Danganronpa Kirigiri

"As the Danganronpa series rose in popularity, new releases put the spotlight on some individual characters. Written by mystery author Takekuni Kitayama. Told from the perspective of new character Yui Samidare, the books explore Kyoko's activities as a middle schooler"

- Danganronpa Decade art book.

Danganronpa Kirigiri (ダンガンロンパ霧切) is a light novel series written by Takekuni Kitayama which focuses on Kyoko Kirigiri and her past with Yui Samidare. It ran for 7 volumes, over a 7 year period.

The first novel was released on September 13th, 2013 and was published by Seikaisha along with illustrations by Rui Komatsuzaki, with the release date for the final volume being June 17, 2020 as part of Danganronpa 10th Anniversary.

Background
After the success of the first game, Kitayama, who has written many other mystery novels, wanted to write a prequel focusing on Kyoko. He put Yui as the main heroine so she could be easier to connect with. The publishing company Seikaisha announced the first novel on June 3, 2013.

DSC (Detective Shelf Collection)
Each detective has an ID, with a DSC number. Detectives register in what is known as the Detective Library to get their ID (Kyoko only registered recently when the novel begins, so she's the starting rank of 9). The Detective Library contains files on 65,000 detectives, their information made public so that anyone can view them and choose the detective relevant to whatever is bothering them for a case.

The DSC number has three numbers. The first number signifies what their specialty is, with the second number going into a bit more detail of that specialty. The last number signifies their rank, for example:


 * Eigo Amino (Age 35) - DSC 367 - Business crime - Business spies - Rank 7.
 * Shīta Enbi (Age 28) - DSC 245 - National crime - Terrorism - Rank 5.
 * Kō Inuzuka (Age 41) - DSC 943 - Murder - Locked room - Rank 3.
 * Kyoko Kirigiri (Age 13) - DSC 919 - Murder - Impossible crime - Rank 9.
 * Yui Samidare (Age 16) - DSC 888 - Freedom crime - Kidnapping - Rank 8.

Duel Noir
A series of various detective cases hosted by the Victim's Catharsis Committee that usually involves four parties: The Culprit, The Detective, The Target, and the Innocent. When accepting The Duel Noir, the Culprit has to assemble a 'deck' first. This is done by 'renting' Techniques to use by the Committee, Techniques that can not be traced by any means. These Techniques range from murder weapons like poison or a baseball bat to tricks to assist them in the Duel Noir like, for example, hidden rooms, and, finally, the location on where it is held. The Detective is always chosen from the Detective Library and their quality is decided based on the price of the Culprit's 'deck'.

First Black Letter
Hear me, Detective. Listen to the cries of the Noir.

Place — Sirius Astronomical Observatory — 30,000,000 yen

Weapon — Large clippers — 5,000,000 yen

Weapon — Anesthetic chemical — 5,000,000 yen

Trick — Murder in pieces — 80,000,000 yen

Total cost — 120,000,000 yen

This detective is summoned according to the above cost — Yui Samidare.

Second Black Letter
Hear me, Detective. Listen to the cries of the Noir.

Place — Norman's Hotel — 80,000,000 yen

Weapon — Knife — 5,000,000 yen

Weapon — Revolver — 15,000,000 yen

Weapon — Hammer — 3,000,000 yen

Weapon — Rope — 3,000,000 yen

Weapon — Automobile — 10,000,000 yen

Trick — Locked Room — 100,000,000 yen

Trick — Disappearing Act — 100,000,000 yen

Other — Cash — 1,000,000,000 yen

Total cost — 1,316,000,000 yen

This detective is summoned according to the above cost — Suisei Nanamura.

Daily Life
Immediately after his arrival by helicopter, Suisei takes the girls to the top-floor restaurant of a really fancy hotel. The cost of being on that floor for one night is 74,450,000 yen. Suisei takes a look at Yui and estimates the value of her glasses, coat, and shoes, telling her that by knowing the value of what a person wears, they know that person’s true nature. He is able to determine that there is a tragedy in Yui’s back story from how she has good quality shoes that support her leg power but is a detective instead of an athlete.

Suisei invites them to dinner while they discuss the case. He puts a Santa hat on Kyoko for no reason, which Yui lets slide because it’s cute. Plates and plates of food appear before Suisei, disappearing rather quickly. This is Suisei’s fifth Duel Noir, which he credits to bad luck. Normally, not many detectives know about Duel Noir or the Committee.

Suisei tells the girls that the Duel Noir is broadcasted to its viewers as a “closed circuit” event, where people watch the events unfold while drinking and eating. While he doesn’t know specifically who those people are, they are very rich people— to view the closed circuit, he says, one needs to pay a sum that’s enough to build 10,000 schools in a developing country.

Suisei asks them why they are chasing after the Committee. Yui says she can’t let evil run free, but Kyoko says she doesn’t really care because she is only interested in being recognized for her detective abilities… although she does admit to feeling frustrated about being used by the Committee. Yui indignantly asks Kyoko if she doesn’t have a will of her own, if she is a mere doll who doesn’t make a move unless she is requested to by a client. Kyoko appears angry at this, and tells Yui that a detective who acts without representing a client is only doing it out of ego.

Suisei breaks up their argument and says that while a detective is not to act on their own impulses, a detective without a policy cannot be trusted. In that way, the two girls balance each other out.

Suisei tells them what he knows. So far, there are an xx number of detectives (a double digit number) who have gone missing during their investigations of the Committee. He says that the Committee actually has an office in a building, where people can freely walk in and out. To the public eye, they are an open, non-profit volunteer organization. But no matter how deep you dig, none of the slime about them pops up. Suisei says that a detective investigating the Committee has told him that the Committee has a true purpose that isn’t just about putting on a murder show for rich people. However, that detective has been missing since, and Suisei does not know if the detective was gotten rid of because they came too close to the Committee’s secret.

Suisei asks Yui if she thinks the Committee is evil— the people that are targeted were murderers, and they run free without being punished, while those who’ve lost everything are forced to go back to living proper lives. To those wretched people, what the Committee offers is indeed catharsis because it fits their idea of getting back at their wrongdoers and fixing this unfair world. Yui wonders if that is the Committee’s true purpose, to be a necessary evil.

Yui upholds her sense of justice. She says borrowing the power of an evil organization to change one’s life is selfish. No matter what despair there is, it’s meaningless if it isn’t conquered on your own.

Yui asks Suisei if he considers the Duel Noir murderers as victims who are to be pitied and Suisei says that he doesn't care about that. He exists to solve the mystery that lays out in front of him, not to care about its people.

Suisei tells them that the Committee is led by one person, called the chairman. They could be male or female. The chairman founded the Committee 10 years ago and it has been active since. Kyoko asks if the chairman is possibly a former detective. The Duel Noirs involve unsolved cases, or cases that did not accuse the real criminal. The Committee finds the real criminal which the police wasn’t able to, and makes them the target of the game— this takes deductive skills that only a detective possesses. And it would have to be a rather high-ranking detective. Kyoko says that, among the four detectives of the 000 class, one had deleted his record from the DSC. That person is the most likely suspect of being the chairman.

Suisei applauds Kyoko, thanking her for explaining that thought process so that he doesn’t have to. He thinks highly of Kyoko's fast deductive skills, saying they are as fast as his, and he’s glad that there's someone around who can keep up with his brain. He doesn’t know the identity of the detective who erased his file from the register, because when Suisei first registered for the DSC, that detective's file was there no longer. The only people who would know that person’s identity would be the three other detectives who share the 000 class, or the founders of the DSC— that person was also apparently involved in the founding of the DSC as well. Yui remembers that Kyoko’s grandfather was one of the founding members and wonders if he is the nefarious chairman.

Suisei says that despite knowing that much, there is nothing he can do against the Committee because it is all conjecture. Even making a protest against the 000 class cannot be done because the abilities of the 000 class are so vast that one cannot compensate for them with time, money, and talent. If any of the detectives of the 000 class were to “fall from grace” and become criminals, they would need a national level of security to confront them. Yui is awed because if a detective of Suisei's rank easily admits to his loss against the 000 class, they must be highly formidable. The closest the three can get to the Committee is by capturing the Duel Noir criminal and getting info from them.

Suisei puts on a rucksack that a waiter hands to him, and explains that he wants the girls to join him on his Duel Noir. Except this time, since they are not the detectives assigned to it, it's very possible that they will be killed. Yui agrees readily to help him, while Kyoko gives Yui a look but agrees as well. The Norman's Hotel where the Duel Noir will take place is a dilapidated hotel deep in the mountains and far from civilization. They will be setting out for it the day after tomorrow because Suisei has something to do tomorrow that he cannot get out of. He doesn't think letting a day pass by will be a handicap. Then he opens a window of that top-floor restaurant and jumps out, bidding them good luck. The rucksack he had on is a parachute.

Yui and Kyoko continue their dinner. Kyoko says she won't die easily, and Yui says of course she won't, silently adding to herself that Yui will protect her if that time comes. She doesn't say this out loud because she doesn't want Kyoko to think that Yui is seeing her dead sister in Kyoko. Also, Yui isn’t confident that the ghost of her sister doesn’t haunt her, because somewhere in her heart, she still feels a desperate need to atone and save the girl she couldn’t save.

A waiter goes to them with the check for the dinner— 62248 yen. Suisei hadn’t paid for them. Kyoko takes out her credit card and puts it all on the card, while Yui looks at her in awe.

Yui insists on walking Kyoko back home since it’s late, which Kyoko says she doesn’t need. She demonstrates this when Yui pretends to attack her from behind and Kyoko twists Yui’s left arm in a self-defense move. Yui says she wants to walk Kyoko home anyway because she wants to talk more with her. Kyoko wordlessly starts walking away at this, and Yui takes this as an invitation to walk beside her.

Yui asks Kyoko if it’s possible for the Committee chairman to be Kyoko’s grandfather, but Kyoko says that it isn’t because her grandfather has never registered in the DSC. If he’s never registered, then he’d never have an account to delete in the first place. Her grandfather is very proud of the Kirigiri name, and detests the idea of detectives raising their rank. He was the only one in his group against the establishment of the DSC. Also, since her grandfather mainly lives overseas and deals with people from various countries, Kyoko says that the Committee is probably a small-scale organization of one country in his eyes.

Yui thinks about how incredible the Kirigiri blood must be, judging from Kyoko. But since none of the detectives they’ve met reacted to the name Kirigiri, Yui thinks that the Kirigiri detectives must act behind the shadows, without bringing attention to themselves. She wonders to herself why Kyoko’s grandfather allowed Kyoko to register for the DSC if he himself was so against it.

They arrive at Kyoko’s residence, and Kyoko sighs that she is past her curfew because walking with Yui had slowed her pace. Yui offers to explain to Kyoko’s guardian, which Kyoko accepts, saying that would be a big help. They walk onto the mansion grounds. Kyoko lives here with only her grandfather and three housekeepers. She started living here the past 2 months; before that, she had been traveling overseas with her grandfather for the past 5 years. But since she had no choice out of attending Japan’s compulsory education, she came back alone.

Kyoko tells Yui to wait outside while she gets her grandfather. Yui tells Kyoko to take off the Santa hat first, which Kyoko had never noticed she was wearing. As Yui waits, it begins to snow. She thinks that Kyoko must be very close to her grandfather because she seemed really upset about breaking curfew. Meeting Kyoko has lightened the loneliness and nihilism that Yui feels as a detective, and she tries to imagine the two of them being together still next year. All she can imagine is pitch-black darkness.

A voice cries out from above her, “Are you the fiend trying to seduce my Kyoko!?” and she sees an old man wearing a. The old man jumps down behind her and hits her knees with his cane and pushes her shoulder down so that Yui ends up lying on the concrete. His cane is about to come down on her head when Kyoko cries out “No, grandfather, it’s not her! She’s female!” Kyoko’s grandfather pulls away the cane, peers into Yui’s face, and even gropes her chest to see for himself that Yui is indeed female. He got the wrong idea because he had heard that Kyoko was eating dinner with a man.

Kyoko’s grandfather is described as having glossy silver hair and appearing young. He does not have deep wrinkles, and his body isn’t bent, his back is straight. His eyes have a bright twinkle in them. While he held a cane in his right hand, it didn’t appear as if he had it because he needed support but rather because he used it as a weapon.

Yui explains to Kyoko’s grandfather that she came home late because they were discussing a case, and to please excuse her for breaking curfew. Kyoko’s grandfather says “Screw the curfew! If it involves detective work, I will allow Kyoko anything.” He tells Yui that being detective is the infallible thing one must do as a Kirigiri. Even if they’re faced with the death of a family member, a Kirigiri must prioritize their role as a detective.

While Yui still has Kyoko’s grandfather there, she asks his permission that Kyoko leave home for a few nights to deal with the Duel Noir, which he readily gives. Yui is rather surprised by this, since surely he must know that dealing with a Duel Noir means danger for his beloved granddaughter. She wonders if she should ask him questions about the Committee but he disappears back into the mansion before she can.

Before going inside herself, Kyoko asks Yui if what her grandfather said earlier is strange, if it is strange to prioritize detective work even if it involves the death of a family member. Yui says she considers it strict rather than strange, since it must show how much dedication the Kirigiri family has to being a detective. However, Kyoko says that isn’t what it really means. What it really means is that, for a Kirigiri, their work as a detective is far more important than the death of a family member. This is a doctrine that must be adhered to, as if like a religion. Kyoko asks Yui again if she thinks that is strange, and Yui says it’s not very normal, but she still thinks it’s amazing because it shows how much pride they have in their abilities. Kyoko keeps pressing Yui, asking if it isn’t normal, and Yui wonders if Kyoko is feeling doubts about what she’s been taught as a Kirigiri. Yui asks Kyoko what she thinks, and Kyoko says that she doesn’t think of it as strange at all… but that could only be because she’s convinced herself that it isn’t. Because if she doesn’t think that way, she would end up empty inside.

Yui hugs Kyoko, reassuring her that as long as Yui is around, she won’t let her feel that emptiness. She tells Kyoko that she’s fine just the way she is. They say goodbye, and Yui walks back to her dorm amid the falling snow, well past her own curfew.

Castling (The Detectives Enter the Castle)
Norman's Hotel is a gothic-styled hotel that was open for business 20 years ago. However, it only ran fruitfully for 5 years before it began to earn a bad reputation— for some reason, it became a place where people committed suicide. However, it wasn’t until a certain murder incident that the hotel was forced to close down completely. One night, a man staying at the hotel suddenly ran screaming from his room carrying a large hammer and broke into the other guests’ rooms, killing them in their sleep. He killed thirteen people in one night and was arrested the next day. When questioned by the police, the man said that someone was peering at him from inside the wall and had tried to strangle him when he screamed. So he fought back in self-defense. As he killed the thirteen people, he had apparently been imagining that it was “that someone inside the wall.” Because of this murder incident, the hotel shut down and it lay abandoned for the past 15 years.

Suisei timed their arrival at the hotel so that the Duel Noir has 120 hours remaining. He reminds the girls of his nickname “Allegro Agitato,” meaning “furious and swift.” He got the nickname because of how fast he is able to solve cases. Yui is honestly looking forward to seeing him work.

As they walk towards the hotel, they come upon a sign that says “Welcome to Norman's Hotel. We will cater to your every desire.” Someone had crossed out part of the word “desire” so that instead it read, “We will cater to your every despair.” The same thing happened in their last Duel Noir, and Kyoko wonders if it is meant to be a sign that the Committee’s game is taking place… or if it’s by someone just fooling around.

When the three reach the front door of the hotel, they open the thick double doors to find a small room inside with another set of double doors. They open this to enter the hotel lobby, which is as wide as a gymnasium. There is a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, red carpeted floors, and a sofa with table on one side of the lobby 15 meters away from them. For a hotel that looks run down on the outside, the lobby didn’t look pretty bad.

As they step into the lobby, an old man wearing a tuxedo and standing next to the sofa shouts at them. “Wait, wait, hold that door open!” They turn around to find the door closed… and locked. It doesn’t have a keyhole, instead having locked automatically. They are unable to open the door from inside the lobby.

There are seven people around the sofa, and they had been locked in this place since yesterday. The seven there begin to stir because the arrival of Yui and the others have brought the total number of people to ten, and after asking if there is a detective among Yui and co., they say “Finally, it’s about to begin!”

Yui is confused by their behavior until the old man in the tuxedo gives Yui a letter in blood-red ink that was addressed to the group, which says,

“To everyone participating in this auction, First of all, thank you for participating. What we have for auction are the likes of which you have and will never see again. But before this auction is to begin, two conditions must be fulfilled. One, that there are 10 people participating and, Two, one of those ten must be a detective. Once those conditions are met, the auction will begin on that day at 6pm. For those of you who have arrived early, please wait in the lobby in the meantime. Signed, Ercassam Auction.”

Yui is perplexed. Apparently the other seven were invited to this hotel to participate in a secret auction. The old man in the tuxedo pulls out a familiar black envelope containing his invitation, which Yui reads.

“Monsieur Mitsuru Toyano’oh, you are invited to attend the Ercassam Auction. We await your arrival at the appointed time and place.

Date: December 26th, 5PM Place: Norman's Hotel Dress code: Formal”

Because the auction is expected to prolong at most for 7 days, please bring necessities for your stay. Accommodations will be free. Signed, Ercassam Auction.”

Even Yui, who is bad at English, recognizes that Ercassam is Massacre spelled backwards. Mitsuru splutters, saying that Ercassam is the name of a famous auctioneer. Mitsuru says that he was invited to the auction by an Ercassam representative while he was attending a small-scale auction. The others began to realize it was a trick (some like Mitsuru are still in denial) when not only was the door locked on them, the windows were also covered shut by shutters. There are four doors in the lobby, but all are locked. They say they tried, since yesterday, every method they could think of to escape. Suisei thoughtfully lifts up the table, then slams it through the wall to see if they could escape that way, but the insides of the wall are made of concrete. Cell phones are also not in service because, they surmise, there is jamming equipment preventing them from getting signal. The group decides to go around with introductions in the meanwhile.

Yuzen Minase (age 25, freelancer) says his family was once nobles who owned lots of land, but now they’re landlords of a rundown condo. His noble blood urges him to make himself a name again, but for now he’s living on part-time work and allowance. He earns small change by selling stuff on net auction, which is where one of his dealings told him about this auction and invited him.

Mitsuru Toyano'oh (age 59, escape artist) introduces himself as Seiunsai (the name Mitsuru is his real name, while Seiunsai is his stage name), and as an escape magician whose skills rival that of Houdini.

Akio Chage (age 42, occult researcher) introduces himself as a man who knows “just a bit” on the conspiracies of the world. One night, he snapped photos of a UFO on the top of a building— he says it wasn’t his first time seeing a UFO, but it was his first time getting good pictures of it— and while he was wondering what publishing company to send them to, the Men In Black arrived, confiscated his camera, and instead gave him an invitation to this auction. Akio also wore a baseball outfit to the auction because that is his idea of formal wear.

Meruko Mifune (age 22, former psychic girl) came to this auction because her hobby is collecting vacuum tubes and she heard that she could get a special one at this auction. Akio reveals that he’s heard about Meruko; she was a famous psychic girl in the past, who as a child was able to bend spoons with her mind. She was famous for about half a year before the mass media brought her down as a faker. Yui asks her if she can still bend spoons, to which Meruko feels that, yes, she thinks she can. She takes out a spoon from her travel bag, but nothing happens to it.

Mikado Shinsen (30s? business employee) appears to Yui to be the most sane person of the lot so far. He speaks calmly, politely, in a way that shows both naivety and intelligence. However, the wrinkles on his forehead also appear to Yui as if he has the most secrets. While Mikado has no interest in auctions, he has the ability to sense impending death and death that had already occurred, and by feeling that from this hotel, he happened to step inside out of curiosity and got swept up into this whole affair. Yui is unable to brush him off because Kyoko is able to sense that as well; she calls it “hearing the reaper’s footsteps” while in Mikado’s case, he sees it like a dark, dark shadow. Yui also thinks his senses are correct because, while they don’t know it, they are involved in a Duel Noir.

Sae Yozuru (age 21, recently bereaved) is draped over the sofa, appearing to be asleep. She is wearing mourning attire. Mikado speaks to her, telling her it's her turn to introduce herself. Sae first says she wants to die, then explains that her husband passed away the other day and an invitation to this auction was one of the things he had left behind. Sae came to this auction because she wanted to know what her stoic husband was after. While Sae appears to drift back to sleep, Yui notices slash scars on Saes wrists peeking out from beneath her mourning suit and feels that they speak a lot about Sae's untold story.

Taehime Uozumi (age 20, maid) is the seventh and last of the unfamiliar group, dressed as a maid. She has a husky voice. Taehime says that she was employed by the auctioneer to serve the other guests food and clean their rooms, although she is also allowed to participate in the auction.

After first asking Suisei's permission, Yui introduces herself and tells the group that they are detectives who have come to capture a criminal, leaving out details about the Duel Noir and the Committee. Instead, she tells them that they received a notice that a murder was about to take place between the space of today and New Year's day.

When Kyoko is introduced, Yui insists to the doubting group that Kyoko is a prestigious detective but Kyoko reminds her that they are simply a middle schooler and high schooler in this case. If there is a detective the others can rely on, it would be Suisei Nanamura.

Suisei takes this opportunity to snap his fingers in the air and introduce himself grandly. No one questions Suisei's dependability, and Yuzen asks him what they should do. Suisei says they will wait until 6PM comes around and see what this auction is about.

Emergency rations of a week's worth are prepared for the group. Kyoko decides there is nothing else she can do and sits on the floor and waits, but Yui is restless and takes a look around the lobby. The locked doors are so sturdy, it would take an axe or a hammer to break them open. She sees a panel of the hotel layout at the front desk.

Norman's Hotel 5F — Observatory room 4F — Rooms 401-412 3F — Rooms 301-312 2F — Rooms 201-212 1F — Lobby, Front desk, Dining hall

Since they can’t leave the lobby though, she can’t explore them.

A small office room for staff is behind the front desk, containing nothing but a small office desk. There is another door inside, which Yui opens to find a bathroom. Yui is about to step back out when someone pushes her into the bathroom from behind, locking the door behind them. Warning Yui to keep her voice down, Taehime takes out a card from her apron pocket and shows it to Yui.

Turns out that Taehime is also a detective, although the rest don’t know that. She’s here on an undercover operation, and wearing the maid outfit because it was supplied here, not because she likes it. Yui asks her if she’s here about the Duel Noir but Taehime has never heard of such a thing. Taehime specializes in cases that deal with counterfeits, and she has been after Seiunsai for the past few months. Although Seiunsai appears to be an agreeable old man, he is a con artist who has tricked loads of money out of many people by selling counterfeits. When Taehime heard he would be in this auction, she contacted the auctioneer so that she could join undercover as a maid. But she didn't expect the auction itself to be a trap.

Yui tells Taehime about the Duel Noir, since they're fellow detectives, and Taehime thinks it's possible that Seiunsai is the culprit. In any event, she had grabbed Yui aside because she wanted her to know not to touch Seiunsai since he was her case. Yui promises, and they shake on it, promising to share relevant info with each other.

Yui returns to where Kyoko is sitting and doesn't tell her about Taehime, at least not yet, since she is undercover. They wait for 6PM to come.

Paint It Black (The Black Death of the Detective)
Yui spends the time reading a mystery novel she brought along. Suisei sits in quiet thought with his legs crossed, not moving a muscle. Seiunsai, Yuzen, Akio, and Meruko loudly play cards, while Mikado reads a complicated-looking book. Sae is still draped over the sofa, looking asleep and muttering to herself from time to time. Taehime moves about busily around the front desk, pretending to be her role as maid.

When 6PM comes around, a door clicks open. Suisei opens it. Inside they find what appears to be a dining hall. There is a long table with a white tablecloth at the center of the room, five chairs on each side. There are plates, forks, and knives set at each place on the table. The room has a high ceiling, with a balcony that circles all around the room so that people can walk up the stairs to it and view the dining hall below. All of the windows are locked down so they cannot see outside. There is no one inside the room.

Entering the dining hall, they notice two strange things. On the left side of the room is an electronic billboard counting down in red numbers. Currently, the numbers say 111:57:48, with the 48 counting down to 47… 46… Yui understands immediately that it's counting down the hours left of the Duel Noir. Next to the billboard is a booth the size of a telephone booth. There is a door in the front of it for people to enter it. Further along the wall, past the booth, is a fireplace. There is wood in it, and appears ready to light at any time.

A mechanized voice suddenly speaks up, as if broadcasted through the entire hotel. “Welcome, all who have gathered here.” Yuzen cries out, “Who are you?” and the voice replies, “I'm right here, look up!” They look up at the balcony, where there is a portrait of a young Caucasian male with brown hair. It's a portrait but the boy's mouth moves. In that mechanized voice, he says, “Hey there, I'm Norman. I'm a serial killer who died half a century ago.” Yui thinks that she must be dreaming, but Suisei had gone up the balcony at some point and was already investigating the portrait. He says that it isn’t a portrait at all, but an LCD screen put into a decorative frame. The screen is running an animation whose mouth movement goes along with the voice so that it appears to be talking.

Norman tells them that they must be anxious to start the auction and, ignoring their questions, tells them to take their seats at the table so that he can begin explaining. When everyone is seated, he first tells everyone to empty their pockets and put all the cash they have on the table. Any money they carry will not be eligible for the auction. Sae looks mournfully at the money, saying that if she doesn’t have money, she feels her desire to die grow greater. Norman tells them to body check their neighbors as well so that no one cheats and hides money on their person. He orders Taehime to collect all of the money on the table and throw it into the fireplace. She hesitates a bit, but does as she’s told. Then Norman, to cries of outrage, tells her to take the matches from the mantlepiece and light the fireplace. Norman tells them not to fret, and to stretch their legs under the table. There they find heavy knapsacks, which they pull out. Each knapsack contains 100,000,000 yen. Uozumi confirms that they are authentic.

Norman tells them that this money is a present from him, which they can use freely for the auction. Sae suddenly showers Norman with praise, and she wants to live again and remarry and have children. Mikado wonders what sort of auction it must be, for this large amount of money to be provided for them.

Norman tells them that until the timer on the electronic billboard reaches zero, they will be holding an auction every day at 6PM. Since the time limit of the Duel Noir is until January 1st at 10AM, that means the auction will be held five times at most. No one will be able to leave the auction house until the auction is over. Also, there will be only one item, the same item, put up for sale at each auction. That way, if they miss buying it at one auction, they would have the chance to get it next auction. That item is “the Right of Detective”— the right for whoever has it to be detective.

The group is confused, while Suisei and Kyoko immediately look at Norman suspiciously. Norman’s face changes into a hideous expression and he reveals that there is a serial killer hiding inside the auction house. By the way, it isn’t Norman. After all, he’s dead. When night comes, that serial killer will kill one person per night. However, that serial killer has a weakness, and that weakness is the detective. The serial killer cannot kill the detective and they cannot kill in front of the detective in order to keep their identity secret.

Yuzen and Meruko are still confused, but the rest seem to have got it. Whoever wins the Right of Detective in the auction gets to be safe from the serial killer for the night. Yui proposes to the group that whoever gets the Right that night can gather everyone and protect them all so they won’t be killed, but everyone is skeptical. Mikado says, apologetically, that they’ve only just met and he can’t be sure that Yui would protect him properly if, for instance, she was Detective for the night. She could double-cross him. Being Detective themselves would be the safest choice.

Norman recaps on the rules of the auction:

Rule 1 The “Right of Detective” will be put up for sale at every auction.

Rule 2 The serial killer will kill one person each night. However, they cannot kill whoever has the “Right of Detective.” Also, they cannot kill in front of the person that has “Right of Detective.”

Rule 3 The “Right of Detective” is only effective until the next auction.

Suisei speaks up at this point and asks Norman to guarantee to them that the rules will not be changed later on. Norman does not respond. Yuzen yells at Norman to answer them, but Suisei interjects and says he understood. Suisei says that he thinks this criminal will not go back on their rules since the preparations for all of this was done so meticulously. They would be wanting to enjoy this game and not do anything to ruin it.

Norman speaks again, telling them the schedule for each day.

7:00 AM Wake up 6:00 PM Auction 10:00 PM Sleep

He says that the dinner they will have tonight is the only one that will be prepared for them. Starting tomorrow, they are responsible for feeding themselves. While rooms are prepared for the guests, their rooms will be locked from 10PM to 7AM the next day. The 10PM time is a curfew, so they must be inside their rooms by then. If they do not follow this curfew, they will be penalized by no longer being able to participate in the auction. Their room doors can only be opened by whoever has the “Right of Detective”… and by the serial killer, who has a master key. The Detective must also follow the curfew and be in their room at 10, or else they will lose their privilege. However, having a curfew does not mean that they have to stay in their rooms until the next day. After 10PM, the Detective can leave their room and get the others out of their rooms.

The last thing Norman tells them is that whoever is still alive when the timer strikes zero can take home the money they have. So, if a person decides not to spend any money on the auction and is able to survive for the next 110 hours, they can take the entire knapsack with them. Norman recaps the rest of the rules:

Rule 4 Guest rooms are locked from 10PM to 4AM. Everyone must be in their rooms by 10PM.

Rule 5 The serial killer has a master key. Whoever earns “Right of Detective” will also possess a master key.

Rule 6 If you survive, all of the money that you have left is yours.

The auction will be processed by private bids inside the booth. No one will know how much each person bid until after everyone is done. Since the money they have comes in 1,000,000 bills, that would be the smallest amount they could bid. Once they make their bid, the money that they’ve bid will not return. When someone enters the booth, the next person has 10 minutes to enter the booth and make their bid, otherwise the auction will close automatically. Yui thinks that this rule is set in place so that if one person enters the booth, that leaves the others no choice but to also enter.

Having at last explained everything, Norman suggests that they have dinner first before beginning the auction. As he’d said before, this dinner will be prepared for them. He tells Taehime to step up in front of him. Warily, Taehime walks up the balcony to stand in front of the portrait. In a flash, Norman’s face changes into the evil look of a serial killer and a gunshot rings out. Taehime seems to falter, and there is another gunshot. Taehime stumbles backwards, over the balcony railing onto the table below. She lands on top of her own knapsack, as her seat was the one closest to the portrait. There are bloodstains over her apron where she was shot twice and her face is pale. Yui is about to reach for her when Taehime suddenly bursts into flame.

Suisei cries out for them to extinguish the flames but only he, Yui, and Kyoko do so with their coats. They’re too late to save Taehime, and Norman says “Tonight’s menu is a fully roasted maid.” Norman had sacrificed the maid to show the others that this auction wasn’t a joke. Also, her death does not count for the night because “she wasn’t killed, she was cooked.” Since the dead cannot participate in the auction, their money will also be confiscated and he orders one of them to throw her knapsack into the fireplace so there won’t be cheating— not that it would make any difference since she had landed on her knapsack when she’d burned so there was nothing left. With the participants suddenly reduced from 10 to 9, they begin the auction.

Volume 1

 * Kyoko Kirigiri
 * Yui Samidare
 * Eigo Amino
 * Kō Inuzuka
 * Shīta Enbi
 * Suisei Nanamura
 * Tadashi Asakura
 * Tōkichirō Endō

Volume 2

 * Suisei Nanamura
 * Akio Chage
 * Gekka Ryuzōji
 * Johnny Arp
 * Meruko Mifune
 * Mikado Shinsen
 * Norman
 * Rei Mikagami
 * Sae Yozuru
 * Seiunsai Toyano'oh
 * Taehime Uozumi
 * Ultimate Imposter (mentioned)
 * Yuzen Minase

Volume 3

 * Licorne
 * Copycat
 * Night Flyer
 * Tsurugi Hitomoshi
 * Salvador Fukurou Yadorigi
 * Korisu Kakitsubata
 * Hajiki Yaki
 * Sachi Mizuiyama
 * Suntetsu Shirasu
 * Hari Hironori
 * Kuchiki Kaei
 * Kuchiki Otsuko
 * Oboro Tatsutora
 * Kumano Seika
 * Jin Kirigiri

Volume 4

 * Jin Kirigiri
 * Touhachirou Uzuchi (mentioned)
 * Tsukiyo Nada
 * Nazuna Tooakitsu
 * Hana Takezaki
 * Touya Tsutsumi
 * Taruhi Hoshii
 * Suou Kyuuren
 * Shikon Kyuuren
 * Kamato Hachisuka
 * Kaoru Nagate
 * Gorou Anbo
 * Tooru Uchida
 * Erii Wan
 * Kousuke Kanzashiichi
 * Rei Naruko
 * Fushie Saki (mentioned)

Volume 5

 * Ooba Ryou
 * Celestia Ludenberg (mentioned)
 * Arai Gunzou
 * Idogaki Fukuju
 * Kodama Katsumi
 * Shindou Katana
 * Karasuba Kariyasu
 * Shouko (mentioned)

Volume 6

 * Saiko Ayako

Volume 7

 * Makoto Naegi

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