Chapter Summaries

Jiang Xia examined the faintly sweet Killing Intent he had taken from Inozuka Saburo while Inozuka persuaded Kurosawa Kazuma to film the scriptwriter and Fumizuki Karen. The Theater Troupe Leader stopped the filming, and rehearsal resumed with a banquet scene featuring Fumizuki Karen.

• Jiang Xia found that Inozuka Saburo's Killing Intent had a faint sweetness, though it was weaker than the original Vodka's.
• Inozuka Saburo convinced Kurosawa Kazuma to film the scriptwriter near Fumizuki Karen so they would have evidence if a crime occurred.
• The Theater Troupe Leader caught Kurosawa Kazuma filming, accused the temporary workers of being Paparazzi, and ordered him to put the camera away.
• The scriptwriter finished with Fumizuki Karen and called the actors back to rehearse the final scene of the first act.
• Fumizuki Karen pushed a food cart into the banquet scene as the Troupe Leader delivered her lines.

During a mystery-play rehearsal, Hashimoto Maya, Mouri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, and Conan mistook an actor’s staged poisoning for a real crime until Fuwa Narumi pointed out the empty cup. Conan and Hashimoto Maya each privately found the other suspicious, but both dismissed their concerns for the moment.

• The troupe performed a scene in which a gaunt actor appeared to die after drinking from an empty cup, and Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko called for the police.
• Fuwa Narumi stopped Suzuki Sonoko and explained that the poisoning was part of the act, while Officer Sato arrived and the actor got back up laughing.
• Jiang Xia realized the scene was staged, and Conan reconsidered how quickly Jiang Xia had noticed the flaws in the performance.
• Conan wondered whether to keep spending time with the Detective Boys, then grew suspicious of Hashimoto Maya and chose not to question him in front of the crowd.
• Hashimoto Maya privately tested Conan by asking what he was thinking, then concluded that Conan was merely an ordinary child pondering whether to play with his friends.

Jiang Xia and the others watched Bandai Suzue berate Fumizuki Karen and then insult Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran, prompting Sonoko to fire back. The exchange ended with Sonoko revealing that she and her friends had come to the troupe through a raffle, and Jiang Xia paused when she mentioned the murder case.

• Hashimoto Maya speculated about Conan's troubled thoughts before leaving, while Jiang Xia wondered whether Conan missed his friends and remembered his own postponed movie outing with the Detective Boys.
• Fumizuki Karen approached Jiang Xia, but Bandai Suzue interrupted them by striking Karen with a script and accusing her of chasing men.
• Bandai Suzue criticized Karen's acting, then insulted Suzuki Sonoko's hair and Mouri Ran's distinctive curl.
• Jiang Xia and Sonoko touched Ran's naturally curly hair as Sonoko defended it and argued with Bandai Suzue about their appearances and ages.
• Sonoko explained that she had won the troupe visit in a raffle and complained that they would not have come if they had known about the messy relationships and murder case, making Jiang Xia pause.

Bandai Suzue stormed off after scolding Fumizuki Karen, while Jiang Xia and Conan noticed Suzuki Sonoko had mistakenly referred to a murder case that had not happened. Hashimoto Maya grew suspicious of Sonoko and concluded she was probably connected to Uzo, even if she was not Uzo herself.

• Bandai Suzue told Fumizuki Karen to forget the script and fetch her medicine before leaving in a fury.
• Mouri Ran corrected Suzuki Sonoko, explaining that someone had written a warning in blood but no murder case had occurred.
• Fumizuki Karen encountered Hashimoto Maya by the stairs, and he claimed he had stubbed his toe on a cabinet.
• Hashimoto Maya told Inozuka Saburo that a certain person might have arrived, then wondered whether Suzuki Sonoko's comment suggested a connection to Uzo.
• Hashimoto Maya reasoned that Sonoko was too young to be Uzo but concluded she might already be under Uzo's control.

Hashimoto Maya reassured Inozuka Saburo that the murder threat probably targeted the theater troupe, while privately considering whether Uzo had arranged to bring Saburo into danger. Elsewhere, an actress told Jiang Xia that Troupe Leader Bandai was angry because temporary workers had photographed her without makeup.

• Hashimoto Maya summoned Inozuka Saburo and discussed whether the bloody message and Suzuki Sonoko’s warning meant that “that thing” had come for them.
• Inozuka Saburo argued that the threat likely concerned the troupe’s actors, and Hashimoto Maya agreed while hiding his suspicion about Saburo’s resemblance to Vodka.
• Hashimoto Maya warned Inozuka Saburo to delete his last will, then privately reflected that he had prepared his own list of enemies as mutual-destruction targets.
• A kimono-clad actress approached Jiang Xia and said Troupe Leader Bandai had been angry because temporary workers photographed her without makeup.

Jiang Xia and the others watched the premiere of Murderer in the Mirror while fearing a real murder might occur. Officer Sato Miwako revealed the play’s plot, and Jiang Xia correctly predicted its deadly inheritance struggle.

• The actress explained that the theater troupe’s rivalries inspired Murderer in the Mirror and hinted that the Troupe Leader might die.
• Jiang Xia, Mouri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, and Conan took seats in the audience after the actress said the backstage area was too cramped.
• The actress said she could think of no more fitting victim than the Troupe Leader and hoped a murder would occur.
• Officer Sato Miwako spoiled the play’s characters and their disputes over the old woman’s fortune.
• Jiang Xia deduced that the characters would kill the old woman and one another to secure the inheritance, astonishing Sato Miwako.

During the troupe’s rehearsal, Conan identified a suspected murder trap and warned Jiang Xia to stop the female troupe leader from being stabbed. The first act ended with the troupe leader appearing to die from poison, revealing that the performance had already diverged from the script.

• Conan noticed a reflection and concluded that a murder trap was hidden somewhere in the performance.
• Conan told Jiang Xia to rush onstage during the stabbing scene and prevent the sword from striking the female troupe leader.
• Fumizuki Karen brought wine onstage, and the female troupe leader drank before collapsing as if poisoned.
• Sato Miwako and Conan realized the troupe leader, not the clown, had fallen despite the script’s planned poisoning scene.
• Hashimoto Maya, Inozuka Saburo, and Kurosawa Kazuma watched backstage as Hashimoto Maya lowered the curtain.

Bandai Suzue, the Aphrodite Theater Troupe’s leader, died of poison during a performance, and Hokkaido Police began investigating the many people with backstage access. Kurosawa Kazuma offered video footage to clear the Temporary Worker Trio, but the recording mostly showed the trio filming themselves.

• Jiang Xia and the others rushed backstage, where Fuwa Narumi confirmed that Bandai Suzue was dead.
• A police report identified Bandai Suzue as sixty years old and said poison had been found only in her wineglass.
• Sato Miwako questioned Fumizuki Karen, who had pushed the cart of wineglasses onto the stage, and learned that many people could access the backstage area.
• Hashimoto Maya explained that the wine had been poured before the show and that actors and prop workers had all been backstage.
• Kurosawa Kazuma offered his video recordings as evidence, and Fuwa Narumi ordered officers to find playback equipment.
• The footage revealed the Temporary Worker Trio filming themselves throughout the backstage work, prompting someone to call them perverts.

After the troupe leader was poisoned during rehearsal, Jiang Xia and the police realized the killer could have guided her to the poisoned glass, while the troupe suspected the supposedly dead Red-Bearded Santa Claus. Superintendent Fuwa ordered the show to continue under police watch, and that night a shadow picked up a phone as the scriptwriter worked on revisions.

• Jiang Xia explained that the poisoned glass’s position could have been chosen to make the murder deliberate rather than random.
• A troupe member blamed the Red-Bearded Santa Claus and wondered whether he had faked his death, but the troupe fell silent when Jiang Xia asked whether they knew him.
• The scriptwriter insisted the show should continue so the audience would not learn of the murder, and Fuwa ordered the troupe to perform as scheduled.
• Fuwa declared that the killer had to be among those present and argued that continuing the show would help the police monitor everyone.
• The police kept Jiang Xia and the others at the inn, and after night fell, a shadow picked up a phone while the scriptwriter revised the script.

After the scriptwriter was murdered beside the inn’s lake, the theater troupe found another victim and a holiday card identifying the killer as “Red-Bearded Santa Claus.” The clown actor recounted the story behind the name, revealing that a red-dressed guest had lived in Room 315 for ten years before dying there a year ago.

• The scriptwriter left the building to meet someone by the lake, where a black-clad figure struck him with a steel pipe.
• The police found the scriptwriter’s corpse in an ice hole, with a holiday greeting card tucked into his belt.
• The frightened clown actor asked Jiang Xia to solve the case and catch the killer.
• The clown actor explained that the inn manager had told him about a guest called Red-Bearded Santa Claus.
• The clown actor said the guest had rented Room 315 for ten years, decorated it entirely in red, and was found dead in the room a year ago.

Jiang Xia learned that the Red-Bearded Santa Claus had likely been a drug dealer, while Fumizuki Karen revealed why she had joined the theater troupe and announced she planned to quit acting. The chapter left Karen beginning to explain her bond with Teacher Bandai.

• The clown told Suzuki Sonoko and the others that the Red-Bearded Santa Claus had died of drug poisoning and that his room lease would end on Christmas Eve.
• Hashimoto Maya privately told Jiang Xia that the Red-Bearded Santa Claus was probably a drug dealer, and Jiang Xia encouraged Hashimoto to become a detective.
• Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran struggled through breakfast after a sleepless night, while Jiang Xia focused on solving the case.
• Suzuki Sonoko tried to encourage Fumizuki Karen by comparing her situation to a struggling theater troupe, unsettling Karen and Hashimoto Maya.
• Fumizuki Karen said she planned to give up acting because she had joined the troupe for someone important, then revealed that Teacher Bandai had taken her in when she was an orphan.

Fumizuki Karen asked Jiang Xia to catch Teacher Bandai’s killer, while the troupe members revealed grudges and possible motives. Jiang Xia learned that Red-Bearded Santa Claus had been a drug dealer pursued by Superintendent Fuwa Narumi, and looked toward the Temporary Worker Trio.

• Fumizuki Karen called Teacher Bandai gentle and begged Jiang Xia to find her killer, while Inozuka Saburo realized Karen’s “important person” was the troupe leader.
• The ventriloquist hinted that several people benefited from the troupe leader’s death, and the Ghost Actress said Fumizuki Karen had lied about the leader’s kindness.
• The Ghost Actress revealed that the clown owed debts to the troupe leader and the Scriptwriter, and Jiang Xia noted that the Temporary Workers had also been scolded by the leader.
• The inn manager told Jiang Xia that the troupe leader and the Scriptwriter had often stayed in rooms next to Red-Bearded Santa Claus’s.
• Superintendent Fuwa Narumi told Jiang Xia that Red-Bearded Santa Claus had been a drug dealer she was pursuing, and Jiang Xia looked toward the Temporary Worker Trio.

Jiang Xia learned that Superintendent Fuwa Narumi suspected the drug dealer had been killed by the troupe leaders, then planned a photo with Inozuka Saburo using the Kurosawa Sa Persona. Inozuka encountered a man in black who mentioned Torimaru and insisted on taking his picture, leaving him terrified that he had learned too much.

• Fuwa Narumi told Jiang Xia she had suspected the drug dealer but lacked evidence, and Jiang Xia concluded the killer was likely connected to the dead dealer.
• The theater troupe spent a quiet day without performing, while the remaining actors hesitated over whether to continue the play.
• Jiang Xia decided to photograph Kurosawa Sa with Inozuka Saburo and had Matsuda Jinpei make a puppet for the Persona.
• Inozuka Saburo went to the front desk for his next room card after losing rock-paper-scissors and encountered a man in black on the stairs.
• The man in black thanked Inozuka for bringing Torimaru over, then raised his phone and told the frightened Inozuka to look at the camera.

Inozuka Saburo panicked after Uzo photographed him and took elaborate precautions to stay alive in the hotel lobby. Meanwhile, Kurosawa Kazuma claimed he had solved the first murder using video footage, while Hashimoto Maya worried about when the case would end.

• Uzo photographed Inozuka Saburo, praised his work, and left him fearing that a deadly plan was underway.
• Vodka received Uzo's photo of Inozuka Saburo and Kurosawa, and Gin wondered why Uzo had not photographed Inozuka's original partner.
• Inozuka fled to the hotel lobby, confirmed its cameras and backup power worked, and sat beneath surveillance while avoiding food, drink, and possible poison.
• After Hashimoto Maya messaged him, Inozuka decided to send him and Kurosawa Kazuma a tactful warning about the danger they faced.
• Hashimoto Maya and Kurosawa Kazuma returned with food, and Kurosawa said he had figured out the first murder by reviewing video footage.

Hashimoto Maya tried to keep Kurosawa Kazuma from investigating the Red-Bearded Santa Claus murders, while a threatening caller and a mysterious visitor put the men at risk. Jiang Xia, checking the phone Uzo had brought back, received a Christmas card slipped under his door.

• Hashimoto Maya left Kurosawa Kazuma in Room 315 and went to find a new Room Card, hoping to keep him from getting involved in the case.
• A disguised caller threatened Kurosawa Kazuma with a third victim, and a figure silently appeared behind him as he inspected the room.
• Hashimoto Maya received Inozuka Saburo's message saying a sunglasses-wearing gentleman had invited him to take a photo, then hurried back to his room instead of looking for him.
• A dark figure raised a Tranquilizer Gun behind Hashimoto Maya as he listened at his room door.
• Jiang Xia checked the phone Uzo had brought back, then found a Christmas greeting card slipped under his door.

Jiang Xia received a new Death Notice from Red-Bearded Santa Claus and went with Officer Sato to investigate the well at midnight. When nothing appeared, an unknown caller using a voice changer finally addressed him as the Great Detective.

• Jiang Xia found a card predicting that Red-Bearded Santa Claus's shadow would appear in a well after midnight.
• Jiang Xia invited Officer Sato to accompany him, and she insisted on joining after recognizing the card.
• Jiang Xia invited Inozuka Saburo to come along, but Inozuka stayed behind and decided that remaining still was safest.
• Jiang Xia and Sato Miwako searched the courtyard well after midnight but found only snow-covered weeds.
• Jiang Xia answered an unknown call, and the distorted voice apologized for keeping the Great Detective waiting.

Jiang Xia and Sato Miwako rushed to Room 315 after Red-Bearded Santa Claus announced another murder, where they found Hashimoto Maya unconscious and Kurosawa dead. Hashimoto survived and wondered why Uzo seemed to be targeting the people around him rather than questioning him directly.

• Red-Bearded Santa Claus called Jiang Xia, predicted the murder play’s third act, and appeared at the illuminated Red Room’s window before disappearing.
• Jiang Xia and Sato Miwako led police to Room 315, where they found Hashimoto Maya unconscious beside the bed.
• Jiang Xia secretly collected the killing intent around Hashimoto Maya while pretending to check on him, and Hashimoto woke up.
• Police discovered Kurosawa hanging in the restroom as Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko saw the body and screamed.
• Hashimoto Maya learned Kurosawa had likely died and wondered why Uzo had pursued him while leaving him alive.

Fuwa Narumi accused Hashimoto Maya of murdering the victim in Room 315, but Jiang Xia pointed out that someone else could have used Hashimoto Maya’s key card to lock the room. As the police reconsidered how the killer escaped, Fuwa challenged Sato Miwako’s account of seeing the murderer at the window.

• Fuwa Narumi declared Hashimoto Maya the murderer because he was the surviving person found in the locked room with the victim.
• Hashimoto Maya resigned himself to being arrested, while Conan grew suspicious of his calm reaction.
• Jiang Xia explained that a stolen room card could let the murderer lock Room 315 from outside, and Hashimoto Maya realized his card was missing.
• Sato Miwako described how the killer had knocked Hashimoto Maya unconscious, lured the police upstairs, and locked the room from outside.
• Fuwa Narumi asked Sato Miwako when she had actually seen the murderer standing at the Room 315 window.

Fuwa Narumi used the hotel’s midnight key-card reset to reconstruct the murder and clear Inozuka Saburo of committing it, but she proposed that Jiang Xia may have secretly obtained Inozuka’s new card. The chapter ended with Jiang Xia under suspicion as a possible accomplice or murderer.

• Sato Miwako said the Red-Bearded Santa Claus appeared at the window shortly after midnight, and Fuwa Narumi explained that the hotel’s old key cards stopped working at midnight.
• The hotel manager revealed that Inozuka Saburo had taken a new card, and surveillance footage showed him sitting beneath a camera from before the murder until afterward.
• Fuwa Narumi ruled out Inozuka Saburo as the killer because the footage gave him an alibi, but she suspected he knew about the murder in advance.
• Fuwa Narumi accused Hashimoto Maya of using an old card to lock himself inside after killing his companion, then appearing in costume at the window before staging an attack.
• Fuwa Narumi suggested that Jiang Xia could have exchanged cards with Inozuka Saburo while blocking the surveillance camera, leaving open the possibility that Jiang Xia had the new card.

Fuwa Narumi prepared to take Jiang Xia, Sato Miwako, Hashimoto Maya, and the others to the Hokkaido Police Station as suspects or witnesses. Jiang Xia secretly asked Noah to contact Curacao, who intervened to delay the Organization’s silencing process and then went back to sleep.

• Fuwa Narumi said Sato Miwako and Jiang Xia were still under suspicion and arranged police cars to take the group to the station.
• Sato Miwako messaged Inspector Megure for help while Jiang Xia asked Noah to email Curacao.
• Curacao read Jiang Xia’s message, which said he, Hashimoto Maya, and her subordinates had become suspects after one subordinate was killed.
• Curacao reluctantly contacted her Hokkaido connections to postpone the silencing process, then deleted Jiang Xia’s email and went back to bed.