Chapter 2: Duel Noir 1, part 2
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Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 1
Chapter 2: Duel Noir 1, part 2
"I had faith that you would arrive," the old man said, the scar on his mouth twisting.
In the daylight, the park was full of cheerful voices, young mothers pushing strollers, and boys kicking soccer b.a.l.l.s to each other. The old man sitting on a shaded park bench blended into the scenery well.
"Figured it couldn"t hurt to at least hear you out," he said, sitting next to the old man.
"You do have a point there. Unlike attorneys or therapists, we would never demand a fee simply for having a conversation."
"So who"s this "we"?"
"We are an organization that offers catharsis to those individuals who have had the misfortune of becoming victimized by crime."
"Enough with the PR c.r.a.p. What are the facts? Do you send out agents for getting revenge or something?"
"Hmm, that is a misunderstanding. As I said before, our objective is your catharsis. If you have your doubts regarding this idea, then I recommend that you reconsider it."
"You really beat around the bush, you old geezer. So what is it that you"re gonna do for me?"
"I shall inform you of the true culprit"s ident.i.ty. The one behind the incident that left you in such a state—"
"Whaaaa? What "true culprit"?" He couldn"t believe what had just come out of the old man"s mouth. He had never even thought about it before. Was the arson not the work of an astrologer who wasn"t quite right in the head? "So who is it?! Who"s this true culprit?"
"Wait just one moment," the old man commanded, raising both hands. "I will tell you, but only on one condition."
Here it is—
He braced himself. Most likely, this "condition" would be a fee or something. "What"s the condition?"
"You must carry out your revenge against the true culprit."
"Revenge—"
"Correct. It is imperative that you exact your revenge and end the life of the true culprit."
"You mean murder them."
"Yes."
A b.l.o.o.d.y exchange was taking place here in the corner of the peaceful park. There was no one around to overhear them.
"Gramps, I figure your organization or whatever has done plenty of research on me. So why even ask? You know I wouldn"t turn you down on a condition like that."
"Those are very promising words." The old man bowed his head deeply.
"So hurry up and tell me who the true culprit is."
"Before that, I must make our aim clear to you."
Looks like he"s gonna beat around the bush some more.
—But it was true, that he didn"t know what reason this mysterious organization had for instigating revenge.
"Revenge—we call this Catharsis. By which I mean, it is Catharsis for you—it must be carried out by you yourself, and by no one else. Let us be very clear on this point. Is this acceptable?"
"You"re saying I need to kill them with my own hands, right? Of course. That"s what I was planning on doing from the start."
"Then let us continue our conversation. Three things are required for Catharsis. Do you know what those things are?"
"How would I know? I"m just starting out here, so maybe you could help me out and just tell me."
"Of course. The first is Determination. Regarding this, you say that you have already cleared this hurdle. Isn"t that right?"
"Yeah."
"What is needed next is Money. Accomplishing anything in this world requires money. Accomplishing something on a grander scale in particular requires substantial capital. How do you feel regarding this point?"
"Well, sorry, but I can"t say I have enough for that."
"Very well; for the sake of your Catharsis, we are willing to make sponsorship arrangements to take care of the funding. As for the upper limit... there is no particular amount of money that we would say is too much."
Sponsorship arrangements with no upper limit? Things were starting to smell fishy.
"And then, the third requirement—Techniques. There is a technical aspect to killing someone. Do you understand? Most, including you, are novices regarding this point. Therefore! We offer Techniques to kill your target that will not be uncovered by anyone. With these Techniques, you shall be able to execute the perfect crime."
"That"s very generous of you."
"However—" The old man took a significant pause. "These Techniques carry a toll."
"Whaa?"
"In short, you buy these Techniques from us."
"See, look at you! This just ends up about taking money from the weak after all!" He got to his feet, apparently fed up. "Pretty elaborate story you had there... But you"re just a swindler after all!"
"Please calm down. As I said before, we are willing to offer unlimited sponsorship. We do not mind if you purchase these Techniques using this capital."
"...What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that you have no need whatsoever to pay your own way to your Catharsis."
"I don"t get it. Then why is there a fee at all, and the whole technique rental?"
"That is the most important aspect to Catharsis. This Catharsis involves risking your life to make a comeback... It is what it is, and it is a very dramatic event, wouldn"t you say? More than any fiction or doc.u.mentary."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I am saying that there are those who would enjoy watching your comeback. You enjoy horse races, don"t you? Or perhaps not; the data we have on you said nothing of an interest in gambling. You may not understand the feelings of those who are very pa.s.sionate about horse racing. But in our world, there is no small number of people who watch horses running and competing for rank and are left with shaky breaths, tossing out exorbitant amounts of money, moved to tears. In the same way—there are those individuals who have discovered a taste for watching someone plot revenge and strive to commit the perfect crime."
"Wh... What the h.e.l.l do you mean by that?"
"In essence... For those individuals of exquisite taste and particular preference in this world, their choicest entertainment is watching people like you, carrying a darkness such as yours, making a comeback—your Catharsis."
He was left dumbfounded by the old man"s words. He felt as if he"d accidentally taken a step into a world that he should never have entered. He could more or less understand what the old man was trying to say, but was that really something that happened...?
"Are you trying to turn my revenge—into a game?"
"Perhaps you could use that word for simplicity"s sake." The old man lowered his voice, smiling. "The finer details are fleshed out by the sponsors... Sponsors foot the bill, and offer up the finished product... That is how our Catharsis is constructed."
"So you"re being backed by a bunch of people with more money and free time than they know what to do with."
"Do you understand now? But this fact in itself is not indicative of anything except where the money comes from. Our objective will always be to offer you your Catharsis. Those interests simply happen to coincide with the interests of our investors. Furthermore, the biggest names in every business find entertainment in Catharsis. So we obtain special benefits in the financing of our own business."
Is it true?
Maybe the Catharsis the old man was talking about was just the official front, and the reality was that it was just turning acts of revenge into show business. But it didn"t matter to him either way. The objective to kill the true culprit was also nothing more than a means to an end. To him, it was just a challenge on the way to reaching his ultimate goal—getting his life back.
Stay tuned for the next update next Sunday (PST)!