Everyone’s eyes darted around, trying to read expressions, body language, and glances. Shiria’s words weren’t enough to dispel tension.
“So...what do we do? Do we stay here all the time? Do we go somewhere else to pass the time? How do we choose how to eat? Where should we even sleep?” Youma asked Kaeron.
“I suggest we still use the dorms. But we have to take turns in front of the entrance. You can see everyone’s doors from the entrance there,” Kaeron pointed at the dorm’s hallway entrance, “if the killer tries something, the person must act.”
“What if it’s the guard person who gets killed?” Lilin snickered again.
“We’ll put two people, then,” Tsukasa suggested.
“I can’t sleep with people around me…! Thank you for letting me use my dorm,” Servalia let out a sigh of relief.
“As for schedule. We will all eat at 8:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 7:00 PM,” Kaeron said, “If one isn’t hungry or too hungry, I don’t want to hear complaints.”
“And what about entertainment? Stress is dangerous.” Alicia asked.
“We can vote which place we all will hang out in,” Lan’en chimed in, “if one place repeats itself for two times a row, then we’ll choose the second most voted one.”
“Good scheme.” Kaeron nodded.
“Oh, this is so boring!” Azrael rolled her eyes, “Why do we have to play house? Can’t we just make things interesting and hunt down the killer?”
“Again, Azrael,” Kaeron grips her scabbard, “This isn’t a game.”
“Besides, what is this bossy attitude?!” Lilin looked at Kaeron with a snarky expression, “Who are you to decide what we do and what we don’t?”
“Kaeron is very qualified as a leader!” Shiria defended her immediately, “I can tell! She knows what she is doing.”
“Oh yes, she sure does,” Azrael chuckled, “alright. We’ll play with you all for now. But don’t expect us to not get bored and just leave the scene suddenly…”
“Okay, so what do we do first? It’s past lunch, we have all afternoon to spend,” Servalia asked.
“As Lan’en suggested. Let’s vote. Who wants to do what first?”
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The arcade won as a result of Shiria, Lan’en, and Youma voting for it and Servalia following suit because of their conditioning. The rest of the votes were scattered. Kaeron abstained. Hardly a fair voting.
The group was playing different games. Despite everyone needing to stay together, nobody really wanted to exchange conversations. Who knew if the killer was right beside them, after all?
Everyone was plagued by tension, everyone except Shiria, who went to Lan’en first.
“Hey Lan’en.”
“Hey Shiria.” She groaned, trying to focus on a fighting game.
“How are you feeling?” She asked, leaning against another booth.
“How should I feel?” She chuckled bitterly, “Someone killed Noir. A girl I wanted to protect the night before.”
“I’m sorry,” Shiria handed Lan’en a can of beer after grabbing it from the snack room. “Here."
“It’s fine,” she sighed, gulping the whole can down in mere seconds. She let out a quick, quiet burp and put it on top of the game’s booth, “Just didn’t really expect my vacation to turn out this bad. I guess it was bad luck.”
“Why were you invited on the cruise in the first place?” Shiria traced her finger along Lan’en’s booth, feeling its metallic texture.
“Because I saved an important person in a nearby solar system. The family who owns the Elysium heard about it and wanted to offer me a trip. The other knights were so jealous,” she chuckled again, more bitterness adding to her tone the more she spoke, “I guess they wouldn't envy me that much now.”
“You deserved the invitation. It’s not your fault if things went south,” Shiria tried to cheer her up.
Lan’en responded with another chuckle as she smashed more buttons, “Yeah, but maybe I should have declined. I can’t help feeling responsible. That poor girl was getting killed while I was there sleeping with you.”
“You’re doing what you can,” Shiria retorted, “you’re sticking with us, giving Kaeron credit and keeping a cool head. Azrael and Lilin are being far worse for example.”
“Yeah…”
Lan’en finished her game and stepped back. She looked at Shiria, musing. “Why do you think you’ve been invited?”
“I…” she sighed, “the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced I am a stowaway and the AI is just dumb.”
Lan’en cleared her throat and looked away, “sorry. Shouldn’t have asked.”
“No! It’s okay! I just...I don’t really feel special in any way.”
“Everyone is special! No matter who you are...you are special,” Lan’en smiled at her friend, “You’re a good person...I can tell.”
“Oh! How sweet.”
The two were abruptly interrupted by Azrael’s giggle. She walked to them slowly, her arms were crossed as she looked at the two with a smug smile.
“What do you want?” Lan’en became hostile immediately, “Leave us alone.”
“Aw, why do you treat me like this? I’m just trying to pass the time. To converse,” she tilted her head, wearing a slightly sweeter smile.
“You’re a liar! You tried to set Tsukasa up for no reason!” Shiria stepped forward, glaring at her, “We don’t want to be friends with a liar.”
“Exactly. Piss off.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Azrael shook her head, sighing once more. “Don’t you get it? Seriously?”
“Get what, Azrael?” Shiria asked.
The woman’s smile widened, and her voice dropped to a whisper, “All this. You’re all so busy playing nice...pretending to trust each other...but all this trust is a facade. Look around, you’ll see that everyone is minding their own business. Because at the end of the day, one of us is the murderer.”
“Don’t let her get into your head, Lan’en!” Shiria exclaimed, almost forcing her friend to turn her body to the booth.
“Lan’en. Answer me this. Do you trust Shiria?”
Lan’en looked at Shiria, her eyes quivered with doubts and anxiety. Shiria responded with a sad frown, her hands gently leaving her friend’s shoulders.
"We were sleeping together! In the same room! How could she be the murderer?"
“What tells you that she actually slept with you and didn’t wander around after you fell asleep? Also...I have to ask this to you as well, Shiria. What if Lan’en isn’t actually a hero?”
“I trust Lan’en! She’s a good person,” Shiria retorted, “go away! You just want us to be scared!”
“T-That’s right…” Lan’en tried to shake off her doubts, squeezing her eyes and rattling her head, “I’m being serious, Azrael. Go away or I’ll fucking punch you in the face.”
“Oh my...am I making the pale knight angry~?”
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Meanwhile, Kaeron was leaning against the arcade’s entrance. She took a look at everyone, at least those she could see.
Tsukasa was sitting in the snack room, her eyes focused but distant, lost in thought. Regret? Anxiety? Maybe she is the killer – that’s what Kaeron said to herself for a split second, before passing onto the next thought.
Servalia and Youma were close to each other but didn’t really exchange any words. The two got separated during the power outage and that led them to distrust each other a bit more than before.
She noticed something pretty unusual and surprising. Lilin was playing air hockey with Alicia, she couldn’t hear what the two were talking about from where she was. She got curious.
Her boots barely made a sound as she tried to get closer without drawing attention to herself. She opened up her ears, ready to listen.
“I’m surprised you’re actually good at this,” Lilin snickered, hitting the puck with her mallet as hard as she could.
“Why would I not be?” Alicia retorted, defending herself with a calculated hit.
“Well, you look really...graceful and boring in that dress. You kept holing up in that library before all this happened as well,” Lilin grunted, sliding her mallet along the table skillfully, “so I would have never expected you to play these games.”
“My husband owned an arcade in my hometown. I used to play these games back then,” Alicia confessed, hinting at a soft, bitter smile.
“Aw, that’s very cute,” Lilin giggled, scoring her first point, “let’s go! Haha!” She leaned against the table and waited for Alicia to hit the puck and start the next match, “well? What happened to your husband? Not invited? Or...”
“He died. A curse befell on our planet and everyone started suffering tragedies. He saved me by sending me away and staying back.”
“Gosh, I am so sorry to hear that…” Lilin sighed softly, wearing a bitter smile as well, “Did you get over it? Are you happy now?”
“Somewhat. Engineering and the puppetry craft make me happy. I’m carrying on.”
“Why were you invited on this cruise, Alicia?”
Alicia’s hand rested on the mallet, the puck still at her side of the table. She paused to think. Then, she raised her head, “I was invited to the Elysium for a job contract. The family got interested in a street performance I did in a planet’s famous city. They wanted me to build a couple of mechanical dolls to use as entertainment. I am here to check out the place before I agree. I want to see if it’s worth it.”
“Haha, well, thoughts?”
“I can’t wait to get off this place and never see it again,” Alicia replied with a nervous laugh, “I hate it.”
“At least we agree on that, don’t we?”
“Yes, I guess so,” she shrugged.
Kaeron stood there, motionless.
It was scary. Terrifying, even. The way Lilin got in Alicia’s head with a gentle tone and a friendly chatter. Alicia, from being hostile and distrustful, started sharing with Lilin her personal information.
It wasn’t just a conversation. It was a calculated maneuver with the right mix of humor and subtle empathy that probed for weaknesses and information.
image [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/n1xafs1slv0152qk4tprr/artist_missile_228-amazing-quality-very-aesthetic-absurdres-dark-background-s-2086112254.png?rlkey=b3278zn03swruq4dr6gc1eg6o&st=3tubw4zo&raw=1]
Suddenly, Lilin’s eyes darted towards Kaeron’s. Her lips curled up into a smile, one that seemed to say “I know what you’re thinking”.
image [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/r1r7zbyivduoj7tcpvvvn/artist_missile_228-amazing-quality-very-aesthetic-absurdres-black-backgroun-s-2995493168.png?rlkey=fo2tq8pj041jnofp77yf1ee0n&st=2cdupn3p&raw=1]
Kaeron didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of seeing her unnerved. She kept her stoic expression and stared Lilin back, sharply. Her cold eyes deflected Lilin’s evil aura, making her look back to Alicia instead.
Lilin was a dangerous person.
But she was not the only one.
“LAN’EN, NO!”
“You fucking bitch! Now you’re getting it!”
Kaeron turned around and saw Lan’en dashing forward, her hand clenched into a fist. She was charging forward to Azrael, who wasn’t even flinching. She kept her infuriating smile as she awaited for Lan’en's punch to reach her.
“Lan’en!” Kaeron shouted, her voice a sharp blade making the girl’s eyes dart towards her for an instant.
She didn’t stop, however. Her fist almost reached Azrael’s face…and then…
“Oh! So close!”
It was instantaneous. Azrael was right beside her. She dodged the swift attack, her relaxed stance unchanged. “I thought you were a strong knight, Lan’en...you disappoint me~!”
Lan’en’s rage only grew. She spun around and growled, the nails of her hand became claws. She-
“Enough!”
Kaeron blocked her attack with her sword, using her scabbard as a dull blade. Then, she kicked Lan’en’s stomach, sending her to the ground momentarily.
“Ah, thank you Kaeron. She really-”
“What did you say to her, Azrael!?” Kaeron shouted at the woman despite having just helped her.
Azrael remained silent for a second. Then, she scoffed, “Always my fault, right?”
Other passengers gathered around. Youma and Servalia knelt beside Lan’en, who was bent and on the floor, moaning in pain.
“I mean, Lan’en is the one who swung, am I wrong?” Lilin shrugged and snickered, “Why would it be Azrael’s fault?”
“Because you both are fucking manipulators. I can’t even stand being in the same room as you,” Kaeron’s voice trembled. She showed an unusual amount of emotion. “Alicia, I listened to that conversation you two just had. Don’t you see how she is getting into your head? Why did you reveal such information to her?!”
At first, Alicia looked at Kaeron outraged, but then she looked down ashamed.
“Fuck. You two are making it harder, to keep us together,” Kaeron said, sighing heavily, “everyone looks at each other with suspicious eyes, this situation is hanging on a thin thread.”
“Kaeron is right!” Shiria walked to Kaeron, holding her arm, “She is doing her best to keep us together! And these two are sabotaging us!”
“You’re damn right,” Lan’en muttered, standing back up, “let’s kick them out. If one of us dies, it is them. End of the story.”
Kaeron took a deep breath, focusing. “No. We must stick together. No matter what.”
“Can I ask you something, you two?” Alicia decided to redeem herself from her naivete. She walked to Kaeron and Shiria and stood beside them, “Why do you act like you’re immune to the murderer?”
She narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms, eyeing the two friends.
“Yes, indeed!” Lan’en suddenly lit up, “You keep acting like this is a game. You try to anger us, make fun of us…what the fuck is your problem? Is it that you’re sick in the head? Or is it that-”
“Lan’en, let them answer,” Kaeron interrupted her, stopping her from getting into their face with her hand.
“I was thinking about it too. You two act like you’re not in danger. May you explain this weird behavior?” Youma agreed.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with them being murderers.”
Tsukasa suddenly appeared, walking out of the snack room. She walked to the group, her arms crossed, and her head hung.
“What do you mean, Tsukasa?” Kaeron asked.
“Remember. I have the power to see people’s weaknesses and strengths.”
“These two are powerful witches that aren’t going to be killed any time soon.”
“Doesn’t that make them dangerous?” Youma asked, “Hence, potential killers?”
“Well. No. Because they aren’t even the strongest person that is aboard this cruise,” Tsukasa replied. “I’m just saying that they aren’t in danger at all.”
“May you reveal us who is, kind Kitsune?” Azrael chuckled, crossing her arms. Her eyes were immediately glued to her.
“Kaeron.”
Everyone looked at her next. She sighed and shook her head.
“What?” Shiria muttered, shocked.
"But she cannot be the murderer,” Tsukasa added, “that is why I will trust her.”
“And why would you say that?” Alicia asked.
Azrael and Lilin giggled. They already knew.
image [https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lvd01oklu8ejnepgzdra0/artist_missile_228-amazing-quality-very-aesthetic-absurdres-black-backgroun-s-4101645420.png?rlkey=mqg8dwq7437r0fm3aa5xutvbw&st=u9erllm1&raw=1]
“Because with her power, she would be able to kill us all. Right in this instant.”