In the restaurant on Christmas, the window seats are all occupied

by well-dressed men and women, enjoying a romantic dinner.

There was only a barely visible night view of the tall buildings
above their heads, and no matter how much I stretched my neck, I
couldn't get a full view.

I kept jumping on my tiptoes in the hall, trying to see out the

window, when someone suddenly tugged on the hem of my coat.

It's Kirigiri Kyōko.

She tilted her head and looked at me with cold eyes, as if she was
silently reproaching me.

"I have kept you two waiting, please come this way."

Led by the waiter, Kirigiri and I headed towards the hall.

On the way we passed a very big tree. This pine tree has
supposedly been shipped from abroad and was decorated with
sparkling colored lights and stars, which are no less bright than
the lights on the street outside.

We were taken to a spacious single room.

On the table covered with a snow-white tablecloth, there are

classical-style candlestick holders, with all their candles lit.
Napkins and cutlery for three people have been placed on the
table. One of the walls of the hall is made of glass, from which
the nightscape behind it can be seen.

"Woaaah, so nice!"
I couldn't help but rush to the window, looking at the street lights
glittering in the middle of the cold night.

"Kirigiri-chan, come and look too."

Kirigiri behind me was a little hesitant, so I gestured her to come

over.

She met my eyes with a somewhat troubled look, and then

approached the window.

She stared at the nightscape; her cheeks flushed slightly. Her eyes
mostly fixed at the glow of the street lamps.

"Isn't it pretty?"

I asked Kirigiri, and she nodded.

"Can you say it?"

"……Pretty."

At this time, Nanamura Suisei walked into the room.

"Young ladies, I have kept you waiting for a long time. The
Christmas presents I gave you both must be to your liking."

The present he is talking about should refer to the nightscape.

I suddenly felt very embarrassed. I was like a hooked fish that was
stupidly excited, so I quickly stepped away from the window.

Nanamura pulled two chairs out skillfully for me and Kirigiri to sit
on. I kept nodding and bowing my head humbly while sitting
down on the chair. I have no idea how to act appropriately in such
a place.
Kirigiri on the other hand, wasn’t rusty at all. She sat on the other
chair like a princess, and thanked Nanamura without moving.

Although Kirigiri Kyōko's personality is unexpected for a young

girl, she is still an elegant and straightforward girl. When it comes
to cases or detective-related matters, she exudes a calm and
repulsive temperament, but she grew up in a family with
detectives as their ancestral business, so I think this is also related
to her birth.

Nanamura placed the Christmas hat that was on his head on

Kirigiri’s, and sat down on the opposite seat. He didn't explain
why he placed his hat on Kirigiri’s head, and Kirigiri did not make
any reaction.

It's adorable anyway, better not to think more about it...

"It is a great pleasure to have dinner with such two beautiful

young ladies on Christmas Eve."

After Nanamura sat down, with his arm on the table propping his
chin, he suddenly looked straight at me.

His deep gaze made me feel overwhelmed.

"Wh-what's wrong?"

I couldn't help but say embarrassingly.

Nanamura is a good-looking man with a sharp outline, he has the

appearance of a stage actor. He is impeccable as the person to
have Christmas dinner with—

"12000, 9800, 23000."

Nanamura abruptly declared several mysterious numbers.

"Eh?"

"The price of the glasses you’re wearing, the price of your coat,
and the price of your shoes."

"E-Eh? How did you..."

Know?

Almost all the numbers he said are correct.

"There are several ways to observe a character, and among the

most effective methods, quantifying the price of their personal
belongings. Knowing the value of an item is arguably the fastest
way to see through the nature of things."

"O-oh."

"Samidare Yui – for example, you seem to have confidence in your

legs and feet, so you spend more money on your shoes. However,
judging from the wear and tear of your shoes, you don’t have the
characteristics of engaging in a particular sport. Despite your
extraordinary and natural leg strength, you still chose the path of
a detective. You want to be a detective at such a young age,
presumably because of your past—"

"I- I get it."

I stretched out my arms and interrupted Nanamura. Who knows

what he will say next.

Nanamura smiled contemptuously and lifted one finger to the

window.
"—74.45 million. This is the price of the nightscape here, the sum
of the electricity bills for all the buildings in this direction. The
nature behind beautiful things like these."

Nanamura squinted his eyes in a pretentious manner.

This detective monster is truly incomprehensible.

Nanamura Suisei – a Double-Zero rank detective, Detective

Library DSC (Detective Shelf Classification) number [900]. He has
the number ‘9’ which indicates that he mainly deals with murder
cases, and the number ‘0’ which proves that he has reached the
top in this field. There was a detective who reached rank ‘3’
through despicable means of creating cases and then solving
them by himself, yet he was not able to get a ‘0’ in his career of
more than twenty years. Nanamura Suisei got these two numbers
in his prime at the age of 37. which is, honestly, quite remarkable.
This kind of honor cannot be obtained by ordinary skill.

"Alright, let us talk while we eat."

Nanamura snapped his fingers.

The waiter on standby diagonally behind him poured red wine

into the glass. There are two other waiters standing next to him
respectfully, just like attendants serving a king.

Since Kirigiri and I are still minors, they brought us a special drink
menu. I ordered orange juice and Kirigiri ordered coffee.

"A toast to celebrate our meeting– is what I want to say, but I

have to let it go for now. In our world, a toast is not done for the
opening act, but for the curtain closing."
Nanamura took a sip of red wine.

The waiter began to place plates in front of Nanamura. Generally

speaking, French cuisine should be served in order, but for some
reason, he is the only one whose dishes are all served at once.

"10 hours, 28 minutes and 49 seconds."

Nanamura suddenly said another series of numbers.

"That’s the time that has elapsed since I opened the challenge
letter. The 'Black Challenge' is being held and the winner will be
decided within 168 hours after the unsealing. To make the time
period more concise, I opened it at exactly 10 o'clock this
morning."

Nanamura said with a serious expression, yet he didn’t stop

dining. I realized then that there was not much left on his plate.

When did he eat all of it...

Kirigiri and I each had a plate of food in front of us. If we follow

Nanamura’s tempo, these good dishes are going to be gone in a
flash.

"Nanamura-san, may I ask how many times have you accepted the
'Black Challenge' in total"

"This is the fifth time."

"A total of five times?"

"I can only thank my bad luck for that. There are some detectives
who are still completely unaware of the existence of the 'Black
Challenge'. No, I should say the majority of detectives don't know
about it."

Of course, we know about the ‘Black Challenge’.

Not long ago, Kirigiri Kyōko and I were involved in one.

‘Black Challenge’ refers to a game held by an organization called

the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee. The game is supposed to be
a duel between a detective and a criminal. The detective who
receives the challenge from the criminal must immediately solve
the ongoing case.

The Crime Victims’ Relief Committee is not the kind of charitable

organization its name suggests. They approach crime victims
under the banner of ‘relief’ and abet them to participate in the
game. Their selection of crime victims as game challengers seems
to be limited to those who have ignited the flames of revenge in
their hearts. In short, they use those who have a motive to kill
and make them criminals among the game participants.

At the same time, the detectives who are opposed to the criminal
side of the challengers are selected from the detectives registered
in the Detective Library.

There are approximately 65,500 detectives registered in the

Detective Library, and their information is open to the public. The
Crime Victims’ Relief Committee selects the detectives to be
summoned according to the level of difficulty of the ‘Black
Challenge’. They seem to refer to the DSC ranking of the Detective
Library when choosing.
"As the rank gets higher, the number of detectives in the
denominator decreases, so it's only logical that they are more
likely to be selected for the 'Black Challenge' in terms of
probability."

Nanamura placed his fork on the dinner plate, wiped his mouth
with the napkin, then crumbled it into a ball and threw it
backwards. One of the waiters steadily caught the napkin without
a hint of panic at all. Then Nanamura pushed aside the empty
plate, made a space on the table, and crossed his fingers on the
table.

Nanamura looked at me then Kirigiri, as if he is observing us.

"I've seen the file of the case you solved, and that one was just
right for newcomers to get started on."

That Sirius Observatory murder case was entry level?

Even now, whenever I think of that day, I feel a sense of despair,

but he said that it was just an entry level case.

"But this time things won’t be that simple. Judging from the
contents of the challenge letter, the criminal this time has a full
understanding of the contents of the 'Black Challenge' and came
with the conviction that they will win for sure. The most
troublesome part is the opponent's mental state. They are most
likely enjoying the game. I’m sure the audience will be in high
spirits as well."

"The audience?"
"Oya, you don't know? 'Black Challenges' are released in video
format. The audience watch while eating and drinking at an event
called 'Closed Circuit', it’s live viewing."

Speaking of Which, the criminal of the last case also told us the
same.

He said that the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee not only held
games, but also offer them as shows to a portion of the audience.

"It's unbelievable... what kind of people would watch a ‘Black

Challenge’?"

"I wonder who they are exactly, but there is no doubt that they
are able to spend a lot of money. They say if you want to attend
the 'Closed Circuit', you need to pay up almost the same amount
of money to build 10,000 schools in developing countries."

This analogy is so incomprehensible and lacking in compassion...

In the end, it's just entertainment for the rich.

Watching other people kill each other... this concept first

originated as gladiatorial events in Roman times. When I think of
it like this, it doesn’t feel too incomprehensible. Of course, I
myself wouldn't want to actually see someone get killed.

"By the way, why are you girls pursuing the Crime Victims’ Relief
Committee?"

Nanamura asked.

"That's because... we can't just sit back and do nothing about a

criminal organization like this!"
I said with my head held high.

"Uh-huh."

Nanamura nodded with a deep smile.

Then he turned his gaze to Kirigiri.

"And you?"

Kirigiri shrank her neck slightly.

"For no reason, I didn't receive a commission in the first place."

"I- I told you, we are a team now." I couldn't help but refute
Kirigiri. "Also, don't you have the desire to fight the Crime Victims’
Relief Committee too?"

"No, I am only interested in making my talent as a detective get

recognized."

"...Your goal is to increase your rank? How can you say that?
Especially after being subjected to their game, don't you feel
resentment toward them?"

"...I do feel resentment."

An unexpected answer – she answered me with her usual

expression. either she is not good at showing her expressions, or
she is just the ultimate poker face... "In this case, you can join me
in my fight against the evil organization! The job of a detective is
not only to deal with the case at hand, right?"

"I will help you investigate if you commission me, onēsama."

"You're such a...." I bit my lower lip, restraining my agitated self.
"Don't you have any thoughts of your own? Are you a doll that
won't act without a commission?"

At my words, Kirigiri slowly turned her face around and responded

with a cold look.

Is she angry?

"What's the point of a detective without a client? Self-

satisfaction?"

Kirigiri said, turning her face away.

"Yeah, it’s surely for self-satisfaction, probably. But that's what

the pursuit of the truth is all about, right?"

I couldn't help but stand up and say.

"Pursuing the truth– really. What a childish thing for you to say,
onēsama."

"You’re the childish one here!"

I raised my voice–

In the next moment, a noise that sounded like a trumpet rang

throughout the room.

I was taken aback and looked in the direction of the sound, and
found that Nanamura had picked up a trumpet at some point.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing, as far as I’m concerned, you are

both children. No, not just children, you are rookies."
With a helpless smile, Nanamura threw the trumpet behind his
back, and the waiter still caught it as he did last time.

"Being a detective is not a means for self-satisfaction, but a

detective without principles isn’t reliable. That said, if we average
the two of you out, you will probably be a proper detective."

Nanamura said so and shrugged.

Kirigiri and I glanced at each other silently.

"Sorry... I shouldn't have yelled out of the blue."

I felt embarrassed and sat back on my chair with a red face.

Kirigiri remained silent with her face turned to the side.

"Then let's get back to business." Nanamura said. "As far as I

know, ever since the investigation against the Crime Victims’
Relief Committee began, the number of missing detectives has
increased to double digits."

"D– double digits?"

"Do you know what that means? It means that as soon as they
make a move, it will be hard for you guys to get out in one piece
as well."

"Such a dangerous organization, and yet everyone is keeping

quiet while watching from the side? If what you're saying is true, I
think it's only right to eliminate them as soon as possible."

"You’re really brave, Samidare-kun, those missing detectives must

have said the same thing as you. However, the fact that detectives
who are higher rank than you have been dispatched in double
digits and still couldn’t shake this organization shows that this
isn’t a simple matter. Let me tell you a surprising fact. The Crime
Victims’ Relief Committee has an office in a certain building under
the name of a non-profit organization, where anyone can come
and go to freely."

"Eh, what's all this about?"

"On the surface, they are just an independent charity

organization. Although it’s easy to find information related to
them, no matter how much more you investigate, you can only
get the part of information that is open to the public. Presumably
this is how they deal with detectives. They spread countless
useless information to draw attention away, so as to hide the
information they really want to hide, also known as hiding wood
in the forest. Just like how ‘Father Brown’ put it."

"What is their purpose? Is it just to make someone's revenge a

show for others to watch?"

"No—" Nanamura picked up his wine glass and continued, while

staring at the red liquid in the glass. "I heard this organization’s
true purpose from a detective who tracked them down."

"The true purpose?"

"The detective who told me about this is also currently missing.

Perhaps because he knew the true purpose of the Crime Victims’
Relief Committee, or maybe..."

"Maybe ‘relief’ is their actual true purpose."

"Who knows. Samidare-kun, even though you describe the Crime
Victims’ Relief Committee as an ‘evil organization’, do you really
think so?"

"For sure! Because they abet good citizens to kill people."

"But the people they want to kill are all criminals. You’ve also
experienced a 'Black Challenge'. You should understand that all
challengers have suffered a lot because of crimes. They just want
to take back the life that was brutally and unreasonably stolen
from them by others."

In the case that involved Kirigiri and I, the criminal’s family was
murdered. He took revenge on the person who took his family's
life in that ‘Black Challenge’.

"In this world, there are people who are enjoying a happy life
without being punished for the crimes they committed.
Meanwhile, the victims are living miserable lives and struggling at
the bottom of society. and they cry over this unfair reality. Have
you ever heard their cries."

"I can empathize with their feelings. But... Revenge and

vigilantism are not allowed by society, and revenge, even if
innocent people aren’t involved, is not worth advocating."

"This is a detective's point of view. The only thing that can

distinguish between good and evil is the difference in perspective.
It’s true– for some people, the 'Black Challenge' is undoubtedly a
‘relief’, a holy war. There are those among the challengers who
feel that they should take action to eradicate evil and reform the
world."
Is the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee a necessary evil?

Is this their true purpose?

"Even so— the moment they decided to kill someone; they have
already strayed from being a human. I believe they must be
punished."

"What a girl with a strong sense of justice." Nanamura smiled

calmly. "It's just that, although steel is difficult to break, it is also
difficult to restore once it has been bent. It’s most dangerous for
people like you."

"What do you mean by most dangerous..."

I never expected that someone would say that about me.

"Don't let your personal feelings get involved, Yui-onēsama."

"Nnn..."

I’m speechless.

Kirigiri usually hides her feelings under the mask of a detective.

For her, it is probably natural not to bring her beliefs and opinions
into her work.

Even so, that isn’t a reason to disregard the actions of the Crime
Victims’ Relief Committee.

"Regardless of the reason, it’s selfish and egotistical to use the

help of the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee to change your life." I
straightened up and said. "No matter how desperate you are, it’s
meaningless if you don't overcome it by yourself!"
"Well, that’s really beautiful. I have to say; your youthfulness is
both a wound and a sharp edge."

"Nanamura-san... what do you think?" I asked with some

annoyance. "Do you believe the criminals of the 'Black Challenge'
are pitiable victims?"

"I do think they are pitiable, but that doesn't matter to me."
Nanamura replied without a second thought with open arms. "As
a detective, my enemies are not people – but mysteries. I want to
solve the mystery before me, that's why I exist."

"So it's like that..."

Thank goodness.

As expected of a Double-Zero rank, I can see that his confidence is

backed by a real belief in his career without a hint of hesitation.

"Do you think I'm the kind of detective who would show mercy to
criminals? Fufu, I'm not that easy to deal with."

"Sorry, I said something as if I was doubting you."

"That’s okay."

"Do you know anything else about the Crime Victims’ Relief
Committee?"

"I don't know much. Just one other thing– I heard about it from a
detective who tracked down this organization. The Crime Victims’
Relief Committee is actually administrated by only one person."

"One person……?"
"A man, no– or possibly a woman, known as the chairman, whose
origins are a complete mystery. That person established the Crime
Victims’ Relief Committee almost ten years ago and is still
presiding over the 'Black Challenges'."

"He’s the boss of the criminal organization, right?"

As long as the chairman's true identity can be exposed, it may be

possible to accuse the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee of being a
criminal organization.

The shadow that had been hazy about this organization began to
form the outline of a person, revealing itself as an entity.

Who is that chairman?

"Could that chairman be a former detective?"

Kirigiri suddenly opened her mouth.

Faced with this startling statement, Nanamura responded.

He propped his chin on the table with one hand, and met Kirigiri’s
eyes.

"Hmm, why do you think so?"

"In the 'Black Challenge', the challenger's target is the real

criminal of an unsolved and unjust case. This organization
essentially exposes the real culprit that the police failed to
identify and offers a game that targets them. The only ones who
can do all that…. are people at a high rank of a great detective."

I said while being surprised by my own words.

Speaking of high ranks...

Kirigiri nodded, and then said:

"I heard that there were four detectives with the number [000] in
the Detective Library. They have reached the top of their
detective career, yet one of them had his record erased. If there
is anyone that could be the chairman of the Crime Victims’ Relief
Committee – then it could be that person."

"Excellent." Nanamura applauded Kirigiri. "Thanks to you, I don't

need to explain. skipping wasted time is equivalent to getting a
fortune. Kirigiri-kun, you might be able to keep up with me."

"Then, who is the detective whose record was erased?"

Kirigiri ignored Nanamura and asked.

"Sadly, I have no idea." Nanamura spread his arms wide while

observing our faces. "It's true. Because that person's file was gone
before I registered in the Detective Library. If there is anyone who
knows him, they would probably only be the three other
detectives with the Triple-Zero title... and of course those who
founded the Detective Library. I heard that that former detective
is also related to the foundation of the Detective Library."

Speaking of the founders of the library, I remember hearing that

Kirigiri's grandfather was one of them.

—Does that mean Kirigiri's grandfather was the detective whose

record was erased?

No no, I'm overthinking it.

I secretly observed Kirigiri’s reaction, and she was not moved at
all.

"If we can already conclude this, why is no one making a move?"

Kirigiri put down the knife and fork, and asked while holding her
arms.

"Because all of this is just speculation. Also– even if the vanished

Triple-Zero rank former detective is the chairman, no one would
dare to get close to them."

"Why?"

I asked.

"There are some gaps in this world that can’t be filled with time,
money or talent. This is the gap between us and the Triple-Zero
rank. Let’s say they have fallen to becoming criminals, then we
need to take national-level countermeasures. This is not a joke,
but a real fact. This is not a matter we can influence."

This is undoubtedly a declaration of admitting defeat.

To me, Nanamura is an unreachable Double-Zero rank, and he is

also a very prideful person, yet even he easily admitted defeat.

Is the opponent I want to challenge far beyond my imagination...

"However, there is a way to get close to the Crime Victims’ Relief

Committee."

"Eh?"
"By catching the criminals of the 'Black Challenges'. The criminals
have contact with the top executives of the organization, or at
least got the game instructions from them. In other words, the
existence of the criminals is one of the few clues left behind. As
long as you win the 'Black Challenges' and extract information
from the criminals, that would be progress for you girls, right?"

"Yes!" I nodded. "But we shouldn’t lose to the criminals in the first

place!"

"This is really encouraging."

Nanamura looked at his watch and got up from his chair.

"It's time."

"Eh? You’re leaving?"

Oh right, we haven’t finished our meal yet...

"Time is money, and money is time. I buy time with money and
earn money with time." Nanamura said as he gestured to the
waiter. "Alright, I want confirm one thing from you. You will also
participate in this ‘Black Challenge’. Can I take this as a given?"

"Yes."

I answered without thinking.

Kirigiri glanced at my face and nodded.

"Very well, then about this 'Black Challenge', let's go through it

first."
The culprit who is the challenger receives funding from the
organization in advance to purchase techniques and murder
weapons used to commit the crime, set them up as a ‘deck’, and
the contents will be written on the challenge letter.
This time the criminal spent a lot of money on the murder
weapons and Techniques, and prepared a good card deck for this
case. This is what Nanamura meant when he described the
criminal as ‘came with the conviction that they will win’. The
higher the total amount, the higher the rank of detective that is
summoned.

"Next, I want to tell you an important thing in advance."

As Nanamura said, he excitedly carried the rucksack that the

waiter had brought from somewhere, wrapped the belts around
his chest and waist, then closed the buckle.

What is this guy doing all of a sudden?

"In the 'Black Challenge', there is a rule stating that the criminal
cannot kill the summoned detective, because it won’t be a game
without the detective. The detective mentioned here refers to the
detective summoned by the challenge letter. So as far as the rules
are concerned, you are not the detective, but companions, so you
may also become victims."

"Th-The victims..."

These unexpected words made my voice uncomfortably shrill.

When I think about it carefully, we are jumping into the trap of

the criminal ourselves.

If we get in their way, we may not be spared.

"Are you scared?"

"No no, I’m fine..."

I'm so dishonest.

Kirigiri still had a calm expression and nodded slightly.

"The conditions of the criminal's victory is to kill all the targets of

revenge, and they should not get exposed by the detective within
168 hours. If they win in the 'Black Challenge', they can get the
money used in the game as a bonus. If they have the will, they can
also start a fresh new life. For those challengers who want to
climb from the bottom, this is a great incentive."

"That means… they are throwing their entire weight around."

"Exactly. On the flip side, if they lose, they must pay back the
advance payment used in the game in full. If they are unable to
pay back, then they must pay for it with their lives. This means
that the opponent fighting us is betting his life on the line."

On the point of betting life, I’m confident that I will not lose to
others.

I became a detective because I wanted to answer other people's

calls for help. As a detective, I am willing to sacrifice my life for
justice.

At the same time, about Kirigiri— she was born as a detective, she
has no reason or purpose for being a detective. She received
detective education since she was born, and now she is about to
become a detective machine that is not afraid of death.

But I know that no matter how many detective guidelines are

stuffed into her head, her mind is still just that of a little girl in her
first grade of middle school.
"The 'Black Challenge' is not necessarily carried out in an enclosed
space. However, in order to avoid police intervention and also to
limit the freedom of the detective, in most cases they will choose
an enclosed environment. This time, Norman’s Hotel that has
been chosen as the location of the game is an abandoned hotel,
located in a mountain far away from human populations.
Presumably we will be quarantined there for at least 100 hours.
Remember to be fully prepared."

Nanamura glanced at his watch again, and raised a hand to say

goodbye to us.

"It is time for me to say goodbye." Nanamura was about to leave

when he seemed to remember something else and turned back.
"Oops, before that I have to confirm with you girls what the
arrangements are afterwards. Our departure time to the
Norman’s Hotel will be the day after tomorrow, as I have personal
matters that I must attend to tomorrow. The meeting time is 7
AM the day after tomorrow at the roundabout in front of the bus
station. I’m expecting us to arrive at the hotel at 10 AM."

"Excuse me... Is it fine to go only the day after tomorrow? Wasting

a whole day is..."

This game is time-limited, yet he is taking it so leisurely.

"As long as my speed exists, there is no problem. You girls can try
not to fall behind me."

"Y-yeah……"

"Well then, fingers crossed we will win this—"

I thought Nanamura would walk towards the exit door of the hall,
but for some reason, he went towards the window.

Could it be……

The thing that he spent a lot of effort to carry on his body...

Nanamura suddenly opened the window.

A gap was opened in the window, and a strong wind of the top of
the high-rise building rushed in.

Nanamura leaned slightly and hopped on the window frame.

"Wish you both good luck!"

He gave us a thumbs up, and then jumped out from the gap of the
window.

"Nanamura-san!"

I quickly got up from the chair and ran to the window.

I saw him with a parachute slowly descending towards the

colorful street.

The stretched out seven-colored parachute added another bright

color to the nightscape.

"Are all great detectives like this...?"

I stared in bewilderment at the seven-colored flower falling

towards the sea of neon lights. Even Kirigiri's hand holding the
fork stiffened.

The waiter closed the window to keep out the strong wind.
"...Oh well, let's continue to enjoy dinner slowly. No matter how
anxious we are, the proper show will have to wait until the day
after tomorrow."

"Yes." Kirigiri ate the fish elegantly. "And this might be our last
Christmas."

"Again, you say that like it doesn’t concern you."

"Of course, it's not that easy to kill me."

"That’s for sure! If you die that easily, then I’m in a big trouble.
There will be many Christmases for us in the future."

If it comes to that– I will protect you.

I did not say these words out loud.

I don't want her to feel like I’m mixing up my sister who died in
the kidnapping case with her…

Moreover, I don’t have the confidence to say the truth that I’m
still trapped by my sister's ghost. Perhaps in the depths of my
soul, there is still a sense that I can be redeemed.

That voice asking for help— it was always the voice of my little
sister.

I will save you next time.

Definitely—

"Let’s do our best too in the upcoming 'Black Challenge'. Right,

Kirigiri-chan?"

"In order to improve my rank, there is no other way."

Kirigiri said with a childlike face and a grown-up tone.

For us, this is the second ‘Black Challenge’.

What kind of event will it be...

"Here is your bill."

The waiter suddenly leaned over and handed me a thick memo-

like thing. I opened it and it said the cost of tonight’s dinner.

¥62248

"Eh... Ehhh? Didn't Nanamura-san... cover our bill?"

The waiter shook his head with a smile that brooked no argument.

"U-uhhhh."

I quickly glanced at my wallet.

There are only two thousand-yen banknotes inside...

"What should we do." I whispered, bit my tongue and turned to

Kirigiri. "That sly detective screwed us! That guy is rich, but very
stingy, for sure!"

"Don't panic, onēsama."

Kirigiri pulled her card out from her wallet and handed it to the
waiter.

"Payment for the entire bill."

"Thank you."

The waiter withdrew inside.

"K-Kirigiri-chan... so cool..."

After dinner was over, we walked out of the building. The patch of
neon that was under our feet just now has surrounded us without
realizing. I walked side by side on the cold street with Kirigiri, and
it felt like we stumbled upon a paradise in the depths of the
ocean.

Christmas Eve is passing by every second.

On the brightly lit walkways, the magical lights is shining on the

passing pedestrians.

"Goodbye, I will go this way."

Kirigiri pointed to one side of the forked road and said.

She left a small cloud of white mist in the cold night air, turned
and walked forward alone.

"Wait, let me take you home, it's getting late..."

"There's no need for that." Kirigiri turned around and said with
her three-strand braid on her shoulder. "Not mentioning other
foreign countries, at least in this country there’s nothing that can
threaten me when walking at night."

"You have such a big mouth, if a man really attacked you for real,
it’s hard to imagine what would happen to a baby-faced girl like
you. For example, like this—"

I took a stance to attack Kirigiri from behind, and stretched my

hands to her thin neck.
The next moment—

Her figure disappeared from my view.

At some point, she had stood diagonally behind me and twisted

my right arm.

"Ouch, it hurts!"

"If you want to prove it, I hope you stay within the realm of
reason." Kirigiri let go of my hand and said. "Yui-onēsama, you
have to be careful. You can't beat a man who attacks you by high
jumping."

"Uhh... what was that move just now? Is it a self-defense

technique? Teach me too!"

"Not today, I have to go home."

Kirigiri said while looking at the clock on the street.

"Hey, in any case, let's go home together. Can’t you tell that I still
want to talk to you? You’re kinda dense sometimes."

A frown creased between Kirigiri’s eyebrows, she then raised her

head and glanced at me, then walked forward silently.

I walked beside her.

"About the topic earlier..."

"Self-defense?"

"No, earlier than that, about the chairman of the Crime Victims’
Relief Committee."
"What about it?"

"Used to be a detective before, with a very high rank, related to

the foundation of the Detective Library... Couldn’t that be your
grandfather?"

"It would be a very dramatic development if that’s the case, but

it’s not."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because Grandpa never registered in the Detective Library, he

told me before. Since he never did, there’s no way he is among
the Triple-Zeros, and that means his record wasn’t erased."

"It's a bit rude to say this... but is it possible that your grandpa lied
to you?"

If Kirigiri's grandfather is secretly operating as the chairman of a

criminal organization, then it is naturally impossible for him to
confess his identity to his granddaughter.

"Grandpa harbors immense pride in the Kirigiri family name... so

he can't tolerate being ranked as a detective. I heard that he was
the only person who opposed the implementation of the DSC
system."

"The pride of the Kirigiri family name... huh."

To me, this sounds like it belongs to a world beyond my reach.

Kirigiri's grandfather is a great detective, and this can be seen at a

glance from his granddaughter Kirigiri. She was able to emerge in
the detective field at the tender age of 13, mostly because of the
Kirigiri bloodline and the history behind it.

However, none of the detectives we have met before showed any

reaction to the family name Kirigiri. Even the Double-Zero rank
Nanamura, his opinion of Kirigiri seems to be nothing more than a
‘clever little girl’.

The detectives of the Kirigiri family must not have been allowed to
work publicly, but live in the shadows all the time. Therefore,
ordinary detectives don’t know the Kirigiri family name.

If this is the case, then it is possible that in order to maintain the

pride of the Kirigiris, Kirigiri's grandfather himself did not register
in the Detective Library.

……Huh?

In that case, why did Kirigiri Kyōko register at the Detective

Library? She said that her grandfather was the one who asked her
to register, right? Isn’t this an act of betrayal to the pride of the
Kirigiri family...

"Grandpa basically lives abroad. He often deals with overseas

countries in his work. From his point of view, the Crime Victims’
Relief Committee is only a domestic matter. He has no time to
manage a trivial matter like a small-scale criminal organization."

"So we aren’t living in the same dimension after all..."

Kirigiri Kyōko's grandfather intimidated me once again. Such a

powerful man fighting against unknown crimes, regardless of his
reputation or official title..
"But at least your grandpa should have known the chairman of
the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee, right? They might’ve been
colleagues."

"Who knows." Kirigiri said with a serious expression and breathed

onto her cold fingers. "Regardless of whether he knows them or
not, we can't do anything about it."

"If we can get that person's name, we can go to the office and call
that person out. Maybe they will show up easily."

"Even if they show up, what will you do afterwards? How do you
prosecute the chairman of a charity organization?"

"There’s always a way! Like Al Capone, whether it is for tax

evasion or other crimes, we should at least catch that person first,
and the most important thing is not to let them continue the
'Black Challenges'."

"Yui-onēsama, excessive justice is no different from evil. "

"Hmm……"

"In any case, let's put aside the chairman topic for now and
concentrate on the matter at hand."

"...True."

I was lectured by a girl younger than me.

Nearly 12 hours had passed since Nanamura’s ‘Black Challenge’

began.

The game had already started.

It is precisely in times like these that I must remain calm. It won’t
be too late to defeat the great devil that is the organization if we
wait till after this 'Black Challenge' is over.

If... we can return safely, that is.

While I was walking forward with my thoughts full of worry,

Kirigiri suddenly stopped.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"I’m at home."

At the end of the smooth slope, there is a slightly exaggerated

gate of a Japanese-style building, which is firmly closed and
guarded. The streetlights are like signposts leading to that gate,
one after the other extending towards the top of the hillside. The
white wall obscures the view inside it, and the mansion that
should be located behind it cannot be seen from here.

"How should I put it, it's just like what I expected..." I looked at
Kirigiri with envy. "You really are a young princess."

"The curfew has passed." Kirigiri said with a pout. "Even if I told
grandpa I was meeting a detective, once he knows that he was a
guy, he would definitely be angry... what should I do."

Kirigiri spoke with a rare display of unease.

"You should’ve told me earlier that your family has curfews like
these, I would’ve let you go back home sooner."
"I’m home late only because I went out with onēsama." Kirigiri
pouted and said irritably. "I got in the mood and allowed you to
keep talking to me..."

"S-sorry, it's my fault." I kept apologizing. "Do you want me to

help explain?"

"That would help me a lot."

Her tone softened a lot more than usual, which made my heart
skip a beat.

Kirigiri walked up the ramp and stopped in front of the gate.

The thick wooden gate is inlaid with rough rivets, which does not
feel inviting to visitors, but implies rejection. At first glance, there
is no nameplate on the gate, only a videophone with significantly
big lens.

"You're not going in?"

"Only outsiders get in through here." Kirigiri turned a corner and

walked along the wall. "Family members enter and exit through
the back door."

"This feels... awfully strict..."

There are cedar trees planted behind the walls, and there is
something hidden behind the cedar trees. Although I can barely
see the outline of a solemn residence, I can't feel the presence of
anyone inside.

For those who don't know the interiors, this place omits quite an
aura of mystery.
"You live here with your grandpa alone?"

"Yes. But there are three other servants who take turns to make
sure that at least one person lives here to watch through the
night."

"Servants? Do such people exist for real?"

The school we go to is an aristocratic school. I have heard that a

handful of students hire servants or nannies at their homes. It
turns out Kirigiri Kyōko is also one of them.

But she doesn't seem to have a happy family. Apparently, her

parents aren’t with her. I haven’t asked her about the specific
details, so I’m not sure what the truth about it is, but it must be a
big problem for her.

"Speaking of which, I heard you were living abroad not long ago?"

"That’s right. I moved here about two months ago. Before that,
for about five years, my grandpa and I went to many places
overseas. But because I can't waste my school years, I returned
home alone after finishing my work."

"I keep feeling more and more that you and I are not from the
same world."

"Is that so."

Kirigiri said with a straight face.

After walking along the walls for a while, Kirigiri finally stopped
and pointed at a spot on the wall.

There is a small door for one person to go in and out.

Kirigiri took a key out of her pocket and inserted it into the
keyhole on the door.

The door opened immediately.

"What the heck? you had the key all this time."

"The key wasn’t the issue, it’s what to do after this point."

"Why don't you just sneak back into your room?"

"I will definitely be found out."

Kirigiri said with anger.

"Then what should we do?"

"Wait here, grandpa will come and greet you."

"Okay okay, got it."

"I will be right back."

"Ah, Kirigiri-chan, wait a sec."

"What is it?"

"Isn’t it better to take that thing off your head first?"

I pointed to the Christmas hat on her head, and she silently swept
it off.

She stared at the hat lying near her feet with an uncanny
expression.

"What is this?"

—She never noticed.

I picked up the hat and urged Kirigiri.

"Anyway, you should hurry up."

"Ah, yes."

Kirigiri vanished beyond the door.

After letting Kirigiri go, I put my hands in my coat pockets and

leaned against the wall.

I’ve rarely seen Kirigiri being so flustered, her grandpa must be

the absolute authority to her. Or, she is simply too attached to
him? For her who is without a father and a mother, there is no
doubt that her grandfather is her biggest supporter.

Anyway, I can't help but chuckle when I think of her flustered face
earlier. For someone as calm as her, she sure becomes a mess
with small things like returning home... I inadvertently looked up
at the street lamp and saw something shining in the sky.

It's snow—

It’s a white Christmas.

On such a night, I’m alone, smiling... what on earth am I doing?

A wave of unexplained loneliness washed over me.

But this year is different from previous years. I met a young girl,
Kirigiri Kyōko. The loneliness and emptiness I felt in my detective
career was alleviated by her. This is an undeniable fact.

Will we stay together in the coming year?

I tried imagining our future together.

For some reason, all I could imagine is a pitch-black darkness.

Is this also the fate that detectives are destined for—

"Yui-onēsama."

Hearing this voice, I looked at the door and found it open.

Kirigiri stood alone with a troubled expression.

"Eh? Where's your grandpa?"

I straightened up from the wall and buttoned my coat. I walked

over to Kirigiri and looked behind her, there’s no one there.

"Are you the one trying to kidnap my Kyōko!"

The voice came from above my head.

An old man in a kimono is standing on the wall with the snowy

night sky behind him– by the time I noticed him, it was too late.

The old man landed behind me, lightly struck my knee sockets
with his cane, and slammed my shoulder with his hand. I didn't
have time to resist, and I was knocked to the ground in one fell
swoop.

Before I realized what’s happened, I had fallen on the floor.

The old man's cane is coming down.

All I can do was stare up at it–

"Wait, that’s not him!"

Kirigiri hurriedly stepped forward to stop it.

The cane was suddenly fixed in mid-air.

I raised my hands while lying on the cold asphalt.

"I- I concede..."

"Grandpa, take a closer look, she is a girl."

"What?" The old man stared at me carefully, then

unceremoniously grabbed my chest without hesitation. "Hmm...
indeed..."

"H-heyyy!"

The old man's hand was unexpectedly strong. I slapped his hand,
leaped up, and quickly moved away from him.

"This is Samidare Yui-onēsama. She is a detective from the same

school as me."

"Ah, so it’s you." The old man said, scratching his gray-haired
head. "Sorry, sorry, I misunderstood because I received news that
my granddaughter had a dinner outing with a man—"

Where did you receive the news from?

Having said that, this old man—

He looks quite young. He has shiny silver hair, shallow wrinkles, a

straight back, and a vibrant glow in his eyes. He is leaning on a
cane in his right hand, but he doesn't look like he needs to rely on
a cane to support his legs and feet. I guess this cane is just a
weapon for him.
"Uhh... Nice to meet you." I bowed my head as a start. "Um...that,
Kirigiri-chan... Kyōko-chan has been very nice to me at school and
some other places."

"Are you the one who made the call earlier?" The old man looked
like a different person with a calm smile. "My granddaughter,
Kyōko, is the one who is thankful for your care. Kyōko isn’t used
to life here. She is always alone. I don’t know what to do about
that, and I have been worried for some time. However, now that
she is with a good partner like you, I can finally breathe a sigh of
relief. Right, Kyōko?"

"Yes."

Kirigiri hid behind the old man, slightly lowered her head to
express her agreement. She felt a little more restrained than
usual. She looked like an obedient little lamb.

She’s so meek in front of her grandpa...

"I was talking to Kyōko-chan about the current case for a while,
and I lost track of time... I didn't know that her house has a
curfew, so I'm very sorry!" I bowed again. "Next time I'll make
sure she comes back home on time, so please don't punish her
today!"

"Hahaha... I expected you were the one who brought her back,
Samidare Yui-kun. There are exceptions to every rule, no matter
what they are. For example, as long as it is something related to
detective work, no matter what happens, I won’t fault Kirigiri.”

"So……"
"That whole curfew thing... is just bullshit!"

Ah... thank goodness, he is not as unreasonable as I thought.

He knocked me down and touched my chest. I thought for a while

about what could’ve also happened. Fortunately, he is not as bad
as I thought. He seems to be a man of generous heart. Or maybe
that’s just because he favors his granddaughter?

I squeezed a cold sweat before, worrying that a fierce and

stubborn old man would appear, but now I am truly relieved from
the bottom of my heart.

"Haha... did you think I’m a fierce and stubborn old man? You
have it written on your face."

"Yes, sorry."

"In the Kirigiri family, detectives are the most important.

'Detective work comes first, even over the death of a family
member'— That's the ancestral motto passed down through the
Kirikiri family, isn't that right, Kyōko?"

"Yes, grandpa."

"Very well, Once Kyōko becomes a first-class detective, I’ll

definitely abolish that curfew rule!"

"Really?"

Kirigiri asked with a look of surprise on her face.

"I will abolish the curfew as soon as when Kyōko becomes a self-
reliant detective."
"Yes, I will be a great detective."

Kirigiri answered with sparkling eyes.

"Yep, yep, good girl."

The grandfather patted his granddaughter's head.

Kirigiri squinted happily.

How should I put it... Although their relationship is a bit unusual,

they look very happy.

"By the way." I interjected a bit fretfully. "From the day after
tomorrow, in order to solve the 'Black Challenge' case, Kyōko-
chan may have to stay overnight... Ah, of course I’ll be with her.
Do you approve?"

I asked.

"Ah, sure."

He simply gave his permission.

He didn't even hesitate to send his granddaughter to a place

where her life might be in danger depending on the situation. And
he didn't have any particular reaction to the words ‘Black
Challenge’.

How much does Kirigiri's grandfather know about the Crime

Victims’ Relief Committee?

At least he should have heard about the ‘Black Challenges’ from

Kirigiri, and may also know more about it.
He is a great detective, and also related to the foundation of the
Detective Library. There aren’t many people who meet these
requirements.

Or is there someone else who fits the bill?

I don't know if I should ask about this.

While I was hesitating, the old man spoke first.

"Then Samidare Yui-kun, you should also go back early to prepare

for the case. It's very cold tonight. Shall I drive you home?"

"Ah, no need, it's okay."

"Really. Then—I'll be asking you to take extra care of Kyōko."

"Okay." I bowed my head deeply and made up my mind. "Right,

there is one more thing I want to ask..."

I looked up and the old man's figure had disappeared.

"Eh?"

I took a look around, but couldn't find him.

He disappeared……

"What are you doing, Yui-onēsama. If you are looking for

Grandpa, he had already gone home."

Said Kirigiri, standing by the door.

"There were still things I wanted to ask him that I haven’t figured
out yet."

I couldn't help but sigh heavily.

As soon as the tension disappeared, the feeling of fatigue came up
all at once.

"I’m sorry, onēsama, for the inconvenience."

"I did have a bad... experience. But as long as it’s for you, I don’t
mind if an old man like him touched my chest." I dusted off my
coat. "It’s great that your grandfather is so tolerant. He does take
your education as seriously as I thought he would though."

"Hey, Yui-onēsama. Can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Is it weird to prioritize detective work over the death of a family

member?"

"Eh? Uh, well..." I thought, tilting my head. "It's not so much weird
as it is strict."

"Strict?"

"The meaning of this sentence is that one should concentrate

solely on completing detective work, right?"

"No, that's not it. For the Kirigiri family, detective work is more
important than the death of a family member. This is not a
rhetorical device like metaphors, but a creed that must be
followed."

"Is that so……"

"Is it weird?"
"it may be a little unusual... but I think it's cool. That means you
are proud of being a detective, right?"

"Unusual?"

Kirigiri is unrelenting.

What's wrong with her.

Did she have doubts about the family creed of the Kirigiris?

She is extremely proud of her identity as a detective, yet she has

doubts about her family creed that had been instilled in her since
she was a child.

"What do you think?"

I asked her this, Kirigiri thought for a while, and then said:

"I don’t think... it’s weird."

"Really. It's nice that you're able to say that."

"But... this might just be my own blind thoughts." Kirigiri said with
her face turned. "Otherwise, I would feel empty inside..."

She lives as a detective.

To her, being alive is the same as being a detective.

That's all she has.

but—

"It's okay. As long as I'm here, your heart won't be empty, I won't
let that happen."
I took her hand, pulled her into a hug, and patted her little back
gently.

"Is it okay for me to stay like this?"

She looked up at me and said.

"Of course. You are the coolest and purest detective in the world,
aren’t you? Let's work hard together, starting from tomorrow."

"……Yeah."

Kirigiri broke free of my embrace and reached for the door.

"See ya."

With a wave of my hand, Kirigiri lowered her eyes shyly and

disappeared behind the door.

Speaking of curfews...

A long time has passed since my dormitory entered its curfew.

In order not to be discovered by the dormitory manager, I secretly

jumped through the window back to my room.

I actually broke the curfew rule on Christmas Eve...

That feels good.

Norman’s Hotel is located in a secluded natural area, surrounded
by mountains and forests. The exterior of the hotel is in Gothic
style, with excessive decorations that are somewhat
anachronistic, giving it a thick and sharp aura. The hotel is
surrounded by spear-like iron fences, and the yard is sparsely
planted with lifeless trees.

This hotel was opened 20 years ago. I heard that its luxurious
rooms and cuisines prepared with local ingredients were very
popular with tourists. However, the hotel had only been in
business for less than 5 years and soon closed for good. I wonder
if this is because the hotel is located in the middle of nowhere– Or
if there were other factors– There were continuous suicide cases
among the hotel residents, which brought the hotel's reputation
down to the bottom.

However, what really forced the hotel to close down was actually
a murder case.

One night, a male resident suddenly shouted and attacked the

residents in the other rooms one after another. The man broke
the doors with a sledgehammer and then hit the sleeping
residents on the beds on their heads, killing 13 people overnight.

Later, the man confessed after being arrested:

‘Someone was spying on me from inside the wall! When I

screamed, that guy came in and choked my neck. So I fought back,
I was just defending myself!’

The man was hallucinating, thinking that someone behind the wall
had attacked him, so he entered the residents’ rooms one by one
and killed the person behind the wall– Or, the person in the next
room. He wasn’t been able to dispel this ‘guy behind the wall’
hallucination, causing him to kill as many as thirteen people.

This bizarre murder forced the hotel to close. The hotel then went
bankrupt, and eventually all the staff of the hotel disappeared.

After that, the building was left unattended for nearly 15 years
and became a creepy ruin.

Then—

Under the sky that could snow at any moment, three people, me,
Kirigiri Kyōko, and Nanamura Suisei, are standing in front of the
Norman’s Hotel that has been transformed into a stage for the
‘Black Challenge’.

The entrance door of the hotel was closed, as if hiding its horrible
past, waiting for us quietly.

After dropping us here, the taxi driver fled away in a flash. Maybe
for the locals, the ruins of this hotel are haunted with evil.

"Exactly 10 AM, a wonderful number." Nanamura glanced at his

watch and said. "120 hours left."

"From now, the deadline will be on 10 AM on the first day of the

new year." I said. "If we think about the worst possibilities, we
might have to spend New Year’s Eve in this dangerous place..."

"Then don't think about the worst. Did you forget my nickname?
‘Allegro Agitato’– no detective can match me when it comes to
speed in solving cases."
"I’m looking forward to your performance."

This was my sincere statement.

"Then let's enter."

Waving his arms like a commander, Nanamura opened the iron

gate of the fence, and walked forward along the gravel road
leading to the hotel entrance. Kirigiri and I followed him.

Halfway down the road, I noticed a small signboard stand on the

side of the road. I inadvertently glanced at the sign on it– I
couldn't help but hold my breath.

"Kirigiri-chan, this."

I looked at the writing on the metal plate with Kirigiri.

Welcome to Norman’s Hotel

We will fulfill any request from our residents.

At first glance, it looks very ordinary. But on closer inspection, the

word ‘request’ was painted over with a red marker, and the word
‘Despair’ was written next to it.

Welcome to Norman’s Hotel

We will fulfill any despair from our residents.
"The same thing had happened in the previous case. What on
earth is going on."

"Does it mean that this is a game from the Crime Victims’ Relief
Committee. Or maybe it means..."

"Or maybe mean what?"

"Simply out of fun."

Kirigiri had no interest in the sign, and after saying that coldly, she
proceeded forward.

We are all putting our lives on the line here, but for those holding
the ‘Black Challenge’, this is just a game. Maybe they are laughing
now seeing how startled I was.

This time they won’t get what they desire.

But... will things end smoothly like last time? After all, this time
I’m not the ‘detective’, just a companion.

And the prep time was only one day. I borrowed a computer from
another student in the dorms and browsed the Internet, but
found nothing except the history of the hotel. I have no idea what
kind of schemes the criminal has planned in the ruins of this hotel.

"Among the murder weapons there were a car and a pistol, I

wonder what the culprit intends to kill with?"

I spoke to Kirigiri.

Kirigiri just shrugged and shook her head, without answering

anything. She is still wearing her uniform as usual, her expression
calm as usual, no different from when she is at school, not as
emotional as me, nor nervous. This little girl is really reliable.

After walking the path leading to the hotel entrance, we finally

stood in front of it.

A double door with thick handles. a kind of door that is probably

rare in modern hotels. This door may have been modified by
people from the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee.

Nanamura put his hand on the door.

"It's not surprising that anything could happen further on. There
may be traps, and there may be mountains of bodies. Are you
both mentally prepared?"

"Yes!"

I mustered courage to answer.

Nanamura threw a wink in response, and then opened the door.

Inside the door was– a very confined area, to the point if three
people went in together, it would be packed to the brim. Maybe
it’s a small room used as a foyer. Directly in front is another
double door. What is the purpose of this small room, it doesn't
look like a place for people to change shoes.

"Well, let’s move on."

Nanamura took hold of the handles of the door in front.

Once the door opened, the view did as well.

This was the lobby of the hotel. A huge chandelier is hanging from
the ceiling, emitting a dazzling light. I would say that the size of
this lobby is about the same as a gymnasium, it is quite spacious.
The floor is covered with a fiery red carpet, and in the corners,
there are sofas and coffee tables for guests to wait. Although this
is a ruin, it doesn’t look like a deserted place here, and it gives the
impression that it has been cleaned quite well.

We walked in as we scanned our surroundings, and just then—

"Ah—! Wait wait! Don't close the door!"

A voice echoed in the lobby.

A white-haired man, a little too formally dressed in a tuxedo,

standing by the sofa, pointing at us and yelling.

"Wh-what's wrong?"

I asked him aloud. The distance between me and him is about a

good 15 meters.

"The door!"

"Door?"

I looked back at the door we just entered from.

Nothing unusual.

The double door was closed firmly.

"...It's too late!"

The hand of the man in the tuxedo pointing at us hung down

feebly.
Several other guests are sitting on the sofas.

"Yui-onēsama."

Kirigiri held the door handles and shook it back and forth several
times.

"What's wrong?"

"The door won't open."

"Eh?"

I also tried pulling the door handles together.

The door seemed to be locked and couldn’t be opened. At first

glance, there is no keyhole on the door, is it an automatic lock?

"That door doesn't look like it can be opened from this side. We
are locked up in here. If you’ve just left it open, maybe we
could’ve gotten out."

The man in the tuxedo said bitterly, and walked towards us.

He is a very old man with white hair and a long beard. The tuxedo
he is wearing is well-fitted and tasteful, as if he had come out of
an old-school picture.

"One, two, three... that adds up to make ten people."

Another man got up from the sofa.

He looks like a pretentious man, he wears a suit and bow tie, is

young, of medium height and medium build, and probably in his
20s.
"Is there any detective among you?"

The man with the bow tie pointed at us and said.

"How did you know?"

I couldn't help asking back.

"Just as I thought." The man grinned with a sudden realization.

"So, we are finally ready."

"Umm... could you please explain what’s going on?"

"Look at this."

The man in the tuxedo handed me a slip of paper.

On it was written text in red letters for some kind of explanation.

‘To all distinguished guests attending in the auction:

Thank you for attending this secret auction we are holding.

Please look forward to the unprecedented and exclusive
items that will be auctioned.
In addition, we would like to draw your attention to the
following:
The number of people required to hold the auction is ‘ten’. If
there are more or less than this number of people, no
auction will be held.
In addition, there must be a detective among the ten people.
As long as the above two conditions are met, the first auction
will start at 6:00 PM on the same day.
If the conditions are not met, the auction time will be
postponed. Guests who arrive early are requested to wait in
the lobby before the auction starts.

Ercassam’s Auction’

"Auction?"

I expressed confusion, and the man in the tuxedo also did the
same.

"Hmm? Didn't you guys come here to participate in the auction?

Here, you didn't receive this thing?"

The man took out a pitch-black envelope from his jacket pocket.

I remember the seal on that envelope!

There is a strange pattern on the red seal– It’s the Crime Victims’
Relief Committee.

"P-please show it to me."

"Ah, sure."

I took the envelope from the man's hand like I was snatching
something, and examined the contents. Inside the envelope is a
thick black piece of paper.
‘Invitation

We would like to inform you, Toyano'oh Mitsuru-sama, that

you have been approved to participate in Ercassam’s
auction. Please arrive at the auction venue at the specified
time.

Time: December 26th, 5:00 PM.

Location: Norman’s Hotel.
Formal attire is required to attend.

In addition, the auction will last up to seven days, so please

prepare for your stay. There is no charge for
accommodation.

Ercassam’s Auction"

I stared at the card together with Kirigiri, and then nodded to

each other to indicate that we have grasped the current situation.

It seems that these people were lured to the stage of the ‘Black
Challenge’ in the guise of attending an auction. Using fake
invitations to gather victims in one place, the same tactic as the
previous case.
"Ah, my English isn’t very good, but I found out that Ercassam is
the word massacre spelled backwards. In other words– this is an
auction for the purpose of creating a massacre."

"Wh-what are you talking about." The man in the tuxedo was
shocked. "You country folks may’ve not heard about this, but
Ercassam is a very famous auction house. second only to
Sotheby's and Christie's. At least that’s what I heard!"

"How was the invitation letter delivered to you?"

I ignored his words and asked this.

"There was a small auction somewhere, and an agent of Ercassam

there invited me. I heard that rare treasures that have never been
seen before will be auctioned here, and I have always been
interested in that stuff... My hobby is to search for antiques at
auctions "

"Umm... Toyano'oh-san, right? You’ve been duped." I told him

bluntly. "How can an auction of Sotheby's magnitude be held
inside these ruins?"

"Because it’s a secret auction!" Toyano'oh seemed annoyed. "I

was convinced that the secret auction will be held in such a
suspicious place! However... Judging from the current situation,
we might’ve really fallen for it. We’ve been discussing this issue
just now."

In addition to both Toyano'oh and the man with the bow tie,
there are also several men and women in full costumes present.
They were probably all tricked by invitations to the secret auction.
"In any case, as long as you entered, it’s over. Just like a trap for
catching wild boars. We can't get out of here. Just when we
thought it was bad enough and didn't know what to do, suddenly
here you are."

The man with the bow tie came over and said in an accented
tone.

"Can't get out... even out of the window?"

"The windows here are all firmly blocked, there is no way to open
them at all. Even my muscular arms can't do anything to them."

He showed us his smooth and slim arm.

"What about the windows in other rooms, or the back door?"

"Unfortunately, you can't go anywhere else but here. There are

four doors in this lobby, but none of them can be opened."

"That means you have been locked up here since yesterday?"

"That’s right. We somehow managed to get through the night

doing whatever."

The man with the bow tie opened his arms and sighed.

"But now that all ten people are here, that means the auction will
finally begin, correct?"

Toyano'oh said with bright eyes.

"If the invitation letter is fake, maybe the auction itself is also
fake, right?"

The man with the bow tie replied.

The person who sent the invitations is undoubtedly the criminal of
this ‘Black Challenge’. However, it’s not clear whether they are
actually the one who held the auction or not. It’s also possible
that this is just to lure them in.

"If there is no auction, then why are we locked up in here!"

"How would I know about such a thing."

The two men began to quarrel.

I looked at the two of them in boredom, thinking about what to

say to persuade them.

At this moment, Nanamura took a step forward.

"Calm down, you guys."

He waited for a moment, until all our attention was focused on

him, and then continued to speak.

"It seems to be a fact that we are locked up in here. In that case,

there is only one thing to focus on, and that is to get out of here,
isn't it?"

Nanamura leisurely paced back and forth in the spacious lobby,

asking no one in particular. His voice sounded as if he was acting
on a stage, probably a way to take the lead.

"We’ve tried many methods." Toyano'oh said, stroking his white

beard. "However, none of them worked, which is why we have
been here since yesterday, waiting all night."

"No no, all of you haven’t yet shown your true capabilities. I'm
afraid you all aren’t feeling that your lives are in danger."
Nanamura walked past the people sitting on the sofa and
approached the coffee table placed there. It’s a low coffee table
with a thick tabletop.

He suddenly lifted the coffee table. I wonder what he is thinking.

Although the coffee table looks quite heavy, he doesn't seem to
be struggling at all. He is unexpectedly strong.

Then he moved the coffee table to the wall—

And smashed it against the wall!

The impact sounded like a small crash accident, with fragments

flying around. There were screams from the women and gasps
from the men.

A large hole was opened in the wall with the heavy coffee table.

However—

"Hmm, the inner wall is made of cement."

Nanamura said after sticking his hand into the big hole.

"Y-you bastard, why’re you suddenly messing around!" The man

with the bow tie ran over to Nanamura. "What the hell’s wrong
with you!"

"It seems impossible to get out by breeching the wall."

Nanamura walked away from the wall with his hands clutching his
arms.

As expected of Nanamura Suisei, who is known as the ‘Allegro

Agitato’, his actions are really sudden and extreme.
"They have been very thorough so to not give us a chance to
escape. I see, if that’s the case, escape won’t be easy. The criminal
doesn’t intend to let us out until their goal is achieved."

"That's what I just said! And what do you mean by criminal...?

Hey, what's the deal with this criminal? "

"I’ll spare you the explanation." Nanamura sat on an unoccupied

sofa, with his legs crossed. "There are still more than 7 hours until
6 PM, huh... and this is also within the criminal's plan. The worst
thing for me in this world is waiting."

"You plan to wait until the auction begins?"

I asked him.

"There’s no other way. The criminal has already paved the road,
and I don't know where we will be sent... Why don't we just try to
see what the criminal is up to."

"How can you be so carefree..." I leaned over to Nanamura and

whispered in his ear. "You didn't tell the police what’s happening
here?"

"Of course." Nanamura gave me a disappointed look. "This is a

real battle between the detective and the criminal. I will never do
this kind of foul."

"This is a matter involving human life!"

I retorted him by saying that and pulled my phone out of my coat.

If Nanamura is unreliable, then I will have to call the police myself.

However, when I looked at the phone screen, it showed ‘No
Signal’.

"H-huh...? I was still seeing the antenna icon when I got out of the
taxi..."

"Cell phone signals seem to be jammed inside this building."

Said a man sitting on the sofa.

This person is bothering me a little ever since I saw him. He is

wearing a baseball cap and big-frame sunglasses, and he is also
wearing a full set baseball attire. Everyone else is wearing very
formal clothes, so this person looks particularly conspicuous. The
sunglasses made his face hard to see, but it’s still clear that he is a
middle-aged man with a gloomy face.

"Jammed……?"

"It’s when the signals are interfered with. By transmitting a signal

of the same frequency as the base station, cell phones will get
tricked and show 'no signal'... It’s generally used in public places
like theaters or hospitals. After all, signals are invisible to the eyes.
Unfortunately, we have been toyed with by such power before we
even noticed, fufu..."

The man pushed his sunglasses up and said.

"That means that cell phones aren’t useful here?"

"If they were, we wouldn't have spent all night here."

The man in the baseball cap shrugged.

Calling outside help is out of the question.

Is the criminal keeping us here to facilitate control over the course
of the case?

The game has already started.

"Everyone came here for the auction?"

I asked as I watched everyone's faces carefully.

They all nodded.

"Yes... Anyway new people have come, so let's introduce

ourselves. Although we’ve already did it once before, let's do it
again for these newcomers."

Said the man with the bow tie.

"Sorry to trouble everyone."

"Then let’s start with me."

The man with the bow tie continued.

Minase Yūzen (25) Freelancer

"I’m Minase Yūzen, 25 years old, and a freelancer. My family is an

old noble one and used to own lots of land... But now I’ve built an
apartments building in the city and live by managing it. I live half
on family support and half on my own work. But the blood that
flows in me is still very exceptional, and one day I’ll definitely
make a turnaround."
"Why are you participating in this auction?"

"I usually make some pocket money by reselling things through

online auctions... This secret auction was told to me by the person
who traded with me last time, and of course he also gave me the
invitation. Hey, to be honest, I thought this auction was quite
suspicious, but decided to treat it as an offline party and went to
take a look, and it turned out like this. Really fuckin’ great."

Judging from his appearance, this young man is quite stylish, but
at the same time he also carries a lingering frivolousness. The
most appropriate term to use to describe him is probably ‘the
second generation of nobles’. It feels like his outfit is that of a
comedian with his bow tie.

"In clockwise order, it's your turn next, old man."

"Who are you calling old man?"

After being called by Minase, Toyano'oh, who is the one wearing

the tuxedo, responded.

Toyano'oh Seiunsai (59) Escape Artist

"I'm Toyano'oh Seiunsai– I'm 59, and a magician."

"Magician?"

"This century’s escape master, after Houdini. Don’t tell me you

didn’t know. In water upside down bind escape, aerial fire cabin
escape, iron ball car smash escape... all are my glorious
performances! Don’t underestimate me, I am number 1 in
creating countless miracles of escape magic!"

"What kinda person says he’s number 1?" Minase started a fuss
with him. "Have you ever even been on ‘Shōten’? In that case, if
you say you’re some kind of an escape master, then you should be
able to escape from here."

"Hey, show some respect."

He looks a little older than 59, maybe because of his gray hair and
beard, or maybe it's just because he has become one with his
stage persona. I wonder if he has forgotten how to not be an
entertainer even after he gets off the stage.

"Umm... By the way, the invitation said "Toyano'oh Mitsuru."

I asked him.

"That's my real name, and Seiunsai is the stage name."

I see.

Chage Akio (42) Occult Researcher

"I'm Akio Chage, 42 years old. and I don't have much to say about
myself... if I have to say something, it would probably be that I
know more about the conspiracies of this world—"

Chage touched the brim of his baseball cap and lowered his head
significantly. He has a standard body shape and relatively tall
figure. However, he doesn't look like a sports person, but instead
gave an impression of not being very healthy.

"Why are you participating in the auction?"

"I can't go into too much detail... But anyway, one night, I saw a
UFO on the roof of my office building."

"W-whaa……?"

"Of course, I took a few shots with my digital camera. It’s not the
first time I have witnessed UFOs, but it was so exciting to get clear
pictures that it made me lose my mind a bit. I was thinking about
submitting an article to some newspaper and unknowingly got a
little drowsy... When I came back to my senses, two men in black
were standing in front of me, staring at me."

"Who were they?"

"Who knows, the only thing I can say is that they looked like the
'Men In Black'. They confiscated the digital camera, warned me
not to spread the story, and gave me an invitation letter to this
auction. ‘We’ll give you something nice there as compensation'–
they said that and disappeared."

"Is this true?"

I asked suspiciously.

"Believe it or not, up to you."

"By the way... why are you wearing a baseball outfit?"

I mentioned the biggest mystery.

"Fufu, this is my formal wear."

"I-is it..."

Is he a problematic guy?

Better not to get involved with him...

"Okay, it's my turn next!"

Mifune Meruko (22) former psychic girl

The girl in a light green sundress raised her right hand and said. A
cheerful girl with a bobcut hairstyle, Can I even call her an adult
girl? Her body is young and short.

"I am Mifune Meruko. I am 22 years old this year. My hobby is

collecting vacuum tubes, which can be used as loudspeakers to
listen with. I heard that there are very special vacuum tubes
available here, so I happily ran here. only to encounter this kind of
situation... and now I’m in trouble!"

She seems to have a unique personality as well. Like her

appearance, she also speaks like a little girl, and she doesn't look
older than me.

"Almost 10 years ago, she was a psychic girl."

Chage added.

"Psychic girl...?"
"I'm not sure myself, but that’s what everyone calls me." Mifune
admitted with a smile. "When I was very young and eating
pudding, I don't know what happened then, but my spoon got
bent by itself. Mom and Dad thought it was funny and made me
bend a lot of spoons. They even asked me to bend spoons in front
of the camera... but I've been wondering why I had to bend
spoons... it just makes it harder to eat pudding with! Ahaha."

"She was active in front of the public for almost half a year. After
that, the media turned their faces and began bashing her, saying
she was a fraud, doing magic tricks or something." Chage said,
pushing the nose rest of his sunglasses. "It’s kinda part of the
entertainment of common people to stomp on a celebrity, it’s
really pathetic."

"Can you still bend spoons now?"

I asked Mifune enthusiastically.

She tilted her head and put on a very serious expression. After a
while, her expression suddenly became lively again.

"Ah, I can still do that!"

"You can do it?"

"I have a feeling I can. Just watch." Meruko took out a spoon from
her travel bag. "I always carry it with me. Just in case."

"Oh, but will it work this time?"

Minase stared here.

He said ‘this time’, which means she tried before, and failed.
Mifune held the spoon in her right hand and started rubbing the
middle part of the spoon with her thumb. She had a very serious
expression.

"Unn…… munyamunyamunya……"

We swallowed nervously and watched her from the side.

"nnAAAA!"

With the weird yell, Meruko opened her eyes suddenly.

The spoon is unchanged.

"It doesn't seem to work..."

She hung her head in defeat.

Like her, I’m also filled with a sense of helplessness.

Shinsen Mikado (30s?) Business employee

"Alright, I guess I'm next."

The man in the suit spoke in a calm voice.

He is tall and thin, his hair smoothed back neatly, and exuded a
sensible and intellectual feeling. At first glance, he seems to be
the most decent among this group of people, but the deep
wrinkles between his brows makes him look like he is hiding the
deepest of secrets.

"I am Shinsen Mikado, a Business employee."

"Shinsen-san, why did you come to this auction?"

"No, I have no interest in the auction."

"Then why are you here..."

"Because I saw it."

"You saw it?"

"Fate— I guess you could say. Or you could said it’s an ominous
premonition. The dream of the living world. Although I'm no
soothsayer nor a prophet, I can see the deaths that have
happened and the deaths that will. It just made me curious, so I
dropped by and here I am."

"You can see— death?"

"It doesn't have to be death. It's just a terrible omen in most

cases..."

He used a calm voice and a composed expression to lightly

described that creepy bit.

"What exactly did you see?"

"It's not that I saw something specifically, it's not a physical entity
after all... It's just that if I have to explain it visually, you can
imagine a dark shadow– and the shape of that dark shadow is
what you fear most."

Listening to Shinsen's words, Mifune began to break cold sweat,

and her body trembled slightly. The others also looked
suspiciously, looking at Shinsen from a distance.
I can't completely deny Shinsen's words.

If you ask me why, it's because I know someone who feels the
same as him.

Kirigiri Kyōko — She also has the ability to sense danger and death
around her in advance. She explained this ability as ‘hearing the
footsteps of the Shinigami’. Although I don't know if it is actually a
sound that is perceived through hearing ornot, but this kind of
ability in Shinsen seems to be a visual version of that.

And his senses are correct. The ruins of this hotel are not only the
site for brutal murders in the past, but also the stage for the
‘Black Challenge’, where murders may happen at any time.

"I hope I'm just being paranoid."

Shinsen lowered his head and smoothed his hair back. Although
he himself denied it, it looks like he isn’t a diviner, but more of a
psychic. His serious expression seemed to have witnessed
countless dark and negative things in this world.

"He didn’t come as an auctioneer. Does that mean he still

counts?"

Toyano'oh said with a troubled face.

No one knows this answer except the criminal who secretly

controls this situation.

So of course, no one answered him.

Yozuru Sae (21) Widow

She is sitting lazily, half leaning against the armrest of the sofa. In
clockwise order, it should be her turn to introduce herself, but she
kept her head down as if she was asleep. She has beautiful long
black hair, and her open chest and thighs exude a coquettish
smell. Upon closer inspection, the clothes she is wearing are
mourning wear.

"Yozuru-san, it's your turn."

Shinsen said to her.

So she lazily propped up her upper body and tucked her hair.

"Nn... Thank you for waking me up. I was almost at the height of
my death wish..." Yozuru glanced at us with sleepy eyes.
"Newcomers are here again....huh, I’m starting to feel like dying
again."

"Together we are ten people."

"The auction is about to start?"

"I think so."

Shinsen said without looking at Yozuru.

"Really... In that case will this help my dead husband to rest in

peace."

"Umm……"

I didn't know what to say, Yozuru seemed to sense my unease,

and said:
"My name is Yozuru Sae. My husband passed away not long ago,
and I’m now alone. He left me the invitation letter to this place
before he died."

"Did your husband explain anything to you about it?"

"No." Yozuru closed her eyes sadly and said. "My husband is a
taciturn man. Because of that, I wanted to know what he always
wanted, so I came here."

As she talked, she fell into silence as if she had fallen asleep. Her
arms stretched out randomly, and on her wrists, which were
exposed through the cuffs of her mourning dress, several cuts
could be seen. The cuts tell everything about her past.

At this point, six self-introductions are over.

The one remaining person—

Uozumi Taehime (20) Maid

The seventh person is a girl, wearing a very maid-like dress apron.

Her hair is about shoulder length with medium length bangs, long
eyelashes and pale skin. At first glance, she looks like a Gothic
Lolita, but her makeup and decorations are very simple, so it
seemed to be just a dress for work.

"I’ve been commissioned by the auctioneer to come here to

provide daily life services for you. My name is Uozumi Taehime,
20 years old."
She spoke in a hoarse voice, and used a male tone.

It’s not bad, and it’s not that annoying either.

"Are you not a guest here for the auction?"

"Yes. However, I heard that I can also participate in the auction."

"How did you accept the commission?"

"The other party sent a letter of commission. I have two tasks to

do, preparing three meals and cleaning the rooms, that's all."

The criminal of this ‘Black Challenge’ hired a maid. In order for

their crime plan to proceed smoothly, she is probably an essential
pawn.

Although this is a ruin, it looks like food and lodging are

guaranteed, I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. I had stuffed a
lot of nutritious cookies in my backpack before coming here, just
in case.

‘Black Challenge’ is a cruel bloody deduction game, but at the

same time, an entertainment show, it must have a fair
foundation. If it’s only for revenge, no matter how despicable the
act is, the criminal should be able do it somehow, and it’s only
natural to kill us by poisoning our food, locking us up and letting
us starve to death, or taking advantage of our sleep and beating
us to death then turn around and escape, all of this is possible.
However, the audience won’t be interested in this. The reason
why the detective is deliberately summoned is also for this reason
of maintaining fairness, I think.
I looked around me.

The whole process of the ‘Black Challenge’ is being filmed by

hidden cameras. I don’t know if it’s being live broadcast, or
recorded and edited, but in any case, someone is watching us now
and we are treated as characters in a game.

Of course, I didn't find where the cameras are. I heard that the
cameras are very small and cleverly hidden. Hopefully the
cameras aren’t installed in the toilet or bathroom.

"It's your turn next, newcomers."

Minase pointed at me and said.

"Ah, yes, we must also introduce ourselves. Before that, please

wait a moment..."

I ran to Nanamura and whispered a few words to him.

"Can you explain the situation to them?"

"I don't mind. Rather, I should be the one asking you to do that so
I can save myself the trouble."

"Okay."

Samidare Yui (16) High-School Girl DSC number [887]

"—This is what’s happening. We are detectives and came here to

catch the criminal."
I explained the reason why we came to Norman’s Hotel in front of
everyone. However, I purposely avoided talking about the ‘Black
Challenge’ and the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee, because I
thought it’s better to keep the information known only by the
criminal for the time being.

I briefly told everyone, "We have received a notice of a crime, and

the notice mentioned that a murder can take place here."

"I- I don't quite understand what you mean... hmm..." Minase

murmured. "Simply put, you’re here to save us?"

"That's the short version."

"But now you are also locked up in here like us."

"Uhh... that’s... we didn't expect things to turn out like this..."

"And you call yourself detectives?"

Minase's words stung me. I think he didn’t mean to be malicious,

but maybe we should’ve indeed been more cautious about it.

"Is it possible that the crime notice was just a prank?"

Chage asked.

"Unfortunately, I don’t think this is possible. The criminal will

definitely take action before New Year’s Eve."

"Speaking of the New Year... It’s almost five days away."

Toyano'oh counted on his fingers. "Does that mean we’re going to
be locked here until then?"

"Yes."
I tried my best to look calm and answered him.

We can't afford to confuse them.

"B-but please rest assured. Since we’re here, we won't let any
crime happen. Anyway, we... Nanamura-san, and the girl over
there, are all very good detectives!"

"That shortie is also a detective?"

Kirigiri Kyōko (13) Middle School Student DSC number [917]

"That’s right." Kirigiri was silent with a sullen and upset

expression, so I explained instead for her. "As long as she’s
around, there's no way the criminal's evil plan will succeed!"

"Eh—? Is this kid even reliable? Isn’t my superpowers more

reliable than her?"

Mifune sat on the sofa and said with her legs swinging around.
She is still trying to bend the spoon.

"I can guarantee that she is absolutely talented."

"I sure hope so." Minase interrupted. "Then again, I don't know if
we can believe you guys. Maybe you just came here to cause
trouble. You want the auction to fail, right?"

"Th-that’s not true! Don't underestimate us, my DSC rank is ‘7’. I

still have a Detective Library card! And she is from the prestigious
Kirigiri family—"
"Yui-onēsama, you don’t have to say all that."

Kirigiri interrupted me.

She brushed the hair around her ear back and continued.

"Did you forget? This time we’re just one of the participants in the
game, just ordinary high school and middle high school students."

"Th-That's right..."

"The real detective is that man over there." Kirigiri pointed to

Nanamura and said to everyone. "If you want help with
something, instead of coming to us two, you should go to him."

"Wait, Kirigiri-chan, don't just give up responsibility like this."

"No, It’s true, because he's the one with the detective’s privilege."

Detective's privilege – she is referring to the rules in the ‘Black

Challenge’. The detective is an important and indispensable role
in the game. That means he can’t be killed. He is the only one
here whose personal safety is guaranteed.

"Absolutely! Leave everything to me."

Nanamura Suisei (37) Ace Detective DSC number [900]

Nanamura raised his arm high and snapped his fingers.

Everyone's eyes focused on him in an instant.

Even Minase and the others, who were originally skeptical,
couldn't find words to refute facing Nanamura.

This is the so-called power of charisma.

"What should we do next, Detective-san"

Minase asked in an agitated manner.

"let’s follow the prior plan and wait for the auction to start."

"So you’re telling us to stay like this until 6 o'clock?"

"If you feel bored, why don't we just play a game of basketball?
This place is spacious enough, and the number of people can be
divided into five people on each side. Of course, even if it's just a
basketball game, I'll never lose."

"It's not like there's a basketball hoop here." Minase replied with
a laugh from his nose. "Really, we’ve been waiting here for a
whole day. We almost went crazy killing time like this."

"Then I suggest you move your body a bit. Sitting still on the sofa
all day long is not good for your health. Moreover, if you move
quickly, the world around you will change accordingly and time
will flow faster. This is a conclusion based on the theory of
relativity, and I think it’s well worth trying."

"Wha? I don't understand what you mean. What are you even
talking about, dude."

It was as if there was no way for Nanamura and Minase to have a

conversation.
During all this, time passed minute by minute. Talking gibberish
can also be an effective way to pass time.

"You guys came here yesterday?" I asked, not targeting a single

person. "How did you solve the food problem?"

"There’s dry food in the closet at the reception desk." Uozumi, the
one wearing the maid costume, replied. "The amount of dry food
is enough for everyone to eat for 7 days. Last night we each ate an
amount of one meal."

"May I ask what kind of orders did you receive at the start?"

"There was only one sentence, 'stand by at the location'. There

were no specific instruction for me here. Only a note with red
letters on it. the contents of which I have just mentioned."

"Hmm... the current situation is weird."

I said, holding my arms.

This time the ‘Black Challenge’ is very strange, the criminal wants
the case to unfold at their own pace. I still can't figure out what’s
going on.

I walked past the place where the sofa is, and stood next to
Kirigiri.

"How about it, Kirigiri-chan?"

"I don't know anything yet." Kirigiri shrank her neck and sighed.
"As Nanamura-san said, we’ll have to wait until 6 PM."
She said this, and then sat down where she was, looking like she
has no intention of communicating with the others. Her lack of
cooperation is probably her biggest weakness.

I felt restless and decided to investigate the lobby alone.

As Minase said, there are doors in several directions, but each one
is tightly closed, and there is no keyhole on any of the doors. They
look very strong, and probably can't be broken without a large
tool like an axe or hammer.

I checked the reception desk.

As Uozumi said, there are lots of food stored in it. It looks like we
won’t die of hunger. There are also 5 boxes of mineral water
containing 24 bottles each.

A sign is hung on the wall behind the reception desk that states
the area structure of the hotel.
Norman’s Hotel

5F Observation Room

4F Guest Rooms 401~412

3F Guest Rooms 301~312

2F Guest Rooms 201~212

1F Reception Lobby
Cafeteria
There is an observation room on the fifth floor. But we can't get
out of the lobby, so we can't get there yet.

There is also a very small room inside the reception. I looked

inside, and there is a small office, probably the staff room for the
hotel’s employees. There is nothing but desks in it.

Further inside, there is a small door.

I didn't think it would open, but when I touched the doorknob, the
door opened easily.

It’s the toilet.

Thank god, that’s one of my concerns resolved.

I was about to come out of the toilet when someone approached

and forcibly pushed me into the toilet. Then they closed the door
with their backhand and locked it.

"W-wait!"

I am locked up...!

"Be quiet."

A charming husky voice.

It's Taehime Uozumi in the maid costume.

"Wh-what are you trying to do!"

I complained quietly.

We deadlocked at each other, in such a small space, we are

almost pressed together.
"I don't mean to hurt you."

She took out a small card from her apron pocket.

That’s a Detective Library registration card.

Uozumi Taehime DSC number [756]

"Eh? Eh?"

"I'm a detective too."

"I-is that so..."

"Just in case, show me your card too."

"O-okay."

I showed her my Detective Library card that I kept in a card

holder.

"Confirmed, you can put it away."

I did as I was told.

"The others don't know that I’m a detective. I thought that the
detective mentioned in the instructions letter written in red
letters was me, but it seems that's not the case. It's a good thing I
didn't reveal my identity before all ten people arrived."

"Are you conducting an undercover investigation?"

"Something like that. This one-piece apron is from here. I’m
wearing it according to the instructions. Definitely not my hobby."

Uozumi tugged the hem of the apron and straightened it out.

"Are you investigating the 'Black Challenge'?"

"Nn? Never heard of it."

"Then what on earth are you investigating...?"

Among the classification numbers of the Detective Library, the

first number indicates the detective's area of expertise. ‘7’ is for
art crimes.

"My field of expertise is mainly fraud cases related to forgeries."

"Forgeries... huh."

"I have been tracking down Toyano'oh for the past few months."

"Eh, that old grandpa?"

"You have to be careful of him. Don't look at him like he is kind. In

fact, he is a con man. He had scammed huge sums of money
from many victims."

"A con man?"

"Yes, the magician identity is his public face. He is actually a con

artist selling forgeries. After I knew he is going to attend this
auction, I contacted the auctioneer and infiltrated here as a maid.
However, I didn't expect that even the auction itself is a trap. Is
the crime notice you mentioned just now true?"

"Yes……"
I briefly explained the ‘Black Challenge’ situation. Since this ‘maid’
is actually a colleague, it should be okay to say this much.

"A criminal organization is also getting involved—" Uozumi put

her hand on her mouth and thought for a while. "Maybe
Toyano'oh is the criminal."

"If that’s the case, things will be much simpler...has Toyano'oh-

san done anything suspicious lately?"

"No— no notable movements."

"If Toyano'oh-san is really the criminal, I think he would have

come here at least several times. And there should be other
preparations for the ‘Black Challenge’..."

"I’ve been monitoring him 24/7 for the past month. This is his first
time here. Of course, it’s possible that he was already preparing
for the 'Black Challenge' before I started monitoring him."

"That's true, I guess."

"Anyway– Toyano'oh is my responsibility, you don't have to

concern yourself with him. I stopped you to tell you this."

"I- I understand, I won’t interfere."

"If we get any useful info, let’s just share it with each other."

Uozumi stretched out her right hand.

I accepted her offer and shook hands with her.

Her hand is undoubtedly that of a girl.

"If we go out together we might be suspected. You go first."

I nodded and walked out of the toilet.

I walked out of the reception desk with an unconcerned face and

returned to the lobby. No one noticed it, probably because I was
quite far away from where the sofa is placed.

I feel my mind is getting more and more confused, and I walked

around the lobby while holding my head in my hand.

Another detective who infiltrated the ‘Black Challenge’, and a con

man– could there be a connection, or is it just a coincidence?

I went back to where Kirigiri is and sat down next to her.

"Did you find anything?"

Kirigiri asked with a tentative look.

With a very heavy heart, I shook my head, admitting my failure.

Kirigiri adjusted her sitting posture, hugging her knees, resting her
chin on her knees with a ‘see, told you’ look on her face

It's annoying... but she looks so cute, so I forgive her.

I decided not to say anything about detective Uozumi. Because it

doesn't seem right to go around talking about the detective who
is conducting an undercover investigation.

Almost an hour has passed since we got stuck here.

There is still a long time after that.

Will the auction be held or not?

And what does the criminal want–

The fateful 6 PM is getting closer and closer.

I was passing the time by reading a Bunko novel book next to

Kirigiri. ‘The Decagon House Murders’ – a mystery novel about a
group of college students trapped in an isolated island and killed
one by one. Reading this kind of thrilling novel under such a tense
situation, I feel an unexplainable sense of peace in my heart,
perhaps because that unique sense of tension and anxiety was
beginning to paralyze my spirit.

Nanamura sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, meditating. His
quiet, motionless appearance is probably quite rare.

Not far from him, four people, Toyano'oh, Minase, Chage, and
Mifune were playing cards, and it looked like they were having a
good time playing Daifugō.

Shinsen seems to be reading some very difficult book. His

expression is always very calm, as if he has been enlightened. I
can feel spiritual tolerance from him.

Yozuru is still leaning on the sofa lazily, maybe she is asleep. From
time to time, I could hear her panting and mumbling some
inexplicable words to herself, which felt a bit scary.

Uozumi has been busy all the time in the reception room,
probably to act like a maid. I didn’t realize she is a detective... But
in this way, things is getting more complicated as well.

Nanamura glanced at his watch.

I followed suit and checked the time on my phone.

5 minutes left.

Toyano'oh and the others, who had been playing cards, were also
becoming restless.

"Time’s almost up."

I whispered to Kirigiri.

Kirigiri nodded slightly and re-tied the ribbon on her three-strand

braid.

The fated hour has finally arrived.

—Click.

6 PM has arrived, a weird sound rang throughout the lobby.

The others also heard it.

I stretched my neck and looked around.

"A door has opened." Nanamura stood up. "Everyone, come with
me. "Nanamura walked in the direction where the sound came
from.

There’s a heavy double door there.

We followed him one after another.

Nanamura put his hand on the door.

"The door is unlocked."

He said so while holding the doorknob.

He pushed the door open with some force.

It has finally started.

What exactly is waiting for us...

The room behind the door should be the cafeteria.

There is a dining table in the center of the room with a white

tablecloth. Five pairs of chairs are facing each other beside the
dining table, each with a white plate and a set of knives and forks
in front.

The ceiling is so high that it looks like it’s that of the second floor.
There is also balcony-like corridors on the second floor, which
encircle the room and overlook the entire first floor from above.
Opposite from the door are staircases leading to the balconies,
with the dining table in between.

At first glance, the windows are blocked off, and I can't see the
outside. The lights on the ceiling illuminate the room brightly.

There is no sign on anyone in the room.

We walked into the cafeteria together, looking around and

inspecting.

There are two strange things on the left hand side of the door.

One of them is an electronic display screen. The red digital

numbers on the screen are changing in present time.
The last number is constantly decreasing, ‘48...47...46...’. Minase
and others didn't seem to understand it, but I immediately knew
what the numbers are.

This is the remaining time for the ‘Black Challenge’.

Next to the electronic display, there is a small compartment in the

shape of a box, about the size of a telephone booth. There is a
door on the front of the compartment, which makes entering it
possible.

"What is this……"

"It's dangerous, don't touch it casually..."

I reminded Minase. Mifune's shoulders began to tremble, and she

hurried to hide away from it.

Behind this compartment, there is a fireplace against the inner

wall. The fireplace is filled with firewood, and it can be used at
any time as soon as it is lit. But there is heating in the room
already, so it seems that there is no need to use this fireplace.

"Welcome to all participants."

A sudden electronic sound rang throughout the room.

It looked like it was being broadcast throughout the hotel.

"Wh-who is it?"

Minase looked around with distress.

However, apart from us, no one else was seen.

"I'm here, here."

Although we can hear a voice, we can't see anyone. Since this

person is speaking on a broadcast system, they may be in the
broadcasting room—

"I’m here, please look up a little."

I looked up to the balcony on the second floor.

The balcony protruded towards the interior, and on the wall was
hung a huge portrait of a foreigner with brown hair. Although it’s
painted as a portrait, the person in the painting is a young man
dressed in modest and unremarkable clothes. The young man is
gazing diagonally forward with a blank stare—

"Yes, that's right!"

His mouth moved.

"Kyaa!"

I couldn't help screaming.

The young man in the painting spoke!

"K-Kirigiri-chan! Look! Look! The painting’s moving!"

I said, tugging at Kirigiri’s shirt.

Everyone's eyes are now focused on the portrait, and the young
man in the painting spoke again.

"Hello, I am Norman, a killer who died almost half a century ago."

Killer—?

Why is there a portrait of such a person hanging upstairs in the

cafeteria?

And why is the painting talking?

Am I dreaming?

"That is not a portrait, it's an LCD screen. According to the size,

the value is about 25,000."

I didn't know that Nanamura is already on the balcony, and is

standing next to the portrait to examine it. The swiftness of his
actions are truly impressive.

"What… It’s just an LCD screen inside a picture frame?"

Minase said with a sigh of relief.

"I don't quite understand... what you mean by this?"

Mifune tilted her head and said.

"It means that the image displayed on the LCD screen is talking. It
should be an animation effect. With the portrait's mouth moving
in sync with the voice."

"I still don’t get it, but it’s scary!"

Mifune took a few timid steps backward.

"Don't be so scared. After all, I died half a century ago, and now I
only exist in this painting. Anyway, the time has come. The much-
anticipated auction is about to start, is everyone ready?"
"No no, wait wait wait. I don't think I'm ready for the auction after
being kept waiting for so long. I mean, who in the world are you
anyway?"

"Then let's begin the explanation."

The talking portrait — Norman, didn’t care about our opinions at

all, and so he continued.

Is the criminal operating from behind the screen?

"Before that, I have seats for everyone. How about sitting down
first?"

We looked at each other, no one moved. Witnessing such a

strange and somewhat comical thing happening before our eyes,
it was as if all senses had become dull.

"I'll only explain once, it's better for you to sit down quickly."

Norman said.

We picked up chairs randomly and sat down.

The order of the seats based on the Norman painting from the
right hand side of his head, the side closer to the painting was
occupied by Uozumi, Kirigiri, me, Toyano'oh, and Minase in order,
and on the opposite are Nanamura, Yozuru, Chage, Mifune and
Shinsen. We are on the side closer to the lobby.

"Once again, I would like to welcome all of you to this exciting and
mysterious auction. Now I would like to introduce myself: The
Dead killer Norman, please take care of me."
An applause sound came out of nowhere, and it appeared to be
some kind of sound effect.

We applauded along with it.

We were completely carried away by this atmosphere.

"Now that the guests are all here, let me say a couple of words
about the coming auction."

We looked up at the portrait in silence.

"First of all, if you have cash on hand, could you please take it out
and put it on the table? Cash is not allowed at this auction."

I took my wallet out of my pocket and looked at the cash inside.

There are still only two thousand yen bills, and only a little change
is remaining. As Norman said, I put all the money on the table.

Kirigiri next to me didn't come up with any money because she

only brought a credit card. Incidentally, she swiped the card for
the taxi fare, the one we came here in, so it seems she really
didn't bring any cash.

One by one, everyone else took out their cash and put it on the
table.

"Money……"

Yozuru murmured uncomfortably.

"Are you okay?"

I asked Yozuru, she pressed her temple and slumped on the table.
"If I don't have money on me... I feel like dying... Ah, I'm going to
die."

"I wanna die too! What do you mean I can't keep the 200,000 yen
I borrowed from the bank?"

"Is everyone okay? Oh, cheating isn’t allowed. Please search the
person next to you to see if there is any cash hidden on their
body. If the ladies are not willing to let the gentlemen touch
them, then the ladies will search each other. I will only give you
five minutes. Please move quickly."

We looked at each other and didn't know who should start first.
But in the end, we all got up from our chairs. We divided men and
women for body searches.

"Ah, old man, you bastard!" Minase shouted. "There are still
money hidden in your underwear!"

"Th-this is my mom's keepsake!"

"Stop bullshitting. You will ruin the auction by breaking the rules."

"Okay, okay."

The money piled up in front of Toyano'oh is almost half a million.

This person might actually be a real con man.

After searching each other, we made sure that no one had any
cash left on them.

"Very good. Now everyone is finally on the starting line."

Norman in the painting said happily.

I still can't accept the fact of a talking portrait painting.

"Next, Maid-kun, can you please collect all the cash on the table
together."

Uozumi stood up according to his orders.

She held the hem of her apron with both hands, so that the hem
formed a bag shape, and tossed in all the cash in one go.

"Ah... money..."

Yozuru said in a voice that sounded like it would break at any

moment.

"My money is 553,245 yen!"

Toyano'oh yelled at Uozumi.

Uozumi ignored him and collected everyone's cash together.

"Next, Maid-kun, please approach the front of the fireplace."

–Fireplace?

I have a bad feeling about this.

"Okay, now throw all the cash you’ve collected into the
fireplace."

Uozumi hesitated for a second... Then, as he ordered, she threw

the cash into the fireplace.

"There are matches and fire starters on top of the mantelpiece.

Use them to set it alight."

"Woahwoahwoah!" Minase stood up. "My 200,000!"

"Eh—? These 200,000 are not yours, but the loan company’s,
right—?"

Mifune giggled and said.

"Shut up pumpkinhead! You only have three hundred yen, so it

doesn't matter to you, my money is 200,000! You asshole! Do you
know how difficult it is to make 200,000! Why are you lighting it
on fire? Burning money is a crime!"

"Y-yeah, I'm against it too!"

"Ah... I'm dying... Money..."

"Pumpkinhead? Hey— Who are you calling pumpkinhead?"

"Is this a government conspiracy?"

The dining area erupted, and Uozumi's reaction was indifferent.

She had already began to light a fire in the fireplace.

"Hey, stop!" Minase ran over to the stove and grabbed Uozumi's
shoulder. "You are that Norman's henchman, aren’t you? This
auction is totally out of whack. are you in cahoots with the person
holding this auction?"

"No."

Uozumi replied briefly, swatting away Minase's hand, and walked

away from the fireplace.

The money in the fireplace is burning with firewood.

My 2000 yen...

"What the hell……"

Toyano'oh’s voice full of pain echoed emptily in the cafeteria.

"Don't be discouraged, everyone. After all, pocket money such as

100K and 200K yen are practically worthless in this auction."

"You bastard……"

Minase glared at the Norman painting fiercely.

"Then let's proceed to the next step. Those of you sitting on the
chairs, please try to stretch your legs as far as you can. Did you
touch anything with your toes?"

We did what he said.

In fact, my toes did touch something solid.

I went under the table to check it out.

There is a rather large hiking bag under the dining table. I dragged
it out from under the table. This bag is incredibly heavy.

"M-my god! What is this!"

Minase yelled first.

There is a total of ten hiking bags. One for each of us.

I opened the hiking bag.

Inside is money tightly wrapped with a seal— a bundle of 10,000

yen bills. Moreover, the money was folded into a thick stack,
wrapped in a plastic bundle in the shape of a brick.

Not just one bundle, there are many more—

"One bag is 100 million, there should be ten bags, you guys can
confirm."

This is the first time I have seen such a huge sum of money.

"O-o-...One hundred million..."

For some reason, Minase's voice had a sobbing tone.

I am no different. My hands holding my hiking bag are shaking

unconsciously.

"It seems that the money is all real."

Uozumi tore the packaging seal and inspected the banknotes

inside.

"This is your money now. I've prepared 100 million yen for each
of you before the auction that will be held soon. Wouldn't it be
boring if only rich people could win this game. I wanted all of you
to be able to participate in the auction fairly, with that in mind, I
gave you guys this small gift."

"Th-th-thank you very much!"

Minase began to bow down to the painting.

Speaking of which, this ‘Black Challenge’ had written ‘Cash – 1

Billion’ on it, so that’s what it was referring to.

"I want to live! I have the strength to live again!" Yozuru looked
more radiant than ever before. "With this much money, I can live
forever! I want to remarry and have children quickly and form a
happy family!"
Compared with just before now, she is very different.

"But, will there be something I really want at the auction? It

doesn't matter if I have 100 million yen if all there is stuff I don't
want."

Mifune leaned her elbow on the dining table and tilted her head.

"It's unbelievable that you would share so much money." Shinsen

said with his arms folded. "I wonder what exactly the auction
items will be."

"Now that you are ready, I'm going to the main topic. Listen
carefully, it's okay to forget about me, but you must remember
what I will say, because I will only talk about the rules once, and
you must listen carefully."

I quickly took out my notebook.

"Before the number on the electronic screen turns to zero, this

auction house will hold an auction at 6 PM every day. Please be
careful not to be late, otherwise you won’t be able to participate
in the auction."

The final deadline is 10 AM five days from now. The auction at 6

PM that day will not be held. Which means, the auction will be
held at most five times, including today.

"By the way, you can't leave this auction house until the auction
is over. But don't worry and please enjoy this auction to the
fullest. No outsiders will bother you. Oh and, although there
won't be any outsiders, water and food are guaranteed, rest
assured."
None of us spoke, we all listened quietly to Norman explaining his
bizarre rules. ‘I'm only going to say this once.’, these words are
probably what limited our actions.

"Now, the next step is to finally introduce the auction items.

There will be only one auction item to be bid on every day on this
auction house. It's very simple, right? And the items up for
bidding are the same every day, so even if you missed it last time,
you will still have a chance to get it next time, so I hope you don't
get discouraged and keep keep at it."

—The same item every time?

What exactly is he planning for us to bid on?

"Then I will now announce the auction item that I have prepared
for everyone and it is– the right to become a detective, AKA, the
'Detective Rights'!"

"Whaa—?"

Everyone made clear voices of dissatisfaction.

The faces of Mifune and Toyano'oh showed expressions of

disappointment and confusion. It seems that the auction items
are far from their expectations.

At the same time, Kirigiri and Nanamura stared at Norman with

serious expressions.

"I hope you understand this auction by now."

Norman's painting suddenly turned into a creepy shadowed face.
It was as if there was a flashlight shining on his face from below,
that terrifying face appeared in the darkness.

It was indeed a face full of madness that a killer must have.

Mifune screamed.

I got goosebumps.

"This is not an ordinary auction, but an extraordinary massacre

auction."

"What’s going on here!"

Toyano'oh asked woefully.

However Norman had no intention of answering him.

At some point, Norman's paintings had changed back to the

original rustic youth.

"Right right, I haven't introduced this auction house yet. In this old
auction house, there is a murderer hiding. And no, that person is
not me, because I am dead, and now only exists in this painting.
This murderer is somewhere in this hotel, capable of killing you all
at any time. However, this murderer is very cautious, they will
never act recklessly. At night, they will come out to kill, and they
will kill only one person each night."

The criminal finally showed their fangs.

This odd situation made me a little dizzy.

"As scary as this murderer is, they do have a weakness, that is, the
detective. The murderer can't kill the detective, and, in order to
avoid revealing their true identity, they will not commit murder
in front of the detective."

"Wh-what the hell are you talking about? Murderer? Detective?"

It seemed that only Minase and Mifune could not follow Norman's
words. They looked woefully confused with a puzzled expression
on their faces.

The others seemed to understand it roughly.

They all understood the general meaning of this dreadful auction.

"You should understand. As long as you can claim the 'Detective

Rights' in the auction, you will be able to become a detective for
that day. The person who claims the 'Detective Rights' will not
be the target of the murderer that night."

"Wha-wha-what is... this..."

Minase's face turned pale.

"Is this what you mentioned about the crime notice?"

Toyano'oh cast a condemning glance at me.

I shook my head repeatedly.

"What is this ‘Detective Rights’! Is it the ‘right not to be killed’! If I

don't claim it, I’ll die, right? Will I die? I don’t want to die!"

"I don't want to die!"

"I want to live! I have so much money now!"

"I wonder if it's the CIA, or... Is it NASA?"

The auction for ‘Detective Rights’...

What is the criminal thinking?

Detectives won’t be killed. This rule is very similar to the ‘Black

Challenge’. This is what we call the detective’s privilege. The
cunning criminal wants to put this privilege for auction.

Why would they do this?

You can become a detective as long as you pay—

This means that anyone can become a detective without talent or

ability.

—To disempower the detective?

I won’t... let them do that.

"Everyone, please calm down!"

I stood up and said.

The turbulent crowd focused their eyes on me.

I waited until they were all quiet, and then went on to say:

"We don't need to bid for the 'Detective Rights'!"

"Ha? If you don't get the 'Detective Rights', you might get killed?",
Minase glared at me.

"No, there's no need to worry about that! Just now he said, 'The
murderer will not carry out murders in front of the detective'. In
other words, the person who bought the 'Detective Rights' can
gather everyone together to protect them!"

"Ah... That’s right."

Mifune stopped crying immediately.

However, others seemed to doubt my words.

Why?

Why aren’t they agreeing with me.

In this game, shouldn't the top reason to buy the ‘Detective

Rights’ is to protect everyone?

"If you want to protect everyone as a detective, that’s fine. But

think about it from the perspective of others." Shinsen said
calmly. "For others, this means entrusting their lives and deaths
to someone other than themselves. This is not such an easy thing
to do."

"This..." I’m at a loss. "As long as everyone trust each other..."

"We are all people who have just met each other. Is there such a
relationship of trust between us? In fact, I don't know you very
well. Even if you are given the 'Detective Rights', you may not be
able to protect everyone, you may betray us. What I'm saying is
what any ordinary person would conclude, it’s not that I don’t
trust you personally."

"Yes..." I looked down. "I was short-sighted. I'm sorry."

"Anyway, what the hell is going on? Is this some lousy prank
show? I've never heard of such a strange thing before, it's really
something!"

Minase shouted at Norman.

If this auction is the ‘Black Challenge’ designed by the criminal...

then things are really troubling.

"Incidentally!" Norman began speaking again. "The ‘Detective

Rights’ are only valid for one day. If another person takes the
‘Detective Rights’ at next day’s auction, then the ‘Detective
Rights’ will be transferred."

If you want to be a detective all the time, you must claim the
‘Detective Rights’ at every auction... That's what that means.

"Now, did you understand my explanations? Considering that

there may be people listen in with one ear and out the other, and
some people may have not understood them at all, I will
summarize them into three main rules. As long as these three
rules are understood , you should be able to keep up with what I
said."
Rule 1
‘Detective Rights’ will be bid at each auction.

Rule 2
The murderer will kill one person every night.
But those with ‘Detective Rights’ will not be killed.
In addition, the murders will not be carried out in front of the
person with the ‘Detective Rights.’

Rule 3
The ‘Detective Rights’ are only valid until the next auction.

"There is one thing I want to confirm." Nanamura raised his right

hand slightly and said. "It would be a problem if you would add to
the rules or change them afterwards. I want you to assure us that
the rules will not be changed in the future."

However, Norman remained silent about Nanamura's words.

"Hey! Answer!"

Minase cried out.

But Norman still did not speak.

"I’m telling you to answer!"

"That’s fine." Nanamura interrupted him. "I see."

"Ha? what...?"
"According to my thinking, the criminal should not be able to
break the rules by themselves. The fact that they are so well
prepared is the best evidence. Another point is that the criminal
themselves are also enjoying this game, and they will not
voluntarily make the act of breaking the game."

"Wh-what game..."

"Have you finished talking?" Norman said. "This is the end of the
basic introduction of the auction. Next, I want to announce to you
the daily schedule of the auction. Are you all ready with paper and
pen?"

7:00 AM Waking Up
6:00 PM Auction Start
10:00 PM Bedtime

"Ah, you don't even have to write it down, it's easy to remember.
By the way, only tonight's dinner will be prepared for you. Please
feel free to make the rest yourselves."

Tonight’s dinner?

I wonder if Uozumi will prepare it now.

Or is it already prepared?

Even so, I won’t eat it, Because the food might be poisonous.

"By the way, I haven't prepared any poison, so don't worry."

Norman said, like he read my mind.

The challenge letter didn’t have the word ‘poison’ as a murder

weapon.

Even so, it doesn't necessarily mean that someone can't use

poison. The challenge letter only lists what the criminal has
purchased from the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee, not what
the criminal prepared themselves.

"Alright, since you will be participating in the auction for

consecutive days, we have prepared comfortable guest rooms for
everyone. However, there are a few notes about the rooms,
please listen carefully. First of all, there is a premise that during
the night time from 10 PM to 7 AM, everyone's rooms will be
completely locked, and the door cannot be opened whether it is
from the inside or from the outside."

Can't open it from the inside?

Isn't that practically a form of imprisonment?

"These are the rule. Please abide by them. Then, at 10 PM when

the door is locked, make sure to be in your room at that time.
It’s forbidden otherwise. If you violate this curfew, you will be
heavily penalized. Violating the curfew will be regarded as
abandoning the participation in the auction and will no longer
have the right to participate in future auctions. In order to avoid
such consequences, everyone must pay attention to the curfew."

So we are trapped in our rooms for the night and can't do

anything about it.
"I have one more important thing to say. I just said that the room
will be locked at night, but in fact, someone has a master key."

Master key...

Does that mean!

"Yes, that person is the murderer."

"H-hey, that’s messed up! This means that only the Murderer can
move around freely!"

"Hey, don't panic. The Murderer can indeed move around freely
in the hotel and kill people at night, but... don't forget that there
is a detective still. The Murderer isn’t the only one who has the
master key in hand. The one who claimed the 'Detective Rights'
at the auction will also get the master key for that day."

Yeah, That’s what that meant...

Only the detective can protect the others. The murderer cannot
kill in front of the detective.

In other words, the detective can prevent the crime from

happening by using the master key and getting to the victim
before the murderer arrives.

Undoubtedly, this is a right– no, a duty– that only the detective is

allowed to have.

"By the way, detectives must also obey the curfew. If you are not
in your room at 10 PM, the 'Detective Rights' that you have finally
obtained will be gone, so please pay attention to this point.
However, although there is a curfew. It does not mean that you
have to stay in the room after 10 PM. If you don’t have the
master key in hand, you can’t get out, but if the detective has the
rights, they can leave the room and move freely and bring others
out of their rooms. The so-called curfew doesn't matter, in simple
terms, this rule states that you must stay in the room only at the
moment when the doors are locked, and the actions after that are
completely up to the detective and the murderer."

My notepad is already full of writings.

I didn't expect this ‘Black Challenge’ to be so troublesome...

Compared to last time, this time the criminal likes to make

rounds.

That’s why– It feels creepy.

"I did so many explanations, but I'm almost done. I think I've told
you most of what you need to know...Ah, right right, I forgot the
most important thing."

Norman said jokingly. However, his voice is electronically

synthesized, and no emotion can be felt from his words.

"After the number on the electronic display turns to zero, those

who are still alive can take the cash they are holding at that time
straight away. How’s that? A great rule, isn't it?"

That means, if you don’t use the money at all and live for 110
hours, can you get a whole 100 million yen?

"Want a review of the rules? Guess it can’t be helped, I’ll simply

summarize it for you."
Rule 4
The guest rooms will be locked at night from 10 PM to 7 AM.
At 10 PM, everyone must be in their respective rooms.

Rule 5
The murderer has a master key.
In addition, the owner of the ‘Detective Rights’ also has a
master key.

Rule 6
If you survive the night, the rest of the money will be yours.

"How about it? Has everyone's hearts been captured by this

detective auction? Not only can you experience the fun of the
game, but you can also get money, everyone is really lucky."

"What's so lucky about that? You've got to be kidding me!"

Minase intimidated the painting.

"Now. Finally, let me explain the format of the auction. The next
auction will be conducted in a manner commonly known as
anonymous bidding. After the auction starts, you will enter the
compartment over there one by one in any order, and then bid.
You won’t know who’s bidding how much until the results come
out. The minimum unit of payment is 1 million yen. Be careful not
to break the 1 million yen seals, and make sure to get the money
together before you bid. In addition, once you bid money, you
can’t get it back, everyone should be careful. If you don't claim
the auction item, the money invested will be wasted."

"What a terrible auction. If you don't win, you'll be left with

nothing but losses."

Toyano'oh watched the faces of the people around him. His eyes
are different from before, it's a look of someone wanting to make
the first move.

"Also, in case there is more than one highest bidder, the money
used for bidding will be voided, and the bidding will start from the
beginning again. To make it clear, this is a waste of effort, so
please try to avoid it. No one wants to let the money they've
easily got in their hands go down the drain, right?"

I looked down at the money in my hand.

Do I really have to participate in this auction for ‘Detective

Rights’?

Being a detective is a talent and a way of life, not something that

can be bought and sold.

"When the auction is over, a siren will be sounded to inform

everyone. If no one enters the compartment in the next ten
minutes, the auction will automatically end, keep that in mind."

If someone enters the compartment, everyone else must do the

same, right?
"Oh, it seems that this took a lot of time. So it's almost time for
the auction to begin... I want to say that, but as I've said just now,
I've prepared a dinner for everyone only for tonight. How about a
meal to ease the tension? Maid-kun, there are some preparations
that you need to do. Please come to me."

Uozumi frowned for a moment, but she seemed to change her

mind immediately. She stood up and went to the balcony as
Norman ordered. She might be thinking that her detective
identity could be exposed if she acts in a manner that does not fit
her status as a maid.

Uozumi came in front of the Norman painting.

"Then I will prepare tonight’s dinner."

In the next moment, the Norman painting turned into that creepy
murderer look.

Next— there was a burst sound, as if something exploded.

What in the world just happened?

Uozumi who was standing on the balcony, bent her body and
stumbled on her feet.

We watched her strange behavior with unblinking eyes. It was

kind of surreal and out of reality dance. We couldn't do anything
except watching the dancer on the stage quietly.

At that moment, as if it multiplied, there was another sound— a

gunshot.
Uozumi finally couldn't support her body, leaned against the
railing of the balcony, and fell down towards us.

With a loud thud, Uozumi fell from the balcony onto the dining
table.

She landed exactly where her hiking bag is.

She is facing the sky, her hands covering her abdomen.

Her white apron is red with blood, and it's obvious that two holes
has been opened in her body. Her face is ghastly white and her
gaze is lax.

"Uozumi-san."

At the moment when I tried to reach out to her—

Her whole body suddenly caught flames.

Uozumi turned into a huge ball of fire, and I involuntarily stepped

back. Uozumi was motionless, the room was filled with a
disgusting smell, and black smoke was coming out.

Facing this overwhelming flame, we were helpless and could only

watch from the side. My thoughts came to a complete halt, I even
felt like I was dreaming.

"Put out the fire!" Nanamura said loudly. "Spread out your jackets
and wrap her up!"

His voice brought me back to my senses, I took off my coat as he

said, and threw it towards the fire. The only people who did the
same thing as me were Kirigiri and Nanamura.
After the three tops wrapped Uozumi around, the fire was
weakened because our jackets blocked the air that supported it.
After that, Nanamura patted the tops and put out the remaining
fire.

It ended up burning for almost 10 minutes.

After everything was over, I looked at Uozumi again— A small

body that was scorched black.

I didn't have to look to know that she is dead.

"Today's menu is roasted maid."

Norman's cold, heartless voice rang out.

The painting of the murderer changed back to the original rustic

youth.

"T-terrible..."

Mifune choked and stared at Uozumi.

"Th-this must be a national conspiracy!"

Chage Panicked.

Even Yozuru widened her eyes and was speechless.

"Maid-kun sacrificed herself to provide you with dinner.

Unfortunately, it seems that she can no longer participate in the
auction. It's better to have one less competitor."

"Why would you do this..."

Minase said while weeping as his knees hit the ground.

"If you guys think this auction is just a joke, then that will be a real
headache. I want you to realize that this game is the real deal, so I
just killed someone. I haven't done this kind of thing for almost
half a century. Everyone was only half convinced until now,
right?"

"...You didn't have to kill anyone."

Toyano'oh squinted at the burned corpse of Uozumi.

"I won't participate in any auction anymore, please let me go

home... Uuuuu, I wanna go home!"

Mifune let out a cry of grief.

Minase next to her was also crying loudly.

Chage looked like he was chanting a sutra, and his mouth

mumbled some weird incantation.

Our minds are in a mess.

Before now, we were pretty much being led by the nose, but after
witnessing the death of Uozumi, we now finally know that we
have been lost in a darkness where we cannot turn back from.

"Oh one more thing, the death of Maid-kun doesn't count in the
‘killing one person every night’ rule. This is an exception. Because
she was not killed, but taken care of. In addition, the deceased
cannot participate in the auction, as it should be, right? To
prevent unfairness, I will retrieve the deceased’s money. It
doesn’t matter who does it, someone throw her hiking bag into
the fireplace."
Nanamura dragged out the hiking bag from under Uozumi's
corpse.

Predictably, however, the bag was burnt to a crisp before it could

be thrown into the fireplace. The contents inside were also
burned, all turned to ashes.

following Norman’s orders, Nanamura put the hiking bag in the

fireplace.

Just like that, Uozumi's money was burned up as much as her

soul.

The number of people participating in the auction went from 10

to 9.

"Come on! Let's start the first auction. Everyone must finish
bidding before 10 PM when the curfew comes. By the way, after
this, I will not appear in front of you guys again, I’m not an
important person anyway. I’m going back to my mother, Only a
few simple instructions in text form will guide you through the
rest. Good luck."

The Norman painting disappeared, and the LCD screen became

pitch black.

I stared at the dead Uozumi.

Uozumi-san...

We were unknowingly controlled by the atmosphere of this place,

and the moment we participated in the game, a victim had
already appeared.
Is this the ‘Black Challenge’.

I may have underestimated the criminal.

I may have underestimated the significance of putting my life on

the line.

It’s surprising how a person can be killed so easily.

Death is just around the corner.

My legs are trembling, and there's nothing I can do about it.

For a while, none of us spoke, staring blankly at the decreasing
number on the electronic screen. Discussing whether this
situation is someone's or a whole show's prank is kind of
meaningless now. The reality in front of us is that the corpse of
Uozumi is here. It’s self-evident that the reality and the rules
made by the criminal are the foundation of the existence of this
place.

"Let's take care of Uozumi-san's body."

The first to suggest was Kirigiri.

This first-year middle school girl looked as if nothing had

happened despite witnessing the charred corpse.

After Kirigiri and I started working, I don't know who started it,
but others came to help as well.

We wrapped Uozumi with the tablecloth of the dining table and

left her lying in the corner of the lobby.

Before returning to the cafeteria, Kirigiri prayed for a while with

her hands folded towards Uozumi's body. Her face with her eyes
closed and praying was extremely pure.

I returned to the cafeteria with Kirigiri.

No one paid any attention to the burnt part of the dining table,
everyone moved the chairs away and sat down in a different
location. There was still a foul smell in the room, but the windows
can’t be opened, so there is no way to change the air.

"Hey, you girls." Minase drew closer to me and Kirigiri. "Don't put
huge sums of money aside and walk around by yourselves, be
more careful."

My hiking bag and Kirigiri’s were placed on the empty chairs.

Right... It doesn't feel real, but I have 100 million yen right now.

I checked the inside of the hiking bag, everything is there. As

expected, no one would steal it under the watchful eyes of
everyone else.

"Anyway... Things are troublesome now." Chage said, touching

the brim of his baseball cap. "In my opinion, this is neither a CIA
nor NASA conspiracy, but a job done by the military-industrial
complex. A psychological experiment of the military. I've heard of
an agency that’s studying the psychology of human behavior in
extreme conditions... "

"What military?"

"That goes without saying, the U.S. military, of course."

Chage grinned.

"Huh?" Minase frowned and said. "Where did that come from?
Didn’t that glasses-girl detective over there tell us she received a
criminal notice? I don't know who the hell you are, but some crazy
criminal has started to act on that notice, which has nothing to do
with any military."
"Then how do you explain all this money?" Chage pointed to the
hiking bags. "Such huge amounts of money can’t be obtained by
ordinary people all at once... I think there must be some kind of
organization operating behind the scenes."

Really hit the nail on the head.

Without assistance from an organization, this crime probably

wouldn’t have even able to be planned.

They don’t know about the existence of the Crime Victims' Relief
Committee. Should I tell them? And after I tell them, will they
believe it?

"So, what are we going to do?" Toyano'oh asked out of the blue.
"The auction seems to have already started, do you want to start
bidding?"

"Almost three hours left until 10 PM." Shinsen said. "We can
discuss for a while, and it won’t be too late to bid."

"Discuss? What the hell are we discussing."

"I think we should all work together!"

I saw a good opportunity, got up from my chair and spoke.

"There you go again, Detective glasses-girl."

Minase said impatiently.

"Yeah, here I go again. I’ve also thought about this auction, and I
think that as long as everyone works together, we can all leave
safe and sound."
"Oh yeah? And how's that going to work?"

"Every day we take turns buying the 'Detective Rights' in order.

The person who becomes the detective for that day will go to
everyone's rooms at night, unlocks the doors, and gathers them
one by one. Since the murderer cannot kill in front of the
detective, this will prevent the crime from happening. Moreover,
if we take turns as detectives, it means that we are guaranteeing
each other’s lives and we don’t need to worry about traitors."

"Ahh—, a kiddie’s idea, nope, no way."

"Why not? Then let’s take money into consideration... If someone

buys the 'Detective Rights' with the minimum bid of 1 million yen,
and repeats it five times, then all of us only need to spend 5
million yen on it. This way, everyone’s guaranteed to go home
with more than 90 million yen in hand."

"Can you guarantee that you won’t be killed?" Minase pointed to

me and said. "We don't know yet what the structure of the guest
rooms are, but what if before the detective walks through all the
rooms, the murderer has already killed someone. Isn’t this a
possibility? If the detective had to go over to all 8 rooms in
addition to their own room, then the person in the eighth room is
in quite a dangerous position, right?"

"That's..."

"And, even if we take turns to be detectives, four out of nine

people won't be detectives at least once, yeah? Who will be
excluded? Are you willing to be?"
"Th-this is..."

"Look, the idea that the detective wants to gather everyone

together for protection isn’t safe. Isn't there a rule that says the
detective must also obey the curfew? The murderer does not
have to obey this rule. In other words, at night time, the Murderer
can get a head start."

That head start could be the difference between life and death.

And it may be me who becomes the target.

As long as there is such a slight possibility, the "Detective Rights"

that guarantees absolute safety can’t be handed over to others.

In this auction, as long as this mentality exists... then the

‘everyone gets along’ idea is impossible.

"After seeing how Uozumi was killed, who would be willing to

hand over the rights to others."

Minase said in a weak voice.

Right, we haven’t recovered from the shock of her death. In this

situation, we are a scattered mess, it’s impossible to listen to
others.

"The bullets seems to have been fired from behind the wall."

The voice of Nanamura came from overhead.

At some point, he had already checked the situation around the

portrait in the balcony.
"There is a small hole under the frame. It’s not a bullet mark. It
should have been used as a firing hole. Although I think the other
side probably ran out of bullets, we should be careful not to enter
its range."

Nanamura rolled up his sleeves while coming down from the

balcony.

"Actual Detective-san," Mifune said. "I don't know why things

turned out like this... but it doesn't matter now if the auction is
canceled, please catch the criminal! I wanna go home!"

"Nice idea, lovely lady. As long as we catch the criminal, there’s no

need to participate in any auction."

"Can you catch the criminal?"

Toyano'oh stood up and asked.

However, Nanamura shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I can't catch the criminal yet, because there are

things I must do that I haven't done yet."

Nanamura said something profound and sat down on his chair.

In the end, time passed slowly, and no one made a bid.

People glanced at the clock and at others from time to time, and
each seemed to be thinking about what to do next.

I drew a distance from the others and sat side by side with Kirigiri.

"Less than three hours left, and no one has gone to the bidding
compartment."
I said to Kirigiri.

She brushed her three-strand braid with her fingertips and stared
at the floor.

"The auction is not just today's... so they are all calculating how
can they cut their losses, and let themselves claim the 'Detective
Rights' every time."

Kirigiri said.

"I see... If they don't win the bid even for one day, they might be
killed that day."

"I agree with Yui-onēsama’s opinion."

"Hm?"

"It's about the method where everyone should work together. In

this kind of game, the straightforward method that can only be
seen as ridiculous at first glance is actually the better strategy."

"But as long as one person is unwilling to cooperate, it can create

more cracks."

"Yes, there will definitely be at least someone who won’t be

willing to cooperate."

"That’s right... I don't think it's barbaric to defend yourself at the

expense of putting others in danger. I think it's just instincts of
living beings..."

"Are you one of these people, Yui-onēsama?"

"Who knows... I won’t know until that time comes."

"I think it’s ‘that time’ now."

Kirigiri puffed a smile and said.

"Ah, did you smile just now?"

"No."

"Nah, you definitely smiled. This is the first time I’ve seen you
smile."

"Anyway, Yui-onēsama, have you noticed?"

Kirigiri changed the topic smoothly.

"Noticed what?"

"The criminal is among these people."

"Ah, tha—t, eh?"

I couldn't help but exclaim out loudly.

In an instant, everyone turned to us, but they just showed

annoyed looks and soon lost interest.

"No, I didn't think about that." I put my face closer to Kirigiri, and
whispered, "Why do you think that? What's your basis?"

"It's Norman. That was just an automatic playback of pre-

recorded footage. If the criminal is not among us, but monitoring
from elsewhere, then they can communicate with us in real time,
but they didn’t do so. To be precise, It's not that they didn't do it,
but they couldn't. The reason is that the criminal is in the same
place as us. The answer is – the criminal is among these people."
"But didn't he respond to our reactions?"

"It's easy to predict the crowd's reactions and construct the

conversation on it. Jeez, you don't even know this kind of thing,
Yui-onēsama, you are such a hopeless dummy."

"Wh-what's that all of a sudden! I'm not a dummy!"

"See, it's easy to lead you to make this kind of reaction. Next, you
have to prepare a response to this reaction in advance, for
example –don't be so angry, Yui-onēsama– and so on."

"E-eh?"

"I just demonstrated what Norman did."

"Y-yeah. It’s not very clear to me, but I probably got it."

"Speaking of which, Norman's way of speaking is very self-

contained and assertive, and the responses in many places were a
little odd."

"Is that so……"

"It was obvious when Nanamura-san asked. Maybe he asked that

question specifically to confirm this."

On that time, I remember that Norman was talking on his own

and didn't pay attention to Nanamura's question.

"The remote control that controls the playback is Probably still

hidden on the criminal, but they can't do anything for more
complicated operations."

"How did they shoot Uozumi-san?"

"It should have been an automatic firing device. There may be a
gun behind the wall, or there may be no gun. As long as there are
fixed bullets, a hammer for striking the detonator, and a spring-
like object that activates the hammer, it can form an automatic
firing device."

"Is that so... But why did Uozumi-san burn up after she was shot?"

"I think this is to ensure that she will get killed even if the bullets
miss, and thus an ignition device is set on her body. For example,
in the pendant, watch, mobile phone..."

"Ah, speaking of that, she did say that the clothes she wore on her
body were designated by the employer and were prepared here in
advance!"

"In that case, maybe the ignition device was set up somewhere in
the clothes. The clothes burned suddenly and violently. They may
hae been made of some flammable material. The criminal
intended to kick off the auction by killing the maid in front of us
with great fanfare from the beginning."

"They went to all this trouble to make it all look more like a
game..."

I held my arms and looked at the people in the cafeteria one by

one.

Who is the criminal among these people—

"Speaking of which, I forgot to tell you one important thing about

Uozumi-san."
I thought of it and said.

"What?"

"She was actually a detective."

"……Really?"

Even Kirigiri was taken aback.

"Yes, she showed me her Detective Library registration card, it

wasn't forged. Her DSC number was ‘756’." I lowered my voice.
"She said that she was tracking down Toyano'oh-san for fraud
cases related to forgeries."

"Is that so..."

Kirigiri stared at her fingertips. She did not cast her eyes
specifically on Toyano'oh.

"If he is the criminal, that would also explain why he killed

Uozumi-san in the first place. The detective who was chasing him
down was the most troublesome, so he killed Uozumi-san." I said
with a thought. "The purpose of this auction must also be a large-
scale fraud..."

"That would be strange. The motive of the 'Black Challenge'

should be revenge."

"Ah, you’re right."

"The reason why Uozumi-san was killed should have nothing to do

with her detective identity. I think the criminal probably didn't
know that she was a detective either."
Does Toyano'oh have nothing to do with this ‘Black Challenge’?

The people summoned by the ‘Black Challenge’ are not

necessarily related to the case. In order to implement the
technique, sometimes unrelated people will be involved.

"The criminal is among these people, and at the same time—

among them those who have committed crimes that led to
revenge. Trying to reveal the truth of the case from this aspect is
certainly not a trivial matter..."

"Who would readily confess to a crime they committed."

"Probably... no one."

"More important than that, shouldn't we think about a

countermeasure for the auction."

Kirigiri glanced at the electronic screen and said.

"Or do we have to compete with each other?"

" It's frustrating, but there’s no other way in this situation."

There are less than three hours left before the 10 PM curfew.
Considering the time required for bidding and heading to the
rooms and all that, it is actually only about two hours.

I’m undeniably a little anxious.

"There are five auctions, and the money is 100 million yen. By a
simple calculation, almost 20 million yen each day is the
maximum limit."
I could hardly believe that these amounts were coming out of my
own mouth. If I had that much money, I can buy the clothes I
want, and my glasses and bag can be replaced with new ones...

"Yui-onēsama?"

"Ah! I thought of evil stuff. No no, this kind of money... is no

different from the money in ‘Jinsei Game’."

I shook my head frantically.

"By the way, Yui-onēsama, are you planning to claim the

'Detective Rights' at the next auction?"

"For sure. If I don't claim it, there won't be a way to protect the
others. If I don’t have the master key, I won’t be be to protect you
either."

"Is that so."

Kirigiri was a little shy, and her gaze dropped to the floor.

"I feel like the others will definitely take this auction too seriously.
They won’t try to protect others, but to protect themselves. I
don't mean to blame them, they must first win at the auction,
otherwise nothing can be done."

If you don't win, you remain powerless.

To remain a detective, one must win with a strong will.

I don't want to compete with the others for the ‘Detective Rights’,
but if it's going to be used by someone else for themselves only, I
have no choice but to claim it.
"Speaking of which... Kirigiri-chan, don't you need the 'Detective
Rights'? You are a talented detective. but you can't do anything if
you're deprived of your detective identity, right?"

When I asked, Kirigiri put her hand on her chest and looked up.

"Yes. But I'm surprised at how comfortable I am with the

situation."

"Comfortable?"

"I’ve always felt that if I'm not a detective, there would be no

point in existing. I’ve wondered if I stop being a detective, I would
dissolve into sea foam like the ‘Mermaid Princess’. But now I'm
deprived of my detective identity, yet I still exist here. Maybe
turning into foam and disappearing is just me overthinking."

"Of course that’s overthinking."

I answered with a smile, but Kirigiri's expression was serious.

"After the last 'Black Challenge', I kept thinking... maybe I’m too
obsessed with my identity as a detective. Of course, I’m a
detective who inherited the Kirigiri family name, which I am very
proud of, but... I haven't forgotten... what you told me, Yui-
onēsama, about being burdened by my overthinking."

"R-right."

Although she always hides her feelings, at the same time she also
has her own worries. Usually she makes people unable to tell
what she’s thinking, so I never noticed...
"Now that I’m deprived of my 'Detective Rights'. What’s strange is
that I am instead calmer, my mind is clearer than usual, and I can
also be more cold and ruthless than before."

Kirigiri smiled while covering the corners her mouth with her
fingertips.

—I don’t understand, but maybe this ‘Black Challenge’ has

stimulated her fighting spirit.

It's rare to hear her talk so much, and there was something about
her expression that gave her a sense of enthusiasm. If I were to
describe it I’d say– she looks excited.

The identity of the detective is the reason for her existence, but at
the same time, it’s also a very heavy burden. She has always
survived with her small back and thin legs against this burden.
Ironically, this isolated space allowed her to get rid of the burden
she is normally subjected to, which is allowing her to re-examine
her true self.

"This is also thanks to Yui-onēsama."

"Eh? I didn't do anything..."

"Having someone like you by my side, telling me that I am not an

empty shell, that’s..."

When she said this, she seemed embarrassed all of a sudden, and
quickly closed her mouth.
I waited for a while to see if she would speak again, but it may be
due to some complicated mentality that she refused to take the
initiative to speak again.

"But then again, the deprivation of our 'Detective Rights' is only

within this enclosed space, and it’s like this only under this
criminal's rules... So technically, we are still detectives now."

"I hope so." she said with no emotions, putting her hands in the
pockets of her uniform. "But, I don't intend to be like Yui-
onēsama. I don't have these ideas of protecting others and
everyone surviving. If necessary, I will achieve my goal even at the
expense of others... this is what it means to be a Kirigiri."

"Sure thing, Detective Lady."

I stroked Kirigiri's head like I was coaxing a child.

She responded with an exasperated look at me.

"So, what about the auction?"

I asked to avoid the look in her eyes.

"It’s possible to claim the 'Detective Rights' five times in a row."

"Eh? You have a way to keep auctioning it off yourself and not let
anyone else get it?"

"Yes."

"How would you do that?"

"I'll cooperate with Yui-onēsama, it doesn’t matter which one of

us claims the 'Detective Rights'. Simply put, we two are counted
as one person with a combined money total of 200 million, we
can use twice as much money as the others. They can only use 20
million each day, but we can use 40 million. Lending and
borrowing money isn’t prohibited."

I didn't expect the word ‘cooperate’ would come out of her

mouth. Theoretically, this is indeed a solution, but without a
relationship of trust, the plan wouldn't work.

Of course I trust Kirigiri.

Does she trust me as well?

"How about it, Yui-onēsama?"

"We can use a lot of money to overwhelm others in the first and
second days... but from the third day onwards, the others will also
develop this mentality of 'the only way to win is to work with the
others'. This way, they might be divided into three groups, and
then there will be no way for us to win with money."

"In short, we should win the first three times. Especially the third
one, and it's okay to use more money then. If this step goes
smoothly, then from the fourth time onwards, other people will
develop a different mentality."

"What do you mean?"

"First three times, we claim the 'Detective Rights' to keep

everyone alive, which is the premise. then, the others will start to
think, 'Let these two girls be detectives and feel assured'. So the
next thing they think of is, 'try to keep some more money to take
away when leaving safely'– and that would be equivalent to
guaranteeing a complete victory for us."

"Are things going to go that… well—"

I leaned my body against the back of the chair. I’ve been sitting
still all day today and I feel my body became dull.

"However, there are two problems with this plan." Kirigiri said as
she raised her pale finger. "The first is the premise of 'protecting
the lives of everyone'. We haven’t been told by Norman what the
murderer would use to kill people in the middle of the night, so
we don't know whether we can protect everyone."

"No, we have to protect everyone."

"There is another problem with this. The 'everyone' mentioned

here may also include the murderer, that is, the criminal of the
‘Black Challenge’."

"Right... the criminal is also participating in the auction!"

"Yes, and the criminal has the master key in their hands, so they
don't need to win the auction. In other words, they might make
trouble. Maybe they came here for this purpose."

"Then this method of cooperation won't work in the end."

"No, I think there is still value in carrying it out."

"Why?"

At least the first time and the second can be done cooperatively.
But in the third time, the situation will change. Maybe we won’t
be able to claim the ‘Detective Rights’ by then. But that’s okay.
The question is who will claim it in what way, and then we have
to confirm whether there is anything strange with that. If we
push harder and harder, the criminal will try to obstruct us in
every way possible."

We have to in turn use the rules made by the criminal as a trap

to draw them out– In such an tight situation, to think of so much,
as expected of Kirigiri Kyōko. If she wasn’t here, I wonder what I
would’ve done, I can’t help but shiver thinking about this.

"It seems that the others have no intention of cooperating with

anyone else for the time being. After all, they are people who only
met for the first time yesterday, so there’s no reason for them to
have a relationship of trust."

"This plan is going to work!" I said excitedly. "We don't need to

win five auctions in the first place. If we find the criminal of the
'Black Challenge' in the middle of the auction, the game will be
over."

"True."

"Then... I'll give my money to Kirigiri-chan, you will auction off the
'Detective Rights'."

"...Is it okay to give it to me?"

"Better than me being the detective." I replied with a smile. "First

is the first auction. We must win."

"—I know."

I opened my hiking bag and checked its contents.

At that moment, I noticed someone stand up.

It’s Nanamura.

"Alright, everyone." Nanamura began to speak with his usual

dramatic gestures. "If each person's bid time is five minutes, then
it will take us a total of 45 minutes. And in terms of time, we can’t
delay any longer."

"H-hey, no one bids."

Minase already looks distraught.

"W-wait, I'm not done calculating!"

Toyano'oh was counting something while folding his fingers.

Chage is in the corner of the room, facing the wall, mumbling

words, as if talking to an invisible person.

"I don't want to be a detective! I just came here to buy vacuum

tubes. Why did things turn out like this... Uwaaa!"

Mifune cried like a child.

Shinsen has his legs crossed and reading a book he had brought,
feeling as if he has given up communicating and is immersed in his
own world. He did say that he is not interested in the auction, but
now that the situation has changed. I wonder if he still thinks so.

Yozuru is holding her hiking bag tightly in her arms, with her eyes
closed, and looking intoxicated, as if she is stroking that large sum
of money like her own child. What an odd scene.
"Hey, Kirigiri-chan." I whispered, "What about that man...
Nanamura-san? Do we tell him of our plan?"

"I don't think that’s necessary. He should understand after the

first bid."

Right, he is a Double-Zero rank detective, he must be thinking of a

way to deal with the criminal.

"Then I’ll take the lead. Those who oppose please raise your
hands."

Of course, no one opposed.

After Nanamura confirmed that there were no objections, he

lifted his hiking bag and walked toward the bidding compartment.

"While I’m bidding, you can discuss the order of your bids, it’ll
saves time."

As Nanamura said so, he opened the compartment door.

A machine that looked like a bank's ATM machine could be seen

through the door. Nanamura stood in front of the machine and
closed the door with his backhand.

The auction has finally begun—

"Then, let's discuss the order, everyone." I stood up and said. "Is it
okay to use ‘Detective Rock-Paper-Scissors’ to decide?"

"What’s a ‘Detective Rock-Paper-Scissors’?"

Mifune asked, tilting her head.

"Eh, don't you know? The detective is strong against the criminal,
but weak against the cat. The criminal is strong against the cat,
but weak against the detective. The cat is strong against the
detective, but weak against the criminal."

"What’s with this theme? No, let’s not do that. Just use ordinary
Rock-Paper-Scissors."

Minase protested.

As a result, everyone used Rock-Paper-Scissors and determined

the order as: Toyano'oh, Kirigiri, Yozuru, Shinsen, Chage, Mifune,
Minase, then me.

At the same time we decided on the order, Nanamura came out.

He is holding a small card in his right hand– and carrying a
shrunken hiking bag in his left hand.

Everyone's eyes focused on the hiking bag.

It’s relatively… no, it’s considerably lighter.

It doesn’t look like he hid the cash somewhere else. His jacket was
ruined in the burning corpse just now, so there was no place to
hide it.

"Alright, whose turn is it next? There’s a little bit procedures to be

done, so the time it takes you should be about five minutes."

After saying this, Nanamura showed us the card in his right hand,
pulled a chair next to him, and sat down leisurely. He threw the
hiking bag aside, which– was deflated.

There was a commotion in the room.

I quickly took Kirigiri's hand and went to a place far away from the
others.

"H-hey, Nanamura-san is planning something!"

"You're overreacting, Yui-onēsama."

"Because! He's obviously done something."

"Yes, I didn't see that coming… worthy of the Double-Zero rank."

"Now is not the time to get impressed by him. We can't claim the
'Detective Rights' now!"

While I was whispering to Kirigiri, Toyano'oh walked into the

bidding compartment.

After he finished bidding, it was Kirigiri’s turn immediately after.

"What should we do? Rework our plan?"

"Yes..." Kirigiri held her arms and fell into a deep thought. "Let's
avoid this auction."

"Avoid? You mean we won’t bid?"

"Yes. We won't be able to win againt Nanamura-san."

"Can't win... how can this be!"

"Don't panic, onēsama, there is no problem with that, because

Nanamura-san is on our side."

"But, I don't think that person can be trusted." I couldn't help but
blurt out. "Because he is a cheapskate! Didn't the taxi fare end up
being paid by Kirigiri-chan?"
"I wouldn't call that logical. After all, he has bid a lot of money."

"He might be using tricks..."

"Of course it’s possible. However, if that’s the case, all the more
reason why we shouldn't throw away tens of millions at a time
like this. If the hiking bag is a bluff and his purpose is to raise the
bid amount, then all the money we invest will be lost..."

"What should we do, there’s no time left."

I saw Toyano'oh come out from the bidding compartment. His

hiking bag looked almost the same size before he went in with.

"It's better to keep it at this point."

"Hmm... I wonder if... that’s okay."

After Toyano'oh, Kirigiri walked towards the bidding

compartment. She carried the hiking bag strenuously with both
hands. The weight of 10,000 bills of 10,000 yen is quite
substantial, and it’s very hard for her two thin arms.

While Kirigiri is making her bid, I approached Nanamura.

"Umm... so, could it be..."

I pointed to the hiking bag and said.

"Woah, it's against the rules to disclose the bid amount. no matter
how much the young lady asks to."

"Now isn't the time to say such things!" I involuntarily raised my

voice. "If you have any ideas, please tell me. It's easier for us to
act..."
"Samidare-kun." Nanamura turned to me with his arms crossed.
"I’m treating you as a detective, that's why I’m not saying
anything. Or do you want me to treat you as an ordinary high
school girl?"

He probably meant to say, ‘Don't rely on others’.

No matter what the situation is, the words ‘please tell me’ are not
in line with the identity of the detective.

Is there a chance for Nanamura to win?

Judging from his easy-going look, it looks like he is already

convinced that he will win.

I dragged my feet back to the corner of the room, when Kirigiri

came out of the bidding compartment. I hurried to her side, my
whole body almost lunging over.

"How was it?"

"No problem." Kirigiri ruffled the hair on her cheek. "I came out
without making a bid. Looks like offering 0 yen is okay."

She said this, and showed me a small card.

"This is?"

"It's a bidding card, probably something similar to the registration

card."

As we spoke, the bidding continued.

Yozuru, who entered the bidding compartment after Kirigiri, spent

more than five minutes inside, almost ten minutes before she
came out. When she did, she was still hugging her hiking bag as if
it was her own child. The ultimate choice of money or life must
have tormented her for a while.

After that, Shinsen entered the compartment and immediately

came out. With the card in his hand, it seems that his procedures
had been completed. He is in stark contrast to Yozuru, he
probably has no fixation with this auction.

Next was Chage, Mifune, then Minase. Among them, the one that
took the longest time was Mifune, who had to work hard just to
move the hiking bag with the huge sum of money into the
compartment, and then it took her even longer to operate the
machine.

Finally at last– it's my turn.

I carried my heavy hiking bag and walked to the bidding

compartment. The time now is far beyond our estimates, so I
must work fast.

I stood in front of the compartment that looked like a telephone

booth and opened the door.

Directly facing me is a touch screen machine, probably prepared

by the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee specially for this game,
these guys really put a lot of effort into it.

I walked into the compartment and closed the door behind me.
After the door was closed, people outside can no longer see
what’s going on inside.

There are operating instructions on the touch screen.

What's with the 8-bit pixel style in this day and age?

All in all, I did as instructed. I did think about whether to use a

pseudonym, but I didn't think it would make any sense, so I just
typed it in as it is.

The procedure was no different from an ATM machine.

After entering the name, the screen for fingerprints registration is

displayed.

I followed the instructions and pressed my thumb on the

fingerprint authentication device.

Then the screen switched to one for entering numbers.

I kept the number at ‘0 yen’, and was about to press the ‘OK’
button– when I suddenly hesitated.

What if Nanamura’s hiking bag is a bluff?

Did he use some kind of trick to hide the money somewhere for
the time being? He created the illusion that he bid a huge sum of
money, and in fact only paid the minimum bid of 1 million yen.
This way, he can successfully obtain the "Detective Rights" with
only 1 million yen.

Nanamura will get the ‘Detective Rights’, this is not a problem.

The question is, among the previous bidders, did anyone notice
Nanamura’s bluff?

No– of course they noticed.

He showed us the hiking bag that was so obviously empty,

everyone would’ve found it suspicious.

After discovering his bluff, how did everyone act?

They should in turn think about acquiring the ‘Detective Rights’

themselves.

All they have to do is to offer 2 millions, and they will win.

would someone give two millions with this in mind?

—Wait, what if two people or three people thought so?

2 millions are not enough.

3 millions?

4 millions?

—Aaa, what should I do?

10 PM is approaching fast.

I must decide quickly.

Everyone is waiting for me.

I tore the plastic bag containing the bills in the hiking bag. A
bundle of bills is one million yen.

After struggling, I took out five bundles— that is, 5 million yen.
After pressing the ‘OK’ button, the deposit port automatically
opened, and I stuffed five sealed bundles of bills into it.

Then the screen switched again.

At this time, a card was spat out from a mouth below the screen,
just like the cards that the others held. I took out the card and got
a closer look, I noticed the ‘caution’ on the back of the card.

"※Caution
After the auction ends, the card owned by the winning bidder
will automatically become the master key. Please keep this
card safe."

I took the card and got out of the compartment.

Everyone's eyes cast over together.

10 long minutes passed.

Suddenly, there was a siren sound from somewhere.

This is the signal that the auction is over, I think.

Our eyes wandered aimlessly in the air.

"Hey, look at that!"

Minase pointed to the top at the balcony.

Norman's portrait showed some text. It’s not very clear from
below, so we all went to the balcony on the second floor to look.

The results of the auction are displayed there.

Today’s auction results:

Nanamura Suisei 10,000 Ten-Thousand
Samidare Yui 500 Ten-Thousand
Kirigiri Kyōko 0 Ten-Thousand
Shinsen Mikado 0 Ten-Thousand
Chage Akio 0 Ten-Thousand
Toyano'oh Seiunsai 0 Ten-Thousand
Minase Yūzen 0 Ten-Thousand
Mifune Meruko 0 Ten-Thousand
Yozuru Sae 0 Ten-Thousand

After seeing this result, I was probably the most surprised person.

To be honest, I almost wanted to hold my head and yell ‘They got

me!’– but I held it back. I remained expressionless, but maybe I
was showing an ugly face.
"Actual Detective-san only bid 10,000 yen? Huh? Isn't the
minimum 1 million yen?"

Mifune put her hand on her face and tilted her head.

"Wrong, you pumpkinhead. Look carefully, the unit is Ten-

Thousand yen, so he paid a 100 million yen, a 100 million!"

"Eeeeh—?"

"Exactly."

Nanamura said as he leaned against the balcony railing, and

stretched out one hand.

"Are you insane?" Toyano'oh’s tone of voice changed. "You bid all
your money on the first day, what do you plan to do afterwards?"

"Umm, Everyone else is zero!" I couldn't help exclaiming. "What's

going on here?"

"What's going on...?" Minase frowned. "Didn't you also see that
detective's hiking bag? You actually wasted money on bidding
after you saw it? No normal person would."

"If you don't win the auction, the money you bid will be gone,
right? Didn't you listen carefully when the instructions were
given?"

"How could you toss away important money just like that?"

Even Yozuru was talking about me.

I’m speechless.

It looks like I have over-interpreted...

I glanced at Kirigiri, she was looking at me with an icy gaze.

Sorry……

"I guess we'll have to let the detective handle tonight."

Chage was sweating profusely, wiping the sweat from his face
desperately.

"W-will you protect us from being killed by the murderer?"

Minase asked Nanamura.

"Of course, what do you think I am here for? Come on, everyone,
please follow me. I believe this card now is a master key."

Nanamura raised the card to show us, then flipped over the railing
and landed lightly on the cafeteria floor below, leaving the room
alone first.

"H-hey, everyone, let’s hurry up!"

Minase went down the stairs after Nanamura, and we followed

him.

We came out of the cafeteria and arrived at the lobby.

I whispered to Kirigiri:

"Kirigiri-chan, sorry, I failed... I didn't expect things to turn out like

this..."

"I can easily imagine what kind of psychological process Yui-

onēsama went through to arrive at the number 5 million." Kirigiri
said in a calm voice. "It turned out to be a failure, but I think this is
just your style, onēsama."
"Are you complimenting me?"

"No."

"R-right." I hung my head in defeat. "Anyway, I wonder what in

the world Nanamura-san is thinking. He spent all 100 million yen
today. What will he do afterwards."

"Maybe he intends to end everything tonight."

"Is this possible…"

If he’s a Double-Zero detective, maybe it's possible, right? Maybe

he already knows who the criminal is... Nanamura seems to be
checking the other doors in the lobby.

We gathered around him.

"There is a card slot here."

There is a thin gap beside the door.

Nanamura inserted the card halfway in, and an electronic beep

sounded, then the door opened.

Everyone let out an ‘oooh’.

"We have 47 minutes until 10 PM. We must find the guest rooms
as soon as possible."

"Nanamura-san"

A rare moment for Kirigiri to speak up.

"What is it?"

"Can I borrow your card for a moment?"

"Ah, go ahead."

Nanamura didn't hesitate to hand the card over, which is worth

100 million yen, to Kirigiri.

Kirigiri took the card and inserted it into the card slot just like
Nanamura.

However, nothing happened.

Kirigiri silently returned the card back to Nanamura.

"The card can sense the user's fingerprints. Although this card is
very thin, it’s very finely made."

Nanamura put the card in his pocket.

They are confirming whether someone other than the winning

bidder can also use the master key, and the answer is no. The lack
of explanation for the exchange between the two detectives was
a real headache.

We opened the door and stepped into a whole new area.

Directly opposite the door is a straight corridor extending

forward, and it looks like it has five doors. In addition, there is a
staircase on the left hand side, which goes upstairs.

Nanamura walked to the nearest door.

There is no card slot next to it. He grasped the door handle and
pulled it outward, and the door opened.
However, behind the door there was only a wall made of cement.
Although the sight is ridiculous, it may be to seal the places that
has nothing to do with the game.

Opening the other doors, all the rooms were sealed by cement.
There is nothing surprising about these concrete walls, no hidden
doors or hidden devices or anything like that could be found.

"The places we can go to are very limited, so a lot of our work has
been saved."

Nanamura said casually.

We decided to go upstairs and have a look. Although the hotel

was supposed to be in ruins, the corridors and stairs are spotless,
so it’s obvious that someone had cleaned them up. But the stairs
were built very steeply, and they weren't for guests at all. I can
only assume that the people who built these stairs deliberately
wanted to make us uncomfortable.

The writing on the staircase platform reads ‘2F’.

The entrance to the second floor is also completely sealed by

cement. Minase tried to kick the concrete wall, but of course the
entrance did not open.

So we went up another floor.

The text says ‘3F’.

On the third floor, this time the entrance finally opened.

There are stairs going upwards, and I can see that the text on the
platform is ‘4F’. However, the steps to it had collapsed, and it
seems that there is no way to go upstairs. From the hole in the
stairs, I can see the stairway platform below, one might
accidentally stumble and fall from here.

"Too dangerous... Should’ve put up an ‘under repair’ sign!"

Minase complained.

We had no choice but to enter the third floor.

The red-carpeted corridor turned 90 degrees to the left at about

20 or 30 meters. There are no windows in the corridor, and the
dim light can barely illuminate the path beneath our feet. On the
left side of the corridor, there are five room doors arranged at
equal distances.

A ‘301’sign is hung on the door closest to us.

"It's a guest room."

Nanamura held the handle of the nearest door. There is a card

slot under the door handle, but the door doesn’t seem to be
locked at this time.

Nanamura opened the door.

We looked into the room together.

It does look like a guest room… but honestly, this is one of the
worst rooms I’ve ever seen.

The first thing I thought of was – a prison.

In the center of the room is a simple iron pipes bed. This is not a
bed used when the hotel was open for business. They probably
moved it in specially for this event. It looks so cheap. The blankets
and sheets hanging on the vertical board on the side of the bed –
the headboard– haphazardly. There is no maid anymore, meaning
we should make our own beds.

The only lighting in the room is the incandescent lamp buried in

the ceiling.

There is no window in the room, only a small rectangular hole the

size of a daylighting window on the wall facing the doorway at a
high position. And there is no glass or other barrier in the hole to
block off the outside air. It’s open, with iron bars on it, and the
cold air is relentlessly gushing in from the outside.

No wonder it's so cold. There is a panel heater in the corner of the

room, but it’s hard to tell whether this alone is enough for
heating.

There is an integrated bathroom on the left side of the room,

which has hot water. In this despair inducing environment, this is
the only source of hope.

These are all the things in the room.

"Seriously… we're like prisoners in here, aren't we…?"

"Prisoners these days are treated better than this." Toyano'oh

said with a frown. "My legs and feet are going to get cold like
this…"

"I wanna sleep in the lobby—"

Mifune looked like she would burst into tears at any moment.
"I feel the same, but the curfew must be obeyed."

Although Shinsen sighed, there was an acceptable calmness in his

tone.

"Detective-san, please, you must come to our rescue."

Yozuru rubbed herself against Nanamura, pampering him like a

cat. Their bodies were pressed together tightly, is it really okay to
act like this in front of minors?

"There are only five rooms, what about the rest?"

Minase glanced around the corridor and said.

"Are they around the corner?"

We left the room for now and came around the corner. The
corridor turned to the left, and opposite to the previous direction.
On the right side of the corridor, five doors lined up.

Going further, the corridor came to an end, with no windows or

emergency exits in sight.

The third floor seems to be an L-shaped structure, with nothing

but guest rooms. Presumably, it must’ve been remodeled from
the original hotel and is being used as a stage for the ‘Black
Challenge’.

"What about room allocation?"

Nanamura looked complacent.

"Choose whatever."

Minase opened the nearest door.

"W-wait a minute, the order of the rooms is important." Chage
called out. "Think about it, if you are closer to the person with the
'Detective Rights', the probability of being saved will definitely be
higher."

After hearing his words, we fell into silence.

indeed so. While the detective is patrolling from room to room,

the murderer can commit the crime in the background.

"According to the structure of this floor, it would be better for the

detective to be at room nearest the entrance, right?"

Toyano'oh suggested.

The third floor guest rooms floor is structurally a cul-de-sac with a

dead-end corridor. If a person with the ‘Detective Rights’ takes up
the position at the entrance of the floor, even if the criminal show
themselves, they will not be able to escape.

"Then I’ll stay in ‘301’."

Nanamura said.

"Who’ll stay in the room next to the detective?"

Minase asked.

"I know, we should decide with ‘Detective Rock-Paper-Scissors’..."

"I told you no one understand that stuff. If no one else nominates,
then I will stay there, no objections, right?"

"Hey, quit playing around."

Chage grabbed Minase's shoulder.

"What are you doing, dumbass!"

"Let’s make decisions fairly, We gotta be fair."

"Huh? How?"

"How about using the bid amount to decide?" Shinsen stood

forward to mediate. "the person who bid the second most at the
auction that day will be the one who stays in the room closest to
the detective."

"I see, so that the money you bid won’t be wasted." said
Toyano'oh, stroking his white beard. "Let’s do that, I agree."

No one expressed any objection.

As a result, everyone decided to let me live in the room next to

Nanamura.

"But… on second thought, everyone else is zero."

"Let’s just use Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide… on second thought,

forget it. It's a pain in the ass."

"W-wait, let’s be more creative about it this time."

Toyano'oh took out playing cards from the chest pocket of his
tuxedo. It was a Bicycle deck often used by magicians.

"Umm... seven people left, let’s just use the cards from Ace of
Hearts to Seven of Hearts. The smaller the number, the closer the
person is to the room of the detective, how about it?"

Toyano'oh drew seven cards and put the other cards back into his
pocket.
"Wait, you won’t try to cheat, will you, grandpa?."

Yozuru said in a reproachful tone and grabbed the cards from

Toyano'oh's hand. She held the cards up to the light, turned them
over and backwards, and checked for any tricks on the cards.

"If you don't feel comfortable with me dealing the cards, then
have someone else do it."

"I'll do it then."

This time Minase snatched the cards from Yozuru’s hand.

After shuffling the cards awkwardly, he squatted down and lined

up the seven cards on the ground.

"C'mon guys, choose the card you like!"

Everyone picked up the cards one after another.

As a result, Mifune got the Ace. After that, the order is: me,
Kirigiri, Minase, Yozuru, Shinsen, Toyano'oh, Chage.

"...Why am I the last one?... Ah, does it mean that you guys are
also involved in this conspiracy?"
"What's with all these conspiracy this and conspiracy that?"

I said helplessly. Even though, this is indeed a conspiracy of a

certain organization.

The room ‘312’ at the far end of the corridor is left empty because
the tenth person, the maid, had died, everyone decided to leave it
empty.

Incidentally, the room numbers don't have a 4 and 9, a habit often

seen in older hotels because they are often considered unlucky.

I checked the time.

9:45 PM.

"It's better to enter the rooms as soon as possible. It should be

safe at least until 10."

Nanamura said.

Each of us in the corridor walked to our rooms.

"After 10 o'clock, I will open the doors in order. Until then, no

matter who comes, you can't open the doors. Please be careful."

At Nanamura’s words, we nodded our heads to show that we

knew, and we each parted in the corridor as we walked into the
rooms while praying in our hearts that everything would be safe.

"Kirigiri-chan."

I stopped her.

"What is it?"
"I'll see you again soon, right?"

"...Who knows."

She said without emotion, and entered the room without looking
back.

The door closed.

For some reason, every time I part with her, I can't help but feel
that it’s going to be the last time.

I was left alone, staring blankly at the door of her room –

suddenly aware of movement, I looked ahead in the corridor,
Chage was coming from the opposite direction. The sight of a man
in a baseball uniform slowly approaching in such an outdated
hotel hallway can only be described as bizarre.

"What's wrong, Chage-san?"

"Nothing..." Chage looked back and confirmed that no one else

was there. "Are you alone now?"

"Yes, as you can see."

Everyone else have gone into their rooms.

"You’re a detective, right? I have something to tell you."

"...About a conspiracy?"

"It may or may not be. This whole thing is just not right..." Chage
approached me and suddenly lowered his voice. "This
inexplicable psychological experiment may be the work of the
guy named Shinsen."
"Eh?" I also lowered my voice. "Shinsen-san? What's this all
about?"

"I've seen that guy. The accident happened two years ago... Do
you remember? That time the tunnel collapsed and all fifteen
people trapped inside died..."

"Ah, yes, I do. they said that when the rescue team went in three
days later, everyone was already dead."

"Yeah, there have been many sightings of paranormal

phenomenas in that tunnel, and I also collected materials there.
When the accident happened, I thought it might have something
to do with a paranormal phenomena, it just so happened that my
residence was near there, so I rushed to the scene. I took several
photos of the scene there... one of them was that."

"A-a paranormal photo?"

"No no, it was him, Shinsen, staring at the tunnel in the middle of
the crowd of reporters and media."

"...It should be a coincidence, right? Maybe he just came to the

scene because of work."

"Work? Media report? Probably, maybe, maybe not. Anyway

that's not everything. When I was investigating a certain house
where a tragic murder had occurred, I took a few pictures of the
nearby scenery. It was a week after the case, so there were no
reporters around. But... one of the photos showed a person
standing facing the house. He was Shinsen."

"Maybe it was someone who looks a lot like him?"

"I've compared it many times, no matter how I looked at it, it's the
same person." Chage’s body began to tremble slightly. "After I
came here, when I saw him... At first I thought he probably just
looked a lot like that person. But after hearing him talk, I finally
figured out that he... is the Shinigami himself. He will bring death.
This inexplicable psychological experiment may also be the
Shinigami’s game. It's used to observe the reaction of people
facing death."

Shinsen is the Shinigami?

As a detective, I can't accept using supernatural reasonings like

ghosts and Shinigamis to solve cases. But judging from Chage’s
horrified expression, he seems to really believe it.

"Shit, there is no time, I really don't want to go back to the room...

but it can’t be helped. I'm off."

Chage adjusted the position of his baseball cap, turned around

and walked forward along the corridor.

"Why are you telling me this?"

I asked him.

"It's not much of a reason, probably my sixth sense."

9:50.

We said goodbye to each other.

I walked to my room and opened the door.

To strengthen my determination, I took a deep breath and walked

into my room.
After I stepped into the room, as soon as I released the handle,
the door closed by itself. Looks like the door is equipped with an
automatic lock.

I became a little frightened again, and tried to open the door, the
door opened easily. That means the door can be opened and
closed freely before the curfew arrives. It's just that if I open it
during the curfew even accidentaly, I might get punished, so I
closed the door again.

I observed the interior of the room.

The structure of this room isn’t different from Nanamura’s room

we just saw. The concrete layer on the ceiling, the floor, on all
four walls were there, and its gray color unites everything, to the
point that it feels like even my mood have become gray.

There is nothing in this empty room, which is fine, the problem is

that the cold is unbearable. If only I can block the iron barred
window, it will be somewhat better.

I came inside the room and looked up at the barred window. The
position of the window is about three heads higher than mine,
and I can’t look out through this window. Judging from the height,
it should be almost 2 meters.

Just tuck the blanket inside the window.

I thought this, and I cast my eyes to the bed. I was about to get
the blanket when I suddenly noticed near my feet.

The feet of the iron pipes bed are fixed to the floor with screws.
The bed cannot be moved. This should be to prevent us from
using this bed as a barrier to prevent the murderer from entering.
From this, I can feel the criminal's bad intentions, as if it was
intentional to prevent us from guaranteeing absolute safety.

The only thing that can guarantee safety is the ‘Detective Rights’,
maybe the criminal is just trying to make us think this way. Having
said that, the door actually opens outward, it’s hard to say
whether the bed can act as a barrier... While I was jumping up and
down by the window with the blanket in my hand, 10 PM finally
came.

I didn't hear any siren, but the heavy sound of the door lock
activating informed me of this moment.

At this moment, my whole body stiffened, even though I knew it

was meaningless, I looked back at the door of the room.

—This is the time when the Murderer starts to act.

It feels like the atmosphere inside the entire building has

changed.

The concrete walls suddenly emitted a faint chill, making the gray
color in the room thicker and thicker. I can't hear the slightest of
movements, it's as if all creatures all over the world are extinct... a
terrifying silence.

10:01... 10:02...

I checked the door of the room. I shook it back and forth, but it
didn't move at all.
It's really locked up...

I suddenly felt helpless.

Although I chose participat this time, I don't want to go through

this horrible ‘Black Challenge’ anymore.

The murderer could open this door and come in at any moment.

The criminal, are they really among the people participating in the
auction?

I remembered the report I read on the Internet before coming to

this hotel. In the case mentioned in the report, it said that a guest
living here suddenly went berserk, killing the other guests one
after another. The man seemed to have hallucinationed, he
thought ‘someone attacked him from behind the wall’.

From behind the wall...

I suddenly got goosebumps.

All four walls are watching me.

In fact, there are indeed people who are watching us, those rich
people who watch the ‘Black Challenges’ for fun... No, there is
something much more terrifying than that.

—Death.

The coldness of these walls are the temperature of death.

It may be because of the words that I have just heard from Chage,
the word ‘death’ is stuck in my mind.
The oppressive feeling of enclosure forced me to almost scream,
but I managed to hold back.

It's fine.

……It's fine?

What is the basis for this?

In this situation, the only person who can save me is the person
with the ‘Detective Rights’– the detective.

Right now, I’m not the detective, just a weak high school girl.

I long for the power of the detective.

I long for the power to fight against darkness and crime.

Just then, I heard a knock on the door.

"It's me, Nanamura."

No doubt, this is Suisei Nanamura’s voice!

"I'm opening the door."

Accompanied by a beep, there was the sound of the door lock

opening.

The door opened…

I involuntarily shrank in the corner of the room, putting on a

guard posture.

What if the person who’s opening the door isn’t Nanamura?

Or... maybe Nanamura is the murderer?

Although I knew it was impossible, the cold air made me
suspicious.

"Are you okay?"

The person who appeared at the door was none other than
Nanamura.

What he’s holding in his right hand is not a knife nor a pistol, but a
key card.

I nodded while wiping away my cold sweat.

"Good, let's go to the next room then, follow me."

I stumbled behind Nanamura. The lights in the hallway is dimmer

than before, creating a night atmosphere.

The next room should be Mifune's.

Nanamura inserted his card into the slot under the door handle.

The door lock opened.

Releasing detained people, even though Nanamura did nothing

more than this, in my opinion, he is like a savior.

"Waaa, you saved me! Thank you!"

Mifune, the ex-psychic girl, rushed out, she and I had a hug.

"You can celebrate your reunion later, let's go to the next room."

Nanamura walked along the corridor.

The next room is Kirigiri’s.

I checked the time and it was 10:05.

At this rate, it should take less than 15 minutes to release

everyone.

Nanamura was about to insert the card into the card slot in
Kirigiri’s room, when— something moved in the corner of my field
of vision.

In front of the corridor, where it turned a 90 degree angle to the

left, there is a person.

"Nanamura-san! Look!"

I called out to Nanamura with a voice close to a scream.

The figure disappeared at once around the corner of the corridor.

The sound of footsteps fluttered away.

Nanamura left the door and looked ahead down the corridor
where I was pointing.

However, when Nanamura looked head, there was no one there

anymore.

"There’s someone there!"

"Someone?"

"I saw them too!"

Mifune also nodded in agreement.

"It's dark and far away and I couldn't... make it out, but... I’m sure,
there was someone there!"
I ran out while talking.

Nanamura and Mifune immediately followed.

I arrived at the corner of the corridor.

And looked forward.

In the depths of the dimly lit corridor—

A door suddenly closed.

"Did you see that?"

"Ah." Nanamura's eyes sharpened, and he nodded. "It's the empty

room at the far end."

The dark figure was hiding in the shadows behind the door.

Then the door closed.

"It's now past 10 PM, and the only people who can open and close
the doors are those who have a master key in hand." Nanamura
gestured, raising his card, and then said. "Other than me, who has
the 'Detective Rights', the only person who has the master key in
their hand is the murderer."

"Then that's the criminal!"

"Let's catch Them!"

I ran out with Mifune.

"No, wait." Nanamura stopped us. "One of you should wait here,
you can see the whole corridor from here, it's up to you to keep
watch."
We are standing at the corner of the corridor, where we can
indeed see the doors of all the rooms.

"Then I'll wait here. Detective-san, you must take out the
criminal!"

Mifune walked to the corner of the corridor and squatted down

against the wall.

"Is it okay if you are alone?"

"Yeah!"

"In case you see someone, call that person's name out loud, do
you understand, little girl."

"I'm an adult!"

"I'm counting on you. Now, hurry up, Samidare-kun."

"Yes!"

I ran into the depth of the corridor with Nanamura.

We stood in front of the empty room.

Nanamura’s movements were suddenly still, he listened to the

movements behind the door for a moment, then inserted the key
card into the card slot.

He yanked the door open with force.

Will the criminal come out rushing—

Or are they lying in ambush with a gun—

I imagined it this way, and couldn't help but put on a fighting
stance.

However, the room is empty.

Since the light in the room is still on, the small interior was visible
as soon as the door opened. At least as far as I can see, there is no
one inside, let alone the criminal.

How can this be!

I did see the door close and someone entering the room. And it's
not just me, Nanamura and Mifune also saw it.

This room is the same as the other rooms, with only one bed in
the center. As this empty room is not being used by anyone, the
blanket and sheets are still hung on the headboard. There is no
one hiding behind or under the bed.

We stepped into the room.

We inspected the integrated bathroom, and naturally there was

no one in it.

Where did the criminal disappear to?

Disappearance act–

And that's not the only anomaly.

On the wall on the right hand side of the room, there is a big 'X'
painted with pink fluorescent paint.

"What is this... thing?"

"I’m guessing the criminal drew it."

Nanamura touched the paint with his fingertips and said.

I wonder if the criminal drew this 'X' after escaping to this place,
or they happened to run into us after drawing this 'X'.

"The criminal has been here, there is no doubt about that. In that
case, there must be a secret passage somewhere in this room,
isn't it?"

"Hmmm..."

Nanamuras is thinking about something, staring at the walls.

I knocked on all the places I could think of, under the bed, the
surrounding walls, and the ceiling of the integrated bathroom, but
I couldn't find the entrance to the secret passage.

Is the criminal still in the room?

But they have no place to hide. The mattress is not thick enough
to hide under.

What about the window?

I jumped up and hooked my hands to the window edge. After

taking a bit of effort to climb up, I grabbed the iron bars. The iron
was cold and it made my hands hurt. Of course, these iron bars
can’t be removed. Besides, the size of this window is only about
40cm horizontally and 20cm vertically. Even I would get stuck
inside, with no way to get in or out through this window. Behind
the iron bars is the abyss-like dark night–

This place is a completely locked room.

Nanamura walked away from the wall and began to investigate

the interior like me.

We spent a while carefully investigating all the places in the room.

During this time, Mifune was sitting alone in the corridor, and I
couldn't help but worry a little bit whether she’s been taken by
the criminal.

Finally, Nanamura patted the dust on the top of his suit jacket and
said:

"There is no way for someone to enter and leave."

His conclusion is the same as mine.

"Where did the criminal disappear to..."

"Perhaps……"

Nanamura pointed to the wall with ‘X’ painted on it.

"The wall? Are you trying to say that the culprit went through the
wall..."

What if the criminal could really go through the wall?

Next door is Chage’s room.

"I’m gonna go check."

Nanamura inserted the card in the door and went to the corridor.
The door closed before my eyes.

"I'm coming too!"

I reached out and pushed the door, trying to go after him.

—Can't be opened.

During this time period, the door will be automatically locked.

Alas, I was locked up again.

From the corridor, Mifune shouted "Detective-san" in a long,

drawn-out voice. Nanamura had said, "If you see someone, call
that person's name out loud." She is probably following
Nanamura's instructions to the letter.

"Sorry, Nanamura-san! I’m locked up..."

I said while knocking on the door.

After two or three minutes, Nanamura returned.

The door opened and I came to the corridor.

"Samidare-san—!"

Mifune was waving her hand from the corner of the corridor.

I waved back to her in response.

"Looks like we’ve been tricked."

Nanamura raised his chin towards the next room.

Tricked?
The door of the next room is closed. Nanamura probably left the
room after checking the interior, and the door closed
automatically.

Nanamura inserted the card again and opened the door.

What appeared before my eyes is an unexpected sight.

Chage Akio had slid off the right side of the bed, his head still
resting on it, staring at the ceiling, with his eyes wide open as if in
shock, and so was his mouth. His arms are spread out limply on
both sides of his body, and his legs are just as limp, spreading
slightly toward the depth of the room.

The baseball cap that looked like his personal trademark, had
fallen behind the bed. The sunglasses were a bit crooked and still
hanging on his face. The sports bag lying in front of the bed must
be his luggage.

"Chage-san..."

"He’s dead."

Nanamura declared Chage's death in a tone no different from his

usual one.

"He’s really dead?"

"Yeah, his pulse and breathing are gone. I’ve confirmed it just
now. Moreover, there are choke marks on his neck. It seems that
he was strangled to death."

"Strangled to death..."

Of course, there is no one else in the room.

I checked the time on my phone.

10:30.

Starting at the curfew of 10 o'clock, the criminal killed Chage and

then fled in just thirty minutes.

We did witness the figure of the suspected criminal just now.

However, didn't the criminal enter the empty room next door?

In fact, there is indeed a trace in the empty room next door,

which should have been left after the criminal entered.

The 'X' on the wall…

Was that hinting at Chage’s death next door?

I stepped into the room with horror.

I inspected the body.

No breathing, as for the pulse... I can't do it, I can’t dare to touch

him, my field of expertise is not murder cases, and I don't know
how to do an autopsy. However, the fact that Chage is dead can
already be seen at a glance as long as I look at his motionless
pupils.

I inspected the integrated bathroom.

Nobody.

I checked under the bed.

Nobody.

I checked the window

The iron bars are so hard that it can’t be shaken.

This room is also a completely locked room.

The blankets on the bed are rolled up into a ball, but the size can't
hide anyone.

"Samidare-kun, take a look at the neck of the corpse. It clearly

shows the shape of human fingers. It seems that he was strangled
to death directly by hand. You can also find the traces left by the
victim when he resisted."

"If so, then the criminal might have been scratched."

"Unless the criminal is wearing gloves."

"Eh? Chage-san has something in his mouth."

I noticed something and said.

There is a foreign object in his mouth.

Nanamura took out tweezers from the inner pocket of his suit and
removed the object from Chage’s mouth.

It was a piece of paper crumpled up into a ball.

Nanamura put it on the bed and unfolded it while making sure to

not touch it with his hands.

It has words written on it.

‘First Target Revenge Successful!’

We were tricked.

We let the criminal take the lead.

Nanamura and I kept the crime scene as it is and came out of the
room.

We returned to Mifune, and briefly explained what happened to

her. Mifune panicked, with a confused expression.

"You girls go back to the lobby first, and I'll release the others who
are locked up."

"Okay……"

I went down the stairs with Mifune to the first floor. We tried to
enter the lobby, but found that the door of the lobby also requires
a key card to open.

I sat down in the corridor with Mifune and decided to wait for
everyone here. We didn’t feel our lives are in danger, because of
the rule that only one person is killed every night.

At least no one else will die tonight.

Because of the death of someone else, we can have a sense of

peace... If we stay in this environment for a few more days, I
wonder if we will have a mental breakdown.

How exactly did the criminal kill Chage, and where did he
disappear to...
After meeting up with each other except for Chage, who is already
dead, we went to the waiting area in the lobby. Everyone except
me, Mifune, Kirigiri, and Nanamura had their hiking bags with the
huge sum of money firmly in their arms. we sat down on the sofas
with tired expressions after having experienced terror.

My reunion with Kirigiri was an anticlimactic one.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes"

Just two sentences.

Because I saw the corpse earlier, I’m now in a heavy mood, and
Kirigiri’s expression about that incident is also very serious, no
wonder our conversation couldn't pick up.

Nanamuras told them that Chage had been killed.

Nanamura didn't want to explain more, so I told them the details

instead of him.

"The person disappeared into the empty room?"

Minase had an unbelieving expression.

"I also saw someone enter that empty room. It’s true."

Mifune said.

"Why did the murderer enter the empty room."

"I don’t know."

I shook my head.
"See, so it’s true!" Minase raised his voice a little excitedly.
"Detectives aren’t useful at all. If you don't have the 'Detective
Rights', your own personal safety isn’t guaranteed, and this
murder has proved that."

"How can you say that..."

I thought about how to refute him.

However, I couldn't say anything.

"It's true that I did fail this time."

Nanamura was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed.

Even though he confessed his failure bluntly, his attitude was still
cocky. Does that mean he’s the fastest at regaining his composure
too?

"Mifune-san, I have a question. I wonder if it's okay to ask it."

Kirigiri suddenly opened her mouth.

"Wh-what?"

"Did anyone come in or out of the rooms during your time in the
corridor?"

"Well... Imma think about it from the beginning, wait a sec... First,
Detective-san, and Samidare-san entered the empty room, right?
Then after what should have been almost 20 minutes... Detective-
san came out of the empty room alone, so I called out ‘Detective-
san’ because he told me to shout the name of anyone coming
out."
"Then what?"

"Detective-san entered the next room, which is the room where

the man with the baseball cap was staying in. But after almost
two minutes, he came out and went back to the empty room.
Samidare-san came out of the empty room, and the two of them
went into the room where the man with the baseball cap stayed
in."

"What else? Did any of the other doors open?"

"Ummm... Well, the only doors that opened were of the rooms
that Detective-san and Samidare-san entered, and no one else
entered or left any room."

At that time, the only people released by Nanamura with the

master key were me and Mifune, who sat at the corner of the
corridor as a watchman.

If Mifune’s testimony is accurate, it can be assumed that everyone

but us were still locked in their rooms.

However– the choke marks on Chage’s neck showed that he was

strangled to death directly by hand. If no one had entered or left
any room, then naturally no one was able to choke him.

"In other words, you mean it went like this:" Shinsen said, putting
his fingers on his knees. "The murderer killed Chage-san when
they went to his room at 10 PM, and when they were about to go
back, they happened to run into Nanamura-san and the others, so
they fled into the empty room in a hurry. Nanamura-san and the
others chased after them, but the murderer disappeared from the
empty room—"

"I guess so yeah."

Toyano'oh agreed.

"Hey, grandpa." Yozuru said in a very sweet, cloying voice.

"Speaking of disappearing from locked rooms, isn't that an escape
artist's specialty? Don't you know what technique was used there,
grandpa?"

"Who are you calling grandpa. I’m not yet at the age to be called
that by anyone." Toyano'oh said as he scratched his head. "That’s
right... I’ve been nicknamed 'The Japanese Copperfield'. There are
no locked rooms that I can't escape!"

"So you admit that you are the criminal?"

Yozuru grinned.

"Wha-wha-wha-what did you say! I have been locked in my room

the entire time, why am I the murderer?"

"Fufufu, you’re so flustered, I'm joking, grandpa. Right my dear?"

Yozuru said to the hiking bag in her arms.

Toyano'oh frowned and plopped his rear on the sofa.

Is the criminal really among these people?

It should be impossible for everyone locked in the guest rooms to

kill Chage.
The criminal rushed to the target's room before the detective to
kill him. This wasn’t difficult in itself, because the criminal wasn’t
restricted by the curfew. However, in this case, the criminal
shouldn’t have been able to return to their room after
committing the crime, because the watchman, Mifune, was in the
corridor. If her testimony is correct, then after the criminal
disappeared from the empty room, they probably didn’t return to
their room.

However, Nanamura released everyone from their respective

rooms, which means that every person was in their guest rooms,
which contradicts the fact that the criminal didn’t return to their
room.

This means that the criminal is not among these people, doesn’t
it?

The criminal of this ‘Black Challenge’ is indeed hiding somewhere

in this hotel, monitoring and controlling us from a distance.

"Hey, Kirigiri-chan."

I said to her sitting on the sofa next to me.

"You want to say 'the criminal isn’t among these people', right,
onēsama?"

Kirigiri whispered in my ear as if she didn't want the others

around her to hear.

"Uh... how did you know?"

"Just by looking at your eyes, Yui-onēsama. And I’m also starting
to think that maybe this is the case."

"Huh, then it really is..."

"It's hard to say right now. There are still many mysteries that
must be solved, such as how the criminal disappeared, and the
mystery of the locked room, and so on."

For some reason, Kirigiri’s eyes looked glittering.

She had been trained purely as a detective since she was very
little. No wonder she seems so energetic at the crime scene of this
case. After all, this is her battleground. Before that, maybe she
even suppressed this feeling in her heart. And now, she was
completely free from her shackles.

It’s very reassuring somehow.

"I have one thing I want to confirm."

Shinsen leaned forward on the sofa and raised his right hand to
speak.

"What is it, pops, I give you permission to speak."

Minase pointed at him and said.

"Nanamura-san and Samidare-san, you two stayed in the empty

room for 20 minutes, correct? May I ask what you were doing in
there?"

"Eh?" Does he suspect me? "Well... we were surprised when we

found out that the criminal had disappeared, so we investigated
the interior. It’s 1000% the truth, am I right, Nanamura-san?"
When I asked Nanamura, he raised his right hand slightly in
response.

"A full 20 minutes? You left Mifune-san in the hallway there

alone?"

"I- I was also very worried about Mifune-san’s safety! But she was
in a position where she can see anyone immediately even if they
approached her..."

"No, I don't mean to blame you for this. The bigger problem is on
Mifune-san’s side."

"Eh?"

"M-me? What about me?"

"Mifune-san was alone for 20 minutes, correct?"

"Yes... that’s right..."

I didn't understand what Shinsen's intention was with this

question and felt quite puzzled.

"So does this speculation of mine make sense? Samidare-san, the

figure you witnessed in the hallway was not the murderer, but an
accomplice hiding somewhere in this hotel. The real murderer is
Mifune-san."

"What? Me? What do you mean?"

"The accomplice deliberately appeared in front of the two

detectives, lured them out, and escaped into the empty room.
The accomplice disappeared by some means. The two detectives
were surprised by this, and they started checking the inside of the
room. In fact, They remained in the room for a full 20 minutes,
and those 20 minutes were the problem. During that time, there
was a person released by the detective who was free, and that
person was in the corridor– that was Mifune-san."

"But if Pumpkin-chan is the murderer, and she has the master key
in her hand, why wait for the detective to release her, right my
dear?"

Yozuru said to the hiking bag.

"No, she waited for the detective to come and release her,
volunteered to be the watchman, and stayed in the corridor. She
did all that to make this series of good impressions on others.
However, while the two detectives were investigating the empty
room, she wasn’t actually in the corridor."

"Then where was she?"

Minase said fiercely.

"Room '311', the room where Mr. Chage was murdered in."

"You mean, Mifune-san killed Chage-san while we were

investigating the empty room?"

I was astounded.

This is indeed– a possibility.

If she is the criminal, then she was perfectly capable of breaking

into Chage's room. After killing Chage within 20 minutes, she
simply returned to the corner of the corridor as if nothing had
happened...
"I- I'm, not the criminal! Uuuu!"

Mifune began to tremble. Seeing her look like a frightened little

animal, it’s really hard for me to imagine her committing such a
daring crime.

"But theoretically, you are the only one who could have."

Shinsen is still pressing hard.

"Please wait a minute. According to you, Mifune-san had to be

released very early, right?" I tried to refute him. "But we used
playing cards to determine the room allocation order. She
could've not been able to stay in her ideal room – that is, the
room closest to the detective..."

"In that case, she can just skip the crime that day. There are still
four more auctions, so there has to be a time where she gets a
room closer to the detective at least once."

I was instantly refuted.

So, the criminal really is... Mifune?

"Wait wait, It’s impossible for Pumpkinhead to be the criminal!"

Minase interjected.

"What do you mean?"

Shinsen asked in a calm manner.

"Shinsen-san, to put it simply, you think this Pumpkinhead is

‘pretending to be on watchman while she's not actually in the
corridor’, right? Unfortunately, that's not possible."
"Why is that?"

"Because she was talking to me from the corridor through the

door at that time."

"Ah– yes yes, indeed!"

Mifune suddenly remembered.

"At that time, there was noise outside the door, and the detective
wasn’t coming for a long time. I knocked on the door and
shouted, ‘Get me out of here.’ Then came the sound of
Pumpkinhead outside. I spoke to her quite a lot."

Mifune's position is indeed very close to Minase's room, and it is

possible to talk through the door.

"You guys kept talking for 20 minutes?"

Shinsen asked.

"No... only about 10 minutes, I think?"

Mifune nodded repeatedly.

"Then maybe she committed the crime within the remaining 10

minutes."

"That’s not possible." Yozuru retorted immediately. "Before

Pumpkin-chan shouted 'Detective-san'... about 5 minutes or so, I
also talked to her for a while. I heard a sound outside the room,
so I called through the door and she answered me. Right my
dear—?"
Yozuru's room is also at the corner of the corridor, the range
should be enough for them to talk.

"Is it possible that something like a walkie-talkie was used?

Mifune-san just put one on the floor, and used the other to talk to
you even if she was not there."

Shinsen is very calm, he can think of how to refute at once, it

looks like this person can't be underestimated.

"I don't know, but through the door I was hearing Pumpkin-chan's
voice a little closer at some times and a little farther away at
others, so I think she was there."

Yozuru said with a charming smile.

"I think so too."

Minase nodded.

"Is that so—" Shinsen thought for a while, then spoke again. "I
understand. We can safely say that it is impossible for Mifune-san
to carry out a crime. I withdrew my claim that Mifune-san is the
murderer. It seems that I made a mistake. I am very sorry."

Shinsen stood up and bowed.

Mifune pouted and glared at Shinsen, but she doesn't look like
she has any intention of condemning him.

We can say that both Minase and Yozuru have confirmed Mifune's
alibi.

Mifune was indeed watching from the corner of the corridor, and
the inference that she secretly killed Chage isn’t valid.
At the same time, her testimony –‘During the time I was on
watch, no one entered or left any room’– must be accepted as a
fact.

"But then it's not clear who the murderer really is." Toyano'oh
looked very tired, with his shoulders slumping. "My thoughts are
that the man who controlled Norman is hiding somewhere in this
hotel. They must've taken a secret path that only they knew to kill
Chage-shi."

"We investigated the room very carefully, and found no secret

passages."

I said.

"Then you didn't investigate thoroughly. Listen, escape methods

are always tricky. The magician's chains can be unlocked at once,
and where at first glance there seems to be nothing, there is
actually a secret passage or a secret compartment. "

"If you're so sure, why don't you go and check out the room
yourself." I said grumblingly. "Maybe you will discover something
that only experts can detect."

"Right... wait until I get some rest first."

Toyano'oh yawned and said. This man is really not in a hurry. He

thinks there won’t be any danger at least until tomorrow's
auction.

Or is it possible that he used escape magic to kill Chage?

Chage and Toyano'oh’s rooms are next to each other. If there's a
'Wall Trick' that we don't know about–

Toyano'oh rushed into the empty room, passed through the wall
marked with the ‘X’ to Chage’s room. Killed Chage who was
caught off guard. Next, he walked through another wall and
returned to his room of ‘310’.

—I wonder if this could have happened.

The man who killed many people in this hotel said:

"Someone was spying on me from inside the wall!"

There is also the ‘X’ mark on that wall. is it possible that the walls
hide some secret... Anyway, it's necessary to investigate the crime
scene in detail.

"Hey, Kirigiri-chan, let's investigate the third floor."

"Yes, I'm thinking about investigating it too, but it's better to wait
until morning."

"Why?"

"If we don't bring Nanamura-san with us, we can't unlock the

doors, it would be too troublesome to ask him for everything.
After 7 AM, we can move around freely, so let’s wait until then."

"But the criminal may take advantage of this time to destroy any
important evidence..."

"Then it's necessary to monitor whether anyone enters or exits

this lobby."
Kirigiri stood up from the sofa and suddenly walked towards the
corner of the lobby.

"Wait, where are you going?"

I hurried to catch up.

"There is no need to stay with them."

Kirigiri folded her skirt and sat down on the floor in the corner of
the lobby, hugging her knees. Immediately next to it is the door to
the lobby, and it’s the best place to keep an eye on people
entering and exiting from here.

"You're so uncooperative."

"It's not like that." Kirigiri retorted with an unhappy expression.

"I'm just cherry-picking."

"Hey, if the criminal really is among these people, there is really

no way to cooperate." I looked at the people sitting on the sofas. "
Kirigiri-chan, do you have a clue about the identity of the
criminal?"

"How can I know who the culprit is when I haven't even

investigated the corpse yet? I really need to go and see the corpse
soon." Kirigiri said something unlike what any middle school
student would say, and shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, Yui-
onēsama, I have a question for you."

"Hm?"

"About the figure you saw in the corridor... did you see anything
clearly about that person's appearance and figure?"
"Umm... because of the night, the light in the corridor was quite
dim, so I hardly saw anything. My eyesight isn’t very good too.
However, there was someone in the corridor. There is no doubt
about that. Mifune-san also saw it."

"You don't even know if they were male or female?"

"Yeah... That person disappeared around the corner in an

instant."

"What about the clothes? Was it a skirt or pants?"

"I don't think it was fluttering like a skirt at least... ah, but when
that person ran into the empty room of ‘312’, I remember that
the hem of their clothes floated up."

"Was it the hem of a coat or a top?"

"...When you say that, then it might be. It wasn’t very clear."

"You don't know anything. What were you looking at, onēsama."

"It couldn’t be helped. It's that kind of situation."

"If only onēsama looked at the criminal properly, maybe the case
would’ve been solved by now."

"That's right, but..."

I have no words to say.

So far, the ‘Black Challenge’ is being carried out according to the

culprit's plan. Although I'm not happy about it, I have to admit
that we are completely passive.
We must quickly find the criminal and bring this ‘Black Challenge’
to an end.

"Speaking of..." I remembered something. "When you entered

your room at 10 o'clock, Chage-san stopped me and told me some
strange things. At the time I thought he was talking nonsense
again, but now that I think about it, he might’ve wanted to send
me some kind of message..."

"What did he say?"

I told Kirigiri exactly what Chage told me.

"Shinsen-san is the Shinigami?"

"I think he was most likely talking nonsense."

"But that doesn't contradict what Shinsen-san said when he

introduced himself." Kirigiri said, staring at the floor intently.
"He’s always unconsciously drawn to death related places,
whether it comes from his own will or not, maybe that’s the case.
It's a feeling I can understand."

"I don't understand it at all." I shook my head feebly. "But the fact
that he was the only one who didn't receive an invitation to the
'Black Challenge' is concerning. I wonder if he is just an uninvited
visitor, or if he’s..."

The criminal?

If this is the case, it would be too simple. According to common

sense, the most suspicious person isn’t always the criminal, but...
"He may be an important person who will sway our fate in the
future."

"I rarely hear you say abstract words like 'fate'."

"Is that so. Yui-onēsama, you probably can’t imagine it, but I
actually like this kind of words."

"Ehhh— I expected you would disdainfully say that words like fate
and hope are ‘illogical’."

"I'm just interested in things that can't be explained by logic

alone."

Kirigiri said without emotion, turning her face to the side.

I checked the time and it was almost midnight.

The people sitting on the sofas naturally all looked nervous, with
their heads hanging down and without saying a word. Among
them, only Nanamura who owns the ‘Detective Rights’ was still
the same as usual, with his legs crossed. He has already suffered a
defeat at the hands of the criminal, and I don't know how he can
be so calm after that.

In any case, We can only wait till morning like this.

I wanted to chat with Kirigiri, but when I looked back, I found her
resting her chin on her lap, breathing steadily in her sleep.

She must be very tired.

I looked at the side of her sleeping face. I noticed her eyelashes

are long, no matter how I look at her, she has the sleeping face of
a 13 year old girl. Her pale cheeks look soft, and her slightly
parted lips add a striking red compared to her pale skin, which
looks to have no temperature.

When she takes off her guard, her expression becomes so

innocent and lovely... The mature expression she usually shows
must be filled with her steel determination to bravely face bloody
detevtive events and cases. The thought that she has been bound
by a predestined fate makes my heart ache. Before that, she
inadvertently revealed her confusion about her detective identity,
which I think is understandable.

Will she continue to live as a detective in the future?

Or, will she give up on it one day.

Either way... I hope she can at least keep her cute sleeping face.

While paying attention not to wake her up, I took out the Bunko
book from my backpack and started reading.

It’s necessary to monitor whether anyone enters or exits the

lobby. I’m very good at staying up late. When I was in middle
school, I wrote poems until morning several times. Of course, I
burnt my poetry copybook later.

Incidentally, the door to the lobby has been left open and the
door jammer (Nanamura's ballpoint pen) has been fitted for
future convenience, so anyone can come and go without having
the key.

I was reading the book while I fighting drowsiness when I

suddenly felt a slight pressure on my right shoulder.
It turned out that Kirigiri had fallen asleep leaning on me.

I couldn't help but want to caress her head, but in the end I gave
up on it.

I felt her weight and continued to read.

...When I woke up, I found myself face down on the floor.

My glasses had also fallen off and landed in front of me.

With a jolt, I quickly propped up my body and put my glasses back

on.

"You don't need to panic so much, onēsama."

Kirigiri was right next to me.

"E... Eh? I..."

It would be nice if all those things that had happened were just a
dream... I thought about that while looking around. Of course, the
reality before me is still the ruins of the hotel, and those familiar
faces were resting on the sofas.

"You don’t have good sleeping looks, Yui-onēsama."

Kirigiri said with a giggle.

She was holding my Bunko book in one hand.

"I fell asleep?"

"Yeah."
"I got afraid a little... I thought I fainted after being attacked..."

I looked at my phone.

It's almost 7 AM.

"The night time is almost over."

"I slept for a long time..." I said while rubbing my eyes. "Sorry,
Kirigiri-chan."

"No, it’s ok, and this book is surprisingly interesting."

Kirigiri closed the Bunko book and placed it next to me. The title
of this book is "Nagai Ie No Satsujin". Is it a detective's fate to
read mystery novels no matter what the circumstances are?

"Then I’ll lend you the sequel next time." I stood up and did a
stretch. "After staying here for a while, I feel like my vitality is
being reduced bit by bit."

"I really hope this case can be solved soon."

Kirigiri also stood up, and started imitating my stretching

exercises.

I looked towards the waiting area and saw that they were all
asleep on the sofas. Mifune had rolled off the sofa and fell on the
floor. I don't think they were killed... but they have been here for
two days, they must definitely be more tired than us.

"At least during the time we've been watching, no one has been in
or out of the lobby."

Kirigiri quickly went out of the lobby.

I hurried followed her.

We went up the stairs and entered the guest rooms area on the
third floor. The lights are still very dim, retaining that creepy
atmosphere of the night. I remembered the dark shadow of the
criminal I saw at the corner of the corridor, and my body started
to shiver.

Kirigiri walked straight into the depths of the corridor. Just as we

were walking around the corner, the lights suddenly turned on.

I checked the time and it’s now 7 AM. It seems that when fixed
times are reached, the lights will switch on and off automatically.

"First is checking the body of Chage-san."

Kirigiri opened the door of the second room from the far side of
the corridor, which is room ‘311’. The door can be opened
without a key card.

"Has the situation in the room been changed?"

Hearing Kirigiri's question, I checked the room.

Chage’s corpse was placed there like when I first saw it, sitting on
the right side of the bed. The shocked expression on his face
hadn't changed either, the only thing that had changed was
probably his face which became paler.

Nothing changed.

"It's exactly the same as when the body was found."

"Really, that's good."

Kirigiri took out black gloves from her uniform pocket and put
them on both hands, probably to prevent leaving fingerprints.

"Black gloves are rare. Police and forensics use white gloves..."

"Because I’m a detective."

Kirigiri said so, and walked to the body.

While she was examining the body, I idly investigated the interior,
but nothing new was discovered. Maybe a button fell on the
ground... I thought so, but things weren't so coincidental. There
was nothing suspicious on the floor.

The sports bag placed in front of the bed is stuffed with a change
of clothes, all of which were baseball uniforms.

"There is no mistake in this murder. The immediate cause of

death was strangulation by hand."

Kirigiri stared at the body closely.

It's a good thing she's so calm... As expected of a detective with

the number ‘9’.

I gave a nod from a distance.

"I'm just curious about a few things."

"What?"

"In addition to the strangulation marks, there are traces of a rope

near the jaw."

"In other words, the victim's neck was strangled twice?

"I don't know if it was separate or at the same time." Kirigiri said
as she brushed her three-strand braid that had fallen on her
shoulder. "The strangulation marks... are also very unusual."

"Unusual…?"

"Generally, if a person was strangled to death by hand, at least

the fingerprints of the criminal will be left on the victim's neck."

"Yeah."

"For example, if I try to strangle Yui-onēsama—"

Kirigiri moved closer to me, she stood on her tiptoes for a

moment and reaches her hands out to my neck. Her gloved
fingertips touched my neck and it tickled a little. I desperately
resisted making strange noises.

"Either choke like this from the front, or choke sneakily from
behind..."

"So the crime can't be committed without getting close to the

victim."

"Right, but that's not the problem." Kirigiri said, pointing to the
strangulation marks on the corpse. "If you choke someone's neck
like I did just now, the thumb will definitely be in front. But
judging from the marks on Mr. Chage's body, the thumb is
downwards."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

A human with upside down fingers?

An… an alien?
"Like this."

Kirigiri moved to the other side of the bed, then knelt on the bed,
approaching the corpse. Her head is resting on the bed behind
Chage which has his head resting on the other edge of the bed,
and looking up at the ceiling. Kirigiri came to a position where she
could look down at the head of the body.

Then, she stretched both her hands out to the body.

"Choking his neck from behind like this."

Kirigiri made a fake choking motion and got off the bed.

Indeed, for a person facing upwards, as long as you approach him

from the direction of his head, then choke his neck, the
strangulation marks will be upside down.

"So... when Chage-san was resting his head against the bed, the
criminal secretly approached him from across the bed and
strangled him to death, am I getting this right?"

"From the current situation alone, it should be like this."

"That's weird." I said, looking around the room again. "If Chage-
san was resting by the bed... then he couldn't have been unaware
when the criminal came in through the door of the room. Could it
be that he slept so deeply to the point he didn't notice? In that
case, It's unnatural for the criminal to go around to the other side
of the bed and choke his neck. If Chage-san didn't notice the
criminal, then the criminal could’ve just choked his neck from the
front, so why bother."
"Yes. Having said that, under the circumstances at the time, it
should be impossible for Chage-san to sleep deeply. After all,
there was no telling when the culprit was going to attack."

I suddenly thought of something.

If the criminal came in through the door, Chage would notice that
immediately. And, according to Mifune's testimony, we can
already be sure that no one entered or left the room through the
door.

But if we assum the criminal came through the wall on the left...

Could the criminal sneak up from behind Chage and strangle him
to death?

The wall on the left—

Next door is the mysterious room ‘312’ where the criminal

disappeared.

"Kirigiri-chan... Do you think humans can walk through walls..."

"What's wrong, Yui-onēsama, Not only humans, but even

capybaras can't pass through walls."

"But this murder case can only happen through walls!"

I started to check the walls.

Of course, I have examined them thoroughly before, but I might

have possibly missed it...

"I wonder if the whole wall can rotate around like the ones in
ninja residences?"
"It doesn't look like there is such a mechanism."

"The secret must be hidden somewhere. After all, this room is

already strange." I said, scanning the wall. "Obviously, the Crime
Victims’ Relief Committee asked someone to modify it. How else
could there be such prison-like rooms in this hotel."

"Yes... they modified the building for this game, there’s no doubt
about that." Kirigiri agreed. "However, since inspecting the walls
resulted in nothing, then the answer should be somewhere else."

"Somewhere else... huh."

Indeed, even if there is a hidden door in the wall, the switch does
not necessarily have to be nearby. It could be in the bathroom, or
it could be in a corner on the ceiling.
But no matter how much more I searched, I didn't find anything
similar to that...

Kirigiri began to check Chage’s luggage. She found a mobile

phone, but she didn't seem to have any interest in it, so she put it
back. Then she found a notebook, I ran through the contents of
the notebook with Kirigiri.

It looks to be the subject of an interview... it’s full of things that

make me feel baffled, such as a UFO sighting in some country, a
meteorite fall, confirmation of a certain new military weapon, and
so on.

"According to the notes written by this man, the human race has
faced extinction-level crises several times."

Kirigiri said impatiently.

"Another one of those conspiracy theories he talked about?"

"Yeah, it seems that he was quite keen on collecting materials for

'the demise of mankind'."

Kirigiri put the notebook back.

The demise of mankind– I wonder if that will happen in the

future.

Speaking of, Nanamura once said that when a Triple-Zero rank

detective becomes a criminal, a national level response plan
should be developed... If that’s true, if the chairman of the Crime
Victims’ Relief Committee is a Triple-Zero, doesn’t that mean
that a catastrophe is underway?
Kirigiri suddenly picked up the piece of paper lying on the bed.

"Was this note on the bed from the beginning?"

—The note reads: ‘First Target Revenge Successful!’

"No, this note was actually crumpled up and stuffed in the body's
mouth. It's really eerie."

"In the mouth?"

"Yeah, that's how we found it."

"Is that so... I’m finding this case increasingly puzzling," Kirigiri
said, clutching her arm. "One thing I want to confirm. When you
stepped into this room, Yui-onēsama, was Chage-san really
dead?"

"Yes, Nanamura-san also said that Chage-san is dead."

"It doesn't matter what he said. Yui-onēsama, in your opinion,

was Chage-san dead at that time?"

"I don't know. I made it clear beforehand that I’m not used to
corpses as you are. I don't know if he was dead or pretending to
be dead... But if I have to say, I think he should’ve been dead,
because his pupils didn’t react."

"That's enough, onēsama, I'm sure you'll make it through the

changeover to '9'."

"These murder cases really make me sick."

I said with a bitter smile.

"When the body was initially discovered, Chage-san was actually
still alive– there shouldn’t be any other possibility. He faked his
own death for some reason, and then was killed by the criminal
after the others left."

Kirigiri listed the possible scenarios, and then denied it, talking to
herself non-stop.

"Yui-onēsama, there really isn't any change in this room?"

"Yeah, I guarantee that."

"Right…"

Kirigiri looked around the room while clutching her arms.

I surveyed the interior with her and thought back on the case.

"Hey hey, Kirigiri-chan, you don’t think Nanamura-san is the

criminal, right?"

I thought that was a rather absurd statement myself.

However, considering the situation at the time– Nanamura was

the first person to set foot on the crime scene of the murder, I
have to say, the possibility of him being the criminal is quite high.

He used the master key obtained by the ‘Detective Rights’ to

enter the room where Chage was and killed him, and then
pretended to be the first witness and told me Chage was dead–

I don't know what his motive was for doing this, but, It’s possible
that he took the opportunity to use the ‘Black Challenge’
development process to kill. The figure we saw in the corridor was
actually the criminal. Nanamura cleverly used this situation to kill
Chage and blamed the criminal for the crime.

"That’s impossible."

This idea of mine was shot down by Kirigiri in one sentence.

"But there’s no other possibility. Leaving aside the motive, only

Nanamura-san could’ve killed—"

"No, it’s impossible for Nanamura-san to commit murder, because

he didn’t have enough time. Nanamura-san only stayed on the
crime scene for two or three minutes, right? He couldn't have
strangled a person in such a short time."

"Ah, that’s right..."

"It takes at least 10 minutes to suffocate an adult man by

strangulation. Nanamura-san shouldn’t have had that time."

"—Indeed so."

I even suspected the detective, which really made me feel

embarrassed.

In that case– who is the criminal?

Are they really among us?

After the night hours began, Nanamura and I basically acted

together, so it’s safe to say it’s impossible for him to commit the
crime. Of course, I’m not the criminal either.

Mifune was alone in the corridor for about 20 minutes, but

Minase and Yozuru in the nearby rooms testified that she had an
alibi. In addition, Mifune's testimony can also prove that Minase
and Yozuru stayed in their rooms, so it should be correct.

The problem lies with the remaining three, Toyano'oh, Shinsen

and Kirigiri.

After the incident, Nanamura released them from their rooms.

But during the period before they were released, it’s impossible
to prove that they had been in their rooms.

"Yui-onēsama, why do you look so serious?" Kirigiri leaned over to

me and stared at my face closely. "Could it be, you are wondering
if I’m the criminal again?"

"That isn’t true!"

I never doubted her at all.

I trust her very much.

"In that case, you’re too incompetent as a detective. Onēsama, a

detective must suspect everyone equally, even their own
relatives. As long as the possibility cannot be logically denied, it
must be investigated to the end."

"Is this also part of the Kirigiri family tradition?"

"Yes."

Kirigiri said proudly with her head held high.

"That means you also think I might be the criminal."

"No I'm not." Kirigiri said, a little flustered. "Because I have
logically dismissed the possibility that onēsama is the criminal, so I
wouldn't think so."

"Really?"

"Really, believe me."

Kirigiri said with a troubled expression.

It was pointless to press this any further, so I didn't pursue it.

A detective who doubts everyone equally even the relatives–

I wonder if she can do that.

No, she can do it, because she is Kirigiri Kyōko.

What if I was the criminal?

She will definitely point the finger of suspicion at me accurately.

"In the end, it's just like what the 'Black Challenge' preview said.
Both the 'disappearance' and the 'locked room' tricks have been
realized. This room really is a complete locked room mystery."

I turned my face away from Kirigiri to change the subject.

"Is it really a locked room mystery?"

"Could there be a more perfect locked room than this? The door
was locked, there was a person watching outside, and there is no
secret passage; the window is small and too difficult to pass
through, not to mention the iron bars on it. All this is not a 100%
perfect locked room mystery?"
"I think it's about 90% at best." Kirigiri said, pointing to the
window. "At least there is this gap in the locked room."

The iron barred window—

It might be because the sky was already bright, and the window
looked a little white, but there was no sign of a clear sky at all,
only a gloomy gray one could be seen.

"Even capybaras can't get through those bars."

But I think a child capybara should still be able to pass through.

"But that’s the only gap."

"Let me take a look."

I walked over to the wall and looked up at the window.

I should be able to see outside by stepping on the bed, but the

feet of the bed are fixed to the floor, so there is no way to drag it
to the wall.

So I used my pride and joy, which is my jumping power, grabbed

the iron bars, and used the pull-up technique to pull my body
upwards to look out.

It was pitch black outside last night, and nothing was visible, but
now I can see the mountains shrouded in morning mist. There are
not only no other people nearby, but also no man-made thing in
sight.

I put my face close to the iron bars and looked down, but I
couldn't see the ground at all.
"There’s nothing."

"are the iron bars strong? Can't you take them off?"

"I can’t... mmm—"

I was exhausted and my feet hit the ground.

"Are there any buildings or rooms around?"

"If there were, we wouldn’t have needed to climb up to see it.

There is nothing to see but nature."

In addition, we also checked the window of room ‘301’ later, and

there were indeed no structures nearby. The window is just a
small hole in the cement wall. Looking out from the window,
there is only a stretch of mountains. They must have been like this
for hundreds of years.

Next, we came to the innermost room of ‘312’.

Kirigiri spent an hour inspecting the room, but she did not find any
secret passages or strange switches or the like. The criminal
disappeared in this room like a puff of smoke, but the more we
investigated, the more we realized that this was simply
impossible.

With doubts shrouding my heart, I looked at the mark on the wall.

"I give up." I threw up my hands. "What on earth does this X

mean."

"As you can see, this mark is supposed to indicate the dead."

"'First Target Revenge Successful!', right..."

I sat down on the bed and shook my head weakly.

How many people are still the targets of this ‘Black Challenge’.

I counted with my fingers, and suddenly noticed something.

Eight people are still alive.

Among them, Detective Nanamura came at the call of the

challenge letter, so I should be able to exclude him from being a
target. Kirigiri and I who followed him can’t be the target either.

There are five people left.

If the criminal is among them, then remove the criminal and there
are four remaining.

Killing four people in the remaining four auctions... It may not be

impossible for this case's criminal. However, it's important to
consider the possibility that the target will bid for the ‘Detective
Rights’ and that the target will be protected by the detective, the
criminal can't afford to kill other unrelated people.

Is it safe to assume that me and Kirigiri are within a safe zone...

No, it's hard to tell.

The target may only be one person. In that case, the criminal may
also try to get rid of those of us who are in the way.

The life-threatening challenge is not over yet.

I came out of the room with Kirigiri.

The night hours have passed, so in terms of rules, our personal
safety is guaranteed. At least until 6 PM when the auction begins,
so we can consider this our free time.

"Kirigiri-chan, why don't we take a shower while we can? It's too

dangerous to take a shower at night, so this is the only time we
can do it..."

"It's okay to not take a shower for a week—"

"Nope! Girls are not supposed to think like that!"

As a result, we decided to take a shower in the bathroom of Room

‘302’. When I asked Kirigiri if she wanted me to wash her, she
blatantly refused, so we took turns.

Since there was no outlet in the room for us to use the hairdryer, I
dried Kirigiri’s hair with a towel. Kirigiri’s hair is soft and smooth,
just like the most delicate silk thread made by God in this world.

"I'll braid it for you, I've always wanted to try that."

"I can do it myself."

"It’s alright, It’s alright."

We sat side by side on the bed, I braided Kirigiri’s hair, and she
meekly let me do it.

"What are we going to do at the next auction?"

"You have to be more cautious in your bids. Since it was proven

that the idea of people with 'Detective Rights' saving people who
don't have 'Detective Rights' isn’t tenable.... everyone will
definitely bid for the 'Detective Rights' to protect themselves."
"This time we must shoot for 'Detective Rights' as a detective."

"Right... Even if a murder happened, as long as you have the

'Detective Rights', you can be the first to step into the crime
scene..."

I see, that's one of the benefits.

Listening to the voices of the dead is also the job of the detective.

However, if possible, it would be best if there were no dead.

This is probably the difference between the number ‘9’ and the
number ‘8’. ‘9’ specializes in murder cases, while ‘8’ is one step
away from murder and is a detective who rescues people who
have lost their personal freedom.

"Speaking of which, I wonder what Nanamura-san plans to do. He

spent all 100 million at yesterday's auction."

"About that…" because I was fiddling with Kirigiri's hair, she only
cast her eyes over. "Originally, according to the rules of the 'Black
Challenge', the detective summoned is a player in the game, and
they are indispensable, correct? Then what about this game.
According to the current rules, the role of the detective has
changed due to the 'Detective Rights' auctions, but I believe the
original rule of 'the detective summoned is indispensable' is still
valid."

"In other words... Even if he didn't get the 'Detective Rights,'

Nanamura-san will never be in danger?"
"That's what I think. If it's okay to kill the detective just because
that kind of rule can take effect, then the foundation of the 'Black
Challenge' will be shaken."

"Umm– yeah, indeed, the people in the organization seem to be

very strict in that regard."

"Nanamura-san should’ve also understood this, which is why he

was so reckless at the auction."

"I see, so he didn’t put in that large sum of money because of a

momentary fever."

...But what about after that?

As a player in the game, his personal safety is guaranteed. But

that said, if he doesn’t get the ‘Detective Rights’, then his actions
during the night hours will be restricted. This way, he is now
completely deprived of his detective capabilities.

What in the world was Nanamura thinking. If he was the fastest to

win the ‘Detective Rights’, he was also the fastest to quit the
other auctions. I really don't get him.

This kind of person known as an ace detective is really

troublesome.

"What should we do to win the next auction? Do we cooperate

like last time?"

"In order for that method to hold, one condition should’ve been
met, and that is to protect everyone's lives, and now that has
been broken. Even if we did win using a lot of money, it won’t be
possible to keep it going. And, in the latter half of the game, all
our money will probably be used up, and then we’ll be in a state
of helplessness."

"So... what should we do then..."

I wasted 5 million at yesterday’s auction, while everyone else still

has a full 100 million in their hands.

There are still four auctions left, and 25 million is probably the
maximum. If I bid more than 25 million for the next ‘Detective
Rights’, the probability of losing at the remaining auctions will
increase. Therefore, in order to win consecutively, I must try to
lower the bidding amount to below 25 million.

Having said that, this calculation doesn’t seem to apply to my

current situation.

"Is there any way to guarantee a win in this kind of auction?"

"Hard to say…"

Kirigiri was lost in thought.

"Ahhh— what a complicated case this turned out to be."

I laid down my back on the bed. There is only one light on the
concrete ceiling, and nothing else– this time the ‘Black Challenge’s
method deals with the detective in a very comprehensive way.
Imprisoning the detective in a closed environment and holding an
auction every day at a slow pace can not only deprive the
detective of their rights, but also delaying it to the end of the
deadline, presumably this is the enemy's purpose.
In the ‘Black Challenge’, the only way for the criminal to win is to
avoid being identified by the detective. However, this doesn’t
mean that the criminal have to just escape, but to keep the
detective trapped in a labyrinth of reasonings for the stipulated
168 hours.

I guess that's how we ended up with this ‘Black Challenge’.

"Hey, Yui-onēsama, the other one too."

Kirigiri looked down at me lying on the bed and flicked her hair at
me.

It looks like she wants me to braid her hair on both sides.

"Ah, sorry sorry."

I propped up and continued to braid her hair.

"Rather than finding a way to win at the auctions, it’s probably

best for us to solve the case outright."

Kirigiri said so, but I’m at a loss about the case.

I guess I'm not cut out to be a detective after all…

When Kirigiri and I returned to the lobby, several people had

already disappeared from the waiting area. Only the two women,
Mifune and Yozuru, were sleeping on the sofa, and none of the
men were there.

Nanamura, Minase, Toyano'oh, and Shinsen were sitting in a circle

in the cafeteria eating a meal that felt a bit like a picnic, a very
cozy look. If not for the current situation, mealtimes like this
would’ve been very happy.

However, each one of them has the same haggard look on his
face.

"Ah, where did you go just now?"

Minase noticed us and said.

"Resting in our rooms upstairs for a bit."

"You should also eat your rice while you can."

Toyano'oh said while chewing on the retort-packed rice.

I guess they are relieved that night time is over.

Although we wanted to talk to Nanamura about what to do in the

future, we never found a chance to be alone with him, so Kirigiri
and I had no choice but to give up and returned to the lobby.

Kirigiri and I each took our dry food and some water and returned
to room ‘302’, where we felt most at ease. We ate a tasteless
meal together in the quiet room without a word.

We sat side by side on the bed and spent some time doing
nothing.

We were able to share silence as if we were friends who had

known each other many years ago.

Probably because we have experienced life-threatening situations

together, I developed a feeling like it’s for granted to be with
Kirigiri. In fact, I can describe the relationship between her and
me over the past month as wonderful and strong.

Because of that—

I think I can now ask about the things she’s most reluctant to
mention to anyone.

"Kirigiri-chan."

"What is it, Yui-onēsama?"

"About your father..."

Her eyes got slightly more serious.

However, as expected from a Kirigiri, Kirigiri remained

expressionless and didn’t show the slightest wavering.

"Just like what you imagine, Yui-onēsama, He also has the blood
of the Kirigiri family running through his veins, he is a detective–
or that should’ve been the case, but he is no longer now."

"So he got etangled in a case..."

This is one of the mysteries of the Kirigiri family.

The Kirigiri family name was passed directly from grandfather to

granddaughter, skipping a generation in between– and the reason
is…

"He died in the line of duty."

"So that’s what happened..."

"This is actually a lie." Kirigiri continued blankly. "If that was the
case, maybe it would've been better, I would’ve respected him
and not despise him so much, but the reality is that he is still
alive."

"Wh-what, he’s alive, I'm surpried." I put on a calm face to keep

myself from getting emotional. "But, why do you despise him..."

"Abandoning the Kirigiri family name, abandoning his family,

abandoning me, such a person, it’s impossible for me not to
despise him, impossible."

"Your father ran away from home?"

"Yes, he ran away. Despite being born as a Kirigiri, he never

wanted to become a detective, then finally left everything behind
and ran away."

"Right... so you became a detective and inherited the Kirigiri

family business."

"That’s right."

"Where is your father now, and what is he doing?"

"He works as a teacher at Hope’s Peak Academy."

"Eeeh? The Hope’s Peak Academy?"

It’s the high school recognized by the government as having

privileges to search for high school students with super high
school level talents from all over the country to cultivate talents
for the future of the country–
Although he abandoned his family, he really found an amazing
place to end up in.

It's ironic that the person who betrayed the talents of the Kirigiri
family, also works in an institution that cultivates talents. But, is it
precisely because he knows the weight of talents that he’s able to
teach others about it?

"But it's not like your father dislikes you, right?"

"Who knows. He often argued with grandfather because of me,

the two of them always argued over my education."

Generally speaking, no one would like to see adults get into

arguments over them. The reason why she showed such
precocious attitude may also because that environment forced
her to ‘mature up’.

There is no doubt that she has an outstanding talent as a

detective, but it's also true that this talent restrains her.

The reason why she is so attached and obedient to the concept of

the detective is probably because in the complicated situation of
the Kirigiri family, she has always chosen to ‘adapt to the
environment’.

She is indeed a naturally born detective.

At the same time however, she is also a girl who had no choice
but to be a detective.

"It's just that, when... mother was alive, grandpa and that man
never argued with each other, probably because mother's
existence eased the conflict between them." Kirigiri lowered her
eyes and sighed. "Looking back now, mother's death may have
been the reason that man had to run away from home, because
the Kirigiri family doesn't need a person who isn’t a detective."

"How did your mother pass away?"

"Sickness. She was always frail and sick, and died when I was 7
years old. The image of my mother in my memories is her pale
smiling face, on a hospital bed—" Kirigiri looked at the wall and
seemed to recall the past. "In the end, I didn't get to see my
mother one last time. At that time, I happened to be abroad with
my grandpa, but my grandpa gave priority to completing his
detective work, so we didn't return home. And I... learned from
him."

"—You learned from him?"

She nodded.

‘Detective work comes first, even over the death of a family

member’– At the age of 7, she had been confronted with the
creed of the Kirigiri family.

"Of course that man disapproved of grandpa's actions, and then

began to completely reject the Kirigiri family. Maybe what he
really wanted to reject was the Kirigiri's blood in his own body."

She said in an unsentimental tone, as she always does.

"Your father never worked as a detective?"

"He had been taken by grandpa to work, but he never had the will
to become a detective himself."

"Then he never registered in the Detective Library either?"

"It's impossible for him to register. For him, the Detective Library
is probably the most terrifying place in the world." Kirigiri said,
casting a tentative look at me. "Although I think it's unlikely, do
you think he is the fourth Triple-Zero rank detective whose record
was erased?"

"No... umm, well, I just got this perspective from listening to

you..."

"It's impossible." she answered without hesitation. "Even if that

man became a detective, he would’ve only risen to rank ‘5’ or ‘6’
at best, no higher than that."

What an awful thing to say.

"Since he’s from the Kirigiri family bloodline, maybe he also has
some hidden talents."

"That man loathes detectives to the extreme, so the premise that

he registered in the Detective Library simply doesn’t hold up."

Although he is from the bloodline of the Kirigiri family, it seems

that he cannot be the Triple-Zero detective whose record was
erased.

Who is that former detective who disappeared?

"Speaking of which, have you asked your grandpa about that

former detective?"
"—I did."

"What was the reply?"

"He didn't tell me, told me to find out myself."

"—Is this also part of the detective’s training."

"Yes. But he did tell me one thing– the nickname of the former
detective."

"Nickname?"

"Yes, what the former detective is best at is disguise. He is so

deceptive that no one has ever seen his true face. I heard that
detectives call this kind of unidentified person– 'Variationist'

"Another exaggerated nickname."

"The situations that are most troublesome are when detectives'

abilities are used to commit crimes. If that former detective really
wanted to play games like 'Onigokko' or 'Hide and Seek', then it's
unlikely that anyone would be a match for them."

"But haven't we learned so much information already?" Although

I mainly knew all of it due to her. "With a little extra effort, we can
do it!"

"You’re so optimistic, Yui-onēsama."

"Since I don't have much talent, the least I can be is optimistic."

"Anyway– it's useless to say anything else if we don't solve this

‘Black Challenge’ first."

That's true.
Today’s auction is getting closer and closer, and we must deal
with the case and the auction at the same time.

Aaaa, my head is a mess...

Before the time of the auction, Kirigiri and I stayed in my room to

develop countermeasures.

In conclusion, we didn’t think of any decent countermeasures.

During the auction, the atmosphere of the scene in real-time will

affect the results of the auction to a large extent. Yesterday’s
auction was a good example.

In the end, all we did was wait until that time.

Without psychic reasoning ability, it would be impossible to win at

the auctions.

6 PM finally came.

The time has come, so we went to the cafeteria serving as the

auction venue, and from the balcony came noises.

Looking up, the participants were all gathered around the dark
portrait painting.

"What's wrong, everyone?"

I shouted from below, and Shinsen responded.

"There is a strange doll here. It wasn’t here during the day..."

I went up to the balcony with Kirigiri.

The doll is placed directly below the portrait. It’s a French doll,
about 50 centimeters tall, and wears a cute looking dress with
aqua blue frills.

However– for some reason, the face of this doll is like an old
woman.

Generally speaking, the faces of such dolls are that of cute little
children, but this doll's face looks like an old woman.

The doll is sitting against the wall.

"Good evening, everyone, it's past 6 o'clock. I think it's time to

start today's auction."

Just like last time, an electronically synthesized voice came out of

a speaker that’s installed somewhere.

"Hey, you bastard, where are you! Come out!"

Minase yelled at the ceiling.

"Norman said that he won't come out again, I think..."

Toyano'oh looked back at the portrait. Yesterday this LCD screen

was still a portrait of Norman, but today it’s pitch black.

"I’m here."
"Haa? Where!"

"Sitting right in front of you all."

"This hag doll? Who are you, bitch!"

"I’m Norman's mother, and I will be hosting the auction in place of

my son today."

"Shut up, I’ll break you!"

Minase wanted to kick the doll into the air.

All of us hurried up to stop him.

"We don't know what will happen if you mess with it like that."
Shinsen said. "The doll might have a bomb inside."

"How could there be that kinda thing."

"No, I have a bad feeling about it. In fact, Uozumi-san was shot
and killed yesterday. We don't know what form the murderer will
attack with."

"...Ughhh, I’ll believe in your ‘bad feeling’... Damnit, I guess I have

to back off. You shitty hag!"

Minase cursed the doll viciously, and turned around.

"Are all the Normans coming out to play?" Yozuru still held the
huge sum of money to her chest. "It won't help if everyone is
gathered here, so let's all go downstairs."

Yozuru walked off the balcony and sat down on a chair in the
cafeteria.
We followed close behind.

Leaving the doll that claimed to be Norman's mother in place.

"Then, please do your best at this time’s auction for the ‘Detective
Rights’ too. That's all I have to say, and I wish you all the best.."

The electronic synthesized voice stopped.

Did the criminal set it with a timer in advance, or does it mean

that the criminal is someone other than us, and they are
operating the voice from somewhere.

"So who’s going to start?"

Nanamura began to run the auction like a host.

"Hey, everyone, I have a proposal..."

Toyano'oh, with the tuxedo, stood up.

"What is it gramps."

"Isn't this a good time to consider that it's better for everyone to
cooperate and give up the 'Detective Rights'?"

"Give up……?"

I was taken aback and asked in return.

"That’s right. Specifically, a joint boycott of the auction. Perhaps

out of fear of that unidentified murderer, we were too obedient
to the rules they set. When you think about it, it doesn't make
sense for us to listen to that murderer at all, right? And there's no
point in continuing to attend the auctions. When the night time
period arrives, how about we ignore the curfew and all gather in
the lobby and unite to protect ourselves together?"

"I see... As long as everyone is in one place, even if the criminal

shows up, we can fight back!"

Minase said suddenly.

"Huh— but what if the Murderer has a gun in their hand? If we

break the rules, they might shoot us all."

Mifune said with a look of fear.

Indeed, if the murderer shows up with a gun, then we have no

way to resist them.

"We can set up barriers in the lobby. In the guest rooms, the
doors open outwards, which is of no use, but here we can seal the
door and line up sofas and the like..."

"I wonder if that kind of barricade will be effective... I can only

imagine a dark future."

Shinsen frowned.

"It’s okay, I have already figured out how to deal with the gun."

"Hoo, what are you going to do, gramps?"

Minase asked, his gaze dripping with suspicion.

"The windows in the lobby are also completely blocked, right?

Which means that sunshine can't come in. What would happen if
you let the lights go out? It would be pitch black, even if they have
a gun, they won’t find their targets. What's more, the lobby is so
spacious. Bullets are hard to hit with at all."

Maybe— he has a point.

How can we make the lights go out, and how do we repel the
criminal in total darkness, all these need further consideration,
but it’s reasonably doable– maybe.

"Everyone, how long are you going to give in to the murderer? I've
had enough of it. The most effective way to deal with such
childish criminals is to ignore them, to let them think that it’s
boring to play with us... Let them have these thoughts! As long as
we spend The remaining 87 hours at the lobby eating and
drinking, everyone can leave safely!"

Toyano'oh’s words became more and more excited.

Before we knew it, we were listening to his speech.

"A joint boycott. I see, this might be our new approach."

Nanamura said with his arms folded.

"Then there is no need to bid this time?" Mifune asked no one in

particular. "That machine is so scary."

"Isn’t it better to go into that compartment too?" Minase said. "At

least one person must go in, or else the siren won't ring until 10
o'clock?"

"...Yeah, then let’s all enter the compartment in order. If only one
person enters the compartment, everyone else will worry that
that person might do something fishy. If everyone enters, they
won’t be as afraid."

In this way, starting with the person closest to the compartment,

we entered one by one. Because this was already the second
auction, everyone got the hang of it and proceeded quickly.

It was my turn in a blink of an eye.

I tried not to spend too much time, and quickly entered and came
out of the compartment.

That'll do…

For real though?

The boycott tactic– will it go well or not?

The last person to enter the bidding compartment is Kirigiri.

After she came out of the compartment, the siren sounded ten
minutes later, announcing the end of the auction.

It's finally time.

The result is displayed on the LCD screen where the portrait is

located.

Today’s auction results:

Minase Yūzen 5,000 Ten-Thousand
Toyano'oh Seiunsai 3,000 Ten-Thousand
Samidare Yui 1,500 Ten-Thousand
Mifune Meruko 1,100 Ten-Thousand
Shinsen Mikado 1,000 Ten-Thousand
Yozuru Sae 700 Ten-Thousand
Kirigiri Kyōko 0 Ten-Thousand

"Y-you guys... lied to me!"

Toyano'oh turned red in the face with anger.

This auction is completely messed up.

Toyano'oh is to blame for everything.

"You are the liar here, gramps! What joint boycott? You took the
opportunity to through in 30 million!"

Except for Kirigiri, everyone else invested a lot of money.

so no one thought to support Toyano'oh‘s idea.

"Grandpa, you were too fishy." Yozuru said in a sweet voice while
shaking her head. "You've proved that nothing in this world is
more trustworthy than money, fufu."

Honestly, I didn't expect everyone to invest so much money.

I originally thought that putting in a full 15 million would definitely

make me claim the ‘Detective Rights’...

"Alriiight, tonight’s detective is me."

Minase said in a victory pose.

"You fucking... I won’t forgive you!"

"Too bad for you, gramps, the results can't be changed. Oh jeez...
is that really a good attitude to have towards me?" Minase raised
his bidding card. "I won't be helping you, alright?"

"Ugh... how despicable!"

"It’s both our faults, you lying geezer!" Minase grabbed

Toyano'oh’s collar and pushed him hard to knock him away. "I'll
tell you up front. I’m not gonna be a detective. I bought this
'Detective Rights' just to protect myself. I’m free to use it however
I want."

Minase said with a smirk on his face.

He really is a person of low morals...

At this rate, I’ll start hating human beings in general.

"By the way, I’ve already thought of a way to win at this auction.
I’m announcing here in advance that I will definitely win next
time, and I will leave from here alive with a large sum of money.
As for your lives. I don’t care at all!"

"W-wait a sec, you're not willing to save us?"

Mifune began to panic.

"Well... pumpkinhead, if you promise to do me a favor tonight, I

won’t mind saving you."

"I will! I will do that!"

"Come on!" Yozuru tapped Mifune's head lightly. "How are you
letting men use you, Pumpkin-chan. It’s the other way around,
women should use men. That's the way of life in this universe...
Hey, Minase-san, if you give me 10 million, I can do you a favor for
one night, how about that?"

"Huh? You want me to pay?"

"Isn't this the way the world works? You can't go against the laws
of the universe, am I right Handsome-san."

"Ugh..."

Is he hesitating?

I’ve had enough of this game.

I took my eyes off of them and walked over to Nanamura.

"Nanamura-san, do you already have a plan to identify the

criminal?"

"Hm? Oh, I’m almost done solving this case."

"Really?" I felt like I finally found a savior. "When? When will you
say ‘the criminal is you’?"

"Well... we gotta wait until the time is right."

I don’t get it.

Nanamura, who once claimed that he would solve the case as fast
as possible, has always been standing still after coming here.

The fact that he's so relaxed means that he's waiting for...
something to happen?

Maybe he hasn’t figured out the identity of the criminal...

No, we can't keep relying on Nanamura. He's not our leader.

"Kirigiri-chan, I didn't get the 'Detective Rights' again...what
should we do now?"

"No need to panic, onēsama, I have an idea."

"B-but, Kirigiri-chan! What on earth are we going to do?"

"Set a trap for the criminal."

Kirigiri said with a fearless smile.

The night hours of the second day are getting closer and closer.

We briefly went through the room allocations for the night.

The rule we used was that the higher your bid is, the closer you
are to the detective. Everyone will be arranged in this order, and
the remaining rooms went to Kirigiri and Nanamura. The two of
them didn't rely on guesswork to decide, and each chose the
room they liked.
However, how the rooms are allocated tonight may not matter,
because Minase, who has the ‘Detective Rights’, has already
declared that he won’t be saving anyone.

If this continues, the criminal won’t have any trouble killing

anyone.

Who will be killed tonight?

Who is the criminal’s target?

Without ‘Detective Rights’, I can't do anything, I’m completely

helpless. I became a detective because I wanted to save people,
but I don't expect even for this wish to be fulfilled.

Maybe the criminal's next target is me.

Or, maybe the criminal's target is Kirigiri.

Just thinking about it makes me feel uneasy.

What should I do?

When I reached the stairs leading to the third floor, Kirigiri

suddenly whispered to me.

"Yui-onēsama, are you ready?"

"Of course."

Just before, Kirigiri told me to stuff as much bottled drinking

water into my backpack as possible. Although I don't understand
what the point of this is, I followed her instructions and filled my
backpack with bottled water.
"After everyone enter their rooms, you must come out to the
corridor."

She seems to have some idea.

In this despair inducing situation, she still hasn’t given up. She
gives me hope.

Before 10 o'clock came, Minase was in the room behind closed

doors. He has the ‘Detective Rights’ and his life is guaranteed. This
evening must be a pleasant time for him.

The people who lost at the auction all had uneasy expressions on
their faces and all went inside their respective rooms to make
sure they followed the curfew.

9:50.

Everyone have already entered their rooms.

I sneaked out into the corridor.

At that time, Kirigiri also appeared at the corner of the corridor.

I had the urge to jump and hug her tightly, but I tried to calm
myself down.

"Kirigiri-chan, what should I do next?"

I asked her in a low voice.

"Tonight we’ll stay locked in our rooms and can't get out. No
matter whose screams we hear, we won’t be able to save that
person."

She said, her eyes were more serious than ever.

I nodded.

"So we have to do the most with what we can do."

"We must protect everyone, right?"

"...Onēsama, as I said before, I didn’t become a detective for

reasons such as protecting people or uncovering the truth."

"I know."

—I know that, no matter what you say, your desire to protect

others, and the deisre of seeking the truth, both of these are
always present in your heart.

I put down my backpack, which contained six 500ml bottles of

water.

Kirigiri picked up one of the bottles and opened the cap.

I took it for granted that she was going to drink it, but as I was
thinking that, she spilled the water on the corridor in front of
room ‘301’.

"W-wait." I whispered to her. "What are you doing!"

"Didn't I tell you? Setting a trap."

Kirigiri made puddles everywhere on the red carpet while walking

deeper into the corridor.

—So it’s like this!

If you walk through this water-soaked corridor, your shoes will

definitely get wet.
When you walk in a place where there is no water while wearing
wet shoes, you will definitely leave footprints.

“If you spill some water on the corridor like this, it’s impossible
not to leave footprints when you walk by. Wiping off the
footprints one by one with a towel is time consuming, and it's
hard to guarantee that the footprints will be completely dry by
morning. If I were the criminal, I would give up my intention to kill
tonight."

"Kirigiri-chan, you’re really amazing!"

"No, this is a very common tactic. In fact, I originally wanted to

use flour or starch, but we don't have it here, so I'm using water
instead."

Even so, I didn't expect to use water that is available everywhere

to prevent a crime.

Hopefully, the criminal can’t do anything about it.

"Okay, Yui-onēsama, you go into your room first, there’s almost

no time left."

"I'll help you too."

"No, Onēsama, your room is in the middle of the corridor, you will
leave footprints."

"Ah, right."

"Leave the rest to me."

"I'm sorry. I keep making you do things."

"It's okay." Kirigiri shook her head. "In exchange... will you be the
first one to come to me in the morning?"

"Certainly."

Kirigiri seemed very happy, she showed a smile, and then

disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

Please stay safe.

Please—

The night hours have come.

It’s a very cold night.

Although I’m indoors, my exhaled breath was turning into white

mist.

I wrapped myself in the blanket and curled up in front of the

heater.

The fear of not knowing when the criminal would open that door
and lunge at me... As a detective, I was mentally prepared to die
at any time. However, under the current circumstances, I might
have a 'detective’s death'.

While thinking about this, I quietly waited for the night to end.

Suddenly, I heard someone's voice.

An auditory hallucination?
Recently, when I become under a lot of mental stress, I would
hear my sister's voice from deep in my memory.

A cry for help.

Yes, this is just auditory hallucinations—

It’s not.

The cry for help came from the room next door.

The one on my right is Mifune’s.

She’s crying as she knocked on the door.

She’s waiting for the detective to open the door and release her
from the room, but the detective tonight won’t show up, because
a person who has neither the qualifications nor the morals of a
detective has obtained the 'Detective Rights'.

Mifune’s cry for for help lasted for a while.

But when I came back to my senses, her voice could no longer be

heard.

I hope she just got tired from yelling and rested.

Could she have been killed by the criminal...

I listened attentively, my body trembling.

I heard creaking noises inside the building.

When I was a child, I always wondered about the creaking noises

my house made. I remember once going up to the attic with my
sister to find out what was causing the noises. At that time, I
thought there must be something moving on the ceiling.

Creak.

Creak.

I hear something.

It's a muffled human voice.

No, that's— a groan?

Then I heard...

Rustle……

Rustle……

From the darkness came the sound of something being dragged.

Rustle……

Rustle……

Who on earth...

Does it mean that a person is dragging something in the middle of

the darkness?

Just imagining it is scary.

The darkness in the corner of the room is frightening.

I was in my room, afraid even to look back, and kept staring at the
heater, as if I was escaping from reality.

I wanted to scream.
I have been suppressing this impulse, waiting for the arrival of the
early morning.

When I stay up all night studying before an exam, it becomes

morning in the blink of an eye.

This night however, the morning was late.

I wonder what's happening to Kirigiri at this time.

Is she still calm in this situation?

I wonder if the water trap in the corridor will work.

The criminal would be surprised to see the corridor like this.

And they would realize that this is a net cast to catch them.

If possible, I hope they gave up killing.

It was finally starting to glow slightly outside the window.

In the end, I didn’t fall asleep at all.

It's almost morning.

I checked the time on my phone.

6:55.

This is the longest five minutes of my life.

During this time, all I was thinking about was Kirigiri Kyōko.

As long as I can get out of here alive, I will go to her immediately.

I stood up and shook the door a few times.

Not unlocked yet.

Finally—the sound of the door lock opening came.

At the same time, I opened the door.

As expected, the corridor is still wet, and there is nothing

resembling footprints as far as I can see.

As I looked closely at my feet, I walked towards the depths of the

corridor where Kirigiri’s room was located.

I came to room ‘308’.

There hasn't been a single footprint up to here.

In other words, no one had walked down the corridor. Did the
criminal really give up the crime?

Maybe we’ve won.

I knocked on the door.

The door in front of me opened, and there stood Kirigiri with red
swollen eyes, and a blanket covering her head, as if she is
pretending to be a ghost.

I couldn't help but hug her tightly.

the blanket fell to her feet.

My tears naturally poured out, and my face and her hair got a
little wet.

"I’m so glad! You’re safe!"

"You’re overreacting, Yui-onēsama."

She said with a troubled look.

"I'm not in a dream? Am I still alive?"

"Now is not the time to talk about dreams. Yui-onēsama, did you
come here ahead of everyone?"

"Yeah, I'm the first."

"Any footprints?"

"None."

"None?"

"I've checked carefully. Why don’t you come and have a look with
me."

"Yeah."

We came out of the room and walked towards the entrance of

the floor. There were no footprints in the corridor on the side of
Kirigiri’s room.

As we were walked down the corridor, Yozuru and Shinsen also

came out of their rooms.

"It's a really refreshing morning." Yozuru stretched out while still

holding the huge sum of money in her arms. "I didn't slit my wrists
yesterday, and I didn't slit my wrists the day before! Every day is
so full of life, even the corridor look so fresh!"

Such a joyful feeling of welcoming a morning full of life after a

whole night of what felt like a near-death experience. Yozuru
seems to have fully realized the feeling of being alive now, and I
more or less feel the same as her. Ironically, it’s the ‘Black
Challenge’ that made us feel alive.

"Good morning. I hope you are all okay."

Such a very quiet greeting.

Shinsen Mikado– he is a very mysterious person. He seems to be

harboring a deep and profound darkness within him, but at the
same time he looks like just an ordinary person who likes to keep
secrets. A man known as the Shinigami. I wonder what he is
seeing in this place?

We walked along the corridor together and came to Mifune's

room.

We knocked on the door.

"Mifune-san, are you okay?"

No response.

The night time is over, so there is no need to stay locked up in the

room anymore, it should be possible to go out at any time. Yet,
she still hasn’t shown up, which means... Does that mean!

"I’m opening the door."

I opened the door.

Mifune was limp all over, lying on the floor next to the door.

"Mifune-san! Are you alright!"

I shook her shoulders.

The feeling I touched... was warm.

"WAAA!"

Mifune suddenly yelled and jumped up.

"Looks like you are okay."

Shinsen said, seeing inside from the hallway.

"I fell asleep without realizing it!"

"Thank goodness..." I breathed a sigh of relief. "It's probably

because you cried and screamed for a long time, so you fell asleep
because you were too tired. I was very worried about you."

"Everyone’s okay? I’m glad." Mifune looked at us happily and

came out of the room. "Waaa, why’s the hallway all wet? Is it rain
leakage?"

At this moment, the belated Nanamura appeared. His suit is still

very neat, this man is really meticulous in appearance.

"I'm guessing this hallway is you girls’ doing."

Nanamura looked at me and Kirigiri. As expected, he understood

quickly. We will postpone the explanation for now, and together
we continued down the corridor.

Room ‘302’.

That's when I noticed something strange.

"Look, there are footprints."

Kirigiri pointed at the corridor.

There are indeed footprints in front of the doors that seem to
head in and out of rooms.

This footprints go back and forth between rooms ‘302’ and ‘301’,
and it looked like only one person's footprints.

"I immediately went straight to Kirigiri-chan without looking back,

and didn't notice the footprints on this side."

"Let's check it out."

Kirigiri opened room ‘302’.

This is Toyano'oh's room.

What we saw was...

Sitting on the ground to the right side of the bed, with his head
resting on the mattress, Toyano'oh is dead.

The position and state of his body are almost identical as those of
Chage.

The only difference is that there’s a weird doll on the bed.

I remember this creepy doll.

It's the old woman French doll, who claimed to be Norman's

mother. When in the world did it come into the room?

The doll has something similar to a sign hanging around its neck,
with a fluorescent pink ‘X’ mark painted on it.

A little further down it reads: ‘Second Target Revenge Successful!’

"Uuu... he- he’s dead?"

Mifune asked in a muffled voice.

Nanamura and Kirigiri entered the room and walked towards

Toyano'oh. The two detectives acted quickly as expected. After
putting on her black gloves, Kirigiri touched Toyano'oh's body to
confirm his death. The two of them skillfully carried out the work
of confirming the conditions of the crime scene.

"A few hours have passed since his death, and the cause of death
was neck strangulation."

"Same as Chage-san..."

I whispered.

"He was already dead when I entered the room last night."

A voice said from behind.

I looked back, and Minase is standing in the corridor with his arms
folded.

Mifune is obviously hostile towards him and glared at him fiercely.

No wonder, since despite her desperate cries for help, Minase,
who had the ‘Detective Rights’, did nothing.

"I heard strange noises from next room, and I felt a little
concerned and came to take a look, partly because I wanted to try
the master key. The time was... about 3 AM, I opened the door
and saw that gramps has died. Nothing has changed since then,
and the doll was already placed here. After that I went back to my
room to sleep."
"Strange noises... like, something being dragged?"

I asked.

"That’s right... maybe. No, what made me more concerned at that

time was the groaning sound."

A groan!

Speaking of which, I think I remember hearing that myself.

My room and Minase's room sandwiched the room where the

murder scene is. In other words, the strange noises Minase heard
was likely the same as the one I heard.

Then could it be the groans of Toyano'oh's when his neck was

being strangled...

I suddenly felt scared when I thought about it.

Was the rustle sound that of the body being moved? The position
of the corpse is exactly the same as Chage’s. From this point of
view, it’s very likely that the murderer had deliberately arranged
them this way.

Why was it necessary for the criminal to deliberately position the

bodies like this... It’s a real mystery.

"Minase-san." Kirigiri suddenly said. "When you entered this

room, did you see anyone else's footprints in the hallway?"

"Footprints...? No, didn't notice at all."

The only traces of footprints on the corridor were the ones that
went back and forth between Minase's room and Toyano'oh's
room. Considering Minase’s testimony, we can only assume that
these are Minase's footprints.

Apart from that, there were no other footprints, which proves

that no one else came out of their room last night.

"Minase-san, are you the murderer?"

Yozuru offered to say.

Sooner or later someone would have say this sentence out loud.

"W-why me?"

"Because you're the only one who got in and out of room '302'."

"Wait, it’s true that I have a master key from the 'Detective Rights'
in my hand. But I’m not the only one who has a master key, the
murderer also has it, right? It was the murderer who killed
gramps."

"And where did that murderer come from?"

"How should I know!"

"Last night I spilled water on the corridor with my Kirigiri-chan." I

interjected in the conversation between the two of them. "If
someone had walked down the corridor last night, they would’ve
definitely left footprints. However, the only footprints that were
left were the ones Minase-san left when he went to Toyano'oh-
san's room and when he went back, that's all."

"And that means I killed him? Stop kidding around! Gramps was
already dead when I entered the room, that's the truth!"
"I wonder if it really is." Yozuru wasn't convinced. "You're the
criminal, you just didn't notice that the corridor was soaked with
water, didn’t you? So you didn't notice that you left any footprints
either. Ah, maybe you are trying to cover all this up? Ufufu."

"N-no! I didn't do it!"

Minase yelled.

Suspicions eyes were focused on him.

"You unintelligible idiots!" Minase finally started yelling at the top

of his lungs. "Go die! Diediedie! I hope you all get killed by the
murderer! I’ll definitely get the 'Detective Rights' at today's
auction too. I definitely will! I know how to win!"

After Minase roared, he went back into room ‘301’ and didn't
come out.

"M-Minase-san!"

I called to him through the door.

"Who wants to stay with you people! I’m staying here alone, no
one’s allowed to come near!"

He isolated himself.

"I can vaguely see his death."

Shinsen whispered.

I don't want anyone else to die. If this continues, the ‘Black

Challenge’ will really end in a victory for the criminal.

We left Minase and went to the lobby on the first floor.

Everyone sat down on the sofas dejectedly. The sofas now have
more vacancies, and this fact once again frightened me.

"Nanamura-san." I whispered to Nanamura. "Do you know who

the criminal is yet?"

"Samidare-kun, who do you think I am. Among the 65,500 people

registered in the Detective Library, the one who can solve cases
the quickest is me, Suisei Nanamura."

"I'm well aware of that..."

"I knew who the criminal is right from the start."

"Eeeh—?" I couldn't help losing my voice. "Then why don't you

accuse them already? Let's quickly end this game."

"Sadly, that won't work. Due to the rules of this ‘Black Challenge’,
I have my reasons for why I can’t do that."

"You have your reasons... huh."

"However, it looks like it's time to move on to the next stage."

Nanamura said so, and suddenly stood up.

He again put on the posture as if he’s acting in a drama play in

front of everyone.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, I have already told you that I am a

detective. And I have also told you that this case had been warned
about in advance."
"Wh-why are you saying this suddenly?" Mifune looked up at
Nanamura with rounded eyes. "Have we finally reached the
resolution chapter?"

"Hey, hear me out first, O world’s most beautiful girl Mifune."

Nanamura raised his right hand to stop Mifune from speaking.
"Actually, this series of murders that’s occurring at this Norman’s
hotel is related to a certain organization."

Nanamura finally began to explain to everyone the Crime Victims'

Relief Committee and the ‘Black Challenge’ game they hold. He
also told everyone that the game is currently in progress.

Mifune, Shinsen, and Yozuru each listened to Nanamura's words

with expressions of surprise and doubt.

"The people who become victims in the 'Black Challenge' are

limited to those who have committed crimes in the past and have
not been punished for those crimes. Having said this, I have a
question to ask you all. Have you ever been involved in a crime
even a small one in the past? You can rest assured, I swear that I
will not tell what you will admit here, and no creature in the world
is more tight-lipped than a detective."

"Just a moment, please." Shinsen said, stroking his hair back. "If
what Detective-san said is true, does that mean the murdered
Uozumi-san, Chage-san, and Toyano'oh-san committed crimes?"

"It is very possible. but depending on the circumstances, the

murderer can also kill unrelated people. To give an example, we
can assume that Uozumi Taehime was not a criminal, but the
murderer killed her for their own reasons."
Uozumi was actually a detective.

Of course, there are criminals among detectives, but she should

not be. At that time, she didn’t have the words ‘Revenge
Successful’ written by the criminal, so we can assume that she
wasn’t one of the criminal's targets.

"Excuse me……"

Mifune lowered her head and raised her right hand.

"So it is you, then confess your crime."

"When I was a kid... I didn’t have enough 'Silver Angels' and was
short by one... so I drew one myself and sent it out, and so I
received a toy box..."

"What are you talking about? I'm asking about actual crimes. The
murderer should have suffered a lot from the crime. Not
something that trivial. If the next target is among you all... Then
you should have something on your mind."

"I don't have anything on mind."

Shinsen put it very simply. From the look in his eyes, I can't feel
any lie, In fact, he looked like a saint, it doesn't even look like an
act.

"Mifune-san, do you have anything in mind?"

"Ummm... if the angel thing doesn't count... then probably

because I bent lots of spoons... those who make spoons might
hate me a lot..."

It seems like Mifune doesn't have a clue either.

If her pumpkin sweetheart act is completely fake, then I can only
applaud her.

"Yozuru-san, how about you?"

"So I have to... say it?"

She said to Nanamura with puppy eyes.

Nanamura remained silent.

"Alright, I’ll tell you everything. Actually, I... have been married
three times so far, but my household registration is still blank. Do
you understand what this means?"

"Marriage fraud."

"Ara, I don’t know if you can call that marriage fraud. I really loved
the men who married me, because they give me a lot of money. It
didn't take long for those men to start saying they didn't have any
more money. So I divorced them, and that's all, aren't all men and
women like this in this world."

"Then what about the dead husband you mentioned when you
introduced yourself..."

"He died before we registered the family name."

"How did he die?"

"Swallowed lots of pills and slept through the night, saying that he
didn’t have the money to pay anymore. But is this a crime? I
didn't do anything bad."

...I felt chills.

This person might be targeted by the criminal.

"Hmm, I see, thank you for your confession." Nanamura sat on the
sofa with his arms folded. "Based on the current information,
Yozuru-san is most likely the next target of the criminal."

"Eh? Why me?"

Yozuru tilted her head in confusion. I wonder if she’s serious.

"What about Minase-san?"

Shinsen said.

"That guy is a NEET, absolutely." Mifune is completely hating him.

"I’m a NEET too, but that guy is a bad sorta NEET. Bad NEETs are
destined to be hated by many people."

"He’s the criminal, I’m sure of it."

Yozuru said while crossing her legs.

Is this really the case……

"What about today's auction?" Shinsen said. "We can't just let
Minase-san auction off the 'Detective Rights' like this, seeing as
how confident he looked."

"Is there really a way to keep winning at the auctions?"

Mifune said with a confused expression.

"He already knows something..."

"I wonder how much money the big kid has left."

Yozuru said.
I looked at my notes, which recorded who paid how much money
at the auctions. Judging from the contents of the notes...

"He won with 50 million yen last time." said Kirigiri. "The first time
he bid zero, so he still has 50 million left."

"50 million... but everyone has more money than this, right?"

Even I currently have 80 million left.

That's what makes this auction complicated. If you pay a high

amount, you can get the ‘Detective Rights’ once. But with less
money, you will be at a disadvantage in the subsequent auctions.

Among all the participants, Minase has the least amount of

money.

However, he declared that he will win.

What on earth is going on?

"Can you leave today’s auction to me?"

Kirigiri said suddenly.

"Do you have any ideas?"

I asked her, and she nodded.

"Of course, it’s up to everyone to decide how much they bid at

the auction. However, I advise you all that it’s best to avoid
wasting. The next auction will be a struggle between me and
Minase-san... Please be careful not to be involved."

Kirigiri announced this.

It seems that there will be another violent storm at the next
auction...

After we ate together in the lobby, some people went to the guest
rooms to take a shower, while others dozed off on the sofas.

Kirigiri and I decided to use Room ‘303’ as today's base. After we

took turns showering, I dried Kirigiri’s hair and braided it as I did
yesterday.

Toyano'oh’s body is in the next room. Yet it is so calm and

peaceful that it's almost hard to imagine that we are currently in
this situation.

"Last night, Yui-onēsama also heard noises from the room next
door?"

"Yeah, I heard a groan, but at that time I thought it was a

hallucination..."

Toyano'oh was strangled to death by hand, which means that the

criminal was in that room.

"In addition, I also heard what sounded like the body being
dragged. Probably the criminal moving the body to the bed, but I
don't know why it was necessary to arrange the corpse in that
way."

The body was sitting on the right side of the bed with its head on
the mattress. What is the significance of this position of the body?

"Let's go check the crime scene, I want to confirm some things."

After tying the ribbons, she went to the next room, and I followed
her.

Toyano'oh’s body is still there as it was. This might be because my

senses have been somewhat numbed, but despite seeing the
body with my own eyes, I don't feel scared or uncomfortable at
all. However, I did hesitate when I approached the body.

Kirigiri picked up the doll on the bed, and walked to the window
with the doll in her hand.

Then, she suddenly threw the doll at the barred window.

However, predictably, the doll hit the iron bars and fell on the
ground. No matter how you look at it, the body of the doll is
larger than the gap between the iron bars.

After picking up the doll, Kirigiri then began to strip the doll's
clothes.

"Wh-what are you doing, Kirigiri-chan."

"Does it look like I'm playing with the doll?"

Kirigiri took off the doll's clothes and seemed satisfied, then put
the doll back on the bed.

She lost interest in the doll, and then began walking back and
forth between the walls of the room, counting steps as she
walked.

"Hey, Kirigiri-chan, do you think the criminal is Minase-san?"

"Hard to say."
"But the only footprints in the hallway were those that go back
and forth between Minase-san's room and this room. It shouldn't
be possible for the others to commit the crime, right?"

"About that, it's not helpful to reason beyond the facts. it's true
that no one other than Minase-san went into the corridor."

"Then it's true that—"

"But there are still mysteries left unsolved," Kirigiri pointed at the
body. "The choke marks left on Toyano'oh-san’s neck are upside
down. If Minase-san is the criminal and he opened the door to
enter the room, then how would you explain the choke marks
being like this?"

"It's very simple. At that time, Toyano'oh-san was sleeping,

although I don't know if he was sleeping on the floor or on the
bed. Minase-san approached the sleeping Toyano'oh-san from the
side of his head and choked his neck."

"Then after that, why did he purposely arrange the body sitting
next to the bed?"

"Ummm..."

I can only hum.

"Look, in addition to the choke marks left with the fingers, there
are also rope-like marks."

"I can't look even when you tell me to..."

I looked at the corpse from a distance. How could I possibly see

such marks?
"Why was it necessary to strangle a person's neck so thoroughly?"

"Isn’t it ensure the kill? And I heard that the more timid the
person is, the more wounds they leave on their victims when
committing crimes."

"An extra effort. What's the point of doing this..."

Kirigiri muttered to herself and started walking down the corridor

alone, and I hurriedly followed. It feels like I'm running around
after a restless infant.

Kirigiri walked back and forth in the corridor while counting her
steps.

"What are you doing, Kirigiri-chan."

"I'm checking the sizes of the rooms."

"Then you can just measure it with the measuring tape."

I took the measuring tape from my backpack.

Kirigiri turned to me with an angry look.

"If you have a measuring tape, say it earlier."

"You never said you needed this."

"You should’ve been able to understand what I’ve been doing."

"The intentions of your actions aren’t so easy to understand."

"—Forget it, I don't want it."

Kirigiri ignored the measuring tape and continued to measure the

distance with her feet.
"Kirigiri-chan." I called out to her, grabbing one of her slender
wrists. "The ideas in your head are always far ahead of mine that
I’ve tried my best just to catch up with you. But if necessary, you
can ask me for help, though I can't do much."

I put the tape in her hand.

She turned her face away and said:

"…I’m sorry."

"It's okay, I was too direct, sorry."

Kirigiri went back to room ‘302’ with her shoulders slumped.

I feel like the more time I spend with her, the more expressions
she shows. At first I thought she was an extremely logical person,
but in fact she’s a sensitive girl with emotional ups and downs.

I followed her back to the room.

"So what exactly are you investigating now?"

"The thickness of the walls." Kirigiri said, touching the wall with
her hand. "At first I wondered if there could be a space between
the rooms for one person, but it seems impossible."
Someone inside the wall...

This reminded me of the previous murders that happened here

before, but after calculating the thickness of the walls, it just
seemed whimsical.

Kirigiri is eliminating all possibilities one by one.

What remains in the end in this way must be the truth.

We inspected Toyano'oh’s luggage. There was only a change of

clothes and a set of travel supplies in the large leather bag. There
was nothing special, it was surprisingly ordinary.

I thought that since Toyano'oh claimed to be a magician, his bag

would be full of magic props, but we didn't find anything like that.

"Was this man really a magician..."

"In the end he didn't show us a single magic trick." Kirigiri said,
shaking her head slowly. "If what Uozumi-san said is true, then his
magician identity is probably a complete lie."

"The magician persona was just his apparent identity. This man
was actually a con man who resells forgeries."

If Uozumi hadn't told me this, then I might’ve still thought that

Toyano'oh was really a magician.

After that, Kirigiri took the measuring tape and began to measure
the length of various parts of the room. She didn't even write
down the measurements on paper. I wonder if she memorized all
of them. I myself can't do that for sure. In the end, she even
measured the height of the body.
"The height is about 175 cm... The weight is about less than 60 kg,
and the physique is almost the same as Chage-san. It’s about 2
meters from the floor to the bottom of the window... can't reach
it even when tiptoeing... my fingertips can probably barely reach if
my arms are raised. Ah, can't reach..."
Kirigiri muttered to himself, and then as if she had figured it out,
she put the ruler into her uniform pocket.

"Yui-onēsama, I still want to do one final test, can you help me?"

"What kind of test do you want to do?"

"Onēsama, please give me the most useless thing in your

backpack."

"You're starting to sound crazy again, you know that." I opened

my backpack to check the contents. "The empty bottles used
yesterday are useless."

"That’ll do."

Kirigiri took a bottle and went to the window. She silently looked
up at the barred window, then seemed to have changed her mind
and looked back at me.

"Yui-onēsama, Can I ask for another help?"

"What?"

"Piggyback."

"...Do you want to look out the window?"

Kirigiri nodded.
I squatted down next to Kirigiri. Kirigiri lifted her skirt and sat on
my shoulders. Her body is so light that it feels like a soft stuffed
animal. Her cool thighs touched my face. I stood up close to the
wall, Kirigiri’s line of sight was almost exactly the same height as
the window.

"I can see clearly."

"Are you satisfied, young lady?"

"Stay like this, and get a little closer." Kirigiri stretched out her
arm toward the window. "Listen carefully, onēsama."

Kirigiri's hand holding the bottle passed through the gap in the
iron bars.

"I’m going to let go of the bottle."

Kirigiri announced.

After a few seconds, the bottle that fell on the ground far below
bounced with a loud sound.

"Thank you, you can put me down now."

I put her down as she said.

"What kind of experiment was that?"

"I was thinking that there might be scaffolding right outside the
window, the kind of thing you assemble in a construction site."

"Scaffolding?"
Indeed, looking out of the window, even if there’s a scaffolding
directly under the window, it would be impossible to see it. A
really unexpected blind spot.

"But the bottle fell straight down to the ground. If there was a
scaffolding, the bottle should’ve hit something."

...So, we just confirmed that there’s no scaffolding outside the

window.

But even with a scaffolding, it's hard to imagine what this means.
What exactly is Kirigiri thinking, my mind just can't keep up with
her thoughts after all.

6:00 PM—

It’s time for the third auction.

This time the portrait showed an old car.

"Hi, good evening, everyone. It's past 6 o'clock, and today's

auction is about to begin. By the way, I’m a car that have once
sunk in a swamp, I’ll be replacing Norman and the others to host
the auction. I’m nothing special myself, so don't think too much
about it."

"Let's get on with it."

Minase stepped into the cafeteria, and the hiking bag on his
shoulder is smaller.

The auction now is in a situation where Minase is facing off

against everyone else.

Considering Minase's attitude and assertion, it was inevitable, you

can even say he had it coming. If he only promised to protect
everyone as a detective, there would have been no need to
confront him like this. But if what happened last night happens
again, then we must go against him head-on to regain our
‘Detective Rights’.

However, Minase looked confident.

Why does he look so relaxed?

No matter how hard he fights, he can't afford a price of more than

50 million yen, and all the participants here have more money
than that.

Of course, considering the future, the bidding money must be no

more than half of this amount. However, even so, Minase is still at
a disadvantage in terms of money.

How is he going to win?

And how can we win?

Kirigiri said to leave everything to her.

So I chose to believe in Kirigiri.

The bidding starts.

"Sorry, this time the 'Detective Rights' belongs to me."

Minase announced this loudly, and then walked to the bidding

booth, while the other participants could only stare in disbelief
with their mouths open.

"Minase-san."

Kirigiri stopped him.

Minase was about to reach out to open open the door of the
bidding compartment when he turned back.

"Unfortunately for you, I’ll win this time."

"...Hah." Minase said with a laugh from his nose. "A middle school
girl, why did you skip class and come here, huh? Did you even
complete your compulsory homework properly before challenging
adults?"

After dropping such a ruthless sentence, Minase walked into the

bidding compartment confidently.

By the way, middle school students are now on winter vacation.

"I don't know if it’ll work, Kirigiri-chan..."

"From what I felt just now, it should be fine."

Although I don't know where her feelings came from, she smiled
and looked very sure of herself.

About five minutes later, Minase came out.

At a glance, his hiking bag is almost empty.

Did he put in everything he could?

"I'll go last."

Kirigiri said.

Mifune, Yozuru, and Shinsen entered the bidding compartment in

turn. At least this time, it can be said that they are in the same
camp as us. This is a temporary joint struggle. It's just that there is
no actual money lending between us. If Kirigiri wanted them to
support her with money, then they probably won't trust her so
easily.

That said, facing Minase, who is already at a money disadvantage,

even if the amount of our money increased, I don't think it’d
makes sense to share money.

"Then... I’ll go."

I walked into the bidding compartment.

I should quickly let this ‘Black Challenge’ end and stop playing this
dumb auction game. I operated the machine with annoyance.

I went back to Kirigiri after finishing my bidding.

The much-anticipated Kirigiri walked into the bidding

compartment.

"Hey, middle school girl! I’ll never save you even if you get
targeted by the murderer! You'll be killed a hundred times over!"

Minase yelled at the back of Kirigiri.

I don't understand what he’s up to.

Before long, Kirigiri came out.

The siren sounded, announcing the end of the auction.

We immediately gathered in front of the portrait screen.

Eyes swept line by line from bottom to top—

Shinsen Mikado 0 Ten-Thousand

Mifune Meruko 0 Ten-Thousand
Yozuru Sae 0 Ten-Thousand

They bid 0 yen.

Everyone is unified.

Then—

Kirigiri Kyōko 5,100 Ten-Thousand

Minase has 50 million funds left. Kirigiri expected that her

opponent would invest all his money, so she added an extra 1
million yen. 1 million more than her opponent's maximum
amount, so she was sure to win no matter what.

However—

"Serves you right! I won!"

Minase laughed.

……He won?

Among the list of bidding results, his name is one in front of

Kirigiri.

Minase Yūzen 5,100 Ten-Thousand

What's happening?

Why does he have more than 50 million?

I don't understand at all.

"I didn't stay at home for 10 years for nothing, middle school kid! I
can see right through what brats like you think at a glance,
hahaha..."

Samidare Yui 5,300 Ten-Thousand

"Ha?"

"Kirigiri-chan, I won!"

"As expected."

Kirigiri said as she brushed aside her hair that was resting on her
face.
Today’s auction results:
Samidare Yui 5,300 Ten-Thousand
Minase Yūzen 5,200 Ten-Thousand
Kirigiri Kyōko 5,100 Ten-Thousand
Shinsen Mikado 0 Ten-Thousand
Mifune Meruko 0 Ten-Thousand
Yozuru Sae 0 Ten-Thousand

Tonight’s detective is me.

"Wha- whawhawhat is this?" Minase grabbed the frame of the

portrait and shook it desperately. "What's going on! Why? Why?"

"I knew that if I provoked you enough, your eyes would only be on
me. You bid the 'maximum amount plus 2 million' to fight against
the 'maximum amount plus 1 million', the same as I thought you
would do."

"D-damnit..."

"Don't worry, Minase-san, no matter what kind of person you are,

Yui-onēsama will protect you tonight. Isn’t that right, Yui-
onēsama."

Kirigiri turned to me with an innocent smile.

Of course. Now that I have the ‘Detective Rights’, I won’t let

anyone die.
But I myself don't quite understand why I was able to get the
‘Detective Rights’. I just followed Kirigiri’s words, and bid
according to the amount she told me.

Minase offered more than the money he had. How was he able to
do that?

"This makes my reasoning true."

Kirigiri whispered in a voice that no one could hear.

It seems that she has seen a considerable part of the truth.

As the night time approached, I gathered everyone in the lobby

and discussed what to do next.

"I want to improve the room allocation first. We won't continue

to place the detective near the entrance of the floor. I’ll be in the
innermost, which is the last room. When 10 o'clock comes, I’ll
open the doors one by one."

With the detective's place in room ‘301’, before reaching the last
room of ‘308’, there’s a blind spot around the corners, and the
time in between is too long. If I start from the innermost room
‘308’, the blind spot time will be shortened by a lot.

"Then I will decide which person lives in which room."

"Hey, no freedom for us?"

Minase complained. His uselessness is starting to look more and

more adorable.
"In order to protect everyone, there’s no other way."

I said with conviction.

Starting from room ‘301’, the order is: Shinsen, Minase,

Nanamura, Yozuru, Mifune, Kirigiri, and me.

"Wait a minute, my room’s the one where gramps’s body is. I

absolutely don't want to be in that room, absolutely no way!"

"We will move the body to one of the empty rooms."

"That's not the problem! I mean I don't want to be locked in a

room where a corpse was put!"

"Shut up will you, even if I’m an adult, I don’t mind punching

disobedient manbabies like you, so behave okay?"

Mifune started punching the air like she's air boxing.

"Oooh, try it if you dare, pumpkinhead!"

"This discussion is only a waste of time. I'm next door to you. You
can switch rooms with me." Nanamura said. "How can we waste
precious life time over something like this."

"Excuse me, please do that." I said. "Does anyone have any other
opinions regarding the rooms allocation? No problems, right?"

Everyone nodded.
"Then please wait for me, the detective will appear tonight! I
won't let any of you die!"

The night hours have come.

We all went to the third floor. The corridor of the floor was
previously all soaked with water, but now it's dried up.

I walked to the depths of the floor side by side with Kirigiri.

Behind us, people entered their rooms with uneasy expressions
on their faces.

Around the corner is Kirigiri’s room.

"It should be simple to open all the doors to save people when it’s
10 o’clock, so why did two people get killed?"

"Because among us are those who disturb the plan."

Kirigiri said without emotion, and opened the door of her room.

9:58

Considering that there may be errors in the clock on the criminal's

side, it’s better to enter the rooms early.

"Is the criminal really among the people participating in the

auction?"

"Yeah." Kirigiri nodded. "So you can't let your guard down yet,
onēsama."

"I know."

We nodded to each other, opened the doors and entered our

respective rooms.
This is my first night as the one with the ‘Detective Rights’.

Anxiety, impatience, determination not to forgive the murderer,

and a little bit of panic.

I think I felt the same way on the day I registered at the Detective
Library.

Frankly speaking, I am an ordinary person without any talent. And

although I registered in the Detective Library, I didn't know what I
could do at first. However, when I got my Detective Library
registration card, I also got a determination that told me I can't
just cry, but must fight. Becoming a detective allowed me to find a
reason to live in this world.

I was involved in very small cases, such as a small blackmail case

of a family member, a kidnapping of a child (although it ended up
being the child's own act), and other small-scale incidents. As I
took on those cases, my rank rose by one. It made me very happy
to be recognized as a detective myself.

These things that I’ve done are probably meaningless to Kirigiri

Kyōko. Even so– 'Being a detective is the same as being alive'.

It's the same for me, Kirigiri-chan.

First, I’m going to save you.

It just turned 10 o'clock.

The locking up sound was heard, and the night time has finally
begun.
I inserted the master key that I had prepared beforehand into the
slot under the door handle.

The door lock opened.

I kicked the door open and jumped into the corridor.

I immediately went to unlock the door of the next room.

It took less than a minute.

As soon as the door opened, Kirigiri came out.

It was only a few minutes between our separation and reunion.

However, we didn’t care about being happy for the reunion, and
immediately turned around the corner of the corridor.

The corridor is a little darker than before, and there is no one

around.

But this way, all doors of the rooms are already under Kirigiri's
and my watch.

I opened the door of room ‘306’ and Mifune rushed out.

We ignored her and hurried to the next room.

In room ‘305’, Yozuru was already waiting at the door.

The group of survivors gradually grew.

In room ‘303’, Minase came out while cursing.

In room ‘302’ was Nanamura.

The last room, room ‘301’.

After unlocking the door, Shinsen came out from inside.

That's all of them—

"3 minutes and 25 seconds." Nanamura said, looking at his watch.

"The time to release everyone was faster than I expected."

"Yay, everyone is safe!" Mifune bounced up and down very

happily. "We defeated the Murderer!"

"H-huh, so as long as we have the will, we can do it."

Minase said.

On the night of the third auction, it's finally time for everyone to
come together and have a safe day.

Only 3 minutes and 25 seconds.

I panted heavily and felt the weight of this time. In this abnormal
situation, what happens within a few minutes may make a radical
change in the future.

We arrived to the lobby on the first floor.

"The night time is not over yet." Shinsen said, sitting on the sofa.
"We should try to avoid moving alone until 7 AM."

"That’s right, we can't relax now."

Detectives Mustn’t sleep.

Instead of sitting on the sofa, I wandered around the lobby

aimlessly. This is also because I'm relatively tired during this
period, and if I sit still, I might fall asleep. If possible, I would even
like to play basketball, but there is not enough people.

Kirigiri kept following me.

"You can sleep if you want."

"No, if onēsama falls asleep, I’ll be responsible for waking her up."

"Don't you believe in me?"

"Not much."

Oh right, before this, I did fall asleep during our monitoring, so it's
only natural for her to say that.

Kirigiri and I walked in circles in the lobby, as if we were taking a

walk, we talked in the meantime.

"Hey, Kirigiri-chan, do you know who the criminal is yet?"

"Yeah."

Kirigiri nodded.

"Is that... so, eh?"

"Too loud."

"Sorry, but now that you know who the criminal is, hurry up and
let this 'Black Challenge' end."

"Yui-onēsama, we are not the detectives this time. We won the

previous one because the criminal gave up resisting and
confessed to the crime, but it’s difficult to say whether the
criminal will admit defeat this time."
"In this case, even if your reasoning is correct, you can’t make the
'Black Challenge' end?"

"I guess so... From the rules, the detective summoned must be the
one to solve the case."

"Then let's talk to Nanamura-san."

"Wait, this is not a good idea."

"Wh-why?"

"I still have some things to investigate, so let's not tell him yet."

"Huh, o-okay..."

Isn't it time to rely on Nanamura?

Having said that, Kirigiri already knows the truth. What she and I
saw should be pretty much the same, but how is she the only one
who came up with the answer.

I'm completely lost about who the criminal is.

That said... the way the criminal disappeared, and the two locked
room mysteries, can she solve them?

The terribly long night passed little by little, and the clock finally
pointed to 7 AM.

Not a single person sitting on the couch is missing.

"Yui-onēsama, congratulations, everyone survived."

"Thank you, it’s all thanks to you."

I won the auction thanks to Kirigiri's help. and it was also her
advice to me about the room allocation for the night. As a result,
to list what I did, I probably only rushed around to open the
doors.

Regardless of who gets the credit, as long as everyone is alive the

next morning, that's all that matters.

Saving lives– this night I realized what the significance of that is,
and how difficult it is.

The night hours had ended and we are all safe again, everyone
gathered in the lobby dispersed.

A strong sense of fatigue hit me.

I decided to rest in room ‘301’.

I have to prepare for the next auction.

Although there is no danger now in terms of the rules, three

people have been killed so far, and it doesn't seem right to sleep
alone in a room. But I was so exhausted that I fell asleep as soon
as I collapsed on the bed.

I don't want to have dreams about my sister at a time like this.

I don't want to dream about my dead sister anymore—

While sleeping, I sensed someone staring at me, and I propped up
quickly.

Minase was standing next to the bed.

"KYAAA—"

"I-idiot! Why are you screaming as if I'm going to attack you!"

"What are you trying to do!"

"I'm not trying to do anything!"

Minase looked distressed and took a few steps backwards.

Kirigiri was beside him.

"Yui-onēsama, you scream like a little girl."

"What's the matter with you guys? What are you up to?"

My mind is still a little muddled, I don't know what’s happening.

I straightened up my messy hair, put my legs off the bed, and sat
on the edge of it.

"I didn’t come here to talk with onēsama specifically, I just wanted
somewhere private to talk to Minase-san."

"So you chose this room." I said, putting my hands on my waist.

"Well, go ahead and talk about your secrets. In the meantime, I'll
do your hair."

I took out my comb from my backpack and brushed my hair.

"What’s going on."

Minase frowned as he felt troubled.

"I remembered we haven't asked about your criminal record."

Kirigiri asked, undaunted. "Minase-san, have you committed any
crimes in the past?"

"Wh-whaaa?"

"It’s important, answer."

"I- I don’t know."

"I'd say you've committed fraud in online auctions before."

"H-how did you know?"

"I knew it."

Kirigiri sighed and sat down beside me.

"Online auction fraud?" I asked, looking up at the distraught

Minase. "What exactly did you do?"

"I-it's not a big deal... just put up a computer, or a game console,

or something that is popular at online auctions, then receive the
money without handing over the product... You can even auction
up items that you don't actually have.... Ah, I'm not saying that I'm
doing this, I'm just saying that there are people like that. I'm
definitely not—"

So petty...

A crime is a crime, and I feel sorry for the victims, but I don't think
he’s enough of a criminal to be involved in this ‘Black Challenge’
and be considered a target.
"You said that you came from an old noble family, so have your
parents been involved in any crime or fraud before?"

"If they had, I wouldn't have been in this misery! My parents are
idiots whose only merit is their honesty. Thanks to them, I can't
even buy what I want unless I make some pocket money through
online auctions."

"I wonder how such honest parents could give birth to someone
like you."

Kirigiri said helplessly, and shook her head slightly.

"Shut the fuck up, brat! You called me here just to educate me?
Listen, I’ll still win today's auction. Things like yesterday won't
happen again."

"Minase-san, about that—"

"What? I won't take it easy on you even if you cry."

"There’s something I want you to buy."

"Wha-what?" Minase flinched a little, "Wait, you... minors

shouldn’t do that... don’t do it!"

"Don't get me wrong." Kirigiri looked at Minase with cold eyes.

"What I want you to buy is a way to get out of here alive. We no
longer need to fight over the 'Detective Rights', as long as there’s
a way, you will never have to worry about being killed during
night time. And that's the information I want you to buy."

"You, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not going to get
involved with information trading at this point in my life. It's a
common method of online fraud, and it's not my area of
expertise... is that strange? I don’t know anything about this kinda
thing. And is there even any safer way than bidding on 'Detective
Rights'?"

"Yes. There are two auctions left. The current situation is very
much a test of one's judgment. The key is how to use the
remaining money most effectively. It’s precisely because of this
situation that the method of surviving through the rules will
work. I can tell you this method, but I have one condition, that is,
you give me all the money you have now. How about it?"

"A middle school brat wants to make a deal with me... You’re
quite gutsy, my nickname is the holy emperor of the world of
Internet fraud, you think you can win against me?"

"Think about it. I'll wait for you to give me the answer until an
hour before today's auction starts."

"You're not trying to scam me off, are you?"

"I don’t mean to scam you."

"Oh? Really? I've heard a rumor on the Internet that there is a

genius scammer who’s still in middle school... Isn’t that you?"

"I am not a scammer, I’m a detective."

"Can I... trust you?"

"It's up to you to judge. Besides me, there may be others who will
come to you to make a deal... but I trust you."

"Tsh……"
Minase left the room with a distressed look on his face.

"Kirigiri-chan, is it okay for you to make this kind of deal with him?
He feels like the kind of person who wouldn't bat an eye when
betraying someone."

What exactly is Kirigiri planning.

She already has a complete composition of the confrontation with

the criminal in her mind.

"The people summoned in this 'Black Challenge' all seem to be

scammers. Although I don't think all of them are targets, there
must have been someone who got their life ruined because of
them."

"I get Toyano'oh-san, but is Chage-san a scammer too?"

"I don't know if it can be considered scamming or not, but from

his notebook, he could've been suspected of using doomsday
rumors to play with people's hearts. There are always people in
this world who believe that the end of the world is coming and
thus will offer up all their possessions.... Maybe someone’s life got
ruined under his influence."

"I see... Thinking about it this way, the criminal thought of using
this money game to get back at them because their targets are a
bunch of scammers."

"Yeah, maybe they want to enjoy fooling these people who have
deceived them before."
‘Black Challenge’ is for revenge, but also a redemption for the
challenger. The resentment accumulated over the years can
finally be vented on those who ruined them – this time the
criminal realized it in the form of a game, and they want to defeat
the targets in it.

"Is there any connection between the previous murders at this

hotel and this one? They say that more than a dozen people were
killed. Maybe the family of the deceased planned for revenge..."

"The criminal in that case was clearly determined, right? Since

there is no room for the existence of the real criminal, then that
case isn't related to this 'Black Challenge'."

"Right... then who will be the next target? Yozuru-san? Among the
rest, she has the most dangerous past."

"It's hard to say." Kirigiri stood up and brushed her skirt. "There
aren’t many auctions left. I think the criminal will use some
aggressive methods to kill the target. Therefore, starting from the
next auction, it will become particularly important for the
'Detective Rights' to be handed over to those who are more
likely to be victims. To prevent crimes from happening, this is
more effective than having someone else be the detective."

The criminal will follow the rules of this game to carry out the
murders. If a player does something that breaks the rules of the
game, then the rich and sponsors watching the show will
definitely express their dissatisfaction, or they will judge it as a
failure. Breaking the rules is an unfair act that should be
prohibited.
Therefore, we must make effective use of the rules and use the
‘Detective Rights’ to protect the target person, there is no other
way.

"Let me get this straight. Today's auction will be a duel between

Mifune-san and Yozuru-san."

I don't quite understand why things have become like this.

"Then which side should we support?"

"Which side should we support... Before explaining this issue, it

seems necessary to tell Yui-onēsama all about this ‘Black
Challenge’. If you can’t understand it, then things will hardly
progress."

"Good... but don't you need to discuss it with Nanamura-san

too?"

"Nanamura-san is no longer useful. I'll explain to you later. In

short, in order to win this 'Black Challenge', we must protect
those targeted by the criminal until the end of the challenge. The
detective character won’t come forward to identify the criminal,
you have to think under this premise. Do you understand, Yui-
onēsama?"

I didn't understand at all.

What did she mean by Nanamura-san being no longer useful?

"There’s a question I want to confirm... If the criminal of the 'Black

Challenge' fails to kill all the predetermined targets, then they're
considered to have lost, is that right?"
"Yeah, and that means, if we keep at least one targeted person
alive, we win."

So that's it, this is our way to win.

It's just that, including Uozumi, three people have been killed so
far. Calling that a victory is a bit finicky...

"Yeah, I understand."

"Then let’s start with the simplest mystery to explain first."

"The simplest one?"

"It's the mystery of the criminal disappearing into the innermost

empty room that night."

"Eh? It was a totally unbelievable and strange thing to me..."

"It was a very clever trick. It's a classic example of how even the
smallest trick can become a bizarre phenomenon depending on
how it's presented."

That night, I saw a figure of the suspected criminal in the corner of

the corridor. I followed the figure and saw it go into the empty
room. After catching up and entering the room, there was no one
there... and on the wall of the room, a big ‘X’ was painted with
fluorescent pink paint.

The room was a completely enclosed locked room mystery

without any hiding places.

"That day we each went into our own rooms before 10 PM in

accordance with the curfew that day, right? At least 10 minutes
before that time, we were all in our rooms."
"Yeah."

"In other words, that short period of time —about 10 minutes—

was enough for the criminal. The criminal doesn’t have to worry
about the curfew. They can enter and exit their room freely when
we are locked in our rooms."

"……Yeah."

"The criminal pretended to obey the curfew, entered their room,

immediately came out, and then went to the empty room deep in
the corridor, where they made some preparations."

"Preparations?"

"Leaving the door half open, and finding something to jam the
door with. Tied a rope on the thing that is jamming the door, and
put one end of the rope outside the window. That was the
preparations. Maybe the criminal had done some other tricks and
made the illusion that someone had entered the room, such as
putting a very light and thin cloth on the thing jamming the door.
The thing was probably not stuck at the bottom of the door, but in
the middle. From outside the window, they pulled the rope, the
thing was pulled off, the piece of cloth flew up, and it looked like
someone had entered the room."

"Wh-what's going on? No one actually went into that empty

room?"

"Yes, the only mystery was the thing that jammed the door got
removed and the door closed, that's all. Even though it was very
simple, it gave Yui-onēsama the illusion that someone had
entered the room."

"Illusion? But there was an ‘X’ sign on the wall, wasn't there? If no
one had entered the room, then there would be no way to draw
that ‘X’ sign..."

"We can only assume that the ‘X’ was drawn on the wall from
the beginning, it should be before we got to the third floor. That
room wasn’t used by anyone, it was an empty room, which was
within the plan."

So that's how it was... Does it mean that the reason why Uozumi
was killed was to leave an empty room?

"Then what about the figure we saw at the corner of the corridor?
It was undoubtedly a person, and Miss Mifune was also a
witness."

"That figure took advantage of the fact that the other side of the
corridor corner is a blind spot and pretended to escape into the
innermost empty room, but actually escaped into another
room."

"Another room?"

Around the corner of the corridor are five rooms from ‘307’ to
‘312’. The innermost one was the empty room, and the next room
was Chage’s.

"Did the criminal enter the victim's room and killed him at that
time?"
But at that time, Mifune was in charge of watching in the corridor.
According to her testimony, no one came out of that room before
Nanamura and I stepped into the crime scene. In other words, the
criminal was still in the victim's room at that time.

In this case, we should’ve bumped into the criminal there.

But the criminal wasn’t there.

"Actually, the disappearance act itself wasn’t important. rather

than being an act, it was more of a trap set up to make the
ensuing locked room murder realized."

"A trap?"

"Yui-onēsama, didn't you actually get confused by this

disappearance act and stayed in the empty room for a long time?"

"...A long time? But it was only for 20 minutes."

"20 minutes are more than enough to strangle a person. The

actual time to commit the crime probably only took about 10
minutes."

"At that time... behind the wall with the X sign, the criminal was
choking Chage's neck?"

"That's right."

I’m at a loss for words.

If we weren’t distracted by the strange situation in the room at

that time, and immediately went to the next room, maybe we
could’ve rescued the victim.
We were caught in a trap, deceived by the disappearing act, and
unintentionally contributed to the realization of the locked room
mystery.

"But... how did the criminal kill Chage-san? When we stepped into
the crime scene, the criminal was no longer there? How did the
criminal enter and exit the locked room, the mystery hasn’t been
solved yet. Or is it that the criminal had mastered some unique
method of freely entering and leaving locked rooms?"

"There is no way."

"No way?"

"Yui-onēsama, you said that the room is a 'complete locked room

mystery', right? Yes, the door was locked, there was a person
watching in the corridor, and the window was lined with hard iron
bars. It really looks like no one could’ve gotten in and out of that
room."

"Sure enough, it's a complete locked room mystery."

"Yeah, no one could have entered or left that locked room."

The victim was strangled to death by hand in a room that no one

could enter or exit.

How did this happen.

"Think about it, onēsama. The locked room is almost flawless. No

one got in and out of that room. Nevertheless, the victim was
strangled to death by hand. What can be done to make this kind
of thing possible?"
"—It's impossible without psychic powers."

Psychic powers?

Does it mean that……!

The former psychic is—

"No." Kirigiri denied my answer before hearing it. "Recall the

condition of the body, especially the fatal marks on the body,
which were the choke marks on the neck."

The upside-down choke marks.

Choking the head of the victim's neck from the side while he was
asleep is the only way to leave such marks.

However, on second thought... it’s really unnatural for the

criminal to strangle the victim in this way.

Was the victim really asleep at that time?

Could he have slept in that extreme situation?

If the victim wasn’t sleeping at the time... then he was awake?

Assuming that the victim didn’t lie down, but was standing up...

The victim was standing still, when the criminal appeared and
tried to choke his neck. However, if the criminal choked his neck
in this way, the choke marks won’t be upside down. So if you
want the choke marks to be upside down–

Huh?

Upside down?
A strange scenario came to my mind.

Was the criminal upside down?

As long as the criminal was hanging from the ceiling and

strangling the victim's neck, won't the choke marks be upside
down?

The moment this scenario flashed in my mind, I thought of a scary

Yōkai, the kind of Yōkai that would suddenly appear from the
ceiling and hang on it to scare people.

However, the ceiling is reinforced with cement. There are neither

beams nor skylights that could be opened and closed for the
hanging Yōkai to hide. And of course there are no holes or gaps.

So where did the criminal come from?

"There are many types of locked room mysteries, but there are
only two major ones. Do you know what they are, Yui-onēsama?"

"Umm... those with spare keys and those without spare keys?"

"Not at all." Kirigiri closed her eyes and shook her head. "The
answer is, the type where the criminal was in the room at the
time of the crime, and the type where the criminal wasn’t in the
room."

"It’s only natural when the criminal is in the room during the
crime, but what does the type where the criminal is not in the
room mean...?"

"It's a crime that is realized through some kind of remotely

operated device or mechanism. Such as a knife falling as soon as
the victim sits on a chair or something like that... Another way is
to use a gap in the locked room from the outside to kill the victim.
For example, putting a poisonous snake through a vent."

"Oh... so the criminal doesn't have to be inside the locked room."

"That's the idea."

Kirigiri nodded in satisfaction.

I thought she would continue to explain, but I didn't expect it to

be over.

"What does that mean?"

"You didn't get it yet?"

"Y-yeah."

"The locked room that looks flawless at first glance actually has a
gap somewhere. and by using that, the victim can be killed from
outside the room, that's what it means."

"Yeah."

"Hey, Yui-onēsama, you’re understanding what I'm talking about,

right?"

"I don’t!"

I protested loudly.

"...In that case, Then you’ll have to see it in person. There is no

evidence for my reasoning, only on paper. It would be faster if you
actually saw the answer with your own eyes."
Kirigiri shoved back the hair that was on her cheek and tried to
leave the room.

"W-wait, where are you going?"

She is leaving without solving a bunch of mysteries.

Kirigiri didn't answer. She just left the room, walked along the
corridor, and headed for the stairs.

She stopped on the landing.

She stood still on it.

Starting from the first step, the stairs above were damaged and
completely missing.

"The places not related to the game process are sealed with
cement walls. But here, the stairs aren’t sealed with cement. I
don't think this is accidental. It's probably for the sake of fair play
as well."

"Fair play... Is there any secret there?"

Kirigiri nodded.

What's up there?

But, I can’t go up there even if I wanted to.

I looked from the missing steps, and I could see the landing of one
floor below. Some small rubble made a rustling sound and fell
down. Although this height isn’t enough to make people feel the
threat of death, at least it will give a little scare.

Why make this place look like a ruin.

I wonder what it would take to get over this missing staircase.

The missing span of the stairs is about two or three meters, but
the location of the landing on the opposite side is higher than my
line of sight.

"We can take some sheets and twist them into a rope and hang
them on the opposite side. What do you think?"

Kirigiri proposed.

However, at first glance, there’s nowhere to hang a rope on the

opposite side.

"I guess this is where I come in."

This distance is not impossible to jump over.

I'm very confident in my jump. The problem is that there is no

place for a run-up in this place, and the landing point on the
opposite side is too high.

After I made up my mind, I went down the corridor, intending to

start a run-up from here.

"Wait, onēsama, you're going to jump over by yourself? I think

that's still too much of a stretch."

Kirigiri said worriedly.

"Just leave it to me. If we want to keep going, then danger is

unavoidable. In order to solve this mystery, we can't stand still,
right?"
"No, onēsama, if you are injured, there’s no way to take you to a
hospital right away. It's better to use your mind to think before
acting blindly. There must be a better way, don’t you think?
onēsama."

Kirigiri began to panic.

"It's okay, if I get hurt, I’ll let you take care of me."

I did my stretching exercise.

I hope that the prison life these days didn’t make my legs dull.

The stairs are straight down the hallway, then 90 degrees to the
left.

here I go.

I'm going to use my high jump technique.

Then as the stairs came into view.

Jump—

The height difference on the opposite side is almost the same

level as my line of sight.

I never thought I could land on both feet.

Once I manage to reach the upper half of my body there, all I have
to do next is crawl up with the strength of my arms.

—After a short time in the air.

I tried my best to let the part above my chest reach the edge on
the opposite side.
"Ngh!"

I climbed desperately to the edge, using both arms for support.

Both feet were hanging in the air.

"Onēsama?"

"Nnnaaaaa!"

I put my whole strength on both arms and propped up my upper

body.

Lifting a leg up, I finally climbed the edge.

Then I just rolled and laid down on the stairs landing.

"Amazing, amazing!"

I heard Kirigiri's happy cheers.

Wait? So she can raise her voice like this? I’m glad to see her
many expressions during this period of time...

I thought this while standing up on the landing, patted the dust on

my clothes, and straightened my glasses.

‘4F’ is written on the wall.

I looked up at the top of the stairs. There was no way to go in the

direction facing me. The corridor goes to the right, the same
structure as the third floor.

"...So, why did I come here again?"

The answer to the mystery of the locked room murders can be

found over here...
"Yui-onēsama, as long as it's possible to go to all the places you go
to take a look, you will know the answer soon."

"Got it."

Although it’s a bit scary for one person to explore unknown

places, it would be too difficult to bring Kirigiri here.

"I’m going to Room ‘301’."

Kirigiri went back to the third floor.

I looked up the stairs, and started climbing.

I have to go forward alone.

Although I had been doing that for a long time, now I feel so
helpless without Kirigiri.

I originally became a detective to save people, yet I ended up

being saved by her all the time.

If a detective is a person who saves others, then Kirigiri is indeed a

well-deserved detective.

However, she will definitely deny this meaning and purpose. The
detectives of the Kirigiri family don't need personal feelings, that’s
what she was taught as a child.

However, she now has doubts about this identity that has
cultivated in her detective education. Perhaps she found a
mystery in her heart that's difficult to solve.

Will she be able to solve this mystery one day.

After the stairs are done, there is an entrance that leads to the
inside of the floor just like the third one. However, unlike the third
floor, the entrance is blocked.

The stairs end here, and the place where the stairs leading up that
used to be here is now a concrete wall. The places that have
nothing to do with the game are isolated from the rest.

Probably just like what Kirigiri said, this place is designed in such a
way that only people who have overcame danger can reach it.

I stood in front of the door leading to the inside of the floor.

What kind of secrets are hidden ahead.

"The locked room that looks flawless at first glance actually has a
gap somewhere. And by using that, the victim was able to kill
from outside the room."

That's what Kirigiri said.

The gap in the room were referring to... the iron barred windows,
right?

Is there anything related to that on this floor?

I held the door handle.

Can't open.

By taking a closer look, there is a card slot for a keycard under the
door handle.

Only those with ‘Detective Rights’ can open this door.

I've come this far, and I didn't expect to be stumped by this door...
I hang my head in frustration, and was at a loss.

...Oh, right, I am the detective now.

I inserted my card into the card slot.

With a beep, the door lock opened.

Nice!

I opened the door.

Immediately after—

A cold wind suddenly enveloped me.

Something cold touched my face.

Snow?

The dazzling light made me squint, and I took a step backwards.

In this uncomfortably bright light, I opened my eyes with

trepidation.

Is this place?

–Outside.

I wrapped my arms around my body, protecting myself from the

cold wind, and stepped out into an unfamiliar world.

If I had to describe this place in one word– It would be a rooftop.

What happened to the entirety of the fourth floor?

There is a gray concrete floor under my feet, flat as far as my eyes

can see, and not the kind of sloping structure reminiscent of a
roof. In addition, there are no fences or air conditioning units or
other extra things. The edges of the building are steep cliffs at
right angles. Farther away, there is a gloomy sky, the color is
slightly lighter than the color of the concrete floor, the color of
light gray, with fine snowflakes flying in the sky.

This place should be directly above the guest rooms area on the
third floor, which is equivalent to walking on top of the L-shaped
area.

There is another surprising thing next to the door.

It's a car.

Why is it here?

I don't know where it came from and how it got here, but all in all,
I had a weird feeling of surprise, like seeing a surrealist painting.

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the car model, which looks
like a small lightweight car. I looked inside the car and found
nothing worthy of note, but I still took a picture with my phone to
keep it as evidence.

I walked forward while paying careful attention to my footing.

If I slip and fall accidentally, I’ll fall directly to the ground. That
said, it feels like it’s much higher than the third floor.

"Yui-onēsama."

From somewhere came Kirigiri's voice, but there was no sign of

her.

"Over here."
I walked in the direction where the voice came from.

She said that she would be in room ‘301’.

I stood on the edge of the steep rooftop, and stretched my neck

and looked down.

It's quite high here, and I felt dizzy.

I see a barred window in the middle of the concrete cliff.

Something is sticking out of the gap between the iron bars, and
it's shaking.

That’s my measuring tape. The tip of the measuring tape is

outside the window, and the protruding ruler is connected to the
inside of the window like a rope. So I think Kirigiri threw the tip
part out as a marker.

"Kirigiri-chan?"

"Onēsama, how is it on your side?"

I can barely hear her voice.

"I’m a little confused... I don't know why the fourth floor has
disappeared and became a rooftop."

"As expected."

I heard her happy voice.

"What the heck is going on here?"

"This is the answer to all our questions."

"Even though I have seen the answer with my own eyes, it seems
a bit bad to say this... but I still don't know what's going on."

"Can you reach out to the window from where you are standing?"

Kirigiri ignored me and asked.

I glanced at the window again. The window is located on the cliff

quite close to the roof. From my perspective, it’s about 30cm
below my feet.

If I lean down on the roof and poke my upper body out, forming a
position almost head down and feet up, my hands should be able
to reach the window.

I tried it out and bent down my body right above the window. The
concrete floor is a bit wet and chilly enough to make me shiver.

It would be bad if I dropped my glasses, so I took them off and put

them in my pocket.

I slowly poked my head over the edge.

Because I took off my glasses, the courtyard directly below looked

blurry, and my fear was less intense as a result.

I had to poke my body out some more from here, or I wouldn't be

able to reach the window.

I slowly poked my body out into the void...

At a 90 degree angle between my body and the building... the

window came into my upside down view.

I can see the interior.

Kirigiri looked up at me with a face of anxiety.

"Yui-onēsama, can you stretch your arm in between the iron

bars?"

"N-no way! I'm going to fall after another move!"

I was already in a head down and feet up state, and the

movements I could make are very limited. If my center of gravity
is a little bit unstable, then I would immediately fall to the
bottom.

"Forget it, this is too dangerous, come back."

"...Kirigiri-chan, this is bad."

"What's wrong?"

"I can't get up."

"Do your best, onēsama!"

"...I’ll try my best..."

I braced my hand against the wall and slowly let my body back up.

I didn't fall anyhow, and finally managed to survive.

Because of the force to maintain that strange posture, I feel my

muscles sore like never before. I pressed and rubbed on my body
while continuing to search nearby.

I used my phone to take pictures while walking on the rooftop,

when something suddenly tripped me. and when I looked closely,
I saw a thick, curved, wire-like object sticking out under my feet. It
should be a steel bar, because it’s gray like the concrete floor, and
I haven't noticed it before.

What on earth is this thing?

Anyway, I took a picture of it and left the rooftop.

The way back was relatively easy. at the big gap in the stairs, the
opposite landing was lower, so I jumped over easily.

I returned to room ‘301’ with the results.

"Thank you for your work, Yui-onēsama."

Kirigiri was sitting on the bed waiting for me.

"Did I help in any way?"

"It's perfect, I can safely say that all mysteries have been solved."

"Great." I sat down beside her. "So what did you find out?"

"Even Yui-onēsama should’ve understood by now, right?"

"...Ummm, it feels a little bit clearer, I guess... it should be

possible."

—A way to strangle the victim indoors without entering the room.

—The upside-down choke marks.

—The fourth floor that doesn't exist, and the rooftop that
shouldn't have existed.

From all this, there is only one possibility that can be thought of.
"No matter how unbelievable it is, as long as the conclusion is
reached after excluding other possibilities, it must be the truth.
That is to say– the criminal was doing the head down and feet up
posture outside the window, stretched their arms in between
the iron bars and strangled the victim in the room."
"But... I actually tried it just now. My movements were very
restricted when I poked my body out from the cliff. In this case,
it's impossible to kill."

"Were there no poles or the like on the roof to fix your body?"

"Ah, a pole, there was something like a steel bar sticking out from
the ground."

"That's the hook used to hang the safety rope. If you want to
reach into the room through the window like you did just now, it
should be quite inconvenient to move without fixing your feet, so
you have to hang a rope and fix your lower half."

As long as the lower body is firmly fixed on the roof, even if the
upper body is poking out of the cliff, you will be able to move
freely to a certain extent.

"But hanging upside down to choke someone's neck... isn't it

rather difficult?"

"I think it would require training, at least not anyone can do it

without preparations. I think the criminal went through a long and
hard training before they put it into action."

"Huh... but wait a minute."

I noticed a major flaw in her reasoning.

Even if the criminal was able to stretch their arms into the room
from the window, the criminal still wouldn’t be able to choke the
victim's neck.
The reason why, it’s because the victim wouldn’t necessarily be
near the window.

If the victim wasn’t in that place, the criminal's hands wouldn’t

have been able to reach.

No, to be precise, it would be impossible to reach the victim.

"Hey, Kirigiri-chan, it’s still impossible, because it’s not common

for the victim to accidentally be near the window, right?"

"It was the criminal who lured the victim to the window. I don’t
know if they made some noise to draw the victim over, or if they
called them out... If they did, they might’ve said, 'I know a way
out'. If they had claimed that they had in fact escaped and got
out, the lure would have been more effective."

"Right..."

I almost agreed, then shook my head hard.

"No, the problem isn’t that! Isn't the position of the window very
high? At least with Chage-san’s height, even the top of his head
isn’t as high as the window. Even if Chage-san was lured near the
window, the criminal's hands wouldn't have reached the other's
neck."

"Yes, this is indeed a problem." Kirigiri said, raising her index

finger. "How did the criminal choke the victim's neck? Before
thinking about this, let's review the murder of the first night, So
you might be able to discover the key point."

"Reviewing... is not something I'm very good at."

First, the criminal set up a mechanism to jam the door of room
‘312’ before the 10 PM curfew, and used it to perform the
disappearing act. The criminal tied a rope to what was stuck in the
door and threw one end of the rope out the window.

After that, when the night hours started at 10 o'clock, the criminal
deliberately let us witness their figure, making us mistakenly
believe that they escaped into the empty room, but in fact they
entered another room.

"The room where the criminal escaped to wasn’t an empty room,

nor was it the victim's room, right?"

"Yes."

"Which room was it?"

"Of course it's the criminal's own room."

I thought back about the room allocation of the first night.

"What did the criminal do afterwards?"

"They went out of their room and climbed onto the roof. Almost
all of the ten rooms that night were enclosed rooms, but only the
criminal's own room wasn’t an enclosed room. I think the iron
bars of the criminal's room could be easily removed."

"The criminal climbed out of the window and went up to the

rooftop?"

"That should be the case. Maybe they set up a rope or something

in advance to make it easier for them to go up."
Once on the rooftop, they didn’t have to worry about being seen
by others, nor were they hindered by the walls between the
rooms, they were able to go straight to the room where the target
was.

"After getting on the rooftop, the criminal immediately went to

pull the rope hanging from the window of the empty room,
right?"

That rope was used to remove the thing that was stuck to the
door.

"Yeah. The rope may also had been pulled into the window of the
criminal's own room in advance, through a hook on the roof."

"Right... Considering the timing of us getting to the corner of the

corridor, the criminal didn't have time to reach the empty room.
After they entered their room, they immediately pulled the
rope..."

As soon as the criminal pulled the rope, we witnessed the

disappearing act.

However, that trick was a trap.

As a result, they made me and Nanamura go inside the empty

room.

And at that time, the criminal—

"Lured Chage-san to the window from the rooftop, right?"

But would the cautious Chage be lulled by the criminal's sweet
words. He looked like quite afraid of the night, if someone told
him ‘there is a way out’, he might’ve fallen for it.

However... even if the criminal lured Chage near the window in

this way, their hands still wouldn’t have been able reach his neck.

It's hard to tell whether they could’ve even touched his head.

If the hands that came in from the window wanted to touch the
victim's neck... then they have to let their arms stretch, right?

This kind of thing can only be done by yoga masters, no, it’s
probably also difficult for yoga masters.

Since the arm can’t get extended by a lot, it can only work by
letting the victim actively approach.

If the victim could come to a higher level...

–A higher level?

They could’ve just used a stepping stone.

The victim looked for something to pad his feet with in order to
see the view outside the window.

But what did he use to pad his feet?

The bed is fixed on the ground and cannot be moved. In addition,

there was nothing in the room that could’ve been used to pad his
feet.

Something to replace a stepping stone...

There’s nothing.
None at all...

No, maybe...

By using that!

"Kirigiri-chan... although I think it is unlikely..."

"What did you think of?"

"Putting the 100 million yen bundles next to the window as a

stepping stone, but something like that is still a bit—"

"Exactly that." Kirigiri tucked her hair around her ear. "Chage-san
and Toyano'oh-san had almost the same body, both are almost
175cm. As for the height of the window, It’s about 2 meters above
the ground. As long as the pad is 50cm, the position of the victim's
head should line up with the window. The victim wouldn’t have
known how to see outside the window at first, so the criminal
may have directly told him this method to ‘use the money as a
stepping stone’. 10 million banknotes would be 10 centimeters
high. Chage-san placed five of the 10 million bundles of banknotes
near the window and arranged them in two rows to create a 50cm
stepping stone."
"In this way, even if someone was outside the window, they can
reach the other person's neck!"

The gap in the locked room mystery is getting bigger and bigger.

This hole that’s pierced by the bullet of logic. The locked room
that looked flawless at first glance is also dispelled by the bullet
she fired—

"Huh, wait a minute." I said, recalling the condition of the rooms

when I first stepped into the crime scenes. "I didn't see any 100
million yen next to any window? Not only that, but the victims'
money is nowhere to be found..."

"Onēsama, have you finally realized that the victims' money is

missing?"

"Eh, you were aware of that?"

"Yeah, didn't I ask you several times if there was any change at
the crime scene? Yui-onēsama, you replied ‘Nothing changed’. In
other words, when the body was initially discovered, Chage-san's
100 million yen was gone."

"Th-that's right, It wasn't there, so I didn't notice it!"

"Yes... the others probably didn't notice that the deceased's

money was missing too. perhaps also because of Norman's
sentence of 'will confiscate the money of the deceased' vaguely
made them think that the money was confiscated by the
criminal, most likely for both cases."

"I-it wasn’t? The money wasn't confiscation after their death?"

"What Norman said at that time only referred to Uozumi-san. Not
all the deceased are subject to this confiscation rule."

"Then we should’ve found Chage-san’s and Toyano'oh-san’s

money at the crime scene of their murders!"

"It should’ve been so. However, the fact is that both of their
money was missing. This fact reflects the most logical system in
this ‘Black Challenge’."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"This is at the same time the only way to be invincible at this

auction. Why did the money of the two deceased disappear? If it
wasn’t confiscated– It must’ve been taken away. That's right, the
way to win in this game is to bid more money than everyone else,
to ensure that the 'Detective Rights' is in your hands, and to use
the 'Detective Rights' to grab the deceased's money before
everyone else."

"—Ah!"

The money spent is restored from the dead.

The so-called ‘Detective Rights’ is also the right to grave rob.

"The person who takes the remains of the deceased will always be
the detective... This game is simply a mockery of us."

"That’s... It’s not like that, we..."

Can I say this is not the case?

Aren't detectives stirring up the dead– also stirring up the past?

In fact, what we are doing is uncovering past events in the ‘Black
Challenge’, intending to expose the identities of the criminals and
victims to the light of day.

"If you can figure out the way to win, it’s possible to survive even
if you are chosen as the target of the 'Black Challenge'. In this
sense, the game is indeed fair, except that surviving requires the
death of others."

Take the deceased’s money and use it to save your life.

Hidden in this auction is an extremely disgusting secret trick.

"And more than that, it's what happens afterwards that's the key
point. The person who becomes the detective takes the
deceased's money– the game creates a more favorable
environment for the criminal. The reason being that the money
itself is also part of the locked room mystery. In other words,
when someone takes the money—"

"It makes the evidence disappear from the crime scene!"

"That's right. The reason why this 'Black Challenge' is taking the
form of an auction should be for this reason. If the money was
stacked and placed next to the barred window, someone might
immediately notice that it's part of the crime's modus operandi.
It’s difficult to say whether the criminal had sufficient time to
collect it. In fact, in the first murder case, the criminal didn’t have
the time to do so. However, there’s no need for the criminal to
panic, because the detective will definitely wipe out the evidence
for them—"
"Th-this is false, right?"

"No, it's true. Think back to the first night, Nanamura-san entered
the crime scene before you, onēsama, right?"

"Y-yeah..."

"At that time, after he saw the crime scene, he should’ve

understood it all. Then, he immediately took the 100 million yen
under the window and hid it, presumably in the blanket or the
backpack."

"In those two or three minutes?"

"Yes. After that, he managed to distract the others, letting Yui-

onēsama leave the third floor for the time being, then he went
back to the crime scene to take out the money and hid them
somewhere else."

"That time... turned out to be like that..."

I didn't doubt him at all, and completely obeyed him.

The more I thought about it, the more... frustrated I become.

"I think Nanamura-san may have already known the way to win
and the goal of the criminal at the very beginning when he heard
the rules of the auction. After all, he is a Double-Zero rank
detective. Based on this full understanding, he probably secretly
decided to cooperate with the criminal's plan. For example...
Onēsama, when you investigated the empty room with him, the
criminal was committing the crime in the next room... but he
deliberately stayed in the empty room for a long time, waiting for
the criminal to complete the locked room technique."

Nanamura and I spent 20 minutes investigating in the empty

room where the criminal disappeared. I wasn't particularly aware
of anything, I just thought we took so long in order to investigate
more thoroughly... But in reality, time was completely under
Nanamura's control.

"Did Nanamura-san conspire with the criminal to commit the

crime?"

"No, we can't say that they worked together. To be more precise,

Nanamura-san saw through the criminal's plan and used it for
himself."

"What do you mean?"

"The goal of the criminal is revenge, and Nanamura-san's goal is

money, so if he goes along with the criminal’s plan, he can get a
lot of money without much effort. In fact, he now has 100 million
yen in his hands, although that was originally Chage-san’s."

"...That guy! He’s really not right in the head! Is money the only
thing on his mind?"

"It's not like we didn't know anything about his character, It’s just
a little hard for us to understand that kind of thinking. For him,
money equals time. For example, he spent money to rent a
helicopter, which saved time that got added to his life. in simple
terms, money is visible life span. We should have thought of
what actions he would take in front of this much money."
"Ugh... Unforgivable..."

Nanamura's actions are a stain on the detective's integrity.

And if someone with the honorable title of the Double-Zero rank

did this, the morals of the entire detective force should be called
into question.

"Alright then..." Kirigiri still had a calm expression on her face.

"Let's get back to topic, and talk about the locked room mystery
from the beginning."

"Y-yeah."

Her words restored a few moments of composure in me.

"The criminal led Nanamura-san and Yui-onēsama to the empty

room, and took this opportunity to quietly carry out the locked
room murder. They then lured Chage-san to the window and I
think Chage-san followed the criminal’s instructions. Used 100
million yen to pad his feet, and then looked out the window. In
the next moment—"

The criminal who was hanging upside down appeared.

It's a terrifying sight to imagine.

"I think that in order to secure the victim to the window, the
criminal wrapped a tight rope around the victim's neck and held
him in place. The criminal put the rope around the victim's neck
by throwing a lasso, this was to prevent the victim from escaping
from the window, or maybe it to prevent the victim from
screaming. The criminal strangled the victim's neck tightly, but
didn’t intend to strangle him to death with the rope."

"So the rope wasn’t used to kill?"

"Yes, the victim's neck had traces of a rope in addition to the

choke marks. The reason should be that. After the victim was
fixed in place, the criminal directly choked the other's neck with
their hands. As for why the criminal had to use their hands
specially to strangle the victim, it’s to make us think that the
criminal had been in and out of the locked room. After all, the
victim was strangled to death, so the only possibility is that
someone broke into the room and directly killed him."

"Thanks to that, I was completely confused."

"The criminal was naturally wearing gloves at the time. This was
to avoid being injured by the victim when he resisted, and also to
hide the fingerprints and handprints left on the victim's neck."

"A really cautious criminal."

"Yeah, but they probably didn't expect the upside down choke
marks to be clearly left on the victim's neck." Kirigiri shrugged,
and continued. "So, the criminal strangled the victim to death. But
if the corpse was left alone, the victim would fall under the
window, and then it would’ve been easy to find flaws in the
locked room mystery. Therefore, the criminal had to move the
body."

When we stepped into the crime scene, the corpse wasn’t by the
window, but was sitting with his head resting on the bed.
Is it possible to put the body in that way without entering the
room?

"After confirming that the victim had stopped breathing, the

criminal first crumpled the note with ‘Revenge Successful’ into the
opponent's mouth. This trick was also to make us think that the
criminal had been in and out of the crime scene. Then, in order to
move the body, the criminal put a collar around the victim's neck.
This collar was connected to a rope, and the other end of the rope
extended to the roof. We can assume that that rope was A, and at
the same time, the criminal also prepared beforehand another
rope, rope B, that is used to retrieve the collar. That collar
should’ve been secured with a screw-in pin or the like. As long as
it was pulled, the pin would be loosened and the collar would fall
off. "

"Uh-huh, then what?"

"By leaving a longer section of rope A and letting it dangle loosely

in the room. The criminal maintained their bent position, and
stretched their arms into the room while holding the dangling
rope tightly with both hands, and then flung the rope up and
down just like a jump rope, and let it hang on the bed inside. The
bed happens to have a headboard, so the rope was hung there."

"Hanging upside down and flinging a rope... this seems very hard."

"Next, just pull rope A and the collar to move the body to the side
of the bed. After moving the body into place, you only need to
pull rope B again to retract the collar. This way, the locked room
mystery is complete."
"That's easy to say, but pulling a body with a rope is quite a heavy
work, right? Chage-san wasn’t that fat, but he was still at least
50kg..."

"It’s possible that they used pulleys... or maybe they used some
powerful props that are more stronger than manpower."

"—Ah!"

I remembered the strange thing on the roof and showed Kirigiri

the photo on my phone.

"Unsurprisingly, it’s an electric car. Because it doesn't make

engine noise, it’s best used to smuggle things. Presumably the
criminal tied rope A to the car and used it to move the body."

"You know about cars? By the way, did you already know that
there is a car on the roof?"

"It was written in the challenge letter that there is a car, right?"

"Yeah."

"At first, I thought that such a murder weapon might just be listed
but wouldn’t be actually used, Just a red herring. But considering
the trick, I thought it could’ve been used there."

"What do you mean?"

"There are two ways to use the car. The first is the same as what I
just said. The car was used to pull the dead body. The other
method is to set up pulleys and winches inside the car to pull the
dead body. The car itself is a silent unit. Although both methods
can be used to move the body, the latter is the better option
because it’s more silent."

"But it's crazy to have a car on the roof."

Did the Crime Victims’ Relief Committee lift it up by a crane?

"Now the mystery of the locked room is solved. The criminal

strangled the victim through the iron-barred window, and then
moved the body with a rope. The 100 million yen used to pad the
feet under the window was hidden by Nanamura-san."

This is the truth–

The truth that I thought would be difficult to unravel no matter

what was so easily revealed by Kirigiri.

"I really don't know what to say about this abandoned hotel. No
one can see the truth after such a renovation, I mean the floor
above the third one is now a rooftop."

"You don't have enough imagination, Yui-onēsama. From the

upside-down choke marks, you should have been able to infer
that the criminal appeared from above."

"Even if you say that, it's hard to think that there’s nothing above
the third floor..."

"Yui-onēsama, you said this is the third floor, but I think this floor
is actually the fifth one. It's not that the floors above the third
are gone, but that we are above the third floor. As for The
rooftop, it’s the real rooftop. The stairs have probably been
rearranged, and from the number of floors, we thought we were
only on the third floor, but in fact we were on the fifth floor.
Didn’t you think the stairs are very steep?"

"Now that you say it……"

It’s really hard to imagine that it’s only three floors high from the
view from the rooftop.

"Then the number of floors written on the landings are wrong? So

were the schematics of the hotel in the lobby and the room
numbers having ‘3’ on the doors?"

" It could be that the culprit prepared it in advance to give us the

wrong impression, or it could’ve been done by the Crime Victims’
Relief Committee."

"So everything was designed by the criminal to use the

rooftop..."

"By the way, we can assume that Toyano'oh-san was killed with
the same trick that was used on Chage-san."

"I remember that we spilled water in the corridor that night for
footprints, but it didn't look like the criminal left any footprints."

"Yes, the criminal probably noticed the water spilled on the floor
outside the door. The detective announced he wouldn’t do
anything that night, so it was okay to enter the victim's room
through the door, but the criminal still had to walk on the rooftop.
The criminal went out through the window of their room to the
rooftop and then went to the victim’s room."
The sound I heard that night was like something being dragged. It
must have been the sound made by the criminal when he moved
the body to the bedside with the rope.

"Although Toyano'oh-san only had 70 million, he had no problem

trying to lay a 50cm high stepping stone. However, when we
checked the body, the money was gone."

"Ah, so that’s what happened... Minase-san took it, that's why he

bid more than the money he had left on hand at the third
auction."

"That’s right. He discovered the nature of this auction and

planned to put his finding into practice. Unfortunately for him, he
lost to us. The reason why he failed was because he tried to win
with the minimum amount of money. It was hard for him to
master the victory formula. It was beyond his capabilities."

"If Minase-san won yesterday, someone would’ve died by now..."

"It's very possible that Yui-onēsama prevented this from

happening."

"I hope so..."

In reality, I just ran around with the key card.

"Speaking of Toyano'oh-san’s room, there was a doll... How did it

end up in the room? With the size of that doll, there was no way
for it to pass between the iron bars."

"First disassemble the doll, pass it through the iron bars, and then
reassemble it. I took off the doll’s clothes and saw that there are
traces of splicings everywhere on it. The reason why such a doll
was specially prepared, I think, is also for us to think the criminal
had been in and out of the locked room. It was because the
criminal had a lot of time that night, that's why they deliberately
arranged such a thing."

The mystery of the two locked rooms has been solved.

The remaining question is which room window the criminal got

out from.

"Hey, Kirigiri-chan, who is the criminal?"

Finally approaching the core part.

"By narrowing down the scope according to the conditions met,

we can naturally determine the identity of the criminal."

Kirigiri said with a raised index finger.

I felt a glimpse of a young detective in her gestures.

"First of all, the criminal must be relatively small in size, so that

they are able to pass through the narrow window. I believe it's
not possible for men, at least no man here is smaller than the
women."

—The criminal is a female.

"Then there’s the first disappearing act. To achieve that teick, the
criminal used the room located in the blind spot of your vision,
Yui-onēsama, that is, ‘307’ room or after."

—The criminal was in room ‘307’ or after on the first night.

"As for the window used to enter and exit the rooftop, although I
don't know which room it’s in... I think there should be only one
room in the ten rooms with such a window. After all, if there is
that mechanism in more than one room, Others may find out
about it. Only the iron bars on that window in that particular
room can be removed to allow someone to go out."

"Do you know which room that is?"

"It's very simple. The criminal committed murders for two

consecutive days, which means that the criminal used the room
with that mechanism for two consecutive days, right? That room
is the entrance and exit to the rooftop."

—A person who stayed in the same room for two consecutive

days.
The window in that room is the secret entrance and exit.

I opened my notebook and checked the room allocation for the

two days.

There was only one person who stayed in the same room the first
night and the next one.

"Yes, the criminal is Yozuru Sae."

No way... that widow...

She was in room ‘307’.

She was the one who choked two men to death with those two
slender arms. It feels unbelievable... but at the same time, I have a
vague feeling that she can do such a thing.
But wait a minute... wasn't it a coincidence that she stayed in
room ‘307’.

She didn't choose that room by herself.

"Hey, Kirigiri-chan, we used playing cards to determine the room

allocation for the first night. Yozuru-san couldn't have chosen
room '307' by herself... Did she stay in the room with the secret
window by chance?"

"No, before the cards were dealt, Yozuru-san snatched the playing
cards and touched them with her hands. She pretended to
confirm whether the cards were tampered with. But actually,
she was tampering with the cards herself. I think she scratched
the back of that '4' card."

So she had paved the way for her crime at that moment with a
swift move.

The room allocation for the next day was determined in the order
of the bid amount. Although the situation at the auction was
rather chaotic, it was probably not difficult to put herself in the
back of the queue, as long as the bid was lower. If she couldn't get
assigned to room ‘307’, the murder could be rescheduled to
another day.

"Huh? But on the night of the first murder, Yozuru-san kept

chatting with Mifune-san who was in charge of watching the
corridor. They both gave each other alibi, right?"

"The time used to kill is 10 minutes. It took five minutes to move

the body and retrieve the ropes and then return to the room. The
remaining five minutes to chat with Mifune-san, so that there is
no contradiction. She made an alibi for Mifune-san but also
emphasized hers at the same time."

"I see..."

It should’ve been quite difficult to complete the crime in just 20

minutes, and it was also necessary to ensure that the victim was
strangled to death. For this day, she must’ve gone through
repeated training.

"By the way, I checked the window of room ‘307’ where the
problem is last night, but I couldn’t remove the iron bars. The
criminal must’ve estimated that this mechanism won’t be used
anymore, so they sealed it up."

"Won’t be use anymore?"

"Yes, at least the same trick won't be used anymore... to be

precise, it shouldn’t be used anymore."

"Why?"

"It’s because the remaining target is too short, even if she used
money to pad her feet, her neck won’t reach the height of the
window."

"Ah... Mifune-san!"

"Yes, I think she is the last target, but I’m not 100% sure. I don't
know if you want to believe me, I can only say that I’ve ‘heard the
footsteps of the Shinigami’..."

"Good enough for me, we have to protect her."

"...Thank you, onēsama."

Kirigiri said with a sigh of relief.

After talking about such a big theory, she probably felt a little
uneasy in her heart to say the only thing that is difficult to
determine.

But in regard to the ‘footsteps of the Shinigami’ she heard, I have

seen such a precedent. It seems that she can indeed sense the
death of others.

"I wonder how the criminal is planning to kill her."

"In worst case scenario, she might use a gun."

"If that happens, as long as the criminal hangs upside down from
above and shoots at the target in the room, then that would
create the third locked room!"

"Bullets have ballistic trajectories. and by examining the body, you

can easily determine where and from what angle the criminal shot
the victim. That way, once the truth about the criminal shooting
through the window is exposed, then the rooftop trick will all be
exposed too, so I don’t think the criminal will use this method."

"I see……"

There’s also a hammer on the list of murder weapons, but that

might just be a red herring.

"As long as we don't know how she plans to kill the target, we
have no way to protect her. So in the next two auctions, we have
to let Mifune-san obtain the 'Detective Rights' to ensure her
safety."

"The person with the 'Detective Rights' won’t be killed. Will the
criminal abide by this rule?"

"At this time, they won’t act against the rules."

"To be safe, it's better to let Nanamura-san identify the criminal

and let the 'Black Challenge' end, right?"

"Didn't I say that he is useless. In this 'Black Challenge', he will

instead support the criminal to win. At the moment, he’s still
putting on a neutral face, but when the time comes, he'll most
likely turn against us. I think we should leave him alone and not
provoke him.”

I still can't believe that a Double-Zero rank detective would

disregard his honor for money.

"Yui-onēsama, the decisive battle is next. We have to win in the

game designed by the criminal and put an end to this 'Black
Challenge'."

"What are our chances of winning...?"

My heart is full of anxiety.

"Nothing is impossible." Kirigiri said with a sweet smile. "We will

win fair and square. Isn't that right, onēsama."
When 6 PM came, we all gathered in the cafeteria, and there
wasn’t much time left on the electronic display.

The portrait showed a picture of a black cat.

"Hi, I'm a stray cat walking around here. It's already 6 o'clock and
today's auction is about to begin. For the record, there’s nothing
new to add, and I'll be hosting tomorrow too nya."

The fourth auction.

According to my notebook, the remaining money of each person

is as follows:

Samidare Yui 27 million

Kirigiri Kyōko 49 million
Mifune Meruko 89 million
Shinsen Mikado 90 million
Minase Yūzen 68 million
Yozuru Sae 93 million
Nanamura Suisei 100 million

If it’s a decisive battle between Mifune and Yozuru, then Yozuru

would win.
But things have reached this point, and they won’t be fighting
alone.

Of course, Kirigiri and I took Mifune’s side, and our money is

added to hers.

Meanwhile, at some point Shinsen was pulled to Yozuru's side.

It looks like Shinsen believes that Yozuru is the next target of the
murderer.

"If the motive for this series of murders is revenge, then it’s safe
to say that the next person whose life is threatened is most likely
her. As for the other people here, there is no reason for why they
would be killed."

Shinsen said in a calm voice.

"You say it as if I’m a great villain, fufufu."

Yozuru eyes broke into an icy smile.

Her eyes were dark, like a bottomless darkness—

She is the criminal of this ‘Black Challenge’.

Two men have already died at her hands.

Kirigiri and I know this well, but neither of us said anything. The
‘Black Challenge’ system and the rules of the auction are
protecting her very well, It’s almost flawless. Her plan even
deprived us of our ‘detective identity’ and is temporarily leaving
us out of the picture.
"Shouldn’t you all act to protect Yozuru-san's life too? If all of us
worked together for her sake, then there would be no need to
hold the auction."

"I'm sorry, that won't do."

Minase kicked open the cafeteria door and entered.

"I can't trust you guys." Minase said, pointing to Shinsen and the
others. "I don't have any experience in the business world, but I
can still smell danger. You bastards are no good. I'm going to bet
on this side, because someone said she trusts me.

He joined our side.

"Minase-san!"

He is a waste of a human being, but he looked a bit cool there.

"Hey, what you said last time still stands, right?"

Minase whispered.

Kirigiri nodded silently.

The results of each group’s money are as follows:

Mifune Meruko 233 million

Yozuru Sae 183 million

We have the absolute advantage.

However—
Yozuru suddenly brought out another heavy hiking bag from
nowhere.

"Th-this is...?"

I couldn't help asking, and Yozuru turned to Nanamura.

Nanamura threw a wink at us.

"This is my money." he said with exaggerated open arms. "It

contains a full 50 million yen."

"W-wait a minute! What's going on? Nanamura-san, why are you

helping Yozuru-san?"

In my mind, I thought it’s impossible for a stingy person like him

to spend such a large sum of money this easily... "Ufufu… wanna
know why? There are many reasons, but they shouldn’t be told to
children……"

"No way... so that's the case!" I approached Nanamura.

"Nanamura-san, you fell for her seductions, so you gave away
those 50 million to her!"

"Don't get me wrong, young detective girl, I would never fall for a
woman's beauty."

"You’re lying, absolutely lying!"

"I'm not lying, because I’m gay."

The sudden coming out announcement made the place fall into
complete silence.

I was also speechless.

"I lent her money conditionally at her request, and this condition
is tenfold refund. If we leave here safely, she will repay me ten
times the money."

Ten times 50 million is... 500 million?

"My previously deceased husband left me with insurance money

and inheritance, which I can use to pay him back once I get out of
here."

"G-guh..."

I was at a loss for words.

"Hey, it's better for me to change sides..."

Minase started saying stuff he shouldn’t say, and I gave him a

glare.

"No, just kidding, kidding."

Now, oddly enough, we're evenly matched

Mifune Meruko 233 million

Yozuru Sae 233 million

Is it fate, or are we just playing into Yozuru's hands...

If only I hadn't wasted that 5 million in the first auction... I’m only
now starting to regret it.

"Nanamura-san, can you lend us the remaining 50 million?"

I appealed to him.

It’s the only amount of money that hasn’t been put on any side
yet.

"Can you offer me the same deal as Yozuru-san? Of course you

can’t. And I should mention in advance that I have no interest in
children's seduction tricks."

"I can lend you Minase-san for one night..."

"Idiot, stop fucking around!"

"Unfortunately, he’s not my type."

Nanamura shrugged.

"I feel relieved and disappointed at the same time....... What is

this feeling."

Minase was at a loss, and sat down on a chair looking tired.

There’s no way to break this state of equilibrium.

"The person who will be attacked by the murderer is Mifune-san.

We should protect her together, Shinsen-san, don't you
understand?"

I focused on Shinsen.

As long as we pull him to our side, we can win.

"I beg to differ with that statement. Why would Mifune-san be

the next target?" Shinsen asked. "Is Mifune-san a criminal? No,
she herself denied it. If the 'Black Challenge' mentioned by
Detective-san is true, then the victims are only limited to
criminals, so then the target should be Yozuru-san. Protecting
criminals may sound strange... but the past is in the past.
Shouldn't you also be protecting her?"

His reasoning made me feel as if we are the wrong one here.

"You said you can see the Shinigami! Can't you see the Shinigami’s
shadow on Mifune-san? How about that?"

I tried my best to impress Shinsen, but he looked at me with a

frighteningly cold stare for a moment.

However, he immediately shook his head.

His will can’t be shaken.

"I will invest all my money at the next auction."

Yozuru suddenly announced.

"What did you say? Hey, you bitch, what do you mean?"

Our special attack captain Minase snapped.

"During the time I’ve been living here, I’ve discovered one thing
that’s more important than money... that is life. If you don't have
a life, even if you have money, it won't help you much... I finally
realized that this day."

This liar!

She must be fighting to claim the ‘Detective Rights’ and then

killing Mifune.

"Listen here, dumbass, think about it again." Minase said. "Do you
really want to invest all your money? If you invest all of it, then it’s
all over, right? you'll have no more money, and you’ll be at a
disadvantage later. Don’t you understand this? It's a good idea to
have a little bit to compromise. Come on!"

"It’s better to compromise..."

Mifune began to shrink.

Although we have more people on our side, it’s of no use. The key
lies with who has more money.

Neither side dared to act rashly, and time passed by slowly.

"It looks like words alone won't solve any problem."

Yozuru stood up and dragged her hiking bags to the bidding

compartment.

"W-wait a minute! We haven’t come to a conclusion yet!"

Minase called out to her.

However, Yozuru didn’t stop.

Once someone bids in the compartment, the next person must

bid within 10 minutes. If no one entered the compartment within
10 minutes, the auction will automatically end and the auction
results will be displayed.

Yozuru lit the fuse.

She finally walked into the bidding compartment.

"Hey, Is this ok?" Sweat dripped from Minase's face, and he

leaned toward me and Kirigiri. "Should we let her do that? Let her
run out of all her money and become poor, so that we can win
tomorrow."

"I thought you have understood it from the previous auctions...

Regardless of the process, the person who invests all their money
will win. If you don’t have an opportunist personality, you will
lose."

Kirigiri is very calm.

"But it's not good this time." I whispered. "I don't know if she'll
really put all her money in or not, but this doesn’t matter. Let's
not be reckless, let's fight safe instead!"

If we invest all the money now, if our amount is the same as

Yozuru, both sides will lose everything. Not only would we not get
today's ‘Detective Rights’, we’ll even lose the right to participate
in tomorrow's auction with no money. This is the worst case
scenario.

If the other party’s ‘All-in declaration’ is a bluff, and the amount

actually bid was relatively small. In that case– If we invest all our
money, at least we’ll win today, but we won’t be able to win
tomorrow's auction.

How about not investing all our money, and using a small amount
of money and try out our chances.

If we bid a small amount of money, and we lose today, we will

surely win the next day. For example, today we bid 10 million and
the other side bids 12 million. Although we lose today, the total
amount of money is 2 million more than the other side for us. If
we invest all our money tomorrow, we will definitely win.
However, this is under the premise that Nanamura won’t
continue to support Yozuru with money.

On the other hand, if we win today, we will have less money than
the other side, and we will definitely not win tomorrow.

According to the above cases, even if there is a one percent

chance of not winning twice due to the same amount of money
case, we should try to avoid investing the full amount of money in
this auction.

It's necessary to choose between winning today or winning

tomorrow. If I must choose one of the two, it’s better to take
advantage of today to win first in order to avoid Nanamura’s
future support money.

—However, Kirigiri has a different opinion.

"Yui-onēsama, 'winning one out of two auctions' isn’t the right

idea from the start. We have to win twice in a row. As soon as we
lose the 'Detective Rights' once, Mifune-san will be killed on the
same day, and the culprit must have already prepared for it."

"How is it possible to win twice in a row! The only way to win

anything is to give up one of them!"

I raised my voice.

Minase and Mizune nodded in agreement.

"No, there is a way to win."

Kirigiri responded to us with serious eyes.

Even in this despair-filled situation, she still didn’t lose her belief
in victory.

How on earth is it going to work?

The numbers are cold and unforgiving, no matter how we

calculate it, we have no hope of winning twice in a row.

Yozuru finished the bid and came out of the compartment.

Her hiking bag... didn't get any smaller?

It looks the same as when she went in.

Was it just a bluff?

Or did... she sneak something else inside it after she made her
bid? What did she put in it? Is that hiking bag a bluff? Or is she
adopting the strategy of bidding a small amount of money?

Aaaa, the more I think about it, the more I don't understand her
intentions.

A smile appeared at the corner of Yozuru's mouth.

Although she is playing the victim who needs to be protected, she

is actually the murderer of this ‘Black Challenge’. I don't know
what happened to her in the past, but she has now sunk into
darkness, and we can't let any murderer go unpunished.

But first, we have to win at this auction.

Kirigiri gave Mifune an earful.

"Follow the way I told you to bid."

Mifune nodded despite her confusion.

I helped Mifune carry the hiking bag with the huge amount of
money. It was too heavy for her to carry 233 million yen by
herself.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

Kirigiri escorted Mifune into the bidding compartment.

She nodded and closed the compartment door.

After a long time, Mifune finally came out.

Her hiking bag appears empty.

10 minutes later, the siren sounded announcing the end of the

fourth auction.

We rushed to the portrait.

The results are—

Today’s auction results:

Mifune Meruko 23,000 Ten-Thousand
Yozuru Sae 0 Ten-Thousand

I felt weak with sore knees and leaned against the balcony railing.

Kirigiri's idea really did not beat around the bush, it was to put in
all the money.
We did avoid the worst case where both groups invest the same
amount and money leading to all being confiscated, since Yozuru
offered zero yen.

This meant we were completely deceived by her bluff. We had to

win both times, but unlike us. She only needed to win once by
saving her money and abandoning today's auction. This was
probably her choice.

"That woman... really did it! Damnit!"

Minase glared at Yozuru with gritted teeth.

"Ah..." Yozuru hugged Shinsen with a miserable pale face. "I lost...
because I couldn't let go of the money after all... that would make
me want to die..."

"It can't be helped." Shinsen took her words seriously. "Let

Mifune-san protect you tonight."

"Yeah... I have no other choice but that..."

Yozuru said this, grinning at us.

Ah... She already understands that we are her enemies. or

perhaps she just knows in her heart that we have figured out that
she is the murderer.

After thinking about it, Nanamura, who is supposed to be play the

role of the detective, stole the evidence without being noticed on
the first day. Maybe from that time on, the murderer and the
detective secretly became accomplices, and they were both well
aware of this.
The murderer plans to let the ‘Black Challenge’ end in her victory.
Nanamura, who plays the role of a detective, will fail in this ‘Black
Challenge’, but he can leave with a large sum of money. There is
no disadvantage to the detective if he loses. If we have to count
one, it would probably be his reputation being damaged.

100 million yen or the detective's honor.

Which is more important?

At least for Nanamura, money is more important.

In any case, now all our money is spent.

The solution for us to win at tomorrow's auction simply doesn't

exist now.

The room allocation for this night was the same as yesterday, with
the detective being placed in the innermost room and the order
of the others determined by Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Although Mifune is given the ‘Detective Rights’, things still can’t

be taken lightly. The criminal may have a desire of getting rid of
people who get in the way.

"Hey, pumpkinHead, can you promise to get everyone out?"

"I-I'm not really sure, but no matter how difficult it is, we have to
do it, right? Uuuuu..."

The night time is approaching, and we each went into our rooms.

The night time has come as usual.

Although Mifune struggled for a long time, she still managed to
rescue everyone from the guest rooms.

But we know in our hearts that the murderer didn’t need to

deliberately do anything this evening.

To answer why, it's because tomorrow we will all be locked in our

rooms defenseless.

And so, one night passed and a day of despair began.

At 7 AM, Kirigiri and I took a shower in room ‘303’ to prepare for

the last day.

Coincidentally, today happens to be the last day of the year, New

Year's Eve. Maybe this day is just right to put an end to
everything.

Kirigiri sat on the bed while I braided her hair, and almost drifted
off to sleep several times without knowing it. I have been at my
limit for the past few days. I had barely closed my eyes. In a dim
consciousness, stroking her soft hair, I gradually fell asleep...

I snapped awake to find that Kirigiri in front of me is just as dozed

off and fast asleep as I was.

Soon Kirigiri fell down towards me, I let her rest her tiny head on
my lap. I didn't dare to move, afraid to disturb her sleep.

I wonder what's going on inside this little head. It's a mystery to

me.
In her sleep, her hair covered her cute ears, and it hung down
near her neck. Her innocent and sleepy sleeping face gave me
hope.

She must have some sort of plan.

About 24 hours left.

"Yui-onēsama."

Kirigiri said as she still rested her head on my lap and looked at
me sleepily.

"You're awake?"

"...Can I sleep a little longer?"

"Sure."

After I nodded, she smiled happily and fell into a deep sleep again.

When I first met her, she always hid her feelings behind her icy
expressions, but recently she has been expressing her feelings
directly. The reason why her feelings weren’t showing before
seems to be due to her training as a detective.

But I feel that I can trust her as a detective more when she smiles
and show worry. Having said that, I haven't encountered any
decent detectives at all recently. Shouldn't detectives be on the
side of justice? Even the awe-inspiring Double-Zero rank detective
Nanamura Suisei is just a self-serving lowlife in the end. He
betrayed his companions for money.

He saw through the nature of the game before everyone else and
chose to act in his own favor. His speed is really amazing. It can be
argued that without this talent of his, he wouldn’t have been able
to get such a large sum of money.

But this behavior cannot be right.

What is right for a detective?

Can I be sure that I'm in the right?

The next thing I know, I'm in a dream.

In my dream, I'm walking in a dark place, lost. Looking for

someone. Who am I looking for? I ran anxiously in the darkness. I
have to rescue her quickly. She is crying in the darkness.

That person— is me.

No, it could be my sister.

I’m sorry.

I couldn't save you...

Unforgivable.

I absolutely—

Can't forgive the murderer who did that to her.

I suddenly felt something touching my face, and I woke up.

Kirigiri is staring at my face with a worried look.

She is touching my face with her fingertips.

Like she was wiping away my tears.

"Yui-onēsama, you’re crying."

"Sorry, it’s nothing."

I sat up, took off my glasses and put them on the bed to wipe my
tears.

"You like to ask me so many questions, but you don't talk much
about yourself."

Kirigiri frowned as she got a little upset.

"I still dream about my little sister from time to time." I talked
about a topic I had never mentioned to anyone before. "She’s
always asking for help, but I haven’t been able to save her once.
Even in my dreams, I’m still powerless... It’s frustrating..."

"Yui-onēsama." Kirigiri brought her face closer to me. "Then you

will protect me this time. If anything happens to me... Yui-
onēsama, you will have to come and protect me, and you will be
able to do it."

I stared at the smiling Kirigiri.

She looked a bit blurry.

Speaking of my glasses...

I tried picking up my glasses on the bed.

But Kirigiri quickly snatched it away.

She put the glasses on her face and joked:

"Do I look good?"

"Sorry, I can’t see you well."

"……Forget it."

Kirigiri took off the glasses and shoves them at me as soon as she
can.

Although she looks calm, she is easy to get angry sometimes... or

she is just shy.

I put on my glasses and looked at her expression.

"Enough about that, the time for the last auction is getting closer
and closer."

Kirigiri suddenly put on a serious face and said.

"Do you really plan to fight her at the auction?"

"Of course." she said as she puffed up her thin chest. "At
yesterday's auction, I was convinced that in order for her to
confess guilt, she must be defeated according to her rules. The
fact that Nanamura-san, the detective, is on her side is also giving
her confidence."

"I really want to punch that Nanamura guy so badly."

I said, clenching my fist. I have never punched anyone before, but

breaking that precept on him doesn't look so bad. Ah, on second
thought, better not to.

"This matter aside... We ran out of money yesterday, and now we

are broke. Shinsen-san completely believes in Yozuru-san still, and
he seems to have given her full control of his money... And that
Nanamura guy will definitely not lend us his money."
The other side freely controls at least 233 million, while we are
stuck at zero. This overwhelming gap is impossible to fill. Even if
we can borrow the remaining 50 million from Nanamura, we
wouldn’t be able to win against the other side in terms of money.

No matter how I think about it, it’s impossible for us to win

against Yozuru.

"Why don't we just escape from the rooftop while we're at it, how
about this method?" I mentioned the idea that I had been
brewing secretly. "Like you said before, just tie up the bed sheets
into a rope, let it dangle outside, and then descend along the rope
to the ground. We can even tie the bed sheets to the car on the
rooftop..."

"It's quite difficult to climb down from a five-story rooftop with a

rope of tied up bed sheets."

"But if only one person can safely descend to the ground, then
they can open the entrance of the hotel from the outside. as long
as the door is left open, everyone can get out!"

"Now that the game has started, I think the entrance door
probably cannot be opened from the outside, so as to prevent
irrelevant outsiders from coming in."

"Right..."

It’s unrealistic to let everyone go down the rope, I certainly don't

have that experience.

"Hey, Kirigiri-chan, do you have any plan to defeat Yozuru-san?"

"Yes, but since we are going to battle it out, then there’s a chance
we’ll fail."

"Huh! It’s not a guaranteed win?"

"No one can say what will happen in this world. But the only thing
I can say is that I will try my best."

Kirigiri said, she is having fun with it.

Seeing her look like this, I let go of a big rock in my heart, but at
the same time, I vaguely felt that one day in the future I would
never see this look again, and I became a little uneasy.

And so, the fateful auction began.

Except for me and Kirigiri, everyone else is already in the

cafeteria.

Wearing mourning clothes, Yozuru stood with arms folded, almost

like a queen. With her as the center, Shinsen and Nanamura stood
on both sides, they became the guards serving the queen?

Mifune and Minase were far away from them, and the two
huddled in the corner, looking like losers.

"Hey, you girls are late," Minase stood up to greet me and Kirigiri.
"She’s already done bidding. She entered the compartment as
soon as it got to 6 o'clock."
"F-for real?"

"Yep, look at the ecstasy on her face. She's totally convinced she's
going to win."

There are three bulging hiking bags on Yozuru's feet, and the
amount didn't look to be decreased. She has no competitors, so
there is no need to waste money on bidding anyway.

"By the way, today's portrait is a black cat."

"That thing don't matter!" Mifune said anxiously. "Five minutes

have already passed."

"Has anyone else entered the compartment?"

Kirigiri asked.

Mifune and Minase shook their heads at the same time.

If this goes on for another five minutes, the auction will be over.
At that time, it will be a victory for Yozuru. The ‘Detective Rights’
will be taken away by her. We will lose all means to protect the
target, Mifune. We can only be imprisoned in the rooms, watching
the last murder happen...

"K-Kirigiri-chan... what are we going to do?"

"Calm down, onēsama, check the rules again."

"R-rules? What about them..."

"'You cannot commit murder in front of the person who has the
'Detective Rights', this rule is the most important."
"Yes, that's why we’re desperately trying to claim the 'Detective
Rights'..."

"Let’s say– Yozuru-san is the murderer, you can consider this

situation (although she is actually the murderer). Let's assume
that Yozuru-san has obtained the 'Detective Rights' at this
auction. This way, she is both the detective and the murderer–
However, it's not possible to commit murder in front of the
person who has the 'Detective Rights', correct? To strictly follow
this rule, she who is both the detective and the murderer, cannot
kill."

"Y-yeah, this makes sense... But why does that matter?"

The remaining time is getting less and less.

By the time there’s 15:50 left, the auction will be over.

"If she intends to kill someone on the upcoming last night—"

"Ah, that's right... If she claim the 'Detective Rights' then she
wouldn't be able to kill anyone!"

"Yes, she doesn’t want to claim the 'Detective Rights', because

she can't. So in this last auction, the money she bid is
undoubtedly zero. She intends to let the last auction pass."
"I understand all that... but it's useless to know that there won’t
be detective on the last night, it's not like you can do anything
about it. If you already knew that the other side is planning to let
the auction pass, then why did you spend all our money
yesterday? Wouldn't it be better to keep a little bit for today? If
that was the case, then we would've won today too!"

"That won't work. It’s precisely because we ran out of money that
she is able to safely let today's auction pass. Even if we have a
little money left, she would’ve given money to Shinsen-san to
make sure that we wouldn't get the 'Detective Rights'. In order to
prevent this from happening, it was necessary to invest all our
money in yesterday’s bid."

"That reckless bid of the full amount was just to throw them off
guard?"

"That's right."

"But no matter whether the opponent is off guard or not, aren't

things the same? We have no way to win!"

Kirigiri shook her head quietly.

"No, there is a way to win."

Kirigiri started walking towards the compartment alone as the

time limit for bidding was approaching.

What exactly does she have in mind?

She opened the compartment door and went in.

Of course, she is empty-handed and didn’t carry have her hiking

bag.

What’s the point of her entering the compartment if she doesn't

have any money.

Yozuru still maintained her queen look, staring at the bidding

compartment. She still believes in her victory, because she has no
reason to doubt it at all.

Kirigiri finally came out of the compartment.

It probably only took two or three minutes.

"Are you trying to stall for time?" Yozuru said with a relaxed smile.
"You plan to go in and out of the compartment repeatedly and
delay the auction until the night time starts, right? Even if you do
this, the results won’t change."

She’s right...

I ran towards Kirigiri.

"Wh-what did you go in there for?"

"You will know right away."

We waited on the edge of our seats for that moment to come.

Kirigiri didn't intend to delay any longer, she leaned her body
against the door of the bidding compartment and stood still.

The end of the last auction is getting closer.

Yozuru and her two guards couldn't wait any longer, they all went
to the balcony, followed by Minase and Mifune. Kirigiri and I were
the last to go up. Before we knew it, everyone had already
gathered in front of the pitch-black portrait.

And then—

The siren sounded announcing the end.

Finally, the bizarre detective auction at Norman's Hotel came to

an end.

"Thank you, everyone." Yozuru opened her arms and span

around. "The game of gambling with my life is over, and I'm finally
free of this oppressive world!"

Yozuru Sae 0 Ten-Thousand

With a full 200 million yen in hand, Yozuru let the auction pass.
For her as the murderer, the ‘Detective Rights’ will only get in the
way, and there is no way she would claim the ‘Detective Rights’
herself.

Tonight will be a night without a detective.

There is no way to protect Mifune.

Or at least that’s what I thought—

Kirigiri Kyōko 100 Ten-Thousand

"WHAA!" Yozuru stared at the result, her eyes almost popping

out. "Howw? What's going on?"

"Look at the results... I don’t have to explain anything for you to

understand."

Today’s auction results:

Kirigiri Kyōko 100 Ten-Thousand
Sae Yozuru 0 Ten-Thousand

"Th-this can’t be! She can't possibly have any money! There's no
extra money anywhere!" Yozuru suddenly recovered and stared at
Nanamura fiercely. "It's you! Not only are you gay, but you’re also
a lolicon! You bought a middle school girl for 1 million yen!"

"Don't be silly, I didn't do anything, and I have no interest in

middle school girls."

"Then who was it? Where did it come from? What kind of money
was it? There wasn't an extra million anywhere! Any money
brought in from outside isn’t supposed to register. The straps of
the money here have microchips on them..."

Yozuru fell into a state of genuine obliviousness, and blurted out

something that only the murderer knew.
"Did she only put money in at the last auction and left the
straps?" Shinsen suddenly thought of something and said.

"That approach won't work!" Yozuru was emotional. "The

machine will only respond to a hundred ten thousand bills tied up
with the bundling strap!"

Witnessing her exasperated appearance, Kirigiri's eyes are as cold

as usual.

"Kirigiri-chan...what's going on? Where did you get this 1 million

from?"

"The essence of this auction... is to take away the money of the

deceased. I thought it would be possible from the very
beginning."

"From the- very beginning...? When was that?"

"When the rules were being explained."

"H-how did you even... get that kind of money that time? There
was no dead person then..."

No.

There was one person who died before our eyes.

Uozumi Taehime.

She was shot while the rules were being explained and died.
Although she wasn’t one of the targets of the murderer, she was
brutally killed.
"At that time, after we heard the two gunshots, Uozumi-san was
shot, right? Even from under the balcony, I saw that she was
fatally wounded, so I took out 1 million from her bag next to me.
Then, her body fell and burned on the dining table, and the
money was burned to ashes too, except for the 1 million that I hid
in my uniform pocket."

At that time– everyone's eyes were focused on Uozumi on the

balcony, while Kirigiri took advantage of that time to take 1
million from Uozumi’s hiking bag.

What a cruel decision.

In a sense, at that moment, Kirigiri had already given up on

Uozumi.

Yet at the same time, this became our hope, and the money left
by Uozumi saved us.

"How... how could this be..."

Yozuru lost all strength and fell to her knees all at once.

"Yozuru-san, there is still some time before night comes. What are
you going to do tonight? Should we call it off maybe?"

Now Kirigiri took Yozuru's position, and so this little queen is

ruling over the auction house.

"it's not over yet!"

Yozuru remained paralyzed on the floor, with only one pair of

eyes gleaming, looking up at Kirigiri. For those who didn't know
Yozuru is the murderer, this scene is probably quite unbelievable.
Kirigiri looked away with her arms folded, and didn't seem to care
about Yozuru’s glare.

"Yozuru-san, if you’re thinking of getting into Mifune-san's room

to kill her before me, I’ll tell you in advance that this is not
possible."

"W-why!"

"Regarding the rules, we must abide by the 10 PM curfew. If we

violate this rule, as a punishment, we won’t be able to participate
in subsequent auctions, is that correct? But by turning this rule in
reverse, it’s okay to not obey the curfew if you don’t have a
reason to participate in the next auction, doesn’t it?”

What's more, now that the last auction is over, there are more
and more reasons for not complying with the curfew.

"Everyone will not abide by the curfew tonight. I intend to keep

everyone gathered in my detective room, including Mifune-san
of course, because as long as I alone abide by the curfew, it will be
enough."

"Actually, Glasses girl and I were in pumpkinhead’s detective

room yesterday." Minase intervened and said. "We had both
given up our right to participate in the auction. We were both
broke anyway, and it didn't matter whether if we had the right to
participate in the auction."

The ‘way to survive by exploiting the rules’ that Kirigiri sold to

Minase referred to this. In fact, this method can also be used to
save other lives in the auction.
"I kind of wonder how strict the rules of the curfew itself are."
said Kirigiri. "How exactly was it monitored... Or is that something
I shouldn't delve into?"

Can Yozuru monitor all guest rooms?

Or was that rule just verbal?

Maybe there’s a system combined with the fingerprint

authentication. However, I very much doubt that Yozuru alone
can guarantee that all of them were monitored, and it’s possible
that there is no such monitoring device at all.

"Uuu...uu..."

Yozuru finally swallowed her voice and sobbed.

Seeing her crying like this makes me realize that she is just a
fragile woman too.

"I want to die... Oooh, I feel like slitting my wrists so hard right
now... Can someone lend me a blade... Uuu!"

Yozuru confided in a weak voice.

The sturdy figure she had shown just a moment ago was gone.

"I want to die... I want to die..."

"You can't die, Yozuru-san!" I said to her. "What you have done
cannot be forgiven... Because of this, you have to live to atone for
your sins."

"I can't believe I'm being lectured platitudes by a child... I really

want to die..."
No matter what we say, it will only have the opposite effect.

"Yozuru-san, please admit that you are the murderer."

I tried to persuade her to admit her guilt.

Since Nanamura is useless, the only way to end the ‘Black

Challenge’ is to get the murderer to confess.

However—

"I won’t."

Yozuru stopped crying as if nothing had happened.

How stubborn.

"H-hey, this woman is the murderer?"

Minase looked confused.

"Eh? No, what are you talking about."

Yozuru said calmly as she patted the dust on her knees, and stood
up while ruffling her long hair.

"Wh-wh-why do you want to kill me!"

Mifune hid behind me and asked.

Yozuru showed a cold smile.

"This former psychic little girl... My family was ruined because of

you."

"Eh? Eeeh? I don't even know you!"

"My father worked in the production department of a TV station.
At that time, your parents brought you, a psychic girl. You bended
spoons in front of the TV camera and quickly became popular.
After that, your parents often appeared on various TV shows, and
were interviewed by magazines, and even invited to give
speeches."

"I didn’t do anything wrong!"

"Yeah, if any of your psychic powers were real... that would

indeed be true. But everything was fake, and your parents used
you to deceive everyone."

So that's how it is...

Mifune's parents may have been a pair of scammers.

Mifune didn’t know that she was involved in a scam. She just kept
bending spoons according to what her parents told her, although
it’s difficult to say whether she does have real psychic powers. Her
parents fooled various media with the 'Psychic Girl' brand.

"Ever since your scam came to light, the slander was directed at
my father, and there were even claims that he was involved in the
scam, and he was forced to resign. As a result, he committed
suicide. That was when I was 12 years old."

"I-it wasn't a scam! I can bend spoons! But... it just slowly stopped
working! Mom and dad said I didn't have to worry about it!"

"Shut up! You stinky pumpkinhead! How old do you think you are,
still talking like a little kid!"
Yozuru finally roared.

"Uwaaaaaaa!"

Mifune sat on the ground and started crying.

"And how did Chage-san and Toyano'oh-san get involved?"

I asked.

Yozuru responded with a charming smile, and crossed arms.

"After my father died, my mother pinned her hopes on religion. In

the process, she met someone, Chage. After that, she spent
money for salvation on him every day. Soon everything in my
apartment was taken and sold. At which point, she met Toyano'oh
and was deceived by him. The victim of scams was thus
continuously and completely driven to despair. Mother then
finally jumped off the top of our apartment building, she was truly
saved that time."

Yozuru smiled faintly.

Having lost her parents and property, her life must have fallen to
the lowest point.

"Even so... Were you that desperate enough to participate in this

unconventional ‘Black Challenge’? You could've chosen to live
well."

"Have you misunderstood something? I've always lived well. Even

if I was bullied by my classmates because my parents didn't show
up during class visits, I still went to school every day, Even if I
couldn't afford to pay for college after my mother died, so what? I
worked late into the night and didn’t go to club activities or hang
out with friends. I paid the money and graduated successfully. Do
you think I became a criminal with a twisted personality because
of the misfortune that happened to me? Unfortunately, I'm not
that kind of person."

"But... But, Yozuru-san, you yourself were scamming with your

marriages..."

"That's just a game for wealth." Yozuru shrugged and stretched

out an arm. "Life has taught me the secret of this world, that is...
Money is not made of paper, but made of human life. Hey, have
you ever heard of this game, in it you can gather four heart
pieces, and you turn it into a big heart, then your life will increase
by one. The same is true for money. My parents died because
they lost too many life hearts."

She also has a strange belief in money. This ‘Black Challenge’ is a

game that reflects the darkness in her heart.

"I told you in advance that revenge is just a side objective for me.
‘Black Challenge’ is a game of collecting life pieces. If you win this
game, you then would've gathered the pieces that will make you
come back to life. Isn't that exciting? "

"So you think it's okay to kill?" I couldn't help but blurt out. "Isn't
that how others imposed misfortune on you, and this time you’re
imposing misfortune on others!"

"Then you mean to tell me to continue putting up with it?" Yozuru

became a little emotional, she said. "Do you know how long I've
endured? I want to be saved too!"
I was speechless for what she said.

At least I don't have the power to save her.

"Oh, but I’m not the murderer."

——Really stubborn.

"Are you going to keep stalling until the time is over? In either
case, you have already lost."

"Yeah, as long as the time’s up, I’ll lose for sure. But that’s not a
problem. The money I have now and the money inside the bidding
machine add up to more than 800 million in cash once I find a way
to break the machine. Coupled with the inheritance and insurance
money left by my recently deceased husband, it’s completely
possible for me to collect enough money to pay back that
whatever committee."

I see... That's why she is so relaxed.

The money used in the game must be returned to the Crime

Victims' Relief Committee in the case of the murderer's failure. If
the money cannot be repaid as how much spent, then the cost
must be their own life.

However, she can afford to pay back.

Although she failed in the game, her life hasn’t yet come to an
end.

"Regardless of whether I admit that I lost or not, as long as the

time isn’t up, the door of this building won’t open. Of course, I
won’t admit defeat, so I’ll wait with you until tomorrow morning."
"What are you going to do after that?"

"Fly far away of course."

"Are you kidding, we’ll call the police before you run away."

Minase said.

"Do whatever you want."

"I'm going to tie you with a rope all night before you run away!"

"Ara, that won't work."

Yozuru reached for her chest.

She took out a revolver from it.

–The air froze for a moment.

"Please, don't make me break the rules at the very end."

She said so, pointed her gun at us, and left the cafeteria.

"Wh-what should we do about that woman..."

Cold sweat oozed from Minase's forehead.

"She will follow the rules, so we don't have to worry about her."

Kirigiri said.

Indeed, as long as this space is bound by the rules, it must be safe.

However, if this goes on, I'm afraid she’ll slip away. I would also
like to ask her about the Crime Victims' Relief Committee.
All in all, tonight, we can only spend it by Kirigiri's side. Since the
criminal will follow the rules until the end, we should do the
same.

With that, the auction for the dignity of the detective is over.

On the way back to the room, Kirigiri stopped me suddenly.

"Yui-onēsama... I just want to tell you in advance that I'm not a

detective with the intention of helping anyone or... anything like
that."

"I know."

After I nodded, Kirigiri showed a satisfied expression, her three-

stranded braids fluttering as she walked off.
We chose room ‘301’ as Kirigiri’s room. Except for Yozuru,
everyone gathered in the room for the night. Minase and Mifune
were playing cards, and they were bickering until late. I'm glad we
were able to keep them alive, and now I even have an
attachment-like emotion to both of them.

Shinsen and Nanamura fell asleep in the corners of the room.

They slept on opposing sides, but now that the auction is over, it
doesn't matter anymore. However, I still can't forgive Nanamura
on many things.

I borrowed Kirigiri’s bed, and we slept side by side. Although the

bed is a bit small for two people to sleep together, it wasn't a
problem for us. Now that the case has ended without another
incident, we snuggled to each other and fell into a deep sleep. I
slept peacefully with Kirigiri by my side.

At the end of the night time, the light of the sunrise came through
the window.

Kirigiri moved in the bed. I opened my eyes and met her gaze.

Kirigiri seemed a little shy, looking away, her hair gleaming white
under the sunrise.

"Happy New Year, Kirigiri-chan."

When I said that, Kirikiri looked surprised. She must have just
remembered what day it is.

"Happy New Year, onēsama."

We only said these two sentences, and then fell asleep again.
I woke up suddenly from the cold.

I subconsciously looked at the time on the phone.

9 AM.

"Wow, it's already this time."

I propped up my upper body and looked around the room.

Except for Kirigiri who is sleeping next to me, everyone else is

gone. It may be because there are fewer people that the room
temperature has dropped. My exhaled breath is turning into
white mist.

"Kirigiri-chan, get up."

I shook her shoulder.

Kirigiri muttered something while rubbing his eyes.

"Happy New Year... Onēsama..."

"I've heard that one already! Let's not talk about that, everyone is
gone, maybe they are all in the lobby."

Kirigiri sat up and stared blankly into the air.

She isn’t a morning girl.

"It's past 9 o'clock, get up already."

"What about the others…?"

"I don't know."

I got off the bed.

Before Yozuru escapes, she must be found for questioning.

I opened the door of the room.

When I came to the corridor, I immediately noticed an

abnormality.

On the wall in front of me, traces of blood were scattered all

over.

What is this…?

Where did everyone go...?

Isn’t it a bit too quiet...

Behind me, Kirigiri stared at the corridor, holding her breath.

"Yui-onēsama, this..."

"Yeah…"

At this time……

My cell phone suddenly rang.

I was startled and looked at my phone’s screen. somehow it got a

signal again, and an unfamiliar number is displayed on it.

I pressed the answer button tremblingly.

"Finally got it through, you’re Samidare Yui the classmate, right?"

It sounded like an old man's voice.

"Umm... who is this?"

"I’m Kirigiri Fuhito – Kyōko’s grandfather."

"A-ahhh! I am grateful for your care." I felt suddenly awake.

"Umm, we stayed outside for a few more days, but there is no big
problem...

"Kyōko is with you, right?"

His voice sounded more serious than last time.

It felt very tense.

"Yes."

"If you can, put her on the line. Kyōko doesn't have a cell phone,
so I found your number and called."

"Ah, okay, I'll put her on the line." I handed the phone to Kirigiri.
"It's your grandpa."

"What... at a time like this?" Kirigiri put the phone on her ear.
"Happy New Year, grandpa. Is it too early for you there to say
that?... Okay, I will turn on the speakers."

Kirigiri turned on the phone's speaker.

"Samidare-san, you should listen carefully too. I heard about the

Crime Victims' Relief Committee from Kyōko before. I didn't
particularly care about it at the time, but now the situation has
changed."

"What's going on?"

"The chairman seems to have some unusual movements. I don't
know what exactly he is up to, but if my reasoning is correct... it
should be almost time for him to come in contact with Kyōko."

"Eh! The chairman is coming in contact for us? Why does he want
to contact Kirigiri-cha... Kyōko-chan?"

"There are lots of ties between him and me."

"What's going on, Grandpa?"

"I'll tell you in detail next time. In short, now you have to be extra
careful, and if possible, do not approach that man."

"Even if you tell me not to approach him, I don't know what he

looks like."

Kirigiri said a little troubled.

"His appearance has no reference value. What he is good at is

camouflage and disguise. He is a Variationist who won't let
anyone see his true face."

"Then how are we to be careful."

"I'll tell you his name. If you hear that name, run away no matter
what."

"This’s... too excessive." Kirigiri shrugged. " And the name of that
man is?"

"Shinsen Mikado... the former Triple-Zero rank detective."

Kirigiri and I looked at each other.

Could it be him...

He is... the chairman of the Crime Victims' Relief Committee?

"His goal should be me. He probably wants to lure me out, so he

wants to start with you, Kyōko. To summarize, if you feel even the
slightest hint of him, run away. You are no match for him now."

"……Got it."

Kirigiri said, her voice having a rarely heard tremble.

"Good, don't make contact with him until I arrive, okay?"

"Yes."

"Good girl. Happy New Year, Kyōko."

The phone hung up.

Kirigiri's hand is shaking.

I took her hand and the phone back.

"Kirigiri-chan..." I stared into her eyes and said. "Let's run away,
quick!"

"But……"

"Your grandpa said we can't get involved with that guy!"

"The 10 AM deadline hasn’t arrived yet, and the front door isn’t
open."

"Then let's go to the reception lobby for now."

"The blood on the wall..."

"Don't worry about it."

That was all I can say.

I just grabbed Kirigiri's hand, took her out of the room and ran
toward the stairs.

"No, I still have to investigate!"

Kirigiri shook my hand away and turned back to the corridor.

She ran deep into the corridor along the blood stains on the wall.

What is up with her!

I rushed after her. If anything happens to her, her grandfather will

definitely hate me forever, and I must protect her.

Kirigiri turned around the corner of the corridor and went to the
innermost room.

She stood in front of the door, and I finally caught up with her.

She opened the door.

Room ‘312’. Originally an empty room, where the disappearing

act trick was performed, with the pink ‘X’ painted on the wall on
the right.

But what suddenly broke into our field of vision was the same
large ‘X’ sign drawn on the wall on the left. And this X isn’t pink,
but the color of human blood.

And something that had collapsed on the side of the bed…..

Something that was once a human being.

This person's head was smashed and turned into a gruesome

corpse... It was Yozuru Sae.

Blood had splattered everywhere from the floor to the ceiling,

telling us of the horrific story that had happened here. A large
hammer is beside the body.

"Not good…"

Kirigiri approached the corpse and began to fumble around it.

"What are you doing! Let's run away!"

"Onēsama, the gun is gone!"

"Eh!"

The revolver Yozuru was holding...

Just at that moment.

–Bang!

The sound of something loud.

I remember hearing the same sound on the first day here.

It's a gunshot sound.

"It sounded quite far away..."

Downstairs.

What on earth is going on in this ruin?

"Let's go, onēsama."

"No other choice but that."

Except for the entrance door, there is no other exit. Although

there is still a way to get out from the rooftop, there is no way I
can bring Kirigiri to the opposite side of the stairs.

We held hands and slowly descended the stairs so as to not make

footstep sounds. Every time our feet made a little noise, both of
us would physically stiffen.

We arrived at the first floor. The door leading to the lobby is

open.

We quietly stretched our necks and looked inside.

Something had fallen in the middle of the lobby.

Two people.

Minase and Nanamura.

They are far apart, but we can see them both in a pool of blood.

Kirigiri and I looked around the lobby cautiously.

Nobody.

"What should we do? Run past?"

I asked her in a low voice, and she nodded silently.

If we don't run across the lobby, there’s no way to get out.

Kirigiri and I crouched and ran all the way across the lobby.
We passed by Minase and Nanamura. Both of them are covered in
blood, and Minase has a hole in his forehead, he is clearly not
breathing.

"No way to save him, let's go."

I pulled Kirigiri and ran to the front door of the main entrance.

I pushed the door.

Not open yet.

I looked at my phone.

9:57

3 more minutes to go–

"You’re too late, young ladies."

A voice came from somewhere.

Kirigiri and I turned around.

In the middle of the lobby, Nanamura, who was on ground

earlier, had stood up. He patted his blood-stained suit and looked
at us.

"You're pretty good at avoiding danger. I didn't think you girls

would actually ignore me. I could’ve definitely taken care of you
both as soon as you got close."

Nanamura is holding the revolver in his right hand.

How is this happening...

The esteemed Double-Zero detective is actually...

"There are still four more rounds left."

Nanamura said while looking into the magazine.

I didn't move with Kirigiri, I only watched his every move.

He aimed his gun at Minase, who was lying next to him, and
pulled the trigger without hesitation.

After a momentary flash, Minase's body flicked lightly.

A meaningless bullet.

"It would be bad if the murderer fails in this 'Black Challenge'. The
550 million I'm supposed to get will be returned to the
organization, huh? I let her win. But fate is ironic. I didn’t expect a
team of a high school girl and a middle school girl could do this...
The world of detectives is truly far-reaching."

"W-was it you who did it... Nanamura-san."

"As you can see, I plan to take away the money from the bidding
machine. Of course, Yozuru Sae didn’t approve of me doing that,
so I made her shut up."

"Aren't you a detective? How can you kill so easily!"

I can't forgive this.

Everything he did.

Don’t detectives... exist to save people?

Please don't disillusion me anymore.

Among detectives...

There are no good people like him!

"It can’t be helped. This is the most rational conclusion for society
and the world. The world should understand better, that by
investing in high-ranking people like me, civilization can advance
much faster."

"What do you mean it can’t be helped..."

I can't understand him.

He’s like a person from another world.

"As a result, I got 900 million yen and my reputation is preserved.

There is just one more problem. If what happened here spreads
out, it will definitely be a problem. Therefore, I must seal your
mouths shut. I wonder if you girls are tight-lipped?"

"...I will expose you after I get out of here!"

"Right, I knew you would say that, Samidare-kun. How about

Kirigiri-kun?"

"...Just like onēsama."

"Oh wow, I thought you wouldn't care about such trivial matters.
Did you get affected by Samidare-kun?" Nanamura sighed, then
pointed his gun at us. "Then please, die for this world like
everyone else. It's precisely because of the existence of slow
people like you that this world has become stagnant."
The distance is about 10 meters.

At this distance, anyone with a gun can easily hit their target.

However, this is if the target isn’t moving.

If we run around with all our strength, we might be able to dodge

the remaining three bullets.

It's better than just waiting to be hit–

"Yui-onēsama, don’t."

Kirigiri grabbed the corner of my clothes.

"But! we’ll be shot if this continues!"

"There are 30 seconds left."

"Eh?"

"Buy time."

Oh right, the remaining time for the front door just behind us to
open–

Bang!

Nanamura pulled the trigger at us mercilessly.

The bullet grazed my left ear and made a hole in the door.

My left ear is ringing.

"Trying to stall for time? Too bad, did you think I don't know what
you are thinking. I will shoot you this time."

Nanamura pressed down the revolver hammer with his thumb.

We’ll get shot.

I stood in front of Kirigiri, using my body as her shield.

There are two more bullets.

If I can block them both, she'll be saved.

I opened my arms wide.

"What do you think? I made it easy for you to hit. Now shoot!"

"Onēsama, no!"

"Very well, one bullet to finish you off, and the last one will be for
her behind you."

Nanamura's finger grabbed the trigger.

Just then, the door to the cafeteria slammed open.

Mifune, covered in blood, appeared from there.

She is about to fall to the ground, kneeling on the lobby floor,

stretching out her index finger and pointing straight at Nanamura.

"Beeend—!"

Nanamura quickly turned around and pulled the trigger towards

Mifune.

However, no bullet was fired.

Nanamura looked at the gun in his hand with a surprised look and
tried to operate it, but the gun didn't seem to work properly.

Could this be her psychic power—

However, Mifune was exhausted and fell head first to the ground.

"What’s going on?"

Nanamura finally threw the whole gun at Mifune, and the handle
hit the back of Mifune who was lying on the ground, yet she was
unresponsive.

An electronic beep sounded behind us, and the door opened.

"The door is open!"

Kirigiri opened the door.

We rushed out of the foyer.

"W-wait!"

A voice came from behind us. Without looking back, we opened

the entrance door, and finally escaped from the hotel.

We rushed outside.

Standing there is…

Shinsen Mikado.

He is standing with his right hand in his pants pocket. However,

the expression on his face is still as serious as usual, as if he is
staring into darkness, he didn't react to me and Kirigiri, as if he
hasn't noticed our presence at all.
On his left and right are two strange men, one is a foreigner and
the other in a wheelchair.

Kirigiri and I held hands and passed by them, and they didn't stop
us. They kept watching the entrance of the hotel and ignored us.

In any case, we have no choice but to escape.

Kirigiri and I walked hand in hand through the hotel's courtyard.

After passing through the iron gate, we hid and looked back.

We observed the situation.

At that moment, Nanamura opened the entrance door and came

out.

Seeing Shinsen and the others, Nanamura was really surprised.

Nanamura stood still.

"Y... you guys are..."

A stunned expression.

I looked at the men on both sides of Shinsen again.

I remember seeing them somewhere.

"These people……"

Kirigiri said, she seems to have discovered something.

"Ah!"

It can't be.
That foreigner... is an active-duty Triple-Zero rank detective, ‘Law
Enforcer’– Johnny Arp.

And the man in the wheelchair is also an active Triple-Zero rank

detective, ‘Armchair Earl’ – Ryūzōji Gekka.

Why are they here?

Are they actually the two legendary Triple-Zeros?

And they seem to be following Shinsen...

Shinsen remained silent, and gestured to Johnny with his hand.

Jonny drew a revolver out from the inner pocket of his suit, rolled
it around his fingertips, and placed it on Shinsen's right hand.

Shinsen took the pistol and approached Nanamura.

Is he going to shoot—?

Nanamura couldn't move, his knees were trembling.

"N-no, it can't be... how is this possible..."

Shinsen turned the gun grip towards Nanamura and handed it to

him.

At this point, Nanamura must have understood everything with

his ‘Allegro Agitato’ thinking speed.

He took the gun with a trembling hand.

"Right... this means... the fall has already begun..."

Nanamura whispered this and pulled the trigger at his temple.

He immediately turned into a corpse and collapsed in front of the
main entrance of the Norman’s Hotel.

Shinsen and the others seemed satisfied, as they left the hotel
behind and started to move forward. Ryūzōji is in an electric
wheelchair.

They walked toward the gate.

Just as they were about to walk out of the hotel’s perimeter,

Shinsen suddenly turned our way.

They noticed us—

He approached us with a calm face.

I stood in front of Kirigiri and put on a fighting stance.

The footsteps of the Shinigami.

At this time— I can hear the footsteps of the Shinigami.

"You look injured."

He took out a white handkerchief from his suit pocket and gently
touched my left ear to wipe off the blood. It was grazed by the
bullet when Nanamura shot at me just now.

I'm very scared, and my body is shrinking back slightly.

A loving smile appeared at the corner of Shinsen's mouth— as if

he can forgive everything.
He is the one who has the sole responsibility for the Crime
Victims' Relief Committee – Shinsen Mikado.

"What's your goal?" I made up my mind and asked. "Why... were

you in this ‘Black Challenge’?"

Shinsen held the blood-stained handkerchief in both hands and

unfolded it in front of my eyes.

—For a moment, the handkerchief partially obscured my view.

"Just to say hello—"

As he said this, he began to fold his handkerchief.

As the handkerchief was folded up and became smaller and

smaller, the view in my obscured field of vision began to recover
little by little.

However, in the middle of this view...

What was there a moment ago...

Norman’s Hotel has disappeared without a trace.

"A new year has begun."

He put his handkerchief in his pocket and turned around.

At this time, the surrounding scenery suddenly became smaller

and smaller as if it was being folded, and disappeared bit by
bit...!

Just like the mountains in the distance, the dead trees in the
courtyard were nothing but a bunch of pieces of paper, they kept
being folded.
Everything is disappearing from my vision.

This is the strength of the Variationist, the one who is good at

camouflage and disguise—

Kirigiri and I were speechless, and could only stare in awe at the
occurrence of this incomprehensible phenomenon.
Unconsciously, we reached out and held each other’s hands. If we
don’t do this, we might disappear too. I felt this kind of fear.

Finally, all that's left around is an open space surrounded by the

iron fence, and a slope leading to some unfamiliar place.

Shinsen and the others went down the slope.

On the way, Shinsen turned his back to us and peeled off

something that looked like a mask from his face.

That really wasn't his true face.

"You've grown admirably, Kirigiri Kyōko, a worthy daughter of the

Kirigiri family." Shinsen said without looking back, waving his right
hand. " Farewell, when we meet next time– I will be in a different
face."

—To be continued.