Banri Settsu/Snuff out the Light

The Red Wire of Fate

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Izumi	I'm home~
	(Explosion sound)
	?!
Taichi	Aahh!! It exploded!
Banri	I'm tellin' you it's the red one.
Citron	No, no, I think it's the blue one!
Izumi	That scared me...so it was from the drama.
Taichi	Ah, welcome home, Director-sensei!
Tenma	Welcome home.
Izumi	What drama are you guys watching?
Banri	A drama about fighting terrorism.
Izumi	I see. You'll be playing as a terrorist for the upcoming performance right, Banri-kun? So? Is this for role studying?
Banri	Yeah, I guess. I'm gettin' bored though, I wish there was something else that could be useful.
Izumi	Hmm, something that could be a reference for a terrorist, huh... I wonder if there is any...
Tenma	But usually in dramas like these you either cut the blue or red wire, so why were they the two choices?
Guy	Indeed, it seems to me that it would be more convenient for the terrorist to detonate any of them.
Chikage	To begin with, bombs this cliched aren't that common in reality.
Taichi	That's boring! This kind of performance is more exciting!
Banri	Why the hell are you so familiar with bombs...
TV	"Could this letter be...?!"
	"To be Continued--"
Taichi	What?! This development is gonna continue until next week?! I'm so curious though~!
Guy	Hmm, they left it off at a good part that will make the viewers wonder what's next.
TV	"--This week's fortune-telling! What is your fortune this week~?"
Citron	Oh! The fortune-telling mini show has begun! Let us check it out!
Izumi	Ah! I have the best luck this week!
Taichi	Ooh! Isn't that a good thing, Director-sensei?!
TV	"Your lucky color is...blue!"
Izumi	Blue, huh...is it really?
Banri	Nah, it's just some TV fortune teller. I'd trust 'em about as much as I do Chikage-san, which is not at all.
Chikage	That's regrettable.
Banri	......
Kazunari	Ah, it's Settzer! I was wondering where you were.
	What book are you reading? Are you perhaps role studying?
Banri	Yep. I've been watchin' Western dramas, but I'm thinkin' of investigatin' actual terrorist attacks too.
Kazunari	Heh~ As expected of Settzer. You're so into this!
Banri	Well, I'm just tired of constantly watching.
Kazunari	Hmm, other than watching...
	...Ah! Hey, how about this?!
Banri	Hm? This poster...
Izumi	A challenge from the terrorists...?
Kazunari	Yeah! That's the theme of the escape room game that's going to be held by our Escape Room Club in our campus!
	I'm thinking of trying it next weekend! Why don't you join me, Settzer and Director-chan?
Izumi	It does sound interesting but...why me? If it's an escape room game, I think Chikage-san would be fine...
Banri	Nah, Chikage-san seems to have work. Or so Kazunari says...
Kazunari	There's always a heroine in a story like this!
	It's also for Settzer's role study! Please? I beg you~
Banri	Well, I had a lot of fun with you when we went to the chocolate escape game before.
Izumi	Umn, I guess it's also for role studying...and it sounds really fun...
	Fine. I'll leave my schedule open.
Banri	It's decided then.
Kazunari	Yippie! I look forward to it! Let's enjoy an escape game on the weekend, the three of us!

Izumi	There are more people than I expected...!
Banri	Our escape games are pretty popular among fans because of their high quality.
Kazunari	This club here has a lot of followers on social media!
Izumi	Heh, I see. That's amazing.
Kazunari	Ah! The staffs are here!
Banri	Heh. With those armaments, it feels pretty atmospheric.
Staff A	Shut your damn mouths! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!
Staff B	Listen, we've jacked this university. You're now hostages.
Izumi	They're also going all out with their acting...!
Banri	We're in the same department.
Izumi	I see.
Staff C	What the hell are you guys doing back there, are you trying to die?
Staff A	It's no use trying to get out of here. We've got traps all over the place.
	We've also set a time bomb at the exit. The time to the denotation is...60 minutes.
Staff B	Enjoy the time you have left 'til your death.
Kazunari	Ah, the timer at the venue has started!
Banri	A bomb at the end, huh...it's so cliched.
Kazunari	Is that it? Should we cut the blue or red wire? Hey, which one would you cut, Director-chan?
Izumi	Eh, me? Umm, I guess...blue.
Kazunari	Blue? Maybe you think the red wire is the red thread of fate, so it can't be cut after all?!
Banri	Pft, I think you watched too many dramas.
Izumi	G-geez...! It's not like that!
Banri	Well, we shouldn't waste time. Let's solve it quickly.
Kazunari	Copy that!
Izumi	Ah! I found a piece of code here.
Banri	There's a key here.
Kazunari	Hey, hey, isn't this a cryptographic hint?
Banri	Hmm...if we combine this symbol with this memo, we'll get an answer.
	The answer to cryptography A is "A R T"...Art, huh.
Kazunari	Dude, you're seriously a genius! Didn't you solve this too quickly?!
CHOICE 1: As expected of Banri-kun. [+] Izumi As expected of Banri-kun, you solved this so quickly...! Banri Well, I'm used to playin' escape games. Kazunari If it's you, maybe you can even be on the opposing side?! Banri The opposing side... It might be interesting to think of an escape game set in the Mankai Dorm with Chikage-san. Kazunari I look forward to that! Izumi A-as fun as it sounds, it seems impossible to get out of the dorm if they're the ones setting it up...!
CHOICE 2: That means the B one is... [+] Izumi That means the B one is... I wonder if we should combine it with this number. Banri Ooh, Director-chan, so you figured it out. Izumi Match the alphabet and numbers... I got it! The answer is "S U N"! Banri Correct answer. Good job. Izumi (...! He's got it all figured out...)
Kazunari	Yay! We got the key!
Izumi	Next is the last room. They said they set a bomb there...
Banri	Well, we can solve it no problem. Let's go.
	Whoa, there's seriously a time bomb here.
Kazunari	This obviously feels like the final problem!
Izumi	I also put the memo together. Umm, what was it...
	"Good job on making it this far...but no matter how clever you are, you'll die here if you're not lucky..."
Kazunari	A bomb and a wire cutter, so this note means...
Izumi	We have to cut either the red or blue wire...
Banri	So you mean it's just a matter of luck?! There's no solving anythin' here...
Kazunari	Okay then, I'll leave this to you, Settzer!
Banri	The heck? Why me?
Izumi	You'll be able to do it! I think!
Banri	You think...fine, I've got no choice. It doesn't really matter who does it anyway.
	Red or blue...
Izumi	......
Kazunari	......
Banri	...Wait, Director-chan, the fortune teller said that you're lucky this week, right?
Izumi	What? Oh, yeah. They also told me what my lucky color is.
Kazunari	Is that so?! Then why don't we leave your lucky color be and cut the other one...?!
Izumi	My lucky color is...I think it was blue!
Kazunari	That means we should cut the red one...!
Banri	...'Kay, I'll cut this one.
Izumi	Eh? Banri-kun?!
Kazunari	Settzer, that's the blue wire--!
Banri	...There.
Izumi	(It's gonna explode...!)
Staff D	Congratulations! The bomb has been defused!
Izumi	Eh...? Did we...
Kazunari	We escaped...?
Staff D	You are the first people to have escaped!
Banri	Easy peasy.
Kazunari	We did it! Settzer is seriously super awesome!
Izumi	He really is...!
	But why did you cut the blue wire?
Banri	Someone lucky told me that if they're goin' to cut the wire, it's gotta be the blue one. I mean, the red wire is the red thread of fate, so it shouldn't be cut, right?
	...And when a man's in a pinch, a heroine that's connected to him through the red thread of fate is an essential part of it.
Izumi	(...! H-he's teasing me again...!)

Menzo