Chapter 39

Chapter 39 is the thirty-ninth chapter of the Dead Mount Death Play manga.

Official Blurb
Something's been eating at Nishida lately, but he can't quite figure out what. Maybe he can get some answers from the local fortune teller...

Synopsis
Nishida, a Youtoukorou bartender, is quite disoriented when he wakes up in a location he did not expect to wake up in. Recalling the "weird phone call" that summoned him, he sets off for the bar without noticing his own nearby bloodstain.

He dizzily wanders the streets until he spots his fellow bartender Urai being approached by someone hidden behind an umbrella. Worried that no one is manning the bar, he tries and fails to call out to Urai; as he realizes his voice isn't vocalizing, he realizes in turn that blood is splattering down from his neck. At the sight of his own head before his feet, the spirit remembers that he was killed.

Later at the fortunetelling shop, Corpse God and Misaki Sakimiya wait for the first client Kochou Eightport has arranged for an appointment half an hour before official opening time. The Corpse God is much calmer than he was when Eightport entreated with him the day before, remarking that Phantom Solitaire may have been interested in his fortunetelling business because by all accounts Solitaire seeks the real occult.

Eightport ushers in the first client: a tentative Urai. Takumi Kuruya—at his computer station—is more than dismayed that the client is someone they know, explaining to Sayo Shinoyama that Urai is a bartender who works for Lisa Kuraki. Meanwhile, Urai wonders how he found himself in this mess; when Eightport had approached him earlier in the rain, he thought she wanted him to participate in a minor story—not have his fortune told by "Polka". He worries that Eightport has led him into a 'trap', and it is true that Eightport knows he is affiliated with the owner of this building—however, neither "Polka" nor Misaki appear to recognize him, so he acts as if he does not recognize them either.

The Corpse God asks Urai if anything is troubling him; at first Urai flounders, but then asks if the Corpse God can figure out where his coworker skipped off work to.

A few Youtoukorou employees return to the bar from Nishida's apartment and deliver a report to Clarissa: there are signs Nishida left his apartment and arrived at Youtoukorou; changed into his work uniform; and left in a hurry before his shift ended still wearing his uniform. They wonder if he received a phone call; given his dark and shady past, he may have been involved in some personal drama. However, Clarissa is concerned that Nishida has disappeared at the same time the flock of hands business is still hot in the news. One of her 'bunnies' asks if she thinks Nishida was caught up in Polka-related business, but Clarissa says the only bartender who knows Polka is a necromancer is Urai—who was present when Clarissa's people confronted Corpse God after he killed Misaki.

Back in the Fortuneteller Shop, the Corpse God informs Urai that his coworker friend "may well have gotten mixed up in some serious trouble." Behind Urai stands Nishida's spirit, holding his head in his arm—and Nishida begs the Corpse God to tell Urai someone murdered him.

Eightport regards the conversation warily, surprised that Urai brought up his friend so early on into the session and surprised that the Corpse God's answer wasn't "vague and noncommittal." She wonders whether the two know each other but reasons the conversation would be proceeding far more naturally if they did, and can only wonder further just what is going on.

Overlooking a police car from a window, with Higuro at his side, Momoya Agakura quips that he hopes the police will be able to find 'it' easily this time around—'it' implied to be Nishida's remains.

Trivia

 * This chapter reveals that Urai was present during the Chapter 3 confrontation.