Danganronpa Kirigiri/Volume 2

## Danganronpa Kirigiri

***Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 2*** (ダンガンロンパ霧切（２）) is the second volume in the *Danganronpa Kirigiri* light novel series written by Takekuni Kitayama. It was first published by Seikaisha on November 29, 2013.

## Official Synopsis

* Kanji
* Translated

ノーマンズ・ホテルへようこそ 我々はお客さまのいかなる絶望にもお応えいたします。

麓の組繊、「犯罪被害者救済委員会」の次なる"黒の挑戦" は「探偵オークション」!

廃墟と化した十テルを舞台に繰り広げられる死亡遊戯の紆方は—!?

原作ゲーム『ダンガンロンパ』のシナリオライター・小高和剛からの直々の指名を受け、「物理の北山」こと本格ミステリーの旗手・北山猛邦が描く、霧切響子の過去??！

Welcome to the Norman Hotel! We will answer all your Despair.

The next Duel Noir challenge hosted by the "Victims Catharsis Committee" at the foot of the mountain is the "Detective Auction"! What is the trick of the death game that takes place in the ruined Hotel!?

Personally appointed by scenario writer of Danganronpa, Kazutaka Kodaka, "Kitayama of Physics" Takekuni Kitayama, a leading figure in the mystery genre, writes a tale of Kyoko Kirigiri's past??!

## Summary

Kyoko Kirigiri and Yui Samidare are summoned to participate in yet another Detective case. Along with Suisei Nanamura and other detectives who investigate Norman's Hotel Case.

## Volume Plot

*Main article: Norman's Hotel Murder Case*
### *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 haori. 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'ō, 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.

Yūzen 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'ō (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 Yūzen 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, Yūzen, 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.” Yūzen 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.

Yūzen 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. Yūzen 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.

### Massacre Auction (The Detective and the Killer)

Following Taehime's death, the group opts to wrap her in dining cloth and move her to a corner of the room (with Kyoko giving a prayer for the dead). The remaining participants decide to wait until the auction starts 10. Until then there was a matter of discussion. Yui believes that all nine should cooperated by taking turns to who will have the Detective's Right, with the detective being in charge of going around at night to retrieve the others would be stuck in their rooms. However, Yūzen is unwilling to go for the plan since he doubts the efficiency of the possible detective and given the fact Yui's plan means only 4 out of nine people could become detectives, there would be a dilemma concerning who to leave out. Ultimately, he's someone that's determined to win the Right no matter what. Thus, Yui relents from her choice.

Suisei inspects where the shots came from, noting it was from the opposite wall and warns the others to not get in front of its trajectory. When Meruko asks if he could save them by stopping the culprit, he notes things should end if they could do it, but says he still has more work to be done before that could happen. From there the participants went off to wait it out, with Kyoko and Yui deciding to talk away from the others.

Yui notes how the others seem to be waiting until the last minute to put in their bets, likely as a means of ensuing they could likely win the Right. Kyoko then says to Yui she was right when in that they should work together, even if it seems poor at first and its likely a dissident will make themselves known. Kyoko then states the culprit is amongst the remaining participants, citing Norman's reactions to the group earlier. They weren't in real time, but were prerecorded, meaning the culprit was amongst them to guide them into the desired reactions. Kyoko deduces they killed Taehime with an automatic launched behind a wall, and Taehime was set on fire because of a combustion device in her clothes. Kyoko believed Taehime was killed to show that the culprit was serious.

It's then Yui reveals Taehime was a detective to Kyoko, which surprises her. However, she rejects Seiunsai being the likely culprit given how the Target for a duel Noir is someone who had committed a crime against the Victim. The topic moves onto betting for the Right, with Yui going forward with the intent to protect anyone. Kyoko is also vying for it, but when Yui asked whether she needs it given her family history, she responds that upon reflection from the last Duel Noir, she realized she's been too attached to the name of being a detective and that it was Yui who showed her that she wasn't an empty shell.

They then discuss what they should do for the auctions, with Kyoko believing there is a way to win five times in a row. First, both Yui and Kyoko must work together to pool their funds. Instead of thinking each other as separate individuals, it's best to think of themselves as being together with combined funds of 200,000,000 yen. With their first three auctions, they could likely overwhelm the others in order to get the Right. By the fourth and fifth, if they can successfully protect the others, at that point the other survivors would likely consider both trustworthy and safe to hold the Right. However, there was two issues with said plan.

One, its unclear what the culprit plans on doing, thus saving everyone will be difficult by default. The second problem is that the culprit, who is included in this 'everyone', would no doubt try to make things harder on them. However, Kyoko feels that by the third auction, they can star to narrow down the culprit by using their own rules to back them into a corner. With this, Yui wants to hand over all her funds to Kyoko at that moment, but its interrupted by Suisei noting that have forty-five minutes before time is up.

Suisei volunteers to go first and takes his bag with him into the booth. For the others they decided things by Rock-Paper-Scissors. The order was: Seiunsai, Kyoko, Sae, Mikado, Akio, Meruko, Yūzen and then Yui. When Suisei came out, his bag looked empty, which gets Yui to panic to Kyoko since, if he did something, getting the Right was impossible. Kyoko believes that the next course of action would be to simply not bid for the for this auction. When it came to Yui's turn, she would see a booth to register her name and deposit the amount she wanted to bid, with a card being given to her at the end. Ultimately, paranoid of Suisei bluffing them all for a win, Yui bids 5 million yen. When the results are displayed, its revealed Suisei bet all of this money, whilst his competitors (sans Yui) bid nothing. Thus, he wins the Detective's Right. Upon seeing the results, Yui felt quite foolish. Suisei declares he'll protect these participants from the murderer and leads them off towards their rooms for the night.

The group moves to head towards their rooms for the night, passing via a door to the lobby that needed the master key to open (with the master key itself being only able towork with Suisei due to a fingerprint mechanic). After realizing their options were limited due to any rooms not for the Duel Noir being cemented shut, the find their rooms on the third floor. However, after glancing inside, they realize said rooms were not luxurious but rather more akin to prison cells, they start to complain. Ultimately, they have to choose who goes in which room. Suisei takes room 301 since its closest to the exit, thus meaning he can guard without worrying on where the culprit could appear. The group agrees that who gets to the the closest to the Right winner are those who got the second closest and below, thus giving some importance to even the lost bids. However, given Yui was the only other one to bid, she won 302 and the rest decided things via cars. This order being 303 for Meruko, 305 for Kyoko, 306 for Yūzen, 307 for Sae, 308 for Mikado, 310 for Seiunsai, and 311 for Akio. The last room, 312, was left unoccupied.

As they all went into their rooms, Akio stops Yui and shows her a photograph of an accident spanning several years ago. A tunnel collapsed and the fifteen trapped within died. However, what was noteworthy was that Mikado was there watchhing the rescue efforts. Akio had scanned another photograph that show Mikado just stading there at the scene of a tragedy to compare. Ultimately, they were the same person. Akio believes Mikado might be the Grim Reaper and that this was his way of bringing death to them. When Yui asked why he showed it to her, he claimed he had a feeling that it might be important, before he leaves to enter his room as well. When Yui enters her room, it locks automatically at 10 and she is forced to wait until Suisei manages to unlock the door.

Once she's out, they manage to free Meruko before they see someone at the hall enter into the unoccupied room. Leaving Meruko to stand guard, they enter but find no one, but there was an 'X' on the wall. Suisei goes to check the other room, though in doing so accidentally left Yui locked in the unoccupied room. After several minutes, he comes back to let her out, but also notes that they were bested by the culprit this time around. As Yui enters room 311, she finds the body of Akio - strangled to death. Stuffed in his mouth was a note that read 'Target #1 - Revenge Served'. They leave the room and inform Meruko, who starts crying. As Suisei left to free the survivors, both Yui and Meruko were left in the halls. The former, in a way, calmed due to this meaning no one else will die that night and wondering how the culprit managed to kill Akio.

### Detective Sonata (Detective Sonata)

By the time the other participants were called out, Suisei had already told them the news regarding Akio's death. During the discussion about what happened, Meruko confirms that during her watch there was a twenty minute timespan on Yui and Suisei checking the empty room, before Suisei first leaves to enter Akio's room. Following two or so minutes, he leaves to let out Yui and then the others. From how the conversation is going, Yui is beginning to think the culprit isn't amongst the remaining survivors, but Kyoko points out how there is still a lot left unanswered, like the locked rooms.

Mikado would go onto accuse Meruko of being the killer considering she was left in the hallway for a good amount of time unattended. However, this is shot down by both Yūzen and Sae, who confirm having conversations with Meruko that would go on during this timespan, thus clearing her. Both Yui and Kyoko agree to investigate the scene again, though Kyoko advises for the morning at seven since the door automatically lock until then. Yui is concerned over evidence being destroyed, but both solve that issue by leaving the others to watch near the exit to ensure no one could have the chance. During this time Kyoko talks to Yui about any details of who they saw, but aside from the hem of their clothes fluttering, Yui can't give any concrete details. From there, she shares news of what Akio told her about Mikado prior to his death, something that Yui feels is nonsense (though it gets Kyoko to wonder if he would really decide their fate). Given how late it was, both girls eventually fall asleep.

When Yui awakens, Kyoko is still by her side, having been reading a book Yui brought with her - "Murder in the Long House". Everyone else was still asleep and Kyoko confirmed no one left their area. With the time on the lock's gone, both Yui and Kyoko leave to investigate Akio's room. Kyoko confirms that the cause of death was by mechanical asphyxia via squeezing Akio's neck with the culprit's hands, as well with something that suggests a rope was also used in the murder. It's also noted that the prints on Akio were upside down, however, they had yet to find a reason a way as to how the culprit managed to get in. From their search, they also find Akio's occult and alien material, After re-confirmed with Kyoko that Akio was truly dead, Yui begins to suspect that Suisei killed Akio during the time frame they had separated from her, but Kyoko refutes that by reminding Yui that the time frame didn't give him enough time. They determine no one can fit through the bars and the window is too high to reach normally. Following that, they searched room 312, but ultimately all they could really say is the sign on the wall was there to indicate a murder happened.

Following going back to Yui's room to take a bath, while they prepped for the current day, Kyoko deduces that Suisei betting all of his money was him feeling secured that, since he was the chosen detective for the Duel Noir, he would still be safe from being murdered. Once complete, they went back to the lobby where both Sae and Meruko were still sleeping on couches, though the men have already begun to eat. Taking some food of their own, they went back to Yui's room. There they began to discuss about Kyoko's family, specifically her Dad. He didn't die in the line of work, but rather left Kyoko in order to become a teacher at Hope's Peak Academy. Her mother died when she was seven years old, but KYoko was away with her grandfather overseas when that happened. Her father rejected that decision and cut ties with the family. When Yui began to think her father might be the missing Zero Detective, Kyoko states her father didn't have the skill for it. Kyoko then reveals her grandfather gave the epithet of the detective that was missing - **The Variationist**. Someone who was a master of disgusie. Ultimately, they stayed in the room until about 6.

From there, they meet in the cafeteria with everyone else waiting. Instead of Norman, there was a porcelain doll with an old woman's face to await them and she is to monitor the progress of the auction. It's then that Seiunsai suggests a plan, instead of going along with the auction, the group would instead boycott it. He suggests all of them staying in the lobby and barricading themselves to prevent being attacked by the culprit, in addition to turning off the lights so the killer wouldn't be able to attack them (something only possible since the lobby's windows were blocked, meaning no natural light could seep in). The other participants consider this as they all each go into the booth to bid or act as if they are going to bid. However, when the bidding was over these were the results:

* Yūzen Minase - 50 million yen.
* Seiunsai Toyano'ō - 30 million yen.
* Yui Samidare - 15 million yen.
* Meruko Mifune - 11 million yen.
* Mikado Shinsen - 10 million yen.
* Sae Yozuru - 7 million yen.
* Kyoko Kirigiri - 0 million yen.

Ultimately, none of the participants fell for Seiunsai's ploy and Yūzen won. Seiunsai was angry, both both Yūzen and Sae tell him off for trying to trick them in the first place. Being the detective, Yūzen declares he won't act like detective and he might not save the others, in addition he declares he made a foolproof method of winning the next auction. Ultimately, as both Sae and Meruko end up trying to propsition Yūzen for pleasure in exchange for safety, Yui decides to speak with Suisei. She asks if he's close to solving the case, but he gives a vague answer. From there, she goes to Kyoko and asks what to do since they failed to win the auction. In short, Kyoko flashes a devious smile as she declares they will trap the culprit.

### Anti-Mystery (An Offering to the Detective)

When night came, the survivors went to their room for the night. As per their agreement, Yūzen stayed in room 301. Seiunsai in 302, Yui in 303, Meruko in 305, Mikado in 306, Sae in 307. As for Kyoko and Suisei, they didn't bother playing rock-paper-scissors and just picked the ones they liked best, so 308 went to Kyoko and Suisei got 310. Before they went enter, Kyoko advises Yui to get as many water bottles as she could fit in her backpack. When everyone else had entered their rooms, Kyoko notes that they won't be let out tonight, meaning no matter what they hear, they can't save anyone. From there, Kyoko takes the water and spills it all over the carpet. The plan was that whoever steps in these water puddles, their shoes will be wet, thus meaning whenever they hit something dry, footprints will occur. Thus, a high possibility of the culprit deciding to skip their murder for tonight.

Still, both had to go into their rooms for curfew. For Yui, she was left in her cold room, hearing Meruko beg and plead for help. But since it went to Yūzen, who had no desire to save anyone but himself, no help arrived. She would hear rustle and groans, wondering if it was the culprit. Ultimately, Yui did not sleep last night. Once 7 AM hit, Yui burst out of her room to Kyoko's room, tearful and grateful her partner is still alive. So far, Yui didn't see any traces and both girls would find Mikado and Sae alive. Yui knocks on Meruko's door, but decides to go in when she doesn't answer. However, Meruko was fine, she was just a strong sleeper. Suisei had also dropped by, leaving only Seiunsai and Yūzen left. However, when they approach room 302, they would see footprints from 301 enter into that room. The group enters, but they find Seiunsai dead. His was body was on the floor, with Norman's mother next to him. A sign is on the doll, which has a glowing pink cross on it. Below the sign reads 'Target #2 - Revenge Served'. From Kyoko and Suisei's deductions, he died the same way as Akio.

Yūzen dropped by, revealing he heard some commotion going on in the next room. At 3 AM, he opened the door, but found Seiunsai dead and the doll was there by then. When Kyoko asked if he saw any footprints in the corridor. However, Yūzen says no and this causes the others to become wary of Yūzen since his prints were the only one found. Angrily, he says he figured out a way to get the Right at the upcoming auction and hopes the others die. When Yui goes to Suisei, he announces he knows who the culprit is, but notes due to a rule of this Duel Noir, he can't act just yet. When Meruko inquires about the mystery being solved, Suisei explains to Meruko, Mikado and Sae about the Victims Catharsis Committee, alongside them being behind the Duel Noir events. Suisei then asks if any of them have committed any serious crimes in the past. Ultimately, only Sae had any major crimes committed, as she ran marriage scams. Her fourth husband died from a sleeping pill overdose afterr he ran out of money to support Sae. Because of that, Suisei believes Sae will be the next target for murder. Yūzen is still regarded with suspicion and its noted he should have the least funds by now. For this next auction, Kyoko says to Yui that this would be a showdown between her and Yūzen.

Following taking showers back in Yui's room, Kyoko and Yui went over to Seiunsai's room to investigate. During this they discuss whether Yūzen was actually the killer, especially with so many mysteries to be hand concerning Seiunsai's body if he did it. Kyoko's concludes that if there was another way to kill Seiunsai, it wasn't from the walls, due to measuring the thickness of them with tape. As they look through Seiunsai's things, they note Seiunsai never really provided any truth of him being legitimate and that it was more likely he was a fraudster. Kyoko then asks to sit on Yui's shoulders and reach the window. From there she tossed an empty bottle out of the window, hearing it hit the ground outside. She did this to see if there was scaffolding, but notes that there isn't there.

At 6 PM for the auction, Kyoko declares her intent of going against Yūzen, who merely taunts her and was confident in his victory. When the time for the auction came, Meruko, Sae and Mikado did not bid. As for the others:

* Kyoko Kirigiri - 51 million yen.
* Yūzen Minase - 52 million yen.
* Yui Samidare - 53 million yen.

Yūzen is in disbelief, but Kyoko points out that she knew if she could get Yūzen to focus on her, then he'd probably forget about Yui. She goes onto say, Yui would never let someone there die. When it was time to head to their rooms, Yui organized it so that, starting from 301, it would be: 301 - Mikado, 302 - Yūzen (who would switch with Suisei), 303 - Suisei (who switched with Yūzen), 304 - Sae, 305 - Meruko, 306 - Kyoko, and 308 - Yui. At soon as 10 PM hit, Yui rushed out of her room. In about three minutes and twenty-five seconds, she had freed the remaining survivors. Together, they all went down into the lobby to wait out the night. When Yui asks if Kyoko knows who the culprit is, she responds with a yes, but notes not to go to Suisei yet. When 7 AM hit, Kyoko officially congratulates Yui for everyone else still be alive. Exhausted, Yui goes to rest in room 301, still wishing she could stop dreaming about her dead sister.

### Perfect Plan (The Detectives Overcome the Fog)

Yui was awoken by the presence of Yūzen, screaming and going on the defense. However, both and Kyoko reassured her that he was just there to talk. Kyoko had called him in there to discuss matters in private. She asked about his past, and after some prying uncovered Yūzen's scamming business (which Yui notes is bad, but not bad enough to warrant murder).

From there, Kyoko propositioned him to join Kyoko and Yui's side in order to gain victory and overcome the Duel Noir, but on the condition he surrenders all the money he has. He was initially skeptical of the offer, but Kyoko gave him the until the auction to decide. As Yūzen leaves, Yui asks Kyoko if it was alright to deal with someone who would probably betray them easily, but Kyoko thinks it will be alright since Yūzen knows what she was capable of since the last auction. Kyoko goes on to explain that the culprit gathered crooks, some of whom are their targets, and others as bait. When Yui wonders if Akio qualified, Kyoko notes that his articles would inspire those fearful of the apocalypse to throw away their livelihoods, which could lead to lives being ruined.

Kyokotes notes the next auction will be Meruko vs Sae, though Yui wonders where she got that information from. Kyoko goes on to say she has something to tell Yui about the Duel Noir, and when Yui asks if they should include Suisei, Kyoko responds that he is useless. Kyoko makes it clear that the detective this time won't expose the killer and that its their job to protect the last target from getting murdered by the killer. Kyoko knows how the culprit 'escaped' from the spare room on the first night. She concludes that the culprit never went into the empty room of 312 at all, and had merely prepared a decoy to lure those outside into it. Thus, while people would be distracted investigating it, the culprit would have been easily able to murder Akio during the down time. From there the investigation turned towards the staircase, in which Yui used her high jump prowess to get to the next floor (much to Kyoko's amazement) and continue on the next floor. There she finds a door that requires the Detective's Right to open, and once Yui opens the door, it turns out it leads outside on the roof, not the fourth floor, which also has a car on-top of it.

Kyoko, who said that she was in 301, instructs her to get on her stomach and reach over to the window. Yui tries and the position she finds herself in is upside down facing the front of the window of Kyoko's room. They deduce that was how the culprit was strangling their victims, and why their prints were upside down. They also deduce that the culprit managed to lure their victims to their window, had them stand ontop of their own bags of money, thus allowing them to get close enough for them to strangle. However, the bags of money from both of the strangulation victims were missing. This means that the prior winners of the auction (Suisei and Yūzen) also used their deaths to steal the money off of the deceased, either for use in the next auction or for their own greed.

Yui becomes infuriated as she realizes that Suisei kept her trapped and lured her away from the scene in order to get money for himself. When she asks if Suisei was in leagues with the culprit, Kyoko is doubtful of it and believes its just him taking advantage of the culprit's plan to gain himself riches. Kyoko moves the topic back to the murder method, where the culprit used the rope they had to keep their victim in place before strangling them. The strangulation was chosen to give the impression the culprit was physically in the room. With the use of the car, which was electric (thus meaning its motor was silent), and the rope, they were able to move the corpse back to their bed without being heard. In addition, its noted that the signs for the hotel were misleading into thinking that they were on the third floor, but in actuality it was the fifth floor.

When it came to deducing who was the killer, it was narrowed down by Kyoko for three reasons:

1. The killer had to be a woman since a small body was needed to get out of the window to the roof.
2. In order to prepare to deceive the others for the first night they had to be in, at least, room 307.
3. Its doubtful that there would be more than one entrance to the roof via window. As such, only one room should have it and the culprit needed to be in it twice in a row.

This only left one person as the killer: Sae Yozuru. In addition, Kyoko noticed that 307's bars were now sealed, meaning Sae didn't have use for the trick anymore. The reason being her target would be too short to even reach the window even with the boost from her money bag. Yui catches on that the only person that qualified it for, would be Meruko. Granted, Kyoko says she can't say for sure, but she could hear the Reaper's Footsteps. Yui says that is enough and vows they'll protect her, which causes Kyoko to brighten up and thank her.They reason the only way to save Meruko now would be to acquire the Detective's Right since they don't know how Sae is going to try to kill her. When Yui suggests forcing Suisei to point out the culprit, Kyoko notes he's betting on the killer and could easily turn against the two. It was better to proceed without trying to provoke him. Kyoko notes a duel awaits for the bpth of them, but they will win the auction and put an end to this Duel Noir. Yui has some doubts given their situation, but Kyoko gives a sincere smile and declares they will have a fair victory.

### Lost (Fallen)

For the fourth auction, Yui notes that the survivors should have the following in her notebook:

* Yui Samidare - 27 million yen.
* Kyoko Kirigiri - 49 million yen.
* Meruko Mifune - 89 million yen.
* Mikado Shinsen - 68 million yen.
* Sae Yozuru - 93 million yen.
* Suisei Nanamura - 100 million yen.

Yūzen and Meruko are on their side and have brought their funds with them as apart of Kyoko's plan. However, on Sae's side is Mikado and Suisei, who give her theirs. The former because he believes that Sae would be targeted, and Suisei since he and Sae came to an agreement that if Sae were to get out of this alive, she would pay him back tenfold. However, prior to hearing the latter's reason, she thinks Suisei was seduced by Sae, but the detective admits that he is gay (and turns down Yūzen when Yui tries to strike a deal in order to get Suisei back on their side). As such, oth sides now have 233 million yen each. Sae declares she'll bet it all at once, which gets Yui's side, except Kyoko, concerned on how they should play. Kyoko is adamant on their side moving forward to bet all at once since it was vital to get the Detective's Right for both auctions, with her reassuring Yui there was a way to win twice in a row.

For the auction, Meruko's side gives Meruko their funds and, on Kyoko's orders, bets all of their money in order to get the right. In contrast, Sae doesn't bet. While she claims its because she couldn't part with money. Still, without any funds, Yui and Yūzen are nervous to whats to come. When they go to their rooms, they do the same method on the prior night, with the rooms dividing up each other via rock-paper-scissors. Still, Meruko manages to get everyone out. By 7 AM, both Kyoko and Yui are in room 303, exhausted. Before Yui falls asleep, she thinks about how Kyoko was opened up more, becoming more worthy on the name of detective. In contrast, Yui is both disgused by Suisei's moral corruption, but does at least admit that Suisei's skill in turning the situation into a benefit for himself was admirable. Her dreams are filled with wandering the dark for her lost sister, who she couldn't save, unforgiving towards her killer.

When Yui awakens, Kyoko is looking at her, noting that she was crying. After some pushing, Yui reveals that she dreams of her younger sister and how she never managed to save her. To this, Kyoko tells her that Yui could protect her instead, and is confident she can do it. Kyoko turns the talk towards the final auction, but she is confident that they could win, though Yui is unsure given that they all lost their funds yesterday. When the time for the auction is at its ends, both heads towards the area for it. There, they see Sae standing like a queen in a mourning attire, with Suisei and Mikado acting like her guards. Both Yūzen and Meruko are concerned, looking already defeated. However, its then that Kyoko points out the rules concerning acquiring the Detective's Right. The killer can't kill in front of the detective - meaning if Sae were to win she can't kill anyone. Thus, she can't bid and is only going to pretend to do so. Kyoko points out she made that large bet to get Sae to drop her guard, though Yui is confused since they have no more money left. Still, Kyoko walks in to the booth:

When the time comes the results are shown:

* Sae Yozuru - 0 yen.
* Kyoko Kirigiri - 1 million yen.

Sae becomes enraged and demanded to know how she could have done it, even accusing Suisei of paying off for schoolgirls in exchangbe for favors (which Suisei denies). Kyoko she reveals she had swiped money out of Taehime's bag once she realized that her wounds were fatal. Kyoko announces that everyone will be gathered in the detective's room to prevent a murder from occurring, thus foiling Sae's plans.

In her defeat, though Sae refuses to formerly admit it, Sae explains she targeted Meruko, Akio and Seiunsai for their parts in ruining her family and life. When she was a child, Sae's father ran a television show that invited Meruko Mifune and gain fame from having her bend a spoon for the audience. However, the media soon grew bored by Meruko and turned against her, calling her powers a fake. As a result, Sae's father was criticized heavily until he couldn't take it anymore and committed suicide when she was twelve. Her widowed mother soon became the victim of various hoaxes and scams, from selling her things after learning of Akio and his predictions or getting swindled by the likes of Seiunsai. Eventually, her mother killed herself by jumping out of a window and plummeting to her death. Due to these circumstances, Sae had to work late to put herself through high school, had no time for clubs or friends, and had to face harsh bullying.

When Yui pointed out that she could have had a normal life, Sae shoots back then she did everything honestly, even as her life fell apart. Though when Yui pointed out her marriage scams, Sae noted that it was merely a game for her to save money. If she were to win the Duel Noir, she would have had enough to go about as many 'lives' as possible, which causes Yui to angrily respond if that how she could kill so easily. An angered Sae asks if she should just consider enduring her miserable life and that this was her way of finding catharsis. Yui, realizing that she can't save Sae, gives up. Its then that Sae reveals she'll use the funds from the machine and her husband to pay back the Committee for the Duel Noir, and then run away. When the others try to respond that they'll just capture her, Sae dissuades that line of thinking by pulling out a hidden gun. Thus, Yui accepts that they'll just have to let Sae go in exchange for being allowed safety. With their victory ensured, Kyoko goes up to Yui and tells her that she is a not detective because she wants to save someone. Yui responds that its fine and, with a satisfied expression on Kyoko's face, they continue onwards.

### Deadly Life

Everyone, sans Sae, was in room 301. Both Yūzen and Meruko happily played cards in the night (with Yui noting she had gotten attached to the two of them). As for Mikado and Suisei, both were sleeping in the corners of the room. They were on the enemy side, but with the auctions over, it didn't matter (However, she refuses to forgive Suisei).

Both Yui and Kyoko snuggle up in the only bed and greet Happy New Years to each other before falling asleep. When they awoke, it was nine in the morning, but when they left their room, they found bloody handprints on the wall. Yui phone rings and on the other end was Fuhito Kirigiri. On speaker, Fuhito says that the Chairman has begun to play a dishonest game and would probably want to make contact with Kyoko in the near future, and admitting they were once close. He says that he is the master of disguise: The Variationist who has no true face. He warns that if they hear his name they should run. When they ask who it was, Fuhito says that the Chairman's name is Mikado Shinsen, former Triple Zero detective. Fuhito believes Mikado will target him and warns both to not engage since they would lose, not realizing both were now becoming quite scared.

With that revelation, Yui wants both to split, but Kyoko reminds them that it isn't ten yet and goes off to follow the handprints. They lead to room 312 where the duo discovered Sae had been murdered thanks to the use of her own hammer, and that her own gun was missing. Both head down to the lobby where they see Suisei and Yūzen in a bloody heep, the latter having a hole in his head from a gunshot. Yui, realizing neither could be helped, usher Kyoko to the door when Suisei's voice rings out. Turns out, he was playing dead to try to get both to come closer in order to kill them up close. Suisei then shoots Yūzen's corpse to waste a bullet before explaining his motives. He wanted the remaining money for himself, and when Sae tried to stop him, he killed her and began going about this plan in order to escape with it, with the bonus of no witnesses. Yui is about to charge him since, if he was gonna shoot, there could be a chance to avoid bullets rather than just stand around for him to fire. Kyoko tries to tell Yui to instead stall since the doors would open soon. However, Suisei's shot grazes her ear and he informs them that stalling won't work. Realizing it might be it, Yui stands in front of Kyoko and raises her arms, prepared to take both bullets to save Kyoko's life. However, before he could fire a bloody Meruko enters and orders the gun to bend before collapsing. Suisei turns to fire at her, but finds that the gun won't work and chucks it at her unmoving body.

Still, this distracts Suisei long enough that when the doors open, both girls run outside. However, outside is where they meet Mikado, alongside other Triple Zero detectives: Gekka Ryūzōji and Johnny Arp. The girls run past them, but when Suisei comes out he is left dumbfounded by their appearance. Wordlessly, Mikado takes Johnny's gun and hands it over to Suisei. Realizing that the 'fall' had already begun, he commits suicide. The three men turn and begin to leave, but once Mikado sees the girls, he walks up to them. Yui covers Kyoko, but instead Mikado merely wipes away the blood from her ear where Suisei's bullet grazed her. Yui pulls away, frightened and notices Mikado's kind appearance. She asks what is Mikado's goal in taking part in Norman's Hotel. In turn, Mikado says he just wanted to welcome the new world, all while covering a good section of Yui's face with a handkerchief. As Mikado folds it smaller and smaller, Yui stares in horror as she finds Norman's Hotel has disappeared and other parts of the land were decreasing and disappearing. Kyoko and Yui hold each others hand in fright as they see a barren landscape surrounded by an iron fence and a path that goes downhill to an unknown direction. As Mikado and his subordinates leave, he pulls off his mask and gives a compliment for how Kyoko for how she handled the case. As well as saying that once he was done, it would be in a new face.

## Novel Illustrations

* Insert Illustrations by Rui Komatsuzaki.