Chapter 72

Bungo Hound Dogs, Part 2 (文豪ハウンドドッグス 其の弐,) is the 72nd chapter of the Bungo Stray Dogs manga.

Summary
Jōno uncovers the café manager's lies, sensing that his wife is actually hiding somewhere in the café instead of being away, that he is quite afraid of the police rather than the Agency fugitives, and that he knows Lucy's unique ability that would be instrumental in hiding the Agency members on the run. After continuously pressuring the manager and later informing him that he is the terrorists' accessory after the fact, Jōno is confident that the manager shall confess the Agency's whereabouts in no time.

Tetchō nonchalantly stabs Jōno's toe, reprimanding his interrogative habit of tormenting other people to extract intel. Tetchō asks the manager where Lucy is, in exchange for pardoning her crime of aiding the wanted fugitives. Though Jōno tries to stop him from using such authority, Tetchō retains his stand. The manager muses that he does not want only Lucy to be saved, so Tetchō, realizing that that the manager also wishes for the Agency to be saved, promises that they shall not kill them and that the fugitives shall receive a fair trial. Tetchō swears on his sword and kneels before the manager for his help, upon which the manager confesses that Lucy has headed to the Sky Casino.

Teruko and Tachihara fly to the airborne casino, who become suspicious of the establishment's nature that may be hiding terrorists. In the casino, a man loudly laments his misfortune and pleads to the casino staff to retry once more, but to no avail. The casino's manager Sigma arrives and renders the man's previous game void due to a damage on the playing cards (which is considered a violation of the casino rules). Sigma then plays as dealer for the next game, upon which the man wins and thanks Sigma for his consideration. In truth, Sigma had deliberately damaged the card to give the man another chance, which would affect the casino's reputation positively. At that point, Sigma is notified of two Hunting Dogs requesting his audience.

Teruko asks Sigma to close down the casino to search for terrorists inside the establishment. Specifically, Teruko informs him that they shall blockade the casino and seal every section until they are forced to surrender. Sigma declines, claiming that the revenue and reputation to be lost during said blockade would not be compensated eventually. Threatening the Hunting Dogs with his casino guards' directional resonance guns, Sigma also argues that the Sky Casino is not within any nation's jurisdiction, hence defying the Hunting Dogs does not equate to defying anyone's government.

Much to Tachihara's fright, Teruko obediently abides by Sigma's terms. Afterwards, an explosion occurs that seals the casino's exits. Teruko revels at the event, as they shall now be able to search the casino without anyone allowed to leave. Lucy informs Atsushi and Kyōka of the explosion that leaves their exits blocked, which is going according to Dazai's plan. At Meursault, Dazai and Dostoevsky continue their chess game. The latter reveals that he knows of Lucy being Dazai's queen chess piece in their operation. For their mission, Atsushi, Kyōka, and Lucy must capture the one who knows the page's location and one of the Decay of the Angel, Sigma.