Christmas Event 2021 Resolution

The Pudding Before Christmas

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Some Info First

  • First of all, thank you so much for playing the event! I hope you enjoyed the puzzles and the story about the thirteen dorks and some puddings at least half as much as I did creating it.
  • If you have any feedback or questions about anything, please contact me either on Discord (@gertas, come to the GameTora Discord), or send an email to [email protected].
  • This is the last part of the story and it will explain what happened in the dorms between 15:05 and 17:05. Please don't read it before you're satisfied with your guesses about the mystery!

The Case of The Pudding Thief Explained

Tora
Welcome, ladies. I’m sure you’re all eager to start the Christmas party, but first, please let me share what I’ve discovered this afternoon.
Nene
I don’t wanna make you feel too important, but honestly, I’ve been looking forward to this more than to the party.
Tora
Perfect.
Tora
As you all already know by now, my pudding went missing today somewhere between 15:05 and 17:05.
Tora
I’ve questioned all of you, and I think I have enough information to get to the bottom of this.
Tora
One of the most important revelations came almost at the very end, so let’s start with Mimi.
Tora
Mimi said many interesting things, but the one that’s most relevant for now is that she has seen my pudding in the fridge after coming back to the dorms. Isn’t that right?
Mimi
You’re right, yes. Your very special XTRA STRBRY pudding.
Tora
Yes, that’s what you said the first time around too. My “XTRA STRBRY pudding”. You didn’t leave any room for doubt that it was indeed my pudding.
Tora
You were in the dining room with Koma, right after she came back from shopping with Ryuu.
Koma
Yup! We met Mimi around half past four, in front of the dorms.
Tora
And that time was confirmed by multiple people—Ryuu, Shii, and Ino.
Tora
Which means that Mimi gave everyone else alibis until half past four. Either the pudding was still there like she claims, or Mimi herself was somehow involved in the theft.
Ryuuko
Makes sense to me! Good thinking, Tora!
Tora
Thanks.
Tora
That exonerates Ino and Koma completely. They were in their room after half past four, and can provide alibis for each other.
Tora
Shii was seen hauling puddings around the dorms. That incident happened around four, so it doesn’t seem related to this case. We’ll get to that later, though.
Ushiko
Guuu…
Tora
Shii was in the room with Ryuu after that, so they can provide alibis for each other as well. Nene didn’t leave the room after four, so I can exonerate her myself.
Tora
Usa-chan and Kotori-chan were together the entire afternoon. Besides, they were in the convenience store when the interesting things started happening.
Tora
So that leaves us with Inuko-chan, Hitsuji-chan, Mimi and Saruha as the potential culprits.
Saruha
Wait, me too? But I was training the whole afternoon…
Tora
Actually, Mimi and Hitsuji-chan provided some pretty specific times, and considering these, you would have just enough time to take the pudding. Not to eat it, though, that’s for sure.
Tora
And Mimi stated that you went out dressed very lightly, so it would be impossible for you to stash the pudding in your clothes or something.
Tora
So now that’s out of the way, it’s time to get to the good part.
Tora
Some time after Mimi and Koma parted ways, Mimi came back downstairs. To stretch her legs, as she said.
Tora
However, she wasn’t alone, because as Mimi said and Kotori-chan later confirmed, Inuko-chan was watching her from the stairs.
Tora
Apparently thinking she’s hidden, but we all know she can be a bit of a, well…
Hitsuji
A little bit clumsy~
Inuko
Hauu~
Hitsuji
Don’t worry, we still love you, Inuko-chan~
Tora
After that, Kotori-chan and Usa-chan left their room and called Mimi over. And when they did…
Tora
Inuko-chan rushed into the dining room and then back upstairs.
Tora
And a few minutes after that, Hitsuji-chan woke up and saw a pudding on the table, which she thought Inuko-chan brought for her, and she ate it.
Tora
Inuko-chan wasn’t in the room, because around that time, Saruha came back and needed to talk to her. You see where I’m going with this?
Hitsuji
Wait, so are you saying… That I ate your pudding?
Hitsuji
I’m… I’m so sorry, Tora-chan… I had no idea… But why…
Inuko
I wish the ground would swallow me up right now…
Tora
Yes, Inuko-chan was obviously waiting for Mimi to leave. She rushed in and back so quickly that there was barely enough time to accomplish a very simple objective—to take the pudding from the fridge.
Tora
She ran back to her room and put the pudding on the table. After that, Saruha knocked on the door, making Inuko-chan leave.
Tora
Right after that, Hitsuji-chan’s alarm went off, and the rest is history.
Koma
Wow, I did not expect that at all!
Ino
Nice detective work, Tora!

Koneko’s Diary Explained

  • The second part of the resolution will explain the rest of the story after considering the information that Tora has learned from Koneko.
  • Koneko’s Diary was the hard mode of this event. It's now available for everyone to unlock on the main page, so go try it if you feel like it!
  • Once again, please don't read the following conversation unless you're satisfied with your own explanation!
Nene
So while this makes sense… Am I the only one thinking this doesn’t really add up? Why would Inuko do that?
Tora
No, you’re most certainly not the only one.
Inuko
I’m so sorry, Tora-chan… I didn’t mean to… I should have confessed when you asked me, but I was just so embarrassed… This was not my intention…
Tora
Don’t worry, of course I know that. You’re not someone who would steal something.
Tora
You probably saw Mimi looking at the fridge suspiciously, and thought she’s gonna play a prank, right? Steal my pudding or something? So you wanted to protect it.
Mimi
Hey, that’s kind of rude.
Inuko
Yes… That’s exactly what happened. Please don’t blame Hitsuji-chan, it was all my fault. Here, I bought you a new pudding, I went to the shop you mentioned, it should be the same one…
Tora
Thank you, Inuko-chan. I’ll give you the money later.
Inuko
No, you don’t have to, it was my fault…
Tora
Just listen for now.
Nene
Wait… What?
Nene
Didn’t your pudding already come back? I saw you eat it not even half an hour ago.
Tora
Heh heh.
Tora
Yes, and I actually ate it for science. I was saving it for the party, remember? Do you think I’d succumb to my pudding desires and eat it earlier just because I was a little hungry?
Nene
Yes, without a slightest doubt. I’d bet money on that.
Tora
Well, maybe.
Tora
But anyway, I actually did need to confirm something. And I was pretty sure I’d get a second pudding here.
Inuko
Wait, I don’t understand…
Tora
You see, there was something off about one of the things that Hitsuji-chan said.
Hitsuji
Me~?
Tora
You said that it was a “familiar flavor” and that you’ve “definitely eaten it before”. Isn’t that a little bit weird?
Nene
Now that you mention it, you did suggest that the flavor of your special-or-something pudding was pretty much unmistakable.
Ino
But maybe she just ate it somewhere else earlier? Maybe Hitsuji-tan is secretly an even bigger sweets lover than you?
Tora
I don’t think that’s the case. You see, I’m sure you all remember my uh, detailed monologue about the pudding.
Tora
Mimi even claimed that I probably “couldn't even tell the difference from a normal strawberry pudding”.
Tora
Hitsuji-chan was in that conversation. If she ate one before, don’t you think that she would, at some point, say something about the pudding?
Ino
That’s true…
Tora
But I do agree it’s not conclusive evidence or anything. It got me thinking though, and I went for a walk to gather my thoughts. And that’s when someone called out to me…
Koneko
Yo.
Tora
As you all know, Koneko has a pretty clear view into our dining room from one of her windows.
Mimi
Heh, so the stalker cat has seen everything? Interesting…
Koneko
That’s rude, Mimi. Think of me as a humble detective’s assistant here!
Tora
You’re completely right, my dear Dr. Catson!
Koneko
Okay, that’s even worse. I’m literally gonna end you if that catches on.
Tora
So anyway, Koneko told me what she’s seen. There were many interesting things, for example how Shii bought and ate four puddings—
Ushiko
LALALALA, can we please get back to the topic?
Nene
The topic IS pudding, though.
Tora
Koneko’s story also confirmed my suspicions about Inuko-chan’s motive and a few other things. And also made me realize something.
Tora
So, Mii-chan…
Mimi
Please don’t call me that.
Tora
You were being very careful and guarded when I asked you about your day. Uncharacteristically so.
Tora
Your story checked out perfectly… Or it would, if my dear assistant didn’t see you.
Koneko
Yo.
Tora
You said that you went to the convenience store to buy a pudding because “you got a bit hungry”.
Mimi
That’s right.
Tora
And you made the whole situation look very casual. Bring a few things from your shopping trip, put something in the fridge but keep the pudding because you’re gonna eat it…
Tora
Then you go back to your room and eat the pudding… And a little bit later, you feel like you need to stretch your legs, so you go downstairs for a bit. Sounds about right?
Mimi
Yeah, that’s basically what I said.
Tora
But that’s not what Koneko saw. She said that after leaving the dining room with Koma, “not a minute later, you were back downstairs”.
Tora
If it takes twenty seconds to go to your room and twenty seconds to go back, that leaves us with maybe another twenty seconds in your room, and that’s being generous.
Tora
I very much doubt that in those twenty seconds, you casually ate your pudding, started feeling a bit restless and decided to go for a walk.
Tora
Of course, you could have decided to go eat your pudding in the dining room. But for that, you forgot one important thing—the pudding.
Tora
Koneko clearly said that after going downstairs, you just “stood next to the dining room door, and just stayed in one place, with a grin on your face”.
Tora
Maybe you decided you’re not hungry after all? But no, that also doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t you just leave the pudding in the fridge? Why go upstairs just to leave it in your room, and then go back downstairs to stand around?
Tora
No, leaving the pudding in your room was the purpose of your trip upstairs.
Mimi
Before you start blaming me, I left the pudding on the window ledge. It’s pretty chilly there in the winter.
Tora
Thank you, the texture was still perfect when I ate it later.
Nene
Wait, you don’t mean…
Tora
Mimi definitely didn’t plan for things to get out of hand this much. I’m sure she was delighted by it, though.
Mimi
You know it.
Tora
When I talked about the pudding earlier, you said that “I couldn't even tell the difference from a normal strawberry pudding”. So you decided to test me.
Tora
You bought a normal strawberry pudding, and swapped it with my special edition pudding in the fridge. There was no big scheme behind that, you probably just thought I’d give in soon and go eat the pudding, so you wanted to see my reaction for a quick laugh.
Tora
However, then you noticed Inuko watching you, and a little while after that, her rushing into the dining room.
Tora
Being sharp in these things, you quickly realized what’s happening, and decided to just go with it.
Tora
Of course, you didn’t want me to actually lose the pudding, or Inuko-chan to be blamed. So you left the pudding at my doorstep, returning it to me and knowing it would create an inconsistency in the story sooner or later.
Tora
And this Christmas would have its mystery thief. But you didn’t know…
Koneko
That I’d be watching her.
Tora
I wanted to say “that I’m pretty sharp too”, but I guess that works as well.
Tora
Thank you, my dear assistant.
Koneko
I hope you’ll at least let me taste the pudding for that.
Tora
Sure! But first…
Tora
First, I need a drink, actually. My throat hurts after all that talking.
Tora
Anyway, there you have it. It was pretty fun, actually, but next time please don’t use my pudding for these things.
Mimi
We’ll see. And I’m sorry, Inuko. Didn’t really mean to drag you into this, but you were in the most convenient place at the most convenient time possible… I couldn’t help it.
Inuko
It’s… It’s okay, I guess? I’m still a little bit confused, to be honest.
Tora
Anyway, let’s get this party started.
Nene
Well, I have to say, good job. Didn’t expect things to turn quite this crazy.
Kotori
Nice job, Tora-chan!
Usa
That was so cool, Tora-nee! I hope something like that happens again next year. Let me help you if it does…
Tora
Haha, sure. Who knows, maybe it will…

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