wasn't polite. The Gym Leader had been caught up in the investigation and mystery so much that he had forgotten it was a masquerade. And part of the fun of a masquerade was figuring out who was behind the mask without spoiling it for everyone. He did get a chuckle at the cover story, though; Aslan was such a well-known Pokémon of Josh's that it wouldn't fly with anyone even close to familiar with Mauville Gym.

Leaving the sleuthing to Elaine Highland , Josh stood up from his chair and made an intimidating pose, drawing his plastic sword prop and pointing it at "Seiichi" like it were a real weapon. "Submitting to a pat-down will be how this will be most harmless for not just you, but for everyone else. Now, put your hands where I can see them. Now."

"Ooooh, scary!" Aslan held up his hands as he took another unceremonious bite of bread. "I'd listen to him. He gets violent!"

Despite the murder mystery going on, the archaeologist barely seemed to care. Maki had done a good job at pretending that it was a game, and Howard was willing to stomach that falsehood for his own peace of mind. People were willing to listen to whatever you told them, as long as it was more convenient to the truth.

Maybe that was why Maki Yukimura hadn't bothered to check her sibling at all.

"Mmm. You heard 'em! Line up and get patted down, gents!" Aslan said as he began peering over the remains of the food on the table, like a Mandibuzz attempting to feast on a fresh cadaver. He plucked at another piece of bread and went to town on it. "It's a shame the cook's dead. This bread is to die for!"

Ironic.

---

EATING BREAD
KILL ME
LINE UP FUCKWITS

Generally, Lutgarde is a person of near infinite patience, but it seems like howard slayte might put it slightly to the test - they are honestly also kind of confused, but try not to mind. After all, there is a bigger mystery to be unveiled ...

Their eyes widen in surprise at the reveal that not only "Seiichi" is the culprit, but also- in fact, that this ... they have been a Megalopolan this entire time? (Or some of this entire time at least.) They frown, thoughtful - and the intent of the Megalopolan is also quite clear.

Has this- not been a game all along?

The ranger's still processing everything, quite shocked at more than one reveal that is happening for them at the moment, before MAKI YUKIMURA's turning to them and Elise Calcifet. They nod, "We'll get him." If he's really sound asleep, they will be able to carry him if he's a deep sleeper. They glance briefly back, but believe that the the other attendants will be able to hold their own - they nod at Elise and hurry towards the bathroom to unlock it and hopefully find the real Seiichi.

tl;dr
- finally catches on that this maybe hasn't been a pre-planned game all along
- reassures maki, goes with elise to the bathroom to get seiichi - either waking him to walk on his own or carrying him bridal style lol