Night Pool Murder Case
Cast -
DJ Popolon: Yorozu Iruru
Rin: Renjakuno Hatsumi
Saito: Toneri Nikako
Rumi: Karasumori Daikoku
Act 1 -
The luxury cruise ship "Hippocampus" was popular among wealthy young people, selling its stylish and gorgeous night pool.
Tonight was the wedding party for the actress Rin, who recently announced her marriage, and her fiance Saito, a former musician who had recently become an investor. A glamorous group of people connected to Rin and Saito through their friends, acquaintances, and work connections gathered on the ship, creating a festive atmosphere. With sumptuous meals and popular music, everyone was having a good time at the onboard party.
The most exciting part of the party was the night pool. Rin and Saito were sitting close together on a large float in the pool. In front of them, the surrounding customers were moving to the rhythm, raising their arms and cheering towards the DJ booth set up by the poolside.
At the DJ booth, DJ Popolon, who was currently on the rise in popularity, was captivating Rin and the other customers with her amazing music. Poporon was a junior colleague of Saito's, and had been invited to the party as the DJ.
A woman was looking down at the lively night pool from the open deck on the second floor. The woman's name was Rumi, and she was Saito's ex-fiancee.
Act 2 -
The party ended near midnight. Quiet music could be heard in the distance. After escorting Rin back to her room, Saito appeared alone on the second floor deck to smoke a cigarette. When he saw Rumi, he yelled at her.
"You're so persistent…...I don't remember inviting you to this party. Stop following me!"
"Wait! I just wanted to talk to you…..."
"There's nothing to talk about. You're disgusting…..."
"You’re awful!"
The two of them got into a scuffle. Even worse, Rumi attacked Saito with a knife she had hidden.
Poporon and her friend and manager Reika were taking a break after finishing their DJ job when they witnessed Rumi attacking Saito with a knife and rushed in to stop her. However, Saito was injured in the leg by the knife.
Rumi was so distraught that she tried to hurt herself with the knife, but the people around her managed to stop her. Harada, a nurse and party guest, heard Poporon and the other’s raised voices and rushed over.
"It's not a serious injury. There should be a first aid kit in the guest room so I'll go back to my room and treat it myself. Everyone, please continue to have fun like before."
With those words, Saito returned to the guest room.
The commotion died down, and people kept watch over Rumi as Reika treated her with a handkerchief. Even as people looked at her with critical eyes, Rumi remained silent with her head bowed. Thus, the situation came to a temporary end, and the night drew on.
But the next morning, Rin's best friend Suzuka visited Rin's room and found Rin dead, stabbed in the chest…...
Act 3 -
The luxury cruise ship Hippocampus was still out at sea, and it would take some time for the police to arrive.
"Here, here! I'm pretty good at this sort of thing."
DJ Poporon raised her voice.
She didn't listen to her manager Reika's pleas to stop, and started questioning the guests and people involved in the party one by one.
"Poporon, let me help you with the investigation. My fiancee was murdered, and I'll make sure they get what they deserve…... Besides, as long as Rumi is here, it's safer for me to be with someone…...right?"
Saito offered to help Poporon.
As a result of the investigation with him, they were able to find out various details, such as that Rin's ex-boyfriend, Doguchi, still had feelings for Rin, that the president of Rin's agency was having financial difficulties, and that the nurse Harada was once an actress who retired from the entertainment industry after Rin took over her role.
Even more suspicious was the fact that Rin's precious diamond ring was missing.
DJ Poporon continued to ask around, and received a report that Rin's friend Akira had the ring.
"Sorry, but I'll have to go back to my room after some big market movements. The stock prices of the companies I had my eye on have been falling, it's really......"
After saying this to Poporon, Saito shrugged and walked quickly back to his room. After that, she couldn't find Akira on the ship, so Poporon looked up his phone number and called him.
Surprisingly, she was able to get in touch with Akira, who admitted to stealing the ring and even began to talk about witnessing Rin's murder. He saw the culprit, but hid it because he didn't want his theft to be discovered.
Just as Akira was about to tell Poporon the name of the culprit, Akira screamed and the phone was cut off!
Poporon and the others rushed to find Akira. Then, in a deserted cabin, they discovered Akira's body. The room was a mess, and there were signs that Akira had been fighting with someone.
There, Poporon found a bloodstained handkerchief.
"This handkerchief…..."
Seeing the handkerchief, Poporon's mind went to Rumi. There was no doubt that it was Rumi who killed Akira. But at the same time, Rumi must have been watched by the passengers on the day Rin was killed.
She picked up the handkerchief.
When she touched the bloodstained part, Poporon realised something.
"This is…...!?"
Poporon clutched the handkerchief and started running.
Act 4 -
The guests Poporon had called were lined up by the pool.
Rin's fiance Saito, the president of Rin's agency, nurse Harada, Rin's ex-boyfriend Doguchi, and Rumi…...Poporon smiled proudly and pointed forcefully.
"You're the culprit! …...No, you guys, actually."
Poporon's gaze was fixed on Saito and Rumi.
The handkerchief found at the scene of Akira's murder had belonged to Reika, and it was the one she had used to treat Rumi.
"The blood on the handkerchief isn't real, it was paint. If that's the case, then considering that you were fighting with Rumi at the time, senpai…...you weren't actually injured, were you?"
"What are you talking about…...?"
"If that's the case, then it all makes sense. Rumi was under guard at the time and couldn't move. And you returned to the room by yourself to do first aid on yourself even though you weren’t injured. As her fiance, it's not surprising that you could have entered Rin's room. You were the only one who could have killed Rin without being seen at the time."
Poporon tells Saito the truth and points to his leg.
Saito grit his teeth in disgust and tried to run away, taking Rumi's hand.
However, when Reika and the others held him down, one of the passengers removed the bandage from his leg.
There was not a single scratch on his leg.
"Please, get out of the way! Get out of the way! We've come this far, we have to be happy…...! I'm going to start a new life with my husband! So…...darling?"
"That’s enough, Rumi. Ha…...haha…...I can't believe you found out…... That's right, I married that woman all for money, it was for money. I'd just lost a lot of money in the stock market and was getting my life back on track when that woman came wagging her tail. So…...I had no choice but to do this. For Rumi and I to be happy…...!"
Saito admitted that he and Rumi had never broken up, and that he was marrying Rin for her fortune.
He laughed weakly and started walking unsteadily.
He arrived at the DJ booth.
"Hey, Poporon. Before I get caught, can you please listen to my selfish request? …...I want to make it clear who the better DJ is, you or me."
The ship got closer and closer to land, and skyscrapers came into view.
Police sirens were ringing out.
Poporon grinned as she stood at the DJ booth and started playing flashy music.
"All right, senpai. Let's settle this with a live show."
Aftertalk:
Yorozu Iruru: Wow, I never thought I'd play a detective-like character. Actually, I've always wanted to say, "You're the culprit!"♪
Toneri Nikako: Irurun is so cool! This time I played the culprit, so it was hard to get into character.
Karasumori Daikoku: It's still better than being killed…... To think that you would try to take my master's life…...ugh.
Yorozu Iruru: It was a pretty different role from her usual…... But you both did a good job.
Renjakuno Hatsumi: Playing the corpse wasn't bad either. The culprit is plotting against me, and the detective sees through him…...
Yorozu Iruru: It wasn't you who was being plotted against, it was the money that your character has, right? But it's fun doing mysteries like this.
Yorozu Iruru: Next time, I want to play the culprit, a really bad guy. Okay, screenwriter?
Renjakuno Hatsumi: Heh, if there's a chance. When that time comes, I'll confront Iruru with my theory.
Yorozu Iruru: Wow…...scary. Heh heh, I’m looking forward to it.