Chapter 28

Chapter 28 is the twenty-eighth chapter of the Dead Mount Death Play manga.

Official Blurb
It's a good day to gather information! Polka's group researches the mysterious symbol while Iwanome makes a new contact of his own...

Summary
Takumi Kuruya discerns that the Corpse God wants to investigate whether some 'shadow organization' is using the symbol seen on the dirigibles (as opposed to the stunt simply being the sole work of Phantom Solitaire. Misaki Sakimiya wonders at the latter option: if Solitaire does prove to be solely responsible, she expects he might just be a 'wizard' from "Polka's" home world.

The Corpse God disagrees, pointing out that Solitaire is seeking information on the symbol and as such is likely ignorant as to its meaning. Takumi asks if the Corpse God knows any 'identification spells' which he could use to identify who is responsible—ones that, as per fictional examples, might tell one another's occupation or skills at a glance—only to be stunned when the Corpse God draws a comparison between such spells and what Takumi regularly achieves on a computer.

While Takumi mulls over whether he has been an 'identification wizard' all along, and while skeletons tidy up the room, the Corpse God says he does not know whether others from his home world have crossed over. Misaki is confused, as she thought the skeletons were beings "Polka" summoned from his home world, but "Polka" admits he is still shocked he was able to summon them with so little effort. He clarifies that he typically summons just the souls and uses nearby stone and metal to make temporary 'bone' vessels to house the souls in. In worst-case scenarios he might summon the souls in their original forms, but doing so uses up a great deal of magic; meanwhile, the 'typical bones' usually have some semblance of a personality despite most of them lacking memories.

Misaki asks, "Aren't there human spirits that could talk more?" and the Corpse God hesitates before quietly acknowledging that there are—except, he released most of them in the hundred years prior to fighting the Calamity Crusher. Though some maintained their contracts with him, he cannot bring himself to face them—not now, not since he became known as a 'world disaster'.

Sayo Shinoyama tells him to stop 'moping', to summon those spirits with a smile, and to apologize should they lash out in anger or grief. She points out that in contracting their souls with him, those spirits were placing their trust in him; the Corpse God, touched, silently apologizes for having ever doubted Sayo as a person.

After a brief digression on 'sharkmancers' and fish-manipulators, the conversation returns to the problem at hand: what they plan to do about the symbol. Takumi, still inordinately pleased by the notion he is an 'identification wizard', volunteers to comb the police's databases for information as a start.

As Takumi gets to work, Miyabi Hosorogi scribbles that while he cannot disclose details, he cannot say he has no inkling as to what is going on. He warns "Polka" and the others to be careful; while he can only personally speak about one department, the police department overall is a "hotbed of vice."

Tsubaki Iwanome arrives at the headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, where Senior Commissioner Habaki greets him and apologizes for the sudden summons. He further laments that he had hoped Iwanome's career would stay on the "straight and narrow" before warning Iwanome that the Superintendent General likes to use his face "to his advantage"; without further ado, Iwanome enters the office of Superintendent General Jirotarou Takanosu. Habaki stands at attention by the door.

Jirotarou comments that Iwanome looks more like a club host than a police officer, but dismisses his appearance as trivial; what matters, he says, is whether or not Iwanome can be "a gear that helps to turn this organization." He hopes the two of them will mesh well.

Takumi, having successfully hacked into the police's data network, pulls up a photograph of Jirotarou before sifting through Iwanome's personal files. He remarks that Iwanome appears to be investigating Hosorogi far more than he has ever done him; when Hosorogi warily asks if Iwanome was really using the police's own computers for such purposes, Takumi confirms that Iwanome was until just a few years ago. Some records have been deleted while others have not, and those that remain indicate Iwanome's current focuses are on Solitaire and the "Gator Sisters."

Takumi opines that the 'arsonist case' is just as 'crazy' as the Solitaire business, referring to the arsonist who attacked the Shinoyama estate. He informs Sayo that the arsonist is dead at the hands of Fire-breathing Bug, another arsonist whom the Shinoyama arsonist was copying. Furthermore, Iwanome's conclusions indicate the impostor was also responsible for starting the Shakuzawa Building fire—a revelation that fills "Polka" with fresh rage towards the impostor in question.

Meanwhile, Iwanome assures Jirotarou that "matching up [his] gears with others is what he does best," provided no stones jam the sprockets. Jirotarou presumes that by 'stones' Iwanome is referring to Hosorogi, scoffing that Hosorogi must be worth no more than a stone to Iwanome if Iwanome is treating him as such. This is precisely the sort of intimidation tactic Habaki had warned Iwanome of earlier; Iwanome's fists clench, but he bats away Jirotarou's hand from his shoulder to give him a cool smile of his own.

With that smile, he counters that Hosorogi is no stone—the stone is a 'sewer rat' in this very building who drove Hosorogi into a corner. Jirotarou acknowledges Iwanome's composure, having expected Iwanome would slap his hand away in a rage, but notes that what he finds most entertaining is when people are the farthest they can possibly be from 'cool and calm'. Still, he decides that Iwanome at the very least will be adding an entirely new 'sound' to the system at hand—though he warns he will not hesitate to crush Iwanome if his sound becomes too 'discordant'.

After correcting Iwanome's earlier mispronunciation of 'Jirotarou' (Iwanome had said 'Jiroutarou'), he finally moves on to the reason he summoned Iwanome in the first place: Phantom Solitaire. Thus far, Iwanome has been in charge of the Solitaire investigation; in light of today's dirigible incident, Jirotarou and others have decided to restructure the investigation supervision. Since Iwanome has 'some kind of connection' to Solitaire, Jirotarou wants him to take charge of the jurisdiction side of the case.

Meanwhile, Solitaire—Tena Sorimura—wanders the paths of the nearby Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden while speaking with someone via cellphone. He asks this someone if the police are on the move, and his contact replies that multiple people are trying hacking into the police bureau—one of whom appears to be sifting through the information with a clear objective in mind.

Intrigued, Sorimura bets his contact—whom he calls "Granny"—has already traced this individual in question. "Granny" confirms she has already pinpointed a location: the home base of a fortuneteller who recently opened shop in Shinjuku. Sorimura decides on the spot that he must have this fortuneteller read his fortune.

Trivia

 * This chapter reveals that Hosorogi's given name is Miyabi.
 * All that is seen of "Granny" are her fingers typing away on what appears to be a typewriter. She is implied to be speaking from Café Amaguri, an old maid café; this café is spotlighted in Volume 4's "super-fun" illustrated guide to the series. Amaguri means 'sweet chestnuts' in Japanese.
 * Volume 4 uses the color spread from Chapter 28's individual release as the volume 'title' page; as a consequence, Chapter 28 is given a new chapter title illustration in the volume release.