Mitsuda Madoy's Mystery Translations

  The Lapis Lazuli Castle Murders (2002, if that gloriously smooth CG cover art didn't give it away) is the second book by Takekuni Kitayama, published only four months after his debut, The Clock Castle Murders . If you've ever heard Kitayama's name before, there's a roughly 99.9 repeating percent chance it's from his more recent work on the Danganronpa series, either as one of the writers on the third game or, if you're a superfan, for his earlier work writing the game's prequel LNs, Danganronpa Kirigiri . Now, I'm not a Danganronpa superfan, I'm really not even a Danganronpa average fan, but here we are. The Lapis Lazuli Castle Murders is set across three time periods: A Cathar castle in southern France during the Albigensian Crusade, on the battle line during the Battle of Verdun in World War I, and in a private library in northern Hokkaido in 1989. The connective tissue between these three incidents are as follows: All three time periods see p...

2001, A Library, Japan It's been over a decade since Kimiyo died. The 20 th century has ended, and a new century is upon us. The world has already forgotten the commotion of the new millennium, and life goes on as normal. Japan is about to experience its first winter of the century. Kimiyo died peacefully in a hospital. After a few fits and starts, she regained her composure long enough to say a single “Bye-bye”, and died. Utamika and Miki both cried all day long. I didn't cry when Kimiyo passed away. I had promised her I wouldn't. Kimiyo told me that even if she died, she would be happy. So there was no need to cry. But I did break my promise only once. One year after her death, when I visited her grave, I cried out loud so nobody would look at me while I lay down flowers. I wondered what Kimiyo was doing now. Had she been reborn again and gone to live a new life somewhere? Or had she died a satisfying death and never lived again? Every time a girl visited the library, I ...

1990, A Park, Japan   January, 1990. It was the first day of the year, and we were sitting in a park. It was cold even though it was still the afternoon, and we wore heavy coats and scarves as we sat on the park bench. The park was on a hill. Beyond rows of dead trees, we could see the roofs of the buildings of the town. I wasn't fond of cold, but when Kimiyo asked me to sit on the bench, I had no choice but to comply. A cold wind blew, and the snow underfoot fluttered and sparkled in the sunlight. I squinted at the sky, a blue that contrasted with the snow. My breath was shining white. Kimiyo told me that it wasn't really winter until the air itself froze. This was indeed the end of the world. I could even see drift ice. I took a sip of canned coffee and exhaled. My breath was even whiter than before. The police were still investigating the incident in the library's entryway. However, the gunman who killed Kito had already been identified as the dead man on the sofa – my p...

1989, A Library, Japan   9   After the usual performance of Pavane for a Dead Princess , Kimiyo went back to the reading room to get her things. She left Kirisame in the entryway. Kimiyo wasn't sure how long they'd spent together. But she was sure it was a long time. It had been a long, pleasant moment that hadn't ever grown dull. Life was so short. So short... Kimiyo remembered the sparkling chandelier hanging in the entryway. She could always remember pleasant things. She opened the noisy door as quietly as possible. The room was dark. Kimiyo picked up the bag she'd left on the table. Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm from behind. Kimiyo tried to let out a startled scream, but the assailant immediately covered her mouth. She struggled to escape, but she was held firmly in place and could hardly resist, only using up her strength in vain. Her wrists hurt. Kimiyo frantically struggled and turned her neck behind her. It was Kito. “Be quiet. Please be quiet.” Kito was ple...

1971, A Parking Lot, Japan   8   “ You tricked me again.” A seven-pointed star had been drawn in the parking lot of Shijo University of the Arts. It was winter, and the night air was cold. Marie lay under the stars, looking up at a perfectly round full moon. The moon was too bright to see the stars. Instead, a nightlight flickered in the corner of the parking lot. Outside the rather sloppy star lay a lime line marker. Geoffroy had taken it from the tennis court. He had drawn the seven-pointed star without any markings, using only his senses. A few cars remained parked around the star, but they were alone. Geoffroy had locked the gate. The spacious space was isolated, cut off from the city. Marie was bound hand and foot, unable to escape. “It's almost time...” Geoffroy was muttering to himself as he looked at his watch. An hour passed, but nothing happened. Geoffroy grew more and more agitated. “This isn't right.” Geoffroy was waiting for someone. Near dawn, a child entered the...

1916, The Trenches, The French-German Front   7   “Saved? You're gonna have to figure that out yourself.” With that, Snowy abruptly stood up from their chair and disappeared through the door. It seemed to me that they genuinely had disappeared. I stared at their back. For a moment, it seemed the world stood still, as though time had stopped. I came to my senses and went after Snowy. When I opened the door, someone was lying on their back. It was Snowy. “What happened?” “Oh my god, this hurts so bad...” There was an arrow lodged in Snowy's chest. “Jesus, are you okay?” “Hey, if I pull this thing out, do you think I'll start bleeding?” “Probably.” I picked Snowy up and took them back to the living room. Even when I had their entire body weight in my arms, they felt weightless. I put Snowy on the couch and turned on the small desk lamp in the room. “Did Geoffroy do that?” “Yeah.” “Was Geoffroy there?” “Yeah.” “Where?” “Castle.” “...Lapis Lazuli Castle?” “Yeah.” “It's 1916....