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Published:
2023-10-19
Completed:
2023-10-19
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1,451
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3/3
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The Murder of Dire Crowley

Summary:

Crowley is found dead in the Headmage's Office. Who could possibly be responsible for this? Detective Yuu is on the case!

Chapter 1: The Mystery

Notes:

Inspired by Murdle of the Golden Witch and The Case of the Comatose Cat and created using Murdle Work Skin.
Note for first-time players: Each suspect was only in one location, had one weapon, and one motive. No two suspects can share the same location, weapon, or motive.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The Murder of Dire Crowley

Murdle for Oct 19, 2023

In the afternoon, Yuu and Grim had made a trip to the Headmage's office, intending to confront him about the fact that Ramshackle Dorm currently did not have running water or electricity.

They knocked on his door, but there was no response. However, the door was unlocked. When they entered the room, they discovered Crowley's body, slumped over on his desk. He was dead!

Grim ran to call for help, and eventually, Ace and Deuce arrived on the scene. The four of them searched the room.

Given the clues, they were able to determine that Crowley had not been killed in his office. Rather, he had died somewhere else, and his body was carried to the office afterwards.

On this island, which was far from the mainland and about to be cut off by an incoming typhoon, it would take over a day for the police to arrive. There was only one thing to do--solve the case by themselves before the culprit could get away.

[Suspects]

Detective Yuu, Inspector Grim, Ace, and Deuce split up and interviewed the other students, confirming all of their alibis. In the end, four suspects remained who did not have solid alibis for the time of the murder, but only one of them was a murderer (today).

🔎
🔎
🔎
🔎

[Inspect the Cards]

🎸

Lilia Vanrouge

Vice Dorm Leader of Diasomnia. Despite his youthful appearance, he speaks like an old man.

[158cm • Right-handed • Capricorn • ~700 years old]

🐟

Floyd Leech

Twin brother to Jade and one of Azul's underlings in Octavinelle. Frequently experiences mood swings, but only when he forgets to take his medication.

[191cm • Left-handed • Scorpio • 17 years old]

🍎

Epel Felmier

Typically a quiet Pomefiore student. Do not tell him that he kind of looks like a girl.

[156cm • Right-handed • Taurus • 16 years old]

👑

Riddle Rosehearts

Dorm Leader of Heartslabyul and enforcer of the dorm's 810 rules. It seems that he doesn't know how to read the room.

[160cm • Right-handed • Virgo • 17 years old]

[Weapons]

Four weapons were discovered on the school grounds, but only one of them had struck the (metaphorical) killing blow. On this isolated island, DNA testing and fingerprinting were not available to our heroes, so it was difficult to determine which one had been used.

🔎
🔎
🔎
🔎

[Inspect the Cards]

🪄

Magic

A murder by magic? One cannot rule out the possibility of a spell that can instantly kill its target. It's a Devil's Proof.

[Weightless • Leaves no evidence]

🔫

Energy Gun

Idia's latest experimental device. Somehow, it went missing from his room just today. For evidence of this, look for burn marks.

[Heavyweight • Made of metal]

🌙

Veronal

A sleeping aid. The dose makes the poison, or so they say. What was this doing in the alchemy lab? For evidence of this, look for a white powder.

[Lightweight • Powder in glass bottle]

💣

Small Bombs

Could devices like this really exist? Ace is certain that such a thing is capable of being a murder weapon.

[Lightweight • Small enough to swallow]

[Locations]

By retracing Crowley's footsteps, they deduced that he had visited four different locations today, though they didn't know in what order.

In one of these places, Crowley certainly met his end, and then his body was carried off to his office...

🔎
🔎
🔎
🔎

[Inspect the Cards]

☕️

Mostro Lounge

A café in Octavinelle. If a murder happened here, it would be bad for business.

[Indoors]

📚

Library

Located next to a small sandwich shop called HamHamPangPang. The killer must have been very quiet if they pulled off the crime here.

[Indoors]

🌳

Courtyard

Completely desolate during class hours. The trees and bushes provide good cover.

[Outdoors]

🪞

Mirror Chamber

The suspect could have hid inside one of those coffins, jumped out, and taken him by surprise.

[Indoors]

[Motives]

Every crime has a motive, a means, and an opportunity. However, there were a lot of reasons that someone could want Crowley dead.

🔎
🔎
🔎
🔎

[Inspect the Cards]

💰

Money

Evidence points to the fact that Crowley was embezzling the funds of Night Raven College. Could someone else have been involved in the deal?

💢

A grudge

Crowley has made a lot of enemies in his life. Perhaps karma finally caught up to him?

✉️

To cover up a secret

Crowley discovered some kind of knowledge that simply could not get out, and the culprit killed him to keep him silent.

❤️

Love

It's possible that someone was in love with Crowley, and when he didn't return their feelings, they--Deuce, what the hell are you talking about?

[Evidence]

"Give it up, Yuu. It's not our job as students to solve this. Leave it to the police," Riddle insisted.

But Riddle was currently a suspect. His words held no weight.

"If you're really as innocent as you claim, then we'll be able to clear your name. What are you afraid of?" Ace asked.

"Go away. Don't distract Yuu," Deuce added.

Riddle looked like he was about to say something else, but he sighed and walked away.

Detective Yuu closed their eyes, shutting away the outside world, and began to think over all of the evidence the group had collected today. With it, they would certainly be able to reach the truth...

• A strange white powder was discovered on one of the tables in Mostro Lounge. Grim tasted it, but he immediately fell asleep.
• Leona overheard someone singing to themself outdoors. The voice sounded like it belonged to someone extremely old.
• Riddle never went to Mostro Lounge.
• Jade was with Floyd in the Mirror Chamber.
• For unknown reasons, Lilia could not have cast magic.
• The energy gun could not have been used by a left-handed person.
• Riddle would never kill someone over love.
• Either Floyd had a grudge against Crowley or Epel had a secret to hide.
• Some kind of secret was overheard in the courtyard.
• It was impossible to use magic in the Mirror Chamber.
• With the help of Professor Crewel, a rudimentary autopsy was performed. Nothing unusual was found in Crowley's stomach or bloodstream.
• The crime was not committed because of money.

NOTEBOOK

* 🎸 🐟 🍎 👑 💰 💢 ✉️ ❤️ ☕️ 📚 🌳 🪞
🪄
🔫
🌙
💣
☕️
📚
🌳
🪞
💰
💢
✉️
❤️

Notes:

Click here for an interactive version of the chart.

Chapter 2: Grim's Advice [Hint]

Chapter Text

If Detective Yuu wanted a hint, they were going to have to do something they did not want to do: ask the esoteric Inspector Grim.

Yuu had their doubts about Grim's methods, but they couldn't argue with the results. His hints were always true, though they were often useless or redundant!

🥪

Inspector Grim consulted his gourmet hunter senses and then pronounced his declaration:

After I woke up, I went to HamHamPangPang to buy a sandwich. I'm certain that somebody used magic in that area today!

Yuu listened to this, nodded, and then returned to the scene of the crime.

Chapter 3: Resolution

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

RESOLUTION

With Inspector Grim, Ace, and Deuce by their side, Detective Yuu pointed their finger and declared: "The culprit is you! Lilia Vanrouge!"

Lilia dropped the sandwich that he was about to take a bite from. "What?! Explain yourself! How did I do it, then? You have no proof!"

"You were the only one who could have done it. You stole the energy gun from Idia, killed Crowley with it in the courtyard, and dragged his body all the way to his office!"

And once he heard those words, Lilia knew that there was no point in resisting any further. They had him.

"And I know why you did it, too. Crowley had some dirt on you! You couldn't let a single word of it get out, so you offed him!"

Lilia sighed. "I suppose I'll admit it, then. I confronted Crowley in the courtyard because he had discovered my secret. I was secretly dating Malleus Draconia."

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that," Yuu replied.

"Is that a big deal?" Deuce asked, confused. Yuu shushed him.

"Ah, I suppose the other three of you wouldn't know..." Lilia continued. "Anyway. I was so close to retiring, I figured that even if the details of my crime were discovered, I would already be halfway around the world by then. But you got me. I suppose I'll turn myself in."

"No, we're here to help you," Yuu replied. "You see, Crowley being dead actually benefits all of us. Grim and I had intended to kill him in his office earlier. Imagine our surprise when we entered and discovered that he was already dead!"

"You... what?" Lilia asked incredulously.

"Yep. That's why we're here," Yuu said. "Come on, let's cover this whole thing up, before the cops get here. If we work together, we can make all that evidence disappear without a trace!"

"You heard 'em. Let's get to work!" Ace added.

"You can buy my silence for a few cans of tuna!" Grim told Lilia.

And that concludes THE MURDER OF DIRE CROWLEY.

Notes:

Did you solve the mystery?
Please let me know if there are any errors in the logic! Clues last updated 10/19/23.
Workskin updated 10/19/23. Changed fonts for accessibility/compatibility and made the emojis full-color.