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Latest update: Part Fifty: Quoth The Raven “A Bunch of Math Stuff”  What is Umineko? Umineko is a sound novel by 07th Expansion. It comprises two games, Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, and Umineko no Naku Koro Ni Chiru, each further divided into four episodes. These two games are respectively the 3rd and 4th parts of the When They Cry series. They were originally released for PC, one episode at a time, before receiving remakes on the PS3, which upgraded the graphics and added voice acting. They are about girls in fancy dresses using colored text and looping closed circle murder mysteries to troll the bastard child of Phoenix Wright, Captain Falcon, and Zelos Wilder. Sound novel? It's a variant of a visual novel, but with more focus on the soundtrack. Umineko's (original) visuals are...not that great, quality-wise. They looked like this. The soundtrack, however, is absolutely top notch. Also, on the visual novel note. This isn't a dating sim, and is in fact entirely linear. There is exactly one actual choice in the games, and it shows up at the very end of Chiru to determine the ending. What about the first two games? While there are a few links between Umineko and the Higurashi games, and a couple of sort-of-returning characters, everything that's actually important to the plot is summed up in-game. Umineko is self-contained enough that you can go in knowing nothing about Higurashi and the plot won't make any less sense. I'll be pointing out and explaining the connections and references as we go, though, so expect Higurashi spoilers. Other No spoilers for things that haven't been covered in the updates, please. It's a mystery, after all, don't want people who haven't played to stumble on the twists and answers half a dozen episodes early because they moused over the wrong black bar. In addition to the Witch-Hunt translation patch, I will be using the Umineko Tweak patch, which replaces the graphics with the PS3 versions, and adds the voices. The Witch-Hunt site also has a place to buy the games, for anyone who wants to play along. The download there is not available for all countries, however. They are also available from MangaGamer. Any commentary from me during the updates will be in italics. There probably won't be too much of it for the first couple updates, as Episode 1 takes a while to set up before the fun begins. Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Nov 1, 2014 |
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Aug 2, 2012 23:12
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Part One: A Journey of a Thousand Trollfaces Begins With a Single Gathering  Upon starting, we get these options. Start lets you start a new game or load an existing save. Official Web takes you to 07th Expansion's site, though it's all moonspeak. Tea party and ???? are plot related, and we'll get to them in time. On a completely fresh game, they wouldn't even be visible until you get to the appropriate plot points. Tips contains short character bios, translation notes, and some other miscellaneous information, and can be accessed in-game as well. At the end of each update, I'll show anything new that appears there. Music box is a sound test, and normally unlocks after finishing all four episodes, and Exit does exactly what it says.   Also, in a fresh copy, all episodes other than the first start locked. However, there's an option to remove the locks on any episode at will, which will also unlock any earlier episodes.    The old physician let out a sigh as he removed the stethoscope. Two elderly men could be seen in the dimly-lit study, which was filled with dust and a sickly-sweet stench. In the corner of this room, which was much larger than what most people would call a study, there was an expensive-looking bed, a man undergoing a medical examination, and the physician conducting it. There was also what appeared to be a servant watching over the whole thing.   : “............Kinzo-san. ...Your body only appears to be well thanks to the effects of the medicine. However, if you continue to drink such strong spirits, the treatment will become meaningless. ...Trust my judgement. Refrain from drinking.” : “I thank you, though only for the sentiment. My friend. .........Genji. Another glass. Water it down slightly. That way Nanjo can save face.” After eyeing both the master who demanded the alcohol and the family doctor who forbade it, Genji, the old butler, silently gave a slight nod and carried out his master's orders faithfully. The family doctor, Nanjo, let out a deep sigh once again as he watched the butler busy himself alongside the liquor cabinet... There was a smell filling up the room. ...This sweet, poisonous aroma felt as if it melted the heart, if not the soul itself. It was the smell of that venomous green drink that the man couldn't bring himself to part from.  : “I have done nothing. ......After all, you never listen to my advice as your physician.”: “Hahaha... And you never listen when I warn you about a mistaken chess move you're about to make. It seems we are even.” : “......Master.” Disregarding Nanjo, who had his face set in a resigned expression, Kinzo took the glass that Genji was holding out to him. ...There are probably very few people who would associate the venomous color, which filled the glass, with an alcoholic beverage. : “.........Nanjo. Be honest with me. How much time do I have left?”: “Well now... How short must I make it to get you to stop drinking? ......Let us illustrate it with the chess game here. You have very nearly achieved checkmate...but you have not yet cornered my king.” The black rook and bishop were cutting deeply into the enemy lines. The white king had already been castled and cornered, so that even an amateur could see that the match would reach its conclusion before too long. If you enjoy chess motifs, you are going to love the hell out of this game. Every time Nanjo came to give a medical examination, both of them would make a few moves. Nanjo was hinting that Kinzo would most likely fall into his eternal sleep before this game could be concluded. ...There were less the words of a physician than they were the words of an old friend. : “............Were you a normal patient, I would recommend that you write a will at this point.” : “Hoh. ......And apart from the division of the inheritance, what might I write of?”: “............Oh, there's your regrets...and matters you have left unfinished. Things you want to be passed down......and things you want to tell. ......Anything you want.” : “After I'm gone, I care not if it all goes to waste! I desire no tomb, no coffin!! Those were the terms of the contract I made with the witch! When I die, everything will be lost! That has been part of the promise since the beginning, that's why nothing will be left behind. There is nothing I can leave behind!!”After a furious crescendo, Kinzo suddenly slumped over. ...His expression was limp and feeble, as though an evil spirit had possessed him and then left. : “............However, I do have one regret. I have nothing to leave behind, but there is one thing I cannot leave undone...” When Nanjo tried to gently pat Kinzo's shoulder, the dying man flew into a sudden rage and batted away Nanjo's hand. : “It's useless, useless, useless!! It must be done while I still live! At the moment of my death, my soul will be devoured by the demons of the contract and wiped out of existence! For me, there will be no peace of another world after death! That's why everything must be done before I go!! That's why a will has no meaning for me!! And even if I had a chance to write such a thing, ......if I did have such a chance!!”   Click to watch the opening video. Note that the patch doesn't update it, so the old sprites still appear in it.      I couldn't help but scratch my head and marvel at how far things have come in recent years. We used to go by boat. Back then, we were all forced to endure nearly half a day of swaying back and forth over the sea before we reached Niijima. Things have gotten so much more convenient these days. Still, I've never been on a plane this small. I've flown in a huge jumbo jet before, but this will be my first experience in such a tiny one. ...It's going to shake, isn't it... They say the smaller boats shake more, so I guess the same rule probably applies to planes. ...Aaah, just spare me.   : “Oh, of course not, my mistake. I see you've changed a lot since we last saw you. After all, it's been six years since then. You're not a kid anymore. Hahahahaha.” : “Sheesh, and here you are, old enough to smoke and drink. I've got no interest in smoking, but I've always wanted to try some booze, heheheh! Well, if you've got your dad's genes, I bet you can hold your own when it comes to drinking, right?” : “Th, that's no good, Battler-kun, you're still a minor! Drinking alcohol is known to stunt the growth of minors and......um, never mind.”: “Come on, I'm tall enough already! In fact, it'd be easier to find clothes if I shrunk a little!”I puffed out my chest proudly. Until I hit my growth spurt, my height was below average in my class. But then, I grew and grew, and before I knew it, I'd passed 180 cm (5ft 11in). I guess I have all that muscle-training and those shady mail-order performance-enhancing drugs to thank for that. Before then, I never dreamed that I'd shoot 10 cm above George-aniki, who'd reached his peak height early on.   So here's the first sighting of colored text. Unlike the other four colors, green isn't plot-relevant. And wasn't in the original, as I understand it. The translators added it to indicate things that have related translation notes in the tips section.   Put it all together and you've got Ushiromiya Battler. Pretty crazy, right? It's crazy enough that my parents decided to call me that, but it's even more crazy that some government worker let them make it official. ...Both groups are at the top of my must-kill list. Battler here's our protagonist, by the way. Or, well. For the first four episodes, anyway.  He's five years older than me, so he's probably turning 23 this year. Since the Ushiromiya cousins consist of two boys and two girls, I ended up playing with George all the time. And because I always thought of him as a big brother, I still call him 'Aniki' today.   : “You know what they say, 'leave a boy for three days and you'll hardly recognize him'!” : “It must be in his blood, I suppose. Rudolf wasn't that tall either until around his high school years. Perhaps people end up taller if their growth spurt comes late.”: “Nah, it's nothing special. A real man needs to be tough on the inside too!”  He speaks in an odd and very noticeable Kansai dialect, but he's actually a natural-born Kanto man. Apparently, impressions are everything in the business world, so speaking in a different style than other people is an act that makes him stick out more. ......However, I heard that he gets embarrassed when talking within earshot of a real Kansai person, so he switches back to standard Japanese. ...I don't really get it, but he's definitely an interesting person.  : “Oh, really? I'd imagine a man with your looks would leave girls crying left and right. I can't believe that you have nothing at all to brag about.”: “Wh, what? Y, y, you're joking, right!? Of course nothing weird like that's ever happened to me! In fact, I'd rather it did!”: “Ah, so you do have some stories. ...*giggle* You must tell your aunt all about it later. After all, nothing of the sort ever happens to George. Heheheh...” Even so, George-aniki's family is interesting and fun, and they seem to get along just fine. ......Sheese, that's pretty much the total opposite of my family.   : “That's no way to talk about your own father. Still, this isn't the first time he's taken so long in the bathroom.”: “Yeah, the guy's always been that way. Does he really have to take a magazine with him every time he needs to take a dump? Oh, what on earth might he be doing with those?! Ihihi!”: “Oh, you don't need to worry about that at all. Since we've been together, I haven't let him do that on his own.”: “Hihihi! Oooh, I'll have to get the juicy details later. Sounds like Dad's got his balls in an iron grip.”  My real mom died six years ago. Kyrie-san is the woman my Dad married afterwards. It's understandable for someone my age. I could never bring myself to call his new wife 'Mom'. And I doubt she feels like using the word 'son' on this massive kid who's no relation to her at all. We aren't little kids. We know there's nothing to be gained by fighting. So, we decided that we wouldn't force ourselves to pretend that we were family. I've decided to act a bit more frank with her, as though she's a friendly neighbor instead. It's much easier to just keep a little distance, instead of forcing ourselves to act all close and making each other uncomfortable. Kyrie-san has been very open about all this, and thanks to that, we've been able to get along pretty well. Then, just when we were badmouthing Dad about being in the bathroom, the man himself came back, wiping his hands with a handerkerchief.   : “So, you've been talking trash about me with Mom again, have you? What makes it so hard to show a little respect for your father, hmm?”: “Owowow owowowowow! Dammit, that hurts! You can stretch my ear all you want, but I'm not gonna be able to fly. That hurts!!”: “C'mon now. Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right. Now say 'Father, please forgive me for being so rude'.”: “Like hell I will! Go find yourself some members-only store if you want it that much! Gyaah, let goooo!!” By the way, my height isn't the only thing I got from him. It seems having weird names runs in the family.  As the old bastard twisted my ear all over the place, Eva oba-san snuck up behind him and grabbed his ear. : “Hey, Rudolf? Isn't that child abuse?”: “Gyaah, that hurts, Aneki...”This scene perfectly illustrated the relationship between the prankster younger brother and the older sister who could deal out punishment to him despite his size.  : “You're one to talk, Aneki, abusing your little brother like that. Hideyoshi nii-san, I'd like to thank you very much for picking her up. If you hadn't been so generous, she'd still be unsold in the store. You have my gratitude and apologies.”: “...Hmm~?! Who are you calling 'unsold'?”After taking 2...3 steps back, Eva oba-san unleashed one of her beautiful high reverse roundhouse kicks, which stopped just a centimeter away from the tip of Dad's nose. After starting out with Tai-chi-chuan for her figure, Eva oba-san then developed an interest in the Chinese martial arts. After that, she went through karate, tae kwon do, capoeira, ...and what is it she's learning now, again? ...Well, anyway, they say a woman's weapons are in her lower body, and that's literally true for Eva.  : “Wahahaha, never had a brother or sister myself. So when I see you two bickerin' with each other, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It sure is nice to have a big family and siblings.”: “Oh, then why not consider making a little brother for George-kun? He's already a fine adult who's about to go off on his own, so it might be a good time to have another child.”: “Hey, have some sympathy for the kid and all the pain and suffering he'd have to live through. I'm surprised even George-kun turned out as well as he did after being born from this sinister sister of mine. And what an awesome kid he is. Please share some of that with our blockhead of a son someday, will you?”: “That's not how it worked. It's thanks to Eva nee-san's proper rearing that George-kun became the good, gentle kid he is now. Isn't that right, Nee-san.”: “Oh, come now. Heheh, you think so...? Our George still has a long way to go. Ah, by the way, how's your little Ange-chan doing? I heard she was vomiting?”: “Oh, that's right! And I was hopin' to finally see her face after such a long time. Is she alright?” ...And once the conversation suddenly veered off in that direction, we kids didn't have any chance of butting in. For now, I'm just happy that Eva oba-san gave Dad his just desserts for tugging on my ear.  According to Aniki, smaller planes are more subject to winds and other effects of the weather, and it's not at all uncommon for flights to be delayed because of that. ......Wait a sec, it isn't really going to shake...is it...? From down here on the ground, it just looks cloudy, not windy. ...Well, I guess it's different up where the planes fly. : “The weather's a bit uncertain today.”Eva oba-san looked at a TV in the lounge. The weather forecast was being broadcast, informing us that a typhoon was approaching the Kanto region.  : “...Very funny. Why don't you do it yourself? Our brother would never listen to anything I suggested.”: “No way. It doesn't really bother me that much to have it in October. I just suggested that you might want to propose it to them, since you said you hate typhoons so much.”: “I only said that typhoons always come around this time of year. You're the one who said you wanted to move it to the Obon festival, right?”: “Well, you said it too last year! Didn't you say that it would be easier to fit into your schedule if we had it during the Obon festival?!”: “I've never said anything like that.”: “Oh yes, you did. I certainly wouldn't forget something like that!”: “No, I didn't...you're the one saying that all the time!”: “Didn't you know? Stopping a kick just a hair's breadth away is a very high-level technique.”: “Sheesh, women your age shouldn't spread their legs like that!” : “Like me? Oh, I still have a long way to go. I still have very little experience out there in the real world, and I need to work on becoming more bold and sociable. ...I think you've far surpassed me on all those counts, Battler-kun. I'm sure you'll outstrip me fast enough when you become an adult.”George-aniki scratch his head and laughed, as though trying to hide his embarrassment. Of course, he was just being humble. Then, right after graduating, he got into Hideyoshi oji-san's company as his father's aide, piling up a lot of real-life experience as he devoted himself zealously to his work. His great dream is to one day stand on his own and build up his own kingdom. Aniki is a real paragon of a man, sparing no effort as he strives towards his goal. It's no exaggeration to say that I really respect him.  I've got no dreams for the future! I'd like to just sit back, stay cool, and let the money flow in, but of course that could never happen. ...When Aniki was my age, he had already formed an impressive objective and started devoting himself towards studying for that goal, so I guess I can't compare at all. My dad just says 'sure you can study at my company, if you like cleaning toilets'. Dammit, I'm not gonna be in the debt of that old bastard. I'll find my way myself! ….......If only willpower was all it took to become an adult.  Right then, Hideyoshi oji-san shouted out loudly. Oji-san is a nice person on the whole, but he does have a problem controlling the volume of his voice. When I looked over, I saw he was greeting Rosa oba-san, who had come late.    : “Maria! Shouldn't that be 'It's good to see you again'? Greet your uncle properly.” : “Uu-. It's...good to see you again...”: “There you go! Well said! How about some candy as a reward?! …...Oh, huh? Where'd I put it...”: “Rosa-san, it's good to see you again. It's good to see you too, Maria-chan.” : “Hey, Rosa. You're late. If the plane was on time, you'd barely have made it.”: “I'm sorry, we had some trouble making our train connection. So, are we waiting on the weather again?”: “Oh, don't complain. I much prefer the 30 minute plane trip to spending six hours bouncing about on a boat. Even if we're kept waiting here for an hour, it's still much faster overall.” : “Um, ...how tall were you the last time you got measured...? You keep getting bigger and bigger, don't you? Right?”: “Uu-!”: “I think she's grown a lot since last year. Let's see, she turned nine years old this year, didn't she?”: “Nine years old. Uu-.”: “That's right, you're nine years old now. Glad to see you're doing well too, Maria-chan! Up you......nng...I guess you've gotten a bit too heavy to play airplane with...” When I went to lift her up in Aniki's place, Maria stiffened defensively, staring suspiciously at my face. ...Ah, that's right. The last time I met Maria, it was six years ago, and she was only three years old. Of course she doesn't remember my face. : “Maria-chan, don't you remember? It's Battler-kun. You used to play together, remember?”: “…......Uu-.” : “Maria. This is Battler onii-chan. Rudolf nii-san's son. ...Understand?”: “…..........The brother's son is... The brother is the son... ….........?? …...Uuuu---!!”She probably uses that 'uu-' sound to fill in the blanks when she can't understand a complicated explanation. I guess that was a bit too confusing for her.  : “...Battler onii-chan?”Maria looked straight at me with a questioning expression, as though asking whether it was alright to call me that. : “Yep, that's me, Battler. Nice to meet you, Maria!”: “Uu-! Battler!”: “Maria! You mustn't talk to him like that! Call him Battler onii-chan...!”: “That's all right, Rosa oba-san. I don't sweat the small stuff. Hey, Maria! We're close enough that we don't need honorifics, right?!” We horsed around for a while to make up for the six year gap in our friendship. She probably still thinks of me as nothing more than a big, new friend, but things'll probably work out as we get to know each other again. But I'm surprised. She's just the way I remembered her being six years ago. Seems that people just don't change that much after all. I'm a bit happy that she's still the pure, innocent girl I remember.   ...When I think about it, all the names in my family sound foreign. Just why is Grandfather so obsessed with this? Because of him, even us grandchildren have to put up with this weird naming sense. It's even more annoying since Grandfather's own name is perfectly normal. Anyway, there's one thing about Rosa oba-san that's a relief compared to the other family members. The old bastard and Eva oba-san have this annoying urge to tease and mock people all the time, but even though she shares their blood, Rosa oba-san isn't like that at all. She has the most common sense among all the siblings. Like Hideyoshi oji-san, she's a kind aunt who'll always be on the kids' side. …...However, possibly because she's more strict as a parent, she's not liberal with handing out spending money like Hideyoshi oji-san.  Then, as though it had waited for us all to gather, an announcement rang out through the lobby.  : “Rosa, you still haven't gone through boarding procedures, right? Hurry up.”: “Oh no...! Maria, come on!”: “Uu-!” Now, let's check out the Tips section. The first part is the character bios, with red lines connecting the Ushiromiyas, and blue ones connecting a bunch of empty boxes that will eventually be filled with their servants. For some reason, Kinzo, Nanjo, and Genji are excluded even though we've seen them already.         By which they mean she has memorized pretty much the entire body of western occult lore. By the age of NINE.  The actual Tips section contains assorted notes, like copies of certain messages that show up, or explanations of the mechanics behind various magical stuff.  And the Grimoire has the translation notes. As I said, anything highlighted in green shows up here. In addition, all the episodes include a rundown of basic Japanese honorifics. If you've ever watched anime before, you probably know most of these already.       And that's it for now. Next time, we finish the journey to the island and meet another chunk of the cast.
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Aug 2, 2012 23:13
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Dr Pepper posted:Uhhhhh this isn't a game. How so? Visual Novels are a video game genre. And I know they've been LP'd here before. There's even at least one other going on now. Granted, this one is more strictly linear than the others I'm aware of, but does that somehow make it not a game?
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Aug 2, 2012 23:29
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The old art, if nothing else, has the decency to be awesomely bad with some frequency. And as mention of it has been made, have a couple examples of what unpatched Higurashi looks like, for the benefit of those who haven't seen it: Example 1 Example 2 Even at its worst, unpatched Umineko is leagues upon leagues better than that poo poo. And transcription shouldn't be too big a problem. I've got text dumps on hand for the first five episodes, and if I can't find more when those run out I can try and rip the remaining ones.
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Aug 3, 2012 01:11
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The graphics patch for the first game covers all four episodes. There are a couple tiny slip ups here and there, but they're very rare. The entirety of Episode 4, for example, has all of one such occurrence. Chiru patch isn't out yet, but I'm given to understand it'll be available in an early form soon, and quite likely get a few updates in the time it'd take to actually reach Chiru. I am, admittedly, taking kind of a gamble on that, but I think it's a reasonably safe one. The text dumps I'm using are here. They don't quite match up perfectly with the Witch Hunt patch, with a couple minor differences in phrasing that I'm fixing when I catch them, but I've yet to see any major issues with them. On the issue of ellipses, I can chop the excess ones out easy enough if they're so jarring to some people. Pretty trivial task to add to the list. And in response to some of the other noted issues, I did say right in the OP that the commentary is going to be sparse at first while the game gets the basic introductions and setting establishment done and gets to the bits there's actually stuff to say about. As for audience participation, true, there's no voting or anything, but it's not like there's nothing for the audience to do but kick back and watch the updates pop up. The game is a batshit insane genre hybrid built around a mystery. It pretty much openly begs its players to come up with theories on the solution, which can get pretty drat bizarre even with just one person trying to work them out. Now get people in here bouncing them around the thread as things happen, on top of any other comments or discussion, and I'm thinking we've got a workable arrangement. Of course, it's always possible I'm thinking completely wrong here and it really will turn out to be a terrible, unworkable idea, but I'm gonna at least give it some time first and see if it works out. Second update should be up sometime tomorrow afternoon. Going to try for as close to one a day as I can manage for the month, and see if I can get through most or all of episode 1 before the semester starts up.
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Aug 3, 2012 07:39
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A Dose of Japan and Ominous Portents Once all of us cleared the check, we followed the staff member out onto the runway. Come to think of it, everyone here is in the Ushiromiya family. It's like this is a reserved charter flight or something.   : “Boarding will now commence. As I call out the names on the passenger list, please take your seats in order, starting from the front row on the right side and going right to left, then onto the next row. I will now begin reading the passenger list. Ushiromiya Hideyoshi-sama!”: “Oh, I'm first! Right here! ...By the way, do you have some candy, Eva? I've been lookin' all over for some, but I can't find any.”: “Ushiromiya Eva-sama.”: “They're in the handbag. I'll get one once we're inside the plane.”I've heard that candies are a good way to protect your ears from hurting because of variations in atmospheric pressure when landing or taking off. That's probably what they're talking about.  : “Ushiromiya George-sama.”: “Don't worry, Battler-kun. It won't shake too much.”: “Ushiromiya Battler-sama.” : “Ushiromiya Rudolf-sama.”: “Come on, Battler, quit being a wuss and get in.”: “Ow! Dad! Don't push me! We don't get parachutes!”: “Ushiromiya Kyrie-sama.” : “Ushiromiya Maria-sama.”: “Uu-! Move, move!”: “Ushiromiya Rosa-sama.”: “Maria! Be quiet.” : “A, Aniki, did that guy just say we needed to wear seatbelts?! In a jumbo jet, they let you undo them after takeoff, right?! So it's gonna shake so much we can't take them off?! Dammit, you tricked me! It is going to shake after all! Where are the parachutes?! I knew I should have taken the boooooaaaaat!!”       That list of names covers pretty much all the core cast members introduced in episode 1. It'll still be a few updates before all of them finally finish showing up, though.    : "Faaalll! Faaalll! Uu-uu-uu-uu-!!": "Maria, that's enough! ...But what a surprise, though. And I thought there was nothing that could scare Battler-kun.": "I don't know why, but this guy hates any vehicle. He always babbles that it's going to crash or sink. You're a disgrace of a man, you are.": "...Shaddup. It's only to be expected, with all that shaking... It was my first time on a small plane like that, so I just got a little stressed, that's all..." : "Wah-hahaha, now now, everyone's got their strong and their weak points. It's bad to laugh at 'em. Wah-hahaha...!": "D, Dad, you're laughing too. Hey, Maria-chan, stop laughing already.": "Stop laughing already? Uu-!"Gyah, dammit! Is being scared of planes really such a big deal? Everyone obviously thinks I'm a big oaf now... Tch!   Since it's a neighboring island, it's not that great a distance. By boat, it's a leisurely 30 minutes to the island. After going to the pier where the boat to the island is anchored, we saw a silhouette waving its hand.   : "Ah, Jessica-chan, it's been a year since I saw you! You've gotten taller again, haven't you?" : "Kyah-haha, don't gimme that, it's embarrassing when you say that every year!": "...H-hey, Aniki, you've gotta be kidding me. That's really Jessica?!": "Wait a sec, George nii-san... This big guy, ...is Battler?!"We look at each other up and down, all serious.  : "Yo, Jessica! What's this now! You're kidding me, you look like a woman now! What're these, boobs? Even you managed to get a chest! Ihihi, let me rub 'em, let me~!": "Don't screw around with me, I'm a blushing flower of 18! Just like hair grows out, so'll other stuff! You think I got boobs just so you can go and rub 'em, loser!? And what about you, Battler? You got all ridiculously big only physically!! Did you get a little stronger?": "Don't screw with me, I'll show you how much training I've piled up since back then!!": "You're pissing me off!! I'll beat you at your own game!" She's Dad's older brother's daughter. That older brother is in fact the oldest son of the Ushiromiya family, so for now, it means Jessica is the direct heir of the Ushiromiya family. Since Jessica and I are the same age and sometimes had little boy-girl squabbles with each other, we've always been used to fighting and joking around together whenever the relatives gather. Jessica grew more quickly, so she always had me beat in terms of size and physical strength. So, when we scuffled as a contest of strength, it usually went Jessica's way. So even though I clearly understand that I'm bigger now, I still feel like I can't win against Jessica with my strength. : "...Woh...ah...! What the, wha, you're getting serious...! Owowow...": "Hey hey hey, this is nothin'! Jessica, you've gotten weak.": "Sh-shaddup. I'm a woman, so there's no way I could beat a man with physical strength forever, right?!"  : "I told you, my boobs aren't for you to feel up!! Besides, how 'bout you? Did your cute lil' elephant-san get a bit bigger to go with the rest of you?!": "Stop it, idiot! Nooo, you perv! I'll be ruined for marriage...don't touch my cro~tch!!": "D, don't say stuff people are gonna misinterpret!!"This is sort of an improvement over Higurashi, where it took maybe a dozen screens before they started talking about the main's “furry seal.” For the uninitiated, Umineko mostly stops with this poo poo once it gets going, trust me. But while it's setting up...this happens. Honestly, I was so surprised at how feminine Jessica has become that I had to seriously horse around to hide it. ......That's right, considering what a bossy brat she was six years ago, anyone would be surprised. And I guess it's even more true for Jessica. She sure didn't think she'd lose to me. Because she lost so easily, she must be shocked at all the growth I've had these six years past. ......Six years, was it? Once more, I realize the blank that all this time means.  : "Fa-ll? What the hell's that?": "Heheh! Sorry, but there's no chance Jessica'll be able to see that weakness of mine now! After all, the nightmare plane trip is already over and done with! Only thing left is the nice, quiet splashing of the boat trip. I never thought I'd start loving that piece-a-junk boat this much. Ihihi!": "Hu-h???? George nii-san, is there something wrong with his head?":"You'll understand soon. Very soon."At the time, I didn't understand what Aniki meant by that big smile...   "Battler-kun, you remember? Look, it's Kumasawa-san, the servant." "How could I forget Kumasawa baa-chan! Anyway, you haven't aged a bit in these past six years. Wait, you haven't gotten younger, have you~?"  : "Hoh-hoh-ho! Lately, my skin has been getting all smooth and silky! And look, hasn't my chest gotten even bigger as well? ...Want to try rubbing it?": "V-Very funny! My breast rubbing is strictly limited to bouncy girls!": "Even I had some bouncy ones in my youth, you know~? Now, now, please feel free to have a go!": "Gyah, gimme a break! It's girls I'm looking for! Not grannies!"The prank I'd pulled on Jessica was turning completely against me. Come to think of it, Kumasawa has always been the type to make fun of people.  The secret of eternal youth: loving with people at every opportunity. That explains so much about this game, really. : "It's rare for Kumasawa-san to come pick us up. Now, I do wonder why? Whenever you're entrusted with something to do, your lumbago always kicks in. *snicker*.": "Hoh-hoh-ho, Eva-sama, you are harsh as usual. I found myself with some urgent purchases to make, and while I was at it, I thought I would come welcome you all. Although, it does give a bad impression if the one waiting to greet you is a decrepit old woman. Hoh-hoh-ho...!"Eva oba-san was sarcastic, but Kumasawa baa-chan's years of experience are nothing to sneeze at. She showed that she was capable of smoothly and coolly letting that comment slide. Well, it feels weird to say it, but as a servant, old Kumasawa baa-chan may be past her prime. She might behave as if she's doing well, but between the headache and the lumbago, her body is wearing out. To tell the truth, the very fact that she's still working is already impressive. ...How old is she this year again? She must be pushing eighty at least. It's incredible that she's still able to act so brightly.  Whether or not Kumasawa baa-chan remembered the promise, she seemed deeply touched by the fact that someone would bring a gift to a simple servant like her.  It seems like her only flaw is a tendency to slack off. I hear she tries to get away from heavy or troublesome work by playing up her chronic diseases. ...In Kumasawa baa-chan's case, maybe we should call that a laid back craftiness rather than a tendency to slack off. ...Though it probably doesn't help her in the eyes of those paying her salary. Ah well, even if she's pretty flaky when it comes to work, I don't dislike her. I guess that's probably because of her cheerfulness and her constant smile. : "Hey, glad to see you're still in fine spirits! How's your back doin' then?": "Even with the medicine, it's not getting one whit better. According to the doctor, nothing can be done for this one. It's what's called an incurable disease, hoh-hoh-ho!" :"You idiot, don't you start looking like me. Your nose looking like mine already pisses me off.": "What are you talking about? You're surprisingly alike, you and your father.": "Come on, you can't be serious... Just how am I like Dad?": "You're his copy in arrogance and self-importance. Father's blood is especially strong in you and Nii-san. Wouldn't you say, Rosa?": "Oh, absolutely. Krauss nii-san and Rudolf nii-san are almost unbelievably like Dad."Except not in the ways that would make them amazing. Alas. : "Alright, alright already, why am I the only one under fire from the girls? Hideyoshi nii-san, please help me out.": "My my, Rudolf-kun, yer always popular with the ladies. I'm jealous! Wah-hah-hah-ha!": "Hoh-hoh-ho! As usual, you're popular enough to make me jealous. Well then, everyone, shall we head over to the boat? Come now, Maria-san, let's get on the boat together, alright?: "Get on the boat together. Uu-! Everyone gets on together. Uu-!" : "Oh yes, Battler-kun, I forgot to tell you. ...That fishing boat was completely decrepit so it was taken out of use a few years back. Now we get taken to the island in another boat.": "Ohhh, right. It's Battler's first time in the new boat! It's super comfy! And frickin' fast! It can go at crazy high speeds!": "Ohhh... That means less trip time, right? That sounds great! Anyway, even if it's only a bit better than an airplane, as long as we get just a little less time exposed to the danger of sinking, that's really just awesomely great~.": "...Uu-. Is Battler going to faaall faaall again?":"That's only on airplanes. Everything's fine now!": "Anyway, it's the captain's pride and joy, and it's a kinda modded high-speed boat. Seems he tinkers with big parts of it. He was bragging about how he attached four-base high efficiency propellers to it so that he could break 40 knots or something like that. I just remember how he's always bragging.": "Me too, I remember since we're told about it every year. The captain says that since he lost a speed contest with a foreign fishing boat a long time ago, he became obsessed with modding. He says that at the time, even though it was only in a fishing boat, his opponent could go at over 30 knots.": "To fulfill his thirst for a revenge match, he created an awesome whole new super high-speed modded boat. I'm sure you'll just love it, Battler."   : "Battler-kun, you shouldn't lean over the railing too much. You might fall.": "Uu- Uu-!! Faaall, faaall!!": "Daaaaammiiiiit..., so this is why you were all grinning before!"Maria really makes this bit, I think. Expression from the portrait, and the VA... She's the cutesy innocent kid of the bunch and yet she's just so overjoyed by Battler's suffering. Truly, she is an exemplary Ushiromiya. So this is the super high-speed boat that the captain started modding, oh yeah, it just can't be compared with the other piece-a-junk boat. "Whooooooooa, it's shaking it's shaking it's shaking!! Fall fall faaall!!"  : "Waah-hah-hah-hah-ha! What's up, Battler, what's with that kinda attitude, waah-hah-hah-hah-ha!": "Jessica-chan, Maria-chan, it's not nice to tease. Battler-kun, if you're scared, then just don't come out on the deck. I think that if you stay inside the boat, you'll be a bit less afraid.": "Heheh, that's a no thank-you, Aniki! Shipwreck victims are always the ones inside the boat. The survivors are usually those on the deck during the accident. That's why I'm here!! But, it's shaking!! I'm gonna faaall!! Whooooaaaaaahhh!!" : "*cackle*! Don't do that, Rosa. Ordeals are necessary to the young. Right, Battler-kun? If it's only this, you can easily conquer it, right? Otherwise, you won't be able to go to Egypt with your aunt!": "Whooooa, Eva oba-san, you're meeeeeeeeaaaan! Ooh noooo, I'm gonna faaaaaall!! Life jackeeeet, parachuuuute?!! Whoooooooaaaaaaahh......!!! N-no, okay, turn it over and think that way!! What's the enemy aiming for?! He wants to make me afraid like this?! If that's what he's aiming for, he's soft, I'm not gonna be scaaaaaaaared!! But stooopp iiit, I'm gonna faaaaaaall!!!"...So in the end, after making that huge uproar, they slowed down to a somewhat better speed for me, since Rosa oba-san was kind enough to talk to the captain... : "............Haa... This speed is a bit better............earlier, I didn't even feel alive......"The max speed I can tolerate seems to be considerably slow. And yet for some reason he doesn't freak out over the taxi leg of the journey. Are Japan's speed limits way lower or something? ...But that earlier was abnormal... The whole boat was shaking! Sliding and leaping on the ocean's surface! Instead of a boat, I felt like I was riding on a flying fish... Jessica was still guffawing at me as I leaned against the railing, tired and disheartened.  : "Uu-. Battler, all weak.": "Yeah, Battler, all weak... I want to die on land, not in the ocean or the sky..."Maria was patting my back, so I tapped her head in return. ...Her expression is blank as usual, but I understand that she wants to console me. : "Battler-kun, the captain is throwing in drinks to make up for this. Won't you have just one? To calm yourself down."George-aniki and Kumasawa baa-chan brought us all glasses with floating ice cubes and canned drinks.  : "...Hey, Jessica. How are Krauss oji-san and Natsuhi oba-san doing?": "My old man and my mom? Unfortunately, they're fine. Though every other word out of their mouths is 'study, study', which pisses me off. I'm so jealous, since it doesn't look like Hideyoshi oji-san or Rudolf oji-san say those kind of things.": "Hahaha, oh no. When I was slacking off during exams, I was always getting told 'exams, exams'. I thought it was annoying, but now I'm grateful.": "Hah, I knew it, George-aniki can be human too... Anyway, I have to look after myself. No one tells me what to do! Well, it's not like I'd listen if they did, hihihi!": "Battler-san, you still cannot return to your home?": "...Well, I kinda go back now and then. I'm still leaving lots of clothes and stuff at the previous house." You'd think the idea wouldn't be quite so baffling to a kid from an ultra-rich family, but I guess when the guy running the show is a crazy island hermit... Or maybe it's just the same deal as the cousin incomprehension. : "Maria! Look, you can see the harbor now...! Look, over there! Can you see it?!": "Uu-! Saw the harbor, saw the harbor!"Apparently, Jessica was trying to be nice by changing the subject. ...Ah, well. I'd rather not talk about it if I can help it, but it's uncomfortable to have it treated like some kind of weird taboo. ...I don't mind that much myself anymore. I'm a member of the Ushiromiya family, but the truth is that these six years, I've been living with my grandparents from my late mother's side, and I've even been using her family name. Those grandparents passed away one after the other, I basically had no choice except to go back and live with the old bastard. Behold. You now know...pretty much everything there is to know about Battler's other grandparents. I'm honestly not sure they're ever even mentioned again. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I ran away from home. The only one at fault here is my dad. ...I don't mind that much about Kyrie-san. Being able to hold that old bastard's reins and ride him out is no mean feat. ...But just the betrayal that the old bastard inflicted on my Mom, ...Well, unfortunately, I still haven't fully gotten over that.  : "......Please forgive my indiscretion. It seems this old woman has said too much already. If I have hurt your feelings-": "Heheh! I don't mind it and no one's feelings are hurt. Don't worry, Kumasawa baa-chan."Kumasawa-san seemed to regret speaking out of turn, but I was more concerned about being worried over for something like that, so I stood up and passed it off lightly. After that, I had a sip of my drink and headed over to Maria and Jessica, who were gazing at the silhouette of the island. : "Uu-! Battler, saw the island, saw the island! There there there! Uu-uu-uu-!":"Where is it...oh, I see it now. Even after six years, the island hasn't changed a bit." The island's name is Rokkenjima. Included in the Izu archipelago, it's a small island about 10km around. Since they call this archipelago 'the Izu Seven', lots of people think there are seven islands, but that's not true. There are actually more than seven. Rokkenjima is also one of the minor islands that don't get counted. Even considering that, there are probably very few people who know about this island. After all, only the people of the Ushiromiya family come to this island. In other words, it has no ties whatsoever to outsiders or tourists. So, you'll never find this island's name in a travel brochure.  There's only a harbor and a mansion. The vast majority of the island is still just uncultivated forest. Such a waste, when it could be made into a nice golf course. However, when you consider that the entire coastline is a private beach, it starts to sound pretty magnificent. To put it plainly now, ...well, the Ushiromiya family is just rolling in dough. The fortune possessed by the head house is apparently vast, and Dad and the others who make up the branch families have built up plenty of wealth for themselves, finding success in their respective businesses. I was living a commoner's life at my grandparents' home these six years, so I had completely forgotten, ...but the old bastard's house really is elegant, and everything about it is tuned to match the snobbish tastes of the annoyingly rich. Come to think of it, I guess that means George-aniki, Jessica, Maria, and I are all wealthy, high-class gentlemen and ladies.  ...Does that attitude really make us any less snobbish? Looking at it from the perspective of people in poverty who can't pay the bills, we must seem like we've been blessed with a lot. This isn't the place to explain any further, so I won't. Anyway, it's the same as not being able to choose the parents you're born from. I didn't ask to be born in a rich family. And I don't think it's really something to be envied. It can be pretty trying when people are prejudiced against you just because you're rich and refuse to judge you on your merits. As I pondered these sentimental thoughts, Maria started shouting and leaned over the railing. : "...Uu-. ...Gone.": "What's wrong, Maria? Did you drop something?" : "What's wrong? What's gone? I'll look for it too if you want. What is it? ...?"If she'd dropped something she probably would have looked down at the floor, but Maria was pointing out over the ocean. One would assume that she had seen something out over the ocean, but she kept saying that it was gone... Strange. But, since my last memories of this place came from six years ago, I was able to spot it before Aniki, who comes here every year. : "...Huh...? ...If I remember correctly, wasn't there a Torii or something on top of a small crag around here? ...That's right, it was definitely there. I remember it well, since as we get closer to the island, it's the first thing to greet us, like a landmark." Yeah, that's right. Not only are the Ushiromiyas rich enough to buy their own island, they're rich enough to buy their own private deity. And then stick him in a tiny little shrine on the cliff edge. : "Maybe they were washed away by the waves or something? It was a small crag, it probably got brittle because of its exposure.": "I think so too. It probably disappeared during the summer. Whatever."And then casually wave it off and barely notice when that shrine falls into the goddamn ocean. : "Or perhaps a huge lightning bolt fell one evening and smashed the shrine... ...The fisherman whisper that having a thunderbolt fall upon our honored tutelary God would be a certain sign of misfortune. ...Lightning begone, lightning begone..."Or perhaps Kinzo decided to top it by proceeding to buy the controlling share in the Norse pantheon and having Thor and the tutelary god fight to the death for his amusement. Kumasawa-san smiled impishly as if teasing us, rubbing her hands together. However, Maria was apparently taking it seriously, and she stared fixedly over the ocean to where the crag housing the god of the shrine was supposed to be. : "...A sign...of misfortune. ...Uu-." : "...Misfortune. ...Misfortune."Maria muttered that word over and over. Apparently, repeating a single word over and over is a habit that Maria's had for a long time. However, since the word she was saying was literally an ill omen, it was a bit creepy. : "Hey now, Maria. If you say it over and over like that, misfortune will really end up happening, you know?"I tapped Maria's other shoulder. And then, Maria whipped her head around, stared into my face, and spoke unblinkingly.  : "Uu-. ...Misfortune...is coming.": "Huh? And just where is it coming from?"I answered light-heartedly, trying to break the tension in the air.  That's right, they were saying that a typhoon was approaching. ...We had planned to spend one night on the island, but if this storm doesn't pass quickly, I won't be able to go to school on Monday. Well, I guess it makes for a pretty good excuse to be absent. : "...Uu-..."...She apparently sensed some kind of misfortune in the cloudy sky. She's been muttering that non-stop for a while now.  : "It's alright, Maria-chan. The weather might get worse around tonight, but tomorrow it'll clear up and become a pretty blue sky.":"Uu-. Pretty blue sky... Uu-..." Maria starts yelling her 'Uu-uu-'. It is at moments like this that, with voices added, one begins to feel distinct flashes of sympathy for Rosa. ...It looked as though she was having a tantrum because no one could understand what she was trying to say. What in the world is Maria trying so desperately to warn us about? Unable to understand her, we couldn't help but feel a vague sense of misfortune... ...I hear that everyone can feel the supernatural, but that it weakens as you age. That might mean that Maria, the youngest one of us all, still possessed some kind of sense that the rest of us had lost. ...I wonder if that sense is sending her a warning. Then, Kumasawa-san quietly opens her mouth. : ".........Rumor has it that, ...long ago, Rokkenjima was-": "Kumasawa-san. Let's not talk about that now."Just as Kumasawa-san was about to tell some story, Jessica sharply interrupted her. For Jessica, this was an extremely firm reaction.  Or perhaps, given her love of suffering and the occult, it'd be just the thing to cheer her up. Even odds, at the least. : "...Hoh hoh hoh, I do apologize about that... The wind here is hard to bear for the elderly, so if you would excuse me for now..."Gossipers have no reason to hang around after they've been told to stop chatting. When Kumasawa-san finally realized that she'd overstepped her bounds, she went back inside the boat. After she left, Hideyoshi oji-san came along to replace her. Since he'd shown up partway through, he completely failed to notice the complicated atmosphere that hung around the scene, so he refreshingly and unwittingly swept that atmosphere aside. And apparently he also completely failed to notice the nine year old screaming about storms and doom. So, in the end, it was his unwittingness that brightened the mood.  : "Ahaha, please, say more to him. Honestly, because of Battler, it's takin' forever~!": "...Uu-."Maria probably thought that no one would listen to her. She hung her head, wearing a fretful face. As she did, George-aniki crouched down to meet her eyes and spoke to her kindly.  : "Yes. There's nothing to be afraid of if we're together.": "...Uu-.": "That's right, exa~actly what George-aniki said. If we're all together, there'll absolutely never be anything at all to be afraid of. Right, Jessica?": "Yeah, no doubt about that. What George nii-san said will always be true, Maria.": "......Uu-. George onii-chan always true." After Aniki patted her head, she jumped away again. Her facial expression had undergone a 180 degree change, turning back to normal. She was once again the ordinary Maria. : "Uu-. There's nothing to be afraid anymore, because we're together. ...Uu-uu-.": "Yeah, that's it. ...You look all better now. You're strong, that's awesome!": "......Uu-! Maria, awesome!" Screaming portents of doom: a little known symptom of seasickness.  And this is one of two way the game signifies the end of a chapter. The episodes are subdivided into them, and after clearing any given episode, starting it fresh offers you the option of skipping to a later chapter in it instead of beginning at the start. There are 17 chapters in episode 1, and the highest count in the first game is 19 chapters in Episode 4.  Both ways are usually accompanied with a clock moving forward. .jpg) .jpg) She's held in such low regard, in fact, that despite being the second most senior servant and her skill at the job, she's the only one in Kinzo's direct employ who doesn't get to wear the family crest.   ...Well, I suppose that makes buying one less impressive if it's just free with the island. Bah. Next time: The seagulls don't cry. Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Aug 4, 2012 |
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Aug 4, 2012 22:28
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Don't think the autism possibility is ever brought up like by name or anything. Maria's almost certainly got some kind of disorder, quite possibly from that spectrum, but the game never comes out and says what exactly it is. As for Battler's name, I've seen one explanation for it that sounds vaguely plausible. It is, however, kinda tied in with one of the game's biggest plot twists. And still doesn't explain why the hell his parents thought it was a good idea.
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Aug 5, 2012 09:19
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Part Three: Seacats and Scenery Porn  Seems we've docked at the harbor. The boat driver came out and jumped to the pier with the mooring rope. There was a largely built man in a tuxedo greeting us with a warm smiling face. ...I didn't know his face, but judging by his clothes, I guessed that he was a servant of the Ushiromiya family head house.  : "Ah, thanks for caring! This moron got so scared, that we had to slow down. It was seriously annoying!": "S, shut up..., someday, when the shoe's on the other foot, you'll remember this, ...ugghh."At this rate, the word'll spread around the entire family and I'll become the big conversation piece during dinner. Even without this, everyone'd be talking about me because of that six year gap, but now I'd given them an even juicier topic...! Dammit, why does the Ushiromiya head house have to live on this isolated island! In the meantime, the boat had finished its mooring. A small plank was lowered so that we could get down. One by one, our parents came out of the boat.  : "Battler-kun, isn't this your first time meeting Gohda-san? If I'm not mistaken, you weren't working here six years ago, right?" : "Indeed. So please, allow me to greet him for the first time. It is an honor to meet you at last, Battler-sama.": "...I'm pretty secure about my height, but you're huge. ...This is definitely our first meeting. If I'd ever met a big guy like you, I'd never forget it...! It's a pleasure. I'm Battler." Of all Gohda's skills, his most highly-valued by far is his ability to pronounce parentheses in speech. A rare gift, that. : "Gohda-san, it's been some time.": "It has been too long, George-sama. Please, allow me to assist you.": "As usual, you're a reception pro... If you even need a job, just let me know, okay? I'd hire you anytime!": "You do me too much honor. Please allow me to assist you, Hideyoshi-sama."Gohda-san then lent a hand to everyone as they disembarked, greeting them as they passed. His speech and mannerisms had the refined polish of a professional. He was very graceful, in contrast with his initially rough-looking appearance.  After everybody disembarked, the mooring rope was untied and the boat started to steer away from the harbor. It was probably returning to its home port of Niijima. The captain waved his hand in farewell. Maria conscientiously waved her hand back.  A brief explanation of the titles. Umineko's translates to When The Seacats Cry, and Higurashi was When The Cicadas Cry. Generally, the titular animal crying is an indication of Bad poo poo. : "Seagulls? The birds?"It's true that whenever I come to this island, the seagulls always meet us with their lively 'nyaa nyaa' cries. And because of that, whenever I hear the cries of the seagulls in any other place, I get the feeling that I'm coming to a family conference. Except for the small part where those of the Ushiromiya head house live, Rokkenjima had been left uncultivated, apparently transforming into a paradise for wild birds. The whole wharf looked like it was turning into a huge seagull colony, and this island always was full of seagulls. Since those seagulls didn't come to greet us, I felt a bit lonely. : "What's wrong, Battler-kun?": "Oh, Rosa oba-san. ...Nah, it's nothing really, I was just sayin' that since I can't hear the seagulls, it feels a bit lonely."  : "The hell, don't say disturbing stuff like that! You'll get Maria all confused!!": "Uu-uu-uu-! Jessica onee-chan made them into yakitori, made them into yakitori! Uu-!!": "I did not, I did not! Why the hell would I do something like that?!""That's right, that's right~, Jessica made 'em into yakitori! Skin n' meatballs, liver 'n onio~on!" "Swim in meat dolls! Liver n' oniooon!! Uu-uu-uu-! Ahaha, ahaha! Kyakkya, kyakkya!" As I made fun of Jessica, Maria tagged along looking like she was having fun. In truth, the seagulls really were harvested by the Ushiromiya family. Nothing to do with yakitori, though. Their blood is the secret ingredient in Kinzo's booze.  : "That's not it, Maria-chan. It seems that wild birds are attuned to changes in the weather and atmospheric pressure. It looks like the weather will get worse around tonight. It's possible they hurried back to their nests.": "............Uu-. Not yakitori? Jessica onee-chan didn't make them into yakitori?": "I did not, I did not!! I said, I wouldn't do stuff like that! Alright, Battler, you admit right now that you lied!": "Battler-kun. Maria-chan is a naive girl, so she takes even jokes seriously. You should choose your jokes more carefully."...George-aniki gently scolded me. ...Even though I outstripped Aniki in height, Aniki was of course Aniki. There was no choice but to obediently apologize. : "H-hey, my bad, my bad... Maria, that just now was a joke. It's just today the seagulls are all quiet in their nests.": "......Battler lie? George onii-chan true?"Despite her having all that fun, she really was tricked...? Her pure eyes seemed to blame me. ......Maybe I went a little overboard with her after all.  : "That's right. Tomorrow, when the weather gets better, I'm sure they'll come back and let us hear their 'Myaa myaa' cries.": "Uu-. They're waiting for the weather to get better to come back. Waiting for tomorrow. Waiting for the weather to get better. Uu-uu-!"Maria was in a lighter mood, and was looking forward to tomorrow when the seagulls would come back and fill the skies. Still, George-aniki really was amazing at taking care of kids. ...I think I remember Aniki taking good care of me as well when I was a brat six years ago. ...Aniki, that's probably your gift.  : "You're truly modest, George-kun. But Battler-kun is also quite good with children! Earlier, even if it was just for a time, Maria seemed to be having a lot of fun. Keep on playing with her like you did just now. Just choose the jokes carefully though, alright? *giggle*."Rosa oba-san winked at me, giggling a little. A real mother, I thought to myself, who's happy that Maria looks like she's having fun.  : "Alright, alright, we're coming."The old bastard was waving his hand for us to hurry up. But yeah, we needed to get moving. It's not like it'd be too late to have the same discussion after we got our luggage in our rooms. : "Now then everyone, I shall lead you towards the guesthouse where you will be staying. Please, this way."Gohda-san called to everyone and started leading us. Kumasawa-san brought up the rear.  I'd guess the path was made twisting so that the slope wouldn't be felt too much, but personally, I'd have been happier if they'd had the guts to make some stairs in a straight line. ......No doubt they made the path twisting on purpose, to put on airs of distance and importance... The twisting path was really just a placeholder. Kinzo never quite managed to finalize his design for an elaborate, deathtrap-filled forest maze.  At the top of the stone steps, we saw a beautiful guesthouse.   This was, in large part, because he was unable to figure out how to properly integrate the rose garden.  :"Aren't the flowers less lively this year? It must be because the summer wasn't warm enough.": "I also believe that is so. When one compares with last year's blooming, it is a pity that this year's is a bit inferior." ...This rose garden was the first thing that greeted the people who came to Rokkenjima. Even our parents, who came every year, couldn't help but let their wonder slip out. And moreover, it looked like a 'powered-up' version of the garden from six years ago that was in my memories. : "This place is always so amazing. It must be wonderful to have a rose garden like this in your own home.”: "Give it up. Who do you think would take care of it? Roses are a real pain, with bugs and diseases to worry about.” : "That's right. Though in this person's case, the rose goes after the insects like some nasty carnivorous plant.": "...Oh, so that's what you mean. C'mon, Rosa, can't you give that a rest just for today? I've put that sort of thing completely behind me.": "I wonder. After all, you are a womanizer on an almost genetic level...!"This is...kind of an odd statement. The way she phrases it, it sounds like something Rudolf inherited, but it's definitely not something he got from Kinzo. Maybe it's from their mom? : "No need to worry, Rosa-san. When a rose gives you too much trouble, it's always best to snip it at the root."Even with the voices added, you can't hear Rudolf gulping as he realizes, all too late, that's he's married the Japanese Lorena Bobbit. But it's probably happening. Granted this is most of a decade before that reference would even be a thing, but When They Cry doesn't really give a drat about anachronisms. Higurashi was set three years earlier and namedropped Playstation and I think one of the Metal Gear Solid games. And itself. Higurashi was goddamn weird sometimes. : "Hoh-hoh-hoh-ho..., such frightening talk this is.": "Guys who're popular with the ladies are always forced to live dangerously. I sure hope I turn out a bit prettier in my next life!" Notice, by the way, the constant background switches. There are about half a dozen of them for the garden. Oddly, despite them maintaining a rose garden huge and impressive enough to need that many backgrounds to get it across, the Ushiromiyas have no dedicated gardener on the permanent, full time staff. : "Hey, Maria-chan, come see here. The roses here are especially magnificent.": "...Roses are magnificent. ...Uu-!": "Hmmm~~, smells pretty sweet. Look, this matches my elegance pe~rfectly.": "Hey, cut it out! Maria's gonna imitate you and get hurt by the thorns!"She yelled at me as I leaned in to smell the rose's scent with an exaggerated gesture. ...I thought she was overreacting, but when I turned around I saw Maria imitating my every gesture, and George-aniki smiling broadly at us. : "Hey now, Maria-chan, be careful. Rose thorns can hurt.": "...Uu-? ...George onii-chan. Only this rose is strange. Uu-.": "Strange? What's wrong?" Though they couldn't be bothered to actually show a withering one in the mix. Can't have that detracting from the scenery. There wasn't any particular reason. Some roses flourish, and others wither. That's all there was to it, but Maria seemed very concerned about the only unhealthy one in the group. ...It must have made her feel lonely.  : ".........Uu-."It seemed that Maria's pure, sensitive nature was making her feel some emotional pain for the rose that withered alone. Even though she understood the logic of it, it still felt lonely to her. : "Then, Maria-chan, why don't we look after this rose until we leave?": "Uu-?"George-aniki straightened up and felt around in his pocket. He then took out the wrapping from the candy that Maria had eaten on the plane. He twisted it into a thin string, and gently tied it to that rose as a sort of marker. : "Heeey, that's pretty cute!": "Let's mark it with this. Later on, you can come and give it some water. I'm sure Mr. Rose will be happy."Why the translation dropped the usual Japanese honorifics for English in this one instance, I have no idea. : "......Uu-! Come to give it water!" : "Name...? Name.........Uu-...uu-..."Though she still wore her usual sullen face, Maria crossed her arms and began to consider this intently. At the very least, she appeared to have been completely pulled out of her sorrow. Nice going, Aniki. : "George nii-san has always been really understanding. Can't help but respect him.": "Yeah. I guess he was just born that way. We gotta start picking up tips!": "Was this garden just as magnificent when you all were kids?" : "Now then, everyone, if you please. I shall be guiding you to the rooms now."Gohda-san called to everyone to ask if we were ready, but our hearts had been completely stolen away by the rose garden after a year of absence, and we didn't lend him an ear. Since we weren't a travel group, it wasn't like we had a strict schedule to follow. Besides, since our parents were visiting their old home, full of nostalgia, it wasn't like they had to let themselves be urged on by anyone or anything. Understanding the situation, Gohda-san continued to wait, smiling widely, until our parents got tired of the roses and told him to guide us to the rooms... : "My...! Heeey! If it isn't Kanon-kun! It's been so long! How are you doin'?!"Hideyoshi oji-san suddenly shouted.   Meeting him right after a huge man like Gohda probably emphasized his small stature. The boy was in the middle of transporting piled-up gardening tools and the like in a wheelbarrow. When he realized he was being called to stop, he set down the wheelbarrow, took his hat off and bowed his head.  To those of you who were complaining about the ellipses spam before, man, you saw nothing. Kanon produces enough extra ...s to supply a couple medium-sized countries. ...I figured he was probably younger than me. I realized by the general atmosphere surrounding him that he was a servant too. He answered Hideyoshi oji-san's greeting, but he seemed unsociable deep down. It was a greeting that lacked feeling. When Gohda-san noticed that our interest had shifted towards him, he went to the boy's side and introduced him to us.  See? Told you. And it would appear that Gohda's talent for pronouncing the unpronounceable is not unique among the servants. Perhaps it's a requirement to get on the full time staff. Yep, my first impression wasn't wrong, he gave the feeling that he was unsociable, and a bit of a poor speaker. Compared to Gohda-san, who was extraordinarily polished as a servant, no matter what he did, he gave off a feeling of inexperience typical of his age. When Gohda-san urged him in a whisper to give a bit more of an introduction, the boy named Kanon only cast his eyes downwards.  : "Ah, uh, Kanon-kun's shy, he's the kind that doesn't talk much. He might not be that sociable, but deep down he's really a good person! Don't get him wrong...! You've been working here for three years, was it? So yeah, you've been here a year longer than Gohda-san, right Kanon-kun?"Even though it's not like he made a super bad impression, Jessica hurriedly backed him up. ...I see, apparently him being unsociable works against him all the time. : "Ok then, nice to meet you. I'm Battler! I'm 18, how old are you?" : "..."A silence, as if appraising whether it was a question that must be answered or not. ...But here again, Jessica plowed ahead. : "Um, uhh...! If I remember correctly, he's two years younger than us so,...sixteen, right?": "...Yes, ...that is correct."It looked like if given a choice, he would have preferred not to tell us his age. Him not wanting to tell his age was probably because he thought he would be looked down upon for it. ...I remember that when I was around his age, I hated being asked how old I was by adults. ...I see, sixteen huh? That's gotta be a delicate time. ...In that case, I asked something I shouldn't have.  Jessica looked all downcast for some reason. She seemed to think that my impression of Kanon was worsening because of his rejection. Well, that girl Jessica probably couldn't understand the fretful male heart at this age. As his elder, even by just two years, who would lead him into adolescence, I took it upon myself to understand that.  :  : "Hoh-hoh-ho... Gohda-san, Kanon-kun is trying his best, isn't he?"It looked like he had already been well warned about his discourtesy. And apparently he hadn't improved a bit. Gohda-san kept his business-smile, but let a small sigh of resignation escape. : "...Well then, I still have work to do. ...If you'll excuse me." Just then, suddenly, the wheelbarrow wobbled and fell, scattering the load. I guess the wheelbarrow with its single wheel caught on a pebble and lost its balance. : "What have you done..., now now, quickly clean it up...!" He seemed to be fine with the light-looking gardening tools, shovels and such, but he looked like he was having trouble getting his arms around and lifting up some sacks of fertilizer. In fact, not only do they not keep a full-time gardener, but they hand it off to someone who can barely do the job. Presumably for the schadenfreude. : "Are you alright? You're so careless. Here.": "Milady, you will dirty your garments. Please, leave it to us."Gohda-san took the shovel that Jessica had picked up with an elegant gesture. At his back was the figure of Kanon-kun having trouble with the sacks of fertilizer.  Kanon-kun turned his surprised eyes towards me. It was the face of one who would never have thought to receive help from a guest. : "...B-Battler-sama... That's sufficient..., I'll take care of everything, so...": "Don't you worry! I may not look it, but I've got it where it counts! Heheh!"Since Kanon-kun looked like he hadn't yet gone through his growth spurt, he was stuck with a sorta weak body. I guessed that this kind of weight was too much for him. : "It's quite heavy, isn't it. It's natural that it would be difficult for you. Kanon-kun, don't worry about it.": "Ok, my time to shine. This makes up for the boat part from before, right?" Nothing he does will ever be enough for him to live that down. Way the hell in the future, after curing cancer and overseeing the colonization of the moon, the poor bastard's gonna end up with a tombstone reading something like... “Here lies Battler Ushiromiya 1968-2050 Faaall faaall!! Uu-uu-uu-!!!” As they did this, I piled all the stuff back into the wheelbarrow. : "...For letting you see such unsightliness, I beg your forgiveness.": "Very well, enough now. Please, go."Letting such a disgraceful thing be seen by the guests who were supposed to be made welcome...must have been hideously embarrassing as a servant. Pressed by Gohda to hurry up and exit, Kanon-kun left.  : "Kanon-kun has a ton a things he's good at too. It's just that bein' young works against him all the time. It's a cryin' shame.": "It's a prickly age. You be nice to him. Close-mouthed servants are just fine. Right, Kumasawa-san?": "Hoh-hoh-hoh-ho, Rudolf-sama, you truly are harsh! There is no servant as silent as I, of course!"Everyone smiled wryly at that shameless lie. Even she herself didn't believe that, not in her wildest dreams. She said that to loosen us all up. Yeah, that's the kind of character Kumasawa baa-chan used to be. The mood that had stiffened a little was cleared up in a twinkling, thanks to Kumasawa-san's cheerful smile.  We headed towards a trim, elegantly simple guesthouse. This was gonna be our temporary quarters for a night.  In his mind, he kept going over his previous mistake. Battler, big and strong, had picked up the sacks in front of him, the sacks he couldn't lift himself, as if they were feathers. It was extremely difficult for an outside observer to guess what emotions that favor had stirred up in Kanon. But as far as you could tell by watching him hang his head from behind, there was something that he just couldn't let go. ...Muttered words escaped his lips. But those words he murmured were so soft that they didn't reach even his own ears.  Kanon hung his head, slightly biting his lower lip...   And yet despite not being terribly well regarded, he gets to wear the eagle. One suspects that this honor is really less merit-based and more Kinzo-tossing-blindfolded-darts-based.  Next time: Not Tourian. Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Aug 8, 2012 |
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Aug 7, 2012 11:25
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Nah. Patched Umineko takes place in a parallel world from the unpatched version. One of the few differences between the two is that in this one, George went on a diet for the conference.
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Aug 8, 2012 00:49
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Endorph posted:This especially becomes weird later on when George talks about how he's average-looking, even though in the PS3 patch he looks like a character from a yaoi VN. Even better, there's at least one point later where it's directly mentioned that he's getting fat.
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Aug 8, 2012 03:25
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Sorry about the sudden 5 day gap. Week became kind of a whole pet-centered clusterfuck that ate a bunch of time and kept throwing off my sleep schedule. Think things are finally pretty well in hand now, though, so should be able to pick the pace back up if nothing else goes wrong. Part Four: Fuckin' TIPs, how do they work.  So I'm just gonna lay this on the table. Before I actually picked up Umineko myself, or knew much about it, I saw this place referred to as Torian, and my mind automatically filled in the missing letter. Even to this day, I'm kinda disappointed the guesthouse contains no space jellyfish, laser donuts, or giant brains. The brand-new western-style guesthouse that stood overlooking the rose garden had a magnificent design carefully done in harmony with the garden. Though I guess they could still be working on those, since it's new and all. : "Correct! It was built the year before last. And after that, they made us sleep over here.”: "Hehe, this place's more fun than that junky old mansion you knew. I wish my room was over here!": "Uu-! Maria wants one too! Waaant!"...I guess you could say my house was also upper-class, but I thought it was completely ordinary compared to the head house. The display of wealth was shocking, as was the fact that they would build this kind of awesome guesthouse for guests who come over like once a year. : "Eva-sama, Hideyoshi-sama. Please, do make use of this room. Rudolf-sama, Kyrie-sama, please make use of this room here." : "...Haha, they've been fighting over making our new house Japanese-style or western-style. Mom still holds a grudge about Dad having the construction started as Japanese-style, and they bicker all the time about it.": "I'm really jealous, George nii-san. Your parents get along well, don't they? Mine are so frosty. But even so, they're right with each other when it comes to my grades."All the rooms seemed to be two-person. I was grateful, because since things turned out like this, I wasn't gonna be forced to share the same room with the old bastard, under the pretext that we were family. I figure those two wouldn't be able to enjoy themselves with someone like me around, ihihi. :"What's that creepy smile all about? You're thinking about something dirty, aren't you.": "Ihihihi~! Something diiirrrty? Of cooouuurse not! Do please...enjoy your staaay~! Ow, owowowow! That hurts, you old bastard!"Once again, Dad pulled my ears from behind.  : "...Hmm...,Same as last year, I guess. ...Considering they say he's got three months left, he's as stubborn, grumpy, and irritable as ever.": "Meaning, this year he's in his usual bad mood. ...And as usual, the only one who's able to take care of him is Genji-san?": "It seems that the Master will only open his heart to Genji-san. Lately, us small people cannot even get an audience...": "He's shut himself up in his study again, probably doing nothing but that weird black magic of his. What he does for a hobby is his own drat business, but when he starts stinking up the house, it really gets on my nerves. ...And I wish he'd never come out of that study again. Heheheh!"The house stinks of seawater, death, and things man was not meant to smell. Beatrice is really just Cthulhu in a dress : "You shouldn't talk like that about the elderly. We're all indebted to him, since he rebuilt the Ushiromiya Family, and a little gratitude wouldn't hurt.": "Hm, ...well... ...Sorry."After being rebuked by George-aniki, Jessica had no choice but to take back her thoughtless remark.  Dad had said he was getting a stomachache earlier..., but I guess that was what all the adults who came here today were actually feeling. They know there's fair odds at least one of them is going to end up on a blood-soaked altar before the conference is over. No doubt they were jealous of us, the grandchildren, just playing and laughing without a care. From the stories Dad told me, the Head of the Family was a violent man who rained blows on his sons with his own fists and even beat his daughters mercilessly with a wooden sword. Originally, he used a proper metal sword, but he switched when it got too annoying to have to replace the carpet and wallpaper whenever he hosed up and disemboweled one. If he was such a hard-rear end with his kids, why wasn't he the same with their names? Because of that, it's a pain even for us grandkids. ...Well, I'm not the least unsettled by his terrifying image. I don't have many memories of meeting him over the years, but I remember Grandpa, his face always full of menacing thunder-clouds, always making his surroundings shrink away with a sharp look.  Fortunately for them, they also know Battler, as the guest of honor, is more likely to be chosen as the offering. : "...Six years ago I was in grade school, but, as one would expect, I'm a high-schooler now. If I act up, things'll probably get serious. ...Ooo, scary.": "He does look frightening, but he's not completely terrifying. He's definitely never unfair. He's just very direct and not a pretty talker, that's all.": "But George nii-san, you've been the family darling since like forever because of your awesome grades, right? Grandfather treats us completely different! Like me, I've gotten slapped with a wooden sword. On my rear end, my rear end! On my maidenly, innocent rear end!" I think I already said it before, but Jessica was the daughter who would inherit the head house. As cousins of a branch of the family, the pressure on our shoulders was probably different. : "...Uu-? Jessica onee-chan, heavy? If Maria holds it, will it get lighter?": "Hm? Ahahahaha, thanks. It's alright, it's not gonna get pushed on you, Maria. ...I'm gonna bear that cross until my grave. ...Don't worry."She was grateful for Maria's innocent consideration, but it seemed that anxiety for the future she couldn't clear away remained on Jessica's face. ...Were we the same? If it was a high-schooler near an examination, nobody'd be able to hide their anxiety for the future. : "Maria, come here. Mom and Maria will be in this room.": "Battler-kun, you will be with me in this room here." : "Uu-! Maria likes here best too! Here is better than being together with Mom! Uu-uu-!": "Okay, you like it here better too, Maria! Alright, this room is George's and mine, but we'll specially allow you to come in and out! Keep it a secret from your mom, right?": "Uu-! Secret!"Her mother, Rosa oba-san, was right behind us, but Maria still answered, striking the air with her fists clenched tight. After our parents put the luggage in the rooms, they gathered again in the corridor.  Well, you heard him, folks! Turns out we get choices after all, and it's time to pick what we're going to do now. 1. Go announce our arrival 2. Hang out with the cousins in the guesthouse 3. Hit on the nearest female Voting will be open for about 24 ho-  : "Uu-! Maria will go too!": "Maria, you house-sit for Mommy, okay? You behave yourself and wait here.": "...Uu-."Telling Maria to take house-sit was a pretty lame excuse for leaving her behind. George-aniki soon realized it and gave a clear reply for all of us.  Or...or the parents could immediately choose 2 for us, sure... : "Kumasawa-san, I'm gonna stay here too! We'll leave the rest to the adults and us kids'll break rank, hehehe!": "That's nice, hoh-hoh-ho. I'll report it to Madam...": "Then, everyone, I will be guiding you to the mansion. Please, this way.": "...Since George isn't a child anymore, and is getting to be an adult, wouldn't it be better if he came with us?": "If we make him come, only poor George will be out of place. Interactin' with his cousins is also important. Okay, bye then!"The adults left one after the other. Like the time he had guided us from the harbor, Gohda-san went ahead, with Kumasawa-san at the rear.  He soon finished his business and came back. : "What's up, Aniki?": "Ah, nothing. I just wanted to ask something.": "Uu-! Tell Maria too! Tell Maria too!" : "No, it's a misunderstanding...! I'm not sure what Jessica-chan is misunderstanding but...!"Aniki was getting pretty tongue-tied. It's almost as though he had a guilty conscience and he was putty in Jessica's hands. ...Why? Something only Jessica knows and I don't is no fun at all! : "Well, Maria, it seems only us two are out of the loop, right~? What is this all about, now? I want to know, hmm~?!": "Uu-! Battler and Maria want to know too! Battler and Maria want to know too!": ""Uu-uu-uu-uu-!!!""I fooled around while "Uu~"ing together with Maria.  : "Wait a second!! Wait you two...!! Ahahaha, stop, ahahahahahaha!!"Maria and I played around, chasing George-aniki, who ran away, rolling on the bed. I think that when you're a high-schooler you try not to act like a kitten anymore, but in spite of that, I missed this kind of fun. A warm kind of fun.  : "...Uu-? Greet, Maria will greet too!": "What the hell, that's not anything to feel guilty about, Aniki. ...Hmm~~m? That's not it?? Maria, don't be fooled, what are you hiding, Aniki? More torture!! Uworyaaa!!": "S-stop it, seriously! Aahahahahaha! Maria-chan, you too, stop already!!": "Aahahahahaha, aahahahahaha! Kyakkya, Kyakkya!!": "They're probably busy with cleaning or lunch arrangements. It's alright, we'll go and greet them properly afterwards. Shannon's reception will sure be better than Gohda's nosy one, right? Heehehe!" And then the scene cuts out to spare our sensibilities as Battler, still determined to extract learn George's secret, pulls a few implements from his bags and begins to step up the torture. While the sprites show no difference, of course, George will going through the rest of the episode short three toes as the price of his stubbornness.   And then it cuts to the mansion proper mid-conversation. : "Oh, right. Here. A present for you, Natsuhi nee-san." : "...Thank you very much. I'm always receiving gifts from you. ...Is this black tea?": "It's herb tea with peppermint and lemon balm. It's a blend from a well-known store and is supposed to be good for headaches. I thought it might help you too."Rosa was always a conscientious woman. ...Probably because she was the youngest of four siblings and much younger than the other three, she managed to grow up without harboring the venomosity of her brothers and sisters. Her consideration made Natsuhi soften her expression for just a moment, but it wasn't enough to make her let down her guard, which was constructed around her long-held anxiety.  : "...I apologize. I was born with this discomfort."Eva sometimes fails to choose her words carefully, but even though she hid it with a smile, her comments aimed at Natsuhi contained shards of obvious malice. Of course, that didn't escape Natsuhi. She frantically contained her urge to grimace, and pretended to ignore Eva. : "Our Battler-kun will have his exams this year too, right? Rudolf-san, shouldn't you be a little concerned too? For the sake of your own son, get serious to the point of getting headaches like Natsuhi nee-san.": "If I say anything, he automatically goes against it. So what should I say? Should I say the opposite, that it's okay for him to mess around? That's probably the only thing he'd obediently listen to me say. In your family, Hideyoshi nii-san, didn't George do really well on his exams? Please, teach me the secret to controlling children." :"...That's splendid. It would be nice if our Jessica could understand that, though. As it is now, she doesn't at all, but as the heiress of the Ushiromiya family,": "Do you really have to force her into becoming the successor? Women have to find their own happiness. Parents shouldn't be deciding that for their children, right?" : "..."Though the light shining in through the window was quite warm despite the cloudy weather, there was a dark mood about the room, ...which probably caused headaches for other people besides Natsuhi. As if to brush away that mood, Kyrie brightly made a suggestion to all present.  : "...Thank you, both. Let us save that for later. One of our people will soon be coming to bring some tea, so please relax.": "Leave it for later, you two. Let's enjoy our 'welcome drink'."Rudolf gave a subtle signal with his eyes for them to sit down again. ...Kyrie and Rosa understood instantly and obediently returned to their seats. The guests had already been greeted, so it was time for some tea to be prepared for them. ...That tea was late and having the guests talk about making some themselves was an embarrassment for the host.  ...Of course, Shannon had no way of knowing what was taking place in the parlor. She came pushing a dish cart piled with tea cups. For no apparent reason, Natsuhi gave her a pained look, and Shannon couldn't help but flinch without knowing what she had done wrong.  : "Oh, Shannon-chan, it's been a while! You keep getting prettier every time I see you!" : "...Oh, ...um, ...thanks...,": "Leave the chatting for after you've set the table. The tea will get cold.": "...I,...I apologize, Madam."She apologized like a small frightened animal, and, bumping against the serving cart, made a jarring racket as she dropped several tea spoons. Her clumsiness made Natsuhi's expression even harsher, which made Shannon in turn quail even more. : "It's alright, Natsuhi nee-san. It's just one kind of greeting, no big deal. We've already been made to wait for so long, the tea must be cold. Heheheh." ...The ineptitude that delayed the tea, the clumsiness of the servant, everything pointed to the incompetence of Natsuhi's everyday guidance, making her lose face. As the person in charge of the Ushiromiya head house's kitchen, allowing that clumsiness to be exposed today of all days was surely nothing less than total humiliation. : "Lay off, Natsuhi nee-san. Don't you think it's a little harsh to bully Shannon-chan when she's trying her best?": "I'm not bullying anyone...!": "What a nice smell. May I ask you the brand of this tea?": "...Umm..., ...I'm, ...I'm terribly sorry... I'll find out for you later..." The head house really needs to shell out for better staff. : "Whaat's this? Shannon-chan, don't you even know what you're pouring us? Come now, you mustn't serve something so suspicious to guests. We'll need a silver spoon at the very least before we can drink this.: "...I, ...I'm sorry... I'll go get one immediately...": "Shannon-chan? Do you know what silver spoons are used for? Or why they have to be silver? Do you know why?": "...No..., ...umm..." ...Eva's expression as she watched was charming in an impish sort of way. However, the words being spun from her lips held within them the keenness of a razor. Shannon tried with all her might to avoid Eva's gaze, which continued to stare at her. Grasping that Shannon was hard-pressed for an answer, Rosa promptly gave some timely help. : "They say that if silver is touched by poison, it dims. ...*giggle*, you've learned something, right, Shannon-chan?"If the tea hasn't been tested for poison, it can't be drunk. And better accomplices. In Natsuhi's eyes, this was an insult to both the tea...and herself for serving it. Rudolf, laughing flippantly, patted Eva's shoulder.  : "Wa-hah-hah-ha! Since I get to hear that poison-tongue every day, I must be poison-proof by now! I don't pay it much mind, but poor souls without resistance are in fer a stormy ride! Wah-hah-hah-ha!": "My, how cruel. I only gave Shannon-chan a bit of information about tea, didn't I? *giggle*."Everyone followed the lead set by Hideyoshi's horselaugh and smiled, though sourly. Only Natsuhi didn't join in, but for the time being, the conversation inside the parlor could now be mistaken for a lively and friendly chat. Kyrie apologized to Shannon in a low voice for not being able to help as she finally finished setting the tea table and tried to leave. ...Shannon gave a light bow and made a hasty retreat... And so we get our first proper glimpse of those “spiteful genes” referred to in Hideyoshi's profile. Really it's less like genes and more like a contagion. Having the Ushiromiya surname gives anyone about a 50-60% chance of being an rear end in a top hat or some variety of terrible and hosed up.   : "Madam and Eva-sama can go to hell. ...But the even worse coward is that guy."Kanon glared hatefully in the opposite direction of the parlor.  There was no way that a showoff like Gohda would ever hand over a flamboyant job like carting the tea to the guests in the first place. He had ended up wasting time preparing the tea a second time. So, knowing that he wouldn't be able to make it on time, he pushed the task of setting the table on Shannon, who happened to be passing by. ...One could say that cutting corners like this was an especially despicable kind of cowardice. : "...It's alright, Kanon-kun, thank you. ...I really don't mind...": "..."Kanon's silence vividly showed that Shannon's words weren't coming from her heart.   : "...What are you doing here? ...Shannon, hurry back to the kitchen.": "Y, yes. ...If you'll excuse me...": "..."Shannon humbly obeyed and promptly made to push the cart and leave. However, Kanon appealed to Genji in silence, bearing something in his eyes that he could not express in words. :"...What is it? Did something happen...?" : "...If that is all, then go.":"...Yes. ...If you'll excuse me."From the shadows in the hallway, an old woman wearing an apron watched over them. It was Kumasawa...  : Until Gohda-san was taken in by the Ushiromiya head house, I heard he worked for a fabulous hotel somewhere.I am...honestly not entirely certain if this is dialogue or not. It lacks the quotation marks, but it has accompanying VA, which other internal monologues don't get. : I think the manner of work he learned there was quite something. It's just that...Gohda-san is the newest servant here. ...He must have a lot of pride accumulated from his previous posts.The only explanation I can think of is that she's telepathically communicating with herself somehow and even that is stupid and makes no sense. And unless I'm forgetting something rather major, there's no other indications that that's a thing she can do, so...  : Because Shannon-san and Kanon-kun are his seniors here at the mansion, and yet are inexperienced and have gone through much less in life than he has, he picks on them at every chance he gets... And also, ...although it's terrible, they are hated by Madam Natsuhi too...So, a summary of the relationships so far. The rest of the head house and the cook hate Kinzo's favorite minions. The favorite minions hate the rest of the head house. The siblings all want to fight with the head house over the inheritance and succession. And Kinzo just kind of hates almost everyone. They've barely been on the island an hour and already the cousins are basically the only ones who aren't actively scheming and nursing grudges yet. : Of course, in terms of experience, Madam has been in the family much longer. It's only that, ...they are just not allowed to sympathize with her. : ...Naturally, Madam's inner thoughts fully acknowledge that there's no reason to treat those two so harshly... ...However, the heart has reasons that reason knows not... Aah, I feel so sorry for them... I can't do anything but watch over them from the shadows...  Neither of the new characters show up in the tips yet, again for no particular reason. Perhaps next time. Speaking of. Next time: The portrait, and godfuckit Battler enough of this poo poo.
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Aug 12, 2012 00:02
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blankd posted:Oh boy I am looking forward to even MORE family politics, reading this is certainly "heavier" than how the anime handled the scene. Not much of it. I've only seen a couple full episodes and an assortment of scraps, so I can't do much to point out precisely which bits Deen mangled, unfortunately. Don't mind at all if anyone else wants to cover the differences, though.
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Aug 13, 2012 10:24
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Part Five: The Witch's Portrait Anyway, there are both girls and guys here. Plus, we've got people over a wide spread of ages: adult, high school, and elementary school. Even though everyone was only telling his or her personal story, the other three were listening attentively. : "I think I'm finally getting used to all this. Jessica and Maria have grown more than I could've imagined in the past six years. To be honest, I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, but talking like this, I guess that on the inside, nothing's really changed since back then." : "I agree. Battler, even after six years you haven't changed a bit. Even though your body's gotten gigantic, you're still a kid inside.": "Uu-! Maria's a kid too! Maria's a kid too!" ...Um. : "N-no, Maria-chan! You can't make that kind of promise, that's bad, bad, bad!": "Uu-? Maria promised, so let him rub it! Maria'll keep her promise! Definitely keep it, uu-!!": "...Mariaa, you're a really earnest, good girl... The guy you marry's gonna be really lucky." So uh. Battler's two for two hitting on female cousins now. Maybe he missed the memo about this not being a dating sim. Going to note for the record that he gets better about not doing that over time. And that the game is actually pretty good about not playing Maria for that particular type of creepy. : "As I thought, without Battler-kun in our little quartet, it just didn't feel like all the cousins were here. These six years have been kinda lonely.": "...That's true. We weren't able to goof off like this. Still, we did have have some pretty constructive conversations, don'tcha think? Stuff about preparing for our future, exam-taking, or finding jobs." Maria's sincere words probably spoke for everyone. When George-aniki stroked Maria's head, she giggled like a happy kitten... Is that even a thing kittens can do? This game is...not good at metaphors, sometimes. : "...Pardon me. Your meal is prepared."A timid knocking sound and an equally timid young woman's voice came through the door. Jessica answered brightly. : "Shannon, come in! You remember Battler, don'tcha?!"Jessica stood up from the bed and opened the door. There stood a servant girl who was definitely about our age.  : "...Ah...! Jessica had me surprised, but, Shannon-chan! You too, you've gotten to be a completely beautiful woman, haven't you!": "Y-...your words are too good for me, I'm flattered...": "Bu~ut, food on this island must be reeeally nutritional, hmmmm? What are you eating, where are you training, to get boobs that big?~!! Let me feel them a bit and see whether yours or Jessica's are bigger, oka~ay?!”And sticking with that earlier genre misunderstanding, he's aiming straight for the harem route already.  And here's our first offhand reference to Higurashi. The itchy lymph nodes are one of the major symptoms of Hinamizawa Syndrome, alongside paranoia, hallucinations, and a tendency to default to murder as a solution to perceived problems. And tended to result in the sufferer eventually tearing their throat open with their bare hands. Fun stuff! Groping had nothing to do with it, though, despite the main there being every bit as pervy as Battler.  ...W-well, that means that I really do get to touch them on that one-in-ten chance, though, right? Ihihyahyahya, like I really expect that'd ever happen?!  ...Whoawhoaaa, well this is unexpected!! C-c'mon, you gotta smack me or something, I'm seriously gonna touch'em if this goes oooonnnn?! ...Which is why I was glad that Jessica chose that time to drive her elbow into the back of my head. : "Guaaaah, ooooowww, thank you Jessicaaaaaaa~!!": "W-w-why the hell are you thanking me?! ???": "No, no, my bad, Shannon-chan. Looks like I got a little too absorbed in your hypnotic chest... So now we can see that if I get too close I degenerate into a big pervert after all. Seriously, you've got to resist!": "...P-perhaps, but, ...you are, ...an important guest, Battler-sama..." : "...I-I couldn't do such a thing...! We are..., ...that is, furniture and..."Of course she didn't want her breasts touched, but..., if a guest so desired, she intended to sacrifice her own needs in response anyway. ...A girl like this needs some urgent protection...!  : "I...I cannot obey your request. Because I'm furniture. ...But, ...if it's an order, I'll obey you. ...Because that is my duty."To partially explain the furniture thing, Kinzo latched onto the idea that a good servant should be like living furniture and shoved that onto his personal servants, encouraging them to think of themselves as furniture and be complete doormats. There's a bit more to it, but that'll wait until later episodes. : "Ahaha, then I'll make it an order. The next time Battler-kun tries to touch your breasts, counterattack with a slap. Alright?": "...Y-yes. I'll do as you wish. From now on, please allow me to do so. Battler-sama, please accept this..."Shannon-chan announced this while bowing elegantly to me. Her facial expression was radiant. I gave her a thumbs-up to signal that it was OK with me.  : "Yes, I've had the pleasure of serving this household for ten years." ...Maybe it's like a servant's 'professional name' or something. ...If so, I can kind of understand why that Kanon-kun's name sounds the way it does. She's a long-term servant who's served here since she was six years old. As far as the Ushiromiyas are concerned, child labor laws are for the poor. ...Actually, make that child welfare laws in general. Since her body had changed radically, she didn't match my memories, but I got acquainted with her six years ago. It looked like she was just as shy she had been in the past, but I got the feeling that the charm befitting a girl her age came naturally to her. Especially her breasts, her breasts.  : "Haha! He's the same as always. It's such a shame that he doesn't act just a bit more sociable.": "...It seems Kanon-kun has caused trouble,...I apologize...": "He didn't cause any trouble at all! As a fellow man, I understand how moody you can get at that age. It's no surprise that he's unsociable!": "Uu-! Maria gets called that all the time too! Gets called unsociable! Like Kanon! Uu-!": "*giggle*,...Maria-sama is not unsociable at all.": "Uu-? It was nice to be like him... Uu-." We realized that if we made her stick around for any more light conversation, it would actually make it harder for her to do her job. We got up off our butts to avoid interfering with her work any further. : "Then, shall we go to the mansion? Everyone's probably hungry, right?": "Yeah. I'm really looking forward to Gohda-san's food. That guy, seems he was a chef at this famous hotel, so he's super good at cooking!": "Ooooh! I'm looking forward to it!! Let's go Maria! We're gonna stuff ourselves like pigs!!": "Uu-! Stuff ourselves like pigs!" Under Shannon-chan's guidance we headed towards the mansion. Met once again by the magnificent rose garden, we continued onward as it came into view...the intimidating mansion of the Ushiromiya Head Family.   : "...Battler-sama, we have not met in a long while."As our eyes met, he saluted us with a composed voice. He didn't give quite as refined a bow as Gohda's, but even so, and even though it felt rustic, it was a bow that had feeling. : "Genji-san, it really has been a while! You look well.": "Thank you, I have been quite well...Battler-sama, you have become a splendid young man. ...You have grown to resemble the Master in his youth."They are literally palette swaps of each other. Seriously. : "I'm looking like Grandfather? I guess that means that Grandfather was pretty popular when he was young, Ihihi!": "...From here on, I shall take Shannon's place and accompany you. Please, come this way."Shannon-chan bowed deeply and saw us off. Leaving the entrance hall, we headed to the dining room under Genji-san's guidance.  Genji-san was a silent and diligent person. He was like Grandfather's close aide or caregiver, ...in fact, you could even go so far as to say he was Grandfather's right-hand man. Actually, it seems that he was by Grandfather's side more than my late Grandmother was. According to Jessica, Grandfather trusted him more than any of his blood relatives. But I wonder how long he's served. I've never heard the details, but I'm pretty sure he's been here since the beginning, when this mansion was constructed. ...That is to say, he had dedicated half of his life to serving here. ...In other words, he's both trustworthy and faithful.   If memory serves, on a fresh copy this portrait appears in the background when you choose episode 1 at the start menu. Unfortunately, I can't definitely confirm this at the moment, as whatever files contain the saves seem to be stored somewhere utterly unintuitive, and I'd rather not go through all the resets and language switches involved in uninstalling and reinstalling the game just to double check it.  Without thinking, I stopped walking, under its spell... Since I'd suddenly stopped, Maria, who was following behind me, ran into my back. : "Uu-?": "...Aah, sorry. ...Hey, Jessica. Did that picture used to be there?"I pointed at the big portrait that caught the eye, hanging in the hall. Everyone else stopped too. : "...Aah, ...Right. When you last came here, that hadn't been hung yet, had it? When was it again...": "I think, ...If my memory doesn't fail me, I think it was around the year before last." : "Grandfather did that? So, he went out of his way to have it drawn..."The portrait was appropriate for this western style mansion, and that woman wearing an elegant dress gave off a sense of refinement. ...I couldn't have guessed her age, but judging by her obvious strength of will and the sharpness in her eyes, she radiated youth. It was a different feeling than the composed mood of middle-aged women that are often in famous pictures. If this woman had normal black hair, I might have thought it was a portrait of my long-deceased Grandmother in her prime. I believe this update covers...drat near everything the game ever says about Kinzo's wife. Even within the backstory, she is more or less a complete non-entity. I don't think she even gets a name. However, the woman in the portrait had beautiful blonde hair and didn't look Japanese at all.  : "Uu-! Maria knows. She's Beatrice!": "Bea,...what?": "...Beatrice. She's the witch. Didn't you ever hear about her, long ago?": "The witch. ...you mean, ...of this island?"...I think I already said this, but Rokkenjima is a small island that only spans about ten kilometers. However, considering that only the Ushiromiya family lives here, that's quite large. So, only a harbor and the site around the mansion were set up to be lived in. Beyond that, the island remained as untouched as it was when it was still uninhabited.  If it got dark, the forest, where there were no streetlights, was wrapped up in complete darkness. And also, since it didn't have any guideposts, it would be easy to get confused and lost, losing your sense of direction inside the dark forest. Nowadays, most people see a forest as a peaceful place, but to the people of the bygone eras, before the light of civilization drove out the night, forests were as geographically separated from civilization as the ocean. Like an ocean above the ground. Just like how fishermen who go out into the ocean are threatened despite their technical knowledge... Hunters who go out to the forest have technical knowledge as well, yet are also in danger.  Kinzo, on the other hand, encouraged them to go play in the forest alone. What the game never quite comes out and says is that there were originally about a dozen Ushiromiya kids. The four we see are just the ones who survived. ...There's a terrible witch in the forest, so you must not go in. Thus, Rokkenjima's ghost story was born. That is the legend of the witch of Rokkenjima. The Golden Witch of the episode titles herself. Does she really exist? Is she really hanging around invisibly watching Kinzo go insane? Will Battler try and feel her up too? All questions that will be answered in due time.  Beatrice, was it? ...When Aniki told me and I searched my memory, I was sure I remembered hearing a name like that when I was little. : "...Right. Still, I completely forgot that the witch of that legend had an elegant name like Beatrice. ...Since us grandchildren didn't believe Grandfather, he went out of his way to have her depicted in this painting?" : "...Milady. ...To the Master, this is an important portrait. ...I beg of you, do not say such a thing in front of him.": "...I get it. You don't need to beg."Jessica turned away, after glaring a second at the portrait.   That slightly unsettling feeling of misfortune that I had felt when I learned the Tutelary God's shrine had been struck by lightning on the boat trip revived within me a bit. At that time, Kumasawa-san had tried to tell an ominous story about Rokkenjima and had been stopped by Jessica. ...I didn't know what she had tried to tell us about this island.    : "...I have brought the children. If you will excuse me..."The door was opened and we were invited inside.  : "You're late, brats. Hurry up and take a seat."The old bastard pressed us to sit. Only the places where we would sit were empty at the long table, which only made us feel our tardiness all the more. The seat at the head of the table, called the Incipient's Chair, was for the most highly ranked, reserved for Grandfather. It was still empty. ...He was probably planning to come in last to ham it up.  ...It looked like Oji-san hadn't arrived yet, so that seat was empty. And then to his opposite, on the right side of the first row sat the eldest daughter of the family, Eva oba-san, ranked at number three. The left-hand side of the second row was for number four. There sat my old bastard, Rudolf, as one of the three siblings already present. Opposite him sat number five, the youngest sibling, Rosa oba-san.  Then, finally, next to me on the left-hand side of the fifth row was number ten, Natsuhi oba-san. ...Opposite her was Hideyoshi oji-san. Next to Natsuhi oba-san, in the sixth row and in the final seat on the left-hand side, was Kyrie-san. There's an odd gap here. The four cousins we've seen cover 6-9, and then 10+ is the spouses, except...there's another cousin they're leaving out. Rudolf and Kyrie also have a daughter named Ange, who was briefly mentioned back in the first update. Presumably she's the real number 9 after Battler and bumps Maria and the spouses down a spot each, but it's not completely clear. The seat opposite to Kyrie-san was empty even though everything had been set out. According to this ranking system, that spot was the seat where Rosa oba-san's husband should be sitting. ...Even though he wasn't supposed to be coming, his place was made up. It's also possible she got Battler's spot and he lost his rank entirely when he walked out on the family, I suppose, which would explain why she doesn't have a spot set aside for her but a deadbeat dad who never shows up to these in the first place does. Though then again, that guy didn't lose his spot, and he didn't even have an actual blood connection going for him, so... ...Man I dunno. The more I consider this the more likely I start thinking it is that the author just wanted to have them in neat blocks of four, forgot to consider Ange, and I'm overthinking the hell out of it.  ...It's terrible, but according to that ranking order, Grandmother, when she was alive, would have been in a position even lower than mine. In their youth they obey their father; after they get married, their husband; after aging, their children. There's the old saying, 'Women, whether in their past, present, or future, have no home'. Long ago, when I was still incapable of figuring all this out, I'd thought it was so great that we could all chat, with the adult siblings in their group and us cousins in ours. However, now that I can reexamine the seating order after growing up a bit, it stirs up some very complicated feelings in me... Natsuhi oba-san, married to the eldest son of the family and number two in managing the house, sat to my right, ...which meant that she was two steps lower than me in the ranking order. ...It was difficult to guess what was going inside Oba-san's head. That's why I made a small apologetic gesture before sitting down. : "How nice to see you, Battler-kun. You've grown quite tall, haven't you?": "Huhh, ah, yeah! I ate and ate and ate meals and before I knew it I got this tall." : "Huh? ...Aah, *giggle*, I'm sorry."Oba-san, after a moment, gave a small laugh, but it seemed she couldn't quite figure out what she was supposed to be laughing at.  Umineko: Family drama for people who don't quite get how families work. She never got into our kids' circle, and she always looked difficult to get along with. And it didn't help that she gave the impression that she was at odds with the other parents. ...The fact is that having barely ever exchanged words, I hesitated a lot about how to approach her. ...And I ended up empty-handed. The silverware had been tidily set up on the table, but the meal itself hadn't been brought in. In essence, until the man at the head of the table had taken his seat, the meal wouldn't start. So, as long as Grandfather, the highest ranked, didn't come, lunch would be indefinitely on hold. Not even the appetizers would come.  All part of his new plan to divvy up the inheritance. Eventually, the hunger will become unbearable, and they will raid the kitchen only to find that Kinzo has hoarded all the food for himself, and the boat isn't coming back for a good loooooong time. After a while longer, desperation will set in. When Kinzo emerges in a few months, the last one standing will be declared his least disappointing descendant and get everything to themselves. It's just that the Grandfather I remembered, when we ate together like this, always showed up at the right time. ...He was supposed to be the kind of person that would never be so late that he'd keep everyone waiting, even though they were all present. : "Grandfather's pretty late. ...As far as I can remember, he was always strict about staying on time.: "Well, that might've been true six years ago, ...but it hasn't been that way lately. Seriously, he's off in his own little world so often that he doesn't even show up at family meals. ...Even so, I figured that he'd at least stick around for today's meal. ...Still, I feel more relaxed and happier without him.": "...Jessica!"After being scolded by her mother, Jessica faced the other way, sticking her tongue out.    It's just barely visible in the sprite, but instead of wearing the Ushiromiya's one winged eagle somewhere on her like the bloodline members of the family and the other favored servants, Shannon has elected to mimic Eva and get it tattooed right onto her. And to then wear a skirt with a slit in it to show it off. And to top it off by having a sprite that...cuts off high enough that you can just barely see the head in the normal game. I'm not entirely certain why it's not just in a more readily visible spot like...well, pretty much every other instance of that crest in the game.   We're almost caught up on bios. Just three more, and we've only met two of those. And for anyone starting to suspect a pattern of it only adding people as Battler directly meets them, be assured that this is not in fact the case, making it all the weirder. Next time: The last member of the core cast is introduced, and Kinzo is a loving lunatic. Mostly the second one. Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Aug 15, 2012 |
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Aug 15, 2012 01:09
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LordMune posted:Hey OP, any plans for an update using the original backgrounds? I'll probably do some with the original graphics eventually, backgrounds included. There are some things from the original, like the trollfaces and a few other choice sprites, that simply need to be shown off at some point for the True Seacats Experience.
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Aug 15, 2012 01:15
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Huh. Somehow ended up with the old .ogg version there. Fixed that.
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Aug 15, 2012 02:10
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Part Six: BEATOOOOOORIIIIIIIICHEEEEEE!  Somehow I managed to not notice the artist input field on Tindeck at all until just now. Derp. At some point in the next few days I'll go through and correct the other tracks so far. The clock showed noon, but he didn't even attempt to get up. Putting his spectacles on, he piled up one by one beside him old-fashioned books with elaborately designed bindings, and immersed himself in their reading. It definitely didn't look like it was for his leisure; on the contrary, he exuded impatience, crisis, as though every minute, every second were precious. The inside of the sealed room, where dense dust danced, stagnated, steeped in the suspicious stench of smelly medicine. ...Somehow, sweet, heavy. For anyone with an good nose, the first thing they'd do after entering would be to open a window and ventilate the room. The knocking against the study door had been going on for a while. A voice calling 'Father' sometimes mingled with the knocks. As Kinzo heaved a deep sigh, he snapped the old book he had in his hands shut and slammed it on the table. Then, he yelled at Krauss who was still knocking on the door.  Unauthorized knocking on the study door: punishable by old-school execution. And this isn't just me making up outlandish poo poo anymore. It is very, very hard to make Kinzo look much more batshit than the game does on its own.  : "...Father. Isn't today the annual family conference? Everyone's gathered down there. Please come out."Krauss called out to his father through the door. ...Kinzo always shut himself up in the study and hated it when even his family entered the room. For that reason, Krauss had no choice but to call out thus from the corridor...  You want crazy ranting? Have some crazy ranting! Also, you guys underestimate Kinzo's insanity. Yeah, he binge drinks absinthe without watering it down, but he doesn't stop there. Human absinthe is too weak for him, so he needs the poo poo demons drink to get smashed. And to talk to fairies, apparently. This demonic absinthe may also be the Apocalypse in liquid form. Or maybe that line is completely unrelated. Who can say? ...Before the door, Krauss, Nanjo and Genji kept waiting for the master of the house, who would not come out.  The last of the 18, Krauss, Kinzo's oldest son. His name is sort of odd and pattern-breaking. From the searches I've done, Krauss doesn't seem to be a real first name. His portrait files use “cla” for his 3 letter designation, so it's possible it's supposed to be Claus and the Witch Hunt got it wrong. But then again, the portraits have some other weird designation that don't match with official romanizations... Also he is the smuggest fuckin' dude. 64 sprites in the patched version and 25 of them are some form of smugface. I'm pretty sure that puts him either solidly at the top or drat close by percentage. ...He himself hadn't really believed his father would answer his calls. However, as it was the duty of the eldest son, he had formally made the request. : "...Kinzo-san. Aren't your sons and daughters and your grandchildren coming to see you...? How about you show your face, just a little...?" Kinzo slammed the old, heavy book on the table over and over. The racket obviously indicated his highest displeasure. Kinzo put his spectacles down and flew up from his chair. He spread his arms wide open, as if to sing to a packed opera house, as if appealing to someone, and yelled.  : "Why?! Why is there always something in my way?! I would throw it all away, I would offer up everything, and there is only one thing I ask in repayment!!” Maybe you shouldn't have signed everything away without putting that in the contract, then, eh?   Krauss clearly has not been paying attention to his family at all because he is implying Kinzo was ever not a nutjob. : "Krauss-san... Isn't that a bit harsh, to your birth father...": "My father is already dead. ...All that's here is a phantom of what Father once was. At any rate, as long as he has no intention of coming out, there's nothing we can do.": "...Kinzo-san."Choking coughs continued to pour from the study...  Krauss spun on his heels. He looked at his wristwatch, mumbling and acting as though he had wasted time doing something he knew would be in vain. : "Genji-san. ...Father is calling for you. Keep him company.": "...Certainly.": "Doctor Nanjo. Let's go eat. ...If we stay here any longer, even our sense of taste will go insane from this sweet smell."Without waiting for Nanjo, Krauss went downstairs. Genji urged Nanjo to go and eat. ...Nanjo looked first to Krauss's back as he disappeared down the stairs, then to the study door, and he let out a deep sigh.  Nanjo, the dude has spent his life binging on demonic liquor and he's still alive well into his 70s. I think at this point you need to consider the possibility that he -or at least his liver- is just flat out invincible. : "Is Genji not here yet?!!! Who dares keep Genji from coming?!! Aah, Genji, where are you, call for Genji!!!": "Now, ...please leave it to me.": "...*nods*. ...Sorry."Nanjo gave a small duck of his head and descended the stairs... Genji saw him off, and knocked at the study door. : "...Master. It is Genji." : "Yes. I am alone."Kinzo returned to his seat in the study and pressed an old-style switch on the table. ...After a small delay, the heavy sound of the door unlocking could be heard. Kinzo believed that his family might try to break in his study. Perhaps someone once opened the window for some air and scattered important documents and other stuff? Is that what made him so nasty? ...Now, Kinzo had placed a secure lock in his own room, making it so that without his permission nobody could enter, and locking himself in the dungeon he'd created. Genji, who he trusted the most, was relatively free to enter the room, but that was also not absolute. If Kinzo was in a bad mood, even he wouldn't be able to enter. ...Anyone else would be limited to holding a conversation through the door, not even seeing his face. And most of the time, they wouldn't even get a real conversation.  ...They were happy that he didn't come out of his study and, putting him in the hands of the servants, they themselves also tried to avoid him. : "Genji, my usual. I'm busy.": "...Yes."Genji headed to a corner of the study. There, a suspicious-looking bottle boasting a venomous color was displayed. ...It was actually liquor, but, considering that it was placed in this suspicious-looking room, one begins to doubt whether it isn't actually some kind of ghastly poison. Inside the study, the mysterious collection of books that Kinzo had gathered had grown into a mountain. They were bizarre ancient or banned books, all of them either forbidden, cursed, or sealed.  There were many mysterious objects, like a candle suspiciously melted and molded into a strange shape, which probably had something to do with black magic. The constellations drawn on a certain celestial globe contained quite a few dots that a person who knows the night sky well would tilt their head at. The illustrations inscribed in old, casually opened books were all full of religious, or possibly demonic, grotesque arcana, as well as the weird shapes of various magical circles. And above all, the sweet, poisonous smell that filled the room profoundly assaulted those who entered for the first time in their sense of sight and smell, then all their senses, making them lose their grip on reality ... Inside that study, Genji, with his well trained hand, prepared Kinzo's usual drink. If you didn't know that the ominous dark green liquid that filled the complexly designed bottle was liquor, you really wouldn't want to put it in your mouth. ...He poured a small quantity of the spirits into the glass. After placing a cube of sugar in a strangely shaped spoon, he then poured water from a pitcher over it.  I was going to ask if this is accurate to how absinthe works, lacking much in the way of booze knowledge, but I suppose the normal rules wouldn't necessarily apply here anyway. Though I guess if we've got any experts on demonic liquor in the audience, do speak up. ...There was no recipe. Its success was measured only by Kinzo's mood swing when he drank it, and he had learned how to make it only after many decades. Genji placed the glass in the tray, and faced Kinzo. Kinzo was now gazing out the window.  In that man's back dwelt a dignity and intelligence made plain simply by how he tilted his glass and gazed down at the scenery beyond the window. Genji, in order to allow Kinzo to set down his glass any time, motionlessly waited behind and to Kinzo's left, as though he were a living sideboard. While the other furniture servants are merely doormats, Genji, as the head servant, gets the privelege of being an actual piece of furniture. Thereupon, while Kinzo looked out the window, he stuck out only the glass. There was just a mouthful remaining. It was not a gesture intended to set it upon the tray, as Genji expected, but was an motion to hand the glass over to Genji.  : "...Thank you."Genji respectfully received the glass and inclined it a little to taste its contents. After that, he agitated it. : "I attempted to imitate your concoction, but no matter how I try I cannot replicate the taste. ...The way you make it is pure relish.": "...Thank you very much. It is the fruit of your guidance, Master.": "Hmph..."Kinzo smiled at his loyal subject who refused to put aside rank even when asked to. However, he was not making fun of him; it was relaxed, like a smile at a close friend's unriddable bad habit. : "...We have grown old together. I forgot my age a long time ago.": "Being allowed to live here until now has all been thanks to you, Master."Kinzo gave a thin smile, as if to say he didn't need compliments.  : "...I do not have much time left to live. ...My sons are vultures, lazily waiting for my inheritance to fall into their hands.": "..." Eva has been doing some occult research of her own, and has concluded that eating Kinzo's corpse will grant her his powers. Why she plans to go with soup instead of the classic “rip out and devour the heart” method, only she knows.  Maria is actually the one relative Kinzo likes, in large part due to their shared obsession. However, he is adamant that pink and black are not her colors and that her tiny crown looks dumb as poo poo, and refuses to have anything to do with her until she learns herself some fashion. Also once again Ange's existence is apparently forgotten entirely.  I know the obvious thing to look at here, other than the text, is Kinzo's various ranting expressions, but take a look at Genji. He's locked in a room with a drunken ranting nutcase and his assortment of satanic artifacts and he does not give a single gently caress. This is just another Saturday for the poor bastard. : “If you want to hate me, you can hate me! If you want to run away, you can run away!! I won't let you go, I won't let you go won't let you go won't let you go!! You're mine!! You cannot be anywhere but in my arms! For all my life! You'll continue to whisper for all eternity in my bird cage to me, only to me!! Beatrice... Why, ...won't you give me back your smile... OOOoooooh, OOOooOOOoooh...!! BeatriceeeEEEeeee!! OOOoooOOOOoohh..."After howling, Kinzo choked once again. Genji set the tray and the glass down and patted his master's back... Genji's facial expression did not change. ...It was always like this. : "...*cough*... Hmhm. ...Thank you, my friend.": "..."The outburst, like his previous agitation, had calmed, and Kinzo regained his composure again. ...His change of stance was like seeing two different people, a wild Kinzo and a composed Kinzo, living together inside one body.  : “Many miracles that happened in myth can be said to be the crystallization of a shocking magic power, that had a low probability of happening and an astronomical risk! That Moses parted the waters of the sea was not a miracle of God - the risk of that desperate situation, cornered by soldiers on the Red Sea's shores, weighed upon the scales of slaughter, gave birth to the miraculous magic power. Even if the same thing occurs again, on same scope, the sea will no doubt not part.” : “However, people who truly have magic power grab that miracle and fulfill the mystery!! And if that power exists within me...! I'll seize that miracle and I'll be able to make the wish I devoted my life towards come true!!"So here's our first explanation of magic in Umineko. It comes down to betting on a ridiculously unlikely miracle, having the right innate aptitude, and then getting lucky as hell. Or at least Kinzo's magic works that way, some of the other kinds that show up don't really fit all that well into that. Actually, I think even some of the things he does with it down the line don't quite fit, but...well, we'll come back to that when we get there. Kinzo looked up to the sky outside the window. He spread his arms as if appealing to someone up in the skies. : "If only!!! If only I were capable of gaining that miracle!! ...Oooh..., Beatrice..., Beatrice... Show me your lovely smile once more... No matter how much time passes, your face does not vanish... I just want to see your smile..., that is all...! I'll return everything you granted me! I'll return all the glory I've gained since that day! I don't need fortune, prestige, gold!! I'll return everything you granted me!! I just want to see your smile!! For goodness' sake, Beatrice!! OOOoooooOooh...oOoOOoh...ooh...!!"...His nonsensical yells segued into a scream...and then into a wail.  Already we see the moral of Umineko: Always think your terms all the way through and double check the catches before committing to a Faustian bargain with a witch. Especially if she is a known troll. Truly a lesson we should all take to heart.   : "Certainly. I shall begin today's luncheon.": "...Doctor Nanjo, is Father's condition that bad? It would have been nice if he at least showed his face, right?": "Rather than his physical condition, it's his mood... And for that, there is no medicine I can prescribe." : "...Are you kidding?"Rudolf shrugged. Apparently, even though Rudolf seemed to resent the way his father did whatever he pleased...he'd rather avoid seeing his father's face if he could help it. : "Does it seem like his mood will improve before dinner? Krauss nii-san?": "I have no idea. You can try and ask Father directly. ...Although, I think his mood will improve faster if we don't bother him.": "The only one who can get Grandfather better is Genji-san. It sucks though, making the servants deal with your own parent's bad mood.": "Jessica. Don't speak out of turn."She'd planned for her complaint to be heard only by her cousins, but it had reached even Krauss's ears. Scolded, Jessica scowled and turned away, sulking.  : "It's because Grandfather has especially strong willpower. ...But, it doesn't mean that his body will always follow that. Since last year, they keep saying that he has three months left. ...If the initial diagnosis was correct, Grandfather has been prolonging his life by willpower alone. ...It should be a cause for concern."Or perhaps it's less to do with willpower and more about Death, like so many others, being too terrified of Kinzo to go anywhere near him.   And now we finally get Kinzo's bio. The actual pattern to them is that they're added when they get that special introduction with the Japanese spelling of their name, regardless of when or where that happen and whether or not Battler is present. Which makes some sense with the patch, but makes you wonder what the logic was in the Japanese version, since the characters would presumably be on display the first time everyone's name is mentioned. Maybe they had English versions in parentheses. Or maybe it was completely arbitrary and Witch-Hunt created something resembling a pattern. Never tried playing it without the translation patch, lacking any ability to read Japanese, so I've got no idea there, really. Next time: The family dinner.
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Aug 18, 2012 09:39
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Carpator Diei posted:Should that be in Italics? It sounds like one of your comments. Nope, that's straight from the game. Jeek posted:Omniphile got it right. Apparently it has something to do with the anise flavouring in absinthe. Huh. Interesting. And probably not. On top of what's already been said about the reasoning, in his letter to the Witch Hunt, the creator was surprised there was an audience for it outside Japan, and encouraged them to keep going instead of slapping them with a cease and desist. Safe assumption that bringing it over officially wasn't part of the plan. Wandering Knitter posted:Shiny, can you post some examples of the voice acting? I'm curious to see how it compares to the anime. Do they use the same voice actors? Same VAs as the anime, as far as I know. I can see about getting some samples together.
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Aug 19, 2012 06:36
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In more detail, the next update will start the 4th chapter out of 16. Though there are a few things that aren't counted as chapters by the game. Going by the text dump, we're just slightly less than a fifth of the way through Episode 1.
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Aug 21, 2012 10:30
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Part Seven: Magical Gohda Chef  For this scene, Battler will be supplementing his narration with the use of his previously unmentioned talent for astral projection. However, because the sons and siblings had been lent a great fortune, in the Ushiromiya family, which considers only those that achieve success in business adults, it literally was a conference.  My dad called it a bed of nails. Apparently, it used to be a very serious family meeting, bathed in harsh and angry voices. Even on a good year, it was common for someone to get slapped. On the bad years, well...decades later, Kinzo still has his disciplinary swords on hand and the no-questions-asked carpet guys on speed dial. However, that had become a thing of the past. Now, with everyone pursuing their own business ventures and achieving success, it was a normal yearly get-together. Even so, hearing about Grandfather's condition caused a significant amount of stress, so while to us grandchildren it was nothing more than a simple meeting, to our parents it was still a real stomachache. I guess that since the ringleader was absent for various reasons, today's lunch was even more delicious. The phrase 'while the demon is not around, everyone can relax' comes to mind. Well then, let's introduce Jessica's father, whose face I hadn't seen for six years.   Just like with Natsuhi oba-san, I didn't have many memories of speaking with Krauss oji-san. He had never been one to talk to children, and I felt like he was always talking with the adults, just like Natsuhi oba-san. From my father's gossip, it seems that he was a pretty spiteful and unreasonable person. Or in other words, an Ushiromiya. If what my father said is true, he used to be very domineering as the oldest sibling, and was hated by Eva oba-san, Rosa oba-san, and the rest of the family.  Oh, well. Even if their relationship was bad when they were children, sometimes when people grow up and go their separate ways, their relationship changes. That's probably what this was. After all, they all had children of about the same age. By sharing the same family environment, they probably profited by exchanging opinions. Maybe because of that, a short while ago the circle of parents began to discuss the exams Jessica and I were taking. Jessica, in order to escape the discussion of exams with my father sitting on her left, purposefully faced right while firing off a rapid series of comments, so as not to show any weaknesses. Moving on, let's look at the end opposite from Krauss and the others. In the very last seat at the table, an old gentleman with a sturdy physique sat facing Kyrie-san. This was my first time meeting him.  He had known Grandfather since the very beginning when the mansion was first constructed on this island, and had built up a relationship over several decades. I thought that he might be Grandfather's companion in his suspicious hobbies, but, surprisingly, it seems that he is Grandfather's chess partner. Ignorant all the while of the arcane patterns formed on their chessboard and the rituals powered with them. ...I see. That kind of hobby seems very like our Grandfather with his love of western style. You could probably say that he was the only person who could enter Rokkenjima and was neither a family member nor a servant. He gave an impression of a calm old gentleman as he listened to Kyrie and the other women's conversation. After staying by our short-tempered Grandfather's side for so long, his big heart was nothing to laugh at. ...Still, even if he was the head physician, having anyone outside the Ushiromiya family attend the family conference was a little odd. I imagined that because Grandfather's condition had grown much worse, it may have become one of the major topics of discussion. George was just saying it, too. Reports that Grandfather's remaining life was very short had been appearing continuously since around a year ago.  As a final “gently caress you” to his kids, Kinzo has cursed them to spontaneously vomit up the entirety of his fortune upon his death. If they survive, anything intact is theirs. Unfortunately for them, ingots and human throats mix...poorly... With this kind of thing, the greater the share, the more trouble would be caused. This would probably also be included in the family conference. Oh well, it's not like it had anything to do with us children. ...Finally, even though he was absent, let me introduce our Grandfather.  Are you sure you want that, Battler? Are you really, really sure? I mean imagine how much more ridiculous the names would be if he'd been using stuff like that from the start. As you can probably guess from the topics that have been raised, he was a frightening person with an extremely short temper. Because I was one of the grandchildren and hadn't met the family since elementary school, I had no memory of being beaten, but it seems that our parents were raised with an iron fist. That earlier conversation between my father and Krauss oji-san about who should go try to convince Grandfather to come out seems oddly funny if we take this into account. In order to tell Grandfather's story, you have to first go back and recount that episode that occurred before the Showa era (1926-1989).   Incidentally, Grandfather, as a member of the branch family, essentially had nothing to do with the main family. Distantly separated from the head's inheritance, his relationship with the head house was also very distant, apparently.  It then became a matter of who in the main family would become the heir, and it seemed as though no one except the branch family, which included Kinzo, was left. Kinzo himself later said that it was such good luck, it was as though fate itself had been turned upside-down. With that, Grandfather's normal life did a 180. He was entrusted with reviving the wealth that the dying Ushiromiya family had almost completely lost. Naturally, just because he had been entrusted with this task didn't mean he could accomplish it. It seems that the surrounding people weren't really expecting much.  It was like tumbling down a hill on a bike without any brakes. And then, jumping onto a neighboring bike, and then another one! Just like some crazy street performance. Probably, anyone would have thought that Grandfather had no business ability. It is entirely likely that Kinzo has literally done this at some point. Even so, with an unbelievable amount of good luck and miracles, with coincidences piling up and every chance taken advantage of, before anyone knew it, he began to make connections with the occupying forces. At that time, McArthur and the GHQ were in charge. Grandfather, in a twinkle of the eye, began succeeding in business under the protection of the occupying forces, quickly becoming very rich. At this point, it was no longer luck but information that won the day. He must have made some seriously thick connections with the occupying forces. ...Grandfather knew beforehand about emergency demands that would be made for the Korean War. No, on the contrary, he must have foreseen these special procurements from the very beginning and started eating into his businesses.  Only a very limited number of the super rich played the money game and made an easy profit. Most of the citizens remained poor. In other words, Grandfather was an extremely lucky member of this group of winners. This all happened...during the year Showa 25 (1950), I think. And, since the year following the Great Kanto Earthquake was Taisho 13 (1924)... ...That means Grandfather was able to revive the near-dead Ushiromiya family in only about 20 years to a level even higher than it had been before.  Buying an entire island is not something that you can ordinarily do today. However, Grandfather was clever. He contacted the GHQ and applied for the establishment of a marine resource base. He acquired this island as a business property, and then threw that away and claimed it as his own plot of land. And they were just...entirely cool with him taking their base and building a house on it instead. Something else to attribute to absolutely everyone being completely terrified of him, I guess. After the war there were prevention measures against food shortages, and, furthermore, having the sponsorship of the GHQ meant that nobody could oppose him. It seems that Tokyo Metropolis had almost no money at the time and offered this land. Later, Tokyo made difficulties by telling Kinzo to return the land, but the pushy GHQ intervened. Anyway, it seems as though under the table bribes worked perfectly. In the end, the city gave up in frustration.  A mansion was immediately built on the island. That would be this mansion. Grandfather, with his western style, made this once uninhabited island, Rokkenjima, a canvas upon which he could realize his dreams to his heart's content.  After that, making good use of his huge fortune, he became a large stock holder in the extremely stable iron and steel industry and was able to live an easy and comfortable life just using the dividends. Well, he's just that incredible. This kind of person usually has the ability to foresee and predict the future, or at least that is how they are portrayed. Grandfather denies all of that, repeatedly saying that he was simply blessed with extraordinary luck... And a contract with a powerful magical benefactor. That helped too. ...Anyway, even a lord like that, with all of his dreams made real, can't help but grow increasingly odd when locked up alone on an island.  Did his love of black magic begin way back when he became fascinated with everything western, or, possibly, did his miraculous stretch of good luck which allowed him to revive the family cause him to feel a mysterious power in himself? Or did it, perhaps, begin when he literally sold his soul to a witch for money? At some point, Grandfather began to make the research of black magic his life's work. He filled his study up with suspicious books, chemicals, and magical items as he became increasingly bizarre. I heard that, as a successful man, he had the right to decide how he wanted to live the rest of his life, and those surrounding him warmly watched over him, but... That's definitely a lie. They probably were just driven away, thinking 'that's disgusting, I don't want to get involved.' And/or trying to avoid being sacrificed to some dark power or other. Well, ...that agitated period was like a big gamble, with both opportunities and risks.  Man, Battler, don't you know how chess works? Sure, he might have been a pawn, but it's Kinzo. He would be the one that makes it to the other side and becomes a Queen. The only question is what he'd be queen of... England? Japan? Witches?  Chess? If that happened, he'd probably have sat somewhere, happily talking behind his boss's back. No, no. Not in a mansion's dining hall. More like a table at some bar. If that were the case, I'm sure that this would be a more comfortable family conference.    : "Hey, quit it Battler. Your upbringing will be exposed."Everyone let out a big laugh. drat it, you say that even though you love those cheap pubs. : "Hahahaha. Depending on the situation with my job, I also have eaten at many odd places, but compared to all of those, this is an excellent dish. Gohda-san probably also learned a lot that way.": "Well, I don't know too much about it. At the famous hotel where he used to work, employee politics got pretty complicated and everyone split into factions. In the middle of all that, he was apparently forced to retire. Then, by chance, Mom sent out job offers for a servant."Gohda lowered the empty plate and, without losing his smile, began to recount his own uneven past. : "The world is a difficult place. However, it is thanks to this that I was given a chance to display my skills as a chef once again, this time for the Ushiromiya family. Although I also enjoy the smiles of a larger number of people, being able to make only those who have hired me happy while performing such a delicate job is extremely entertaining for me. All of this is thanks to the opportunity given to me by Madam."Gohda-san respectfully bowed his head towards Natsuhi oba-san.  Shannon-chan and Kumasawa-san entered from the hallway with a serving cart. : "Please excuse us.": "Now then, let us move on to today's dessert."Gohda-san and the others laid out the beautifully adorned dessert.  I don't know much about desserts, but this looked really good.  Apparently the sauce was a blend of sweet and sour. Despite it being bad manners, I also stuck my little finger in and licked it. Whoa, half of it was sour enough to make you pucker up. If it were yellow, I'd have suspected lemon, but I couldn't guess what kind of sourness would be red. I decided to ask Shannon, who was putting away the serving cart behind us. : "Shannon-chan, what kind of sauce is this sour stuff?": "...Umm..., ...Err..., ...u..., "Shannon-chan hesitated to speak.  Gohda raided Kinzo's private stash for some of the ingredients. It looked tasty, and surely the label saying it was demon blood must have been some weird joke, right? While Natsuhi oba-san acted as though she had a headache, Kumasawa-san, who was setting the table at the opposite seat, began to laugh with a 'Hoh-hoh-ho'.  : "Don't tell anyone, alright? Let me borrow your ears."Kumasawa-san leaned across from the other side of the table. I leaned forward too when she asked me to listen. Their interest caught, Jessica, George-aniki, and, of course, Maria also put their ears closer. : "Uu-. What? Wha-t? Quickly-! Quickly-!": "The sour part is, well, ...Actually, it's squeezed juice from a mackerel, Hoh-hoh-ho!"Especially since it was specified to be a mackerel demon. I mean, the very concept is just absurd!  : "Uu-? Mackerels are sour? If you squeeze them, this comes out!"Only Maria, Encyclopedia Demonica on legs that she is, is unfazed.  Only Rosa oba-san, her face red, told Maria that mackerel is sour only once prepared, in a small voice.  : "Kumasawa baa-chan, you sure haven't changed...! You know Maria's gonna believe now, right?": "Hoh-hoh-ho, it's just a joke, right? Now, Gohda will tell us what the sauce's true nature is, won't he?"Gohda looked a little put off about his masterpiece being laughed at in such a strange way, but after clearing his throat once, he introduced the dessert to us.  ...Ha--...Man, I almost want to applaud before eating. Just like with medicine, reading the instructions seems to work better than just drinking it. As Gohda-san elaborated on the details of this dessert, it started to feel even more appetizing. Seriously, should you call him subtle or just talented? The dessert was probably planned from the beginning, but taking the hint when we all stopped in front of the rose garden earlier today, he displayed an incredible and timely awareness by just adding a few rose petals from that garden. This combination of sweet and sour was also exquisite. If it was just sweet, you'd just get used to it and bored halfway through. But if you reached the sour sauce at that point, you'd get a really vivid taste. And then, once you returned to the sweet sauce, all of the sourness in your mouth would be replaced with an enjoyable sweetness. I'm sure everyone else felt the same way. Every time Gohda-san passed by one of the seats, someone praised the taste and his creation.  : "I am most grateful for your words. ...Madam, did you know? I have heard that rose hip has the ability to cure headaches. I thought that Madam especially would appreciate it, so I had it specially prepared.": "Is that so? Thank you.": "See, didn't I tell you, Natsuhi nee-san? Rose hip works on headaches.": "So it seems. ...At least it would be nice if that were the case.": "Haa-! Gohda-san, I love ya! Hey, later, why don't you tell me how they're treating you! If you've got any problems with it, just lift a finger and I'll give you whatever salary ya want! Havin' your talent monopolized by this small island is sacrilege to humanity's cookin' culture! Wouldn't you be willin' to display yer talent to all of the guests at my company?"  Everyone let out a huge laugh. According to Jessica, Kumasawa-san's mackerel was often the material of a running gag, and our parents had long since gotten used to it. Kumasawa-san often claimed that mackerel had a precious nutritional value that could do things such as prevent aging and make people smarter. ...It seemed that while it couldn't stop the outward signs of aging, it helped prevent aging on the inside. Since she was still healthy enough to tell these kinds of jokes at her age, that benefit must be the real thing. : "Hoh-hoh-ho... In that case, if you'll excuse me... Prepare yourself for tonight's dinner! I'll be cooking plenty of mackerel dishes for you to eat, so look forward to it!": "Wahahaha, we sure will. I want to get all dressed up for tonight's mackerel!": "That sounds wonderful. I wonder if any delicious Japanese sake will be included.": "Really, is that so? How about some of our famous Rokkenjima mackerel liquor..."Honestly I would not be at all surprised if they've got a stash of that somewhere. Or of penguin meat, for that matter.  Kumasawa-san, together with Shannon-chan, bowed and pushed the serving cart away. Amusingly, Gohda-san, who looked just as though his stock had been stolen from him, explained very seriously that tonight's dinner would actually be calf steak.  : "Hoh-hoh-ho, I haven't done a~nything that requires thanks."Kumasawa may have played dumb, but she had obviously understood and saved Shannon in the nick of time. Back when Battler had asked for the details of the dessert, Shannon had unfortunately hesitated. There may have been several ways to dodge the question, but all of them would have been tricky. Shannon, who hesitated when hard pressed for a response, was always suffering because of this small weakness. If only Shannon, like Gohda, had a little of the craftiness needed to skillfully shake off a mistake, her days would be a little more comfortable. As far being able to flawlessly handle her work, this weakness was especially unfortunate. Naturally, those whose knew of Shannon's meek nature and her inability to gloss over a mistake and deceive people would understand this. Therefore, Kumasawa came to her aid without hesitation.  : "Ah, yes. I was thinking I might start cooking some mackerel in the oven. If you don't mind, I would be happy if you would help out a bit before your break."One way or another, she is going to shoehorn some mackerel into dinner, even if she has to quickly cut the steaks open and shove chunks of it inside while Gohda's back is turned. : "Ah, yes...! I would be delighted to help."To Shannon, Kumasawa was like a mother among the servants.  Maria insisted that she also wanted to drink the black tea, but was rejected by the old bastard, who told the children to go play outside. : "Battler-kun, why don't we all go for a walk outside?": "It's alright if you just go to look at the roses. But keep a close eye on the weather. The sky's still clear, but the weather report kept on talkin' about rain.": "Uu-! Maria wants the beach, wants the beach!!": "Aw, isn't that great? Playing on a sandy beach isn't something that you get to do often, is it?": "Really? Alright, let's all go to the sandy beach then!" : "*giggle*, that obedience is so cu~te. Battler-kun, make sure you keep an eye out for Maria-chan, okay?": "Great, leave it to me!": "Haaah, isn't your obedience to Kyrie's request just as cute? ...Why don't you also listen to me obediently for a change?": "Heh! Hell no! Let's go everyone, c'mon!"The children flew out of the parlor.  The parlor was filled with a sublime aroma which entertained everyone while they waited to appease their thirst... : "Hahahahah, ha... Rudolf's family sure seems close, doesn't it. That's nice.": "Quit it. Aniki's family beats ours.": "That's true~. Jessica-chan really has been raised to be cute. hasn't she? This is also the fruit of your training, isn't it, Natsuhi nee-san?": "...Thank you."Natsuhi answered coldly. With that, the conversation halted, and the parlor became silent. Possibly because he couldn't stand it anymore, Hideyoshi broke the silence with an exaggerated gesture.  : "I wonder where the border between child and adult is. I still don't feel as though I've grown up.": "Hmph, isn't that pitiful. That's not something the mother of a child should say.": "That's right. We're not children anymore. We are all adults. So I want to stop this sentimental talk and move on to a more intellectual discussion."When Eva smiled with sharp sarcasm, everything seemed to get more tense. ...It felt like the smell of the tea that had been prepared so carefully just flew out the window.  : "...'Just as it used to be,' is it? My, my. I wish I could wrap those words up and send them to this room a few decades ago. Right, Rosa?": "..."Rosa smiled with an uncertain face. Whether she agreed or disagreed, she knew that she would earn the displeasure of her brother or her sister. It was a bit of worldly wisdom she had needed to learn as the youngest sibling.    It also helps that he has a goodly bit of padding for the odd occasions when Kinzo flips out and goes to town with the R'lyeh Text.  Next time: Happy family fun time! Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Aug 24, 2012 |
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Aug 24, 2012 04:30
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Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated. Have an extra large update. Part Eight: Dysfunction, Part 1/A Lot   He's just taking reasonable precautions, really. After all, if he's supposed to have died nine months ago and he's still walking, they have to consider the possibility that he may in fact have become some form of undead monstrosity. If he's a dracula now, they're safe while the sun's out. Well. Safe-ish. Maybe. : "Still, Natsuhi-san. If we don't discuss this until somethin' happens, it'll be too late. He's still healthy now, so we must figure out something while we still have some time left over. It's the same as financial etiquette.": "It seems as though everyone is concerned about Father. ...Doctor Nanjo. Could we hear the details from you? It seems as though they are also hoping for that.": "....*cough*."Nanjo, standing by the window and staring out at the rose garden, let out a single cough when he realized that he was being called. : "...Doctor Nanjo. ...How is Father's condition?" : "...That is correct. Because of that, while I will accept everyone's repeated questions, I can by no means confirm when he will pass away. A human's life is supported by their body and their mind. ...If the body is weak, the situation becomes more dangerous, but if the mind is strong enough to compensate for that weakness, the lull in one's condition can be preserved.": "So you're saying that even if his body is weak, his mind is still firm and spirited."And he is living on pure : "...Kyrie, sorry, but please stay quiet for a while.": "...Sorry." Though it's probably just an odd figure of speech, given the nature of his hobbies and booze, it is still quite possible that demons figure into Kinzo's health issues somehow.  : "That's quite a rude question to ask about the head."Natsuhi jumped on Eva, unable to hide her astonished expression. In response, Eva returned a daring glance, but Hideyoshi, realizing what was going on, tried to smooth things over with a bitter smile.  : "Is that so? I hadn't realized."Hey, eager anticipation of his death is a kind of concern, right? : "Doctor Nanjo, please tell us. For the sake of the beautiful family love of a daughter worried about her father's lifespan."Krauss laughed sarcastically, and Eva, smiling sweetly, returned an identical chuckle. : "...You ask whether he will still be healthy next year, ...but as a doctor, it is very hard to say. Because while I do think this lull in his condition will continue for a while, if he suffers some kind of fit, there may be nothing we can do. ...Anyways, Rokkenjima is a solitary island. It is not as though an ambulance can quickly jump in to save him. Normally, I would want to have him hospitalized in a large hospital on the mainland, but...": "Father stated that he does not want his noble research interrupted. ...It seems he holds a grudge over the way we tried to force him out last year. Apparently, he strongly suspects that he'll be shut away in some hospital if he goes outside. And that's how things are now."And that's why he has so much security on the study. Because he is just that adamant about not getting put in a home.  : "Has Doctor Nanjo been examining him?" : "Father trusts Doctor Nanjo. ...It seems he can be examined when in a good mood..." : "Then, in summary, his expected life is still three months. There's no way to guess how long he will continue to live while still on the verge of death.": "...Rudolf-san. Couldn't you be more discreet with your words?": "Ah, sorry. I've always talked this way. Give me a break.": "I understand Doctor Nanjo's opinion. ...What do you think, Krauss nii-san?" Krauss: the one person on the island who gets it. : "Hahhaha. In the next world, get born after me....Alright, let's return to our discussion. In that case, according to the impartial and neutral doctor's opinion, it wouldn't be odd for him to go any time. Sorry, Aniki, but I'd rather trust the opinion of a specialist. With that, I believe the discussion of Father's fortune is no longer a premature topic.": "Father's personal funds probably reach as far as several ten billion yen, right? But, it's not as though all of that is neatly gathered as ready cash. It's not as simple as neatly cutting a birthday cake with a knife."Which would put the family fortune at the equivalent of…a couple hundred million dollars. Not a small amount by any means, but one that seems…oddly low for a family rich enough to own its own island. And which meshes oddly with some other estimates. Admittedly, since they specify personal funds, there's probably other chunks tied up in business and such, but they talk like it's the entire inheritance. Or maybe I just have no sense of scale/am overthinking the details again. I dunno. : "...Aneki's metaphor is interesting, isn't it? That's right, sometimes strawberries or chocolates are placed on top of the cake, making it hard to cleanly divide it into equal parts. Taking that into consideration, I think it's important to first discuss how best to stick the knife in, don't you...?": "I truly don't understand everyone. Even while the head is still alive, you're discussing the matter in loud voices as though he were already dead."Well, there’s no point in being quiet about it, is there? What’s he gonna do if he overhears? Hate them all just a little bit more? : "Come now, don't you see how important this is? After all, when the time comes, the inheritance of his fortune must be carried out immediately, right? Moreover, the glorious Ushiromiya house's wealth is vast. Don't you understand that a careful discussion is necessary beforehand? Because there's a huge difference between this family's resources and your family's wealth." : "Give it a rest, Eva... Natsuhi-san, forgive us! Pardon her rudeness."Hideyoshi, tried to smooth things over by glancing at both with a forced smile, but it only resulted in making the hostility between Eva and Natsuhi even more intense... : "...Staying any longer would make me a hindrance. Please excuse me."Nanjo rose from his seat and exited the parlor. ...To an outsider it may have seemed like a normal act of courtesy, but his back was watched by several glances envious of his ability to escape. And while they argue over the inheritance, Nanjo, knowing a few things they don’t and being familiar with Kinzo’s handwriting, goes to hole up in a corner somewhere and forge a will. After the doctor had exited and his footsteps had disappeared into the distance, Krauss recrossed his legs.  : "...We are not impatient. ...However, a decision between the siblings is essential. It doesn't matter when, but if the day when Father's condition worsens is approaching, discussing the matter beforehand isn't what I would call impatience..."Though Rosa, at least, does have a compelling reason to want her chunk ASAP. As noted in her bio back at the start, her business is doing pretty terribly because she can't be assed to run it properly. Rosa shot a glance at Eva and Rudolf. ...As the youngest daughter in the family, being cross-examined by the eldest was harsh. Man, they haven’t even started shouting and making objection poses yet and it’s already too much for her? Rosa is pretty pathetic. Sadly, no one in this scene even has objection poses. : "...Oh? Is that your true opinion? I didn't expect that the most honest and pure-hearted of the siblings would say something like that. I wonder if those two told you to say that...?": "...": "Quit it, Aniki. Rosa is also our sibling. She has a fair right to Father's inheritance. It's obvious she would be interested, right? ...After all, Father will definitely die, and that's not something that'll happen in the distant future. ...On the contrary, Aniki, you are far too relaxed. It seems almost as though you would like nothing better than to turn the discussion away from the distribution of the inheritance.": "...What do you mean by that? Are you trying to accuse my husband of something?": "C, calm down Natsuhi-san. Listen to what we have to say..." : "You sure are knowledgeable. Soon, Japan will see an unprecedented boom. Just like when Father revived the Ushiromiya family. Another case like the Korean War demands. ...The people of Japan have gotten into in a frenzy trying to realize vast economic growth and become the most prosperous people in the world, glorifying the spring of our society. Private spending has increased, and institutions that can profit from that can make easy money in this era. The people's needs are not three kinds of electrical appliances. Places to ski, to golf, public pools. Resort hotels and theme parks! Ah yes, Delsney Land! That world-famous famous theme park, home to such timeless classic characters as Mikhail Moose and Douglas Dolphin... Okay, he’s actually talking about the Tokyo Disney Resort, which opened in 1983. But honestly I was kinda surprised when I did a search that there isn’t a thinly-veiled ripoff by that name somewhere out there. It just seems like it should exist, doesn't it? : "Krauss-san, your readin' ain't bad. ...When I heard that several years earlier, I thought it was ridiculous. ...However, when I heard about the G5 nations' Plaza Accord, that changed. The yen became increasingly strong, and the price of land will soon skyrocket, I believe. The day that Japan becomes the economic center of the world isn't far off. ...You have a very forward looking view. At least there can be no debate about that."Except this is set right before the Japanese asset price bubble. So Krauss' prediction is pretty much completely off in the long term. : "I feel the same as Hideyoshi-san. Aniki, you can read into the next decade of history. That keen sense surely came from Father. It's incredible....However, unlike Father, there have been cases where the timing of your predictions have been mistaken, haven't there?"Much like Kinzo, Krauss can see what's coming and instinctively tell exactly what he needs to do to make himself even more filthy rich in any given situation. Except unlike Kinzo, he is then compelled to ignore that and do something completely stupid with his cash instead. : "Nii-san, believing that Japan will definitely face an economic boom, you have been planning resorts everywhere. And almost all of them continue to fail. ...While I'm sure that the era you predicted is arriving, it seems that you misread the timing of that boom.” : "...How rude! Are you trying to insult my husband?"Natsuhi's forehead creased as she rose from the sofa. Eva, paying this no heed, stared at Krauss with a confident smile. ...Krauss, who also maintained his confident appearance, told Natsuhi to sit down.  : "Proof that you have no talent is also right here. ...After all, Nii-san, weren't you all excited about turning this island into a resort? Building a wonderful resort hotel, beautifully maintaining the garden. I'm just an amateur and don't pretend to understand, but you must have used a significant amount of money, right?": "Then, what are you trying to say! My husband's business has nothing to do with you!": "Actually, that's not true, Natsuhi-san. Rokkenjima is not Aniki's. It is Father's. Of course, the hotel that was constructed is Aniki's, right? If you like, you can charge us lodging fees tonight. Right, Rosa?": "...Well, hmm. If what I have on hand will suffice.": "If I can make it into a resort, this island's financial worth will rise. It is true that expenses have piled up, but we can hope to have a large harvest in the future. When that happens, it should prove to be beneficial to all of you as well." : "We aren't dissatisfied, we're uneasy. In the first place, Aniki, when do you plan to open that hotel? Left this way, you won't get anything out of it except our grubby hand prints, right?": "That's right. It's an important tool for your business, isn't it? Surely you can't keep it locked up until the moment you open it for business, right? Buildings go bad if you don't use them and air them out every once in a while. Even so, it's a bit extravagant for a guesthouse that we only use once a year. Right, Rosa?": "...That's right. If it is that wonderful, I'm sure that it will become quite popular once you open it."Oh, definitely. I can see the ads now… : "Oh...The hotel that you mentioned earlier is actually the guesthouse, isn't it...": "It's splendid. Just as Rosa said, if you were to open it, I'm sure it would become popular."The lodging they had been guided to had not been constructed with the intent of building a guesthouse. ...It was originally constructed as a resort hotel. Visit scenic Rokkenjima! Behold its myriad natural wonders! The pristine beach! The primeval, majestic forest! The…other primeval, majestic forest! And even…um…more forest! Stay in a top class hotel, attended to by servants who all believe they are chairs or something of the sort! Observe the ultra rich in their natural environment! Watch their constant infighting and drama! (popcorn and lawn chairs extra) Listen to their mad patriarch scream about witches through a security door, and be told to gently caress off and die! Meet a horrible end at the hands of what may or may not be a witch! Truly, a recipe for resounding success. However, even though it was constructed two years before, there was absolutely no prospect of it opening. : "Nii-san, it's just like all of your enterprises. Your attention and planning are both fabulous. Then, it always becomes unable to maintain itself partway, and ends without being able to collect any profit." : "But, two full years have passed since you finished building, right? After two years, you still haven't had the opportunity to open it? Where is the managing company you entrusted it to?": "...Impertinence! That is not my husband's fault! There has just been some trouble with the company that my husband contracted with. No matter how you look at it, we are victims here!": "And yet... This company that Krauss-san hired..., I haven't heard many good rumors about it.": "Just spit it out. ...Did you think that rumors about nonpayment, embezzlement, and projects that disintegrated mid-way wouldn't reach my ears? I've been collecting evidence.": "I don't know what kind of evidence you found, but it's all baseless! As new members in the sightseeing business, it is necessary to lay the groundwork with various people. It is also important to discuss how trustworthy the other party is. This is nothing more than taking some time to meet that end!" : "Liar. I'll bet you want to sell it but can't. There's no reason for anyone to buy such an extravagant hotel on an isolated island without any established sightseeing routes. What happened to the financing that you collected for this project?": "Even if you aren't incurring maintenance costs, the borrowed money that you can't return is steadily swelling. ...Sorry, Krauss nii-san. I investigated the development plan for this island a little. ...Honestly, I have also heard nothing good.": "Hideyoshi-san. I'm sure that only looking at the current financial condition could lead you to that impression. However, that is a prior investment. I have no choice but to admit that my prediction was mistaken, and that up until now, several liabilities have been created. :"I'll accept that. Starting soon, the resort business will probably see an unprecedented boom... Whether it'll be enough to bury all of your liabilities is... ...However, Krauss nii-san. After all your miserable and repeated failures in the past, who in the world would supply you with funds? It would have to be a massive amount of funds. Enough funds to cover your massive debt, right?": "...What are you trying to say, Hideyoshi-san?": "Ahh, Natsuhi-san, please don't get angry! We also investigated that. We investigated to see if anyone loaned Krauss nii-san, who has continued to lose so much, a large enough investment to support him recently." : "Then what...? Where did you raise that money from? ...That's the question, now.": "...Ho. Isn't this an interesting story. And?": "D, dear! How long do you plan to ignore these abusive remarks!!": "Sit down, Natsuhi-san. Let me say it directly. Aniki has been diverting Father's private funds for his own business. There is almost no doubt. If we made some mistake, please, feel free to explain it for us.": "Rudolf, this isn't diverting funds. This is embezzlement, isn't it? This is a huge crime that can be criminally prosecuted."Or they could just tell Kinzo and watch him sic half the Goetia on Krauss or something. : "Th-, this is rudeness in the extreme!! How can you even face the successor to the Ushiromiya head house and level these abusive accusations!!" : "Y-, you can't say that...s, saying that he's betraying the head isn't something that can be easily overlooked!! You have no right to straddle the threshold of the glorious Ushiromiya family!! Leave this place immediately!! All right?! Get out!!"Natsuhi, who had already reached the limits of her anger, shouted at Eva in a rage. She then pointed alternately at Eva and the hallway, indicating that she should leave. Eva took out a folding fan and fanned herself with it, glaring maliciously at Natsuhi as though silently daring her to repeat what she'd said. However, her mouth was still smiling, curved in the shape of a crescent moon. ...In that unpleasant silence, Rosa gulped.  : "Hey, ...Natsuhi nee-san? Who do you think you are speaking to?": "I'm speaking to the extremely impolite sister of my husband!! As the person in charge of the main family's kitchen, I cannot overlook any more of this!!": "In charge of the kitchen? Huhuhu, hahahaha, ahhahahahaha!! Shut up, you maid servant!" :"How foolish. Bow down!! Before Eva of the Ushiromiya family! Note that bit about the eagle, and consider. Natsuhi, the wife of the current heir and mother of the next one in line after him, doesn't get to wear it anywhere. Shannon and Kanon, minor servants of rather questionable competence? Do. She's actually held in lower regard than their actual maidservant, in a way. : "...!!!"There were a hundred ways Natsuhi wanted to respond. However, her anger and sorrow crushed her throat, and not one of them managed to make it to her mouth. The anger which had lost any place to go became a single hot tear which slowly dripped down... : "Whaaat? If you have something to say, please, say it now. Come on."Eva faced her with a provocative gaze. ...However, Natsuhi's fist was shaking; she trembled all over, unable to do anything... Krauss quietly broke that powder-keg tension. : "Natsuhi. Leave your seat. You should cool off your head.": "Wha, ...!!"Natsuhi, resenting the fact that her husband had not come to her aid, shifted the focus of her attack.  : Even though I have always seriously considered this family's affairs, you've...!! WhaaaAAaaAaaaa, whaaaaaAAAAAAA!!!"Natsuhi was already unable to hide her tears. She flew from the room in that state. After that, all that remained was an somewhat embarrassed mood about the parlor... When the sound of footsteps grew distant and silence returned, Krauss shrugged his shoulders slightly.   Natsuhi flew into her room and bent over the bed, lamenting... Those heartwrenching sobs reached Kumasawa in the hallway...  : There is a deep enmity between her and and Eva-sama. Explaining their relationship would be very tiresome for a woman such as myself... The Ushiromiya family held blood in high regard, but if someone married outside the family, they were normally removed from the family hierarchy. ...Thus, under normal circumstances, Eva-sama should have been removed when she married Hideyoshi-sama.Oh, hey. More of that weird maybe-dialogue. As before, it’s voiced, but it has no quotation marks at all, and doesn't seem to be aimed at anyone in particular. I still dunno what the gently caress.  : Anyways, this was the male dominant Ushiromiya family. A wife was just a tool to create a heir. ...If that wife could not fulfill her only duty, she would not be treated as a human. It is painful to remember how much the Master tortured Madam during that time... : She inspired him to allow her to marry and give birth to a successor herself, making sure to avoid transferring her name out of the Ushiromiya register. There was a vast difference in the Ushiromiya hierarchy between Madam, who married into the Ushiromiya family and was treated like an outsider, and Eva-sama, who was related to the family by blood and whose husband took on the Ushiromiya name. And beyond that, Eva-sama was the first to give birth to a boy... As for how much weaker Madam's position was compared to Eva-sama, I believe you could see for yourself... : However..., that was not Madam's fault... All of the blame lies with god's whims and the stork that delivered Jessica late... Even so, Madam won't allow herself to see things this way... ...She probably can't help but cry bitter tears at her inability to carry out the duties expected of a wife...      As we did, we once again saw that witch's portrait. However, the word 'saw' is probably not the best word to describe that experience. ...It was more like our eyes were drawn to it. That woman's eyes, with their sage-like glamor, definitely had the power to make those who viewed it stand rooted to the spot.  Back when he had asked what this picture was, the first person to tell him it was Beatrice had been Maria. Therefore, when Battler showed signs of doubt, Maria must have felt that Battler didn't have faith in her. ...Of course, that's not what Battler meant. Maria ran up to the portrait and began banging on a plate hanging below it. Maybe the title of the portrait was written there. Maria, trying to prove that she wasn't lying, obstinately continued to hit the plate. : "Ah-, sorry 'bout that, it's not like I doubt anything you said, Maria.": "Uu-! Battler believe it! Uu-!"When he patted Maria's head and apologized, she seemed to accept it, sticking out her chest and proudly uu-uu-ing.  The plate did have the title of the portrait written on it, but it was much too big to contain only that. Beneath the title, what looked like an long epitaph was also written. If you just skimmed over it, several unnerving words would jump out at you. We just have to trust Battler on this point for now, since we don’t get to see the full epitaph until a later scene and he neglected to actually, y’know, quote any of the unnerving bits.  : "...Wait, is it that story about the Ushiromiya family's hidden gold? There's another thing that I remember from long ago...Wait, Aniki, ...is that for real?": "Grandfather had this written, but he never said anything about this picture or the epitaph. ...Even so, amongst the family, it is often whispered that it points to the location of Grandfather's hidden gold, and that he will relinquish the inheritance and the gold to the person who solves the riddle.": "Uu-! Maria heard that too, Maria heard that too! Lots and lots of gold!": "...Well, something like that. Something like 10 tons of gold bars. I think it's a fake, though.": "Still, if you read this all the way through, it almost seems real."...I think I already explained Grandfather's upbringing, but let me also mention the Ushiromiya family's 'Legend of the Gold'.  However, from here on, the strange part of the story begins. ...Part of it is closely tied to Grandfather's black magic hobby, so its credibility is extremely low, but... ...Well, wait until the end before you doubt or make fun of it.  Grandfather came from the branch family and had no connections in the business world or the financial world. Even though he later built connections with the occupying forces, in the beginning he was supposedly a nameless person who had not yet gained anyone's trust. And apparently coming from an old, established rich family counted for absolutely nothing. Money can only be gathered based on trust. There's no way anyone would lend money to an untrustworthy person. ...How did Grandfather, whose trustworthiness was zero, manage to obtain the large amount of funds in the first place? It is said that, when asked that question, Grandfather answered like this...  Grandfather then went on and on about how he continued to research alchemy and techniques for summoning demons in order to become a great magician. ...And the entity summoned as the result of the demon-calling ceremony was the Golden Witch Beatrice. Which is…sort of odd, since witches are distinct from demons, but eh, let’s assume it’s just Battler muddling up the minor details because he’s not one of the occult experts or something. He then said that he made a contract where, in exchange for his own soul, he would receive fortune and honor. The witch then granted Grandfather 10 tons of gold. Grandfather used this gold as collateral to prepare a vast quantity of funds, and then used that to multiply his wealth by several times and revive the Ushiromiya family...   : "...I remember that old story. When we were little, our parents told us about it and we went all over the island searching for treasure. ...Didn't we get lost in the forest and start crying until some of the servants found us? Our parents were so mad at us. ...How nostalgic.": "We sure were idiots, weren't we? After all, Grandfather used that to build up the funds that he finally bought this island with, right? That means he must have had the gold before coming to this island. There's no reason the gold itself should be on the island.": "That's not necessarily so. Maybe the gold was hidden on the island from the beginning and he bought the whole island just to make sure it was all his. There was a whole 10 tons of it, right? It seems more realistic that he would try to secure the place where it was hidden rather than try to move it all." The epitaph carved into the plate was very mysterious, with something like a poem or a song written on it. That paragraph was incredibly disturbing, filled with the signs of Grandfather's black magic hobby, and its contents were in bad taste, but it could definitely be viewed as a puzzle which, if solved, could lead to the place where the gold was hidden. : "Whether that's what he intended or not, I can't even imagine what his true motive was. ...All I can say is, this shady epitaph was displayed here so that everyone in the family could see it. By doing so, he could hint at the existence of the gold while still avoiding telling where the hiding place is. ...That caused our parents' imagination to run wild and call it equal to Grandfather's level of genius...": "...Sounds just like my dad, so greedy that he takes something like this so seriously. Even though he laughs at Grandfather's black magic hobby, he'll still believe this story about the hidden gold. It just sounds so good." : "Yeah, but, it's 10 tons. 10 tons! If you traded that for money, how much would that come to? Anyway, it'd have to be a ridiculous amount, right?!"  : "As for me, I think that that number '10 tons' sounds totally fake. In the first place, has anyone other than Grandfather ever even seen it? And even if some generous witch lent him some actual gold, couldn't that 10 be right but actually be mistaken from 10 kilograms? Even 10 kilograms would be a pretty incredible sum, right?": "Uu-. ...10 kilograms of gold is how much?"Maria, who wasn't following the story and felt like she was being spoken to in riddles, finally found a place where she could ask us a question. A question which I also wanted to know right then. Whether I hear 10 kilograms or 10 tons, I know that it's an incredible amount, but I couldn't guess exactly how incredible each one is. George-aniki folded his arms and tried to remember the market price of gold.  : "WHAAaa...I know I just randomly said that 10 kilograms would be a humble amount...but even that would be worth 20 million yen, wouldn't it!?": "Uu-? Maria weighs 28 kilograms.": "...Which means that if we had Maria-chan's weight in gold, we could estimate its worth at over 50 million yen.": "That's just unbelievable... How much would 10 tons be then? 10 kilograms is 20,000,000 times 1000, so...umm....That's it! 20 billion yen?! What the hell!"How much is 20 billion yen actually worth? ...We can only measure it relative to our own pocketbooks. Anyways, let's say that wages over a lifetime are about 200 million yen. ...You grow up and work like crazy, sacrificing your life for your company, and as you approach old age are finally freed. Everything including retirement money could be about 200 million yen. ...In other words, that is the amount of money for a human's life. You could even call it the price of a life.  : "...Uu-. Is 20 billion yen huge...?": "Yeah, it's huge. Maria, you could buy more of that shortcake you love than you could eat in a lifetime." : "Of course it's heavy, but internationally it's the most trusted and stable. Doesn't that mean something? With bonds, for example, if the country is destroyed they're just scraps of paper.": "You can also look at it that way....but even one 10 kilogram ingot is pretty heavy to carry around. Haven't you heard? A 50 kilogram person can't carry a 50 kilogram bag over their shoulder. With that many gold bars, the amount of labor and risk for one person would be hard to calculate.": "So what you're saying is, while a stack of banknotes worth 20 billion yen would be annoying, 20 billion yen in gold would be such a big mountain that practically it would be kinda pointless.": "That's right. ...Although the Legend of the Gold does have a pretty interesting ring to it, just the part about the 10 tons of gold makes it pretty much impossible..." : "You mean like his gratitude for the money he borrowed was worth 10 tons of gold, or something?": "Hehehe, maybe some rich man's leisured wife generously granted it to Grandfather. And maybe then he started calling this person a witch?"I see. Jessica's example isn't bad. ...Someone who would generously lend a huge sum of money to Grandfather when his trustworthiness was still zero could be called a witch. ...Furthermore, Grandfather later used that money to build a vast amount of wealth. ...Someone with such a great ability to judge people might also fittingly be called a witch. Generosity and lucky guesses: basically synonymous with witchcraft.  : "I see. ...So, in other words, this witch granted the funds necessary to revive the Ushiromiya family and Grandfather owed her big time. ...If that's the case, Grandfather, with his feelings of gratitude, had that huge painting drawn and displayed... I get it. It's not that strange a story.": "What if this person looked like an old witch-like granny? If that's true, I can definitely understand why Grandfather tried to pretty her up when he had the painting drawn. Hahahahaha, I'll bet if we ever did meet this person, she wouldn't be nearly this pretty!": "Hahahaha, that's possible. The name Beatrice sounds pretty western, and if you think about how everyone in our family has western-style names, maybe even the name Beatrice is the result of Grandfather trying to rearrange some Japanese person's name to make it sound western."  As I made fun of the witch, laughing, I was trying to separate myself from the kid I was six years ago who was afraid of the witch of the forest. At that time, Maria tugged on my sleeve. ...The strength with which she did was filled with a little unhappiness.  Maria has Sue eyes that change color to reflect her mood. However, they can only do near-indistinguishable shades of purple, so it's nigh-impossible to actually tell without amazing eyesight.  : "Witches exist! Witches exist! Uu-uu-uu-!!!": "Well sure, they do exist...if you turn the TV on and watch anime or something.": "Exi-st!! Witches exi-st!! Uu-uu-uu-!!!"I started getting impatient, not knowing why Maria was jumping on me like this. Then, Jessica tapped me on the shoulder and told me in a small voice.  D’aww. Lil’ girl wants to grow up to cut Faustian bargains, curse bloodlines, and conduct murderous rituals. Ain’t she precious?  ...I see. To a girl who wants to become a witch in the future, the existence of Beatrice was proof that witches do exist in this world, and was therefore an image that she yearned after and admired. : "Exi-st! Exi-st! Witches exi-st!! But Battler still doesn't believe! Uu-uu-uu-!!!": "It's alright. They exist, witches. Onii-chan believes it."George-aniki kneeled down and held Maria's head. ...Watching this, Jessica poked my side. ...So that's what it is. It's like, on Christmas Eve, shouting that Santa Claus couldn't exist in front of a child who believes in him. ...I'm not the kind of guy who likes to shatter kids' dreams.   : "Uu-... Really? Battler really believes?": "Yep. I believe. Sorry for doubting it. ...C'mon, let's make up."I stuck out my hand and Maria grabbed it with her tiny hand, and we made up. Maria didn't grumble any more than that, so George-aniki and Jessica were relieved.   : "Ah, Shannon. Well, this is the first time Battler has seen Beatrice's portrait. He was just fascinated by it.": "That's right, it is fascinating. ...Beatrice-sama is truly beautiful. I am sure that she captivated the Master.": "Ahahahaha. In addition to the patron theory, there's also a theory that she was Grandfather's first love. ...Either way, although it's been several decades since he met her, even now she holds a special place in his heart. ...Which must mean that he is still captivated by her." : "...Uu-? Good smell! Good smell coming from Shannon!"Maria, sniffing, approached the basket Shannon-chan was holding with interest. After hearing that, I noticed a fragrant scent with the essence of vanilla. : "Ah, I apologize. I was told by Kumasawa-san to bring them to everyone.": "What is it, I wonder? ...Ooh, excellent! Cookies.": "Uu-! Want to eat cookies! Want to eat cookies! Uu-!"So I did some calculations on a random whim, using the first thing to come up in a search for vanilla cookie prices. At $15.28 for a four pound box, the witch's gold would convert to... 52356021 pounds of Nilla Wafers, rounded up. I couldn't seem to find exactly how much a single one weighs to get even more ridiculously precise, but I'm gonna ballpark it at somewhere around “All the Nilla Wafers. All of them.” This has no particular relevance to anything and I'm not entirely sure why I bothered. All I know is I kinda want some Nilla Wafers now. : "Please, eat as much as you would like. ...But, umm..."After all, it's not like you can just serve cookies in a place like this, in front of the portrait. Shannon-chan sent us a glance which seemed to ask what we wanted to do about it. ...Well, normally that would be considered impolite.  : "That's right, let's go get some fresh air. We shouldn't grab food right in front of the witch.": "That's right, didn't we say that we wanted to go down to the beach in the first place? Let's go, let's go.": "Shannon-chan. Sorry, but could I ask you to get us a blanket to sit on and some flasks of tea.": "Right...! Certainly."Shannon-chan received her instructions and gracefully bowed before retracing her steps. We headed for the beach on our own. Everyone headed for the entrance in a group. ...Feeling as though that witch was staring down at our backs, I turned around once more.  : "Nope, I believe. ...That way is more imaginative! The golden witch Beatrice gave Grandfather 10 tons of gold! And that gold might be sleeping around somewhere. And besides, didn't Grandfather write that strange epitaph as though challenging us to find it if we can? I think that kind of romantic story is way better." 13 million some odd pounds of cookie, per the previous estimates. She could set up a Scrooge McDuck-esque pool of them or something. Practically, it's kind of a waste, but I can't say the plan doesn't have its appeal. Next time: More Happy Family Fun Times! The epitaph proper! More Kinzo! Parenting! I'm biting off an even larger chunk of script to try and get to the murders in fewer updates. Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Sep 4, 2012 |
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Sep 4, 2012 03:02
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I just can't see the place having all that much appeal, overall. I mean, if nothing else, the horrible death part is gonna turn a lot of people away no matter how awesome the rants they hear before it, right? Or is there more of a market in Japan for "being brutally murdered" than I'm imagining?
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Sep 4, 2012 04:54
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Update's being worked on, is near done, it will be up tomorrow unless something goes catastrophically wrong. Turns out, giant updates and the semester's first decent sized pile of work mix poorly, especially when I lose one of my best chances to work on it by forgetting the flash drive like a dumbass. Anyway, kinda need a new page for it since there are already two updates on this one, and I did promise to provide a look at the voices. So I'm gonna partially deliver on that. Sample 1 Contains: Kinzo (Mugihito), Nanjo (Akihiko Ishizumi) and (barely) Genji (Masato Funaki) You get them in the form of select chunks of video, all taken from within the first update. Makes it comprehensible to non-Japanese speakers and saves me a bunch of chopping and splicing to get it by single character or by screen. Sample 2 Contains: Battler (Daisuke Ono), George (Kenichi Suzumara) Sample 3 Contains: Rudolf (Rikiya Koyama), Kyrie (Atsuko Tanaka), Battler (Daisuke Ono), Eva (Miki Ito), Hideyoshi (Masashi Hirose), George (Kenichi Suzumara), Rosa (Ami Koshimizu), Maria (Yui Horie) Not a complete set, but it's at least something for about two thirds of the current cast. Additional samples will come at some point down the line. Gotta leave myself something to work with in case I have to do this again.
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Sep 16, 2012 06:44
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It's still Sunday where I am. Barely. Part Nine: The Banquet of Miracles Begins (Section A)   : "...The story about a witch who gave him the gold and so forth, we obviously don't believe. However, there's no mistake about the gold.": "The fact that Father obtained gold bars from an unknown source can be confirmed in several ways. We heard that, before the president of the Marusoo company died, Father showed him a large amount of gold somewhere. Father used that claim to prove that that there were 10 tons worth.": "That's just the nonsense of a senile old man. Along with Father, he was just fabricating a story. You can't take it seriously." : "If that gold didn't exist, he wouldn't have been able to gather so much funding...! Before the president died, he was a person with such a sincere personality that he gathered the respect from many in the business world. He couldn't have become a partner in such a fraud...!" : "Almost instantly, the Ushiromiya Legend of the Gold spread amongst the fixers of the business world. Gold from an unknown foundry has a poor rate of conversion into money. Thinking that it was a chance for decisive profits, they accepted it as collateral, and as a result Father was able to receive a giant loan...": "Isn't there a limit to how ridiculous you can get? ...How old are you people? Are you still taking that nursery tale you heard as a kid seriously? Where is the proof that this 10 tons worth of gold even exists? Isn't it just the lies of Father and those who were closest to him?": "...Of course it's just a story. But still, Aniki. The amount of money that Father raised required a suitable quantity of collateral. Even if the gold was just a rumor, that he must have shown them a treasure of comparable worth is an unmistakable truth." : "In that case, are you saying that the gold never existed, and that Father made it all up?": "Of course. Therefore, after he was sufficiently successful, the illusion of gold became inconvenient. So Father made up that absurd story about the witch and black magic and made the whole thing seem less believable. In other words, he revealed that the illusion of gold was fabricated. If he says that he received the gold from a witch, no one would believe that it exists at all, right? He possibly said it for all of your sakes. Nevertheless, some stupid offspring wanting to divide up this non-existent gold with the rest of the inheritance have appeared. ...Rosa, don't tell me that even you believe this kind of a fabrication...?"Or they'd believe, say, that he can't reveal its actual source for some reason and waved it away with some bullshit about witches. Or maybe they'd buy it as is, if any of them had the same kind of magic obsession. : "...I can't prove whether or not Father really has the gold. However, as one of father's four children, I just want to claim my rightful share." : "Aniki, maybe you have already found the 10 tons of gold bars. It sure looks that way to us.": "Ridiculous. Something like that never existed in the first place." : "Then explain yourself. Embezzlement of Father's assets or Father's hidden gold. How could you have gathered so much funding if you didn't use one of these?"But...doesn't the latter just fall under the former? The gold counts as an asset if it's real, right? : "I also have many friends in the political world and the financial world. I have done nothing more than gain their assistance. ...And as to that, I have no responsibility to explain it to you. You understand, don't you? There are some topics that can't be talked about." : "...If you insist on it, that's all right. But Aniki, Father doesn't have long. Nobody can ensure that he will live to see this day next year. When Father dies, the inheritance will be passed on. We will all set up impartial lawyers and accountants to inspect Father's financial and political status.": "If, at that time, the fact that our brother has unjustly interfered with Father's money comes to light...you understand, right?" : "In short, even though you are our brother, we will have your financial situation investigated to determine whether or not you are hoarding the gold.": "Isn't this a good opportunity. Prove the existence of this backup from friends and acquaintances that you mentioned. That way we can sportingly apologize for foolishly doubting you. Right, Rosa?": "...That's right. Krauss nii-san, you are the one who's avoiding the topic. If you were guiltless, you could just prove that you were in the right. Yet you aren't even trying to respond.": "However, Aniki, we still have to consider your position here. As Father's representative, you're probably bearing a larger share of the burden than we are. It wouldn't be fair for the rest of us, who have been living terribly relaxed lives until now, were to complain without taking that into account.": "...Ho. Until just now I've been busy being spoken ill of and being flattered. Please get to the point." : "Consultation? Ho.": "...When the inheritance is distributed, you will be rewarded for your years of hard work taking care of Dad by an agreement that is generous in your favor.": "Don't misunderstand us, Nii-san. It's not like we are saying that we will abandon our rights. It's just that when we claim what we deserve, it wouldn't be bad if we allow a generous understanding from your position. That's what we mean.": "In other words, if you'll accept our conditions, at the time of the division of the inheritance, we won't mind leaving the investigation of Father's financial status to you, Krauss nii-san."All of the siblings from Eva downward suspected that Krauss was trying to steal their father's wealth. In that situation, letting Krauss report on the state of their father's wealth by himself was extremely contradictory and a huge concession.  : "...Hoh. After mistrusting me completely, you now say that you're willing to restore your confidence in me as the eldest sibling? And what are you asking for?": "Just what we deserve as siblings. ...You aren't the kind of person who would steal Father's property. However, there is no patron financing you. ...Considering all that, there is a certain explanation that would satisfy the rest of us.": "...Nii-san, you found 10 tons of gold and used that as collateral to gather some funding. ...Yes, just like Father did in the past, right?"So basically the only explanation that will satisfactorily explain away Krauss's funds and doesn't involve him embezzling Kinzo's assets is...him embezzling Kinzo's assets. They've established that the gold totally is an asset, after all. Or, well, I guess they could maybe try to have him admit getting ahold of a totally separate 10 tons somehow, but how the hell do they explain that without just running with “witches did it!” again? And why limit the find to gold if they're pulling imaginary witch money out of their asses? Why not 10 tons of, say, silver? Sapphires? Pink diamonds? Emeralds? Bitcoins? : "If that's the case, there won't be any funny bits in Father's finances. You've always been a good son, lookin' after Father. Why would we mistrust a person like that?": "...You're being so roundabout I can barely understand you. Say it more clearly and practically." But no, they're sticking to Kinzo's funds and having him prove his innocence by doing exactly what they're accusing him of. We aren't even to the murders and the accompanying crackpot theorizing and the game is already dipping into the crazylogic. : "Our second condition: Regarding the gold, take each sibling's portion and pay it to us.": "How foolish. With the non-existant 20 billion yen of gold, that would be 5 billion yen per person. Are you telling me to pay a total of 15 billion yen? ...Ridiculous!": "Keep listening 'til the end! We know that much money can't just appear. We're not asking you to make an impossible deal! Of course, regardin' the portions of the gold, we plan to reward you sufficiently for your hard work until now in our calculations." : "...That portion makes me so grateful I could cry. So you're saying, for the sake of the gold that doesn't exist, I must pay you 7.5 billion.": "What's wrong? Nii-san, your share is five times the size of ours. That's such a good condition, I'd be jumping for joy. Uhuhuhuhuhu...": "Our fourth condition: The divided gold will be included when the inheritance is distributed at the time of Father's death. However, as a deposit, 10% of our portions will be paid to us promptly. The payment must be made before March of next year.": "...What do you think, Krauss nii-san? This is an ideal chance for you to restore the trust you need to run Father's assets, isn't it?! Of course, it might be impossible to get a whole 7.5 billion before Father dies. However, you can't say that you couldn't manage a deposit of 750 million, right?": "Paying 700 million in half a year might be slightly bothersome, but Aniki, who has many friends in the political and business spheres, should be able to manage it."  : "...So my right to investigate the status of Father's assets is being sold to me for 750 million. ...Fu, fufufu. Isn't that great? You all sure have grown. I never thought you all would become capable of offering a deal to me.": "Nii-san, If you accept these, the rest of us siblings will leave the investigation of Father's assets to you. However, the results of that invesigation will be subject to protest....It's only natural, right? We'd be sad if you adjusted our portion of 7.5 billion downwards.": "As a general rule, we wouldn't complain. As long as you do it neatly, it's fine. ...As long as you don't do anything significantly obvious, we don't plan to aggravate anything. We just want the inheritance quickly. We don't want it to get all drawn out and led astray.": "...In the case of a complaint, who would do the second investigation?" Brilliant! If he fucks you with distribution, just hand him a do-over and call it good. Surely that can't possibly go wrong. That Krauss was completely not trusted as the oldest sibling is so obvious at this point that there's no need to explain it. The formerly tyrannical oldest brother would always abuse his privileges and violate the other siblings' shares. ...Compared to that, the other three, who had become adults, were only now striking back at him for the first time, and only by working together... : "I'm sorry, but the conditions still continue. Our fifth condition: This decision must take precedence over Father's will. ...Later on, we don't want some will to appear and make this decision completely useless.": "...You are quite scrupulous. ...Then let me ask, if the gold really were found, what would you do?" : "As long as you settle this matter with the corresponding payment, the rest of us 'really' don't care whether the gold appears or not. ...You can think of our share as an advance payment." : "...Let me add a 7th condition before I accept. In the situation that any sibling other than myself finds the gold, they will immediately turn it over to me.": "Yes, yes. Of course, we'll hold onto it for you. *giggle*!"It was a play on words. The others, who were forcing Krauss to pay money for some nonexistent gold, would of course not ensure Krauss's portion if they actually found the gold. From the beginning, this deal had been nothing more than a threat directed at Krauss. While the truth might be different, the possibility that Krauss was embezzling his father's assets was extremely high. When at last Kinzo faced death and the inheritance would be distributed, surely some unpleasant facts would be established. That situation would likely be a fatal wound to Krauss. They had snatched up that weak point and, under the veil of compromise, were threatening their brother to try and wring out a huge sum of money.  Krauss, noticing that Eva, sure of her victory, could not hide her smile, relaxedly let out a gloating laugh as he spoke. : "Hahaha. Isn't that a great story? ...I also have felt a deep pain in my heart at my estrangement from the rest of you. If by accepting these conditions, the relationship between the siblings could once again become friendly, I would be quite pleased. I'll join in on this with pleasure. ...Be happy, Rosa. The deal is concluded.": "..."Rosa's expression dimmed. ...When her brother started talking like this, the conversation would never change for the better. ...Eva was also sensitive enough to realize this. Therefore, even though Krauss had obediently accepted the deal, she was unable to wipe away her feeling of insecurity.  The color of Rudolf's face darkened. He heard it as 'I have an idea at the same level as yours'. That gave him a sense of urgency. Trying to bring this near-finished discussion to a conclusion, he rushed to wrap it up.  : "The seventh condition that Krauss nii-san proposed will, of course, be added from now on. Don't worry.": "Aniki, will you use a pen?"Rudolf took a fountain pen out of his breast pocket and offered it to Krauss. Krauss made as if to accept it, but then, with a small laugh, drew back his hand without taking it and spoke. : "...Actually, in order to make sure this agreement is definitely effective, I would like to propose a single amendment."When Krauss said that one sentence... ...All of the siblings felt as though something annoying was creeping up their backs at the same time. : "...Tha-, that won't do. We've already decided, haven't we? Quietly sign it." : "The part about promptly paying 1/10 of each portion, 750 million yen. As you pointed out, my political and financial status is not prosperous. While I can ensure that I will definitely collect on various future investments, at this time I have no choice but to admit that I am very poor. In short, I have absolutely no money that I can move around right now. I am incompetent, and my business skills and senses are dull. Since I am as weak as you all have said, I have no power to move 750 million in just half of a year."...He knows he's terrible at this and he keeps doing it. What the hell is wrong with this guy's pattern recognition. : "Tha-, that can't be true. Are you trying to deceive us with such a careless trick?": "At the time of the division of the inheritance, I will liquidate everything at once. Remove the condition that I quickly pay you 1/10. ...That is the only condition under which I will sign." Hideyoshi had a humble expression on his face and was rubbing his hands together, but his eyes were not calm at all. ...Krauss had already seen through the shadow in the depths of those eyes. : "...Hmph. Why are you all so hurried? Or are you possibly afraid of something? .....Rosa, won't you tell at least me? ...Secretly, without telling the rest of the siblings.": "...It, it's not like I..." : "Quit it, Aniki. All we're asking is whether you're going to sign or not. Just forget about making any strange deals or anything suspicious.": "...Hoh? So I have no margin for negotiation. ...Do you claim that my position is so weak that we are not in an even relationship...?" : "Shouldn't this deal be made on an even footing? To me, this deal will restore the long lost trust of my younger brother and sisters and deepen the love between us siblings. And there has been an uneasiness in my heart to have this resolved quickly. I would be very happy if it could be resolved today. ...But you too would be very happy if this deal were quickly resolved, wouldn't you...?"Krauss stared at each of the siblings. ...They avoided his gaze with animal-like instinct. Only Hideyoshi was slow avoiding it. ...So he was caught in Krauss's gaze. : "Hideyoshi-san. I hear that your company has been going extremely well recently, hasn't it? With a swift rhythm it has become listed as a stock, and both its performance and stock prices have soared. I am truly jealous.": "...M-, my husband's situation surely has nothing to do with this." : "The same way as Hideyoshi-san. If you can collect evidence proving that no one would offer a loan to me, then I can collect evidence on Hideyoshi-san. Hahaha, is it really that strange of a thing?"Krauss grinned broadly. ...In contrast, Hideyoshi's face was turning obviously pale... Hideyoshi's company was a fast food chain management company that he had started from nothing. Through Hideyoshi's management efforts, performance of the business repeatedly rose and magnified, and recently a petition to make it a stock-listed company succeeded.  However, in exchange for financing the company, the stockholders had certain rights. That was, in order to give the company that they had financed even greater profit, they had the right to observe and control it. ...That right was guaranteed to all stockholders, and they would sometimes use it to dismiss ineffectual management. It was the 'right' to prevent the money they had spent financing the company from going to waste by watching the management of the company. However, if they use this right forcibly, they can eject the former management and take over the company.  In other words, if some person or group holds a majority of the stock, they can freely chase out the old management and make the president anyone they would like. If they want, it is also possible for them to make themselves president. In many companies, their stock gets bought up by malicious people and, in order to prevent their position from being threatened, they make their own employees or people close to them buy a lot of stock certificates. To prevent hostile action from being taken by the majority, they try to take some kind of defensive measures.  ...There were people out there who would not let him get away with that naivety unscathed. They began repeatedly buying up Hideyoshi's company's stock and suddenly gained such strength that they couldn't be ignored. They then sent anonymous documents to the shareholders and began to capture the majority. The documents read: 'The current management continues to make pointless investments and is ignoring the needs of the stockholders. Let us force the current management to retire, cut the current wasted investments, and let this company be born again as one that gives more back to the stockholders.' It is very difficult to make the actual state of a company's management known. ...The success created by Hideyoshi's tiny amount of sleep and his constant concern for his company was cruelly twisted, and he lost the trust of his stockholders. Their efforts had almost collected a majority of the stock in the company.  One of the certainties of capitalism is that value will rise when both parties vie for the same thing. And one of the certainties of democracy is that the majority controls everything. So in the end, whoever manages to buy up the most stock wins. ...So whoever has the most money wins.  So Krauss has the worst instincts possible for investment timing, Hideyoshi started handing out stocks without really getting how they work at all, and we already know Rosa just can't be assed. 3 for 3 on total business incompetence so far! Let's see if we can go 4 for 4... : "And you, Rudolf, you've been in a lot of trouble lately, haven't you? They say it's scary overseas, but it seems that's really true. American trials are settled quite emotionally. They won't give a generous judgement to a foreigner. ...Weren't you advised by your lawyer that making a settlement with the other party would be more economical in the end?" : "...What are you talking about...?": "...Well, it's some trouble from work. It's no big deal. It'll be settled with money..."Kyrie quickly recognized what Rudolf's complicated expression meant. ...Her husband had gotten wrapped up in some kind of trouble without her knowledge, and had been suffering alone.  Rudolf had been building a large amount of wealth with a certain type of niche market. ...However, a niche is a niche. It's definitely not a sunny job. An American corporate giant was trying to accuse Rudolf's company of violating their rights. ...And they just...don't give enough info to be sure. Honestly I don't recall off the top if they go into much more detail on Rudolf's business issues later. Or what he even does. For various reasons, it was thought that winning the trial was extremely unlikely, and Rudolf went for an all-out surrender. ...But even that was a path resolved with money. If he could only pay that money, though it might be painful, he could still pick himself back up.  : "...Rosa, you're a good and noble little sister. You wouldn't even touch a dangerous money game. ...However, your softhearted nature was your ruin, wasn't it...? I wouldn't think one should agree to become a co-signer so lightly." : "Nn, ...umm, ...Th-, that has nothing to do with you, Krauss nii-san!!"But, to make up for the possibility of Rudolf merely being unfortunate, Rosa's screwed herself over in two different ways. Rosa uncharacteristically lay bare her emotions and yelled. ...There's no way he could know. As Krauss watched, he let slip a muffled laugh...  In other words, the situation had been reversed. Because only Krauss, who they were threatening, had no urgent need for a large sum of money. Compared to that, the three who were threatening him wanted money quickly, no matter what the cost. So Krauss was able to control this deal however he liked. Krauss was very sly. He had known of their Achilles heel from the beginning. Even so, he had not been certain. Therefore, he had hidden that until the very end, and, upon closely and completely examining their attitude, he had struck back. Krauss' one genuine skill: dragging everyone else down with him. : "If I could, I would love to raise some money for my cute brother and sisters in their time of need. ...But unfortunately, I have nothing on hand....If you have any sponsors in mind that can raise a whole 750 million, I suggest you try there first." : "...If you're still set on relying on your older brother, you can use my influence to find a sponsor. ...Oh wait, you already said that I have no influence. Well then, I can't do anything, can I? ...Hehheheheheheheh!"Krauss's low, gloating laugh began to fill the parlor. The younger siblings who had, until now, been driving the oldest brother into a corner, could do nothing more than grimace and grind their teeth... : "...E-, Eva...": "...Don't make me laugh... As if I could borrow from you...! Don't make me laugh, ...Don't make me laugh...!" : "...drat you...,taking advantage of us...": "...Honey. Please calm down.": "I am calm. I'm extremely cool...You bastard...!"Kyrie grabbed her husband's hand. But that action made him feel even more pitiful, so Rudolf shook it off. ...Krauss laughed as though seeing that made him extremely happy. : "In times like these, it sure would be nice to find Father's hidden gold. If you did, you could split it up into 2.5 billion yen portions right now. How sad, how sad. How very sad! How extremely totally truly hopelessly sad! Yes, clearly the best way to solve a riddle that's stumped everyone for two years is through the teamwork of a bunch of drunks who hate each other. Genius! ...Or maybe a legitimately brilliant idea, if they're trying to figure it out from a new angle by getting into a workable approximation of the state of mind Kinzo was in when he wrote it (drunk, full of loathing for everyone around him, fixated on Beatrice).   : "...Yes. Whether or not Krauss-sama actually discovered the gold, he would pay Eva-sama, Rudolf-sama and Rosa-sama a total of 7.5 billion yen for their shares. However, 1/10 of that would be paid before March.": "Fu, hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-ha... Krauss, you dunce. That he would have his feet swept out from under him by his younger siblings... Isn't that truly pleasant....But it seems their trap was naive?" : "...That conversation has been interrupted for now. Now, Beatrice-sama's epitaph is being discussed.": "So, they are trying to solve the riddle and find out where my gold is hidden?": "...Yes."Kinzo set down his glasses and snorted. : "...Will the miracle be fulfilled first, or will those fools expose the gold first? ...What a sight. ...If those fools solve my puzzle, at that time I will be completely defeated. They can suck my corpse down to the last fragment of bone. Great magic can house a miracle from the fools' greed. ...And yet!! If the fulfillment of the miracle comes first...If it comes first! Beatrice will be resurrected again!! That smile which I have been chasing half my life will be restored...! Except absinthe. Nothing, not even Beatrice, is worth giving up his absinthe. Kinzo choked, apparently in great pain. Kanon got closer and tried to pat his master's back, but Kinzo signaled that he didn't need to. : "...Do you know why I went to the trouble of exposing the hidden location of the gold so that everyone could see it?": "...No." Does it really count as that great a risk when most everyone trying to solve the riddle is incompetent, though? : "...My apologies.": "That's fine. It all comes down to this. To the one that solves the mystery of Beatrice's epitaph, I will give all of that which I have built up. Wealth, honor, gold, and the inheritance of the Ushiromiya family. Everything that I have established! Since tackling the riddle is the only condition, it is not limited to my children. For example, if you succeeded in solving it, that would make you qualified to gain everything.": "...Yes. However,...I couldn't possibly understand such a difficult riddle.": "Of course. I made it difficult. ...But you must also challenge it. That will become the seed with which the miracle of my magic will be summoned. If everyone challenges it, and everyone fails, that will be that. However, if the miracles are gathered and the magical power is born, it will happen then! Beatrice will revive. Therefore you too must challenge it. Everyone must challenge it. And in doing so, they must give strength to my magic!! Do you understand?!": "...Yes. ...I will try."And when most of the rest are apathetic? For a long while, Kinzo repeatedly muttered to himself, agitated and grabbing onto his head. Kanon stayed where he was, alert and unmoving, until he was given the next order from his master. ...Kinzo finally realized this.  Oh, hey, +1 for the list of people Kinzo doesn't totally despise. Actually, we may as well just bump it up by two, since even though they haven't interacted onscreen yet, the tattoo already indicates Shannon has his favor too. So the list currently stands at... -Genji -Shannon -Kanon -Beatrice -Absinthe -Sometimes Nanjo : "...Hmmm. ...So furniture doesn't eat things like sweets? ...Indeed. In that case, leave me.": "Yes. ...Excuse me."Kanon bowed and left the study. As the door was closed, a heavy locking noise resounded. But that was not the sound of Kanon locking the door. It was the door locking automatically. No one could enter without Kinzo's permission, and once they left, they could not enter again. ...It was a mechanism that Kinzo, unable to trust his blood relatives, had created to lock himself up in his own study and isolate himself from the outside world.    He overheard that bit about their agreement overriding the will and has spent the time since then lingering outside, silently cursing his failure to steal the fortune. For the most part, Genji also understood the family's situation. ...It must have made him want to frown, knowing that right now in the lounge, the master he served was being discussed so disrespectfully. But it would have been very difficult to gather that from his indifferent expression. : "...But, ...I don't understand. ...Why did Kinzo-san have something so provocative written, I wonder."Nanjo looked at the portrait of Beatrice. ...No, he actually directed his gaze beneath the portrait, at the plate with the epitaph. : "...I don't presume to understand the Master's thoughts. However, I have realized that those thoughts are very deep." : "Sometimes I wonder whether this is not some kind of will from the Master. ...Would he entrust his assets and inheritance to whoever could solve this riddle?": "...Then maybe he hoped to force the four siblings to work together and solve the riddle before some outsider like myself solved it. It might be something like that. Kinzo-san might rudely abuse his children, but he may also hope that the siblings repair their relationship.": "..."If, as Nanjo said, this epitaph had been written to repair the relationship between the siblings, that would be extremely pleasant.  : "...The Master is always saying that it doesn't matter whether they're a member of the family as long as they have the qualification of solving the riddle. ...What about you, Doctor Nanjo?": "No, no...It's a little too hard to understand for this senile old man. ...Actually, I wrote this epitaph down on my notebook at one point in time. Night after night, I would try to solve it before going to sleep, ...but, hahaha, it really is hard. It looks like there might be some free time to relax and consider it before someone comes to get us. What do you say, Genji-san?"You know, one has to wonder what would happen if the two of them or the group of siblings all solved it. The person who pulls it off is supposed to get everything, but how is it divided up in that case? Multiple headships with equal cuts? Some kind of weird rotation? Or can there be only one and they have to determine the one true winner by, I dunno, high stakes RPS or a dance off to the death or some poo poo? Something to ponder, that. : "...I am nothing more than furniture that serves the Master. Gold and assets are useless to me.": "My, my, you are a humble person. ...That's probably why Kinzo-san trusts you so much.": "If so, I am honored..."As Nanjo lightly laughed in response, he once again looked at the epitaph.  And now we get to actually see the epitaph in full.  My beloved hometown, the sweetfish river running through it. You who seek the Golden Land, follow its path downstream and seek the key. If you follow the river downstream, you will find a village. In the village, look for the shore the two will tell you of. There sleeps the key to the Golden Land. He who lays hand upon the key shall travel under the rules below.  At the eighth twilight, gouge the leg and kill. At the ninth twilight, the witch shall be revived and none shall be left alive. Nine lines about ritual mass murder and Battler quotes how much Kinzo loves Beatrice and his hometown when he calls it disturbing. Battler has some weird ideas about what qualifies as disturbing. At the tenth twilight, the journey shall end and you should reach the village of gold.  So Kinzo's set up an elaborate riddle/murder ritual to...try and kill absolutely everyone so he can resurrect Beatrice, only to put her right back to sleep forever almost immediately and undo everything he just accomplished, unless someone proves themselves qualified to inherit everything by being really good at riddles. That is...certainly a plan! Also, so we've got our first mystery now in the form of the riddle side of this. Finally.      : Uu-! Trying to perform ritual at home so wrote it exactly! Uu-!There was a notebook inside the handbag Maria was always carrying around, and Beatrice's epitaph was copied onto it. Thanks to that, we were all able to challenge the puzzle of the epitaph while walking down this beach. Jessica and the rest had already tried to solve it several times, and had already gotten bored with it. However, since this was a first for me, I was so excited that I couldn't stop. It really tickled my man's sense of romance! : "Let's start with the first line. My beloved hometown, the sweetfish river running through it. Where was Grandfather's hometown again?": "I heard that, before the war, the Ushiromiya family had a mansion near Odawara. So, that said, anyone would want to know about the sweetfish river that flows through Odawara, right?": "Because that river would be the starting place. Anyone searching for the golden land would head down that and search for the key. What's the name of the river in Odawara? Does it have sweetfish swimming in it?" : "Ihihi, Maria, you'll understand when you get o~lder! Licklicklick salty roasted sweetfish! Yummy~! Even though we just ate, I'm getting hungry again.": "...Umm, shall I bring you a biscuit?": "Huh? Oh, sorry. That's not what I meant, don't mind it!"goddammit Battler could you stop innuendoing at the 9 year old already Shannon-chan, since she didn't have any afternoon chores for a while, was faithfully keeping us company. I would have thought that, as a servant, accompanying us would force her to take care of us and tire her out, but it seemed that it wasn't so in her case.  : "All right, so I get that the sweetfish-filled river near Odawara is Hayakawa. In that case, we have to go down it! Don't you find anything if you head down Hayakawa river?": "Ummm, ...if you follow it downstream, you'll arrive in the ocean.": "Of course, you'd reach the mouth of the river! And then the third line of the epitaph was 'If you follow the river downstream, you will find a village.' By the way, since long ago, the mouths of rivers have been key points in transportation, and large cities tend to be built there. That would be the next checkpoint." : "Hmmmmmm. That's a pretty good theory. Just like you imagined, in ancient times, there was a very prosperous old city there. That's where Odawara castle is." : "I see, I see. Alright, alright! If we find the gold, the great Battler-sama will generously reserve a whole theme park for a day and let you play in it~!...Still, Odawara castle. The hidden gold of Odawara castle... Oho?! That sounds pretty good, doesn't it?!"Though there's the question of why the hell Kinzo would store his giant stash of gold in a place that's both fairly distant, and a public landmark with tourists no doubt crawling all over it. How the hell do you even quietly get 10 tons in there, let alone make sure no one finds them without going through your crazy riddle? And if it was always there, why didn't he either try and snap that up back while it was still basically a ruin or move it elsewhere? Hell, that was even where the Ushiromiya head house used to be, he could have just rebuilt that and barely had to move it all. It would go beyond “crazy” into “kind of stupid.” : "Hahahahaha! Well, two years ago, we figured out that much. The village down the river where the sweetfish swim in Odawara. We figured that it was probably somewhere near Odawara castle. The problem is the next line. Alright, let's see where Battler's strange reasoning can take him."Jessica grinned broadly. It was like she was saying that, if the puzzle could be solved so easily, she would have found it long ago. ...drat it, I'll definitely find it and keep it all for myself!  : "Huh?! Wow, you sure know a lot! So~, what does that mean? Shannon-chan, are you also after the gold, and trying to solve the riddle~? That makes us rivals!": "I, it's not like I'm interested in gold... It's just that...George-sama told me about it before..."Shannon and the other servants know something the rest don't. There's nothing left to find anymore. Someone has to keep all that gold nice and shiny, and given decades and enough of them thinking that surely no one would notice one missing ingot, well... Or, well, doubtless Kinzo knows as well, but as far as he's concerned it's just the cherry topping of his final “gently caress you” to the family he spawned. : "That's because we reached the same conclusion two years ago. We even went to the trouble of laying out a map and looking it up!": "It was about five kilometers to the north of Odawara. We definitely found a place called Sogakishi there....However, after that, we don't know. The fifth line doesn't say where the key is hidden in that place. Maria-chan, could you read it for us?" : "Sogakishi is probably large, and there wasn't ever any house built there by the Ushiromiya family. There are no hints as to where the key is hidden in this huge area, so this is where we give up.": "You're right. ...And without the key, we can't advance to the next line. George-aniki, what kind of place is Sogakishi?": "Let's see... I've never been there, so I don't really know, but according to the map, it's in the mountains. I'm pretty sure it was at the base of Asama mountain.": "...Hmmmm. That's a little annoying. Couldn't a puzzle for the hiding place of a treasure be a little more exact? Anyways, I get the feeling that Sogakishi is definitely the right place." Jessica needs to pay more attention to her family. For all my lack of booze knowledge, even I know that sake and absinthe are very different beasts. ...Unless she's using it in the general sense, I guess? Goddamn weird language ambiguities... : "...The Master almost never speaks of his past. ...However, he speaks of the Great Kanto earthquake as though it was someone else's story, so he may have been living far away from the Kanto area.": "The Ushiromiya family may have been living in Odawara, but the branch family was not limited to that. Grandfather often called himself part of a branch of the branch family, the least connected to the successor.": "So that's what you mean! The beloved hometown might not even be Odawara at all...": "I've never even asked about Grandfather's hometown. I doubt that I'd get an honest answer if I did."(continued in next post) Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Sep 17, 2012 |
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Sep 17, 2012 08:40
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Part Nine: The Banquet of Miracles Begins (Section B) : "Uu-... I don't get what you're talking about. Uu-."Maria had been completely left out of the conversation, and she now sat puffing out her cheeks in boredom. : "Right, so in short, if we can't decide upon the starting place for the gold's dice game, we can't even begin to play....But wait? In the first five lines the thing we're searching for is a key? Even without a key, we should be able to bust right through any door. Can't we just throw away the first five lines and start figuring out the rest?": "Ooh... I hadn't thought of that. Oh well, we're just wasting time anyway. Let's hear the rest of Battler's reasoning!": "...But in the next part it quickly becomes disturbing..."Shannon-chan frowned slightly. After looking back at Maria's notebook to recall what was written there, ...alright, I agree.  Considering who and what we're dealing with here? Almost certainly both! : "Even if we ignore the meaning of that second line, at the first twilight it's six people, and at the fourth through eighth twilights it's five people, so at least 11 people must become sacrifices.": "Uu-. Sacrifices to revive Beatrice!"And of course the thing that makes her finally perk up from boredom is a subject change to human sacrifice. Creepy little poo poo. : "...I see, sacrifices to restore the witch... That's what it would mean. As a result, the witch will be revived at the ninth twilight...That last part is guaranteed.": "...At the ninth twilight, the witch shall be revived and none shall be left alive. ...So everyone will die in the end." : "But at the end, something pretty interesting is written. The lines about how, after reaching the goal, the four treasures will be given by the witch. One shall be all the gold. The problem is the next one. It says the resurrection of the souls of all the dead, right? Doesn't it seem like this refers to everyone that died in the earlier lines?": "...If you put it like that, the next one, the resurrection of the lost love part might be referring to the pair torn apart at the second twilight.": "That's right. And the fourth one refers to the ninth twilight. The fourth treasure is putting the witch, revived at the ninth twilight, to sleep." : "If we interpret that favorably, it'll be hectic with people dying and breaking up, but it will all be made well in the end. The awakened witch will once again sleep, and all that will be left is plenty of left-over gold." : "Oh well, just when the tale of the hidden gold was getting interesting, as soon as the witch's story is tied in, it quickly gets pretty shady.": "Too true. Ahahahahahaha!"I laughed along with Jessica. After all, a witch was just ridiculous. ...Of course, once we started laughing like that, Maria, who believed in the witch, got angry.  : "Erk, oh no... My bad...it's just a joke!"Jessica apologized, sticking out her tongue, but Maria didn't accept it. She grabbed her notebook back out of my hands and, opening to the other pages, tried to prove that the witch existed. Those pages had colored illustrations of witches drawn on them, and conveyed the fantastical image Maria had of witches well. It was not the normal sinister image of a crooked-nose hag flying around on a broom, but a dreamlike person with unnatural powers that could do anything and wore a beautiful dress. It was just what you would expect from an imaginative young girl. In fact, there's not a single witch in this with a broom or pointy hat. ...It never occurred to me to find this at all odd until now.  ...To Maria, a witch was a unique concept, an embodiment of the magical dream that so captivated her. As she grew up, this was the last thing that gave richness to her dull and plain everyday life. That is why Maria believed in witches. She didn't want that dream to be insulted. And, she didn't want the epitaph, which affirmed the existence of the witch, to be insulted. Because the witch Beatrice is Maria's dream...  Maria was very angry and clung onto George-aniki. Jessica and I scratched our heads and apologized. ...It might not be possible to smooth things over again like the time she got mad in front of the portrait. Maria didn't want to be easily consoled. Unlike Jessica and I, who hung our heads wondering what we had done, Shannon-chan timidly opened her mouth. : "Umm, ...Maria-sama, did you know...? There is a ghost story about Beatrice that has been passed down amongst the servants.": "...Uu-?": "A, ah, yeah, that's right! Shannon, tell us about it. I don't really know, but it's apparently pretty famous amongst the servants.": "What is this? A ghost story?": "Yes. It seems it's a story from before we were born. I also heard it from my mother." The tale that Shannon told was just like a typical campfire ghost story. If there was a forest with a witch living inside it, ...then there's no reason the witch couldn't pay the mansion a visit. At some point, this ghost story naturally sprouted up between the servants.  Beatrice: All the powers of a god. Nothing better to do with them than gently caress with servants in minor ways. : "Uu-! See, she exists! Beatrice exists!!": "Yeah, she exists. I remember often being unable to find my shoes before heading to school..."Maria puffed out her chest with an 'uu-uu-' as though this was the final proof that the witch existed. If I opened my mouth, Maria would probably be hurt again, so I didn't. ...I mean, you hear that kind of story everywhere. Depending on the place, it might be blamed on a dwarf or an elf. It's just that, on this island, they call it the witch. Of course, you would expect that walking around a vast, elegant mansion at night would be a little unsettling. It's an island devoid of people. Since the mansion is so drafty, walking around on the night of a thunderstorm would certainly be eerie.  : "...Whew. That's scary...": "Ah, ...but, there's nothing to be afraid of, right? Beatrice-sama is another ruler of this mansion separate from the Master. Therefore, don't be strangely afraid. If you respect her, she won't do anything bad.":"However, it would be dreadful if you didn't respect her, right?": "...Yes. I heard that, just before I began working, someone who spoke badly about Beatrice-sama fell down the stairs and quit after receiving a large injury to their back. Because of that, there was a rumor between the servants that Beatrice-sama's anger had been brought down upon this person..." : "I'll apologize as well. I'm sorry, Beatrice-sama. ...Will the witch be able to forgive us now?": "...Uu-. Don't know. The witch is fickle, so she forgives when she forgives, and doesn't forgive when she doesn't forgive. Uu-!": "That's no good...Maria-chan, isn't there some kind of good luck charm that could prevent Battler-kun and Jessica-chan from having Beatrice-sama's anger brought down upon them? Some kind of amulet or something?"By relying on Maria, who was proud at knowing the most about witches, George was able to revive her self-esteem. ...I was once again forced to admire his ability to comfort children. Maria, seriously pondering and crossing her arms, began flipping through the pages of her handbook as if there were obviously some charm capable of protecting Jessica and myself from the witch's wrath.  When she finally found what she was looking for, she vigorously closed the notebook with a snap and threw it into her handbag. She then began fishing through that bag's contents. It seemed that various jumbled up things were in there.  The sheer amount of random magical stuff she's managed to fit in that little thing is the first hint that Maria is considerably more dangerous than she looks. We've already seen her spellbook, and if she's managed to make herself a Handbag of Holding, she's gotta be at least 9th level, with all the versatility and power that implies. Maybe even higher, since we don't know what else she's got in there yet... Finally, it seemed that she had discovered what she was looking for. With a face unimaginably clearer than the difficult expression she had worn until now, she stuck 'them' out to Jessica and me. : "Uu-!"As I reached out to grab it, I noticed that it was a very cheap-looking charm. It looked like a bracelet made from a plastic rosary, with a scorpion motif medal attached. I mean, you often find cheap accessories that correspond to the constellations. It felt like a gift that you might win in the crane game at an arcade. It really looked like something like that.  : "You're giving these to me and Battler?": "Uu-! With these charms, even Beatrice is no problem! Because the scorpion has the power to block magic!"Beatrice: almighty master of life and death, capable of bending the laws of physics over a desk at a whim, essentially a god. Powerless against the right type of arachnid. : "Huh, really? Didn't know scorpions could do that.": "Uu-, Battler doesn't believe! Uu-uu-uu-!"I had inflamed Maria again because I said too much... Maria took out her notebook again, and while pointing out various pages, went on and on about how the scorpion had holy power, and that it had been drawn in magic-repelling magical circles since ancient times.  : "Uu-! The scorpion protects against bad magic and misfortune. And emerald brings peace to the heart. Therefore, the effect is double! Uu-!": "It's true. The scorpion wraps around the emerald and protects it. I see, that seems very useful."I really wanted to make fun of this worthless looking charm, but as I watched Maria explaining the charm with all of her heart, and realized that she had prepared them out of consideration for us, it felt as though, even if it were just a prize from a game center, it would still be beneficial. The material quality of the charm wasn't important. The strength of her feelings was. Even I wouldn't plan on ruining everything by making fun of it. : "Okay, thank you. I apologized to Beatrice-sama, but, even in the worst case where I'm cursed, I'll be safe now thanks to Maria's charm. Right, Jessica?": "Ah, that's right! Thank you, Maria." Wait. Wait what. Your money won't decrease if you shove a scorpion emerald thing from some arcade in your wallet. Holy poo poo who cares about the gold it's a loving infinite money amulet. Okay so this merits immediate testing to see if this is a legit glitch in reality or whatever. If I abruptly disappear for months without word after I post this update, assume it totally is and the LP is over because I am too busy wallowing in impossibly obscene, economy destroying decadence to keep it up. If that happens, I'll see you all again in the ruins after hyperinflation destroys society. I'll be the one in the platinum rocket hovercraft fueled by diamonds and angel tears, heralded by a pack of genetically engineered cyborg hunting velociraptors, cackling maniacally and chugging Satan's own personal absinthe stash as I hunt the hordes of the poor for sport with a gatling gun that fires solid gold bullets. Alternately, with the Maria is a Wizard theory, if she's casually handing out infinite money items she is probably terrifyingly high level. As Shannon-chan clapped her hands together, Maria stuck out her chest. She was completely vigorous again. If it would keep her in this good of a mood, it would probably be worth it to let Maria lead the discussion for a while longer. When you think about it, she hadn't shared in our excitement when we talked about the gold's hidden location, so I think she had gotten a little bored. While eating the cookies Kumasawa-san had baked, Jessica and I asked Maria this and that about black magic. Maria happily chatted away in response to our questions. For each one, George-aniki and Shannon-chan would act surprised and agree with everything she said. The color of the clouds in the sky grew progressively heavier, but the cousins really enjoyed communicating freely after one year of separation...  As George-aniki rubbed his forehead, he looked up at the sky. Considering the color of the sky and the dampness of the air, it wouldn't have been odd for a raindrop to fall down. It also seemed like the wind had gotten a little stronger. : "Uu-? Maria didn't feel a drop. Only Maria didn't. Uu:"Calm down, neither did I. Anyways I'm sure that it'll rain so much tonight that everyone will get the same amount of raindrops.": "That's right. Maybe we should head back soon...?"Shannon-chan looked down at her watch. It was already well into the evening.  Shannon-chan declined our help, saying that this was a servant's job, but picking up a dropped fork before the waitress has to is like my purpose in life. We folded up the blanket, gathered up the trash, and helped clean everything up. : "Uu-! The trash is getting awa-y! Uu-uu-!!": "I won't let it get away. I'll take it before Maria does!": "Uu-!! Maria will pick it up! Uu-uu-uu-!": "Maria-! Don't get your shoes wet, you'll get in trouble-!"To Maria, chasing after some trash that the strong winds had sent flying was just like another game. When we finished cleaning up, the wind had started blowing very strongly. It looked like a good chance to head back.  : "Genji-san is very rigorous about time. If you aren't at the right place at the right time, he can be very strict.": "We'll see you later. Do your best with your work.": "Ye, yes! ...Then if you will excuse me."After making a respectful bow, Shannon-chan ran over towards the rose garden.    : "These roses might be done in by tonight's winds.": "You're right. Don't you think the roses were lucky? After all, they got to welcome all of you before the typhoon.": "A flower will always lose its petals at some point. However, because of that, we can admire them even more when they are in bloom.": "That's right. ...Maria, burn this image into your eyes. At this moment, they are the best roses of the year.": "Uu-. Burned into eyes."Right then, Maria suddenly clapped her hands. It looked like she had remembered something.  It seemed that Maria remembered where the rose was. She ran at full speed. The rest of us followed her. : "...Uu-? Uu-.": "Where was that again...? I'm sure it was somewhere around here."We searched everywhere around that area, but, after all, it was only a single flower amongst all of these roses. Even though we knew it was somewhere close by, we weren't able to find it. The winds that made up the front lines of the typhoon were making the roses throughout the garden undulate. It was almost like it was teasing us by making the location of Maria's rose impossible to find...  : "What is it, what happened?": "...Uu-. Maria's rose is here. It's here...!": "But it's actually not, is it...? Maybe it was on the other side of the flower bed. If we all look, we'll find it fast, right?" : "Uu-!! It's here! Maria's rose is here!! Look for it! Look--for--it!! Uuu--!!"Maria stomped her feet in irritation. ...She had pointed out this spot and said it was definitely here, but it actually wasn't. Having said that, Maria got mad when we went to go search elsewhere. ...We couldn't help but be puzzled. For a while, we would have to stay with Maria, and pretend to search through this rose thicket.   : "...Oh man, Maria is really losing her temper.": "Maria sometimes starts to really care about really pointless things. If she gets what she wants, that's alright, but..." :"You can't find something that isn't there... That's not good..."Just when we were at a loss as to what was going on, Maria raised a loud voice. : "Mama-!! Uu-uu-!!"In the direction she was waving her hand, Rosa oba-san's figure was visible. Maybe she wanted to look at the garden one more time before the typhoon came, or maybe she had some business at the guesthouse. Rosa oba-san was coming from the mansion. She quickly noticed her daughter's voice and came over.  : "We wrapped a candy wrapper around it. ...But Maria, if I remember correctly, it was growing right in front and really stood out, didn't it? Unless it grew legs and ran off somewhere, it must have been somewhere else. Did Maria remember it wrong?": "Uu-!! It is here!! It--is--here!! Battler doesn't believe! Uu-uu-!!"...Wait. Does this mean... The rose is Beatrice?  Rosa oba-san began searching as well, so we went along with her for the time being, but we were already more than sure that it wasn't around here. ...Therefore, Rosa oba-san also soon realized that it wasn't here. : "The rose isn't here. Did you mistake this place for somewhere else? There are so many roses around,": "Uu-!! Uuuu---!!! That's wrong!! It is here!! Mama doesn't believe! Uu-uu-uu-!!!" : "Didn't I believe you and look hard for it?! But it isn't here!": "Uu-uu-!! But it is here!! It is here but it isn't!! Uu-uu-uu-!!"   Hey, so remember how it's been emphasizing that Rosa is the sweet, pure, gentle sibling? It has taken all my restraint not to call bullshit before now. It is complete bullshit. In that instant, Maria was shocked into silence. Of course, it was only for an instant. When Maria realized that her wish was being rejected before it could be fulfilled, she started yelling with an increasingly louder voice.  Once again, her palm slapped Maria's cheek. In addition to the stuff I noted in the OP, Umineko is actually about one more thing! Horrible, horrible parenting. The plot is like an ongoing competition to see who can be the worst at it, and Rosa is one of the top three contenders. And she is probably the least awful at it, of the three. This time she didn't go silent. She choked as she started crying, and began to bawl in an increasingly louder voice... Rosa oba-san was clearly irritated, and lifted her hand once more to try and shut her daughter up... : "Ro, Rosa oba-san... Now, now...She's just a little kid. There's no reason to get so serious...ihihi."I tried to cut in with a bitter smile, rubbing my hands together, ...but Rosa oba-san threatened me with a serious face which told me not to butt in. : "I'm sorry, would Battler-kun and the rest of you return to your room? Oba-san needs to have a little talk with Maria." : "Uu-uu-uu-uu-!! It is here!! It is definitely here!! Uu-uu-uu-!!": "Then it has disappeared!! Give it up!!": "Why?! Why did it disappear? Why, why?! Uu-uu-uu-!!!": "I don't know that!! So stop saying 'uu-uu-'!!Rosa oba-san once again raised her hand and, overrun by emotions, slapped Maria's cheek. It was so strong, it knocked Maria over.  : "Don't you think it's weird, Battler-kun? Do you have any girls at your school that mutter 'uu-uu-'?": "Well, I am in high school... But for an elementary schooler, I think saying 'uu-uu-' is pretty cute...": "Cute? Saying 'uu-uu-' is cute? Cute?!" they even have the same voice actor apparently It seemed that my reckless words had brought Rosa oba-san's wrath down upon me. Oba-san grabbed my collar with a terrifying expression...  No seriously look back at that image. There's a future right there, Rosa! She can just sort of...exist, and you can ditch whatever your current business is, start making anime, and create a bunch of generic shitshows to be vehicles for girls modeled after her. She's a generically cute young girl who makes a weird cutesy noise, your country eats that poo poo up with gusto. You can create moe a couple decades early and start raking in the cash from creepy otaku! It's a horrible idea from any non-cash-based perspective and you would be pretty much the worst parent for doing it, but I'm sure you wouldn't care. Especially once you've installed the swimming vault. : "Uu-uu-uu-uu-uu-!!! Uu-uu-uu-uu-uu-uu-!!!": "I told you, stop saying 'uu-uu-'!!! Didn't I tell you to stop it!!"Rosa oba-san struck Maria's quivering head from which an increasingly unsatisfied voice was rising. I tried to stop it, but Oba-san thrust me away... My back hit George-aniki. Well, at least you tried. George, Jessica, either of you gonna step up? : "...A long time ago, Rosa-san also thought of it as nothing more than one of Maria-chan's baby words...but she is now midway through elementary school, and the fact that it hasn't been fixed has bothered her a lot recently...": "It's not like it matters what kind of words she uses...": "You can't grow up to be like that. ...Therefore, even though it's not a pleasant scene to watch, ...this is a problem between parent and child." : "...Well, I also often get in trouble from my mother about how I speak."If you look at it that way, maybe an outsider shouldn't interfere with this even though it's painful to watch...  : "Well then, you can understand Maria-chan's feelings right now. ...I'm sure she doesn't want us to be here now. ...Do you understand as well, Jessica-chan?": "...I don't think anyone likes to be seen when they're being punished.": "Let's go. Let's return to the guesthouse. Then, after Maria-chan comes back, let's welcome her as if nothing happened. That's probably for the best, isn't it?"...So that's a no, then? Because we thought that George-aniki's point was probably correct, ...we were fine with using that correct-sounding reason to justify retreating as long as it would ease the pain in our chests. Jessica and I nodded at George-aniki, and we all left. We called towards Maria that we were going to head to the guesthouse, but since it didn't seem to reach her ears, we also had shamelessly guilty consciences...  Yes. Not only did she just slap the poo poo out of her 9 year old daughter, but now she's leaving her outside alone in a typhoon. For making Maria probably viewed that as a cold gesture meant to injure. But from Rosa's perspective, that was not her intention. ...It was because the hand which she had so emotionally struck Maria's cheek with was still numb. And only because she's too numb to keep bitchslapping. And we're just scratching the tip of the child abuse iceberg, folks! It gets worse. so so much worse It was because, if she stayed there screaming, she might again be taken over by her emotions and continue slapping her daughter's cheek over and over. After Rosa left, only Maria was left alone in the rose garden. The wind began to blow stronger and stronger, and every once in a while, a raindrop would fall on her forehead. ...However, Maria couldn't leave that place. Not until she found that poor, withering rose.  Maybe the angle I'm looking from is wrong. Maybe the height I'm looking from is wrong. ...While gazing at a single point, Maria repeatedly stood up, changed her position and continued to stare.    Kinzo, as if being summoned by the sound of the rain, approached the window. The sound of the rain is a sound of silence. That sound feels quieter than any silence and makes humans remember that, in the end, they are alone from when they are born to when they die. : "...You're late, Beatrice."Were those words directed at the rainy sky...? No one could be seen in the direction of Kinzo's gaze.   There's something in the phrasing of a lot of these rants that makes his specific choice of Mephistopheles kind of interesting. Can't really go into detail until another character shows up in a bit, but all the talk of odds and miracles seems oddly more in line with a different sort of “benefactor.” : ...Come, devour as much as you wish...!! I will overcome that roulette. Yes, I'll put everything on the line. First, I'll return the inheritance of the Ushiromiya family. Accept it!!"As Kinzo violently opened the window, he ripped off a golden ring stuck to his finger and forcefully threw it away. ...At that time, thunder resounded, giving the illusion that the lightning had accepted the ring. Well, that's...certainly a twist. Not content with pulling the rug out from under Krauss by setting up a riddle to determine the successor, now Kinzo's decided to quietly throw that away and make a loving typhoon the new family head! A typhoon that may or may not be Beatrice after abandoning her previous form as a rose!     Holy poo poo there's finally actual TIPs in the TIPs section! It's just the epitaph again for easy reference, no differences in the wording. So uh, full disclosure. It's...not really fully solvable at this point because this episode doesn't even have some of the clues necessary to really figure it out. And even then, it requires English/Japanese/Chinese trilingualism and some knowledge of Asian geography. And the original Japanese game, basically, as it involves a bunch of character reading fuckery that doesn't really convert to English well. Don't take this as discouragement from throwing around speculation even if you don't have all that assorted knowledge, mind you. Oh, and Chiru uses a slightly different translation of it. A couple of the changes it makes are to match the character readings more closely, but the rest are pretty much arbitrary. Can't criticize them too harshly for switching translations, though, since the one used here was done well before the episode that actually explains the solution came out. ...But I'm getting way ahead of myself here.    Next time: The Witch's Letter and Umbrella. For anyone wondering, there are two or three more updates between where we are now and the start of the murders, depending on exactly how I split things. Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 09:57 on Sep 17, 2012 |
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Sep 17, 2012 08:41
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Carpator Diei posted:Shiny, in the scene with Kanon and Kinzo, you forgot Kanon's portraits. ...Derp. Fixed that. I blame him showing up so little so far that I've gotten used to skipping over him while find/replacing. MonsterEnvy posted:Also could someone help me with the ages. Checking the relevant wiki, it pegs the following: Krauss-52 Eva-50 Rosa-35 Natsuhi-47 Rudolf-40s And all the others are listed as unknown. Don't recall offhand if the exact ages of anyone so far except the cousins, Shannon, and Kanon are actually provided in game, so not sure if those are official numbers from an offhand bit later I forgot or from some obscure supplemental bit or if it's just some people guessing. But even if they're not dead on, they're at least reasonably close to the mark. Adding to that, Kinzo's definitely in his 70s, Genji and Nanjo are around the same age, and Kumasawa was noted earlier to be in her late 70s or early 80s at least. Would guess that Gohda's in his 30s or 40s, and Kyrie and Hideyoshi are both probably fairly close in age to their spouses. That's as precise as I can get.
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Sep 17, 2012 20:15
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It's been...what, three weeks now? Exactly, in fact. Huh. Ugh. Sorry. Spent two weeks being crushed under ridiculously huge workloads, and got that sorted out just in time for the first week of exams. Kinda put a crimp in my ability to get poo poo done update-wise. Update was longer than this, but I've taken some advice from a friend and chopped it roughly in half so I've got at least something in reserve if the semester takes another immediate turn for the godawful. I'm pretty sure it won't, so I might be even able to get ahead a bit instead, but... Anyway, have the long-overdue update. Part Ten: A 19th Person   : "...This rain's incredible. Still, when it's raining this hard, it feels like it's going to stop soon.": "You wish! They said the typhoon's moving slow, so in the worst case it'll be like this all day tomorrow. Even a little weather'd be enough to stop the boats.": "It looks like we won't be able to head out on Sunday after all. ...Just in case, I cleared any business I had with the outside world from my Monday schedule. I'm glad I did.": "I guess this means, ihihi, it looks like we'll be skipping school Monday~. Living on an island's starting to look pretty good! ...Come to think of it, Jessica, do you have to take a boat to school every day? What do you do when the boats are closed down? Do you stay home when it rains and show up late when the wind's blowing, like King Kamehameha?" : "That also happens. Still, every single day, my homeroom teacher would call and sourly guide me on how I should teach myself and what I had to turn in.": "She can't just easily skip the way you are thinking of, Battler-kun. She has to follow the rules for people that travel to school by boat and get a good amount of studying done.": "It'd actually be easier to just go to school. In my own room, I get distracted and can't concentrate. After being made to do nothing but workbooks for several days straight, it's pretty hard to handle all that mental stress. ...When I get into college, I really just wanna go to some dorm and quickly say goodbye to this inconvenient island.": "Huh... So, by the way, what do you do when the weather's good in the morning, but then gets so bad on your way home that the boats are closed? Do you spend the night at school?": "That actually happens a lot. Because of that, they've built some lodgings there for people who can't get back to the island. I stay over there. Sometimes, when gets bad, I can't get back home for a few days at a time.": "If you look at it from the perspective of those people who have to go to school every day on a train packed to twice its capacity, going to school on a boat might seem pretty interesting and fun. Or at least they might irresponsibly think that. I guess different people have different kinds of difficulties." : "I've wanted to go to one of those from the beginning!! Still, Mom's always going on about how I need to learn manners and discipline as the successor to the head. ...In the end, I got stuck with a high school close to home. Man, I hate this island. I just want to go live in a city. I don't care if rain or even spears fall from the sky, as long as I can move to a city where I can wear casual clothes and sandals and can get to a convenience store in less than five minutes...": "Hahahaha. Hold out just a little longer. It's only a short while until you graduate high school, right?": "I can't wait a little longer. Aaaaaah..."Jessica stretched out and reclined in the sofa. Maybe because now was a bad time slot, there weren't any interesting programs on, and we had nothing to do but languidly kill time until we were called for dinner. Guess Higurashi doesn't run that late. Or early. Whichever. One of the few random anime tidbits I do know is that at one point the anime of Higurashi is shown playing in the background. What, if anything, this implies about the When They Cry verse is not explored. I'm pretty sure that actually happens in a different scene entirely, but I may not remember when we get there.  ...We thought we might head over to the mansion to see her, but after all, there was this lousy weather, and there wasn't much time until dinner, so we stayed where we were. At that time, we heard the sound of a humble knock. Jessica answered. : "Ye-s!": "...The preparations for dinner are complete. Please come to the mansion."It was Kanon-kun's voice. Had he gone to all the trouble of coming from the mansion in this rain just to call us over? Couldn't he have just called us on the telephone? ...Oh well, maybe sometimes part of a servant's duty is to go against common sense. : "Just when I was getting hungry. Let's go."George-aniki turned off the television and stood up.   : "Alright, let's go. Is the rain nasty out there?": "...Yes. Take care not to get your garments wet."After seeing the three of us out, Kanon-kun peered into the empty room. : "...Wasn't Maria-sama with you...?": "No she isn't. Wasn't she with Rosa oba-san?" Realizing this, Genji brought a blanket over to her. When he tried to spread it over her, her eyes snapped open as though she had been shocked with electricity. : "...th,...Thank you, Genji-san."When she realized that the thing that had touched her was just a blanket, and that Genji had been considerately giving it to her, she let out a sigh of relief. : "...Did I wake you? My sincere apologies.": "No, it's all right. I hadn't planned on sleeping in the first place. ...What time is it now?"When he was asked for the time, Genji checked a pocket watch that he took out of his chest pocket.  : "Thank you, I'll be fine without the blanket... I mustn't sleep at such a strange time. My sense of time has been completely thrown off. ...The rain, it really is pouring."Rosa finally realized that the peaceful sound that had put her to sleep was actually the rain that had started falling. : "The wind is also blowing hard. ...I wonder if it's finally the typhoon?": "...The television has said that is the case. Because the typhoon is slow, they said that it would be like this all day tomorrow.": "Really...? ...That wonderful rose garden, that must have been my last chance to see it."From the window, what she could see of the rose garden was completely blurred by the wind and the rain. : "...Maria...That's right, Maria?!": "...I have not seen her. Did she not return to the guesthouse?"Rosa knew her daughter's nature well. She had always known.  : "...That's wrong. The cousins left earlier, so Maria was alone...! Unless someone told her to stop, she would stay there even if spears fell down from the skies! Without even opening an umbrella!! ...AAaah, what have I done, losing control of my emotions!!"We've got two mentions of spears falling from the skies now just in this update. Uncertain if this is some kind of semi-obscure standard Japanese phrase, or just something the author came up with and felt like recycling. Even though she had known about that simple honesty better than anyone, she had once again lost control of her emotions and done such a horrible thing!! Take note of that “once again.” This isn't just an isolated incident of years of accumulated uu-related annoyance and the pressure of dealing with a family of assholes to try and dodge complete ruin making her snap. Slapping the poo poo out Maria and neglecting her is just kind of a thing Rosa does every now and then! : "Mariaaaaaaa!!"Rosa pushed Genji away and ran down the hallway.   Maybe because of some figure of the terrain, the winds were not as strong as a typhoon, so an umbrella wouldn't be torn out of one's hands. That's gotta be some damned impressive terrain, to knock it down that far from typhoon speed. Typhoons are, according to Wikipedia, 118 km/h and up, and a chart I found elsewhere pegs ~40 km/h as the point where umbrellas become basically worthless. No idea how reasonable that is for the sort of terrain Rokkenjima's got. Even so, it sure was a windy rain. There was no time to admire the roses being soaked by the rain.  We hadn't worried much, thinking that Rosa oba-san had taken her back to the mansion. ...However, when Kanon-kun had come from the mansion to call us and thought that Maria was here, we got a little worried. : "...I did not see her in the mansion, so I was sure that she was here. Since Rosa-sama was taking a nap...": "You didn't see her on your way over here?": "...My apologies. I opened my umbrella and ran as fast as I could, so I did not pay much attention."If he had cut through the rose garden on the shortest line between the mansion and the guesthouse, then he would have missed the place where Maria had been looking for her rose by a little. And it was raining this hard, too. There was a good chance that Kanon-kun had failed to notice her.  George-aniki and I flew out into the rain. Jessica and Kanon-kun followed us.  : "Where is Maria?! Isn't she with you?!": "No, we didn't meet with Maria-chan after that.": "Mariaaaaa!!!"...Six years ago, Maria had been three years old. She had been a cute and pure kid who would just accept whatever anyone said. ...But six years had passed since then! She was nine now, and going through both good and bad experiences should have rubbed off on her. ...And still, you're just as innocent and pure as you were...?! : "Mariaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"As I circled the rose bed, something white unexpectedly turned to face me. ...It was a white umbrella. Maria, holding a white umbrella, was crouching, still searching for that rose...  You'd think they'd have used one of her sad faces here. Or at least something other than “generic apathy” for being beaten and left out in a typhoon. : "You idiot,...are you still looking?!": "...Uu-... Can't find it...Can't find...my rose...Uu-..."Maria had probably been here since the rain had started pouring down. It looked like her shoulders were freezing. She looked tired to the bone, but fortunately, since she was holding an umbrella, she was not completely soaked. ...It was probably an umbrella from the handbag that Maria was always walking around with. ...Thank goodness. Seriously, thank goodness.  : "...Uu-... It's not here. ...Maria's rose isn't here... ...Uu-...": "Mama will look for it with you later... Okay? So just let it go for today. ...Okay?": "...Uu-... Let it go for today..."It looked like Maria still wasn't able to accept it, but she no longer had enough energy left to resist. Jessica and Kanon-kun caught up with us. : "...I'll have a towel ready in the mansion immediately.": "Maria... Were you here the whole time...?": "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for being such a bad mother...": "...Rosa oba-san, why don't we head back to the mansion for the time being. Maria will catch a cold like this." We couldn't stay in the rain forever. We took Maria with us as we headed back to the mansion. Maria apparently wasn't as weak as I had thought. When she remembered that dinner was calf steak, she started chanting "I'm hungry, I'm hungry, uu-uu-!", and returned to her usual healthy self. ...Rosa oba-san didn't chide Maria on her 'uu-uu-'. : "Really? She had an umbrella? Maria sure is good at packing the right stuff.":: "...Uu-. Maria didn't bring an umbrella. Uu-.": "What? Then how did you get that white umbrella you're holding?": "Uu-! Borrowed it!" : "That's right. I will have to thank that person. Who was it?": "Uu-! Beatrice!"The name that Maria mentioned very happily was that of the island's witch. Rosa took a deep breath and asked again while trying to avoid hurting Maria's feelings now that she was happy. : "Really? That's nice. So, who was it? The person who brought you that umbrella?": "Uu-. Beat, ri-ce-! Uu-uu-!"Maria, who quickly picked up that her mother didn't believe her, made an angry face once again. So Rosa stopped pursuing the subject. It looked like it would be faster to ask the person who had lent Maria the umbrella during dinner rather than ask Maria herself...  : "...Kinzo-san. Won't you at least come out for dinner? Haven't all of your sons gathered here to see your face?": "Silence, Nanjo. ...So the bishop won't work. ...One move too short..."Apparently, Kinzo was completely focused on the final battle of his long-lasting chess match with Nanjo. Kinzo's brow was wrinkled as he continued to glare at the game board through his spectacles. Krauss's voice didn't reach his ears.  Nanjo stood from his seat, hoping this would prompt Kinzo do the same, but Kinzo's eyes never left the chessboard. He knew well that Kinzo always displayed a blind concentration when it came to chess, but he had never seen Kinzo as concentrated as he was now. ...It was almost as though, as Kinzo had said, if the game wasn't finished tonight, there would never be another chance for them to continue their contest, or something like that... It looked like even if he called out obstinately, it wouldn't reach Kinzo's heart. Nanjo gave up and headed to the door that Krauss was still banging on...  : "...Father, can you hear me?! We are heading down now, but any time you feel like it, please join us. All of your children are waiting for you...!"The voice was very loud, and the door was being noisily pounded on. There was no way that it wouldn't reach Kinzo's ears.  : "I'm not interested even in dinner, even in my sons' faces. ...I will only leave here when Beatrice is resurrected or when I am chosen as a sacrifice for the key. The roulette of demons has already started spinning. What meaning does dinner have at this point..."Acting as though the painfully loud banging on the door completely failed to enter his hearing... ...and still in his philosophic state, Kinzo silently thought about his next chess move...  : "Just as always, Father is not feeling well. He truly regrets missing this once-a-year opportunity to sit together with his gathered relatives."Eva and Rudolf sniggered. Judging by Kinzo's character, he didn't regret it at all. ...and none of his relatives regretted that he hadn't appeared either. : "Then why don't we start dinner. Gohda, begin.": "Certainly. Well then, let me begin."When Gohda was told to begin the family conference dinner, his highlight scene for the whole year, he nodded, grinning broadly. : "...Umm, I was wondering, who was it that lent Maria an umbrella?"When Rosa timidly cut through the silence of the dining hall, everyone in the dining hall noticed.  : "It wasn't one of us. After you went out, Rosa, we moved over to our room and were having a 'friendly' chat the whole time.": "Haha, ...that's right. After that, the siblings had a real friendly chat."The word friendly fell awkwardly from Hideyoshi's lips, so that even those that hadn't been there realized that it hadn't been a pleasant conversation. : "At the very least, it certainly couldn't have been me, Eva, Rudolf, or even Hideyoshi-san or Kyrie-san.": "We were together the whole time, even after Natsuhi nee-san and Rosa nee-san left. The whole time until the meal started.": "Nii-san went up to the study with Genji-san to call Father. At that time, the rest of us went straight to the dining hall. So it wasn't one of us. ...Couldn't it have been a servant kind enough to lend an umbrella?": "So, Gohda-san?" At that time, Shannon and Kumasawa appeared, pushing a serving cart loaded with hors d'oeuvres. : "Then what about Kumasawa-san or Shannon-chan?": "...Yes? Have I made some mistake...?"Shannon shrunk, having come in part way and mistakenly thinking that she was being accused of making some error. : "No you haven't. When Maria-chan was alone in the rose garden, it started to rain. Someone gave her an umbrella. Rosa oba-san said that she wanted to thank that person." Rosa oba-san explained the situation one more time. As she did, Kumasawa-san cackled. : "Hoh-hoh-ho. It wasn't us. Shannon-san and I were preparing the rooms together, so we did not go outside.": "...Yes. ...I apologize for not being able to help...": "Preparing the rooms? What do you mean by that?": "...Because of this rain, we thought that it would be difficult for all of the guests to return to the guesthouse, so the servants were ordered to prepare the guest rooms inside the mansion." : "Yes. We received the order from Madam, and I, Kumasawa-san, and Kanon-kun were preparing the rooms. ...Then it became time for dinner, and since he was ordered by Genji-sama to go to the guesthouse and call the kids, Kanon-kun left.": "Yes. In that case, did Kanon-san find Maria on the way to the guesthouse and hand her the umbrella?": "...Uu-. W-ro-ng--!!"The person who had actually received the umbrella denied it. Rosa was troubled. All she wanted to do was give a word of thanks to the person who had lent the umbrella, but she couldn't find them. And she had thought that asking like this with everyone gathered for dinner would work immediately...  : "...Then who? George-kun and the kids? ...That can't be right.": "No, it wasn't us. We were watching television in the guesthouse the whole time.": "Actually, we thought that Maria had just gone back to the mansion with Oba-san...": "Then Kanon-kun came, and he asked whether Maria was with us. That was when we first realized that she wasn't in the mansion. In the first place, if it were me, before lending her an umbrella, I'd have grabbed her hand and pulled her under a roof." Rosa was completely baffled. One by one, the relatives and the servants were claiming that it wasn't them. ...Even though it really wasn't something anyone would need to hide. With that, by process of elimination, the number of people it could have been wasn't large. : "Of course, it wasn't me. Right after it began raining, I visited Kinzo-san's room, and was playing chess with him until just now.": "...Which means that it also wasn't Grandfather.": "Wait a sec... Isn't this starting to get a bit weird? Who's left?" ...Giving an umbrella to a girl loitering in the rain was something to be praised, not hidden. ...Despite that, no one raised their hand. ...Why? Everyone started whispering about how strange this had gotten... : "...Calm down, Rosa. Why don't we just ask the person who was lent the umbrella?"That's what everyone had been thinking since the beginning. They were all scratching their heads at why she didn't just ask Maria, who had been given the umbrella. However, Rosa bit her lower lip. After all, she already knew how Maria would answer if asked.  : "Beatrice!"The dining hall was wrapped in silence for an instant, but that soon broke and it was wrapped in laughter.  : "Uu-! Just like Krauss oji-san said. Beatrice lent it to me! Uu-uu-!": "Hahahahaha... Isn't that great? I'm really jealous of such purity. What do you think, everyone? Hahahaha..."Krauss was laughing with a face that was clearly mocking her, but Maria, apparently feeling that her claim was being believed, was overjoyed. : "...How did that work? Does that mean a witch really appeared and lent her an umbrella?"Jessica asked me in a small voice that wouldn't carry over to Maria, who was sitting across from me. : "Has Maria ever been the type to joke?"If we had heard that kind of story pop out of that old bastard's mouth, we'd have just taken it as another joke. ...However, it was hard to explain it that way when Maria said it. This was getting pretty unnerving...  : "So, if Maria says that she borrowed an umbrella from Beatrice, that definitely was Beatrice?": "...We're talking about Maria here, so I can't think of it as some kind of metaphor or joke. ...It might be best to take what she says at face value." Genji? Really, Battler? Do you seriously think...  ...Huh. Okay, yeah, I could see how she might make that mistake. He pulls it off surprisingly well. Once the hors d'oeuvres were set out and Gohda showed off his vast store of knowledge, the meal began. A couple casual chats broke out here and there, but they seemed somehow distant. In this silence, the sound of the rain snuck into the dining hall.  : "...Oh, it's Genji-san. Did you lend Maria-san an umbrella?": "...Umbrella? What are you talking about?": "Right. ...I heard that when it started raining, Maria-sama was alone in the rose garden. ...And it seems that she borrowed an umbrella from someone there, but we don't know who it was.": "It wasn't me. After all, I thought that Maria-sama was in the guesthouse. When Battler-sama first found her, she was already holding a white umbrella.": "My apologies, but it was not me either...": "...Then, you don't think,...the Master, possibly?"Everyone in both the dining hall and the place where they were standing had stated that it wasn't them. Which meant that only Kinzo was left, but...  : "I feel the same. ...I can't imagine that he would, for Maria-sama's sake, go to all of the trouble of going down the stairs to carry an umbrella to her.": "Oh, my...how troublesome. So that means that the one who lent Maria-sama an umbrella really was Beatrice-sama? Hoh-hoh-hoh-ho..."Kumasawa laughed, just like the relatives in the dining hall had laughed it off. ...She couldn't think of any other way to break through the smoke veiling the current situation. Either someone's lying, Beatrice is really out there, or there's some mysterious 19th person around. Said hypothetical umbrella distributor is going to come up a hell of a lot over the course of the game. Just then, the dry sound of hands clapping twice rung through the hallway. They all turned around at once to see that it was Gohda, who was coming out of the dining hall.   The only thing keeping this from being Kanon.jpg is that it doesn't have enough ellipses. Kanon glared at Gohda for being rude to Genji, a person Kanon respected. Genji, realizing this, patted Kanon once on the shoulder as if to warn him. Kanon reluctantly turned away, and returned his expression to normal. : "...Obey Gohda's order. Let us now hurry to prepare the dinner table.": "Come on, we have no time. Don't just dawdle around! Hurry...!"Gohda stole the serving cart from Shannon and steadily pushed it forwards towards the kitchen. : "...Then please allow us to return to the kitchen. ...After all, Gohda-san's temper is very short, ...hoh-hoh-ho.": "P, please excuse me as well..."Kumasawa and Shannon left. Only Genji and Kanon remained. Through the window, the darkness of the rainy night could be seen, along with the occasional thunderbolt.  : "That is not necessary. ...If she has truly returned, she will eventually appear before the Master of her own accord. ...Furthermore, she is a fickle person. It would be pointless to report to the Master only to find that she does not appear...": "...I wonder if this means that the Master's ceremony has already begun.": "...Probably. However, that has nothing to do with furniture like us. ...We must return the favor that we received from the Master...until our final moments.": "...Yes. ...That is furniture's...duty."The thunder crashed once more. Except for that instant when the lightning lit up the sky, all that could be seen out of the window was the darkness of night. Just as humans rule when the sun is up, the time when the sun is down is ruled by those that are not human.  Kanon looked at the rose garden's lights, dimly visible beyond the window. The dim lights were not enough to illuminate the surrounding area. Looking at those lights felt like making eye contact with the witch, and Kanon uselessly averted his gaze. ...If he didn't, it felt like his eyes would be absorbed by that light... Next time: The witch's letter. But for real this time. Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 06:43 on Oct 8, 2012 |
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Oct 8, 2012 04:23
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LeeDless posted:Not to nitpick OP but is there a maximum filesize limit on tindeck? The bgm's you uploaded there are extremely compressed and much smaller in size and quality than the tracks in the full game. It's from having to convert them to make them play. I'm pulling all the music files straight out of the game's BGM folder, but they're .oggs and Tindeck can't play those for some reason, so I have to run a converter and turn them into mp3s first. If the quality loss is too noticeable, could see if there's an alternative that'd take them as .oggs, I suppose.
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Oct 8, 2012 20:59
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Part Eleven: A Night of Intellectual and Elegant Murder Dessert was some kind of chocolate cake accompanied by pear sherbet. Gohda-san enthusiastically explained the recipe as soon as this final dish was presented, but I quickly forgot the details. The guest of honor, Grandfather, was absent, the weather was horrible, and the person who had lent Maria the umbrella was still a mystery. When dinner ended, no one felt even one bit refreshed. ...It was too late now, but we realized painfully that taste wasn't the only important part of a meal. The whole atmosphere was also critical. Gohda-san, the supposed conductor of this musical piece called dinner, did his best to enliven the place, dropping little jokes left and right, but apparently not one of them succeeded. After taking orders for after-dinner coffee, tea, and orange juice, he left for the kitchen. As soon as he disappeared, Krauss oji-san spoke.  : "Ho. I want to know why you feel that way. Sometime later, allow me, as your older brother, to help cheer you up."Eva oba-san grimaced slightly. ...I had already heard that she was not on good terms with Krauss oji-san, but now I could clearly feel it. When I looked around, I noticed that my father and Rosa oba-san were also grimacing. Anyhow, it looked like there was something besides the weather that was troubling all of them.  : "Well, our adult conversation got a little complicated. It's not somethin' that kids like you need to worry about, Battler-kun. Hahahahaha, right? Natsuhi-san? Kyrie-san?"Hideyoshi oji-san laughed as he spoke, but without his usual brightness, so I could vaguely imagine just how complicated their adult conversation had actually become. On top of that, even Natsuhi oba-san and Kyrie-san, the people he had directed his comment to, ignored him as though they hadn't heard anything. ...I didn't know what kind of conversation they had been having while the kids were away, but it reminded me of how Father had said he had stomach cramps when we had arrived at the mansion. The family conference might have been a playful reunion to us kids, but it was definitely different for the adults... When Hideyoshi oji-san was ignored by the other adults and an awkward silence fell over the room, Kyrie-san spoke up.  As opposed to...what, exactly? Trying to climb up from something involving a paper hat? Rampant nepotism? : "Hey! Wait a sec... Kyrie-san, if you start talking about something like that in the middle of a meal, it won't digest well and we'll all get constipated, ri~ght?": "Wahahaha! That's right, that's right! We were talking about Battler-kun and Jessica-chan's careers! You can't take the future too seriously! Wahahaha..."Hideyoshi heartily agreed as if they really had been talking about that, but that was probably wrong. Kyrie-san had been obviously trying to avoid talking about something. However, if Kyrie-san had determined that this was the best course of action for now, then she was probably right. Taking this into account, I'll cast aside my suspicions as to the cause behind Eva oba-san and Dad's bad moods... At long last, the serving cart returned, filled with coffee and tea. Kumasawa-san and Shannon-chan served it to everyone. Gohda-san then explained that, with this, tonight's dinner was over. If I had been able to eat in a more cheerful mood, it might have been the best dinner in my life. It was a shame that this best dinner couldn't have been had under the best conditions.  Maria looked like she was really excited about the occasionally crashing thunder. Maybe she wanted to quickly finish eating and run over to the window. She had been fidgeting for a while, waiting for the meal to end. ...Some people are afraid of thunder, while others find it interesting, and Maria was apparently one of the latter. Therefore, when she heard from George-aniki that dinner was over, a huge smile broke across her face. She then stood from her seat, took out her hand bag - which she had set under her seat, never having left it even while she was eating - and began fishing around inside of it. No one seemed particularly concerned with this behavior...   On the front of the envelope, the Ushiromiya family crest - the One-winged Eagle - was done in gold leaf. Furthermore, the fact that it was sealed with dark-red wax made it clear that this was not something that Maria could have brought as a prank.  : "What happened, Natsuhi nee-san?" : "...What is, that?": "Maria...where did you pick that up...?" : "That envelope has,...Kinzo-san's..."As Nanjo muttered that, even us kids could understand why everyone seemed to be frozen solid. The envelope that Maria held was one of the Ushiromiya family head's custom-made envelopes for private use. ...In other words, it could only mean one thing. This envelope contained a message from Kinzo. Well. Another +1 to people Kinzo (sometimes) likes, perhaps? Guess Genji was wrong.   : "Hideyoshi-san, you can't use all of your strength against a child...Maria-chan, where did you get this envelope?": "Uu-! I got it from Beatrice when she gave me the umbrella. She told Maria to read it to everyone after the meal was over! Maria is the witch's me, me..., 'Messenger'! Uu-!"Or not. Also, consider. Beatrice is basically a god, probably just as capable of summoning up crazy poo poo as Kinzo. The servants recognize her as another master. She could have probably shown herself to any one of them and handed them the envelope, if so inclined. Or even picked one of the siblings to reveal herself to and use as her proxy, probably. Yet of all the options available, with their various degrees of impressiveness, the one she picks to play messenger to the Ushiromiyas is an autistic nine year old. I'm not sure there are words to adequately describe that level of contempt. : "Messenger...? Ihihihi, the witch of the island sure likes to mess around."Battler tried to joke about it, but no one went along with him.  Maria casually opened the envelope. ...It was sealed only with wax, so she just had to remove the sealing wax to open it. ...That sealing wax fell onto the desk. Hideyoshi hastily picked it up and stared fixedly at it. He then set it in the center of the table, where Natsuhi, Kyrie, and Nanjo glared at it. In the sealing wax, the Ushiromiya family crest - which was also Kinzo's personal crest - the One-winged Eagle was imprinted.  : "No, Kinzo-san would always use a ring on his finger, his "Proof of the Head of the Ushiromiya family", when he sealed the wax. This shape and complex design is definitely Kinzo-san's seal...": "That is not necessarily so. Anyone in the family must have received a letter from Father at least once. We can't eliminate the possibility that someone, using that wax as a model, created a fake seal to pass themselves off as Father." : "I agree with Aniki. No matter how the seal resembles Father's, we can't prove that it is the real thing. Therefore, it doesn't prove that this envelope came from Father.": "I feel the same way. I cannot approve of arbitrarily deciding that this is Father's letter only by the seal in the wax. Doctor Nanjo, couldn't you use more discretion with your vague words...?!": "...I apologize... I said too much..."One after another, all of the siblings, from Krauss on downwards, rejected Nanjo's statement, saying that the envelope that Maria was holding had not necessarily been sent by Kinzo. They were afraid. Kinzo's intentions were written in there, and they feared from the bottoms of their hearts that it might be some decidedly unfavorable announcement regarding the inheritance. : Dear Children, Grandchildren, and Other JerksAll of you are the worst. But after much consideration, loathe as I am to leave any of you a single yen, I have decided to bequeath to you my ten tons of gold, to be divided equally among you. This comes with the condition, however, that it is to be promptly melted down, and you are to dipped in it to make bitchin' lawn decorations for the next owner of the island. Then Beatrice gets everything. With hate, Kinzo   : "So, in other words, ...the witch, Beatrice, gave Maria-chan that envelope along with the umbrella...?": "Uu-!"Maria nodded forcefully. : "...I, I agree with my husband. It's a dubious letter handed over by some suspicious person. It's not even worth reading.": "There's nothing wrong with just reading it, right?"Battler said it to Jessica in a small voice, trying to act tough, but Natsuhi heard him clearly and glared at him with threatening eyes. : "A, and then, err, ...Beatrice told you to read it after the meal was over, right Maria?": "Uu-!" : "Th, ...that's right. Even if Father didn't necessarily write it, I'm still concerned about its contents. ...Maria-chan, I'm sorry I tried to take it from you by force earlier! I apologize, so will you read it aloud in front of everyone?": "...Maria. Read it.": "Uu-."As all of the relatives stared fiercely at Maria, she spread the letter open with a rustle... : "...Do you think it really is Father's letter?": "Impossible. Whenever Father has announced something to us in the past, if he didn't do it directly, he would always send Genji, right? ...I can't believe that he would use such a joke-like approach."You'd think Krauss would know better by now than to try and apply normal logic to anything Kinzo does. : "That's right. Maria, a messenger? That's seriously not one of his hobbies... Rosa, could this be Maria-chan trying to surprise us with some kind of hidden talent...?": "...Well, Maria's not really a kid who is capable of something so clever."Oh Rosa. You should really tone down the praise. Don't want her to get too full of herself, do you?  (clickable)  Her voice actually changes for this section. It is much less annoying than she normally sounds and I kind of wish it was her normal voice. Particularly because it proves she is in fact physically capable of speaking two sentences without an “uu-”. Took a video of her reading the letter, so go see for yourself. Said video also provides a look at the voices Krauss (Jūrōta Kosugi) and Natsuhi (Emi Shinohara).  : "Welcome to Rokkenjima, members of the Ushiromiya family. I am Beatrice, the alchemist for this family employed by Kinzo-sama himself."And hey, there's another possible reason for Kinzo still being alive. All that absinthe has some Elixir of Life mixed in. ...Or perhaps absinthe has been the Elixir all along? : "...How absurd...!": "Quiet!" Although I suppose the lack of uuing could just be magic. She is doing pretty well with the letter for a kid who was stumbling over chunks of the epitaph earlier. Unless, I guess, even the words of the epitaph themselves are crazy difficult in Japanese. Wouldn't put it past Kinzo, but hell if I'd be able to tell. : "...How foolish, what nonsense...!": "I, I can't stand to listen to it...!" : "R, ridiculous!!": "...I, it's been ridiculous from the very beginning...": "That must be the main point, right? Doesn't it sound just like one of those contracts with the devil? Like, when the contract is ended, it comes back to collect interest. Is she trying to grab some retirement money for her old age or something? What a cheeky witch.": "Battler-kun, you shouldn't make fun of it now..."Battler made a face as if to ask, "If I can't make fun of this, what can I make fun of?" At the same time, some of the adults' faces were pale, while others looked completely shocked.  Terrible as the terms he agreed to were, gotta give Kinzo some credit for building in an escape clause. How many other people try that with their Faustian bargains? : "...A special clause...?": "Wh, what is it...?!": "Special clause. Beatrice retains the right to collect the gold and accumulated interest upon the termination of the contract. However, if someone is able to discover the hidden gold of this contract, Beatrice must abandon these rights for all time. ...The collection of the interest will proceed shortly, but if any one of you fulfills the terms of the special clause, I shall return everything, including the portion that has already been collected. Furthermore, as the first step in this collection of Kinzo-sama's debt, I have taken possession of the Ushiromiya family 'Head's Ring,' which signifies the passage of the Ushiromiya family headship from one individual to another. I ask that you confirm this for yourselves by examining the imprint on the wax seal."...Granted, he then hosed up that escape clause by making it ridiculously hard to use, but at least it was there. And had about 40 years of abject disappointment before it was finalized.  : "...Does it really say that...?! That Father would relinquish his ring is unthinkable...!"Krauss was staring at the sealing wax as though he was trying to burn a hole through it. Eva and Rudolf were doing the same over his shoulder! : "I, I'm sure I had the odd feeling that something was missing from Kinzo's finger when we were playing chess...": "Doctor Nanjo! Don't say something so careless just because of a vague memory!" : "...Do you really think...that Kinzo-san will tell you...? After all, that person's thoughts are sometimes impossible to predict using common sense..."Nanjo: The only person present who understands. : "No matter what happens, it's still nonsense...! In the first place, the illusion of gold itself is a fake. If you want to talk about nonexistent gold, leave me out of it!": "But, this is the witch speaking, right? About how the inheritance and all of the assets would be handed over to the one who finds the gold, right? So, could this mean that Beatrice-sama is Father's legal advisor, or maybe in charge of his funds...?": "W, we can't possibly trust some strange person who entrusts such a suspicious paper to a child!": "Aniki..., let's be frank. Is it possible that someone you don't know is actually handling Father's assets?!": "N, no, that's impossible! As the agent to the head, I am in control over all of Father's assets! There shouldn't be anyone who can freely do that without me knowing it!": "So, in other words, there are some assets that you are not in control of, Krauss nii-san?": "How foolish, there's no way something like that exists!" : "Let me make it simple. In short, Father has some trusted confidante that Aniki doesn't even know about. Furthermore, this person has always been in charge of watching and managing the gold. It's possible that this person is a dilettante of a very rich family who provided his financing in the first place under the guise of a devil's contract.": "...Could it be that this confidante called Beatrice is trying to test which of the sons and daughters is most fitting to be financed by her gold?"What Kyrie said was something that all of the siblings wanted to be made clear. Upon reflection, they realized that Kinzo's strange epitaph had always hung in the hall beneath the portrait of the witch, and while it had long been whispered that the one who solved the puzzle would receive everything, ...no one had ever clearly stated it. It was just something that everyone had hoped might be true. That had, right here, right now, been clearly expressed by Beatrice's letter! It clearly specified that everything of the Ushiromiya family would be given to the one who found the gold. But apparently it wasn't clear enough on the accompanying point for anyone to to put two and two together with the epitaph, since the whole “find the gold ASAP or you will all die horribly” bit seems to have flown over everyone's head...   The door to Kinzo's study was being violently, violently beaten against over and over again like a percussion instrument. The screams coming from the other side were Krauss's, Rudolf's, and sometimes Eva's voices. It was the siblings, who were trying to intrude upon Kinzo's study to question him about the truth behind that mysterious letter. Kinzo was eating. An elegant tablecloth was set over the desk, and the fabulous dinner that had colored the table down in the dining hall was once again laid out.  : "...Everyone is calling for you, but...but what should I do...?": "...Leave it. God and I value silence during dinner."And so the cast jumps to 19, as Kinzo casually invites YHVH Himself to dinner, presumably just because he can. Maybe He gave Maria the umbrella? : "Should I silence them?": "There's no need. It does not even reach my ears."Kinzo coolly tasted his food. Genji quietly lowered his head and took a single step back. ...As he did, Kanon, who stood in reserve like a shadow behind and to the side of Genji, opened his mouth. : "...Since Maria-sama received a letter from Beatrice-sama, I wonder whether they want to test its authenticity."      And the TIPs section adds Beatrice's letter for easy reference as well. Again, same as it appeared earlier, just without the sibling chatter in between chunks. Or, well, mostly the same.   Here it says “...you may feel...” instead of “...you will may feel...” in the first part, though that's presumably just them catching a typo. And in the second paragraph, the earlier version claimed Beatrice would “lose” her right to the gold, while this says she would “loose” the right. Lose is probably the correct one there, but offhand memory and a quick look through future TIPs and the text dumps don't confirm it reliably enough to remove that little bit of room for alternate interpretation.    Next time: Chessboards and ingots
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Oct 15, 2012 11:53
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DrakePegasus posted:If Beatrice is like the Devil, does that mean all of the gold comes in the form of fiddles? It means they were all way off when they were speculating about the beloved hometown from the epitaph a little while back. Kinzo's branch of the family was actually living somewhere way the hell over in Georgia back in the day.
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Oct 15, 2012 23:10
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The mystery is indeed fairly solvable. The first four episodes provide everything you need to work out the who-dunnit and how-dunnit for all of them. The why-dunnit pretty much requires Chiru, though, if memory serves. We'll eventually see whether or not Kinzo/Beatrice's game with the gold and epitaph is winnable, and the game eventually brings up whether Knox and Dine's ruleset is actually applicable. That's about all I can say there. Walterion posted:So, we reached the headstart of this wild trip, a letter was given to Maria by Beatrice the golden witch and the 10 tons of gold are in place as a bet.  : Uh huh. So that's an average day for you then?: No doubt.: You and your family are ritually murdered to resurrect a witch.: Hell yeah!: And I think at one point there you said something about hitting on your 9 year old cousin? : ...Nope!: Actually, I am pretty sure you did.: Naaaw, that ain't me.: ...Okay! Well, this has been eye-opening for me.(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Oct 19, 2012 05:50
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I'm not sure which I expected less, getting probated for spoiling my own LP, or then getting out of it about a day early with an avatar. Whoever bought this, you're the best. Part Twelve: A Shiny Ingot Made of Gold  Maria was repeatedly barraged with questions by Rosa oba-san and the other parents and became increasingly ill-tempered when they refused to believe her. If I tried to raise my voice in this kind of situation, I would just be ignored. Our parents were all stirred up, firing back and forth about the distribution of the assets, and completely forgetting that we children were even there. ...Even though I'd already figured that they had been talking like this in the shadows, I hadn't thought they would be so blunt. It gave all of us kids a considerable shock. ...From what we could overhear, all of the parents wanted more money as soon as possible.  Since no one particularly needed us, we left our seats and went to hang out somewhere apart from the parents...  : "Well I'm already completely disillusioned with that old bastard. There's no way I could think any worse of him. Ihihi!" : "Th, that's exactly the same as me! However..., that freakin' shocked me. Shocked me to the bottom of my heart..."Jessica looked down at the floor, irritated. ...She was always talking about how bad her parents were, but maybe she hadn't really felt that way deep inside. I could realize that from the depths of Jessica's shock.  Or, you know, the two of you just kind of suck at being rich. : "I know that George nii-san has become a full-fledged member of society and is working hard, ...but does that mean that once you start talking about money and assets, you turn into a shameless, greedy vulture...?": "...If you're talking about me, no, I wouldn't want to do that. However, when your family and your employees, your subordinates and their families are all counting on you, ...there are some times when you must fight.": "...I hate that kind of fight. That back and forth about Grandfather's inheritance, it just makes me wanna puke."Jessica pretended to spit violently. ...That harsh reaction made the depths of her pain very clear.  : "...Let's stop talking about this. All of this about Grandfather's hidden gold, about property and inheritance is our parents' problem, not ours.": "I agree. ...At the very least, I think that being considerate and staying out of the parents' way when they're talking is the duty of their children.": "...Heh. ...Sounds pretty boring..."Everyone knows the phrase "Adults are filthy", ...but we had now seen that for ourselves, and that really did give us a shock. George-aniki was now pretty much an adult, and I had already been disillusioned with my dad in the first place, so the shock wasn't that big for us, ...but it looked like it was different for Jessica. Really, you'd think she'd be the most keenly aware that the Ushiromiyas are all assholes. She is the one who's been stuck on an island with them for her entire life, after all. And has had the most contact with Kinzo as a result.  ...And then her parents started raging about, going 'Money money inheritance inheritance, my money!' right in front of all of the other parents and the children. It was no surprise that the shock of hearing that was so big... : "...Jessica-chan. Please don't start hating your mother and father. ...I won't ask you to understand them, but at least don't hate them.": "I get it, just leave me alone a bit...!!"Six years ago, I would have further taunted the dejected Jessica, ...I guess I really have grown over six years. I realized that it would be better to leave Jessica as she was right now... Jessica suddenly looked away sulkily and left the parlor. ...She probably wanted to be left alone for now. I could do nothing but wordlessly watch her back as she left...  Maria, who truly looked up to witches, had expected that coming in direct contact with Beatrice and receiving the letter as proof would be an event that would surprise everyone and make them happy. However, the adults had doubted its authenticity, and without swallowing Maria's story, had thoroughly bombarded her with questions. It was hard for me to imagine how much that must have hurt Maria. And this right after the business with the typhoon and beating. Jesus. This is just not her night. I couldn't speak to Maria or Jessica. ...In the end, George-aniki and I just abandoned ourselves to the sound of the falling rain in the dark night... : "I wonder what's happening with that typhoon. ...Maybe there's some news."George-aniki started walking over to the corner of the parlor where the television was. He hadn't called me over, and I really couldn't have cared less where the typhoon was on the sea now. So without going over to the television, I loitered around the window.  : "...That stomachache of a discussion could continue all night. It will get nasty.": "Well then, please enjoy playing vultures to Grandfather's property as much as you'd like. ...It's disgusting.": "I'll agree with you on that. If I could just slip away like you, I would do it. ...Unfortunately, I can't. Even if I'm not allowed to speak. My partner needs me, right?"Kyrie-san took a deep breath, smiling bitterly. That's right. They probably wouldn't let Kyrie-san, who married into the family, speak. Still, as Dad's partner, she had no choice but to stay by his side and support him. ...She must have had to bear the full brunt of this mental pressure, much more than I did. I wasn't going to apologize, but, realizing that I had spoken too harshly, I cut the sarcasm for the time being... : "So how does it look? Are they still stuck on the topic of the mysterious witch, Beatrice?" On the one hand, they all want a larger portion than the other siblings, so they are all rivals, but on the other hand, they don't want one yen to be snatched up by anyone other than the siblings, so they are also all allies. I haven't been told the details, but they argue on and on about their ceasefire agreement and rules to prevent anyone from getting ahead, under which their portions are protected, and which can, in the worst case scenario, even become grounds for legal action. ...That they would go this far to preserve their shares was more than shocking... : "So, basically, Beatrice is like an assassin sent by Grandfather. ...He probably wanted to scare the hell out of his children for just talking about the distribution of the inheritance without him. Ihihi!"Battler, I don't think you get how assassins work. Or how Kinzo works, for that matter. If he was planning to off the family, you would know. : "Who is this Beatrice, I wonder? If she is who she says she is, then she's a mystery that no one knew about until today, and she also knew about the existence of Grandfather's hidden gold. Furthermore, she was even entrusted with the head's ring. ...She must truly have been trusted by him.": "Well, obviously I don't think she's a witch riding around on a broom. ...But she was surely a mysterious person who rated being called a witch." : "What is for certain is that Maria received a letter from a person who took the name Beatrice. ...Entrusting Maria with a letter and hiding away even now, when she could have just appeared and talked to us directly...she sure is shy for a mystery person. Hahahahaha...": "...Hey, Battler-kun. Do you think that someone called Beatrice actually exists?": "Who knows? Doesn't it really seem like a false name? Like she's Grandfather's representative, so she was permitted to take the name of the witch from his delusions?" : "No, that's not what I meant. Right now, there are a total of 18 people here on Rokkenjima. ...Do you think that there is a 19th person?"Are there really 18 people on this island? Wondering about that, I began counting on my fingers, and it really did come out to 18 people.  : "Then, where exactly is this person now? At the very least, she must have been on this island when it started raining. And since that time, the weather has become progressively worse, so taking a boat out would be pretty much impossible. In that case, that person must still be on the island hiding from the rain somewhere. ...And without being spotted by any of us?": "...Certainly, all of us have been randomly prowling around all over the mansion and the guesthouse, but no one has bumped into a 19th person...Even so, this island is huge. There might be other places to hide from the rain outside the mansion and the guesthouse."Or, even within the mansion, say, Kinzo's study? Some other obscure room no one, except servants who already in on it, ever goes or would think to check? At about this time, I began to realize what direction Kyrie-san's doubts were taking us in. Kyrie-san was denying that a 19th person existed. ...Beatrice was one of us 18. ...In other words, she thought that someone we knew well was tricking us.  : "Wait a second, isn't this line of reasoning a little too hasty? Yes, no one spotted them, but that doesn't mean that you can deny the possibility that a 19th person exists, right?” Meet the Devil's Proof. It is an actual legal term, also known as the Probatio Diabolica. The page is short, so you may as well read up, as Battler loves the hell out of it as an argument. As such, it's another thing we're gonna be seeing a lot of within the in-game theorizing. : "...Yes. Battler-kun, your way of reasoning isn't bad. In the current situation, there's not enough information to either accept that a 19th person exists or deny it. ...But if you turn the chessboard over and think of it that way, we can be nearly sure that the existence of a 19th person is impossible."'Turn the chessboard over' was one of Kyrie-san's favorite phrases. ...I had also been influenced by those words, and used them myself from time to time. When you got stuck trying to find a move in chess or Shogi, by turning the board over and looking at everything from your opponent's standpoint, you could often see a strategy that would give you the upper hand. It meant turning things around and putting yourself in your opponent's shoes.  It really was a contradiction. If they had some reason for hiding themselves, then they should have stayed hidden the whole time. But even so, they had appeared openly in front of Maria. : "Then...wait, Maria even said it. Didn't she say that she had been made a messenger? Since Maria was the youngest and looked the most innocent...": "Why would they need a messenger? If they just wanted a letter delivered to the family conference, they could have mailed it. If they mailed it to each of the four siblings, they would be unable to ignore it. There was no need for them to carry it themselves and secretly hand it over." : "...That really...does sound pretty weird." : "In the first place, if Beatrice existed, and she wanted to make her presence known to everyone, then she could have just openly presented herself to all of us. Despite that, she chose the vague method of appearing through a little girl called Maria-chan, and only gave us an indistinct impression of who she was. Contradiction. Let's go a little deeper, shall we? : “In short, there is some scheme by someone who wants to give the impression that there is a 19th person called Beatrice.": "...If this person wanted to hide, then they wouldn't have made their presence known. And if they wanted to show themselves, they wouldn't have used the roundabout approach of entrusting someone with a letter. ...Which means...?": "It's simple. Beatrice is one of the 18 people. Which means that they want to create the illusion that there is someone outside of the 18 people. ...The 19th person was revealed so spectacularly. The only person who could profit from this would not be some 19th person in hiding. It would be one of the original 18 people. ...Of course, this reasoning is full of holes. If you turn over even a few of its premises, it will simply fall apart. But I think it is almost certainly correct."Unless, of course, Beatrice has kicked earth logic to the curb just to gently caress with everyone even more.  : "I had suspected that it might have been Maria-chan playacting, but the contents of the message were extremely complicated, so it's hard to think that Maria-chan prepared it herself. ...However, I can't deny the possibility that Maria-chan is working together with someone.": "W, wait, a sec..., Maria's a nine year old kid, right?! What could she possibly be planning, and with who?! And what about her serious, too honest, and obedient character?!": "Yes, I also understand what kind of a person Maria-chan is. ...But I think that's exactly why it's possible. That girl's a dreamer who can't help but look up to and blindly accept the existence of witches. So if a person appeared in front of her and said they were the witch Beatrice, Maria-chan would be so happy that she would just swallow it up, I think.": "...So you're saying that if someone disguised themselves by wearing that fancy dress from the portrait, tricking Maria wouldn't be that hard?": "Of course, with that reasoning, all of us women would become the primary suspects. ...Anyways, did Maria-chan encounter someone? Learning the details of that question would be the best key to solving this riddle.”  And then it...randomly cuts to Maria breaking down in front of the portrait in the middle of the conversation.   And then switches back almost immediately. That was...a thing? : "Battler-kun, I think that a kid like you would be better at cheering her up than an adult like me. ...After she's feeling better, try asking...I know you don't care about all this back and forth on the distribution of the inheritance, but don't you think this rich western mansion mystery situation is exciting? Who in the world is this person who gave Maria-chan the letter? ...It makes your intellectual curiosity ache.": "Even though it's connected to that boring money problem, it's pretty exciting and a really tough problem... Adults can be pretty horrible."I shrugged, surprised. ...But she had noticed it. She had noticed the dejection I had felt because I had overheard our parents' turbulent discussion, and was probably trying to turn my mood around.  : "Hey, brats, so this is where you were? Kyrie, you really took your time fixing your makeup, didn't you? From now on, I'll start wearing it too.": "I'm sorry. A woman's makeup takes a long time. ...So? How has the discussion been without me?": "Hehehe, I'm sure everything was all peaceful and harmonious."Kyrie-san poked the weak spot under my arm with her elbow.  : "Still, that rain's just awful. I really don't want to go back to the guesthouse. It looks like Natsuhi nee-san made preparations for us to spend the night here in the mansion. What'll we do?": "...We don't need to think of it until you're done, right? If you run out of enough energy to head back to our room, then we can let them take care of us.": "That's right. We can think about it later. ...What about you, Battler?": "If I stayed, I'd just get in the way. I'll be nice and go back over there.": "...Is that so? Will you go back soon?": "I dunno. It'd be lonely to head back by myself. I'll gather all of the kids and we'll head out.":"Alright. That'd be good. ...So, Battler. You won't just be going to sleep that easily, right?": "Yeah, I'll probably be up talking with the cousins. Sound like we'll be up all night, doesn't it? We'll have to do something about that." Apparently, Kyrie-san was thinking the same thing. 'What are you talking about?' She asked him in a small voice. ...Anyhow, it looked like Kyrie-san also didn't have a clue what Dad was talking about. : "...I also want to talk to Kyrie about it. ...I'll tell you later, so don't ask now. Please.": "...?"I don't think there's anyone who ignores their family as much as this old bastard. ...And this was the guy that was asking us to have a talk as a family. ...Both Kyrie-san and I couldn't help but get wide-eyed. : "Don't make that scared looking face. I'm the one that should be scared. ...Anyways, ..."At that point, he swallowed his words for an instant. ...Even though putting on airs of importance wasn't much like my dad.   ...Well. Seems someone's connected the epitaph and letter after all. And is actually taking this poo poo seriously. Dad's expression, brightly illuminated by the lightning, was burned into my eyes. Dad face, which always looked so sure of itself and which always wore a taunting expression, ...was for some reason that I couldn't explain, strangely frail. It was so worn out that he looked like a different person.  : "...I'm going to go fix my makeup. Don't follow me."Dad turned away, weakly. After that, only Kyrie and I were left, still wide-eyed. : "What did he say...? Tonight, he'll be killed? You don't think that mysterious letter scared him? Hasn't he been watching too many serial murder movies?": "...Hmmmmmmmm."Kyrie-san didn't answer my lighthearted words, and continued to stare at my dad's disappearing back... : "...Battler-kun, when you told Rudolf-san to say something, he left without telling us anything. Even though he said that he had something to say to everyone, he didn't answer you. Why? ...Turn the chessboard over. ...And when you do?": "There's the contradiction that he said he wanted to talk but then couldn't. ...What, can you see anything by looking from Dad's perspective?" : "Fufufu, can great detectives deduce the emotions and feelings between men and women? They can't, right? Figuring out the feelings of the opposite sex is an even more advanced art than exposing the tricks in difficult crime cases. If you ask me, romance novels have much deeper mysteries than masterpiece mystery novels.": "I, ...I see. Is that how it is...": "I stand alongside that spoiled brat. ...He normally loves to bluff, but tonight he's completely tired out from that heated discussion. He probably wants someone to lean on at the moment. And responding to that need is the duty of his partner.": "Ha--. Sounds passionate. Then I'll leave that old bastard in your hands."...And having been told to follow Rudolf and force an answer out of him, Battler...ignores it and leaves him to Kyrie. Battler is not a very good detective... : "Yes, leave it to me."I called out to Kyrie-san's departing back. : "...Huh? What?": "Um, I wanted to say thanks. Thanks to you, my gloomy mood has cleared up a lot.": "That's good. Communication is important."After answering with a wink, Kyrie-san followed after Dad... ...Wait a second. Look at the backgrounds. And then look back. They've been the same all the way through, and there's no mention of either Battler or George leaving the room at any point. Yet George apparently has...taken no notice of or interest in Rudolf dramatically announcing that he's probably gonna die either. Maybe it's not just Battler. Maybe this entire family, save perhaps Rudolf, has the survival instincts of lemmings.  The discussion that had just taken place between the relatives in the dining hall was repeating itself inside Natsuhi's mind...  ...In other words, she planned to undermine the absolute guarantee that Krauss, as the oldest brother, had to succeed the family head. Originally, the other siblings had absolutely no chance to succeed the head. To them, this 'proposal' by Beatrice was extremely desirable. It was obvious that they would accept Beatrice's proposal. ...There was no need to play that clumsy detective game. She knew that this so called 19th person, Beatrice, couldn't exist. Devil's Proof, Natsuhi! You can't prove that!  Most likely, one of the servants had given Maria the letter. Kinzo had probably worked out an elaborate plan where the dress from the portrait would be prepared, ...and someone, probably Shannon, would be made to wear it and deliver the letter and the umbrella. By doing that, he could make it seem like the witch from the portrait actually existed. ...No, if anything, from that alone you could conclude that Kinzo was behind all of this.  ...Now it was certain. Kinzo had listened in on the siblings' discussion in the parlor earlier that day. So he had known how Krauss had staved off the attack by the other three, and to make the scales of the battle go back into balance, he had sent out this strange letter which benefited the other three. He was trying to push this crazy theory so that Rosa, who had a weak position among the siblings because of her age, and Eva and Rudolf could join together, and with three against one, could overwhelm Krauss yet again. ...And by doing that, he gave them the power to resettle what had once been a nearly decided conflict. They had now started repeatedly pressing Krauss to pay them a large amount of money... Using the condition that all of the siblings would guarantee Krauss the succession to the family head, talk about the advance payment which had once been denied was being brought up again.  Therefore, even if they weren't that interested in the gold itself, Kinzo had managed to instill the lifelong fear that, on the off-chance that someone found the gold, that person would be granted the position of family head. And this kind of Achilles' heel would definitely be taken advantage of by someone sooner or later. The only person with this fatal weakness was the successor to the head, Krauss. ...The other siblings had found, ...no, they had been told by Kinzo about something that only Krauss could lose, and they had thoroughly taken advantage of that.  Krauss had always told Natsuhi. He had told all of the siblings. He always, always said that the hidden gold was nothing more than an illusion created by Kinzo. Therefore, Natsuhi had believed that as his wife, and on that foundation had supported her husband. Even so, Natsuhi's words didn't reach Krauss.  It had happened when everyone decided to take a short break to cool their heads. Natsuhi had flared up against Krauss. Enraged, she had asked why she could not be useful to him. ...He had then told her that he wanted to talk about something, and invited her into a room that she was normally not allowed to enter. That room had been sealed with a heavy-looking padlock, and just looking at it had given her an uncomfortable feeling...  Krauss removed the padlock on the door. He then motioned for Natsuhi to enter. : "Enter." : "Wha, ...what is this?": "There's something I want to show you. ...This is the first time I've shown it to anyone."Natsuhi timidly opened the door with a dubious expression on her face... It was pitch black. She searched for a switch to turn on the lights, but since this was her first time in the room, she didn't know where it was. Krauss entered behind her, pushing her in, and when he closed the door before turning on the lights, the two were swallowed up by the darkness. Only the sound of Krauss locking the door rang out through the dark.  : "...Th, that is...?"Natsuhi had her breath taken away. The room had no windows, and at a glance, it appeared to be empty. In the middle of the room, a small, round table had been set, and the lights brightened only that table, as if it were the leading part in a play. On top of the table, a red tablecloth of elaborate design had been set out, covered with dust, ...and on top of that, 'something' about the size of a grown man's arm had been set down. ...That something took Natsuhi's breath away.   As a point of trivia, 100% pure gold is apparently ridiculously impractical to get in significant amounts. 99.99% is as close as it gets, generally. 'Course, that's for mundane means. A reality bending godwitch like Beatrice could presumably churn out massive amounts of completely pure gold with ease. Though she apparently remained within the limits of what human technology can produce, for whatever reason. It was a ingot of solid gold. Even in the faint light, it sparkled with a noble and dignified gold glint... : "This is not a proper ingot. I don't even know whether it was cast inside or outside the country."It took a high level of skill to make the purest of solid gold ingots. And in order to verify that purity, it was standard to have the original foundry and the name of the bank that guaranteed it imprinted on the gold. ...However, this ingot did not have that kind of seal. ...This mysterious gold bar had come from an unknown foundry.  : "Right there."Krauss pointed at the surface of the ingot. ...Natsuhi concentrated on that section... : "...!!"Right there was the thin imprint of the One-winged Eagle crest! Natsuhi's breath was taken away once again.  : "It actually exists. ...The gold that Ushiromiya Kinzo received from Beatrice actually exists."Or at least one ingot of it does. It is still within the realm of possibility that they got one authentic ingot and got the president to agree that there were totally another 10 tons worth of them. : "How could...! H, ...how could it really exist..."Natsuhi was shocked... Krauss had always said that Kinzo's gold was just a fabrication. So she had believed it as his wife.  ...But to Natsuhi, this truth was more than enough to split open her heart. She had thought that, as Krauss's wife, she should be his closest confidant, which was why she had been selflessly supporting him. ...And yet, he had hid this fact from her until today. ...Why? : "...Ha, ...have I been, ...so undeserving of your trust...?": "...I didn't mean it like that. It was only that there was no need to mention it.": "I, ...is that all a, ...a wife means to you...?!" Krauss grimaced, looking annoyed... His expression effectively communicated how much he disliked this part of Natsuhi...  This fuckin' guy. There is just no situation Krauss cannot somehow manage to be smug about. : "That's wrong!! This is the Ushiromiya family's problem! It's true that I am not permitted to have the family crest imprinted on my body! But I am still your wife!! Even so, ...are you saying I'm not capable of helping you...?! Are you...!!!?": "...I especially wouldn't want to risk getting you involved. It would probably make your headaches even worse than they are now. Take a rest for today. The siblings will deal with the siblings' problems. It has nothing to do with you. That is all." ...Even if I am Natsuhi, ...I am not Ushiromiya Natsuhi. As a borrowed womb, I am despised, ...and abused for not even being able to take care of that, ...even so, I have tried to properly perform the duties of a wife, ...but have been rejected even by my husband. I did my best as though raising my daughter was the last job left to me... ...However, my anger and sadness, having no place to go, caused me to subconsciously strain that relationship too... Because I have been excessively strict in Jessica's education, I am thoroughly disliked by her. Jessica despises me for not being interested in anything but grades. First we had all the branches hating each other, now they're all falling apart internally within the first evening. And we've even got the cousins added to the web of hate now! ...There is no longer, ...anything I can do for the Ushiromiya family... No, ...that's no good. Even so, I must help my husband dislodge the schemes of the other greedy siblings.  In the days to come, that greedy Ushiromiya Eva will probably be plotting to find some fault with the main family, so that if all goes as she plans, Jessica will be dragged down from the succession, with George in her place. ...It is regrettable, but George is a man, and even more, has matured as a person. ...Compared to Jessica, who is right in the middle of her rebellious period and whose grades are slightly below average, it can be seen at a glance who is more fit to succeed the head. You're thinking about this all wrong, Natsuhi. Neither of them are fit for it. Clearly, the only descendant truly suited for the spot is the one who's got basically the same qualifications Kinzo had for the job: -From the branch least likely to have a shot at the succession -Prone to flipping the gently caress out with little to no provocation -Obsessed with the occult in general and Beatrice in specific -Does not operate by earth logic : Uu-! More absinthe! Uu-!It's obvious, really. And surely there's no way handing absurd amounts of wealth and power over to an autistic child could possibly go wrong! So in order to secure Jessica's position, I need to turn her into an excellent person. After doing that, ...I want to find her an excellent husband worthy of the excellent person she will have become. ...A wonderful man who will truly accept Jessica, and stay with her through all of life's joys and sorrows.  She had tried to block that from her memory. ...She had consciously forgotten that, and had actively attended to the life she had been given as Ushiromiya Natsuhi... And had built up a new life. ...But, ...it felt like, ...just now, all of that had been casually rejected. : "...How should I think as I live my life? ...I don't know."Natsuhi helplessly rested her head against the glass of the window... The glass, which was cool thanks to the raindrops beating against it, was somehow refreshing. Even though it should have been emotionless, ...right then it seemed to be the only thing that could understand Natsuhi... At that point, even if someone had appeared, Natsuhi probably wouldn't have cared in the state she was in. ...But she did care. ...Because it was her beloved daughter.   : "...Jessica. I'm sorry, Mom's headache is awful. Please leave me be.": "...Really..."Jessica was slightly disconcerted when she first spotted her mother's feebleness. Until just now, she had been filled with contempt for all of the parents, including her mother. ...But now, only a tiny bit of those feelings remained. ...All of it had been wiped out by her mother's completely exhausted face. ...Or maybe not yet. Eh, I'm sure the cousins'll work their way into the clusterfuck properly eventually.  ...Couldn't her mother have been standing around in this dimly lit hallway because no one had tried to understand that...? Jessica didn't like her mother. ...So it would be hard to give her mother words of kindness even if she looked a little frail... Therefore, when she tried to talk to her mother kindly anyways, she had to gather up the words from deep in her heart, both fists clenched.  Natsuhi was not being unsociable. ...She just wanted her daughter to go far away so that she didn't have to bump into Natsuhi's own short temper. ...But there was no chance that her intentions would reach Jessica. : "...Y, ...yes."Jessica hung her head, looking sad. ...Looking at that expression, Natsuhi realized that Jessica was trying to muster up the strength to be kind to her mother. She gave her head a small shake to drive away her own unkind feelings... : "Then I'll, ...leave. ...I'll be with the other cousins so I don't get in the way of the adults. ...See you later..." : "...Wait there."She called Jessica, who was trying to leave and looked lonely, to a stop.  : "...You were worried about me. I'm alright now. ...I will go."'If I stay here any longer, my feeble expression would actually make my daughter feel more uncomfortable.' ...Thinking this, Natsuhi left Jessica with words of gratitude and made to depart. ...This time, Jessica called out to her mother's back. Natsuhi stopped and turned around, asking what business Jessica had with her. But Jessica herself didn't know why she had stopped her mother, ...and for a while, she smiled wryly、muttering to herself as she hesitated over what to say She was poking around in her pocket when her hand touched something, and she took it out.  It was the scorpion charm that Maria had given her by the beach that day. Although she had heard of its various effects from Maria, right now, Jessica's mind was blank, and she was just barely able to say even that much. Jessica, thinking that her mother probably wouldn't accept it anyway, immediately drew back the hand she had stuck out, grasping the charm. ...So when Natsuhi came back to take it, she was extremely shocked... : "...What is this? Some kind of giveaway...?": "W, well it's, I think it's something like that... You couldn't really expect a charm that looks like a toy to be effective..."Dunno how well the protective bit works, but can verify that they are not, in fact, an effective source of infinite money. Next time, world economy. Next time... But her mother grasped that hand and accepted the scorpion charm. : "Thank you. I'll take good care of it. ...Sometime soon, in exchange, why don't I give you a charm that was important to me when I was a child?": "...I, it's not like that's why I gave it to you. ...But, well, ...if you really say so...": "Then I will rest for now. My headache is awful. ...Try not to stay up too late.": "Sure..." Next time: The stage is set, a couple is brought together, and Beatrice makes a slightly more direct appearance.
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Oct 26, 2012 08:39
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LeeDless posted:Good lord, we're almost three months into this LP and we're not even half-way through the first episode. Oooooh yes. I'd kinda expected to get through at least these early bits faster, but alas, things didn't work out quite right for that. Even if they had, though, was definitely expecting this to be a long one. Two years might even be a bit toward the low end, depending on how much I can pick up the pace down the line. Next update should be up tomorrow night. Have more exams coming up through the next two weeks or so, but I've got enough readied that I should be able to weather this round without falling behind again. Definitely without another sudden near-month-long disappearance.
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Oct 30, 2012 09:07
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Part Thirteen: A Dark and Stormy Night At that point, Jessica returned. Her face was still blank, but it looked like she had calmed down a little since she had left. : "...Is Maria still in front of the portrait?": "Nope. She just came back, and she's sleeping over there on the sofa. It is getting pretty late for her."Looking at the clock, it was a little past 10:00 PM. ...Even if we were going to stay up all night, it was about time to head back to our room.  After we discussed that, Rosa oba-san came into the parlor. She was looking all over restlessly, probably trying to find Maria. : "Rosa oba-san, if you're looking for Maria, she's over there on the sofa.": "Thank you. My, she's out cold. ...We must move her to a bed.": "If you would like, I'll carry her over to a bed." : "Really. Then I wonder if you wouldn't mind taking Maria with you. ...I think it will be much more comforting if all of the cousins are together."It seemed that, in the shadow behind those words, there was some regret that the adults, herself included, had deeply hurt Maria's feelings... : "Leave it to us, Oba-san. After all, we do have an expert at comforting Maria with us!": "A, are you talking about me? I couldn't do it myself. We'll need everyone together.": "That's right. Battler, weren't you the one who hit it off with Maria when you were messing around earlier?"As we said this, Rosa oba-san smiled, looking truly happy.  : "Hey, Maria, did you have a good sleep...? We're going back to the guesthouse~."Maria muttered something indistinct and fell back asleep. ...It looked like she was sleeping deeply. : "She's really out cold. It'd be bad to wake her.": "Right, I'll carry her." It was raining hard outside, and Aniki couldn't hold an umbrella and carry Maria at the same time. It looked like Rosa oba-san would come with us as far as the guesthouse to help out. However, when she heard Krauss oji-san's voice call out to her, she had no choice but to return. : "...That's too bad. I have to go back now.": "...Is everyone returning to the guesthouse?"After we left the hall on the way to the entrance, the door to the servants' room opened and Shannon-chan stepped out.  As we opened the front door, the downpour was quite terrific. It looked like we wouldn't have any spare time to take a pleasant walk and enjoy the nighttime rose garden... : "Aniki, is she too heavy? Want me to carry her?": "It's alright. I can at least carry Maria-chan.": "...I'm truly grateful. Please take care of Maria.": "Right, we understand. In that case, goodnight, Oba-san.": "Then I will see them over there and return here.": "Yes, please..."Rosa oba-san saw us off. : "...Maria...I'm sorry for everything..."Rosa's mumbling voice didn't reach the person in question, nor anyone else, but disappeared beneath the sound of the rain...    After cutting through the rainy rose garden, we arrived at the guesthouse.  : "C'mon, quit babbling and go in!"After being nudged by Jessica, Shannon folded up her umbrella and went into the guesthouse. : "Has anyone gotten their clothes wet? I can bring some towels if you want...": "You don't need to worry about us that much. Thank you, Shannon-chan.": "That's right. We were saying earlier that we would play some cards, do you want to stay with us for a while?": "Huh? Who had the night shift on today's schedule?": "I believe there has been a special schedule during the family conference. I think there were a few changes, so I will go and check...":"Wait, if you have to go all the way back to the mansion to find out, don't force yourself.": "Ah, it's alright. I can find out from the servants' room in the guesthouse. ...Please excuse me for a short while."Shannon-chan gave a quick bow and went into the guesthouse servants' room.  We got some drinks out of the room's refrigerator, and spent some time playing cards while drinking...  : "...Hmm. Gohda-san has been changed to the night shift at the mansion. You and Kanon have the night shift in the guesthouse. Kumasawa-san and I have been ordered to spend the night in the guesthouse... Just now, a phone call came, saying that you are also to remain here." : "Huh...? Th, that's quite a large modification... The shifts at the guesthouse and the mansion have almost been completely reversed, haven't they...?" : "...It's probably because of Beatrice-sama's letter.": "...Why probably?": "When such a mysterious letter appeared, it was only natural that Krauss-sama would suspect one of us. ...We serve directly under the Master, so Krauss-sama tried as best he could to keep us far away from the family conference." Because of this, they were often viewed by Krauss and the others as Kinzo's underlings and shunned. In reality, Kinzo would seldom let anyone other than them enter his study. You could probably say this sudden shift change clearly expressed the sense of mistrust that caused. Considering the time Kinzo had left to live, this would definitely be the last family conference before the problem of the inheritance would come up. On top of that, the mysterious letter that claimed to be from Beatrice had dropped in out of the blue. Krauss definitely wanted to keep Kinzo's loyal subjects away from the table of such a delicate and important discussion...  :""Yes, certainly, Genji-sama.""Genji nodded back, went behind a screen, took off his jacket, and slowly began to relax after a day's worth of tension... : "...The ones who just returned now, were they the children...?": "Yes. The other relatives are having a conference in the mansion. It looked like it would drag on until much later...": "...That would be comfortable. It's already this late, and there's this weather. Probably, the rest of the relatives will spend the night in their rooms in the mansion.": "Yes, probably... I'm only saying this because Genji-sama isn't around, but I'm a little happy I was sent to the guesthouse...I think..." : "...I see. Then, let's do our best together with our midnight shift. I'm counting on you, Nee-san." : "Ah, ...umm... Just now, I was asked to go to the children's room and play with them..."Shannon hung her head apologetically, ...gazing at Kanon uncertainly. Kanon didn't try to meet her eyes, and spoke curtly as he sighed. It looked like he didn't plan on indulging his 'sister'.  : "...In that case, the children will be waiting for you. You will have to apologize and tell them that you have the night shift and won't be able to stay with them. ...Go and come back.": "Huh, ...ah, yes! I'll go apologize and come back..."Shannon hurriedly stood from her seat before her brother's mood could change, and flew out of the servants' room after giving a quick bow... As he watched her back go, Kanon took a single deep breath... Genji's voice came from beyond the screen. : "...Kanon. ...I will be here, so you can go too.": "Genji-sama...Shannon was the only one called. It's not like I was invited...": "That is only because you were not there at the time. If you had been, you would have been invited as well. ...It is good to play as a child from time to time.": "...No, that's not something that I need to do. ...Kids who are people may have a need to play, but ...we are...only furniture.": "...Is that so." Genji did not say anything after that. ...After a while, he stood up and used a pot of hot water to make powdered cocoa, and served some to Kanon as well.  His voice caused Maria to turn over once, but she soon fell back into a deep sleep... Jessica gave him a jab, and he lowered his voice. : "Still, seriously..., now that I've heard about it, they really did have that kind of atmosphere, didn't they...Haa, now I see, that George-aniki..." : "...Yeah, they've really been showing signs for a long time, haven't they? Asking what the other person liked, asking what their hobbies were. And somehow thinking they could pass it off as nothing more than a passing interest!?": "Come to think of it, I get the feeling that George-aniki has always been overly nice to Shannon-chan... No-w I get it..."    : "Hahaha, I already knew that the typhoon would be coming beforehand. Just in case, I made sure that I didn't have any plans for Monday, so it's all right. ...I may not look like it, but I really am the type who can plan ahead in his schedule."George puffed out his chest, acting proud. Compared to the normally calm appearance that George always had as the oldest cousin, he now looked amusingly like a little kid. Shannon chuckled at this gap.  : "It's no surprise that someone who will soon make his company prosperous is so well prepared.": "...Well, making a company prosperous really is a tough job. Money isn't the only thing that's important. I learned that well by studying from my father. Making a company prosperous is like having a castle and leading your subordinates.” : "Is that true? That's a little unexpected." : "In order to unite his troops, Shingen utilized several strategies. For example, when a soldier succeeded well in battle, he would immediately honor them with a medal. Normally, that kind of thing was put off until after the war and they were all awarded at once. He also worked diligently while on the field of battle, and when he immediately showed his appreciation for his troops' military exploits, he motivated them in an extremely significant fashion. After that, whenever one of his troops was brought down by an illness, he would be the first to rush up to them and care for them, things like that. ...Takeda Shingen wasn't just the man who led the strongest calvary corps in the warring period. He was the person who cared the most for his troops throughout the warring period.": "...Since he was that kind of person, all of his troops went along with him."The truth was, Shannon had already heard this story several years ago. ...But when George started to tie his father in with one of these stories, he would always be beaming, looking like he was having a great time. So Shannon just smiled without interrupting, urging him to continue.  : "George-sama, you truly look up to your father... I'm jealous.": "A, ah, sorry..., that's not exactly the way I meant to say it.": "I, I am sorry..., I also didn't mean it that way..."The two of them awkwardly looked at their feet.  Yes. Kinzo runs an entire orphanage that exists solely to provide him with minions. That is a thing.   Minions with code names who are loyal only to each other and Kinzo. The odds that they double as elite ninja or something of the sort are roughly 517%.  ...However, there were not many servants who stayed with the Ushiromiya family for long. It was standard for them to quit after three years. At which point they go out into society and become sleeper agents, just waiting for orders to come in from Rokkenjima... So you could probably say that Shannon, who had been working for over ten years, was an exception to an exception to the rule. Working as a servant for the Ushiromiya family was a heavy burden to bear, but the pay wasn't bad at all. Working for a full three years would earn more than what was needed to enter mainstream society. That was why, even though the graduates from the orphanage realized what a harsh task working for the Ushiromiya family was, they still hoped to be accepted. Maybe the fact that Shannon had managed to continue for more than ten years shouldn't be viewed as her having more willpower than any of the other servants. Maybe she was made to continue working for ten years because she didn't have the courage to say that she wanted to quit.   : "Have you continued working to try and meet some target sum?": "...Y, ...yes, that's right. ...I have nowhere to go outside of this mansion. ...I have been getting along well with Milady and the other servants' children, too...I am sometimes scolded by Madam, but, ...caring for the rose garden and cleaning the mansion is fun..." : "Even after becoming an adult and a full-fledged member of society, I've been studying and I've learned something. ...A human's life is not as monotonous or short as we thought when we were kids."When they are students, everyone has certain fears that they can't shake. ...Wondering whether they will live the rest of their lives like they were in sleepy classes after a monotonous and boring school day, spending their time in a carefree laziness without anything interesting happening until it was all over... However, these thoughts will only arise while a person is still an underage student. Compared to a human's life, the time they spend as a student is nothing more than a blink of the eye, a period where they break through the shells of their immaturity. The inside of the shell might be a hot, suffocating and boring world, but the world beyond that shell is vast and filled with limitless possibilities.  Shannon couldn't deny those words. ...She hadn't been able to doubt her way of life, and since she never had any hope or goal to change herself, she had continued her life of idleness. ...And if she were asked whether this life was satisfying, ...she wouldn't have been able to nod... This might have caused her to avert her eyes from the truth. ...As long as she wasn't admonished by George, she would have continued pretending not to notice as her real life slipped away, neglected, bit by bit... : "...George-sama...Should I not, ...continue living, ...this way?": "You must not. Ah, and by the way, didn't you break one of the rules just now?"George immediately gave a strict answer, and then broke out into a mischievous smile. Shannon already knew what she was being chided for, ...and it seemed that it embarrassed her, as she hung her head. : "Didn't you promise not to use "sama" when the two of us are alone...?": "...I couldn't obey that as a promise. ...But, if it was an order, I would have to obey it... Because I'm, ...furniture." : "Yes, that's fine, Sayo-chan."A smile rose to George's face praising Shannon's, no, Sayo's small act of bravery. Just watching this conversation would give anyone a feeling of how close their relationship was... For a long while, the two talked as if the weather raging around them didn't even enter their consciousness. They talked about the many memories they'd built during their relationship that no one else knew about. Every once in a while, a flash of lightning would slice through the rain, but this could sully neither the roses nor the time they spent blushing at each other...  George, who had been speaking eloquently, suddenly started to stutter. Shannon also noticed something about his appearance. George timidly searched through his pocket. Something got caught in the depths of his pocket, and just like the stuttering George, it took a little while to get it out.  It was a very small box. A small box covered in a deep blue velvet. ...That peculiar shape was enough to make anyone realize what was resting inside. Shannon had prepared her heart a little, thinking it must be something like that. But even so, when she actually saw it, she couldn't avoid blushing once more... George opened the small box, took that thing out..., and held it out for Shannon to take it.  : "Sayo. This is not a request. ...It's an order, okay? Accept this ring. ...Okay?": "Ha, ...u... I, ...I can't, ...disobey an order...": "Yes, that's right. ...Good girl."...Honestly, the “ordering her to accept the ring” bit plus that last line make George come off kinda loving creepy here. Is it just me?  And here's a new thing the PS3 version added: CGs. Or, well, to be strictly accurate, extra CGs. The ones we've already seen, like the ingot, chessboard, and I'm like 99% sure the letter were all in the original, though they were redone by a better artist This is the first one that didn't exist at all in the original. Basically if it contains any people and isn't the portrait of Beatrice, it's probably something the PS3 added.  That ring wasn't a simple accessory. ...It was a noble object, which since ancient times was meant to be held with a special meaning and offered to a special woman. ...Therefore, while George could order her to take it, he could not order anything beyond that. Anything beyond that would depend, not on an order, but on Shannon's, no, Sayo's own will.  : "...Err, ...H, ...how...": "I won't order you any more, so this isn't an order. ...But a ring is something you put on your finger. ...If you like it, you can just put it on any finger that you choose."Shannon had only pretended not to know. She had already understood what he wanted her to do. ...But she was standing at a huge crossroads of her life... : "...Look how late it's gotten. Let's call it a day."George faced away from Shannon, seeming slightly uncomfortable. : "I probably can't order you to wear it on your left hand. You might be timid and dependent enough to actually obey that kind of an order. ...But I want this last part to be given by Sayo's own will. ...Understand?"george you are really not helping your case here dude  ...Today was the culmination of their long relationship. ...This moment had not come as any surprise to Shannon...  ...However, after noticing that feeling, it wasn't as if he couldn't understand that she might be so embarrassed that she'd want to be alone. So because George realized the meaning behind Shannon's lie, he accepted it. But anyway, mildly creepy as it might have been, the happy couple is (probably) engaged now. Good for them. So now the question is which one will be the first to die horribly.  And while the chapter ends here, the next one is extremely short, so we're just gonna plow straight through that too.  A mixture of exaltation and uncertainty gave her a feeling that she couldn't easily describe. It swelled up in her chest until it felt like she was about to burst. After stopping for a second in front of the servants' room to take a deep breath and calm her heart, she opened the door.  : "...Umm, ...I was told by Genji-sama to help Gohda-san and came over.": "Ah, really... Thanks a lot. I was just about to go make the rounds and close up the mansion, but there's no way I could leave this place empty. Anyways, Krauss-sama and the others' meeting looks as though it will continue for quite some time. They might order some tea at any time.": "That's true... Then, what shall we do...? Should I watch over-": "In that case, Shannon-san, sorry, but would you please patrol the inside of the mansion? I will stay here, awaiting the family's orders.": "Ye, ...yes..."...Shannon was a little surprised. Despite the fact that she had come here to help out as a favor, she was being forced to do the job of the person actually on duty as though it were natural. Furthermore, after one-sidedly forcing that task on her, Gohda had once again gone back to his magazine and had become immersed in his crossword puzzle.  Because it had come fairly suddenly, the airy sensation that she had felt a little while ago had lessened a bit. And she couldn't show this kind of face to Genji-sama and Kanon-kun. Until her heart was able to calm down, she wanted a little time to herself, and maybe going on patrol wasn't such a bad way to do that... From the dining hall, she began to hear the tumultuous voices of the family's discussion.  She had been told to go to the guesthouse, so it would be bad if she was discovered by Krauss. Thinking that, Shannon quick-footedly left from the entrance to the dining hall. Then, inside the mansion controlled by darkness, she began to check that the house was all closed up, following a prearranged route.  On Rokkenjima, there were no humans other than the family, so in actuality, closing up wasn't that terribly meaningful of a task. Until Natsuhi had scolded them that this attitude was careless, closing up had not been customary in the Ushiromiya family. The metal fixtures on the completely chilled windows were freezing, and every time she went to check one them, one-by-one, it felt like the glow in her heart seemed to cool down. : "...?"  Beatrice's true form is revealed: she's really a swarm of murderous butterflies. At that time, she thought she saw something flickering across the hall. ...Flickering? Something like that shouldn't be visible beyond the darkness of the hall...  However, other than the occasional crack of thunder brightening the hallway, she was unable to glimpse any flicker again. ...It must have been her imagination after all. Maybe because she couldn't calm her heart, she saw something that didn't even exist. Shannon resumed checking the windows... However, in the back of her mind, a certain unnerving imagination was resurrected.  ...Well then. Looks like her presence is confirmed, then. ...Come to think of it, didn't Kanon-kun once say that he had seen it with his own eyes...? ...Could it possibly... really...? The roar of the thunder gave no answer...  (clickable) You should click that. This last little bit works much better in that form, I think.  It takes us through the rain...      And inside to stare at the portrait for a minute. Bells begin to ring.      And it goes through the entire cast. The siblings and spouses are holed up in the dining room, still busily trying to gently caress each other out of as much of the inheritance as possible.  Shannon is wandering the halls alone, locking up and hoping not to encounter Beatrice again.   The other servants are waiting in their break rooms. They could not be assed to use different backgrounds to indicate that Gohda is still in a different room (and building) than the other two.  Kumasawa is...somewhere? I think that lamp's been used for at least a couple different rooms.  Nanjo, meanwhile, has apparently....wandered off into a dark and formless void. Uh. 'Kay...   The cousins are screwing around in the guesthouse...  And Kinzo is, as ever, in his study, no doubt double-fisting absinthe bottles and ranting about Beatrice to no one in particular. Natsuhi and Maria are not shown. Perhaps because they are sleeping, have no sprites for that, and they saw no need to make CGs for this. Or perhaps for more sinister reasons... Only time will tell...  And then back to the portrait.    And so the first day on Rokkenjima finally draws to a close. Next time: Finally some people die in this game about murder! And it only took three months and thirteen updates to get there!
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Oct 31, 2012 23:12
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Umineko's original art is the awesome kind of awful, pretty much entirely because of the faces. Higurashi's is just terrible. The horrible mutant hands aren't enough to redeem it. Though I say this as someone who only played one episode of Higurashi with the original graphics, and only because I couldn't find a functional patch for Ep 6 at the time. Maybe the art would have grown on me if I'd played all 8 patchless. Update should be up tomorrow night, by the way. Possibly tonight if things work out.
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Nov 8, 2012 01:26
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Part Fourteen: You Shall Lift Up As Sacrifice The Six Chosen By The Key (Section A)  Maybe the rain had died down a tiny bit since the previous night. ...But it didn't look like the thick rain-clouds were planning to let any trace of the morning sun get by. The morning was dim, and far from refreshing. : "...As expected, it doesn't seem that it will stop today.": "Sorry for keeping you waiting, Genji-sama."Kanon finished checking his appearance, and exited the washroom. In a normal schedule, it was rare for anyone to have to suffer going straight from a midnight shift to a morning shift. There was a special system for the two days of the family conference. But then, as long as the typhoon didn't leave today, the relatives' stay on this island would last until tomorrow. Kanon thought that it was best to be prepared for the special schedule to be extended one more day.  Even though they had spent several days making it beautiful to welcome the guests, it had only taken one stormy night to ruin it. Kanon sighed.  Though of course, they didn't bother making backgrounds to show that the garden is ruined now... They reached the overhang by the entrance to the mansion, and folded up their umbrellas. Genji took from his pocket a bundle of several keys, and used it to unlock the front door. There was nothing on Rokkenjima outside the Ushiromiya family mansion, so, in the past, they hadn't been in the habit of locking up. However, Natsuhi had ordered that the mansion would be locked up from midnight to early morning.  Silence had fallen in the mansion, giving the impression that the mansion itself was asleep. : "...Well then, let us begin the morning chores.": "Yes."The two of them split up and began opening the curtains throughout the mansion. ...If the curtains remained closed, the inside of the mansion would still be dim, as if it hadn't managed to escape the previous night, and they wouldn't be able to clean. Kanon, in a well rehearsed procedure, went around the mansion opening one window after another without having to retrace his steps once. Even with this horrible weather, by opening the curtains, it began to feel just a little bit like morning. While doing that, he passed in front of the kitchen. ...Even though he knew that he wouldn't be able to smell it yet, his stomach started aching for some of Gohda's much bragged about cooking.  The kitchen was darkly lit, and there was no fan for ventilation, much less curtains to be opened. Since it was still cold without a hint of a fire, it was obvious that no preparations for breakfast were taking place. ...Even though it wouldn't be permitted, maybe Gohda had overslept. Even servants are human. Except the ones that are actually very well disguised chairs or whatever. They can sometimes be late when they are unable to wake up. ...In the rare case when that happened, clamoring to hide the unsightly scene, casually smoothing it over, and making sure that the presence of such a mistake was never noticed by the master were just some of a servant's virtues. Kanon took the receiver of the phone that had been fitted to the wall and dialed the number for the extension line to the room where the servants slept. : "...?"...He couldn't hear that characteristic sound of a dial tone. Kanon tried picking up the receiver again, but even so, he couldn't hear the usual dial tone. He tried dialing again, but it had no apparent effect.  No way to get off the island, no way to contact anyone outside it. The closed circle has been fully established. The equipment in this mansion was all worn out. Kanon fully understood that even the smallest thing could have caused it to break down. Kanon gave up trying to wake him with the phone, and dashed over to the room where the servants slept.  Her sleep was always light, and she wouldn't even have been able to sleep at all without medicine. ...To Natsuhi, sleeping was definitely not a happy thing. When she looked outside, she saw that it was still pouring. If she hadn't sensed a tiny amount of light, she might have mistakenly thought that it was still last night. ...She herself was one of the hosts, so she mustn't wake up later than her guests. Urging herself on, she raised up her body, which still hadn't completely recovered from yesterday's weariness.  ...Then wouldn't it be better to just stay locked up in this room forever...? Natsuhi smiled bitterly at this delusion. ...She was starting to sound like Kinzo. That is not a bad thing, Natsuhi. At all times, in all situations, you should strive to be more like Kinzo. Well okay maybe not in the “be a complete ...Even though most of the time she would carelessly call Kinzo names for staying locked up in his own room, the truth was that she actually longed to do so herself. ...Natsuhi gave her head a small shake, and her fantasy was replaced by the reawakening of her usual headache.  Surely, Jessica had said something about it having the power to repel magic, and that she should hang it from her doorknob. ...Maybe it was thanks to the charm that at least this room had been protected from her husband's siblings' malice. ...As she thought this, her mood began to get a little more cheerful. : "...I wonder if it was thanks to Jessica, ...that I was able to get a little peaceful sleep..."Then Natsuhi remembered. That's right, last night, I promised Jessica that I would give her a charm of my own in exchange for this one, didn't I? Natsuhi opened a drawer on her dresser, and she took out an antique accessory case that she had treasured when she was a child. Inside, there were many small objects that Natsuhi had thought were valuable at the time. From amidst those, she pulled out a red pouch. ...Inside was a small, round mirror about 10cm across.  She had heard that this mirror was a spiritual mirror to ward off evil spirits, and she had been given it specially by her Grandmother when her grandfather's mementos had been distributed. It had been believed since long ago that a strange power slept in that mirror. It was believed that, in the same way it reflected light, it also deflected misfortune and malice. Wait you already had some form of witch protection and you still took the charm? Way to hog all the wards, jackass. Now watch as your daughter turns up dead because she didn't have her scorpion pendant and it'll be all your fault. Natsuhi returned the mirror to its pouch. ...It would probably be a fitting object to hand over to Jessica. Just as she was placing it in her pocket, the sound of someone knocking on the door suddenly echoed throughout the room.  No servant had ever come to her this early in the morning, nor had they come to her directly. Maybe something bad had happened. For example, maybe some fatal oversight had been made during the preparations for breakfast and the household had been put to shame in front of the guests, or something. ...Natsuhi took a deep breath in anticipation for whatever troubles she was about to be told of...  : "...Good morning. Did something happen?": "My apologies. ...It seems that the telephones have broken down because of last night's lightning. ...The extension telephone has been interrupted, so please forgive my coming to see you directly.": "The extension telephone has been interrupted? That will be troublesome. Will it be possible to repair it?":"...I am afraid that we don't know the location of the damage. I would like to call an expert and have him repair it.": "Does that mean that we will be unable to repair it until the typhoon has passed? ...Which means that the guests will be unreachable for the duration of their stay. ...Will there be any problem for our guests?": "...We will do all we can to make sure there is none.": "That is fine. ...I will be counting on you to make sure that there are no blunders."Natsuhi let out a small sigh of relief. She had been prepared for the worst, but damage to the telephones wasn't the kind of trouble she was worried about. ...But then, even this would probably be enough to spark sarcasm from Eva. Natsuhi gave her head a light shake.  Up from “sleeping in” to “gone,” eh? Number one, perhaps... Natsuhi was indignant. To her, this was a much bigger problem than the phones not working. And despite that, this piece of information was the part that had been postponed. Why did everything go well most of the time, and then come to something like this when the relatives were visiting... Natsuhi smacked her head with her hand and nodded distractedly. : "I guess everyone oversleeps sometimes. Anyway, it doesn't matter who, just hurry with the breakfast's preparation. ...Wha-"  ...Well. Guess the charm works for that after all. Also, lazy visuals again! : "Wh, ...what kind of prank is this...? How awful...!": "...I also just noticed it as I came to call you. I will clean it later.": "...P, ...perhaps, a vulgar joke by one of the guests. Disgusting, truly disgusting...!"Who in the world would pull such a childish and disgusting prank! Natsuhi had a pretty good idea, but of course there was no proof, so even if she pushed the issue, it would just seem as though she was making a fuss about nothing. On the contrary, after having such a prank played on her, it would definitely be better if she didn't notice it. Natsuhi gave the order to have it cleaned, and headed off to the parlor with a squeak of her heels.  : "...Good morning, everyone.": "Mornin', Natsuhi-san. Gohda-san was makin' breakfast too, ain't he? My stomach's been gettin' all excited since I woke up. Wahahaha.": "It looks like food is the best you can look forward to in the main house, right? *giggle* *giggle*.": "...You too, Eva-san, I'm pleased to hear that you are well this morning."Natsuhi returned Eva's gaze, which was fiercely competitive even though it was early in the morning, with a weary expression. Then Kanon jogged in. After bowing in apology to the relatives for running inside the mansion, he noticed Genji and told him something in a small voice.  Kanon glanced at Genji. ...It looked like he had something else to report, but that he was asking Genji whether he should say it himself. ...Genji nodded, and he decided to give the report himself. : "...Madam. It is not only Gohda. ...Your husband is also nowhere to be found."Two. : "My husband?": "Yes. I thought I would report to him before Madam about the lack of preparation for breakfast, and visited his room, but I did not find him there. Furthermore, it was not only he who was missing. ...Rudolf-sama and his wife, as well as Rosa-sama are nowhere to be found."Three. Four. Five. : "Not even in the guesthouse? Not in the mansion?": "...Yes. They are also not in their rooms in the guesthouse."When she had heard that Gohda alone was missing, she had thought that he might have slept in or was loafing around somewhere, but once she heard that several of the relatives were also missing, her optimistic way of thinking began to change.  Or maybe they're all okay and we'll get more family conference action with sleep deprivation added to the mix. ...But probably not. ...The part about 'cooling off their heads' really sounded like something Krauss would like to say. Probably, Gohda had been called to go with them to aid them with something. Gohda was not a man who lost track of time. He had to have understood that, if he did not return, the preparations for breakfast would be hindered. Even so, there had been that inescapable atmosphere, so maybe that conference had continued to this very moment. ...I see, thought Natsuhi. To her, this was an extremely persuasive theory. Natsuhi remembered the illusion that she had felt that morning of being sucked into a continuation of the previous night. ...When she learned that the feeling wasn't just an illusion, she once again took a deep, weary breath. Because that banquet of filthy vultures circling around Kinzo's property was still continuing.  : "Nii-san and Rudolf sure are tough. Maybe it's just youth in Rosa's case? ...The two of us were so tired that we had to go back to bed just after midnight. I do remember that Nii-san and the rest were still having a heated discussion at that point. ...Men sure are nasty when they get excited."Natsuhi snorted, her face still blank. : "Kanon, search outside. If you find Gohda, tell him to return immediately and begin preparations for breakfast.": "...Certainly.": "Natsuhi nee-san, they aren't necessarily outside, right? Couldn't they also be inside Father's study?": "...I see, that wouldn't be impossible to consider. I dunno what they've been discussin', but there's also a decent chance that they've moved to Father's study and included him in the discussion."Or maybe he called them in to take a more active hand in the selection of sacrifices. : "...I can't imagine that Father would be so pleased at that detestable topic that he would invite them into his study." : "...Eva-san, a guest such as you mustn't trouble herself. I will go. I can also tell him good morning.": "Really, then I'm counting on you, alright? But I somehow doubt whether he will return your greeting. Natsuhi nee-san, have you always been on such good terms with Father?": "...I don't know whether it could be called good terms, but I am sure that I have gained his trust as the wife of the successor to the Ushiromiya family.": "Then I'm sure that he will at least answer you, right? I want to at least eat breakfast with Father. I wonder if you could convince him to come down and join us? ...It seems that he thoroughly despises the rest of us, but I'm sure if his trusted Natsuhi asks, he will surely listen. ...If you can't convince father after speaking to me so sharply, and have to come down by yourself..., I'm sure you will never again be able to say that you're trusted by him, right...? *giggle* *giggle* *giggle*!" Eva's mean-spirited and unreasonable demand made Natsuhi clench her fists slightly. ...When Genji realized this, he softly spoke to her over her shoulder. : "...Madam. If you would, please take this.": "This is...?"Genji handed Natsuhi a sparkling gold key of ornate design. It was the key to Kinzo's study. The study would always lock itself, and couldn't be unlocked as long as Kinzo forbade entrance. However, since Genji was especially trusted by Kinzo, he was allowed to carry a key to that door...  Until now, Natsuhi had thought of Genji as a cold servant who, since he worked directly under Kinzo, would not do anything for her. But it looked like she would have to alter her understanding of him... She wanted to communicate her feelings of thanks, but by then, Genji had already turned his back on her, and was walking down the corridor with Kanon. ...The words that reached Natsuhi from behind her as she watched them go were sneering. : "Then, you must bring Father with you, right? After all, it's his son's cute wife who's asking. I'm sure he'll listen to you. *giggle* *giggle* *giggle*. We are guests, so let us leisurely relax here.": "Quit it, Eva, you're talkin' too much. Sorry, but Natsuhi nee-san? We're counting on you about Father..."Natsuhi, without answering, forcefully spun around on her heels and quickly left that place.  : "..."As she rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked around, the loud snoring coming from the three cousins continued. ...For a while, Maria had to think about what had happened. After that, she realized that her mother was not with her and quickly got lonely. Maria left the cousins' room, trying to head to the room that had been arranged for her and her mother. Paying no heed to the three who were sleeping soundly, she made a loud banging sound. In response, Battler mumbled and rolled over in his sleep, but it wasn't enough to wake him up. After a while, Maria returned, once again opening the door with a lively bang. :"...Uu-."When she had left the room, her face had been sleepy, but after returning, she now looked discontent. After that, she climbed up on Battler's bed, which happened to be the closest, and started yelling and jumping on it like it was a trampoline.   After making sure that I was awake, Maria moved over to George-aniki's bed and started jumping on that too. ...In that manner, the three of us were all greeted with an extremely pleasant awakening. What the hell kind of hellish lives do these poor bastards live that a pleasant way to start the day is being screamed at by a nine year old jumping on your bed? : "Thanks, Maria-chan, for waking us up. You stopped us from sleeping in after that late night... ...But maybe it would be better if you could be a little more gentle...": "...George nii-san, you really are an adult, I respect that...": "It'll be 7:00 soon... Well, it's not really a bad time to wake up. *yaaawn*." : "No-t he-re!! Uu-uu-! Uu-! Ma-ma-! Uu-uu-uu-!!"Maria kept groaning 'uu-uu-' and looking unhappy. It seemed like she wasn't simply lonely because she couldn't find her mother, but actually unhappy because her mother wasn't in the place Maria thought she was and this made her feel like she'd been tricked. She might have been satisfied just to hear where her mother was, but unfortunately, as long as Rosa oba-san wasn't here, we had no way of knowing where she was. :"Anyway, it's time to go to breakfast, so let's head over to the mansion.": "That's right. Maria, will you go to the mansion with us? I'm sure Rosa oba-san will also be there.": "Uu-? Mama's in the mansion? Then I'll go. Uu-.": "That's right, let's go to the mansion. Our parents have probably already gone there."Maria, as though her earlier temper had been a lie, regained her usual composure. We got dressed, left the room, and headed for the mansion.   ...Even though he was the head--no, especially because he was the head, he couldn't fail to make an appearance. ...I wonder if I can convince him myself? Natsuhi readied herself, and, using the key that she had borrowed from Genji, opened the door... Even though she was prepared for the sweet stench that seemed to eat into her brain after pouring out through the small crack in the door, she couldn't help but grimace. 7 AM and the absinthe is already flowing. Kinzo knows how to start the day. Thinking that he might still be sleeping, Natsuhi entered the room quietly...  : "S, ...so you're awake... Good morning..." : "...How did you get in?"Kinzo spoke with his back still facing her. His voice was not harsh, but calm, and Natsuhi was slightly reassured. ...However, even though he had been awake, he was at least in a bad enough mood that he had ignored the sound of all of that knocking. Natsuhi wasn't able to break the tension.  : "Y, yes...Breakfast will soon be prepared, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would join us...": "I will eat here. Have it brought here like always.": "But Father... This is the annual family conference. Please, at least let them see your face.": "...Go back downstairs. Are you asking me to join in on the discussion of how they chew my inheritance to bits after I die? How foolish. ...They can keep talking about that kind of thing as much as they like without me. And if that's what you call a family conference, it's nothing so important that I should leave my room for it. I am busy. Do not bother me."With his last words came the threat that any further questions would be useless. ...Natsuhi realized that adding any further pleas would finally bring his wrath down upon her. It would be annoying to hear Eva sarcastically say that she hadn't been able to convince him after all, but there was nothing more Natsuhi could do... : "...Is that so...? ...Understood... I am sure that everyone will be sorry to hear it, but I will tell them."Natsuhi decided to give up. Bowing silently, she tried to leave the room before Kinzo's spasmodic temper could fire up. As she did, Kinzo spoke to Natsuhi. ...Compared to the usual Kinzo, this voice was calm and gentle, like it came from another person.   It was definitely not an exaggeration. Natsuhi had been that determined when she had taken the name Ushiromiya. ...That was why she was so sorrowful that, despite all of her fruitless effort, she was not even accepted by her husband. : "...If Krauss were a woman, ...and you were his husband...No, ...I won't say that.": "Wh, ...what do you mean by that, ...Father?"Natsuhi was shocked. ...If Kinzo's words just now had been meant literally... ...To Natsuhi right now, those words would be more than enough to make up for all she had suffered up to that point.  : "...Father. ...Even though I, Natsuhi, am not connected to you by blood, I am still your daughter. ...The honor and glory of the Ushiromiya family, ...and everything that you have left, ...I, Natsuhi, will definitely show you that I can protect it...!" : "...You do not have the qualifications to wear the One-winged Eagle. ...However, the One-winged Eagle is surely engraved in your heart. ...In that case, you are definitely my blood relative, a person who will inherit the glory of the Ushiromiya family. ...Some will sneer that there is no eagle on your clothes. However, that is nothing to lend an ear to. ...Only those who hold the eagle in their hearts are my true blood relatives. ...I now believe that it was an honor that you were welcomed into the Ushiromiya family..."D'aww. Another person Kinzo likes. We're up to...let's see... -Genji -Kanon -Shannon -Beatrice -Sometimes Nanjo -Maybe Maria? -Natsuhi -Absinthe ...That's a pretty long list for someone as full of general loathing as Kinzo. Huh. ...Also this raises the question of why he doesn't just let her wear the damned Eagle if he thinks she deserves it more than his actual kids. He's the guy who dictates the rules for that poo poo, who's gonna stop him? Maybe he's just loving with her to amuse himself until the roulette spits out more results. That probably makes more sense... Without saying anything more, Kinzo remained with his back to Natsuhi. However, Natsuhi couldn't help but feel something warm well up inside her that she hadn't felt since long ago, when she had been just a child... Natsuhi bowed silently to his back and left the room...  When Natsuhi left the study, she saw Eva climbing the stairs and their eyes met. Eva, thinking that Natsuhi would leave drudgingly after failing to convince Kinzo, was smirking unpleasantly. However, the way Natsuhi was now, such a frivolous laugh would not disturb her. ...She was not permitted to wear the family crest on her clothing. ...But she was permitted to wear it in her heart. So she spoke calmly, clearly, ...and confidently with the dignity of the one who would protect the glory of the Ushiromiya family. : "Father said that he would not join in on the family conference. He says that he has no interest in such an obscene topic.": "...I'm sure he said something like that. If you weren't able to persuade Father, say so frankly." Natsuhi did not answer. Just as Kinzo had done earlier, she showed Eva her back as she headed down the stairs. Eva finally realized that she was being made fun of, and that something had happened to quickly bolster Natsuhi's confidence. Even so, she didn't have the courage to risk Kinzo's wrath. Unable to even knock on the door, she could only scratch at the air in front of it, cluck her tongue, and follow after Natsuhi.  : "...I didn't get the chance to ask, but they were not inside the study. ...It is impossible that Father would let them into the room for such a lowly conversation, so there was no way for him to know where they went. Let us go downstairs and wait for the servants to return from their search. ...Breakfast may be late, but how about some tea, Eva-san?": "...Th, ...that would be fine."Eva couldn't hide her confusion over the complete difference in Natsuhi's appearance. ...She was acting so boldly, and while Eva hated to admit it, she even had a sense of dignity about her. Unable to find fault with anything, she could only follow Natsuhi back to the parlor.  : "You still have not found my husband and the rest?": "...Yes, my apologies. ...Also, Kumasawa has begun the preparations for breakfast. She said that she will need just a little longer."The clock read a little past 8:00. 8:00 should have been the time to start breakfast Normally, going over that time limit was a disgrace to the host. : "...Kanon is now searching outside. ...Furthermore, no one has seen Shannon."...Well, that makes a nice round six, then. And everyone but those six pretty well eliminated by showing up alive onscreen. Poor George... : "Even Shannon? ...Seriously, how many people does my husband have to order to go with him when he wants to go for a walk?"How many people couldn't be found? After the number of people had grown so large, it was starting to feel truly unpleasant, as though they were the only ones being left out on something interesting. At the very least it looked like the children, no, Maria especially felt the same way. She was indignant, her stomach grumbling, almost as though her mother and the others had left her alone to go off and eat something delicious without her. Trying to fix her bad mood, the other children were flipping through the channels on the television, trying to find a program that might interest Maria. Nanjo was sitting in the sofa, gazing blissfully at the children while reading a book. It must have been a book about chess. The sound of footsteps came rushing towards them with a pitter-patter. There was only one set, so they realized before they saw the source that it was not Krauss and the rest, but probably Kanon.  She didn't know where they were, but they had to be somewhere on this island. They hadn't put anything in their mouths since last night, so their stomachs must be growling about now. They would surely saunter in any time now. ...Natsuhi was already dumbfounded, and she had begun to think that there was no urgent need to find them right then. : "I will go to the kitchen to prepare some tea for all of the guests. Thanks to both of you for all of your hard work so early in the morning."Natsuhi, acting as though the release in tension had caused a new surge in her headache, left the parlor. ...Kanon tried to call to her back, but Natsuhi left swiftly.  Kanon sounded evasive. He still didn't know where they were, but maybe he had found something with some relation to that. When Eva and Hideyoshi noticed this exchange of words, they came over. Maybe Kanon had noticed something that looked strange. : "What's goin' on, Kanon-kun? Did you find Krauss nii-san and everyone else?": "...Actually... Something looked odd about the rose garden storehouse.": "...Something looked odd, ...what do you mean by that?": "...It was, um, ...how should I explain it..."Kanon once again hesitated. ...He wasn't speaking anything like you'd expect from the usually fearless Kanon. Eva and Hideyoshi looked slightly doubtful at his appearance... : "What do you mean? They aren't inside the storehouse, are they?": "No, ...I am going to inspect the inside now. I was just returning to bring the key, but...umm..." Kanon dashed off to the servants' room and returned with the key. Genji left the parlor, saying that he would go check, but Eva and Hideyoshi also followed. ...What was this 'something odd about the storehouse' that had caused the usually fearless Kanon to hesitate? It was still pouring outside, but their curiosity over this 'something' that Kanon couldn't talk about won out. While the children made a big fuss watching television, Kanon and the rest dashed over to the entrance...   It was definitely not a pretty building. Because of its appearance, it had been built hidden in a corner of the rose garden.  They entered a small path just off the rose garden, which was normally off limits for those appreciating the garden and only used by those maintaining the garden. As they dashed along that as well, the front of the storehouse came into view.  It was a very old shed of a storehouse, and compared to the flawlessly perfect beauty of the rose garden, it was pretty seedy-looking. It was easy to understand why it had been built in a hard to see place. Eva and Hideyoshi arrived at the storehouse long after Kanon and Genji. : "Ha..., ha... Ya two sure are fast...! I thought my heart was gonna explode..." : "I guess they did build a storehouse over here. ...bu, ...wha, ...what is that...?"When Eva looked at where Kanon was pointing, she was at a loss for words. Noticing this, Hideyoshi also followed Kanon's finger and was likewise too shocked to speak. The entrance to the storehouse was a kind of shutter. ...And there, ... ...Everyone there suddenly realized why Kanon had been unable to find words that could describe what they now saw. On the shutter, which was completely filthy from being exposed to wind and rain for so long, stuck right on it...   Well, there goes the neighborhood. Goddamn kids, running around graffitiing up the buildings. Determined little fuckers too, coming all the way out here in the storm to get it done. There were no words that could describe it. Some kind of mark was drawn, ...with a ghastly substance meant to look like blood, ...in a shape meant to suggest something ominous. ...Two circles were drawn there, and inside them was a design that looked like a cross. The four ends of the cross were widely exaggerated, and it looked like some kind of crest from somewhere around Europe. And in the cracks between these shapes, written closely packed together, were some unfamiliar characters, or possibly symbols...  : "When was this written...?!": "...Last night, I came here before it started raining, but there was nothing drawn here at that time.": "...We must do something before anyone else sees this. If they laid eyes upon it, it would cause them great discomfort...": "That's right... Even though it's just a shed, I don't want to leave such an unpleasant scribble alone for even one second.": "There is some paint inside the storehouse. Let us paint over it temporarily as an emergency measure, than repaint it again someday when the weather is good. ..."Genji remembered that he had just recently seen another scribble, and that it too had been made with a strange, dark-red substance of the same color as this... ...That must have been..., ...that's right, he had seen it on the door to Natsuhi's room...  Kanon squatted in front of the shutter and unlocked it. He then lifted it up with all of his strength. A boisterous noise resounded, and the eerie shape drawn on the shutter began to get sucked in through the top as the shutter was raised. ...At least for the time being, that sign of misfortune disappeared from their direct gaze, and they all breathed a sigh of relief... (continued in next post) Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 05:18 on Nov 10, 2012 |
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Nov 9, 2012 10:24
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Part Fourteen: You Shall Lift Up As Sacrifice The Six Chosen By The Key (Section B)  Battler and Jessica were making fun of the kids' program at every turn, cackling. George was enjoying the program along with Maria. Nanjo sat on a sofa by himself, passing the time by reading quietly. They heard hurried footsteps coming from the hallway. They were footsteps from a single person. ...Did that mean that it wasn't the group of four that had just left?  He had probably come dashing back from outside the mansion. His shoulders were soaking wet, and he didn't have his usual smart appearance. When Genji noticed Nanjo looking at him, he gave a small, silent bow and quickly approached him. : "...Doctor Nanjo, my apologies. Please, come with me, quickly.": "Wh, ...what has happened?"  Genji whispered something into Natsuhi's ear, and Natsuhi's face too changed color, shocked. ...Then, leaving the serving cart where it was, the three of them started dashing towards the entrance... George noticed them running down the rose garden through the window. : "...What is that? Genji-san and Doctor Nanjo and, ...and that's Natsuhi oba-san, isn't it?": "What's up, Aniki?": "...Maybe something has happened. They looked horribly flustered."Jessica and Maria also realized that something had happened from the fact that Eva, Hideyoshi and Nanjo were no longer in their seats, and because the serving cart had been abandoned in the entrance to the parlor. : "Could there have been some kind of accident...?": "...Let's go check it out. It's no fun if we're the only ones left out, right? Ihihi!"For some reason, what Battler said sounded extremely indiscreet. ...But they couldn't deny that they were a little insecure and concerned after seeing the adults run off into the rain regardless of appearance. : "...Let's check it out, alright? I'm worried something might have happened..."Jessica's insecure words spoke for all of them.  : "Then only the rest of us will go. Maria-chan, we'll be back soon. Stay here watching TV.": "Uu-!"  It felt like the wind suddenly got stronger. ...The malicious sound of thunder began to ring out like it had the previous night. It felt like an eerie something had surrounded the island, and was trying to stop us from moving forward.  Just as Jessica had said, they began to see a storehouse in front of them. They could also see the adults there. The shutter to the storehouse was open, and several adults looked as though they were searching for something. For some reason, only Natsuhi was outside the storehouse. Without even holding an umbrella, she looked like she was hanging her head, and her back was facing them...  When Natsuhi realized that the children had come, a terrible expression rose to her face, and she ran at them with her arms spread wide.    : "KyaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaAAaa!!!"Jessica's piercing shriek rang out. ...But that was just because Jessica's scream was the loudest. ...The same thing spilled out of Battler and George's mouths as well...  : "George, take everyone and return to the mansion!!! Quickly!! Right now!!"When Natsuhi had spread her arms, I had thought that she was trying to prevent us from advancing any further. ...However, right now, that wasn't why Eva was spreading her arms. ...She was trying to hide that terrible scene from the kids. It was her mother's heart, trying to protect the eyes and hearts of us children by attempting to block our view of that terrible scene by at least the width of one of her arms!  : "...Is this some kind of joke? Is it...?!"...I had seen this kind of cheap scene all too often.  Well, uh. Guess Rudolf totally called it, then! Good for him...  : "Dad, DAD!!!": "You mustn't, Jessica!! You mustn't go in!! You mustn't look!!!": "Dad, Dad!! HyyaaaaaAAAAAAa!!!" : "...So what does that mean? Just killin' 'em wasn't enough, ...they went on to do somethin' like this!! The devil, this here's the work of the devil!!"Natsuhi oba-san caught Jessica in her arms and Eva oba-san caught George-aniki, ...so I was the only one who could approach the entrance to the storehouse. ...Aah, ...if only there had been someone there to catch me too, I wouldn't have needed to have this horrible, evil scene burned into my eyes...  ...Just as Jessica had said, it did look like a storehouse used to keep gardening tools.   I didn't know whether it had been one of these gardening tools, which if used for something other than their intended purpose could definitely be wielded with a naked brutality, or whether some horrible tool had been brought in here specifically for this. ...Anyways, ...the bodies which had been tumbled into here, each of them had been given an atrocious makeup. ...It wasn't makeup, ...it was more like..., "their faces had been plowed"...!  : "...UwooooOOOOoooooooohh!!! Daaaaaaaaaaad!! I always thought you were going to hell?! But still, not like this, right? You weren't such a son of bitch that you should have to suffer so brutally!! And even Kyrie-san, ...didn't I tell you to stop going out with this guy...even you, ...there was no reason for even you to go through this, was there... ...There's no face..., there's no face... drat it drat it drat it drat it, hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!": "...Battler-san, you mustn't look any more... There's no way that your mother and father would want you to see them like this...! For your mother and your father's sakes, ...you mustn't look any more!!" : But you know, why even Kyrie-san's face...? Kyrie-san wasn't a bastard...I sometimes got a little sick of her, but..., she was a little cool, just like a big sister to me...and then..., and then this...!! At least Krauss oji-san's better, ain't he!!? It's not his whole face, just the side!! He at least has half of his face left, doesn't he!! That's still better, that's still better!!": "NooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooOOOOOooooo!!!"Trying to shut out my reckless words, Jessica tried to fill her ears with the sound of her own screaming.  It was as if I was crying on behalf of everyone there... Representing the feelings of everyone there, I screamed over and over...  : "...No. ...There are six people. ...There's, ...one more person..."The body that Hideyoshi was looking down on now was hidden in the shadow of a mountain of random objects, in a blind spot to George, who stood by the entrance. ...So George couldn't tell , ...whose body it was... ...Therefore, ...George cursed himself. He cursed himself for always imagining the worst...! : "...So, ...the one lying at Father's feet is, ...Sha, ...Shannon, isn't it...?"  George was completely silent. ...He shook slightly, his lower lip trembling... He wanted to run up to his beloved, screaming and crying. ...But, ...before rashly running up to her, ...he mustered up all of his strength, and asked his father.  Hideyoshi deeply understood the meaning of those words. ...So he couldn't give George an answer. ...No, ...he thought that, to George right now, that was the only possible sincere and loving response. When George had asked whether she was the same, ...he had meant to ask whether her body was the same as the others. ...Since Hideyoshi hadn't denied it, it meant that the body was just as horrible.  : "...Can I, ...look at Shannon...?": "...No, ...you can't." : "I see...when you left her, what kind of face was she showin' you...?" : "...I see. ...Then, Shannon-chan must also have wished to leave you with that smile."...Hideyoshi looked down upon Shannon's body lying at his feet. ...Just like the other bodies, it was in such a horrible state that it would make anyone want to cover their eyes. ...Half of the face had been smashed off, and no more than half of her expression remained. ...If the remaining half, soaked red with blood, had been wiped clean, that graceful smiling face might have peeked out. ...Only half of it... Without thinking, Hideyoshi slapped his hand over his eyes. ...How cruel...   In these moments of chaos, Kanon remains a bastion of stability. Nothing, but NOTHING, can force him to form an expression other than  Kanon was not crying. ...Tears had risen to his eyes, but they did not drip down. But that didn't mean that he wasn't feeling as much sadness as everyone else. ...Losing Shannon, who had lived with him in the same orphanage, who he had loved as a sister, must have been just the same as losing a blood relative... : "...George. ...I'm sure Shannon-chan, would say thank you...if you didn't look at her in such a pitiful state. ...I'm sure, ...she would thank you for stayin' strong..." : "...Father. ...I have a request.": "What...?": "...I want you to look for me. On Shannon's finger, ...is there a ring...?": "...A ring...? ...Let me see..." Hideyoshi crouched down. ...As he did, Kanon silently pointed to one of Shannon's hands.  And the known living cast jumps back up to 13 as Hideyoshi clones himself. : "And, ...which hand, which finger is it on?": "...Hmm, the ring finger of her left hand. ...I see, ...was Shannon-chan, ...engaged...?" Eva: master of tact and timing. : "Eva!! Right now that doesn't matter!! A man made a lifelong promise to Shannon-chan...! A man promised her happiness for life... Who could possibly be in the wrong here!? Being told that by a man..., it's a woman's dream, isn't it...? ...I don't know when she received this ring. I also don't know who gave it to her! However, ...even so, Shannon-chan took this ring. Then, ...she accepted it, and put it on her left ring finger. ...I'm sure the man who gave it to her, ...was also happy."To most of the people there, Hideyoshi was simply disturbed by this extraordinary situation and was blurting out strange things. ...But, ...to those who knew the truth about George and Shannon's relationship, ...everything he said made sense.  George stood up. The traces of tears still streaked his face, but his expression had returned to its usual calm...  Jessica sniffled once, and showed her mother, who had been holding her the whole time, her face, trying to say that she was alright. ...When she faced George again, she once again had on her usual face. ...Although she still couldn't smile. : "...Battler...don't lose heart..."Battler kept on crouching in front of his parents' bodies...  Battler's face was still bright red from the tears, but even if it was a bitter smile, he had at least recovered enough to fake a smile. : "...Kanon. ...You too mustn't remain here any longer. Take the children and return to the mansion."Natsuhi, unable to take a step into the storehouse, had been standing under the rain the whole time. ...Maybe she had her own way of grieving, different from Battler's. She realized that she had to take on a sense of responsibility now that her husband was dead, ...so she gave Kanon those orders. : "...Yes. Madam."Kanon rose silently, and turned to face her. His face was pure white, almost as though his own heart had died along with Shannon, ...there was no life in his expression. On an ordinary day, if he had been told to guide the children through the rose garden, Kanon would have led the way and guided them. ...But now, there was no distinction between Kanon and the children. ...They were now just kids of about the same age..., with the wounds of having lost someone close to them. Natsuhi ordered Genji to see that the children returned.  When she heard that, Natsuhi remembered. That's right, the telephones were out today, weren't they...? However, since it had been assumed that there could be trouble with the phones on this isolated island, a radio had been installed. ...Anyways, let's contact the police and receive their instructions. ...Everything else can wait. : "...Doctor Nanjo. ...Is there anything you can do here anymore?": "Unfortunately...I cannot do anything...": "...Understood. ...Genji, could you at least cover their faces with something? Exposing them like this is humiliating to them as well...": "...Yes."Genji picked up several dried up towels from inside the storehouse, when Eva stopped him in a shrill voice.  Natsuhi glared at Eva, offended. ...Objectively speaking, Eva was right. Even so, she glared at Eva as though accusing her of refusing to do those tragic corpses, which had been humiliated even after death, the simple kindness of covering their faces. ...However, Eva had spoken both calmly and correctly. This horrible state was definitely not an accident. It was a crime. ...Someone had killed them. It was a murder case. In that case, they should be careful not to further disturb the site. They had to aid the police at least this much, so that they might hand over a clue that could be used to find the detestable culprit.  : "...You're right. ...Understood. Close it up. ...And, just in case, we should put a different lock on it.": "...A different lock?": "Yes. ...When we came here, the shutter was locked. ...That means that the culprit used the key to the shutter to lock it.": "Th, ...that makes sense. Then, does that mean that the key which opens this shutter will have the culprit's fingerprints?!" : "...That was careless of me. ...My apologies...": "Genji-san. Are there other keys to this storehouse?": "...No. Only this one.": "Which means that the culprit walked out of the servants' room with that key, and then conscientiously returned the key to where they found it, right...?"  The actual place where the six were killed wasn't necessarily here, but it was normal to think that they had been killed somewhere on this island, carried to this storehouse, and hidden to delay the discovery of the crime. ...But that graffiti drawn on the shutter that looked like an eerie magic circle had eloquently indicated that the corpses were hidden here. ...It didn't specifically say that they were here, but after six people had gone missing, by making such an obvious scribble and even returning the key to open it, it seemed almost as though someone had wanted the corpses to be discovered here.  Genji fished around inside the storehouse, and unsealed a brand-new padlock which had been inside a small box. : "What should I do with the key...?": "...I will take it. I will take responsibility and hand it over to the police."Natsuhi took the key to the padlock from Genji's hand.  Genji crouched down in front of the shutter to fasten the new padlock. ...In addition to the main lock on the shutter, there is sometimes a place where you can attach your own lock in front of it. This was one of those types. In the midst of the roar of thunder and the pouring rain, the storehouse stood there, ominously... With its closed shutter still covered in a blood-like, creepy substance, it swallowed up the bodies of the six. ...To Natsuhi, putting the new lock on wasn't mainly to preserve the scene for the police, ...she might have felt like she wanted to shut that mouth for all eternity, to prevent the victims from being swallowed any more by that eerie demon... : "...Come on, let's go, everyone. ...Doctor Nanjo, thank you very much for your work. ...Genji, quickly, contact the police.": "I will contact them as soon as I return..."The adults left the storehouse.   Some of the character bios have been updated. Whenever someone is confirmed dead, the normal bio is replaced by notes on where they were found, what condition their corpse was in, and possibly how they appear to have died. Plus their image is grayed out, with red spots covering the damaged areas.      Not much new info here, but it shows that four of them had their heads completely smashed, with only Krauss and Shannon keeping roughly half of their faces.  So there we are, folks. We're down a third the cast one update into the second day, and the murder mystery has finally begun in earnest!  Next time: Aftermath of the First Twilight.
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Nov 9, 2012 10:25
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PoliteMachineGun posted:Man, waiting for this next update is killing me. I decided after the last update that I wouldn't read any more of the story until the next update, but now I've started getting nightmares involving old mansions and murders and the supernatural. Two nights in a row. I'm hoping tonight isn't a third. Done! This one was actually supposed to be up around Monday or Tuesday. But at some point the file with it and the next one got deleted, and it took longer than I'd expected to put it back together again. Part Fifteen: Turning Over the Chessboard  In other words, what greeted them as they returned dumbfounded from that horrible, bizarre scene was the voice of Maria as she rolled around laughing at the television... Without knowing how explain to Maria that her mother, Rosa, was dead, those who returned to the room couldn't manage any more than a suffocating silence. At first, Maria returned their stares with a dubious look, but when she realized that they weren't trying to blame her for anything, she ignored them and again immersed herself in the television program...   Only Kanon had returned to his usual calm expression. However, that probably didn't mean he had been able to wipe out the shock. Nothing was reflected in his eyes as he stared into the emptiness... Hideyoshi, fidgeting as he remembered that horrible scene, kept muttering, 'Unbelievable. That can't be somethin' of this world, it's the work of the devil.' Every once in a while, he tried to ask a question and bumped into Nanjo, but Nanjo, in a calm doctor-like manner, kept repeating that nothing could be understood by only glancing at the scene, and that until the police arrived, he wouldn't know anything. However, Nanjo only appeared calm next to Hideyoshi, who was agitated and fearful to the utmost.  : "...I will head to Father's place. Genji, quickly contact the police.": "Certainly...": "I wonder if you would allow me to tag along, Natsuhi nee-san? ...Since Krauss nii-san is now gone, the task of aiding Father has been left to me. It would be improper of me to relax here while relying entirely on Natsuhi nee-san." Alongside Kanon's eternal stoicism, Eva provides another reassuring constant to cling to in the circumstances. Nothing can stop a true Ushiromiya from being a total jackass. Naturally, Eva's mind had been blank from the shock until just now. ...She only returned to herself after Natsuhi started giving orders. : "...Just do as you like."Natsuhi, without saying anything more, walked out. Eva followed behind her.   : "...U, umm, ...Madam, ...Madam...!": "If you're lookin' for Natsuhi nee-san, she went to see Father. She'll probably be back soon. ...What happened, Kumasawa-san?" : "Th, that is, ...in the dining hall, ...blood..., ...blood...!"Everyone in the parlor turned to listen. Everyone thought the same thing. 'I hope I misheard that.' ...Just like how any container has a limit to how much you can put in it, ...no one felt like they could accept any more tragedies beyond what had already happened. So they all thought it. I hope I misheard that...  George ran straight for it. His harsh footsteps jogged Hideyoshi and Nanjo to their senses, and they chased after him. Battler and the others followed. They flew into the dining hall one after another, but they didn't find any change that would have caused Kumasawa to go pale. ...To those who had viewed that gruesome scene in the storehouse, it was a bit of an anticlimax.  ...Compared to that terrible scene, it was not very impressive. ...However, if you calmly thought about it, this definitely indicated the loss of a lot of blood. : "...Blood has also gathered here. ...What in the world...": "...It appears that a great deal of time has passed... Probably, last night...it might be appropriate to view this as the place they were killed..."Well, there's a third of the murders solved for us already. It was ????? in the dining room with the ?????. And given the condition of the bodies, I'm thinking we can probably rule out the rope already. : "I, it would seem to mean that...We'd been talkin' together in the dinin' hall until late into the night... After that, someone must've broken in...": "Dad, when did all of you finish their meeting and go to sleep...?": "...Hmm... It was a little past midnight...Therefore, ...sometime after that, ...is probably when it happened...": "...Seriously...gimme a break..."  : "...Really? Great for you... I feel like my head's gonna explode...This is the dining hall, right? This is where every day I would eat, complain about school, complain about homework, ...talk to my parents about my grades, ...that's what this place is to me...": "...Milady. It wouldn't be good to remain here any longer. ...Let's return to the parlor.": "I agree...Hideyoshi oji-san! I think this room will be really important to the police. Don't you think it would be bad if we trampled all over it?"Battler proposed this in a slightly powerful voice as, along with Kanon, he grabbed the pale and shaking Jessica's shoulders.  ...Even though that horrible scene in the storehouse had felt like something not of this world, at least then we had been able to leave, to cut ourselves off from that place and run away. Everyone had shared in that feeling. ...However, this dining hall was different. It was in the main wing of the mansion, ...and as Jessica had said, the inside of the mansion was supposed to be the one place where we could feel secure. It was the same place that all of the relatives had eaten lunch and dinner yesterday. ...The shock of seeing this place smeared with blood reminded us of that horrible spectacle in the storehouse, and forced us to accept that we really hadn't been able to run away from the scene of that tragedy... : "...Hmm. I also agree... The culprit might have left traces in this room! Amateurs like us shouldn't stir the place up. ...Let's leave quickly. Quickly, quickly!"Hideyoshi also understood the meaning of what Battler had said, and pushed everyone to hurry out of the dining hall. ...The way we were then, looking at that blood any longer would have been too harsh.  Once in the hallway, we helped Kumasawa, who was still trembling and leaning against the wall, and we all headed back to the parlor together. ...Then, Genji returned.  : "...My apologies. A boat will be arriving on Monday morning, and I believe we will be able to borrow their communications equipment.": "Isn't there a boat on this island?! Can't we just take a little trip out to the Niijima Police Department?!": "...Hideyoshi-san, that would be impossible with this weather... At the very least, we can't do anything until the typhoon passes by us.": "Krauss-sama's boat is being repaired and is not on the island... Therefore, we must wait for the boat coming on Monday...": "H, how could this happen...?! Six people are dead!! The phones and radio aren't working, and there's no boat! Until the typhoon passes and the boat comes..., in other words until tomorrow morning, will we just have to stay here on this island without being able to contact the police?!" : "...That certainly follows. ...The culprit who killed everyone is still here on the island.": "S, ...so the bastard who killed Dad and the others, without being able to escape the island, must still be hiding somewhere...drat it, damnitdamnitdamnit!!! I'll find that bastard, no way I'll hand him over to the police!! I'll slice him into bits myself...!!! Whaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!": "..."Maria had finally realized that something was odd in the parlor. ...Rather than noticing something odd, it was probably better to say that she felt unhappy and neglected since everyone was getting so excited about something only she didn't know about.  ...She looks...altogether too happy about this. ...Jessica probably didn't like that. ...As though trying to say 'Can't you tell just by looking at me, overwhelmed with grief!', she flared up against Maria. : "They all died, everyone, everyone!! My dad and Battler's parents!! Gohda-san and Shannon!! And even your mother, too!!": "Stop it, Jessica-chan...!! You aren't the only one who's sad...!": "...Maria-san... I know this will come as a shock, but please listen. ...Your mother has...died." And she's taking this...oddly well. Just too young to get it? Or perhaps a budding sociopath? : "...How many people, died?": "Six people!! Six people! ...Dammitdammitdammit! How could you do something so cruel!! There's a limit to how cruel you can be, if you're a human...! I don't know who it is, but the culprit isn't human!! There's no way their blood is red!!" ...Well. There's that answered, I guess. : "Huh? ...Hey, Maria, did you say something just now?"Maria had just said something, but since the words were so remotely separated from the flow and context of the conversation, for a second, I couldn't understand them. When I tried to ask her to repeat it again, I was shocked by the sudden sound of Natsuhi oba-san's loud voice coming from the entrance to the parlor. It looked like Natsuhi oba-san and Eva oba-san had returned from their trip to see Grandfather.  : But several years ago the Master decided that portion of the budget would be better used to augment his alcohol fund...: "Wait, don't you have one of those boat signaling devices that makes a flashing light? Couldn't you use that to contact the next island?": "...We do not have such equipment...My apologies..."Just then, Kumasawa came pushing a serving cart loaded with breakfast. ...Since there was no way we would be able to eat in the dining hall, Hideyoshi ordered her to take it to the parlor. : "Why are we eating breakfast here?": "...Aaaahhh, Natsuhi-san..., I'll tell you later. More importantly, Eva, how was Father?": "Judging by the fact that he is not with you, ...he won't even leave his room for a situation like this..."  : "...That's right. I am also surprised... I wonder when he left his room... Do any of you have an idea?"Natsuhi looked at Genji and Kanon as she said this. Maybe she was trying to ask whether the servants who served directly under the One-winged Eagle would know of a place he might go. ...However, it was probably the other way around. Their faces made it clear that those who knew Kinzo best realized even more than the rest how impossible it was for him to leave his room. : "...Even we have no idea.": "...As you all know, within that study, the Master had everything set up from a place to sleep to a bathroom. I couldn't imagine him leaving that room except for a significant reason.": "...In that case, what? Isn't it natural to think that one of those 'significant reasons' came up...!?"Clearly, only one thing could have possibly come up that would have been, in the absence of the servants, significant enough to lure Kinzo out. He must have run out of absinthe. : "We still don't know whether that is the case! Anyways, he is a fickle person, so it's possible that he went for a walk by himself without knowing the current situation. ...If that is the case, we have to tell him what has happened and ask for instructions as fast as we can." No one had seen Kinzo since the six horrible corpses had been found. On top of that, the phones were broken, the radio wouldn't reach anyone, and there was no way to contact the police. ...It looked like the typhoon would leave tomorrow and a boat would come, ...until then, no one could rely on anyone outside the island, nor could they escape the island. Everyone had lost their composure at the extremely sudden tragedy. ...Everyone felt a heavy silence. Everyone was impatient. ...Even though they needed to do something, they couldn't think of anything, so some of them held their heads in their arms while others got irritated. ...Right now, no one could explain what was occurring on this island, Rokkenjima... After that, we ate the breakfast that Kumasawa-san had made. It felt dry and tasteless. Of course, this was right after something like that had happened. No one felt particularly hungry. However, we realized that not eating would weaken our bodies.  As to what Gohda-san had been planning to cook with those ingredients...right then I couldn't even imagine it. If I did think about it, I would be reminded of the way Gohda-san had died, and the inside of my mouth would be filled with a sour taste... For the time being, everyone pretended to eat, but no one was actually going to move their chopsticks. Then everyone began thinking about the current situation. First off, ...Krauss oji-san, my dad, Kyrie-san, Rosa oba-san, Gohda-san and Shannon-chan: six people whose cruelly mutilated corpses had been found in the rose garden storehouse. And despite that, without being able to use phones or radio, we still couldn't contact the police. ...So until the typhoon passed, there was nothing we could do.  Unless he just snuck into the kitchen and raided the fridge while no one was looking. And despite that, he hadn't appeared. ...There was more than a small chance that he had become caught up in the earlier crime. Natsuhi oba-san and Eva oba-san had said that, on their return trip from going to see Kinzo, they had called out to him on every floor, looking for him, but were not able to find him. ...If you think about the timing of it all, it was probably best to think that he had been caught up in the crime. Or he heard them on the way back from his booze run but deliberately ignored and avoided them. If the culprit had taken the trouble to move the corpses of Dad and the rest, who we figured had been killed in the dining hall, all the way to the storehouse, maybe they had already killed Grandfather, moved his corpse to some strange location, and we had simply not found it yet. No one actually said it, but this theory seemed extremely convincing... : "We will go check that all of the windows and doors are closed. We must also carefully search for Father. So that the children stay in this room...Eva-san and Hideyoshi-san, I'm sorry, but please stay here with the children. Doctor Nanjo as well.": "...I understand. I will wait here..."Natsuhi oba-san followed the servants, Genji-san, Kumasawa-san, and Kanon-kun, out of the parlor. All that was left was Eva oba-san, Hideyoshi oji-san, Doctor Nanjo, and the four of us children for a total of seven people. : "Let's all stick together, maybe watch some television while we wait. Unfortunately, I don't think that there'll be any good shows on during the middle of the day on Sunday."Hideyoshi oji-san tried to stir up this gloomy atmosphere, acting cheerfully.  ...Even though Maria had been told of her mother's death, she didn't show the slightest flicker in her emotions. Maybe it was because Maria was only nine years old, and was still too young... Everyone else's mood failed to improve, and they each sank absentmindedly into their sofas... : "...Aniki. Can I ask you something?": "...What is it?": "...Just now in the storehouse. You said something about Shannon-chan and a ring. ...Did you give that to her?" And yet they...didn't use one of the sprites he has that actually fits that description... : "Quit it, Battler. ...Figure it out yourself.": "...You're right. I shouldn't have asked that." : "...Well, I...several years ago, I had a talk with Shannon. ...About you, George nii-san.": "...I wonder what she could have said." : "...So I handed her the engagement ring, and then, ...it was all over.": "...A sense of value varies with the person. ...But being proposed to by a man, ...can, in a way, be the high point of a girl's life. ...So I'm sure. Last night, I think Shannon was, from the bottom of her heart, ...no, more than she ever had been since she was born, truly happy...": "..."...George-aniki, without raising his head, sighed deeply... ...Or maybe tears had risen to his eyes.  : "...Think about Shannon's feelings. ...She had received an engagement ring, and no matter how much she had been prepared for it beforehand, it was perfectly normal that she got so excited that her mind went blank. ...Her being embarrassed was only natural.": "...And then, Shannon, ...even though she hadn't been on duty there, she went to the mansion, ...and helped Gohda-san with his job, ...and got caught up in this case... If only I hadn't, on that day, in that place, given her that ring..., Shannon wouldn't have, ...Sayo wouldn't have, ...been caught up in that case...! ...Whaaaaaaaaa!!"Maybe not, but consider: who else was in the mansion? Aside from the six who died, only Natsuhi and Kinzo, and she had the scorpion charm to repel Beatrice. So if Shannon hadn't gone to the mansion, Kinzo might have died instead. Clearly things worked out for the best, really. : "Aniki. That's wrong. That's definitely wrong. ...So don't cry any more.": "...Aaaahaaaaaa..." ...Misplaced words of comfort might actually hurt him. Jessica sat down next to Aniki, and put an arm around him. Maybe only Jessica, who had known about Aniki and Shannon's love since the beginning, and who had discussed that relationship with Shannon, ...could comfort Aniki now. I went over to Eva oba-san and sat down in the opposite sofa...  : "My, my. But on the other hand, you were crying a lot back then, right?": "Well, I did think that at least that much crying was due as gratitude to the parent who raised me... Hehehe...": "...The speed of that changeover and that dry tone must have come from Rudolf. ...That kid would always get violently happy, sad, and angry, but he would always regain his cool immediately afterwards.": "...It's nothing like that. I haven't really been able to get over the shock yet. ...I think it's just that the emotions that rose up in me were different from everybody else's.": "What do you mean?"  : "...Rather than sadness, ...it's more like I'm irritated. What bastard did this and where? ...It's kinda been eating at me that I didn't get a chance to smack him upside the face."That was what I really wanted to do. It was like I couldn't allow myself to just sit here, overwhelmed with sadness and hugging my knees. : "...Since the time Dad and everyone else were killed, this island has remained covered by the typhoon. ...In short, that means that the bastard responsible for all of this is still somewhere on this island.": "It sure does mean that. ...I wonder if they're hiding themselves somewhere in that dark forest even now?"...I felt like I'd had a very similar conversation with Kyrie-san the night before. That's right. After the letter from the person who claimed to be Beatrice appeared at the dinner table last night, ...we had talked about whether or not a 19th person actually exists.  : "...Aah, that one? ...Well, I wonder. All of the siblings were in agreement that the mysterious letter had been sent to further complicate the problem of Father's inheritance. ...As to whether that and the case this morning are related, it's impossible to tell at this stage..."...Letter from a witch. A publicly posted riddle/set of murder ritual instructions relating to the same witch. Murder victims matching the ritual's first step, with occult symbols painted nearby. “It's impossible to tell at this stage.” Christ, Eva. : "Was that letter really given to Maria by some witch called Beatrice?": "How could it be? All of it was a farce devised by Father, wasn't it? He made someone like Shannon-chan wear the dress from the portrait and deceive Maria-chan, right? Isn't that just like the kind of intricate prank Father would pull?" : "There's no one else but us on this island, you think...?": "Obviously, right? Are you saying there could be someone else here other than us? No one is on this island except us. There are only 18 people. So the one pretending to be Beatrice has to be one of those 18."Kyrie-san had denied that there was a 19th person by 'turning over the chessboard'. Even though Eva oba-san hadn't constructed an argument that complicated, her opinion at least was the same. ...Except, if that were the case, our situation would start to look very ugly... At the time of Beatrice's letter, the matter could be easily settled since it hadn't seemed to be anything more than a prank. ...However, now the matter couldn't be settled by simply denying the existence of a 19th person. ...In other words,  : "..."Eva oba-san smiled meaningfully. ...It looked like Oba-san thought that this conclusion should have been obvious from the very beginning. : "The culprit carried the bodies of those six into the storehouse. But they sure did a good job getting into that storehouse, didn't they? That shutter is always closed and locked, right? In other words, in order to carry them into the storehouse, the culprit would need to unlock the shutter. ...Understand?": "...Is there any possibility that the shutter was left open by mistake that day?": "The servants said that it is always shut. In other words, unless they brought the keys out of the servants' room, they definitely couldn't have opened the storehouse.": "Is the only key the one in the servants' room...?" : “Furthermore, even though the key didn't have a tag or anything sticking to it, they knew it was the key to the storehouse behind the rose garden. ...And that means that they also knew where the storehouse was. ...I'll say it even clearer. The culprit knew the inside of the servants' room well."Her argument was extremely plain and clear. ...If the bodies had been found thrown somewhere in the bushes of the rose garden, there wouldn't have been much to go on. However, if there was only one key to the storehouse in the servants' room, and it was stored with such a large group of keys, a novice would not be able to tell them apart. This meant that the culprit was someone who could normally enter the servants' room, and knew where the key was well. ...The family didn't normally go into the servants' room. ...Which meant that... : "...Which means that, ...one of the servants is, ...the culprit...": "I'm sorry, but even Oba-san can't say any more than that. ...However, I'll tell you one thing.": "...What's that?" It was impossible. It might not have been if a single person had enough time, but that would have taken ages. It was probably best to think that a significant number of people had been part of it. : "...Erk. So what Eva oba-san means is, ..., maybe all of the servants were in cahoots." I had been playing detective with Eva oba-san, trying to expose the person who had killed Dad and the rest before the police did. ...If only I could skillfully penetrate the culprit's identity, I wanted to stick proof that it was them in their face. ...I had been so sure that, just like in one of those detective movies, the culprit would then give up and surrender. However, the culprit would only surrender if there was no way for them to fight back. The culprits behind these cases on the island were far from helpless, and might even be able to massacre all of the remaining people on the island. ...And on top of that, this island was like a giant locked room, cut off from the outside world by the typhoon, so they had a full day, until tomorrow, to kill, scheme and camouflage themselves... In short, it wasn't a safe atmosphere where we could get very far by playing detective... To the contrary, we were at a stage where we had to be scared stiff, since playing detective might displease the culprits, and cause them to repeat another mass murder...  : "Someone behind all of this? Hmm..., why?": "It's just a feeling. ...Think about what the word servant literally means. It means someone who serves as someone else's arms and legs, right? Everyone who was killed had some relation to the Ushiromiya family. So naturally, it was someone who had some interest in that result."This was also plain and clear... It all went straight to the discussion that had been taking place in the Ushiromiya family about how to distribute the inheritance when Grandfather died. If this case followed the standard form of any classic mystery novel, it was definitely a crime by someone with ties to the Ushiromiya family and who was entangled in the inheritance problem... Oba-san had probably also read a few books in that genre. ...Eva oba-san's argument had a few one-sided conclusions to it, and it was probably a shortcut that anyone could have reached. I think anyone would have doubted the servants, even if their logic was different. Especially the story about the key to the shutter. That was enough to make it easy to suspect that one of the servants was involved in the case...   Deny the obvious! Uphold the inane! If the servants really had been the culprits, they wouldn't hide the bodies in a place that was tied to themselves. There were other places besides the rose garden storehouse, whose key they themselves controlled. The police would probably immediately pursue whoever had been in control of the key. That would create a danger for exposure. ...If we were to assume that they were the culprits, they had no reason to carry the bodies into the storehouse. ...If you twist that around, why did they purposefully put them in the storehouse? No, that definitely didn't make sense. When the police come and inspect the site, several things will probably become clear. No matter how deeply careful the culprits were in carrying out murder, some kind of traces will definitely be found. So, in summary, they had everything to lose and nothing to gain.   While the VN doesn't have Higurashi on TV in the background, it does have Battler namedrop it as something he's read, which is roughly as weird. Not quite as weird as, say, people offering each other modded copies of Higurashi within Higurashi, granted, but up there. As with the anime thing, it's one of those things we're best off not thinking about too hard. ...Right now, no one knew where Grandfather was. We didn't know whether he had already become a victim, or if he was one of the culprits, ...but this state of confusion had to be beneficial to the culprit.  Right, that was where we could 'turn the chessboard over'.  In other words, the culprit wanted to display this murder. To who? ...To us. It was a message from them. The culprit was trying to shove something in our faces. ...I didn't know what that could be. At the current time, none of us could grasp anything from this vulgar mass murder except malice. ...Malice towards, everyone, ...perhaps. So, Kinzo, then. Or maybe Kanon.  Krauss oji-san's death brought Jessica the grief of losing one of her family. The deaths of Dad and Kyrie-san brought me sorrow, while Rosa oba-san's death brought Maria sorrow. ...Did it? Because uh. She doesn't seem to give a poo poo at all. ...Gohda-san's death probably influenced his fellow servants, and Shannon-chan's death brought grief to George-aniki, who had proposed to her, and Kanon-kun, who had loved her like an older sister. ...Everyone now on this island had received an equal amount of sadness. Eva oba-san had claimed that the servants were definitely in cahoots, ...but then how could you explain the deaths of Gohda-san and Shannon-chan?  It was very possible to doubt Eva oba-san herself, who was acting like she was outside the net of suspicion, and who might have been trying to point that suspicion at the servants. ...In the first place, she had managed to avoid suspicion and place it on the servants with that argument about the key to the shutter, ...but if you looked at it from a perspective of motive, about who would gain something from the murders, ...Eva oba-san's name floated to the top of the list.   : "I'm the one who would gain the most from these murders. ...Since I'm going to be suspected anyways, I might as well get it out in the open myself."I had tried to trick her by joking around, but it looked like it hadn't worked. : "The inheritance will be divided between the siblings. But right now, the four siblings are just me. All of the assets of the Ushiromiya family will become mine. ...Ufufufufufu.": "If Hideyoshi oji-san heard you, he'd say 'Could you give it a rest, it's not a joke'...": "I'm sorry? No matter how I try to smooth it over, I'll just be suspected anyways, so I was just fooling around. ...So I've been thinking, from my point of view, this murder might have been planned to cast suspicion on me. ...Unfortunately, my alibi for last night is weak.": "Could you tell me about it? About last night?": "As you know, the discussion between the siblings of how to slice up and eat the inheritance continued until late in the night. But I don't know how late it lasted. My husband and I had woken up early that morning. We were so sleepy, and a little past midnight, they let us go. We then returned to the guesthouse and rested there.": "...Can anyone other than Hideyoshi oji-san prove that? No, wait Eva oba-san, it's not like I'm suspecting you or anything, ri~ght? Hihihi!" : "Is that really true? That'd mean that, right now, I'm playing detective with the real culprit, right? Ihihi!": "However, let me say this for my honor's sake: if my goal was the inheritance, I wouldn't have needed to commit this weird kind of murder, right? After all, if I just wanted to make them forfeit their rights to the inheritance, the method of their deaths wouldn't have mattered. On the contrary, you'd expect that I would try to make their deaths look like an accident, wouldn't I? If I had roped in the servants, and carefully planned everything out, I would be even more capable of doing that.": "You're right about that... If you were killing someone to make a profit, you definitely shouldn't make it look like a murder.": "That's it, right? So from here on, Oba-san is in a very blue mood. ...I'll probably be treated as the person behind this by the police, and harshly investigated. Oh no, oh no..."Eva oba-san shrugged with a bitter smile. ...Just like it was easy to think of the servants as suspicious, it was also very easy to think of Eva oba-san as suspicious.  No, that can't be right... Knowing the motive should be a big clue towards knowing the culprit. ...That was why murderers from all time periods tried to skillfully put on airs to the contrary, and disguise the case in various ways...   Confirmed deaths aren't all that the bios get updated for. Mysterious disappearances are covered to. But surely Kinzo's is nothing to worry about. I mean, he knows better than anyone what's going on, so surely he took some sort of appropriate precaution for his booze run. And they wouldn't kill off the best character before the ritual even hits the 20% mark, right? Right? ...Right?  Next time: Has there ever been a work of media in which “shoot the creepy little girl” would not have been pretty solid advice? Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 08:07 on Nov 18, 2012 |
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Nov 18, 2012 06:52
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Part Sixteen: Ain't She Just The Cutest Lil' Demonspawn? As I looked over the parlor, I saw George-aniki and the others gathered, talking. ...It looked like they were talking about the magic circle that had been painted onto the shutter. As Hideyoshi oji-san thought back to that time, he started drawing the shape in the margins of Maria's notebook. ...I see, since Maria was second only to Grandfather in knowledge of the occult, she might understand what it meant.  : "...After that, around the top of the circumference, there was a small mark. ...Five small circles arranged in a + sign, and straight lines connecting them...": "Ah, yes, there definitely was somethin' like that drawn there... Yep, there's no mistakin' the shape. I don't understand the thin characters, but the arrangement was nearly the same."Everyone was staring down at the shape, so I stared down at it too. ...From what I had heard, this had been painted on the shutter to the storehouse with some material that looked like blood. ...I see, this sure is unsettling. : "...The only person who would want to draw something this confusing is probably Grandfather. ...Seriously, where did he go?! I wanna grab him and ask what the hell this is supposed to mean!!"Jessica's voice contained impatience and anger. She hadn't gone so far as to say that Grandfather was the culprit, but it looked as though she thought that Grandfather definitely knew the culprit's background.  Which meant that, ..., this might have been, ...something addressed to Grandfather... That's right, and the reason the crime had been shown off to the survivors was so that they would find this. In that case, where had Grandfather, as the essential recipient of this message, disappeared off to...? : "Does this shape ring any bells...?" ...Maybe she was enthusiastic since this was her area of expertise. Yes. That expression just oozes enthusiasm. Someone tell her to calm the hell down and get to work. ...However, her appearance was that of someone separated from the events at hand, ...as though this thing hadn't been drawn on the shutter closed around her mother's corpse... : "...My first impression was that the design resembled a German swastika..."Uh. What? I'm...not really seeing the resemblance. At all. : "Aah... It certainly does have that kind of design. Does that mean it has somethin' to do with Germany?"Though, Beatrice does have blonde hair and blue eyes. And an Italian name. And Kinzo became ultra-rich in the aftermath of WWII... So uh. I guess there's enough there to make a few large-ish leaps of logic and conclude that the witch may have been a Nazi/allied with them. But...the symbol still has about gently caress all to do with that...  (clickable) Oh, hey there Maria. Got this poo poo figured out already? : "The swastika was originally a crest from a religious order of knights and was supposed to protect pilgrims traveling to sacred places...":"...So in other words, this magic circle might have some religious meaning...? This is starting to sound like gibberish..."When I looked over at all of them, preparing to jump into the discussion, ...something shocked me. Maria was laughing, an eerie and incomprehensible expression on her face.  ...Um.  ...It was almost as if she was making fun of everyone's ignorance, and laughing at us. ...It was an expression that I couldn't have dreamed I would ever see on Maria's face...   AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH KILLITKILLITKILLIT PURGE THE HELLSPAWN WITH FIRE  While everyone was scared out of their wits, Maria, alone, kept on cackling happily... After a while, that laugh was suddenly and abruptly cut off. But her expression was still like someone completely different from Maria. : "This is the seventh magic circle of the sun. ...The characters are written in Hebrew. Could you let me borrow it?": "Ah, ...yes."Maria stole the writing materials from the stunned Hideyoshi's hand. She then started drawing another magic circle with a rustle, right next to the one that Hideyoshi had drawn... Now someone seize the opportunity and attack while she's distracted!  Jessica tried to smooth things over by praising Maria. Maybe she wanted to make sure that this was still the Maria who everyone knew so well. ...But Maria didn't answer her in any way in particular. With a rustle, Maria began writing characters that seemed familiar to her in the corner of the shape. ...When Hideyoshi oji-san and Doctor Nanjo saw them, their eyes immediately began to open wide...  Er. Aren't half of those orders of angels? A bit of cursory Googling turns up a few tidbits indicating that this is apparently legit occultism but it still seems odd to me. Even if they hadn't been able to correctly write what they had seen..., when they were once again shown something identical, it wasn't difficult for them to realize that the two were the same. When Maria asked them whether it matched, Hideyoshi oji-san and Doctor Nanjo nodded over and over again.   Yes. At the age of nine, the kid is fluent in Hebrew and has memorized the Bible. For a while, everyone, including me, was at a loss for words. ...A little later, George-aniki returned to his senses, and slowly managed to speak. : "...That's incredible, I'm surprised...So, what meaning does this magic circle have?": "It's a magic circle to borrow the power of the sun. ...He who wears it as a talisman drawn in gold shall be able to break free from the bonds of any prison, and receive the power to gain freedom." : "...Ties of obligation and, inescapable fate, ...you say? ...That's also pretty deep.": "But I really don't understand... What does this have to do with those six bodies? ...Far from bein' released, they were killed and stuffed in a storehouse, weren't they?!" : "It's not like the magic circle was drawn for their sakes. The six of them were there for the sake of the magic circle. It is truly pitiable. ...Kihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi.": "What do you mean...? What in the world do you mean when you say the six of them were there for the sake of the magic circle?"Maria lifted up her pointer finger and waggled it as if she were making fun of us.  So uh. Shouldn't the sacrifice have been a nice big turkey, and maybe some potatoes and cranberry sauce and such on the side instead of four rich assholes, a cook, and a talking chair? : "See, you say..., ...I have no idea what you're saying.": "...You're saying that, ...they're sacrifices?"If the part that Maria had just read aloud was the vital part of the magic circle, ...then it was saying that the benefit of this magic circle required sacrifices to be offered in exchange. ...So inside the storehouse, where the magic circle had been drawn, the sacrifices had been offered... It looked like everyone had slowly arrived at the same conclusion. ...Some people were shocked, others spat something out furiously as they punched their knees... ...This was starting to become a seriously disturbing story. ...And since we couldn't accept it, we couldn't understand it. ...I don't care what kind of magic circles or curses other people believe in, I won't pick a fight with them.  As I started getting pissed off with a feeling between anger and sadness, I broke from the circle everyone was in and returned once again to the window. ...Something had gone insane since yesterday. That letter from the witch, Beatrice, that Maria had read aloud at last night's dinner. ...After that point, it felt like we had, ...no, like this whole mansion and this whole island had started to become shut up in some kind of mysterious world... That's right. When I think back on it, that letter was an invitation from the witch. The ruler of the nighttime island had invited us inhabitants of the day into another world. The phone and the radio had been interrupted, the island was shut off by the typhoon, you could now call it another world cut off from the real one.  ...Aah, it's hopeless, it's hopeless, I don't get it... The inside of my head's all screwed up, and I don't even know what to think... Anger, sadness. The opposing emotions all swirled up together, and they started to suck me in. Unable to resist, ...I could do nothing but cover my eyes with my hands and trust to my mind and body as I started getting sucked in... ...As I started losing heart, I began to recall a memory from when I was small. It was from when I was very small. I had unfortunately seen a scary occult movie on TV, and for a while, I hadn't even been able to go to the bathroom by myself. ...That old bastard had given an exaggerated laugh and said this:  : It's because they don't exist. ...Something that ridiculous can't be found anywhere on the planet. Because they don't exist, people want to see them and go to a lot of effort making them. That's why those occult movies just make me laugh. If I were forced to choose, I'd say, rather than demons and monsters, this year's earnings call and angry wives are 100 million times scarier. … ...Seriously, why have I been acting so drat thickheaded. I was totally taken in.   The next thing that started speaking to my heart was Kyrie-san. : You're talking about chess and Shogi, right? In the last part of the last part of the game, when you proceed to the final stage and everything becomes more and more closed in, the best possible moves start to become limited. ...Therefore, if you're backing someone against the wall, or someone is doing the same to you, both players' moves become infinitely easier to read. : ...That's when you 'turn the chessboard over'.With all of my strength, I slapped my face with both hands. ...Now, my eyes were truly open. When you don't understand anything, and you are completely cornered just like I was then, isn't that the perfect time to 'turn the chessboard over'...! With us put on the defensive, we couldn't even guess at the culprit's scheme. ...If you turned it over and looked at it that way, just how far could you see? ...First off, at the time the murders were committed by the culprit, they knew that the island was cut off by the typhoon. Therefore, they should have understood that even if they carried out the murders, they wouldn't be able to get away until the next morning. In short, the culprit had begun without securing a way to escape.  ...If we had all been dim and hadn't noticed the storage shed, the culprit's goal 'would not have been achieved', would it? Hehe, if you think about it this way, that bastard of a culprit... Since this morning, he must have been watching our every move with bated breath. After all, if we hadn't been so kind as to discover what was on the storehouse, all of that hard work and preparation that they had done last night would have just gone 'poof'. What did the culprit want to make us feel by showing us the corpses in the storehouse? All six of the bodies had had their faces noticeably destroyed. ...A grudge? A warning?  Ha! After thinking this way, I really want to tell that bastard to stop taking me so lightly. Who would just dance to that tune? If you're told 'Please be scared', you can't just say 'Really? Sure thing!' ...When someone tells the great Ushiromiya Battler 'the entrance is right here', I'm the kind of guy who'll start wanting to sneak in through the window! The next thing that had me concerned was the shape of the magic circle on the shutter. As Maria, who had shown that her knowledge of the occult rivaled Grandfather's, had recognized, that magic circle was genuine. They must have drawn that thing in pitch-black darkness, taking a lot of time and holding an umbrella in one hand. Isn't that amount of hard work and perfectionism impressive?  But if that was all they wanted, they could have just drawn any old scribble that looked like a magic circle. It wasn't like any of us amateurs could be able to tell the difference between genuine and fake. Except, y'know, Maria. If they just doodled some random bullshit it would have stopped indicating Kinzo's involvement the second she took a look. ...However, this magic circle was genuine, and furthermore, it had even been written in Hebrew. ...So this magic circle had a message 'that could only be understood by someone with knowledge of the occult'. This message was a form of communication. ...By sending it, they were hoping for a reaction. ...Reaction? ...For some reason, we couldn't find Grandfather now.  ...What kind of reaction was the culprit hoping to get out of us by showing this imitation of the occult...? Somehow, that felt like the culprit's weak point... The letter from Beatrice that Maria had read aloud during last night's dinner sprang back into my mind. ...This person was satisfied with playing a battle of wits. Isn't that interesting? This is a battle of wits between us and the witch. Will we be sucked up by her occult game first? Or will we pull off her fake skin first? Er. You are aware, Battler, that given the tone so far you probably aren't gonna get the Scooby-Doo ending if you pull her face off, right? ...There's a whole day until the typhoon passes. Why not enjoy ourselves...?! I finally noticed that the inside of the parlor had gone quiet again. Everyone had sunk into their favorite sofas, some deep in thought, some irritated, some acting depressed.  Oh, right. On top of everything else, she dropped the uu-ing again earlier. So this...may rule out some kind of letter-based possession. Or at least said possession being temporary. Either the “cutesy child with obnoxious verbal tic” thing has always been just a mask to conceal her creepy demonic side, or Beatrice is just straight up riding shotgun in her head now and grabbing the wheel periodically. Assume whichever makes you uncomfortable. Also regardless of which is true, from that CG earlier we must also consider the distinct possibility that Maria's deadbeat dad is, in fact, Satan. Because holy poo poo that face I stared at each person's appearance in turn. If there wasn't a 19th person, ...the culprit must be in this room.      ...Right now, Natsuhi oba-san was searching the mansion with the servants though, wasn't she? ...Then it shouldn't be 'in this room.' ...'In this mansion,' is what we should say. ...After all, there was also the possibility that Natsuhi oba-san was behind this, ...and we still couldn't deny that one of the servants could be the killer...Anyone could be the bad guy. Still, Natsuhi oba-san and the rest sure are slow... Of course, it's not a small mansion, but isn't this taking a little too long just to walk around, checking the windows and doors...? Just as I thought that, Natsuhi oba-san and the rest returned. Not one of them was missing. ...But our relief was short-lived. Everyone looked at Natsuhi oba-san, shocked...   : "...Sorry if I've startled you. I brought this to be prepared for the worst."Because that thing in Natsuhi oba-san's hand was a rifle. At a glance, its silhouette looked a lot like a hunting gun, but it was unusually short, and kinda looked like a kid-sized gun. However, it had a thickness to it which revealed that this was definitely not some kid's toy. : "...Is that Kinzo-san's gun...?": "Did you know about it? That's right. I remembered that it was in Father's old collection, and I managed to find it.": "Whoa! Awesome... Natsuhi-san, is that thing real?": "Yes, it's real. It can fire live ammunition. Long ago, Father used it to chase wild birds." : "Long ago, Grandfather was really addicted to cowboy films. That generation really liked this kind of rifle.": "Is that a Winchester? But I've never seen something that short before.": "Ah--! I remember, that gun! That really takes me back. That's the one Steam McQueen fired off in Wanted: Alive or Dead!! Father sure has good tastes...!": "...Long ago, the Master had that brought over specially from America. ...As you can see, it is a real gun, so please don't tell anyone about this..."So we've got at least one gun in play, and it's not impossible Kinzo has some others stashed around the place if he went through a gun nut phase back in the day. Which might explain how they managed to take out 4 adults at once, if the killings really did go down in the dining room. : "He was quite fond of it right after he managed to acquire it. It seems the workings that ejected the cartridges were more interesting to him than shooting it, and he played around with it back in the forest all the time. Hoh-hoh-hoh-ho..." As Natsuhi-san said this, she slumped down into one of the sofas and took a deep breath. She had been trying to find Grandfather as well as check the doors and windows. Since Grandfather was not with her, apparently his whereabouts were still unknown. : "...I carefully checked all of the doors and windows throughout the mansion. However, we must be prepared for anything. Everyone, I think it would be best if we all remained here.": "Don't you? If everyone is gathered here, then we can all feel more secure by keeping an eye on each other.": "...What do you mean by that, Eva-san?": "Nothing really. I'm just agreeing with your opinion, aren't I?" ...No, if you view Beatrice's letter as Grandfather's complicated prank, and think of this case as just an extension of that, there was more than enough evidence to doubt even Grandfather. So Natsuhi oba-san thought that the criminal was on the outside. ...But Eva oba-san thought the criminal was on the inside. In short, it was the question of whether or not a 19th person exists. ...It was the doubt that had been repeated endlessly since last night's dinner, with the letter from the witch who called herself Beatrice. ...So was the culprit among us, or not. And did Beatrice exist, or not.  ...And the witch? Did she draw that weird magic circle and sacrifice those people? If I accepted that rubbish, ...I would be able to completely trust everyone in this room.    Next time: The Cult of Beatrice
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Nov 20, 2012 09:25
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Part Seventeen: Amateur Psychology Hour It seemed that, at first, Natsuhi had planned not to let anyone set one foot outside the room, but when it came time to prepare lunch, she finally realized that this was impossible. However, in order to avoid having anyone alone in the kitchen, she told the three servants to go together. Because of that, the servants were the first ones given the right to leave the stuffy parlor, which had been packed with eleven people. ...Since breakfast had immediately followed that terrible incident, and many of them hadn't eaten much, everyone tore into their lunches in silence.  : "...I don't need anything. Kanon?": "...I don't need anything either.": "You two must have been so busy, and so early in the morning... It's no wonder you're worn out..."The only sound was that of Kumasawa washing the dishes, which resounded throughout the kitchen. Genji and Kanon sat in some chairs a short distance away, their eyes lightly closed. Just as Kumasawa had said, those two had probably built up a great deal of fatigue.  After the silence had continued for some time, ...Kanon opened his mouth and muttered. : "...Shannon...Why..., did she have to die in such a horrible way...?"  : "To think that Shannon-chan's actually dead... I still can't believe it. ...Poor, poor Shannon-chan...Not being able to meet her again feels like a lie... I just wanted to see that girl's smiling face one more time..."Kumasawa spoke with her back facing them. ...After all, Kumasawa hadn't seen Shannon's corpse, so she had no trouble mentioning Shannon's face. ...When Kanon heard those words, it reminded him again of how only half of Shannon's face had been left, and his grieving expression twisted even further... : "...Why did Beatrice do that to Shannon...? ...If she wanted a sacrifice, there were plenty of others to choose from...Why..., ...why...?!": "...It was nothing more than bad luck. ...If we were less lucky, one of us could have been lying out there. And it could have been anyone else. ...Everything is left to fate." : "So does this mean that...Beatrice-sama came to visit Madam's room, ...and tried to open the door, but couldn't...?"Genji thought back to the time he had seen those traces of blood on the door to Natsuhi's room... With the substance sticking to the door around the doorknob, and the marks of something scratching against the door...it had definitely appeared as though someone had tried to open the door, but couldn't...  Just then, a loud, sharp noise came in from the hall. Both of them turned around, surprised.  : "...Battler-sama. Please, excuse me..."Genji-san and Kanon-kun stood up, surprised, and hastily bowed. ...But I didn't care about stuff like that. I was more concerned with continuing their discussion. : "I told them I was going to the bathroom, so they let me go. I thought I'd suffocate if I was locked up in that room any longer...When I was about to come ask you for some water, I overheard something pretty interesting. ...You don't need to bow your heads or anything. Please, let me hear the rest.": "...That just now, ...wasn't really..." : "..."Kanon-kun averted his gaze. ...It was obvious that he didn't want to talk about this, ...which only made me want to ask even more. While making an effort to smile, I grabbed the collar of his shirt. : "...If it were last night, this'd be none of my business But after this morning, everything's changed. Now that Dad and the rest have been killed, this is totally my business. ...I have the right to listen to this suspicious story, don't I...?"Even so, I glared into Kanon's eyes as he kept trying to look away in apparent pain. Since there was a big difference in our heights, Kanon had to stand on his toes and it looked like it hurt a bit.  When I tried to further twist up his collar, Genji-san cut between us and spoke. ...There was a slight sense of resignation on his face. ...It looked like he didn't plan on hiding anything. : "...I can talk about it. ...Kanon only hesitated because you might have taken it badly, Battler-sama...": "Hesitating isn't very manly, is it? Keeping it a secret's even more unpleasant. ...Tell me about it. It's not like we have anything better to do before tomorrow comes. A slightly shady story might be the best way to stave off boredom."After Genji-san and Kanon-kun looked at each other, they nodded as though they had decided to talk... : "...Understood. Please ask us anything. ...We will talk." : "...No, ...it isn't wrong. It's as you say. Beatrice is a witch who dwells in the forest of Rokkenjima.": "...Battler-sama. ...I don't expect you to believe this all of a sudden, but...Beatrice-sama exists. ...She is a real person, the one who gave the Master a vast amount of gold and who has worked by his side for many years.": "Huh...? Ah, come on... Is Grandfather paying you to repeat everything he says...?"I laughed like it was a joke, but neither Genji-san nor Kanon-kun laughed, ...not even Kumasawa baa-chan, who was avoiding my eyes, flustered, as she started washing the utensils. So unfortunately, I was the only one laughing. ...Painfully, bitterly. : "...I see, that's why Genji-san refused to mention it. ...If you really mean it, of course I'd take it badly. ...So you're saying that a person named Beatrice actually exists?": "...Yes. She was working for the Master since before the mansion was built on this island. ...She has most likely been working for him even longer than I have." : "...Yes. I believe that she is here.": "...That's a vague way to say it. I guess that means you haven't seen her face today or yesterday.": "...Yes. ...It is extremely difficult to say, but..., ...umm..."Kanon-kun once again dropped his gaze, avoiding my eyes.  ...However, it looked like Kanon was still confused as to whether he should speak or not. ...Then, Kumasawa baa-chan whispered. : "...Hoh-hoh-hoh... You cannot see her face, ...because Beatrice-sama has no form..." : "Beatrice-sama has no body. ...Therefore, unless Beatrice-sama wishes it, common people like us are not able to see her form.": "I have heard that the portrait shows what Beatrice-sama looked like back when she had a human form...It seems he yearned for that figure so much, he would often stand in front of that portrait...Hoh-hoh-hoh...": "Beatrice-sama sometimes changes her form into glittering butterflies and shows herself. ...On the rare occasion that you spot them somewhere in the mansion, there is a rule that you absolutely mustn't chase after them. It is whispered that you will meet with disaster if you follow them. ...In fact, there was a servant who broke that rule and quit because of a great injury."So she has no form...except when she totally does! Useful knowledge, that. Also, hmm. Wonder if Shannon ended up as the replacement by succumbing to curiosity that night... : "...Wait a sec, are you kidding me? Are you all serious about this...?" : "Battler-san..., you probably find this story unpleasant. But you know what? Beatrice does 'exist', okay?": "...She 'exists'. Beatrice-sama hates people who doubt that."If you ever feel the need to inject some extra levity into the game, just picture everyone making really exaggerated air quotes when they talk about Beatrice “existing.” Works like a charm. : "...Don't you understand, Battler-sama? ...Beatrice-sama has already arrived here...": "...Come on, quit it. You know I'm weak against that stuff... You're freaking me out..."However, there was no trace of a joke in the eyes of the three servants. On the surface, I laughed and tried to look unconcerned, but I was quickly starting to sober up. ...Their eyes were also sobering up fast. You should probably run, dude. You're outnumbered three to one by people who serve a dark god that demands blood sacrifice. There's no way that ends well.  : "...W, ...well... Sure you say she exists...but I don't see anything... Are you trying to say that she's standing right next to me or something? Quit joking around..."  ...Oh. Hey.  Look who shows up just after they say the witch is hanging around...and has no form of her own... With the same sound effect used for the golden butterflies, even. ...When I turned around, Maria was standing there by the entrance. ...But her expression and the feeling about her, her presence...felt exactly the same as the servants. : "...Whether your wavelength matches or not is determined at birth. Battler, you were born with a mismatched wavelength. That's why you can't see her. That's why you can't meet with her, and that's why you can't talk to her. ...Kihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi. You're the type Beatrice hates the most."Maria's laugh almost sounded insane, ...and it was extremely eerie. ...It was almost like she was laughing at me because I alone didn't understand. :"Do you want to know about Beatrice? ...Beatrice is a thousand year old witch. ...With all of the demons at her command, she can harness the power of alchemy to create the philosopher's stone and a vast quantity of gold. Grandfather built up all of the vast wealth of the Ushiromiya family by making a contract with her. : "...What are you talking about? Witches, demons? Who told you about that...?": "Kihihihihihihihihi. I heard it from Beatrice herself. Kihihihihihihihihihihi!"Maria kept doing that unpleasant laugh. ...However, the servants who watched over this didn't even blink. She heard it from...that witch in the portrait adorning the entrance hall. Maria kept on laughing in a weird voice, as though this was nothing more or less than the truth... : "...Maria, it might be rude to ask, but I'll ask one more time, okay...? Who gave you that letter yesterday?" : "...Battler. You still don't understand? Beatrice-sama 'exists'.": "She 'exists', you say...but where?": "Like I said, Beatrice-sama 'exists' here."...That's right. Now that I think about it, I've been feeling for some time now that the others haven't been looking in quite the right direction. ...I'd figured that everyone had just been gazing into the distance, but...that wasn't the case. The four here, Genji-san, Kanon-kun, Kumasawa-san, and Maria, ...everyone except me, ...were looking at a spot right behind me... Holding my breath tightly, I slowly looked over my shoulder. ...Of course, there wasn't anyone there. I've known that the whole time! ...However, everyone in the room except me was focusing on that point as if there was someone there.  So first she has no form. Then she sometimes does, as we've already seen. Now she does but it's just invisible to people who can't see the right “wavelength.” Just pick one and stick with it already, game. : “...You're lucky, Battler. Good thing that I gave you that charm yesterday, right? Don't you realize what kind of curse Beatrice would have put on you by now if you hadn't been carrying it around? ...You really are lucky, Battler. Kihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi...!": "...Right, that scorpion keyholder. I'd thought that was just some cheap gift or something, but are you saying that really had some benefit?": "Kihihihihihihihi. If it weren't for that, you'd be lying in that storehouse as a sacrifice with your face crushed by now. Kihihihihihihihihi, you're so lucky, Battler...! Kihhihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi!": "...I see. So if it weren't for that, I'd have been killed by now...": "Battler, why don't you believe in Beatrice...? Even though she 'exists'. Right now, over there, look. Kihihihihihihihi! Hey, I'll bet you want to believe it now. Believe it. And thank me for giving you that charm...! If it weren't for that, you'd be in the storehouse right now. But then, maybe you would have saved someone else in exchange, right? Kihhihihihihihihihihihi!"  : "Hahahahahahah. ...Then it's all useless, isn't it, Maria? If that's true, then I'm sorry, but it's all useless."When Maria saw me suddenly start laughing, she stopped. Even though she didn't understand what I was laughing at, she realized it wouldn't be pleasant for her. : "...": "I thought it might hurt you, so I didn't say it earlier, but...Although I thought I'd put that charm you gave me in my pocket, I must have dropped it somewhere, you see? ...That means the charm can't be the only reason I'm alive now, and even though I should have been cursed by the witch, I'm perfectly fine. ...Sorry, but I don't believe in things I don't see with my own eyes.Unless, perhaps, Beatrice has far more subtlety and foresight than she is credited with. Perhaps Battler's curse is being early-episode Battler.  : "...Battler-sama...": "...You guys are free to believe whatever you want. However, when it comes to the things I believe, I am always the one who decides! Sorry, but I can't believe in something as shady as Beatrice until I've seen her with my own eyes...!!"I spoke forcefully and sharply... When I did, Maria started cackling again. : "Kihhihihihihihihihihihihi...! Well that's just fine, isn't it...? Eventually, even people like you with totally mismatched wavelengths will be able to see Beatrice.   In the end, Natsuhi's order to keep everyone packed together in the parlor, that no one be left alone and that no one leave the parlor, had to be withdrawn, however reluctantly. In any case, if eleven people are shut up in the same room starting early in the morning, the air will start to get stagnant. ...And after a little time had passed, everyone had started to recover from the shock of that morning. Maybe their sense of danger was weakening over time.  ...I guess it's like 'The North Wind and the Sun'. If you force someone to stay shut in, they'll resist, but if you tell them to do whatever they want, they'll come back, obediently. People sure are hypocrites. ...When the servants finished cleaning up from the meal, they returned obediently to the parlor just as Natsuhi oba-san had told them to, and sat in a sofa near the entrance, patiently awaiting orders. Maria, almost as though she had suddenly finished playing witches, had returned to the pure Maria I knew well, saying 'uu-uu-'.  Kill the vessel, you fools! Before it's too late! : "You're right. When Maria starts talking about witches, she changes. ...Battler-kun, you also saw it down by the beach yesterday, right?":"You mean that scorpion keyholder? ...No, I don't mean like when her feelings were hurt, I'm talking about when she looked like she had a dual personality.": "Aah, that happens sometimes. ...Just like when Maria started talking about the magic circle, that just happens sometimes. It's freaky though."According to Jessica, it seems that she's spotted the 'Kihihihihihi' laughing Maria a few times. ...So if it is possession, Beatrice has been riding shotgun in there for a good long time. And if not, then she's always been creepy as gently caress. Wonder if Rosa knew anything about that? ...Wonder if that had anything to do with her being selected? This was just bad timing, and furthermore, it was the first time I'd seen it so it really shocked me...  Right when humans are born, no one has any individuality, Even so, when they reach their growth period, their sense of self starts to be born, and they start to gain a sense of individuality. They want to be different from other people. ...But that doesn't mean that they will find that they're different from the others in their class, since they are learning the same thing in school and forced into the same lifestyle. When they realize that, they start off by breaking the rules, in what's called the rebellious age. Since everyone follows the rules, they want to show off their individuality by breaking them. ...Even people who call this behavior childish and make fun of it, will realize that it's just a cute kid searching for themselves when they look at it this way. ...Well, I'm lecturing about all this like I'm so smart, but I actually got it second hand from George-aniki. I myself was one of those embarrassing guys who thought it was cool to act like a little bastard... Well, that was when I was the age where you try standing out for the opposite sex.  Let's Read Child Development Textbooks with The Ushiromiya Cousins! Things that aren't the family just tossing theories and chunks of exposition at each other will eventually happen again, I swear. In like two updates. : "No, it's experience. Adults can look down on children because children have very little life experience. The reason they snort and look down on children whenever they say anything is because children don't know anything about the world.": "Yeah, I understand that. When you're a kid, you try to say things like you've got life all figured out, and try to act like an adult. ...No matter what a kid says, adults will just snort at them because they're too naive or because they'd 'understand once they grew up' or something. ...Well, it's probably true, but to a kid, it's just annoying, like they're being looked down upon.": "...I get it. It's about whether they have knowledge and experience. ...Of course, age isn't something to respect if a person's just wasted their lives.": "Therefore, during the period when they try to separate themselves from other children, they also try to take on personalities different from those around them. if what separates kids and adults is knowledge and experience, then...?": "...I get it, if they know something that no one else knows, it becomes part of their identity." : "If you look at it in a good way, the growing period, by forcing you to separate yourself from others, pushes you to gain skills and knowledge that no one else has. ...This is also interesting from a sociological standpoint. Because people hate being like everyone else, they try to learn skills that other people don't know. In this way, society can acquire the broad range of skills it needs to survive. ...The quality of the gods' programming is truly surprising.": "Well, individual personalities can also be negative, right? Like when everyone in the class is studying hard, and I'm just slacking off, it sticks out."...I actually had been like that. Only recently, I'd finally been able to thank that middle school teacher who had slapped me after school. : "But, well, I'd try to jump over things that no one else could, sprint as fast as I could, trying to lap those guys with good grades when we did a marathon. I just felt like doing it. ...It was in my nature that, if I couldn't study well, then at least I could get back at them by exercising. ...I get it, I really went all out during my growing period.": "After all, boys do tend to focus more on physical things. But you know? Girls of the same age tend to focus more on emotional things. ...I'll bet there were groups of girls in your classes that were really interested in fortune telling and their spiritual senses." : "That's because fortune telling and spiritual senses are things that aren't taught in school. To girls, who unlike guys are more introverted, that's a genre which is easy to build an identity upon, and one that they find very interesting."What kind of poo poo schools do they have in Japan if this stuff isn't available? Are Theoretical Numerology and Geomantic Engineering not fields there? What about Business Sorcery? Statistical Prognostication? Cryptomicrobiology? Good old general Applied Witchcraft? goddamn guys get your educational system in order : "Just like when boys enter their growing period, and start acting tough and rebel against adults, when girls enter their growing period, they start getting interested in that kind of thing. ...Well, I didn't though!": "...So Maria having so much interest in the occult isn't that rare among girls her age?"...Even if you accept that, ...I wonder if it explains that creepy dual personality thing... ...Well, I think I can accept it vaguely. : "As you just said, becoming an adult means gaining knowledge and experience. We have to teach kids various things so that they can gain knowledge and truly awaken. ...A child's world, both now and in the past, grows rapidly, and there are some delusions which are convenient during that time. Do you understand?": "You see it all the time in manga and anime right? It's kinda like that. Like memories from antiquity are revived. Like someone's possessed by the soul of the great something, or whatever.": "Ah, and also like a sleeping gene gets awakened, or maybe a sealed power or memory returns. There's a lot of that. For some reason, those kinds of things are really popular at that age. ...Why's that?" So she could brag about something without having to work hard or study. ...I see, isn't that a kid's greatest dream? : "Furthermore, in their desire to separate themselves from being kids, they always project an image of their ideal imagination, and it's not rare for the image of their desire to become an alternate personality. Even you, Battler-kun, I'm sure your character is a little different at home and at school, right? It would probably be embarrassing if anyone at school saw how you were at home. At school, you try to project yourself as you want to be, but home is where you are your true self.": "...So, in other words, I'm changing my character for different situations. ...Are you trying to say that having multiple personalities is actually really common?"Er. I'm pretty sure that's...not really the same thing as actual multiple personalities. Like...at all... : "A girl who is a fan of the occult might say that she's being possessed and then reawakened. Honestly, there are some kids who can suddenly change their personalities. ...Even some boys, right? Guys who just blow their top and suddenly become violent. I'll bet they think it's pretty cool, but it's painful to watch.": "So let's sum this all up. ...Girls of about Maria's age, even if they show a creepy second personality like she did a minute ago, you're saying that's not such a rare thing...?" : "...Aniki, I can't believe you aren't married... You sound like you've already raised kids through middle school. ...So, I wonder if Rosa oba-san also knew much about Maria's dual personality.": "She knew about it. ...Just between us, Rosa oba-san really hated it. She said it was unpleasant, and that Maria was becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of the class. So any time Maria started talking about the occult or laughing like a witch, she would slap her. ...And it looks like Maria stopped talking that way in front of her."For all the good that seemed to do them. ...Maybe it was just a little game, from a girl facing her growing period, ...that thing that had happened back there.  ...I haven't told anyone, but when I was in kindergarten, I joined up with a little gang of kids trying to form a Earth Defense Force, saying we'd help protect peace on earth. My face turns red when I remember how, during what we called battle practice, we would chant EDF!EDF!... Just like usual, Maria was acting nonchalantly, immersed in the TV and laughing 'uu-uu- kya kya' just like any girl her age. ...But on the inside, another personality, that of the ideal witch that she respected and blindly accepted, was sleeping. But that wasn't anything extraordinary. It was perfectly natural for a girl of her age... ...I calmed down a little. I had started to recover from that mysterious shock I had received in the kitchen. If I hadn't talked to Aniki and Jessica, I might still be frightened by the idea that an invisible witch was standing right behind me. ...However, ...can I really accept that as an explanation of what happened back there?  I was starting to feel a little uneasy... Eva oba-san had claimed that no 19th person exists, saying that someone within the family's messy quarrel had committed the crime. On the other hand, Natsuhi oba-san had claimed that the culprit was hiding somewhere outside the mansion. That meant that she was denying that the crime had been committed by one of us, and accepting that a 19th person exists. And in the kitchen, Maria and the servants had agreed that a 19th person exists. But according to them, this 19th person isn't human. ...They had said that it was an invisible witch, plotting something mysterious.   : "...Hmmm... I have the same view as you, okay? I think it was just a stupid ghost story made by the parents so that their kids would listen to them. ...But I can't deny that the atmosphere inside the mansion makes it a little hard to say it out loud...": "...Because Grandfather has proclaimed that Beatrice does exist. And because of their position, the servants can't doubt that. Even Krauss oji-san doesn't want to get into a fight with him, so on the surface, they go along with it. ...So you could probably say that, inside this mansion, doubting the existence of Beatrice is taboo. Unlike the rest of us, who only come here once a year. ...Is that right?"Jessica took a deep breath in admiration... It looked like Aniki had guessed right. : "...It's just like you say. No one really believes it on the inside. ...But on the outside, they accept that she exists. See, it's just like the way some people are about gods. Even though they know god doesn't exist, they feel like it would be uncouth if they actually said that out loud...": "...How do you think the servants feel about it amongst themselves? Is it true that, since their employer says she 'exists', they have to go along with it...?" She had said something like that, hadn't she... Back then, I had thought she was just being really nice to help improve Maria's mood, ...but it had felt like she was serious when she said it. ...That's right, she definitely said it. ...She definitely said the same kind of thing that Genji and the rest had all unanimously declared back in the kitchen...  ...That's right, she definitely said that. Exactly the same thing that I had been told just now. : "Ah, ...but, there's nothing to be afraid of, right? Beatrice-sama is another ruler of this mansion separate from the Master. Therefore, don't be strangely afraid. If you respect her, she won't do anything bad.": "However, it would be dreadful if you didn't respect her, right?": "...Yes. I heard that, just before I began working, someone who spoke badly about Beatrice-sama fell down the stairs and quit after receiving a large injury to their back. Because of that, there was a rumor between the servants that Beatrice-sama's anger had been brought down upon this person..." Of course, even though everyone accepts that curses and the like don't exist in the modern era, ...people are still afraid and still have a little respect for them. You often see it when, in a residential area, someone is building a house, and they call a Shinto priest for a ceremony to honor the god of that plot of land. ...You might think that was just a big waste of time and money, but it is said that if the workers don't do that, a big accident will occur, so they never neglect to do it. You also hear about how, if an Inari shrine is carelessly removed during a town replanning, there would be a curse by Kitsune-sama. I think I might have read somewhere that when the occupying forces were trying to expand an airport, and had to remove a Inari-san that was in the way, all of the workers were suddenly taken out by some mysterious fever. Even in modern cities like Tokyo, it wasn't rare to see modern buildings packed all around an old Inari shrine, leaving the shrine itself untouched.  Putting water on a child's forehead doesn't do anything but make them cry. But if by doing just that, parents can prevent their children from going to hell, they will happily go through with that ceremony. ...In short, even in this modern society of reason, we were still unable to throw away every trace of belief and fear. ...You could say that it was a passive acceptance of the supernatural. Maybe the only difference on this island was that Beatrice was the name that was respected here...  : ...And after all, like Jessica was joking about, sometimes when she went to leave in the morning, she couldn't find her shoes. That was also the work of Beatrice, right?": "I remember it well. ...Normally, you'd say some little imps took them, but on this island, it's Beatrice. Man, what a stupid story.": "This mansion has been standing for about thirty years by now, hasn't it? It's natural for things that old to get their fair share of ghost and occult stories. Like the seven mysteries at a school.": "...So is that where we 'turn the chessboard over'...?": "Huh?": "...In other words, on this island, there's a rule that Beatrice is blamed for anything that couldn't have been done by humans. Things that humans can't do. ...How many humans are there? There's 18. ...So the culprit, knowing about this rule, wanted to make it appear that this crime was the work of the witch. If that were the case, we would have to accept that a 19th person was responsible....I don't like it... I really don't like it." : "What don't you like...?" : "...Well. After all, the crime probably took place after midnight while it was still dark, right? Until midnight, people were talking together, some people had the night shift, and some people had returned to their rooms and were sleeping. ...Everyone's alibi is really vague, and there's plenty of room to suspect that the crime was committed by one of us. George-aniki, Eva oba-san probably told you too, right? That there's a good chance that one of us is the culprit?": "...n, ...yes. ...I guess." : “Unless there are no suspicious humans, they can't prove that they exist. So by killing them in the middle of the night, when everyone's alibis were at their most ambiguous, whether or not this 19th person exists was also at its most ambiguous. Even so, they chose that time to commit the crime.": "...By committing the crime then, it's obvious that one of the 18 would be suspected. ...Even so, everyone has denied that they were the one who took the name of the witch and handed Maria the letter.": "In other words, ...you're trying to say that one of the 18 is trying to make it look like a 19th person called Beatrice exists...? That's pretty crazy...I think that my mom's theory that someone is hiding outside the mansion is a little more credible...Battler, do you actually suspect that someone in this room is the culprit...?": "Yeah. ...Someone trying to force us to accept that Beatrice exists. ...That's right, the letter last night is when this whole thing started. ...I don't have any basis or proof, but... ...With the chessboard upside-down, this is my best guess." : "Yes. ...Do you remember? Beatrice's letter. ...It said that Beatrice was going to collect interest. And by interest, it mentioned everything of the Ushiromiya family."Jessica and I thought back on what Maria had read aloud the previous night... : "...It said that. It definitely said that. That the collecting of the interest would now take place, but if the riddle of the gold could be solved, she would lose that right.": "...Grandfather was granted the gold, and the Ushiromiya house prospered. In other words, Beatrice is talking about the interest on all of the gold that was created. ...In other words...": "...That's pretty scary for a joke, Aniki...You don't mean, everything of the Ushiromiya family, ...in other words, everything that Grandfather gave birth to, ...in other words, everyone with Grandfather's blood flowing through their veins...!?" George turned around, looking over the parlor. ...There were still many people who held the name Ushiromiya. And we knew that, since Gohda-san and Shannon-chan had been killed, not even the servants, who didn't bear the name Ushiromiya, would be spared... : "A, ...are you, ...saying that we're all gonna be killed...? ...But that's weird, George nii-san! In that case, why only six people? They should have killed a lot more. In the worst case, it should have been possible for them to assault everyone while they were sleeping and kill them. Why didn't they do that?!": "...The special clause. ...If someone managed to solve the riddle of the gold, the right to the interest would be lost. ...And the very last part of the letter is tied in with this, right? ...It said to try and solve the riddle of Grandfather's gold." I realized that this was all based on several crazy guesses. ...But not everything that happens in this world fits together in a perfect line. ...Most of the events that we don't know about yet are only individual points. ...By fitting them into a straight line, I was beginning to understand. The closer the points are to the line, the easier it is, intellectually, to understand them. ...And the farther away they are from the line, the more fragmented everything becomes. Therefore, as far the distance between these guesses was concerned, we should call this theory crazy. ...However, if the distance is narrow between the points, you could call the idea limited. Would that idea be any different from reasoning? Was I just trying to force everything that I knew about the case to fit my simple imagination?  If you can't imagine, you can't reason. ...What I was doing might have been crazy, ...but it also wasn't a mistake. Only the power of imagination could pull out a clue from the darkness. ...And the power of reasoning could tie those clues together. ...It was a lot like the process of searching out an enemy's weak spot and striking.   Next time: Eva Ushiromiya: SUPER GENIUS. Shiny777 fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Dec 1, 2012 |
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Dec 1, 2012 23:10
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