Kirigiri Novel Book 7

Chapter 2 Part 5 Transparent Black

"Th-that's too dangerous! Because... these are handcuffs, right? And that chain! The left and right sides are connected to the next rooms, aren't they? That means... the chains of the handcuffs connect to the next rooms' handcuffs, right?"

"That's right. If all five of us wear handcuffs on the left and right sides in our respective rooms, the chains will be connected in a loop, which means that they will form a big circle."

"What is this! This is too abnormal. Why do we have to do something like that?" I said emotionally, lowering the volume so that only Kirigiri could hear it. "The 'chains' and its cost was written in the miscellaneous section of the challenge letter. Which means it has nothing to do with the killing technique! Do we have to play this kind of game?"

"Yui-onēsama once said: 'If you want to move forward, danger is unavoidable'– I don't want to live under Shinsen's shadow anymore. I want to move forward. I don't think he is really dead. As long as I don't deliver the final blow, the game won't end."

"Kirigiri-chan..."

I didn't mean that with what I said. You don't have to remember my words. it's almost as if, I'm leading you to your death with it—

"We're... now at a point where we can't go back." I muttered to myself.

Kirigiri agreed with that.

"Don't worry, Yui-onēsama. I'm a detective. When I die, I'll die fighting."

"That's... that's not what a child should say at all."

"So, you finished discussing?" Yukimura craned her neck and looked our way. "What're you doing? Or gonna do? Because as far as I'm concerned, I need you girls to help me out."

"Aren't you afraid, Yukimura-san?"

I asked her. It was just a passing question. Even a zero rank detective should be afraid of death.

"Of course I'm aware of the risks. But when I think about what I can get, I naturally get excited."

"As expected... it's for the money."

"Yeah. Well, it's for the kids at the end of the day."

"Kids...? You have kids?"

"Yeah, haven't I told you yet? A 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl. Dropped them off at my mother's today."

I was startled. I did not expect her to be a person with children. Of course, detectives have families too. But why? In the detective persona I imagined, there is absolutely no room for a family.

"When I had a child, I gave up my detective activities for a while. But a lot of things happened, so I decided to come back. This time it's a comeback battle, and I won't lose!"

Yukimura said so, and snapped a handcuff on her left hand.

"Ah"

Then the right hand was also handcuffed. I could only watch silently.

"Yui-onēsama, let's go to the next room." We went back to the main hall first.

I don't see Kadomi and Yūhain. Which rooms are they exploring? We stopped in front of the door of the next room.

"Yui-onēsama, choose this room, and I'll choose the next one." "Kirigiri-chan... do you really want to do it?"

Kirikiri nodded silently, and walked to the next room alone. That back, as always, is still very petite, just the back of a 13-year-old girl.

I'm still confused.

Is Shinsen really dead?

There is no doubt about that. At first, I thought maybe Kirigiri's grandfather who appeared later was actually a fake, a disguise of Shinsen... but it's probably not the case. The biggest obstacle for Shinsen's plan to go smoothly is Kirigiri Fuhito. To stall him, it would be most effective to use the police as a distraction. It may be fair to say that the whole horrifying suicide play was carried out for that purpose.