About the investigation being conducted on Jin Makata’s blank year...
At this point in time,
I have only been able to catch bits and pieces of his trail.
“Puzzles are chains. Puzzles are mirrors,” huh?
Sir?
A report came in from Kaito.
It mentions how Raetsel told him that.
We still don’t know anything about her...
Rook, do you really think it’s okay for puzzles to exist?
Are you... happy to have encountered puzzles?
I Get that Feeling
Sheesh... I don’t know what to think!
You’re talking about Raetsel, aren’t you?
The Jin I knew was the one true Jin!
Your Jin was just some fraud!
Her eyes were serious.
I don’t think she was telling a lie.
Yeah, same here.
But if that’s the case, what about her claim that Jin hates puzzles?
Is that also true?
That’s not even a possibility!
Dammit! What the heck is going on here?
We’ll have to search for the answer to that ourselves.
Rook!
What a crappy puzzle!
It’s not even worthy of our hate, is it?
That brooch...
By any chance, did I...?
Did you remember?
No... It’s just, I got that feeling...
I was so totally right when I decided to wear this brooch!
I had a hunch it might jog your memories!
Why don’t you come with me after all?
It might help your memories come back!
B-but...
Don’t you want to remember your past?
Then it’s settled!
I’ll come pick you up later, so sit tight!
Prepare to welcome Jin onboard?
Naturally, I’d be happy to welcome our leader with open arms,
but weren’t you going to leave him
with Kaito Daimon until he regained his memories?
Was I? Doesn’t ring a bell!
I swear, you are such a naughty kitten.
Director Rook wanted to speak with Raetsel...?
Right. Kaito is with them.
Where’d they go?
Well, he wanted to keep it a private conversation, so...
And leave us out?!
There is no need to worry, Cubik.
It was the director’s idea.
I have no doubt that he knows what he is doing.
But still...!
I, Ana, am worried...
Yeah! It’s dangerous for them to be alone with Raetsel!
No, I’m not worried about her.
Ever since she showed up, Kaito has...
I, Ana, feel like Kaito has reverted to when we first met.
When you first met?
Back to when Kaito loved puzzles, yet hated them...
So, what’s Jin up to?
He is in his room. Is there a problem?
Not really.
Kaito...
Here. This one is for you.
I don’t want any!
This isn’t why you called me here, is it?
They taste best when they’re still hot!
You see, this is a rare treat for me.
Didn’t you want to talk to me about Jin?
Oh, yeah! So, Rook, what did you wanna tell us?
You, me and Jin used to play puzzles together, didn’t we?
Yeah, we sure did...
There is no way...
I could see Jin ever say that he hates puzzles.
But, Raetsel, I don’t think you’re lying to us, either.
Of course not.
Wasn’t there once a time, Kaito, when you hated puzzles yourself?
A puzzle took your parents’ lives, didn’t it?
Jin told me about what happened, Kaito.
You, too, harbor a hatred for puzzles.
So how could you say that Jin doesn’t?
Same for you, Rook.
After you were devoured by the Armlet of Orpheus,
you created one dangerous puzzle after the next.
You may... be absolutely right.
“Is it truly all right for puzzles to exist?”
To be honest, Jin asked me that question once in the past.
Rook?
And then, Jin continued by saying,
“Puzzles are chains. Puzzles are mirrors.”
That’s the exact same thing Jin told Raetsel...
He said it to me as well.
It was word-for-word the same.
So what of it?
This took place on a summer day.
I just so happened to be alone with Jin...
Rook, do you really think it’s okay for puzzles to exist?
Are you... happy to have encountered puzzles?
They’re fun...
There may be sad puzzles... as well as terrifying puzzles.
Even so--Even so, they’re fun!
There is no such thing as an unwanted puzzle!
And even if there was, I’m sure that it would be the human creator’s fault!
You’re right. I’m sorry, my bad!
Sometimes I find you looking lonesome, you know?
I was simply asking that weird question out of concern.
I’m sorry.
But, yes, you’re absolutely right, Rook!
Everything depends on us humans.
Puzzles are chains. Puzzles are also mirrors.
They’re chains and mirrors?
What does that mean?
That’s a puzzle in and of itself.
I still don’t know the answer to that puzzle.
Puzzles bind people,
reflecting aspects of ourselves that we never wanted to see.
That’s what Jin was trying to say.
Is that... really what he meant to say?
I was with Jin all the time!
I know him inside and out!
Then... how about this?
Youngster X!
So Jin made that puzzle?
Jin!
Are you making a puzzle?
Will you punish the puzzlers with it?
Dunno. What do you think?
How did you get that puzzle...?
I looked into Jin’s blank year.
In other words, I traced the footsteps you took together with Jin.
The pieces of data on Jin’s journey that are still intact...
depict a brutal series of heroic battles against the Puzzles of Fools.
But that wasn’t all I found.
I stumbled upon this: A photo that appeared in a newspaper.
Amidst his difficult battles, Jin was trying to
teach children how much fun puzzles can be!
You’re lying!
You photoshopped that picture!
Jin planted a trap in that puzzle with
the intent of punishing puzzlers who...
I’m not finding any traps in this.
It’s a good, warm puzzle.
Jin truly is the man I--we knew him to be.
The Puzzles of Fools and the children...
The two may have caused Jin’s heart to waver.
That might be why he asked you if
it’s all right for puzzles to exist, Rook.
I-I don’t buy it!
We don’t know everything about Jin, nor do you.
“Hate puzzlers.”
I guess Jin could have told you that.
But on the flip side...
Right. He may have had reasons we didn’t know about.
Could you help us find out what they were, Raetsel?
If the three of us work together, we can uncover Jin’s past--
we’ll reach the heart of the matter!
K-keep dreaming! Kaito Daimon, you hated puzzles.
Rook Banjo Crossfield, you created murderous puzzles!
Jin hated puzzles, too!
That’s the truth!
I will not deny my past,
but I will not allow anyone to decide Jin’s past for him.
Excuse me?!
Fine! In that case, I’ll show it to you.
I’ll let you see the most loathsome puzzle Jin ever showed me.
It’s the most terrifying puzzle in the world!
Kaito never did come back...
Jin, what are you up to?
These puzzles... What do you think of them?
Are these puzzles... lousy?
Well, I’m not the best person to ask.
I’m horrible at puzzles.
Are you really?
Uh, but, well, these puzzles are kinda cute,
so I bet they’d be fun to solve...
This is a Puzzle of Fools?
I never knew there was one here!
As far as I’m aware, this is the
most dangerous and treacherous puzzle in the world.
It was bad enough that even Jin gave up on setting it free.
Jin did?!
Jin hated and feared this puzzled.
That is the truth.
Rook Banjo Crossfield, if you don’t
believe me, why don’t you give it a shot?
All right.
Rook!
“Puzzles are chains. Puzzles are also mirrors.”
I want to learn the truth behind those words.
If I challenge the same puzzle that Jin faced,
it may bring me closer to understanding how Jin felt.
So that’s the goal?
With a bottomless pit blow me, there is nowhere to run.
But there are sharp spears waiting for me...
if I try to force my way across the different pillars.
In other words, if I want to reach the exit,
I have no choice but to solve this puzzle.
Puzzle time... Let's begin!
I see. When I step onto a stone pillar, its height changes.
So then these numbers are...
Each of the stone pillars is assigned a number.
The numbers on the tablet Rook is holding are supposed to serve as a hint.
The first stone pillar was 14.
Next was 46.
I suspect that the numbers represent their original height...
and how high they will go.
Then what about the pillars with only one number?
Rook!
That was close! If he hadn’t gotten off...!
Single-digit numbers rise.
They crash into the ceiling, making them dead ends.
And to top it off,
there is a limit to how long I may stand on each pillar.
If I go forward to 32, I’ll be forced to go on the single-digit pillar, 2.
I should head for 35.
Looks like he’s figured out the rules.
Rook...
Just as you lost your parents,
you might lose your best friend to a puzzle.
A long time ago, this puzzle stole my...
That puzzle...
That puzzle was so scary that I couldn’t solve it.
That was the only puzzle I was unable to solve.
You too?
Yeah! That is the most terrifying Puzzle of Fools I’ve ever seen.
Is that right?
Raetsel, don’t go near that dangerous puzzle
all by yourself ever again!
But I wanna help you--
Here.
What’s this?
My good luck charm.
I’d like you to keep it from now on.
When I’m challenging a Puzzle of Fools,
please pray for my safety and wait for me.
Puzzles stole Jin’s gentle smile from me!
Next, I’ll have to take either pillar 6 or 61.
But if I take 6...
The single-digit pillars crash into the ceiling.
So I’ll take 61.
No. If I take 61, I won’t be able to progress.
In other words, I can’t go beyond this point.
Does this puzzle lack an answer?!
Now do you get it?
Puzzles are vile things that steal the ones we hold dear.
Kaito, a puzzle is going to steal from you again.
This time, it’s going to be your dear friend.
You’re wrong.
Can’t you hear it?
This Puzzle of Fools is crying.
The puzzle is crying?
Back when I solved the puzzle that took my mom and dad,
I heard it then, too.
I could hear the sound of the puzzle rejoicing when I set it free.
It’s not like this became a killer puzzle because it wanted to.
It’s not the puzzle’s fault, but the person who made the puzzle!
Rook! Listen to the voice of the puzzle!
And free this puzzle from its agony!
Right... You’re right, Kaito.
Don’t be afraid. Face the puzzle!
A piece of the tablet is on 6’s floor.
Which means...
I...
believe in you!
Rook!
Cool! Some of the stone pillars go down instead!
Next I should jump onto 5--No, 3!
But if 3 descends, I’ll go to 12.
If 12 rises, I’ll take...
78!
Sweet!
Im-impossible!
He overcame such a tough spot!
Great! I’m almost there.
N-no way...!
Dang, you had me worried sick.
Jin, as well as you, Kaito...
The two of you saved me.
Me and Jin?
For a minute, I couldn’t decide which stone pillar to jump onto.
I’m not sure if he did it intentionally or not,
but I think that was there from when Jin freed the puzzle.
You’re making crap up!
Jin told me that he couldn’t solve--
He lied to you.
I bet he didn’t want you getting
anywhere near this dangerous puzzle.
Kaito’s voice...
and the hint Jin left behind dispelled my hesitation.
It finally makes sense to me now.
Puzzles are chains.
Chains are bonds that tightly link people together.
They link people together?
Aren’t you linked to Jin through puzzles?
How do you explain the “mirrors”?
If you view puzzles with fear in your eyes, they will seem terrifying.
If you try to find the truth, the puzzle will show it to you.
Don’t make that up and then say that’s how Jin feels!
Right. It’s the same as what you’re doing.
There is still so much that you, me and Kaito don’t know about Jin.
Yeah. We really should work together to uncover--
Cut the crap! I know all about Jin!
That’s good enough!
Then we’ll have to do it without her.
I swear that I will solve the hard,
complex puzzle hidden within Jin’s past.
You’re free to try.
After all, Jin’s going to be leaving with me.
Jin, I came to get you!
Come on. We can go together now.
I’m sorry. I can’t accompany you.
Why not?
You’re... missing something.
For some odd reason, I can’t help but get that feeling.
I’m sorry.
Again... You said it again...
You’re missing something.
What an adorable black cat! What’s its name?
I never gave it one.
Then I’ll think one up! You’d like a cute name, right?
Oh, how’s Luna? Jiji?
Or Tango?
Which do you like?
Rae-Rae is a Feline Friend
Next time, “Rae-Rae is a Feline Friend.”
I’ll name it Jinko Makata.
How cute--er, wait! What?
Why am I included in this...? Octopus! Not quite, Rook! We?e fried octy! Fried octy!
Fin Art: Akeru Otsuki