I am now going to hand down our secret to you.
I saved this special story only for you.
Master..
But don't forget..
That you may never perform this rakugo in front of people.
If you do, it certainly..
Exams are coming up.
So today we will raise the difficulty level a bit.
The princess lived in the dead old castle
Tsukamoto, what does this mean?
The princess lived in the dead old castle.
Exactly.
"oujosama" is princess
For this..
it's good to remember "furinsezu." [without immorality]
A princess doesn't have something like immorality, right?
dead old castle
That's..
"shinda furui shiro" [dead old castle]
"shindafuri shiro" [let's play dead]
I can't!
Ayukawa-sensei.
Yes.
Do you know about the tape where you'll certainly die when you hear it?
A tape where you'll certainly die when you hear it?
It appeared at the school of the board chairman's daughter.
The board chairman became worried and..
asked me to listen to it once to check what's in it..
So Oomichi-sensei believes in such a thing?
No way!
I just wanted to listen to it and check what's in it!
Please wait.
I'm worried that something might happen to you.
Ayukawa-sensei...
Well.. I know a merchant who is specialized in analyzing such a thing.
It's a little expensive...
No problem,
I'll help you.
Hey, Imamura-kun..
(Rakugo Meeting Invitation) why don't we go there?
(Konjakute Sannosuke) Rakugo..
I'm not that much interested in this.
This rakugo is special.
That Konjakute rakugo story teller family..
has a secret story that got handed down for generations.
A treasure secretly hidden in the Tokugawa Period..
is indicated in the story by the originator of the family.
Like a code.. in other words, get hold of the treasure if you solve it?
That's right.
But exams are close..
and this "to fail" is a bad omen. ["ocha" from rakugo + "ru" = "ocharu" = to fail]
Imamura-kun, you worry about such a thing?
No, still..
Let's go~
Rakugo..
You..
What are you doing?
I just want you to listen to something.
Eh?
It seems like there's a tape where you'll certainly die when you hear it.
This is it.
Eh?
That's stupid sensei.
That's obviously a prank.. Hey, you are dazzling me..
Good, then let's do it.
The person who listened to this tape is certainly going to die..
within the next 100 years.
What's that..
That surprised me..
How.. how was it?
A trivial joke.
If you listen to this tape, you will die within the next 100 years.
In 100 years we all will die anyway.
These days there are people who do them seriously, huh..
You could make a good profit with this..
What's this?
They do rakugo at such a place..
Yes, it seems like the family has been using the mansion for generations.
"Konjakute"
Delicious!
You wouldn't consider such a delicious thing at such a place.
I'm sorry.
There is only one for each person.
Cheapskate.
Thank you for waiting!
Everybody, we are right now,
in memory of the deceased master Konjakute Mannosuke,
done by his third disciple Konjakute Sannosuke,
starting with a special vaudeville.
(Konjakute Sannosuke)
It's really nice to welcome you all here despite your busy schedule.
Thank you very much.
(Konjakute Ichinosuke) Those are my older brothers Ichinosuke
(Konjakute Ninosuke) and Ninosuke.
(Konjakute Shinosuke) And then Shinosuke.
It's probably difficult for you to endure a story from a fellow apprentice.
Please be patient.
And then Ikemura-san from Houbi newspaper.
(Reporter - Ikemura Akiko) Thank you for your always caustic criticism.
And head of the support group, Shinoda-san.
(Head of Support Group - Shinoda Kohei) Today, for the sake of the deceased master,
(Head of Support Group - Shinoda Kohei) I plan to perform with all my might.
And lastly, to all the enthusiastic rakugo fans.
For today, I'm really thankful.
The story that I am going to perform after this,
is a story my master Mannosuke..
taught me while he was still alive.
When the hint in it is solved,
you will get the treasure that is..
sleeping somewhere in this mansion.
Or so the existing rumor says.
Wait a minute..
I can't believe this at all.
Why would our master have taught you such an important story?
Of all things..
This would be a disregard to us older bothers.
It was really strange to me, too.
Is it really a story taught by our master?
It would be inexcusable, if it only was a lie.
As a matter of fact, there is just one thing why you would want to refuse to hear it.
When creating this story, our family originator
Konjakute Sukedayuu, made it impossible for a heartless person to approach the treasure.
It was said that the rakugo story had been cursed.
Whoever listens to this rakugo story is certainly going to die.
Say, can I ask one question?
Why are you still alive then?
Good question!
It's a fact that the person who listens to it is going to die, but..
whether that might happen five minutes after..
or in 50 or 100 years is unknown.
That joke wasn't the slightest amusing.
Then, since I got everyone's approval, I'm going to start.
There is a grass that's called ChungeChonge.
It's said to have a very good flavor.
Put it into hot water once, then finely cut it tap-tap-tap,
put on Japanese ginger, dried bonito, soy sauce and then eat..
Mmm~ This already can't be from this world anymore~!
The aroma extends to the utmost inside your mouth.
"If so then I could eat it till I die," one among the customers must have thought, right?
That's not something difficult.
Because if it's a poisonous plant,
you'll definitely die when you eat it.
In Asakusa, near the Sensouji Temple is Hattsan.
He is said to have been a paint craftsman until now.
This man has great skills, but he has a weakness for delicious things.
Therefore he squandered his whole fortune.
"I had better died eating this, I should die."
"Hm, but I wonder how I should die?"
"Should I die by eating something?"
- So he happened to remember.. - Is something wrong?
What happened?
..that ChungeChonge.
You.. what did you do?
"Excuse me! Excuse me, please!"
"What do you want, sir?"
"I came to buy that ChungeChonge."
"If you eat this, you are going to die."
"I came, because I want to die."
"So? I see, then please take that hatchet from the shelf."
"Ah, it's dark isn't it?" "Open the window of the pit!"
"Do you know why I'm hiding the ChungeChonge at such a place?"
Ninosuke!
Ninosuke!!
Older brother..
Older brother!
Every time that grandmother sold the ChungeChonge herself..
her life span was going to get expanded as soon as that person died.
Stop it!
Ninosuke..
Is that so?
He's already dying..
What did you do to older brother Ninosuke?
What?
I didn't touch him.
This person, he's been in this strange state since he ate this manjuu..
Did you put poison in this manjuu?
By no means..
If so, then please eat it!
There doesn't really seem to be anything different..
Say, isn't it better to call the police?
Are you going to tell the police that he died after hearing the rakugo?
But, the way it is..
Some time ago, I ordered Shounosuke..
to lock the house from the outside on his way home.
The telephone is also cut off.
And now that we made sure of the effect of this rakugo story,
nobody will be able to leave from here.
Bars..
You, going that far..
Shounosuke should come back tomorrow morning.
But everyone, I don't have to mention that until then,
since you heard the story, you should sequentially pass away now.
You won't make a step out of here.
We'll find out what you did to him.
However, how did Nanosuke die?
I have no clue..
By no means.. he died because of our master's curse..?
A curse..
Don't say such a foolish thing!
Forget about this thing!
Let's split up and search for an exit.
Shinosuke, you go search over there.
Yes.
Then we will search here.
Please.
Come, Shinoda-san.
Crap.. here too.
Listen, we are now..
going to that rakugo teller and continue listening to the story.
We'll hear it to the end!
And we'll know the whereabouts of the treasure!
Always at such a time..
Such a time is the time for this!
Let's go!
Moreover, that rakugo..
You.. you seriously think that you are going to die by hearing this rakugo?
There's no time. Let's go!
Where on earth is that Sannosuke's room?
Huh? Not here..
Sensei, Imamura and Kanzaki..
What are they doing?!
Let's go!
Leave them alone..
Here?
In fact..
we thought your story some time ago was so interesting,
that we certainly wouldn't be satisfied without a continuation.
I can't do that.
Because the chances are high that you might die first, if you listen to it.
How did your master Mannosuke die?
He committed suicide..
by drinking poison.
Suicide..?
His skills were coming to an end, so he chose to take his own life.
That was the conclusion of the police back then.
But I wasn't able to believe it no matter what.
In any case, the master's performances were extremely magnificient.
The master's skill was so great that we was able to freely control the minds of the visitors.
During the story, his play of eating something was so good,
that they became so hungry that they wanted to eat something.
When he was acting as if it was freezing cold,
even if it was a hot day, they unconsciously wrapped their kimonos further around themselves.
How can such a thing be done?
For that, you'll need talent and a lot of work.
Well, I'm still nowhere near that..
Being able to freely manipulate the mind of people?
That's useful, huh.. With rakugo?
Well, well, sir..
Money is a scary thing, isn't it?
It's not satisfying when you possess it.
You call it "frightening" after all. [okane = money / okkanee = frightening]
I might have talent for this.
So, how is it? Do you feel like giving me your money?
Apart from that..
Imamura and Kanzaki..!
Konjakute Shinosuke
Mortal revenge!
What's this..
Why the paint..?
It's imitating the rakugo.
I see.
The main character Hattsan is a paint craftsman.
In Asakusa, near the Sensouji Temple is Hattsan.
He is said to have been a paint craftsman until now.
Translator: HPriest Editor: furransu Japanese subs by rokonoko Timings by tianj
Around what time did you leave the storage room?
At about 12:20.
There was nothing strange in the storage room at that time, right?
Yes.
This means the the time of the crime must have been after that, right?
During that interval.. where did you go and what did you do?
We've been together all the time.
We went to Sannosuke-san's room for the story..
and when we left the room after a short while, we heard Matsuo-san's scream...
We've been in this room together with Ikemura-san the whole time, right?
At the time the four of us went to the bathroom, we by chance happened to pass by that room.
Konjakute Shinosuke mortal revenge!
I've been together with Shinoda-san the whole time to search for an exit, right?
Really the whole time?
There's been a few times when we split,
but that only was for about five minutes..
But isn't it possible to do the crime in such a time?
Were you guys really together the whole time?
Please wait a moment.
It's impossible to do the crime in 5 or 10 minutes.
Even if, after the criminal killed Shinosuke-san,
he would have still had to paint the room with the paint.
No matter how quick he was, he still needed about 20 or 30 minutes.
I see..
As one would expect from an elite high school student..
So, it was impossible for the people who are here now to have committed the crime?
No, there are people who could have possibly done the crime, right? Sensei..
Some of your students are missing.
Are you saying that Imamura and Kanzaki are murderers??
Please don't say such a stupid thing!
That my lovely students would do such a...
Ah, sensei!?
I'm sorry.
I'm worried about those two, I'm worried..
Imamura-kun and Kanzaki-kun..
by some chance might have been attacked by the criminal..
Criminal?
Of course, the criminal of the current case.
Inside this mansion, someone..
Look out for things that might be inconvenient for the criminal..
I know there are.
There are various things, right?
Say..
Do you know anything?
This family has various complicated human relations.
The former master Mannosuke..
Whether he really committed suicide..
is doubtful..
To quickly aim at the family's property,
I think there are a lot of people who could have killed the master.
The head of the support group, Shinoda-san..
It's rumored that he owed the master a lot of money.
Then.. master Mannosuke..
got killed by somebody?
It's a rumor, a rumor..
Anyway, as long as we are here,
we shouldn't believe anybody.
Sensei!
She can tell us whatever she wants,
she's also here only for the treasure.
The rakugo from before,
she secretly listened to its audio recording.
"There is a grass that's called ChungeChonge."
We have to find the treasure first!
Ikamura and Kanzaki too, occasionally..
Treasure~ treasure~
Treasury~ treasury~
I feel like somebody have been following us for a while..
Somebody is observing us..
Alright, leave it to me.
The kimono you wear at a happy time..
What was it called again?
Happi! ['happi coat']
There's nobody.
If there was, he would have unintentionally laughed.
That wasn't amusing at all..
Treasure~ treasure~
Ikamura, Kanzaki!
Please come out!
Treasure!
Ah, sensei! The voices just now..
You.. don't scare me like that..
Over there.
Here.
You open it!
Hurry!
Are you all right?
You got hit from behind?
At the time we were searching for Sannosuke's room,
we saw the backyard and separated from you two.
Then..
You can't get out from here..
And before we noticed, we were already in there.
You said that you got hit around here?
Yes.
You probably saw something that's inconvenient for the criminal.
Remember!
You say it that easily, but..
Hey!
Isn't that akafuji grass?
Really!
We didn't notice it back then.
What's akafuji grass doing at such a place?
So what's this?
A poisonous plant.
It becomes colorless when you dissolve it in water.
There's a slight bitterness, but you'll almost not notice it.
That's why it's often used in murder cases.
The criminal must have thought..
that you saw this and hit you from behind.
That must be it.
He's scheming to use it for his next crime.
Wait..
That's a good way to find out who hits yo.
First, you've been together with us.
We only have to look at the faces of everyone,
when you appear in front of them.
Naturally, everyone should be surprised.
"Where have you been up until now?" They'll ask.
Then you guys purposely don't mention that you went to the backyard..
and lie by saying that you got hit somewhere else.
Then, only the criminal will be like.. "Eh? Such stupid.."
The person who right away makes such a facial expression, is the criminal.
I see!
We have to thoroughly observe everyone's expression.
Yes!
Imamura-kun!
Kanzaki-kun
You guys, where have you been up until now?
In fact, we've been in the toilet..
when somebody suddenly hit our heads...
Imamura-kun~
Are you alright?
Thank god you are safe.
We were worried..
We didn't know what happened to you..
Thanks to their exaggerated reactions..
our whole tactic got spoiled..
But Sensei!
Isn't Sannosuke-san still the most suspicious?
The one who knows the mansion best is Sannosuke-san.
He should know about the growing akafuji grass.
Nobody's here.
Listen..
We are looking for the place where he might have hidden the poison.
This is suspicious, isn't it?
Eh?
Don't tell me.. you drank it?
I did.
Alright, it's just water.
Sannosuke is coming back!
Eh, sensei!
I'm going to keep him away.
You keep on searching!
Yes
Huh, Sannosuke-san!?
What are you doing at such a place?
I want to practice rakugo a bit..!
"Hey Nattsan!"
"What do you want Kuma-san?"
Hey, Sannosuke..
We found this in the kitchen.
Isn't that akafuji grass?
What about it?
Don't say "What?" !
There are signs that this got boiled in the kitchen.
You are planning to kill the next one with this, aren't you?
That's stupid!
Then why is there such a thing?
Show us your room.
Hey~ Mr. H.
What? Mr. Kuma?
What's with you?
I'm thinking about broadening rakugo to overseas,
so an English rakugo..
Hey~ Mr. H.
That "Mr. H" in fact is Hattsan..
Dead old castle!
Dead old castle!!
What's with you..
Anyway, move away.
You guys!
How terrible...
They are dead!
What? They died?
Actually those kids..
They thought there was something suspicious about Sannosuke-san.
They went to this room to examine it.
Maybe on that occasion..
they actually drank something poisonous.
What?!
Perhaps this water!
You, for the sake of the next murder..
put poison in here..
Didn't you prepare this?
Those kids drank it..
- Don't say such a foolish thing! - Then..!
Please drink this.
What's wrong? You can't drink it?
Hey!
Idiot..
You guys..
You weren't dead?
- What's with this behavior? - Wah!? You all just lied down?
Yay, let's go quick!
The English lesson was helpful, huh?
Dead old castle.
"shinda furui shiro" (dead old castle)
"shindafuri shiro" (lets play dead)
"shindafuri shiro.." (also: Play dead!)
For the time when we played dead,
did you realize something?
Obviously..
Sannsosuke isn't the criminal.
Listen,
if he was the criminal, he would have known where he hid the poison.
He would have known if there was poison in the water jug or not.
So at the time when I asked him to drink the water from the water jug,
he would have drank it quickly and cleared his suspicion.
However, Sannosuke wasn't able to drink.
Perhaps he himself thinks that the criminal also might want to kill him.
Yes!
How does the criminal plan to use the poison?
There is more than that!
We also immediately have to find the treasure!
No, more than that, the criminal..!
Window..
"Please take the hatchet from the shelf."
"Ah, it's dark, isn't it. Please open the window of the pit."
The grandmothers's words..
"What do yo want, sir?" (nandai danna)
"I want to die" (nushi wa shinu)
"Hatchet on the shelf" (tana no nata)
"Window of the pit" (doma no mado)
Don't you notice something?
Ah! Whether you read it from the top or the bottom,
it's the same!
This was a hint.
ChungeChonge is said..
to show where the treasure is, isn't it?
If we take that.. Listen to this.
"Please open the window of the pit."
"Do you know at what kind of place I am hiding the ChungeChonge?"
What kind of.. (donna)
place..? (tokoro)
Jajan~
Now the question.
What do you get when you turn "donna" ?
Pinpon~
Imamura!
"nando!" [storage room]
Yes!
This is the storage room, right?
That's the place where Shinosuke-san got killed.
Are we going to examine such a place?
The exact place where Shinosuke was killed is around here, right?
Tsukamoto! Lie down!
Eh?
Similar to Shinosuke at that time.
You.. don't you feel something when you look at this?
Tsukamoto has a surprisingly limp body.
Not that!
Why is there paint under him, if he fell down here?
The criminal probably killed the victim after painting the room.
I see.
He must have painted the room before killing the victim.
Well..
If we assume..
Wait..
Come here a bit.
Even if you were able to do the murder,
nobody would have had the time to paint the room as well.
Everyone had an alibi, right?
It's impossible to do the crime in just 5 or 10 minutes.
No matter how fast you are, you would at least need 20 or 30 minutes.
But..
at that time..
a person could have been able to paint this room. There is only one possible person.
The killed victim himself.
The killed Shinosuke probably..
wanted to kill somebody and pretended that it was the curse of that rakugo.
I'll call that other one X.
Shinosuke, to make it match the rakugo,
painted the room in advance.
After that he called X in here.
But X killed Shinosuke on the contrary.
Then he painted the room, pretending it was the criminal himself.
If we assume..
that the criminal who killed Shinosuke..
didn't need 20 or 30 minutes to do the crime,
he could have only needed 5 minutes.
Everyone could have practically done the crime.
More than that, the treasure, the treasure!
Sensei, it would be strange,
if the treasure of the Tokugawa Period was in this room!
Mh?
You solved the code of the rakugo?
Yes.
But the treasure would be in that room,
the storage room which only had been reconstructed recently.
The former master Mannosuke made reconstructions here and there..
This house has also became quite old..
Then, didn't the master Mannosuke find the treasure back then?
Don't you know something..
Well..
There is only one way to explain everything.
You are going to continue from some time ago?
Yes.
When I can perform it until the end..
the truth behind everything that occurred today should become clear.
Everyone please decide whether you want to hear it or not.
What should we do?
Isn't it interesting? Let's listen to it.
But..
Interesting, huh?
Tedious would be the better word.
Letting us hear it until the end with your skills.
Go ahead, probably something isn't going to happen again...
Paint craftsman Hattsan..
doesn't have enough money to buy ChungeChonge.
"I'll certainly save money and come to buy the ChungeChonge!"
"Until then, you may not sell it to anyone else!"
With that request, he left the shop.
Now, after that Hattsan,
in order to be able to buy the ChungeChonge, he had to work hard.
He had to work to be able to die.
Thanks to this, he got a wife and kids.
He completely forgot about the ChungeChonge.
That's a day in the summer.
"Ah~ it's hot isn't it..."
"No, it's so hot, I can't work at all."
"Hey, the paint is going to get hard immediately and dry."
"It can't be helped, right?"
"Something like a cold barley tea, I could drink that until I die now."
That's what he was thinking..
Then a single grandmother happened to came by..
"That's terrible, isn't it."
"Here, drink this."
She served him a drink.
"Oh, really? You're not gonna finish this?"
"Then, I'll take it gratefully."
That being the case, he spontaneously drank it..
"Ah! That's delicious!"
"What kind of drink is this?"
In that condition Nattsan died.
"Did you forget?"
"Five years ago, you.."
"promised that you would certainly come to buy the ChungeChonge!"
"If I didn't make you drink that, it would have taken away years of my life span!"
Hey, what's wrong?
This is the cup that you had before.
This is the cup that was left in front of Ichinosuke-san.
In both cups we detected traces of akafuji grass.
What kind of thing is this?
Well..
That's Sannosuke-san's cup, isn't it?
When I can perform it until the end..
the truth behind everything that occurred today should become clear.
Sannosuke-san's is broken at the back.
I didn't notice this.
You somewhere secretly switched these bowls, didn't you?
If I did such a thing,
wouldn't everyone have noticed?
Maybe..
it was Ichinosuke-san who switched them?
Ichinosuke-san..
wanted to give you the drink with the poison.
For that reason he secretly put poison into his cup..
and then secretly switched it with yours.
However..
you expected that Ichinosuke-san would do this,
so you previously put in poison into your own cup.
You purposely acted like you were drinking the poisoned tea..
and that you were collapsing from the poison.
When Ichinosuke-san saw this,
relievedly, he drank the tea infront of him and lost his breath.
Then, the death of Ninosuke-san in the beginning..?
Was it also because of that akafuji?
I only served him a manjuu a little saltier than usual,
because older brother Ninosuke-san wanted the same manjuu as the one in my rakugo.
I wasn't able to explain it myself, as I didn't prepare the manjuu with poison.
Is something wrong?
You.. what did you do?
But the possibility that a person dies because of that..
Of course there isn't.
Only older brother Ichinosuke..
should have had the best opportunity to kill older brother Ninosuke, don't you think?
When Ichinosuke-san rushed over to Ninosuke-san..
acting like caring for him..
he made him drink something he previously prepared with akafuji grass.
Older brother Ichinosuke, from the beginning, he came here..
in order to kill older brother Ninosuke, Shinosuke and me.
What's this?
One year ago, those three..
killed master Mannosuke and made it look like suicide.
Just as you guessed, master Mannosuke..
solved the code of the rakugo while he was still alive and found the treasure.
When those 3 found that out, they killed the master to steal it from him.
But due to the true nature of the treasure, it wasn't able to be equally split among them.
..which is?
Because the treasure of the originator of the family,
Konjakute Sukedayuu, was a secretly written register of a rakugo content.
The contents from his first ever performance,
what certainly earned him the name of a rakugo story teller,
with what he was able to obtain an enormous property.
So overwhelmingly lucrative, that it even came to a dispute about the head of the family.
Being able to perform this first..
only one of the three would be able to..
Then the relationship between those three,
because of that content register, turned into antagonism against each other..
Because of what those three have done,
you wanted to revenge the killed master.
You know..
before doing such a thing..
why didn't you tell the police that your master didn't commit suicide.
I did..
but there wasn't any proof.
No matter what motive,
what you did was a crime.
I have to make you come with us to the office.
What crime?
What I did was that I served a manjuu a little saltier than usual..
and that I put poison into my own cup.
That older brother Ninosuke would eat the manju..
or that older brother Ichinosuke would drink that tea..
I wasn't able to foresee those things.
Say..
Wasn't it possible for you to do that?
You said it, didn't you?
"If you were a master, you would be able to freely manipulate the minds."
Purposely acting like eating manjuu,
weren't you also able to make them feel like drinking tea?
You are overestimating me too much.
My skills are still far away from being able to do that.
Well.., if say that I absolutely have to,
then I'll come with you, Mr. Detective.
Everyone..!
For attending today's stupid and comical story, I'm truly thankful.
You!
By carelessly going to listen to rakugo,
you again brought Ayukawa-sensei a great deal of trouble!?
With the exams getting closer..
you might want to become 'rakugo' people! [pun: 'rakugo' can also mean 'dropping out']
Promise that you'll never do it again!
Laugh!
Ayukawa-sensei!
Yes?
For analyzing the tape recently, thank you very much.
I'm very sorry.
Not knowing that he was a corrupt merchant, he claimed an exorbitant handling charge.
Don't worry.
I'll cleverly tell it the board chairman my way.
Thereupon, to express my gratitude,
there happens to be a tasteful steak house near my place, you know..
Ayukawa-sensei and a steak are lovely! [pun: steak and suteki (lovely)]
Just kidding~
You!
Not here..
It's your fault that I wasted my precious days off again!
DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!