[MONTH 2] MBC Off-Shoot : 🏴 💀 🏯 黒死館殺人事件 🏯 💀 🏴 - Month 2 - Sept 29th/Oct 19th

[Magyarapointe]

Welcome to : 黒死館殺人事件 Month 2 thread !

This thread will cover (tentatively) chapter 2, which has 3 sub-chapters

The suggested pace is one sub-section a week, but this grouping should give people leeway and still keep comments relatively together

Month 2	Sept 29th	2025
End page	119
End %	25%
Pages	56
Chapter 2.1	13 pages	18 %
Chapter 2.2	19 pages	21 %
Chapter 2.3	15 pages	25 %
Last Month	Month 1
Next Chapter	Chapter 3
Home Thread	黒死館殺人事件
Reference thread	黒死館殺人事件 - REFERENCE THREAD

Discussion Guidelines

Everybody should feel free to post and ask questions–it’s what makes book clubs fun! But please do not post until you are familiar with Spoiler Courtesy!

Spoiler Courtesy

Please follow these rules to avoid inadvertent ネタバレ. If you’re unsure whether something should have a spoiler tag, err on the side of using one.

1. Any potential spoiler for the current week’s reading need only be covered by a spoiler tag. Predictions and conjecture made by somebody who has not read ahead still falls into this category.
2. Any potential spoilers for external sources need to be covered by a spoiler tag and include a label (outside of the spoiler tag) of what might be spoiled. These include but are not limited to: other book club picks, other books, games, movies, anime, etc. I recommend also tagging the severity of the spoiler (for example, I may still look at minor spoilers for something that I don’t intend to read soon).
3. Any information from later in the book than the current week’s reading (including trigger warnings that haven’t yet manifested) needs to be hidden by spoiler tags and labeled as coming from later sections.

Instructions for Spoiler Tags

Click the cog above the text box and use either the “Hide Details” or “Blur Spoiler” options. The text which says “This text will be hidden” should be replaced with what you are wishing to write. In the case of “Hide Details”, the section in the brackets that is labelled “Summary” can be replaced with whatever you like also (i.e, [details=”Chapter 1, Pg. 1”]).

Hide Details results in the dropdown box like below:

Example

This is an example of the “Hide Details” option.

The “Blur Spoiler” option will simply blur the text it surrounds.

This is an example of the “Blur Spoiler” option.

Posting Advice

• When asking for help, please mention the page number, and check before posting that your question hasn’t already been asked. As the threads get longer, it becomes more convenient to use the Search function, which is located in the upper right corner of the forum. It is the magnifying glass which is near your profile picture! The best way to search is usually to type part of the sentence you are confused about, and select “in this topic”. This will show you all posts within the current thread which has that string of text.
• Be sure to join the conversation! It’s fun, and it’s what keeps these book clubs lively! There’s no such thing as a stupid question! We are all learning here, and if the question has crossed your mind, there’s a very good chance it has crossed somebody else’s also! Asking and answering questions is a great learning opportunity for everyone involved, so never hesitate to do so!

Proper Nouns

Name	Reading	Notes
法水麟太郎	のりみずりんたろう	The Detective
支倉 肝	はぜくら かなめ	his side-kick; also, an regional prosecutor
熊城卓吉	くましろたくきち	the chief police investigator
降矢木旗太郎	ふりやぎはたたろう	the current master of 黒死館
降矢木 算哲	ふりやぎさんてつ	The former master of 黒死館
テレーズ・シニオレ	Thérèse Signoret	算哲’s wife
グレーテ・ダンネベルグ	Grete Danneberg	First Violin
ガリバルダ・セレナ	Garibalda Serena	Second Violin
オリガ・クリヴォフ	Olga Krivov	Viola Player
オットカール・レヴェズ	Otto Karl Leverz	Cellist
降矢木伝次郎	ふりやぎでんじろう	降矢木算哲 's little brother
神鳥みさほ	かんどりみさほ	伝次郎’s mistress
筆子	ふでこ	算哲’s cousin
嵐大十郎	あらしだいじゅうろう	筆子’s lover
津多子	つたこ	算哲’s niece
岩間富枝	いわまとみえ	算哲’s mistress, and 旗太郎’s mother

Participation

Will you be reading along with us this month ?

• I’m reading along
• I have finished this part
• I’m still reading the book, but I haven’t reached this part yet
• I’m reading this book after the club has finished
• I’m just here for the discussion

• Votes are public.

Don’t forget to set this thread to Watching in order to stay abreast of discussion!

WRITE-UPS :

Chapter 2.1

REFERENCE POSTS :

Chapter 2.1
Chapter 2.2
Chapter 2.3

[Magyarapointe]

Chapter 2.1 Write-Up :

Norimizu discusses with Shizuko the meaning of the prophecy, as set up by the six drawings. Clearly, these point to a violent death for each of the five mêmebers of the family, and also for Ekisuke, who has been here almost as long as the other five. But are these murders a consequence of the past coming back, or simply the continuation of it ? Is there a malediction, or a quasi-physiological tendency to murder in the family ? Norimizu and Shizuko discusses this by drawing analogies to the theory of relativity, and the several explanations about the way light travels through time… Strangely enough, at the end of this discussion, it almost seems as if the rational Norimizu is defending a quasi-occult point of view, while Shizuko has become the voice of science. However, the drawings are only half of the explanation, and the other half of the page is missing. Also, there was a witness to a strange figure lurking around the manor at the time of Danneberg’s death : Ekisuke saw a mysterious figure in the second floor, and heard a small sound : some glass object broke and when he investigated, he found shards of it, together with a slip of paper on which part of Faust’s malediction was written : Undinus sich winden.
Finding Ekisuke is becoming more and more important for solving the mystery. However, it seems Santetsu himself was convinced there was some unholy force at work in the manor; he burned some of his magical books because of that. Norimizu wants to ask Shizuko about this, but she replies that Tago, the butler, is more informed than her on these matters

Thoughts

This was almost as hard as the prologue for me, not so much because of the amount of references, but because I had no idea what they were talking about during the opening paragraphs about the physics theory… I can manage historical/literary references, but this had me stumped. Also, I find it very interesting that Shizuko is so knowledgeable about … everything. It seems one pre-requisite for living and/or working at the manor is encyclopedic knowledge, and the desire to acquire more. While I can sympathize, this is obviously completely unbelievable, but for me it adds to the feeling that the manor and its inhabitants are really alien… for the moment, it feels more like a horror book then a true mystery, and I’m looking forward to see how it will develop

[xnd521]

Bookmarked and watching

[Magyarapointe]

Chapter 2.2 Write-Up :

Norimizu interrogates Tago, the butler, but instead of asking him about Santetsu’s beliefs and fears of the occult and the house, he straight up accuses him of killing Santetsu. His explanations is tortuous (to say the least), and revolves around analogies between astrology, alchemy, and astronomy. His idea is that Tago, for some unspecified reason, devised a trick to kill Santetsu, using the room as prop, and make it look like a suicide. After all, Santetsu had no reason to kill himself. Tago refutes that, and says that he found Santetsu’s dead on top of Thérèse, the mechanical doll; Tago removed the doll, out of fear for the family’s reputation. Norimizu doesn’t seem convinced, but right at this point, music is heard : the family is playing a Requiem for the memory of Claude Digsby, the manor’s architect. Kumashiro says this is very strange, considering someone just died, but it seems that this is an important custom of the family. Norimizu, Hazekura and Kumashiro leave to investigate the music. Kumoshiro asks Norimizu why he suddenly stopped accusing Tago when it seemed so clear he killed Santetsu, but Norimizu replies that the whole interrogation was just a powerplay to gain a psychological advantage on Tago, and to determine that the doll was also on the site of Santetsu’s death. Once more, the doll has been seen in a closed room, though the trick for this one relies on the physical phenomenon of dilating and shrinking of hairs when subjected to a warm liquid, and seems to have been lifted from a fake magical experiment in 17th century England.
When they finally get to the music room, they find the remaining three members of the quartet, and Hataro Kuriyagi, the natural heir to the manor. Suddenly, Norimizu deducts that Ekisuke is dead, and that his body is in a side corridor

Thoughts

That chapter was very puzzling, because the first part felt like a gigantic non-sequitur. While the previous deductions and conversations with Shizuko were definitely strange, they always fell back in place with the current situation. Not so here… I was wondering whether Norimizu had developped psychic powers himself, to be so sure about Tago murdering Santetsu. This really came out of the blue. And while the explanation helped make sens of the whole scene, it still seemed forced. On the other had, I enjoyed the alchelmy/astrology explanations much more than last week’s physics (because I felt I could more or less follow). I’m not sure about the hair trick though…
As for the requiem, I’m with Kumashiro. This seems really weird. But I guess the weirdest part is that, so far, there has been no interaction at all between our detectives and the actual family/heirs. We have seen Norimizu and al. discussing with various helpers, and pretty much looking around the house wherever and whenever they wanted, but the quartet members and Hatatro seem… almost as artificial and mechanical as Therese to me !

[xnd521]

Going to start reading Chapter 2 today!

[xnd521]

@Magyarapointe

Shizuko is so knowledgeable about … everything.

I’m suspecting her but I’m also suspecting the natural son for the murder.

@Magyarapointe

more like a horror book then a true mystery, and I’m looking forward to see how it will develop

Actually I’m still at 16% of the book but I’m curious to see your comments

I don’t feel it’s horror though. Nothing appeared suddenly and it’s not scary as it’s mostly two of them arguing their theories. I feel that at the end of the book, the culprit would still be a human but with twisted mind

[Magyarapointe]

@xnd521

Actually I’m still at 16% of the book but I’m curious to see your comments

Well, maybe is not the right word; but so far, it presents with a strong supernatural flavor. Probably, I agree with you, it well turn out to be a human with a twisted mind, but one that definitely went out of his way to play out the occult elements

[Magyarapointe]

Chapter 2.3 Write-up:

Weirdly enough, even though just before that Norimizu said Ekisuke was dead in the corridor where the armors are displayed, he goes to the belfry and sets about securing it. When called out over this by Kumashiro and Hazekura, he explains that he theorizes the culprit is in the belfry. Why isn’t very clear at this point, but this has to do with the motet they heard earlier. However, he then turns back to the corridor.
Almost right away, he locates Ekisuke’s body in one of the armors. He was stuffed into it, and asphyxiated, in a rather gruesome way that recalls (at least to me) iron maidens. He also sports a strangely shaped wound, probably made with a weapon designed to pierce the armor. Horimizu explains how he came to the conclusion that the murderer was in the belfry and Ekisuke in the corridor the music they heard could on be heard that way if the sound propagation was impeded, and the corridor doors closed… which happened as Ekisuke died and his body weight caused the door to close. Horimizu then interrogates one of Ekisuke’s colleagues, Jōjurō. It turns out he knew that Ekisuke was stuck in an armor, was dying, and then was dead. At first, he let a still alive, still free, but apparently ill Ekisuke who ranted that he was the main suspect for Grete Danneberg’s murder; about an hour later, he found Ekisuke, visibly even more ill, and stuck/suspended in the armor, in the corridor. Another hour later, Ekisuke seemed to still be alive, but within 10 minutes, Jōjurō found him dead and cold. This seems to contradict Norimizu’s theory that Ekisuke died slowly from asphyxiation. More over, the way Elisuke is stuck in the armor is strange. Since he was a hunch-back, the armor sits sideways on him. Ekisuke was responsible for the armors’ maintenance, and Kumashiro says that maybe he committed suicide because he was responsible for Danneberg’s murder, and that closes the case. But Horimizu replies that the prophecy stated that Ekisuke would die from asphyxiation. Horimizu decides to go back to the belfry… and finds there Nobuko, passed out at the carillon, holding the armor piercing weapon that seems to have been used ogn Ekisuke. And by her side, a note, refering back to Goethe’s Faust : Sylphus verschwinden

Thought

That chapter was honestly all over the place. I appreciated the musical theory explanations more than the physics one in previous chapter, but having them spread over two different parts made them a bit difficult to follow, and Norimizu still seems to act as if he has a series of divine revelations, more than as the usual Sherlock-Holmes type detective. Ekisuke’s end must have been pretty gruesome… but the part I least understand is Jōjurō’s story : having found Ekisuke’s stuck in the armor, visibly ill, probably hurt, visibly dying, why didn’t he call for help immediately ? Are the mansion’s inhabitants of the habit to hide in the armors ? That seems really, really weird. And Jōjurō has for me more of the feel of a convenient witness (a local NPC, if you will) than of a main character.
Still, the plot thickens !

[xnd521]

[quote=“Magyarapointe, post:4, topic:18848”]
But I guess the weirdest part is that, so far, there has been no interaction at all between our detectives and the actual family/heirs[/quote]
Agree!

[xnd521]

Is 庄十郎 Jojuro in the thick book?
I don’t know the pronunciation so I asked chatGPT and it translated it as Shojuro. Overall this Month 2 is still very difficult for me. I am mostly reading it by guessing and relying on ChatGPT for translations and summary as well as your summaries here

Yes, I agree with you that the story seems to be very weird with lots of pseudoscience. Why would Jojuro not help Ekisuke?

[Magyarapointe]

Actually, you’re right, that’s しょうじゅうろう. I remembered looking it up in the Wikipedia article, and I still managed to mistype

Yes, that’s what I meant when I wrote earlier that it felt a bit more like horror than mystery. Horror is not the right word, perhaps, but every character living in 黒死館 feels… off ? But not as in badly written, more as if they either knew something the other didn’t and were purposefully keeping it to themselves, or operating to specific morals and rules that simply don’t make sense to “normal” people. I guess the best word would be “cryptic”

[xnd521]

Haha, I agree! The storyline and characters so far are quite cryptic. Let’s see what Chapter 3 has in store. Since you’re already at Chapter 4 and haven’t given up, I guess it’s worth continuing

The story is quite happening so far, though I doubt Norimizu’s conjectures about how Danielleberg or Santetsu died would actually work in real life. guess it’s still worth to continue reading hahaha