Etsusa Bridge

Volume 5, 5656! -Knights' Strange Night

With sleepy eyes, the girl with the bloodstained lead pipe mutters.

“On island. There is gunshots again. Like always. People die. Like always.

Dog and dog. Inui and Mr. Kugi. Try to kill each other. Like always. Eastern boss. He is creepy. Like always.

Nap friend Killer Ghoul. Kitty in East. Sword woman in East. Elder Brother Lihuang. Adorable detective’s not-adorable brother.

Everyone is clumsy. Clumsy love. Like always. Chaos on island. …Like always.

So like always. Island is like always. It is simple.

So like always. I find adorable children. I hug adorable children. Hug. It is warm. It is cozy.

…Sleepy. Sleeeeeep. Mmm… zzz…”

It’s time for the lively Etsusa Bridge short story collection!

-----

“There are only three kinds of people on this island.

The first are the fools who can read the flow.

The second are the fools who cannot read the flow.

And the third and final kind are also fools.

Those who are fully capable of reading the flow, yet choose to ignore it.

The swindler of the East, the seven-colored dog,

The radio woman, and even my personal shadow belong to that category.

And in the latter’s case…

He ignores the flow in order to reject himself. The most foolish of them all.”

“Strictly speaking, they should intervene as little as possible in this outrageous festival.

They should simply observe from afar,

Taking no part in the chaos.

And though they know this full well…

They nevertheless approach the fray and set foot inside.

…And in Seiichi’s case…

My chiding would never convince him to end his game with the seven-colored mongrel.

Such a fool, that dog of mine.”

“Yet it is only more charming, you see.

For a man to be very slightly foolish.

Although I suppose you’re a little too young to understand this, Lilei.”

-----

Dramatis Personae

Yakumo Amagiri: The man rumored to be the island’s most atrocious killer. His catchphrase is “I’m normal”.

Charlotte: A clumsy half-American half-British girl who’s all about detective work.

Sherlock: Charlotte’s younger brother. Sardonic.

Nazuna Yukimura: A swordswoman in the Eastern District’s Guard Team. Loved by Yakumo.

Sōji Kuzuhara: A former police officer, and captain of the Western District’s volunteer police force. The island’s guard dog.

Kelly: An informer and the producer-slash-DJ of Buruburu Airwaves, a pirate radio station.

Gitarin: The boss of the organization that controls the Eastern District. Also known as the Demonic Rogue.

Yili: An executive of the organization that controls the Western District. Half-Chinese and half-British.

Hayato Inui: A former bandit, now with pirate experience. The mad dog who was once at the center of the Pits.

Seiichi Kugi: A young man who has given up on everything. A hunting dog who was previously Yili’s right-hand man.

Lilei: Yili’s younger sister. A member of the organization’s executive squad who wields a lead pipe. Likes cute things.

Lihuang: Yili’s older brother. An executive and an overseer of the Western District. A vicious man of little pity.

Nameless man: A new arrival to the island. Convinced that Lilei is an angel.