Volume 3, Garuguru! -Dancing Beast Night- (Part 1)
“Hello, friends! Thank you for once again taking an interest in this island. Today we have a very simple tale to tell.
'Boy meets girl'!
A basic part of any story, no? The encounter of a murderer boy and a mysterious girl who happens to be a self-proclaimed detective. And the clumsy steps they dance together. That is today’s story.
Simple. …But on whose strings are they dancing? The Witch of the West? Or the Rogue of the East? The two dogs who found themselves back at the island? The guard dog of the volunteer police? The kitten of the Guard Team? Or me, Spring-heeled Joplin? …Or maybe you.
After all, everyone who sets foot on this island has the right to make others dance.”
Brother: Charlotte, do you think the DJ’s talking about us?
Sister: Heh heh heh. That’s an interesting deduction, Sherlock. But do you have the evidence to back up your claim?
Brother: No, but this is definitely about us. We have to face reality.
Sister: That aside, Sherlock…
Brother: Hm?
Sister: Mike Tyson would be the favorite to win, from a normal perspective. But what if the grade schooler was an armed Shaolin-trained master? But then what if Mike Tyson had a nuke button at the ready? Hmm… a challenging conundrum! Heh heh heh… if we can figure out the winner, we can prove that we are not the idiot siblings the DJ is referring to!
Brother: Please figure out the fact that you’re already an idiot for actually taking this deduction seriously…
East
Jun: ‘H-hotness’? A-and how did she know that I sleep topless—
Carlos: Heh! Even with the voice distortion, Kelly’s voice is the pinnacle of charm.
Zhang: Boss… shouldn’t we do something ‘bout this radio?
Gitarin: Ah… I think it’s pretty interesting. So it’s all right. So long as I approve, I believe this program should be allowed to continue! In fact, I demand that they start a new erotic programming block for the late-night hours!
Zhang: With a boss like this, I’m surprised our bigwigs are still holding the district together.
Gen: Hey, now it’s even listing off our ages and hobbies.
Zhang: …Hey, boss. This is breach of privacy or something. You sure we shouldn’t stop them?
Gitarin: This isn’t a problem at all.
Carlos: Why not?
Gitarin: What is there to hide at this point? Kelly’s informant in this case happens to be none other than me—grk!
Jun: Mr. Gen, no! You can’t pull a Neck Hanging Tree on the boss!
Nazuna: Then should I just cut him down?
Jun: No! You can’t do that, either!
West
Yili: The ‘face’, is it? …I suppose that impression makes things easier for me.
Taifei: Don’t worry about it. *Chomp* The DJ probably knows how dangerous you can be. Man, this mochi is really good.
Lihuang: How does a simple radio station know our names? Why do you not eliminate this nuisance, Yili?
Yili: There’s no need to waste time and resources eliminating something that isn’t even a threat.
Lihuang: Making excuses for your incompetence?
Yili: Oh? Managing the island is your job. Blaming others for your own incompetence now, are we?
Lihuang: How dare you—
Taifei: *Munch* Managing and controlling information is my job—so let’s just say this leak is my fault and stop arguing… *munch*
Lihuang: Tch! …Lilei! What of you? You would not normally hesitate to erase fools like her.
Lilei: …Adorable. It said. So it is okay.
Lihuang: I don’t believe this… You lot lack nothing for matching the madmen of the Eastern District!
Yili: That’s almost an honor.
Dramatis Personae
Yakumo Amagiri: The man rumored to be the island’s most atrocious killer. His catchphrase is “I’m normal”.
Charlotte: A clumsy half-American half-British girl who’s all about detective work.
Sherlock: Charlotte’s younger brother. Sardonic.
Jun Sahara: The captain of the Eastern District’s Guard Team.
Sōji Kuzuhara: A former police officer, and captain of the Western District’s volunteer police force. The island’s guard dog.
Kelly: An informer and the producer of Buruburu Airwaves, a pirate radio station.
Gitarin: The boss of the organization that controls the Eastern District. Also known as the Demonic Rogue.
Yili: An executive of the organization that controls the Western District. Half-Chinese and half-British.
Yua: A girl with the goal of creating a map of the artificial island her father helped to design.
Nejiro: The leader of the Rats, a group of children who grew up on the artificial island.
Hayato Inui: A former bandit, currently a pirate. The mad dog who was once at the center of the Pits.
Seiichi Kugi: A young man who has given up on everything. Previously Yili’s right-hand hunting dog.
Spring-heeled Joplin: The island's urban legend.
It occurred to me that the sky was blue.
That was why I killed people.
That was reason enough on this island.
Actually, you didn’t really need a reason. But I’m not strong enough to kill people for no reason at all.
The reason was always different, but I started to get sick of repeating them to myself all the time.
And eventually, when I killed people, I found myself thinking stuff like,
‘Because the sky is blue’. ‘Because it’s raining’. ‘Because it’s nighttime’.
Because I’m on this island.
That was why I killed people.
I killed them. I killed them. I killed them.
That’s right. What I really wanted to tell myself wasn’t the reason I killed.
I just want to remind myself that I killed people. So I would never look away. So I would face my own wrongdoings. That’s why I faced that nauseating truth endlessly, again and again and again and again!
And eventually, that nausea turned to pleasure.
To remind me of myself—no, for simple peace of mind. For entertainment—
I will kill people again today.
And if I’m still clearly aware of all that… I… I must still be normal.
What a relief. It looks like I haven’t gone crazy yet.