The two soon arrived at Shizuoka's cultural center.
Once they got there, they found the place quite bustling.
—There seemed to be a play performance today. At the entrance to the cultural center stood a huge hard-shell billboard bearing three lavishly dressed actors.
Two young men were dressed as knights, dueling with raised swords.
In the background, an old man sat upon a lofty throne, shrouded in shadow, holding a drink as he sneered.
After they had looked for only a moment, a smiling voice came from beside them. "This is Mask Play, which was popular from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Today's performance is John Benson's The Triumph of Folly. Translated, that means 'Foolish Victory.'"
Jiang Xia and Inspector Yokomizo turned toward the voice and saw a sharply dressed woman.
She wore a skirt suit and nodded elegantly at them, lifting a hand to adjust her glasses. "Mr. Yokomizo, are you here for the previous case again?"
Halfway through speaking, she got a clear look at Jiang Xia, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Ms. Shimizu." Inspector Yokomizo came back to his senses. "Is your theater troupe performing today? —I wish you a successful performance. We have something to do, so we'll be leaving first."
Shimizu Kinuko gave a soft "Mm," hesitated as if she wanted to say something, then ultimately watched Jiang Xia leave with longing in her eyes.
—Their theater troupe was attempting the Mask Play Foolish Victory for the first time.
The play's plot was good, but there had always been a legend surrounding it—ever since the seventeenth century, every production had resulted in the unfortunate death of at least one person connected to it.
At first, neither the director nor Shimizu Kinuko had taken the legend too seriously.
But during rehearsal some time ago,