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  • Locked thread
Quinn2win
Nov 9, 2011

Foolish child of man...
After reading all this,
do you still not understand?


October 4th, 1986, 3:00 PM



BGM: Hope

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?"
"For sweetfish in Odawara, it'd be Hayakawa. It's famous for its mountain stream fishing."
"Uu-. Maria hates fi-sh."
"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!"



To the contrary, it seemed she was having fun joining in on the conversation with people of a similar age. When I asked, I heard that she was a live-in worker. So normally, the only person close in age to her was Jessica. I get it, that must be pretty wearisome.

"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."
"Ah, I think I might have gone to Odawara castle on a field trip once. It really was a wonderful castle."
"Yes, I also went to Odawara castle. Even though I live in a western-style house, it sure is true that Japanese people feel calmer with Japanese style!"
"Uu-. To Maria, castle is bo-ring. Amusement parks are better. Uu-!"
"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?!"
"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..."
"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?"
"...Uu-...There sleeps the... key to the Golden Land. Uu-! I could read it!"
"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."
"Well, I doubt it's Sogakishi. It could be talking about some house that Grandfather lived in when he was a kid that we don't know about. After all, the first line mentioned his beloved hometown. Shannon, you've fed a lot of sake to Grandfather, haven't you? Hasn't he ever told you about his hometown?"
"...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."
"If the so-called beloved hometown isn't referring to the Ushiromiya family's roots, then the Odawara theory is wrong from the beginning. Of course, this doesn't remove any possibility that it was Sogakishi. For example, he could have lived in Odawara when he was very young, but then moved far away later."
"Uu-... I don't get what you're talking about. Uu-."

Maria had been completly left out of the conversation, and she now sat puffing out her cheeks in boredom.



"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.

"At the first twilight, you shall lift up as sacrifice the six chosen by the key... It sure does get horrible quickly."
"At the second twilight, it says to tear apart the two who are close. Does that mean to make them break off their loving relationship? Or does it mean to literally tear them apart? I don't know, but either way, it's pretty disgusting."
"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!"
"...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."
"And with that, the following tenth night becomes the goal. If everyone's dead, it'd be pretty hard to reach the Golden Land."
"...I'm not sure whether or not the traveler who holds the key would be included in the 'none shall be left to live' part."
"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."
"The witch must be busy killing, reviving, breaking up, and reuniting people."
"Not to mention waking up and sleeping. Hahahahaha."
"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!"



"Uu-! The witch is awesome! She can do anything with magic! Even kill. Even bring back to life. Even give love, even take it.Can fly in the sky, can become invisible, can even make gold and bread out of nothing! Uu-! Uu-! Uu-uu-uu-!!"
"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. Dancing in the sky, crossing a rainbow, dancing around all night with a teacup and a teapot that would never get empty no matter how much you poured out of it. With a flourish of her staff, the stars in the sky would become candy and pour down, and flowers that produced sweets would bud by the roadside.

...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.



"To Maria-chan, this is not something that points to the hiding place of the gold, but magic to revive the witch."

So it was the single link between Maria and the witch. 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."
"...Yes. It has been passed down since the mansion was built on this island. The servants of that time whispered that the mansion had two Masters, one of the Day and one of the Night."

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.



"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.



"In addition, some servants have also seen will‐o'‐the‐wisps and glittering butterflies dancing around. Kanon-kun also saw something like that when he went patrolling one night. And recently, the servants have been talking about strange footsteps inside the mansion near midnight. We have whispered together that the Beatrice-sama from the portrait sometimes makes herself invisible and walks through the mansion. It happened a long time ago, but I have also heard those kinds of footsteps while patrolling at night."
"...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..."
"Uu-... Anger will definitely be brought down on Battler and Jessica... Uu-..."
"I, I, I'm sorry! I don't want her anger brought down upon me! I apologize, Maria. Of course, I also apologize to the witch. I'm sorry, Beatrice-sama. Please forgive an outsider's nonsense."
"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. I had thought it was just a simple scribbled diary, but it turned out that there were also several pages that looked like they had come from a book on black magic. In the midst of those, several of what looked like magical circles had been copied and seriously compared to each other. In any case, it looks like that black magic hobby wasn't limited to Grandfather alone.

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. After a while, she took out various pieces of junk - although they were probably important magical items to Maria - and repeatedly threw them back in, saying they were wrong. It was all a little humorous, just like when Dora*mon took out the wrong tool.

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-!"



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.

There were two. Probably one for me and one for Jessica. However, considering the odd fact that there were two of them, they looked like cheap manufactured goods, and it was quite hard to think of them as magical items.



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.

"...Ah, I've heard about that from some of the other young servants. Something about how the scorpion is drawn as a magic repelling symbol in sorcery..."
"Huh, really...!"
"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."
"Uu-! Wear it on your arm when you want a peaceful heart. If you put it in your wallet, your money won't decrease! If you hang it from a doorknob, bad things can't get in! It's a really convenient charm!"
"What an incredible effect. If Maria-sama is confident in this charm and recommends it, I am sure it will be reliable."

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.

"Is it already time for you to return to your work?"
"Yes. For allowing me to enjoy some time together with everyone, thank you very much."
"Tell Kumasawa-san thanks for the cookies. Alright everyone, help out with the cleanup."

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.

"Okay, let's head back to the guesthouse. We can watch television or something and relax a little."
"Uu-! Watch TV! Watch TV, uu-!"
"Then it's decided. Let's head back and everyone can watch television together."



The wind had become very strong, and roses shook throughout the garden like ripples on the water. This might be our last chance to see these beautiful roses... Tonight's typhoon was sure to ruin them...

"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...

"Maybe it wasn't here... Let's try spreading out a bit in our search."
"Sounds good. Let's go for strength in numbers. Hm? What's up, Maria."

As we made to split up and search, Maria tugged on my jacket with an unhappy face. It felt like her intention was to stop us from going to another place.

"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?"



...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.

"...Uu-. Uu-...! Not here. Not here! Not here! Uuu--!!"

Maybe she's saying that it should be here but isn't. Maria became increasingly ill-tempered...

"...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.



:siren:Video: The Missing Rose:siren:

Rosa: Ami Koshimizu.

In the direction she was waving her hand, aunt Rosa'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. Aunt Rosa was coming from the mansion. She quickly noticed her daughter's voice and came over.



"Maria's rose?"
"We found an unhealthy rose around here and marked it."
"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-!!"
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop saying 'uu-uu-' before you will understand! Mama will look for it, so stay quiet!!"

I was a little surprised to see aunt Rosa, who I had only ever seen as gentle, get angry. Aunt Rosa 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, aunt Rosa 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-!!"
"Then someone must have pulled it out! Anyways, stop saying that 'uu-uu'!!"
"Uu-uu-uu-!! Who pulled out Maria's rose, who did!! Give it back, give it back!! Uu-uu-!! Uu-uu-uu-uu-!!!"
"How should I know!! Stop it, stop saying 'uu-uu-'!!"



BGM: Fortitude

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.

"Uu-uu-!! Uu-uu-uu-!! Maria's rose! Maria's rose!! Uu-uu-uu-uu-uu-uu-uu-!!!"
"Didn't I tell you to stop that weird habit!! That's why all of the kids in your class make fun of you!! Cut it out!!"

Once again, her palm slapped Maria's cheek. This time she didn't go silent. She choked as she started crying, and began to bawl in an increasingly louder voice... Aunt Rosa was clearly irritated, and lifted her hand once more to try and shut her daughter up...



I tried to cut in with a bitter smile, rubbing my hands together, but aunt Rosa 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? I need to have a little talk with Maria."
"Uu-uu-uu-!! Nobody believes in Maria's rose!! Even though it was here!! Uu-uu-!! Look for it!! Look--for--it!! Here, it was here!! Uu-uu-uu-uu-!!!"
"But it's not here!! Then did you confuse it with somewhere else?!"
"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-'!!

Aunt Rosa once again raised her hand and, overrun by emotions, slapped Maria's cheek. It was so strong, it knocked Maria over.

"H, hey... aunt Rosa, even if she is your daughter, you shouldn't be violent like that..."

I stepped between them to protect Maria, who was still on the ground, crying 'uu-uu-'. I knew that problems between parent and child were none of my business as an outsider. But I wasn't brought up to just silently observe something like this...

"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?!"

It seemed that my reckless words had brought aunt Rosa's wrath down upon me. She grabbed my collar with a terrifying expression...



"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!!"

Aunt Rosa struck Maria's quivering head from which an increasingly unsatisfied voice was rising. I tried to stop it, but she thrust me away...

My back hit George-aniki.

"...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...

"Battler-kun, didn't you ever have any bad habits as a kid that you couldn't fix and got you in trouble?"
"...Well, one or two. On Parent's Day, I always got in trouble in front of everyone, and it was so embarrassing, I couldn't stand it."
"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?"



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...



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. 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. It had definitely been there. Even so, it wasn't. Even though she knew the place and even though it had been there, it wasn't.

Maria, while bitterly staring at the place it was supposed to be, thought frantically. 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.



BGM: Witch in Gold

"...So, shall we start? Let us begin banquet of miracles of ours. Even now this island has been cut off from the world. Now there is no one who can interrupt my ceremony. There are many fitting sacrifices for you. Four of my children. Three of their companions. Four of my grandchildren. Me and my guests and my servants! You may eat up as many as you please. The key of fate will obey the roulette of demons and choose the sacrifices. If that roulette chooses me, even I will become your sacrifice. However, because of that... because I will bet on that madness, I will definitely create a grand miracle."



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.

Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Oct 31, 2016

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Rody One Half
Feb 18, 2011

Oh well there's your Maria update then

tiistai
Nov 1, 2012

Solo Melodica
Don't bully Maria, she's already burdened with the misfortune of being born an Ushiromiya

Rody One Half
Feb 18, 2011

Incidentally it's worth mentioning now and remembering going forward: Ryukishi07, the author, used to be a social worker.

Like Clockwork
Feb 17, 2012

It's only the Final Battle once all the players are ready.

And now we start getting into why I don't find Maria overly obnoxious. Poor kid.

HenryEx
Mar 25, 2009

...your cybernetic implants, the only beauty in that meat you call "a body"...
Grimey Drawer
So yeah, acting like an anime isn't socially acceptable, even for a 9 year old. The game not only acknowledges this, it points it out.

Though if you don't want your kid to act like a spoiled TV princess, maybe don't buy her a TINY CROWN

Crush that crown under heel first, then you can try to raise your daughter properly.

bman in 2288
Apr 21, 2010
Okay, I admit it: I feel bad for Maria now. But only because her mother keeps trying to smack the anime out of her mouth when it clearly hasn't been working for years. There's gotta be some sort of speech therapist that Eva could send Maria to, right?

lets hang out
Jan 10, 2015

The tiny crown did nothing wrong.

KataraniSword
Apr 22, 2008

but at least I don't have
a MLP or MSPA avatar.
I am my own man.

Yeah, okay, I'll grant that Ryukishi definitely didn't just throw it in there for :japan:, now, yikes. :stare:

It's just a recurring theme so even when someone intends to deconstruct it, it comes off grating before that. Then again, I guess that's sort of the point, isn't it...

KataraniSword fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Sep 23, 2016

MonsterEnvy
Feb 4, 2012

Shocked I tell you
From where I have seen this to. Maria is heavily implied to some mental development disabilities. I have autism myself and I can't really be truly annoyed by her as I recognize quite a bit of my traits from my younger days in her. (Repeating words, acting younger then she is, obsession with things she interested in. tantrums.)

MonsterEnvy fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Sep 23, 2016

Mercury Hat
May 28, 2006

SharkTales!
Woo-oo!



I forgot how soon Maria's characterization gets turned on its side in Episode 1, I thought there was still a ways to go on the "annoying little kid!" train. Poor kid.

Quinn2win
Nov 9, 2011

Foolish child of man...
After reading all this,
do you still not understand?
After some of my past LP thread-running experiences, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised that this one isn't full of people trying to defend Rosa's actions here.

Double Plus Undead
Dec 24, 2010
My prediction for this game: Maria and Kinzo bond over a shared love of black magic, Maria gets the entire fortune, game ends.

Dire Wombat
Oct 29, 2011

In this world, there is no truth. The truth is made later on and overwrites what comes before it. Real truth doesn't exist anywhere.

ProfessorProf posted:

After some of my past LP thread-running experiences, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised that this one isn't full of people trying to defend Rosa's actions here.

She hasn't done anything to make the reader like her, has she? This is the first scene where she does something to distinguish herself from the other siblings.

Qrr
Aug 14, 2015


ProfessorProf posted:

After some of my past LP thread-running experiences, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised that this one isn't full of people trying to defend Rosa's actions here.

Well, Maria actually having some kind of mental disability makes more sense. But in story no one seemed to notice til now. I suppose the others wouldn't bring it up because it's not polite and battler wouldn't notice because he's not very smart.

It's the difference between a character who acts a third of their age because the author wrote them wrong and a character who acts a third of their age because of an in universe reason.

Also, obviously Rosa slapping her kid is wrong, but I bet she's tried a lot of things to stop the -UU-. And that none of them have worked and she's exasperated.

Also, presumably people are about to start dying. Maybe beginning with the kid they left outside in a typhoon (so responsible!)

Nea
Feb 28, 2014

Funny Little Guy Aficionado.

Qrr posted:

Well, Maria actually having some kind of mental disability makes more sense. But in story no one seemed to notice til now. I suppose the others wouldn't bring it up because it's not polite and battler wouldn't notice because he's not very smart.

It's the difference between a character who acts a third of their age because the author wrote them wrong and a character who acts a third of their age because of an in universe reason.

Also, obviously Rosa slapping her kid is wrong, but I bet she's tried a lot of things to stop the -UU-. And that none of them have worked and she's exasperated.

Also, presumably people are about to start dying. Maybe beginning with the kid they left outside in a typhoon (so responsible!)
People getting worn down like that is one of the reasons they turn to abuse, yes. And keep in mind, this is set in the 80s. We barely knew what autism or developmental disorders were then and they were inedible heavily stig matured even in the US. We didn't know how to diagnose autism spectrum stuff half as well.

Dire Wombat
Oct 29, 2011

In this world, there is no truth. The truth is made later on and overwrites what comes before it. Real truth doesn't exist anywhere.

Qrr posted:

Well, Maria actually having some kind of mental disability makes more sense. But in story no one seemed to notice til now. I suppose the others wouldn't bring it up because it's not polite and battler wouldn't notice because he's not very smart.

It's the difference between a character who acts a third of their age because the author wrote them wrong and a character who acts a third of their age because of an in universe reason.

Remember that the LP format is stretching out the book. This is still quite early in the story, and the cousins haven't really been around Maria for very long.

MonsterEnvy
Feb 4, 2012

Shocked I tell you

Double Plus Undead posted:

My prediction for this game: Maria and Kinzo bond over a shared love of black magic, Maria gets the entire fortune, game ends.

Kinzo said earlier he finds Maria appalling to look at. Appearntly despite their shared interests he dislikes his second youngest grandchild.

Fabulousvillain
May 2, 2015
I think it's possible that Rosa is so violent toward Maria because she sees her own insecurities of herself as a child. Rosa was the youngest sibling under a violent father, and Maria is a youngest cousin(I don't know how old Battler's sister is) of the household. Probably still to early to make this assumption since we are still in the beginning posts, but It doesn't sound like too far of a stretch.

Lord Koth
Jan 8, 2012

Maria is 9, Ange is 6.

As for the other stuff, the cousins generally only see each other at these yearly meetings as far as I recall (and far longer for Battler, of course), so while they certainly KNOW Maria, it's not like they're incredibly familiar with her.

And prior to this scene Rosa was acting much more low-key and reserved in the scene where Krauss, Eva, and Rudolf were all tossing around veiled threats and mockery regarding the money, so it's really this scene that's her first establishing moment. And what a moment it is.

MonsterEnvy
Feb 4, 2012

Shocked I tell you

Fabulousvillain posted:

I think it's possible that Rosa is so violent toward Maria because she sees her own insecurities of herself as a child. Rosa was the youngest sibling under a violent father, and Maria is a youngest cousin(I don't know how old Battler's sister is) of the household. Probably still to early to make this assumption since we are still in the beginning posts, but It doesn't sound like too far of a stretch.

Rosa likely is frustrated. She is a single mother and Krauss implied that she is in debt. According to Rosa when she was lecturing Battler, Maria has no friends and is being bullied in school due to her behavior. All of this does not add up to Rosa being very happy right now in her home life.

Double Plus Undead
Dec 24, 2010

MonsterEnvy posted:

Kinzo said earlier he finds Maria appalling to look at. Appearntly despite their shared interests he dislikes his second youngest grandchild.

Jokes aside, I suspect the dislike is mutual. Based on this latest update I doubt Maria would put up with the way Kinzo talks about Beatrice for very long. He doesn't seem to treat her as a witch or figure to be respected, he just cries over her because he's been dumped and won't get over it.

AfroSquirrel
Sep 3, 2011

Oh, another person has offered themself up as a sacrifice to the LP gods.

I'll follow along to watch people experience this for the first time and praise excellent BGM and SFX.

Rody One Half
Feb 18, 2011

Biting one's tongue hasn't gotten less painful since Shiny's thread.

spectralent
Oct 1, 2014

Me and the boys poppin' down to the shops
Oh sweet, Umineko! I've not heard the VN voices before. Jessica's sure got a tomboyish voice.

As one side note, while I don't know if the cultural references are getting translated, Jessica's "odd way of speaking" includes the -daze tic, which kind of makes her sound like a delinquent, which you may be familiar with from JoJos. I assume the same is true for Hideyoshi's kansai accent, but that seems to have been translated as southern drawl as is typical for these things.

Quinn2win
Nov 9, 2011

Foolish child of man...
After reading all this,
do you still not understand?
Jessica's voice performance is one of my favorites in the game, actually. Her range over the course of the game is really impressive.

Dire Wombat
Oct 29, 2011

In this world, there is no truth. The truth is made later on and overwrites what comes before it. Real truth doesn't exist anywhere.

Rodyle posted:

Biting one's tongue hasn't gotten less painful since Shiny's thread.

There's a lot I'd love to talk about in these early updates, but without spoilers it's hard to even start.

Mercury Hat
May 28, 2006

SharkTales!
Woo-oo!



I do wish there was a place to chat about the game on a re-read-through, I'm sure there's a lot of build-up I'm missing. I came into the series so late, there wasn't a whole lot of discussion going on anymore.

Maybe like a Discord chat or something would be possible?

Quinn2win
Nov 9, 2011

Foolish child of man...
After reading all this,
do you still not understand?


October 4th, 1986, 6:00 PM



Of course, the harshly beating raindrops on the window were much more convincing.

"...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?"
"If the boats don't come, I stay home. Still, it's not as good as it sounds. Usually, I'm ordered to study by myself, and it's not that fun with someone standing right behind you watching everything you do."
"During the rainy season, does the weather ever stay bad for a long time and make you miss a bunch of days in a row?"
"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."
"Thick-skinned tourists say that kind of thing all the time. I've had enough of island life. I really want to quickly graduate high school and say goodbye to this island."
"Even for high school, there should be places where the students live in dormitories. Why did you go to all of the trouble of choosing the school on Niijima?"
"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..."



Maria had so far not returned to the cousins' room. She had probably been brought back to the mansion by aunt Rosa. It had to be pretty boring for Maria, all by herself while the adults are having a confusing conversation.

...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."



"Just when I was getting hungry. Let's go."

George-aniki turned off the television and stood up.

"My stomach's been growling for a while! I've always been a huge fan of the main family's dinners! And didn't Gohda-san say it was calf steak or something? Oohh, I can't wai~t!!"
"It's even more fabulous on the day of the family conference. Even I'm looking forward to it! Let's go, let's go."

As we left the room, Kanon-kun bowed silently and respectfully.



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 aunt Rosa?"



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.



"...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.

"...It is slightly after 6:00."

Rosa gave her head a little shake as she realized that, even though it had felt like she had slept for a long time, not much time had actually passed. Even though she didn't feel rested at all, the drowsiness that wrapped around her felt very deep.

"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.



BGM: Hour of Darkness

Rosa knew her daughter's nature well. She had always known. Maria was stubbornly honest, and if she was ordered to find something that didn't exist, she would look forever and ever.

...Even if rain was pouring down...!!



"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. 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 aunt Rosa 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.

"Enough arguing around here, it'd be faster to just check it out directly...Aniki, why don't we race over there?"
"Do you plan on beating me now that you've been growing for six years? Alright, let's see who wins...Let's go!!"

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...?!





"...Uu-."

Her face, which had turned bright red from her crying her eyes out, was dirtied with water and mud. It was a truly pitiful sight.

"You idiot... are you still looking?!"
"...Uu-... Can't find it... Maria's rose... Can't find it... 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'm sorry... I'm sorry for being such a bad mother..."
"...Aunt Rosa, why don't we head back to the mansion for the time being. Maria will catch a cold like this."
"...You're right. Maria, let's go. If we don't get you cleaned up, Grandfather will get mad at you."
"Uu-... I'm hungry."
"It's already time to eat. Maria did a good job holding out. Once the weather gets better, we'll all go search together."



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.

...Aunt Rosa 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!"

It seemed that some caring person had somehow brought her an umbrella. A normal girl would look for shelter once it started raining, but there was no way that stubborn Maria would lose heart and do something like that.

...So maybe that person gave up recommending that she find shelter, and at least had her take an umbrella.



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.

"...Kinzo-san. I am also hungry. Won't you come down and eat?"
"In that case, you can go by yourself. Let me consider this next move for a little longer. We are going to finish it tonight... Otherwise, it looks like we won't resolve it until the world ends."



...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...



Nanjo crooked his neck with a completely defeated expression. Krauss raised his fist once more and banged on the door, shouting.

"...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.

...It was reaching him. However, he ignored it anyways. However, unlike the time he was being called down for lunch, he did not get into a rage. Kinzo was now simply calm at heart... it was almost as though he had gained a far-sightedness by turning himself over to fate.



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.



"...Umbrella? What's going on?"
"Umm... A short while back, when Maria was in the rose garden and it started raining... it seems she borrowed a white umbrella from someone, and I wanted to thank them..."
"It wasn't one of us. After Rosa went out, 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. Aunt Rosa said that she wanted to thank that person."
"...Uu-. Beatrice..."

Maria, her mouth a thin line, said the witch's name in a small voice. Aunt Rosa explained the situation one more time. As she did, Kumasawa-san cackled.



"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."
"...Re-ally? How thoughtful. That's right, it would be rude to chase us outside in the middle of this rain."
"Could ya' give it a rest..."
"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--!!"



"...Then, Natsuhi nee-san?"
"I'm sorry. After everyone's 'friendly' chat, my headache was so bad that I have been resting in my room. Therefore, I did not go outside."
"...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 you..."
"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."



BGM: Lure

"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?"
"Then, who? Genji-san? Huh? Um, wait a second, don't get me wrong. It's not like I'm searching for some culprit or anything. All I want to do is, as a mother, thank that person who gave Maria an umbrella in the middle of the rain...!"

...Giving an umbrella to a girl loitering in the rain was something to be praised, not hidden. Despite that, no one raised their hand.



"...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.

"Of course! Just like Rudolf-kun said. Maria-chan, tell your uncle! Who lent you the umbrella?"



"Hahahaha. I see, Beatrice, the witch of the forest, felt pity and lent her an umbrella. What a nice story. Rosa, there you go."
"...Nn... Nnnn."

Rosa couldn't believe it. Even though she just wanted to say thanks for the umbrella, why did everything have to be so clouded in smoke...

"Uu-! Just like uncle Krauss 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.



"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...

"No way. She's always been frank and serious. Hasn't she always just swallowed up jokes that were supposed to be obvious lies? I've never even heard of her cracking a joke."

Aunt Rosa probably knew that better than anyone. It appeared that because of this weird situation, she had no idea what was going on anymore.

"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."
"Then what's going on? Are you saying that Genji-san or someone put on that fancy dress from the portrait and gave Maria the umbrella?"
"...I'm not sure about that... Actually, that's what I want to know."

Jessica shrugged jokingly, but her expression wasn't completely joking.



Kumasawa and Shannon, pushing the serving cart, ran into Genji and Kanon on their way to the kitchen.

"...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?"



"Maybe he went walking down the corridor for some reason, when, by coincidence, he saw Maria-sama in the rose garden without even an umbrella..."
"...The Master does not particularly like Maria-sama."
"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.

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.

"Alright, everyone. When serving a dinner, proper timing in setting the table is essential. Please immediately see to setting out the soup. Genji-san, the women are in the middle of an important job, so please don't get in their way."
"..."

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..."



"...Genji-sama. Did Beatrice-sama really... return?"
"...I don't know."
"...I will inform the Master."
"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 darkness of night that now surrounded Rokkenjima was ruled, not by the Ushiromiya family, but by another master. Did this Master take pity on Maria when she was alone and pummeled by the rain in the rose garden, and lend her an umbrella...?

Kanon looked at the rose garden's lights, dimly visible beyond the window. The dim lights were not enough to illuminate the surrounding area.

Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Oct 31, 2016

Quinn2win
Nov 9, 2011

Foolish child of man...
After reading all this,
do you still not understand?

Mercury Hat posted:

I do wish there was a place to chat about the game on a re-read-through, I'm sure there's a lot of build-up I'm missing. I came into the series so late, there wasn't a whole lot of discussion going on anymore.

Maybe like a Discord chat or something would be possible?

This isn't a bad idea. I could toss together a room if there's interest.

bman in 2288
Apr 21, 2010
Finally. Something's happening that isn't financial, child, or sexual abuse.

HenryEx
Mar 25, 2009

...your cybernetic implants, the only beauty in that meat you call "a body"...
Grimey Drawer
Any bets on who's gonna bite it first?

Double Plus Undead
Dec 24, 2010

HenryEx posted:

Any bets on who's gonna bite it first?

Kinzo, otherwise all this inheritance discussion was just filler. :v:

bman in 2288
Apr 21, 2010

HenryEx posted:

Any bets on who's gonna bite it first?

Krauss, because gently caress that guy too.

Alopex
May 31, 2012

This is the sleeve I have chosen.

Mercury Hat posted:

I do wish there was a place to chat about the game on a re-read-through, I'm sure there's a lot of build-up I'm missing. I came into the series so late, there wasn't a whole lot of discussion going on anymore.

Maybe like a Discord chat or something would be possible?

I want one.

little_firebird
Sep 1, 2008

Why don't you
just eat your
belly button and die?!

Mercury Hat posted:

I do wish there was a place to chat about the game on a re-read-through, I'm sure there's a lot of build-up I'm missing. I came into the series so late, there wasn't a whole lot of discussion going on anymore.

Maybe like a Discord chat or something would be possible?

I, too, would enjoy a re-read-seacat chat.

Quinn2win
Nov 9, 2011

Foolish child of man...
After reading all this,
do you still not understand?
All right, I've created a Discord chat for open-spoiler discussion of the LP. Remember, don't click that link unless you're ready to be spoiled for all eight episodes of Umineko.

Quinn2win
Nov 9, 2011

Foolish child of man...
After reading all this,
do you still not understand?
Once again it's time for a new update and we're right at the bottom of the page!

Quinn2win
Nov 9, 2011

Foolish child of man...
After reading all this,
do you still not understand?
The discord chat has so far been a big success. I just hope it doesn't drain all the energy out of the thread itself.

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Quinn2win
Nov 9, 2011

Foolish child of man...
After reading all this,
do you still not understand?
I'm very curious about what the thread is going to think of Maria over the course of the second half of this episode.

Anyway, update follows.

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