Chapter 21

Chapter 21 is the twenty-first chapter of the Dead Mount Death Play manga.

Summary
Tsubaki Iwanome and Kōzaburō Arase pay Takeru Shinoyama a visit, tactfully ignoring the two silent, dangerous-looking guards (Taipei and Bao) accompanying him. Introducing themselves as from a police department different to the one whose officers questioned Takeru the day before, they express their appreciation for Takeru's continued cooperation.

Takumi Kuruya, Misaki Sakimiya, and the Corpse God—posing as the real Polka Shinoyama—file into the living area, where they find Sayo Shinoyama still in her sleeping bag even with the morning sun streaming through the window. Sayo asks if the morning is not lovely, and when the Corpse God says that it is, grouchily disagrees and flips over in a sulk—though she says she respects his opinion.

Her young companion apologizes for her behavior, explaining she is still upset over loving half her shark collection to the mansion fire. He assures them that he will attend to all of her needs, and that they have no need to worry.

In a flashback to the night before, Sayo announces that she will be living with Polka henceforth—though she says she will not explain why until later. Then, unaware that Takumi has already done research on the Shinoyamas' backgrounds, she introduces herself as Polka's niece and the boy as her "escort" and something akin to a butler-in-training. As she cannot remember his full name—having only been introduced to him earlier that day—the boy introduces himself as Xiaoyu Lei with a bow.

Back to the present: Once Takumi and Misaki introduce themselves (again, in Misaki's case), Misaki asks why Sayo has come. Sayo's gloomy explanation is little more than "the sharks burned up," so Xiaoyu shows the trio a more informative video message from Rozan Shinoyama: Rozan requests that Polka let Sayo stay with him for the time being, as Sayo's room was burned down just like his. The Corpse God wonders why, considering that his body is still a target for assassination, but Rozan goes on to say that things are "much more convenient" with two family members in the same building.

With the help of his Evil Eye, the Corpse God senses that more eyes are watching his building than usual. His train of thought turns to Xiaoyu; he does not find it surprising that Rozan would dispatch his own guards, but he cannot ignore the possibility that Sayo—as with any of the other Shinoyamas—could be the one behind the real Polka's hit. If that proves to be the case, "it'll make things all the quicker."

Takumi says they can prepare one of the vacant rooms for their newcomers tonight, crediting Lisa Kuraki with the fact that they have vacancies at all. An immediate concern is beds/sleeping arrangements; despite Sayo seeming content with her sleeping bag and Xiaoyu insisting he can sleep on his feet, Misaki suggests they buy a mattress for Xiaoyu from Don Quixote later on.

The Corpse God asks Xiaoyu how he came to be Sayo's escort. As Xiaoyu procures cooking utensils from his bag (a slotted spatula, heating pad, and skillet), he claims he was chosen due to his name "Xiaoyu" sounding similar to "Sayo"; he further explains he will handle communications between Polka and the family for the time being.

The Corpse God inquires into the Shinoyamas' well-being "if [Xiaoyu] doesn't mind [him] asking." Cracking an egg into the skillet, Xiaoyu says that "Polka-sama" need not speak to him deferentially and that the police are once again visiting the Shinoyama residence as they speak.

Iwanome informs Takeru that the Fire-breathing Bug may be the arsonist who broke into the Shinoyama manor. After feigning restrained shock, Takeru refers to reports that the arsonist died in a fire the day before and asks if this means the Bug's crime spree has come to an end. Iwanome denies this as a certainty, saying that it will only be certain once they have more details on the case.

Takeru replies that his company Shinoyama Security considers the Bug its enemy, as their reputation once took a hit when the Bug targeted several buildings under their guard. His next comments allude to a poor opinion of the police's handling of the Bug thus far, which he follows up by wondering why the police are here given that Tena Sorimura is once again on the loose. Sorimura's stunt with the prime minister caused his company's stocks to take a dip, so—just as with the Bug—he hopes for the police to do their jobs.

Once outside the Shinoyama manor, Arase confides that he thinks the two people with Takeru were killers. Both of them had that sort of 'vibe', especially the man—who "smelled like him." The kind of person who views violence as an ubiquitous solution. "In other words, an absolute scumbag."

After advising Arase to talk with "Pop Tozawa" and "Yatsu," Iwanome supposes that they may have to get involved with the Shinoyamas depending on how the situation proceeds. Taking out his phone, he shows Arase a photograph of a formal family portrait he noticed in the mansion and asks if the person standing apart from the rest of the family looks familiar.

When Arase recognizes the 'kid' from their street encounter, Iwanome identifies him as Polka Shinoyama, the second-oldest son of Rozan. Though he currently does not live in the mansion, he was present during yesterday's fire; and, if Arase recalls, the bespectacled girl accompanying him was the one whose footprints were found at the "human knot" crime scene. Furthermore, the police have received still-unconfirmed information that the knotted victims had previously gotten into trouble with the Shinoyamas.

With multiple troublemakers having posed problems within the past month, Iwanome muses that either Polka or Takeru could very well be at the center of it all—and he intends to figure out which of them is.

Takeru, watching the two policemen leave from his upper-floor window, remarks to his bodyguards that the policemen who have joined his company say Iwanome has caused quite the disturbance within the force (as has Arase)—though Iwanome does not appear to be susceptible to bribes or intimidation. Bao asks if they should kill him, but Takeru says to keep him alive for now: he is curious to see whether Iwanome can solve the "secret behind Polka." For that matter, Rozan seems to be taking matters into his hands as well.

As night falls, Sayo and Xiaoyu move into their new sleeping quarters: a regular-sized room with a little side room attached, located one floor down from the main floor of operations. Misaki helps Xiaoyu carry a small mattress to the side room while Takumi and the Corpse God look on—Sayo already slumped on the floor of the main room—and Xiaoyu bids the others a cheerful goodnight.

Later, after Sayo has fallen asleep, Xiaoyu sits up on his mattress, stands, and taps the side of his head. Within seconds, he is eavesdropping on "Polka" and his friend conversing elsewhere; he overhears the friend asking what they will do with their new roommates (given that "Polka" is resuming fortunetelling the next day) and how they will explain—but here the sound trails off.

With a tight smile, Xiaoyu clenches his fist and vows to expose the "Polka Shinoyama impostor" for the Shinoyamas, even if Master Rozan will not strike them down. If he discovers the real Polka to still live during his investigation—then he will eliminate him in kind.

Trivia

 * This chapter provides the first mentions of Tozawa and Yatus, who will not be formally introduced until Chapter 30 despite appearing in Chapter 6.
 * The original color spread for the individual chapter release is used for Volume 3's own 'title' page; as a result, Chapter 21 begins in Volume 3 with the color page featured as 'volume title' in this article's infobox.