Memories 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52; Skills 12, 13

[boxupallthebutterflies]

ccccatching up in memory writeups. why do I do this to myself

this is only for my own reference really. TEXTDUMP!!!

Memory 45: sugar glazed peridot popcorn (9/10): TrivPos: Days Enraptured
[Yasu is in the kitchen, alone with Kumasawa.]

KUMASAWA: Hohohohoho. Yes, that can sometimes happen, and always when you're busy. Perhaps a fairy is pulling pranks on you.

YASU: ...It's a witch pulling pranks on me. I mean, I knew I'd put it right there, and I just glanced around... when it disappeared...

The witch had pranked me again. I left my master key behind, Madam found out, and I got in a lot of trouble. ...Why, when I always put my master key in my pocket after I use it... Why was it in a place like that...?

And this is the third time it's happened. The last two times, I realized that it wasn't in my pocket, and managed to find it before anyone found out. But the third time, Madam found it. I was really mad and frustrated with that witch in the red dress.

KUMASAWA: Hohoho, Beatrice-sama's pranks can be quite troublesome. But if you're dealing with a witch, shouldn't you be able to use some sort of charm?

YASU: A charm...?

Kumasawa-san started fishing through the kitchen cupboards, saying "now where did that get to".

The thing she finally found and brought to me... was a kite string. She stretched it out for me to see, then used a knife to cut off a 50cm piece.

KUMASAWA: Try tying this end to the key... Then tie the other end to your pocket button or some other place that doesn't stick out. ...This is the spiderweb charm.

YASU: Spiderwebs? Like the ones the evil spirits of Rokkenjima fear?

KUMASAWA: Good, I'm glad you remember. It is said that the spiderwebs on this island are imbued with magical power, and that they are very effective at repelling evil. See? If you stretch it out like this, it looks like a spiderweb, doesn't it? Hohoho, this way, that spiderweb-hating Beatrice won't be able to prank you anymore.

That... does make sense. It really does look like a spiderweb when pulled tight. ...Since Kumasawa-san says so, it must have some pretty strong evil-repelling power.

I can just ask her to make several of these kite strings for me, and then I can tie them to everything I don't want to lose. ...But, clearly, that won't be very practical. I'd have strings all over me.

YASU: What about things I can't keep tied to me... like pencils and erasers?

KUMASAWA: Hohoho, for times like that, there's a different charm. All you have to do is make a house for Mr. Pencil and Mr. Eraser.

Make a house...? ...You mean, build a roof and a bed and stuff??

KUMASAWA: You aren't actually building a house, you're giving them one. ...For example, take the knife I cut the string with. "I wanna go ho~me!" Eheheheh, he's such a lonely kid that he wants to go home right away. So, if you leave him anywhere else, he'll be lost and start crying. ...See, if you leave Mr. Knife lying around, he'll get lonely and cry.

YASU: ...Poor thing. We need to get Mr. Knife home...

KUMASAWA: Here is Mr. Knife's house. See, his whole family of knives is waiting for him. "Mama~, I'm ho~me." "Welcome ba~ck." See?

Kumasawa-san returned the knife to the knife-holder under the sink. Even though she had done something so ordinary, I felt slightly moved, as though the lost little knife had finished his adventure and finally returned home.

Once he slid into the spot he was supposed to be in, all the knives would be together and could have a party... Then, Kumasawa-san said we should give them their privacy, and shut the door...

KUMASAWA: The poor things hidden by the witch must get lonely easily. So, when the witch tells them she'll take them somewhere fun, they're just happy to go along with her. What can you do to stop them from doing this?

YASU: Take them home right away...

KUMASAWA: Exactly. They're lonely, naughty kids, so they'll go with the witch if they get the chance. So, you must always take them home quickly. ...Look at that Mr. Key you just tied to a string. He's sitting there all alone, crying and asking you to put him in his home in your pocket.

*sob*sob*... I'm lonely.

The voice of the lonely master key finally reached my ears. I hurried to pick it up, took the other end of the string and tied it to my pocket button, and put the key in my pocket.

KUMASAWA: See, "I'm ho~me". Mr. Key gets lonely so easily, so let's take him home right after we use him, okay? If you keep making little friends like this, even Beatrice-sama won't be able to prank you much longer...

---

*clink*!!

When break time was over and I stood up to see what I should help with next, I felt a tug, and the key ring with the master key fell to the floor.

...Once again, I had left the master key on the side of the sofa and forgotten it was there. The instant I stood up, the string pulled on it and it fell to the floor.

Without Kumasawa-san's spiderweb charm, I would probably have left that master key lying here again. The master key left all alone would have been led away by the witch and disappeared...

Whew, that was close... And, once again, I heard the master key, who had almost been left alone, cry and tell me that it wanted to go home...

YASU: ...I'm sorry. Come on, let's go back home to my pocket...

Yay, I'm home!

...Thank goodness. ...I almost got pranked by the witch again...

BEATO: Oh, what's this...?! Nice trick, using string like that!

All of a sudden, I heard a wild, shocked voice from over my shoulder. It was a voiceless voice. A witch's voice, the kind you can't hear unless you try.

YASU: ...Beatrice...?

BEATO: That's me, my friend. You forgot about your key again, so I was just about to sit there and laugh at you...!

YASU: It's a spiderweb charm that Kumasawa-san showed me. Apparently, it works very well.

BEATO: Yes. I hate to admit it, but it does. I wouldn't want to touch that. After all, you wouldn't want to put your finger on a razor and slide it across, would you?

YASU: ...Uwa... that's a scary example... My finger hurts just thinking about it...

BEATO: But good for you. Even though you lost your key again, Natsuhi didn't yell at you. *cackle*cackle*, you should be thanking me!

YASU: Why?

BEATO: Because I annoyed you, you learned about the charm, right? Thanks to that charm, you've managed to take care of the forgetfulness that made you leave keys lying around. In other words, it's all thanks to me. Wahahahaha, don't I deserve some gratitude?

YASU: Nn... nnnnn...

I really don't like it, but she does have a point. Because of all the trouble Beatrice caused me, I told Kumasawa-san and learned the charm from her.

Even without the witch's pranking... if I didn't have the charm, I would have gone to my next job and left the master key here. If that happened... then surely, I wouldn't have been able to find the key, and it would've been a big mess.

BEATO: This is what they call punishment to teach someone a lesson. By magnifying your mistakes, I've shown you what they are, as a friend! Don't you see how much you've grown?

YASU: ...Nn, nnnn... I get the feeling that Kumasawa-san's the one I should be thanking, not you.

BEATO: My, my. What a thankless job we witches have. *cackle*.

YASU: Anyway, I win this time. Okay, I need to get back to work now.

BEATO: Very well, my friend. We'll call this your victory. However, I'm bad at giving up. I'll keep watching you, even more closely now, until I can even the score. Prepare yourself. There are still several small items that a person like you is likely to forget. You can't attach string to all of them. *cackle*cackle*...!

YASU: The spiderweb charm isn't the only one I have. ...I also learned the "take them home" charm. I won't let you have your way anymore.

BEATO: Hmph. Let's see how well you can actually do so. Even so, that's quite the bright smile you've got there. When a witch comes, that's a time to cry, not laugh. Your break time is over. See if you can manage to do your job today without slowing down the older servants.

YASU: Sure. Today is Sunday, and the weather is wonderful. I'd better do my best.

BEATO: Go do whatever you can. Oh, that's right. Sanon's been in a bad mood all morning. You'd better try and avoid eye contact with her. Also, your fortune for the day is "water hazard". Make sure you take care when standing near buckets of water. ...This is you we're talking about. I'll be waiting for you to knock over a bucket and get scolded like usual.

YASU: *giggle*. ...Thank you, Beatrice.

Back when I still couldn't see her... I simply hated this prank-loving witch. But now that I could talk with her... it felt as though she wasn't all bad.

Of course, there was no need for me to be grateful to her. The witch Beatrice despises boredom, and mocks the misfortune of others instead of eating food. Humans and witches are different. Incompatible beings. And yet... it felt as though we could become friends.

Of course, she's still a witch. I mustn't get careless. And yet, not being careless is a good thing.

Thanks to the tricks and charms I use to keep her at bay, I'm able to concentrate. That could hardly be a bad thing. Those things will be useful for my job and my life, even without the witch's pranks.

I see, so this witch called Beatrice really is like a demon. Apparently, it's possible to build up a friendship through verbal abuse...

---

SERVANTS: Thank you, Genji-sama.

GENJI: ...Good work with the big cleanup today. We never know when an important guest might come and borrow one of the rarely used rooms. It is important that you do not slack off in your cleaning.

RUNON: Of course. All of us are fully aware of this fact.

GENJI: ...I wish that were the case. When I looked around, I found this. Whose is it?

Genji took a master key ring out of his pocket. ...Apparently, someone had dropped their master key. All of the servants swung around to look at me, the usual offender.

RUNON: Come on. Yasu again?

SHANNON: Y-You shouldn't be so quick to judge.

SANON: I have mine, of course. There's no way I'd drop something that important. And the rest of you?!

SHANNON: I have mine...

RENON: Got it!

RUNON: So, it was you, Yasu! Do you still not get it, even after that scolding Madam gave you?! You're just so...!

...Normally, I would cower and apologize under their glares, whether I was guilty or not. However, I've changed. So, I proudly held up the key with the string still attached...

GENJI: ...Hoh. ...A device to keep yourself from dropping it. Very prudent.

Genji-sama's face was as expressionless as ever. However, those were unmistakably words of praise.

SHANNON: *giggle*, that's right. You won't drop them anymore. After all, you have your charm now.

...That's right.

I nodded proudly, a huge smile on my face. The proud experience of that day, of that moment, would be engraved into an unforgettable page in the memory of my young life... So, whose key did Genji find...?

...!

There was only one servant who hadn't raised their key. As she muttered "it has to be Yasu's key, not mine" and fished in her pocket, her face went pale...

GENJI: You mustn't slack off, even when doing your everyday tasks. But everyone makes mistakes from time to time. I will not press the point, but blaming your teammate instead of reflecting on your own actions is not something I would consider praiseworthy.

RUNON: M-My... apologies...

The older servant turned red and hung her head. Behind her... though no one else could see it, was the witch.

BEATO: *cackle*! My friend will not make the same mistake again. After all, I'm stalking this child all the time, and it can't afford to leave an opening! But it's a shame. If I'd known this girl here would lose her key, I could've pranked her this time...!

YASU: Please don't prank people other than me.

SHANNON: Huh? Did you say something?

YASU: N-No, nothing...

I tried not to feel vindictive, but after being called dull-witted for so long, I was finally able to hold my head up high. On that day, for the first time, I truly felt as though I'd gotten used to life as a servant of the Ushiromiya family...

---

SHANNON: Are you going to take a bath? Bath time's almost over.

YASU: ...Yeah... just a bit more... Another one of the Indian figures just disappeared...

SHANNON: *giggle*. You've become a total mystery nut. If you get too excited reading, you won't be able to sleep again.

YASU: ...According to Kumasawa-san, the culprit has already appeared... But I don't have a clue who it is...

SHANNON: What's that book called?

YASU: It's by Agatha Christie. "And Then There Were None". ...It's really interesting. Almost like it's a crime happening on Rokkenjima.

SHANNON: Yes, that's a really famous mystery novel. Wasn't that one a perfect crime, at least until the culprit confesses to the truth in a message bottle at the end? An incredible book.

YASU: Shhh, shhh! I'm enjoying myself, so don't spoil me! Go take a bath now, I'll go by myself later...!

SHANNON: Okay, okay. ...See you later then. Don't forget to take a bath, okay?

Shannon picked up a change of clothes and smiled amusedly as she left the room.

I probably won't be able to read the whole thing tonight. Even though I know that, I just keep turning the pages, unable to find a good place to stop.

My new joy, the mystery genre. The mental game of thinking and theorizing. And also talking about it with Kumasawa-san. ...All of that left me enraptured.

BEATO: You've become a complete bookworm. Well, if you do stay up and get sleepy, that just makes my job easier.

YASU: We can't have that. I'd better find a place to stop soon.

BEATO: *cackle*. ...In the ancient times I was born in, we didn't have pleasures like mystery novels. I've been reading over your shoulder, and this really is an interesting book.

YASU: Beato, who do you think is the culprit?

BEATO: In "And Then There Were None"?

YASU: Yeah. Who is U. N. Owen, I wonder...

BEATO: That's the culprit who lured the victims to the island.

YASU: There are only ten people on this island. And U. N. Owen doesn't exist.

BEATO: Someone must have stranded them on the island and waited somewhere far away for them to die of starvation.

YASU: No, that's not right. He or she is on the island. They're one of the ten people. I just don't know who...

BEATO: How do you know that there are only ten people on the island?

YASU: ...That's just how it is.

Since, if you doubt that, you're stuck, or it's just one of the assumptions of the mystery genre... or... hmmm...

BEATO: The culprit owns the island, correct? They might be hiding in some hidden room. Or maybe they're like me! They may be a thousand year old witch! No, no, if they had to go to all this trouble just to kill ten people, they couldn't be a thousand years old. 495 years old at most, I'd say. *cackle*cackle*!

YASU: Closed rooms do appear a lot in mystery novels. And books often use the phrase "it could only conceivably have been done with magic". ...And here I am, with a witch right before my eyes. It's a complicated feeling.

BEATO: Pft, *cackle*cackle*! Very entertaining, these closed room murders. ...Once you read the answer, it becomes a tale about humans, or a mystery novel. But, if you take out the part that reveals the answer, it becomes a tale about witches, or a fantasy novel.

YASU: ...Hmmm? That's an interesting way to look at it. So, there's only a tiny difference between human novels and fantasy novels?

BEATO: If a trick exists, it becomes a human novel. If there isn't one, it's a witch novel. If you just take out the last few pages of that book you're reading, you might think of Lady U. N. Owen as a witch on the same level as me...!

YASU: ...That might be surprisingly wise, coming from you. ...So, the culprit of detective novels without an answer is a witch.

BEATO: All of the dark places in this world belong to us witches. So, I could reign as the culprit to all detective novels across the world.

YASU: Except, if you reason it out right and find the true answer, then the witch is done for.

BEATO: *cackle*cackle*. Detective novels are quite interesting, it seems. This looks to be quite a truly entertaining thinking game.

YASU: That's right. This is a thinking game. You fight against the book, make a theory, and then compete against friends who have also read the book.

BEATO: Yes, but it's also a fight between humans and witches. Will you allow for or deny the magic of my closed room murders? It's a game of chess!

YASU: ...So, it isn't a book I'm reading, but a challenge against you?

BEATO: Indeed! As Shannon said a short while ago, this story apparently has the truth revealed by a message bottle at the end. So, if you can't expose the truth of the tale before that point, you lose. After all, the message bottle just happened to drift somewhere that it could be seen. If it got smashed and sank before anyone saw it, this would be a perfect crime, or in other words, a witch's crime that's impossible for humans.

YASU: ...That's a fun way to look at it. A fight between me and the witch. ...Yeah. I really like thinking of it that way.

BEATO: *cackle*! Starting now, and until you finish reading, I am Lady Owen, the 495 year old witch! Can you see through my deserted island murder tricks? Ahihhyahahahaha!

YASU: ...I do have one theory: you want to play with me, don't you? I've been reading books so much, you've gotten lonely.

BEATO: That too!

YASU: Pft--

BOTH: Hahahahahahahahahahaha...

...Incidentally. The game Beato and I played with "And Then There Were None" ended with my defeat.

In the end, I wasn't able to build a satisfying theory, and I had to learn the truth from the message bottle. Luckily, it did manage to drift into human hands. If it had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, as Beato had suggested, I would have no way of knowing the truth. In other words, I was forced to acknowledge U. N. Owen as a witch.

Mystery. I once thought it was just a genre for novels. To think that it can so easily become a fight between witches and humans, truth and fantasy. I was instantly enraptured by this new "game".

As the months passed by, I read through all of the mystery novels in the school library, and started to read mystery novels for adults.

I discussed them with Kumasawa. I discussed them with Shannon. I played my game of theory chess, the fight between witches and the truth. Those days... were so much fun...

Memory 46: miniature pie (taken): TrivPos: snacks with the witch; girl talk with Jessica
JESSICA: Eeeeeeeeeh?! What do you mean, separate rooms?! Then, Shannon, you and George nii-san stayed at different rooms on purpose?!

SHANNON: Y-,...... Yes... I mean, ...... was it that strange......?

Since Jessica's cheeks had been stuffed with chocolate-coated chinsukou biscuit that Shannon had brought as a present from Okinawa, it all flew out at Shannon when Jessica cried out...

JESSICA: ...Sh, Shannon, why did you even go on a trip up to Okinawa...? And even alone with George nii-san!

SHANNON: That is, I mean..., since there's a very big aquarium in Okinawa, I was invited to go and... I, ...like fish and stuff...

JESSICA: No, that's not it!!　This is a young couple going on an overnight trip, right?! And you're saying there weren't even any hugs and kisses?! To say nothing of the fact that the guy and girl were staying in different rooms!!

SHANNON: As for k, kisses, no comment. Ah, but we did hug... George-san's chest was warm...

JESSICA: That's not the point!! Aah, geez! Why do couples like this exist?! Aaah, geez!! It's so irritating!

A lot of things had happened to Shannon and it seemed to have been a very happy trip, but it looked like Jessica found it pretty irritating. For a while, Jessica chewed on her present, complaining about romance and pretending to faint in agony on her bed.

Shannon and George had chosen to go to Okinawa because there was a huge aquarium there. And they had used the aquarium as an excuse to get together. Since their relationship had started at an aquarium, having their first overnight trip also be to an aquarium must have held some commemorative value.

JESSICA: What a turning point! It was your first overnight trip!! Shouldn't there have been lots of progress?! And even so, separate rooms for the guy and girl?! A couple taking two single rooms?! Aah, geez, really, what's wrong with you!

SHANNON: ...Err, umm, ......but we're both single... ...George-san says showing restraint is good manners for a couple.......

JESSICA: Like I said, this overnight trip was so you could overcome that stage, right?! You're already at the level of things like kissing and hugging, right?!

SHANNON: M, Milady, I don't know what you mean by that.... G, George-sama was a real gentleman with me until the end. That is, I mean, ...... I also, ...wondered if those things would happen, you know, ...but we, even though we are going out, I mean, it, it's not that we are married or anything... What Milady seems to be expecting, ......I mean, we must do so only after we properly make a vow in front of God, umm, ......w w, we must..., au.

Shannon's face got bright red. She made a circle with both hands, restlessly intertwining, separating and making heart marks with them. Apparently, the dramatic progress Jessica had looked forward to hadn't happened, but it seemed that it had been a very important experience for Shannon in her own way.

...So in the end, whether Jessica was jealous of Shannon or cheered for her, it didn't change the fact that Shannon had a huge lead on her.

JESSICA: Aah, I want a boyfriend toooo!! I can't believe Shannon got ahead of me!! Even though we promised that we would find boyfriends at the same time, you beat me, Aarrrrrrgh!

SHANNON: U, umm... Milady is a wonderful person, so I'm sure a wonderful person will appear very soon....

JESSICA: Don't try to console me!! Shannon, you traitor, get o-ut, shut u-p! *cough*cough*, *cough*cough*cough*!!

Jessica threw several cushions at her. But midway, she had an asthma attack and started to choke pretty badly. Shannon hurriedly ran over to a nearby side table and started searching around on top of it. A lovely basket was placed there and inside of it was Jessica's bronchodilator. Shannon picked it up and handed it over to Jessica.

Jessica's asthma attacks always came suddenly. Because of this, she always carried this medicine around. She breathed in the medicine and, after a while, managed to overcome her choking as her asthma finally settled down. Shannon thought this a good chance to leave and tried to exit the room after bowing courteously...

As she did, one more small cushion came flying and hit Shannon on the head. She noticed that Jessica was on the verge of crying, half of her face buried in her last and favorite cushion. That face was red and meek...

SHANNON: ...... M, Milady......?

JESSICA: Sha, ......Shannon......Be honest with me............Is my, ............hairdo and stuff, ...... strange....?

SHANNON: What are you saying... I think that your hair is very beautiful.

JESSICA: Then, ...then, then, are my eyes strange, or maybe my nose? ...Or is it the way I talk after all......? Is that why I can't get a boyfriend......?

SHANNON: Of course not. Milady, you are wonderful enough as you are. And I think that your charm will keep on increasing more and more from now on.

JESSICA: ......But, it's only me who can't find a boyfriend... Saku and Hina managed to find a boyfriend, but only I can't...... Is it because I don't have any charm after all......? You know, everyone will bring their boyfriend along to the cultural festival...... I was so sure I'd have a boyfriend before that day and said it so impressively............I can't find a boyfriend. Only me, only me.......

Before she realized it, Jessica was shedding huge tears.

Jessica didn't really feel like crying, and of course, she felt like supporting Shannon's progress in love as a friend. ...However, as she had cheered Shannon on, her true feelings had suddenly gotten mixed in, and she couldn't help but shed tears...

...Shannon understood Jessica's innocent and easily injured heart.

Jessica's ordinary rough style of speech, was all just an attempt to protect her own easily injured heart. ......As a daughter and successor to the Ushiromiya family, and as a girl isolated on Rokkenjima, the only person she could expose her true feelings to was Shannon.

Shannon understood that. So, ...she strongly regretted getting into even a slightly good mood.

JESSICA: ...S, .........sorry... Crying like this, I'm, weird. Sorry, ......*sniffle*.

SHANNON: You are a wonderful person, Milady. There is no way that a wonderful man won't appear for you, Milady...

JESSICA: .........Sh, Shannon, it's about time, right? If you don't go quickly, Genji-san and Mom will get mad. I'm perfectly fine, so go quickly...! Heheh, sorry for crying like this. ......I'm such a moron.

Jessica faced away, acting as though she didn't really want to trouble Shannon, waving her hand as though driving Shannon away.

Shannon took that as a sign that anything more would be obnoxious, bowed her head, and left the room...

[...]

As Shannon watered the flower beds in the garden in high spirits, she sensed someone's presence.

She turned around, thinking that if this was one of the family coming to see her, she must greet them, ......and what she saw was that witch.

SHANNON: B, ......Beatrice-sama.........

BEATO: It's been quite some time. How are you? Has your relationship with your special person progressed since last time?

As Beatrice sat on the rose arch, she happily blew on her pipe.

Sitting in a place like that would get you pricked by the roses, and it might have been dangerous if you fell off the arch, ...but after all, this was a witch. That would surely be worrying too much.

SHANNON: ...Y, yes. Thanks to you, ...it's going smoothly.

BEATO: Naturally, my magic is instantaneous. Maybe you feel that your meeting was a predetermined fate. But that isn't correct, don't think this has anything to do with fate.

SHANNON: ......I, ......I understand that.

The witch was calling attention to something. Two things, actually.

Originally, her relationship with George had been completely impossible. ......And the power of magic was so great that it could distort that. Shannon had just gotten wrapped up in those sweet days, and had started believing the illusion that all fate revolved around her.

...But she remembered the witch's words.

Originally, her relationship with George had been impossible, .........no, it might also be impossible in the future as well...

BEATO: ...*cackle*cackle*, sorry, sorry. It's just like a doctor. Even though you rely on them when you worry about your health, after you're healed, you forget even to thank them. ......I've never been thanked as a witch, so I couldn't help acting a little rudely. Forgive me.

SHANNON: .........I have never forgotten my feelings of gratitude. ...I was able to achieve happiness thanks to your power, Beatrice-sama. .....And without that power, the fate that brought me and George-sama together wouldn't have happened. ...I have never forgotten that.

BEATO: Sorry, sorry. It's not like I came here to bully you. Talking rudely is just my personality. Do forgive me. ...More importantly, I heard, I heard! About your trip alone with him. I'm sure it was quite fun.

SHANNON: Y, yes! It was very, umm, ...fun.

Shannon's face suddenly grew bright. The witch laughed lightly, as though that transformation was worth money.

BEATO: Already the person of your thoughts is no longer an object of one-sided love. You are a pair of lovers now. ......To a pair filled with love, that alone is all they need in the world. Is this a wonderful, ideal world? Fufufufufufu! Even witches would be jealous.

Beatrice laughed pleasantly. That smile made her look as though she blessed the lovers' rendezvous from the bottom of her heart, without a trace of malice.

After that day, Beatrice had shown herself before Shannon every once in a while.

Even now, Shannon still thought of her as a creepy being. ...However, she was also indebted to this person for bestowing the magic that had given her the relationship she had with George.

So Shannon tried with all her might not to be surprised or scared.

SHANNON: Th..., that's right. ......Umm, Beatrice-sama. I bought some sweets as a souvenir from our trip. ...Would you, umm, ......like some?

BEATO: Hoh??? A souvenir for a witch.........?

It seemed that even a witch who boasted of living for one thousand years hadn't been able to predict that she would receive a souvenir from a pair of sweet lovers.

When she saw that surprised expression, Shannon thought of the witch as a friend for the first time.

BEATO: Hohoh, an Oriental cookie made from wheat flour and lard. To wrap that in western chocolate is truly a blending of Japanese and western style, the silk road of sweets. .........What? What's so funny?

SHANNON: N, ...nothing. My apologies.

This witch, who surely held a terrifying power, was chomping down on sweets one after another, making a sound like a squirrel stuffing walnuts into its mouth. After a while, Shannon couldn't conceal her laughter.

BEATO: Hmmm, a good meal. ......I should serve you some Dolce Vita from Nero one of these days. Roses are the symbol of eternal love. I believe a rose dolce would be appropriate for you now.

The witch was in a great mood, fully enjoying modern candy.

SHANNON: Umm, .........here. I truly wish to thank you so much. I believe you have done more than enough for me already, so I'm returning this.

The thing that Shannon had softly set on the table...was a gold-colored butterfly brooch.

BEATO: There is no need to return it. If you continue holding that, your relationship should remain firm in perpetuity.

SHANNON: ......Maybe I was given a chance to meet him by the power of magic. But I think the effort that will make that meeting eternal will come from the two of us cooperating together.

BEATO: Hmmm. ......Love and roses are the same. Too much fertilizer causes the roots to rot. Some flowers cannot be raised without hard work. In that case, do as you wish. You may wear it or keep it in a box. That is my good will, given to you. It would not please me if you were to return it to me.

SHANNON: Ah, ......m, my apologies...! That's not what I...

BEATO: *cackle*cackle*. No harm has been done. That brooch is already yours. If you treasure that proof of our friendship, that would comfort me a bit. You may hold on to it, and gain its benefits. You may also keep it in a box. If you wish, it is up to you whether you give it to another who is worrying about love. ......But you should regard it as important. Of course, it would pain my heart if you wasted it.

According what Beatrice said, several times in the distant past, she had been called by people and given them a tool imbued with some kind of magic power.

...However, when most people used that power to resolve their worries, they quickly came to think of that power as creepy, and, forgetting their feelings of thanks, they threw the tools they had been given away with disgust.

BEATO: So I haven't often received thanks for my good will. ......Let's see, is this the first time? *cackle*cackle* *cackle*cackle*.

The witch laughed heartily, but it looked like a sad laugh in Shannon's eyes. She herself had been like that in the past, ...no, maybe she was still like that now.

Beatrice was definitely a witch, with a strange and terrifying power. Most likely, no one would go along with her if they could help it. Surely, even though they had relied on that strange power, people sometimes felt fear rather than gratitude as a result.

......It must have deeply hurt the witch when that repeated over and over. Since the time she had started thinking that way, ...Shannon had tried to stop being frightened of Beatrice. That was surely what had tormented her for longer than one thousand years...

Maybe she really liked the sweets. Beatrice, who normally spoke abusively, praised the black tea that Shannon served her, and looked to be in remarkably high spirits.

After doing that for a while, the witch and the servant grew animated talking about the trip with George. Shannon didn't know much about Beatrice.

First off, she was a ghost-like being who appeared in unexpected places at unexpected times. And it seemed that not everyone could perceive that she was there. It seemed that each person had something called a wavelength, and that the ability to perceive it varied greatly among different people.

Only Shannon and Kanon could interact with her enough to exchange words like this. ...There were a few people who could sense her presence, but most people couldn't even feel that much. From what Beatrice said, Krauss and his wife in particular had zero magical talent. And no matter how much she followed them around, they would never notice her. Previously, when Shannon had messed up and Natsuhi had gotten really mad at her, Beatrice had started playing around, hitting Natsuhi on the head with her pipe.

...I see, Natsuhi really hadn't noticed at all. But Shannon, watching that, had burst out laughing without thinking, and had gotten scolded even more.

SHANNON: Then, ......what about the Master? I hear that he has been doing research in magic, so I'm sure he would be able to notice you, Beatrice-sama.

BEATO: ............Kinzo is the same. There is no one with a more pitiful lack of magical talent. ...It's the blood. He has so little talent that I feel sorry for him.

SHANNON: ..................?

As soon as they started talking about Kinzo, it felt like the atmosphere around Beatrice changed.

She had spoken about Krauss and the rests' lack of magic talent as though she looked down on them, but she spoke of Kinzo in a different way. Anyone connected to the Ushiromiya family would know about Kinzo's Legend of the Gold. ...According to that, Kinzo had summoned the witch Beatrice, and had been given the gold.

...In other words, that meant that she had some kind of relationship with Kinzo.

BEATO: That was because, ......even though he didn't have a scrap of talent, he succeeded. ...He kept studying by himself like mad, and reached the level of magician.

SHANNON: That's, .........something really incredible, right......?

BEATO: ......Hmm.

The witch, who usually looked down on people, was unexpectedly praising someone. ...While she lambasted him, saying that he had no talent, she praised Kinzo's efforts.

SHANNON: And then, .........the Master summoned Beatrice-sama with the power of magic......

BEATO: Hmm. ......Well, I only answered the summons on a whim. In this period where magic has long been denied, those without a scrap of talent give it their all. It was just my luck that I'd decide to come and laugh at him. *cackle*cackle*cackle*.

The words 'just her luck', ...showed that this had been a disaster for her.

Shannon hesitated over whether it would be alright to continue this discussion, but Beatrice continued on her own, ignoring Shannon.

BEATO: A format and rules had been assembled. Several customs were mixed in, but, well, in deference to his enthusiasm, we created a lenient contract. ......Then I gave him a mountain of gold.

SHANNON: Then the Master..., used that gold and succeeded in business, and grew his wealth into what it is today.

BEATO: Hmm. His talent in magic was nothing, but it seems he had talent in business and gambling. ...Or was it because of his bravery and madness to bet everything on unreasonable bets. ......Madness sometimes brings about magic. I see, if you look at it that way, maybe I can't really say that Kinzo had absolutely no magical talent. *cackle*cackle*...

Shannon felt like she was daydreaming.

While everyone in the Ushiomiya family knew of the story regarding how Kinzo had idolized black magic, summoned a witch, and been given gold, in actuality, it was all rambling that no one believed in. And now that she was hearing that it was true from the witch herself... Shannon felt a little flustered at this insane secret that only she knew.

BEATO: Then Kinzo, who had obtained a vast fortune, could completely obtain every dream one can satisfy with objects they can obtain in the human world. .........And in the end, he searched for the truth of the world.

SHANNON: The truth, ...of the world?

BEATO: ...The single element that makes up the world. Kinzo, who had achieved everything one can obtain in the human world, wanted that, the final desire humans seek.

The single element. .........She felt like she had heard the witch say that word before. When Beatrice saw Shannon trying to remember what that was, she laughed bitterly, waving her hand and saying there was no need to remember.

BEATO: ......I underestimated Kinzo a little. I truly hadn't thought that he would display such power. ......And thanks to that, I'm in this state. I've been sewn in place on this island for several decades now, without even a friend to drink tea with. ...No matter who I try to talk to, my voice doesn't reach them, and no matter where I go, I cannot do anything. Such boring decades.

As she laughed in self-derision, she tapped her teacup with her finger. It made the transparent sound of pottery. ...Shannon didn't know whether the word 'self-derision' was really an accurate expression to describe the look on the witch's face.

Shannon didn't understand everything, but she could more or less figure out the situation. ...And it was probably a topic that she could not press the witch on easily, unless the witch started talking about it herself. To sum up everything she had said up until now...

Beatrice, who had been summoned by Kinzo's magic, could not leave this island for some reason. And she had lost her power and her form, living her days in boredom. During that time, her words had reached Shannon, who never forgot to strongly respect the witch. And she had helped the witch to regain her power, if only a little bit.

...As a result, she had become able to drink tea with Shannon like this...

SHANNON: ......Beatrice-sama, what in the world was that mirror you told me to break?

BEATO: Aaah, that story. .........Long ago, it seems various things happened on the islands around this area. Because of that, bad things gathered, drawn towards an evil distortion. It seems that a traveling eastern magician or something built a shrine for the repose of souls and sealed them in there.

SHANNON: ...That in itself had nothing to do with me, but unfortunately the foundation of that magical power was different. It created a strong interference with my magical power, and was extremely bothersome.

SHANNON: Is that how it was...? And I just assumed that it sealed you, Beatrice-sama...

BEATO: I was not its target. But it was a divine mirror. As a result, my power was sealed away. ......If you were to use food as an example, maybe it would go something like this. Let's say that the western-style food I ordered is being made in the kitchen. However, when they try to set the table, the area for the guest seating is in the Japanese style with Japanese style dishes. So the kitchen is unable to take out a plate which would be out of place, and no matter how long I wait, my western-style food won't arrive..., something like that. So you destroyed that Japanese-style guest seating, and returned the area to a blank slate for a time. Thanks to that, the meal I had ordered was finally delivered, and my power came back, you could say. However, so far, only the aperitif has arrived. It will still be quite some time before the main dish. As I am now, I'm even more faint than a fairy in a shoe store.

SHANNON: .........Pu, ......ahahahahahahaha.

BEATO: Mu. What is so funny?

SHANNON: Nothing... I thought the witch's example was so interesting. I never thought you could use a story about food as an analogy for a story about magic.

BEATO: I had planned that to be a skillful expression, if I do say so myself, but I was sure it wouldn't be laughed at. It's a little unexpected.

A slightly sulky expression rose to the witch's face. ...It wasn't a strange expression at all to be appearing on the face of some friends as they enjoyed their tea.

BEATO: ......Although I may not look it, I was known for doing extremely brutal things in the past. ...I've gotten soft. Now I can even have a foolish discussion while drinking tea with a human.

She was probably talking to herself. As Beatrice gazed at the sea birds tracing the horizon, she put her tea to her lips again.

BEATO: ...The clouds have come out. When the ocean loses its brilliance, it's nothing more than a gray puddle.

SHANNON: You think so? ......I think the ocean is a beautiful deep blue, even if it gets cloudy.

BEATO: ............Hmph.

Maybe the witch noticed the deep meaning behind Shannon's words. ...She laughed lightly and set down her empty teacup.

BEATO: ......It seems that those things buried in your eyes aren't black pebbles anymore. How is it? ......Do you understand the feeling of furniture being reborn as a human?

SHANNON: ............Yes. ...I did not know that the world was this kind.

Since her relationship with George had begun, Shannon's face had grown brighter more often. Her smile had made everything go smoothly, and had even changed her luck.

......Shannon made less mistakes in her work than she had before, and the family members' opinion of her was starting to change slightly. Just the other day, Krauss, who rarely exchanged words with her, had suddenly started talking to her, surprising her.

KRAUSS: You've been making a good smile more often lately, haven't you? Has something good happened?

SHANNON: N, no... But, ......every day is fun, yes.

KRAUSS: Hmph. Isn't that a good thing? Coffee is obviously more delicious if it's poured with a smile. ......Could I ask for that smile again?

SHANNON: Y, ......yes!

That had become a chance for Shannon to gain confidence in herself. Of course, it didn't go beyond her own heart, and it wasn't so big a change that anyone would notice.

...But she had begun to change, bit by bit. Shannon understood it clearly. Knowing love was the same as gaining a soul. ...And therefore she was born again from furniture to a human.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with Beatrice's words. ......By knowing love, Shannon had learned what it was to be human.

BEATO: ......These have been unusual snacks. It was time well spent. It's probably about time for you to return to your work. Let us end our tea party now. ......After all, someone doesn't like it when you drink tea with me, right?

SHANNON: Huh?

The witch gripped a teaspoon and flipped it with her fingers, sending it up in the air.

...After that, was launched by the fingers of some invisible person in empty space, and flew straight at a bush close nearby. The bush moved violently, and Kanon came out. ......It seemed that he had been there for some time, and had been watching their tea party. The spoon was gripped in his hand. ...If he hadn't caught it in an instant, it might have hit him hard in the forehead and caused him to start oozing blood.

KANON: ..................

BEATO: Do not worry. Our tea party is over now, Kanon.

SHANNON: How long were you there? If you had called to us, I'd have poured you some tea too...

BEATO: I imagine that you didn't want to interrupt a pair of women talking, right? *cackle*cackle*!

KANON: ............

Kanon kept silent, but it seemed that there was a slightly hostile look in his eyes.

...On the outside, he acted respectfully. But unlike Shannon, Kanon did not trust the witch.

When Beatrice hit the table with her pipe, the tea set turned into gold butterflies, which flew upwards as one.

They then scattered in every direction, and the cleanup was already done.

BEATO: It was fun, Shannon. ...Let us meet again if the chance arises. ......My magical power is still quite lacking. It's tiring even to show myself.

KANON: ......If you're that tired, never appear again.

Kanon had said it in a small voice, but it seemed the witch had heard it perfectly. She giggled, but did not reply.

BEATO: Shannon. Tell me more about George at our next tea party. There are no snacks sweeter than a person's love life. *cackle*cackle*cackle*. See you again.

Beatrice's body also became gold butterflies, which scattered in all directions and disappeared. ...It was a very fantastical and beautiful scene, like a blizzard of gold leaf. For a while, Shannon quietly watched the witch's exit... Kanon approached her from behind, and spoke with a very different expression on his face than his sister's.

KANON: .........Nee-san, didn't I tell you that you shouldn't hang around with her?

SHANNON: Beatrice-sama isn't that bad of a person. ...Yes, she might be a little strange, but-

KANON: The fact that only we can see her is suspicious enough... That person isn't human. There's no way we could understand what she's planning.

SHANNON: Kanon-kun, I think that's a little rude.

Shannon spoke seriously, which was unusual for her. ...To Kanon, who knew her well, it must have seemed extremely serious. Kanon was excessively surprised at Shannon's style of speech, and remained silent.

SHANNON: It's true that Beatrice-sama is different from humans. She has a terrifying power, so I think she is to be feared and respected. ...But just because she's different from a human, doesn't mean that it isn't really rude to loathe her like that.

KANON: ............I understand what you're trying to say, Nee-san. ...You've changed since she gave you that brooch. It's like you're the witch's prisoner. She mediated your relationship with George-sama, and now you're indebted to her.

SHANNON: ...Don't say stuff like that.

KANON: That person isn't human. We don't know what she's thinking. You mustn't trust her. .........And we aren't humans either, Nee-san.

Kanon's words became more serious. ...Those words probably gouged at Shannon's heart. Shannon bit her lower lip and hung her head.

KANON: We are furniture. ...Even if we receive names and are treated as humans, that won't change how we were born.

You are no longer furniture...

Those words Beatrice had given her, which had made her happiest, floated through Shannon's mind...

SHANNON: I am not, .........furniture.

KANON: No, you are furniture. We are less than human. ......Nee-san, you're acting like you've forgotten that, ...and you're just pretending to be human. You should understand that yourself.

SHANNON: I, ......am not furniture. ...I'm human...!

KANON: No, you aren't human. From the beginning, we have been unqualified to love or be loved.

It seemed that Kanon's criticism had shifted in focus ever since Shannon had suddenly started meeting with the witch. ...Shannon also noticed that quickly.

KANON: I heard from Milady. You honestly, fell in love. I can't believe that you would go on a trip with George-sama...! You've forgotten your place as furniture. You've just been tempted by that witch, and mistakenly believe that you became human!

SHANNON: Listen, Kanon-kun. ............We certainly are furniture. Lesser beings, inferior to humans. ...But if we could replace that unfulfilled part......wouldn't that mean that we could become human?

KANON: ......That couldn't happen.

SHANNON: No, it could. If we can gain that, we won't be furniture. We can become human.

KANON: .....................Ridiculous. ...As if you, ......could.

Kanon spat that out, ...but he said it weakly, and turned away.

He was probably giving up. ......After being baptized as furniture in his days of suffering, his heart was firmly sealed...

SHANNON: ...You can too, Kanon-kun. ......You can become a normal human.

KANON: ..................Stop it, that's the witch talking.

SHANNON: Yes. Beatrice-sama taught me. ......By gaining the single element of the world, we can become human. No, nobody's human if that isn't satisfied. ......So people spend their entire lives trying to gain that single element.

KANON: I don't understand what you're saying, Nee-san. I don't want to listen to ranting.

SHANNON: Then I'll teach it so even you can understand. .........Look, see what I'm pointing at?

KANON: ......?

Shannon quietly pointed at the sea, at the horizon.

Kanon didn't understand what she was actually pointing at, and couldn't do anything except look between the horizon and Shannon's expression, which looked like it was posing a riddle.

SHANNON: The sea. ......Kanon-kun, what color does the sea look to you?

It was a really simple question.

Kanon tried to guess the meaning behind that question for a while, but since he couldn't think of anything, he obeyed and answered.

KANON: ...It's a vague, dark-gray color. So what?

Objectively speaking, the sea, laid out beneath a cloudy sky, could probably be described best by Kanon's words.

......But as Shannon closed her eyes and smiled, she shook her head slightly.

SHANNON: It looks deep blue to me.

KANON: ......Is that what you mean? Like calling a green traffic light blue?

SHANNON: No. ......The sea is deep blue. If I understand, and you do not, ...that's what it means...

Kanon bit his lower lip and was silent for a while.

KANON: ...........................I, .........don't understand.

SHANNON: Kanon-kun. ......Would you stick out your hand?

As Kanon was taken aback, unable to understand what she was saying, she took his arm, and opened the palm of his hand.

Shannon softly set something there. It was that magic brooch, which she had received from Beatrice. It was a magic charm, shaped like a gold butterfly, which could fulfill love.

KANON: This is, ............hers......?

SHANNON: No, this is mine. ...So think of it as me and treat it with respect, okay?

KANON: ............

After being spoken to like that, he couldn't just throw it away. Kanon didn't know what he should do, and he stood there confused for a while, the brooch still on the palm of his hand.

Shannon put the palm of her hand on top of Kanon's, and the brooch was warmed by both of their hands.

SHANNON: This charm holds true magical power. ......I'm sure that it will teach you an important emotion, Kanon-kun.

KANON: ...Nothing can be taught from that person's magic.

SHANNON: No, something can. ......So wear it. If that's embarrassing, I hear it's okay if you just hide it in your pocket.

KANON: ............Ridiculous... As if I'd be led astray by that person's magic.

Even as he said that, Kanon couldn't be cold-hearted towards something Shannon was pressing on him.

In the end, Kanon took it and agreed reluctantly, as though saying he would prove that he wouldn't surrender to the witch's power. Shannon smiled and nodded back.

SHANNON: I'm sure you can learn something important from it. ......And I'm sure you can become human. And when you do, I'm sure that this ocean will look like a beautiful blue to you as well, Kanon-kun.

KANON: ...Gray is gray no matter how many times I look.

SHANNON: That's wrong, Kanon-kun. ......It only looks like that because you have no ****.

KANON: Huh...?

Because of the howling wind, he hadn't been able to catch the main point of what she'd just said. So Shannon said it once more.

...The single element of the world. She spoke once more of the world where that was satisfied, where the sea was deep blue.

SHANNON: I'm sure you'll be able to see a deep blue ocean. After all-

Without love, it cannot be seen.

Memory 47: cup of tea (2/3 left): SigNeg: death
In the cathedral devoid of people, .........a figure could be seen still staring up at the heavens, its chest pierced with a long red sword which pinned it in place to the ground......the figure of Battler. ......Ironically, it looked just like what he had done to Beato with blue wedges in the 4th game......

Battler had died quite some time ago. No, .........in this place, the concept of death means nothing except that one has stopped thinking. Therefore, in a sense, Battler was not dead. ......After being defeated in a fight over the truth and surrendering, he no longer had the strength to think of a way to resist. That's...what made him dead.

Dlanor's massive long sword, which had been left in place of a tombstone, ......fastened Battler to the spot even after his death... This was being lit by a faint light seeping out of a high, high skylight.

Quiet footsteps rang out across this still cathedral...... From the darkness behind a pillar, ......a woman slowly stepped forwards. ......It was Beatrice. Just like they had been the whole time in the Golden Land, ......her eyes had no light in them, and were still muddied over with gray.

This person was once unable to even drink black tea to her satisfaction by her own will, ......but though it was slow, ...and though there was no life in her eyes, ......she was, surprisingly, walking. Then, with slow, deliberate steps...she reached Battler, who was still dead and pierced...... Then, ......she slowly......touched Battler. ......She tugged...on his sleeve. However, Battler showed no reaction......

......When she realized that it wasn't sleep......but death............The witch with the hopeless gaze......let her head hang even lower...

Then......she quietly.........whispered...

BEATO: ........................You......liar.........

Beato......softly touched Battler......... Then, ......she pressed her forehead against Battler's chest.

There was no longer......, ......any heartbeat. It wasn't just because he had surrendered. It was because the witches had chased him from the game board.

......So from now on...

......Battler would never......return... So from now on...

.........The Golden Witch Beatrice... Had lost her reason.........to exist............

.........Thank you...

......Liar......

...Goodbye......

And.........

...Sorry.

Then, ......the Golden Witch...completed......her task...and scattered...as a spray of gold.

Memory 48: crown of laurels (2/3 left): TrivNeu: "I keep my promises."
The door to the parlor was not only locked, but blocked with a barricade made of sofas and the like.

So Rosa scowled, apparently thinking that if a suspicious person appeared, it would be by breaking the window.

Sitting on a one-person sofa, her back to the door, she continued to hold onto her gun.

I didn't know what was what anymore, and even though my body and mind were worn out, I played with Maria, as she wanted. Maria had said it. ...Beatrice wanted to see whether the epitaph of the gold could be solved, so we had to challenge this riddle. In the beginning, I had been a little interested, and had tried to solve it, but I had never had a clue about what that weird paragraph meant.

......I didn't doubt that there was some riddle hidden there, but I couldn't imagine that I would solve it by chance. In the middle part of the epitaph, there were the lines from the first to the tenth twilight, saying to journey to the Golden Land.

At the first twilight, you shall lift up as sacrifice the six chosen by the key.
At the second twilight, those who remain shall tear apart the two who are close.

It was obvious that this hinted at the first six murders that had already occurred in the chapel, and Jessica and Kanon-kun's murders. If this was being followed, we still had to be prepared for five more people to be killed.

At the fourth twilight, gouge the head and kill.
At the fifth twilight, gouge the chest and kill.
At the sixth twilight, gouge the stomach and kill.
At the seventh twilight, gouge the knee and kill.
At the eighth twilight, gouge the leg and kill.

Doctor Nanjo and Kumasawa baa-chan's corpses hadn't been found.

...However, if we reasonably assumed that they were the sacrifices of the fourth and fifth twilights, ......they would surely be found in a pitiful state, with their head and chest gouged. In which case, could we expect that three more would be gouged in the stomach, knee, and leg and killed?

......Who would that be? ...I looked around the room, noticing that there were three people here, but, how should I say it, my emotions seemed paralyzed. ...I couldn't understand my strange and frightening feelings. As I leaned on the sofa with the top part of my body, gazing up at the ceiling, Maria noticed.

...Somehow, it seemed as though she felt I was slacking off in my riddle-solving. She was mad at me, like I wasn't being serious enough.

BATTLER: ......Hey, Maria.

MARIA: Uu-...?

BATTLER: What was it again, that Beatrice said she would do if we solved this?

I was sure that the witch had written in her letter that she would give up on collecting the debt, or something abstract like that.

...I optimistically took that to mean that she would give up on killing the whole family, ......but was it really written with that meaning? I didn't really feel like solving this riddle would actually save us.

.........I thought that even if we did solve it, that would be doing just what the culprit wanted us to, and would all be a wasted effort...

MARIA: No, that's not true. ......If you solve the epitaph, Beato's ceremony will be over. So there won't be any need for more people to die.

BATTLER: ......Really? Isn't that rule just something she made up...? If we solve this riddle, ...we'll probably know the location of Grandfather's hidden gold. ...She'll surely go after that...

MARIA: Uu-. Won't go after.

BATTLER: ...Why, ...are you so sure?

MARIA: The gold has been Beatrice's from the beginning. She wouldn't go after something that's hers.

BATTLER: ......Then, ...then why is Beatrice giving us all these big hints? ......Not just that, why did she even set up this game-like thing?

MARIA: Risk is essential for magic.

BATTLER: ......Risk. ...I don't really know what you mean.

MARIA: For example, in a marathon, ......do you think that a medal that anyone can get by running the whole thing is worth the same as the medal given only to the person who gets first...?

BATTLER: No, I don't.........So what does this mean? In the end, she's just playing around? Purposefully giving us a chance-

MARIA: W-ro-ng. That's what a witch is. No matter how great the magic, there are definitely risks and weak points. No, there has to be.

BATTLER: ...I don't get this stuff you call magic, ...but if I think about it as a gamble, I can understand a little. If you aren't prepared to lose big, then you can't win big. And the slimmer the chances of winning, the bigger the payoff.

MARIA: That is correct. So Beato properly explained the risk of the ceremony to everyone. Therefore, if this riddle is solved, the ceremony will be suspended. After all, if she breaks her promises, then there wouldn't be any risk.

BATTLER: If we solve this, ...will she really keep her promise?

MARIA: Why is it beautiful when a flower withers? Why is it that an artificial flower isn't beautiful no matter how elaborate it is, even if you can't tell the difference by looking? Humans can bring about miracles by gambling their death. If there were an undying human, that person would have no way of bringing about a miracle. .........Us too, life too, the witch and the ceremony too. If we don't bear a risk, we can't succeed in anything.

BATTLER: ......What do we do if we solve the riddle? Should we raise our hand and cry 'That's it!', tell the witch our answer and see what she says?

MARIA: Uu-. I don't know about that. But, if we solve it, the ceremony will surely end automatically.

BATTLER: .....................You sure know a lot, Maria. ...Did you learn all of that, ......from Beatrice?

MARIA: Uu-.

So, ...if you don't bear a risk, nothing can be gained. That is doubtlessly the way of the world, ......but it was in conflict with the chessboard theory style of thinking that I liked.

At least when making moves in chess, players grope for the best move, always trying to avoid risk and hoping for an advantageous turn of events. They don't trust to chance, like in gambling. ......That's right, there's no room for gambling in an intellectual game.

And yet, this person called Beatrice had committed such an outrageous crime, ...or maybe a ceremony, ...while purposefully imposing conditions for her own loss and announcing them to us. In chess, you always play the best move. So by standing in your opponent's position, you can predict their next move.

...However, you couldn't say for sure that Beatrice's moves were always the best moves. I thought she was probably making us focus on the epitaph to trick us in some way, speaking in riddles.

......But Maria said only that was impossible. She said that this was a genuine risk that the witch had taken, and therefore proof that this was a formal ceremony for magic. .........I can't understand this witch called Beatrice. Even though she is supposedly committing this chain of murders with some goal in mind, ......why did she go to all the trouble of exposing the conditions by which she would lose?

......No matter how I turn the chessboard over and think from my opponent's perspective, ......I can't understand why she would give up if this riddle is solved. Isn't it almost as though Beatrice doesn't care whether she wins or loses? It's natural that chessboard reasoning wouldn't work if you played chess against an opponent like this...

...I don't understand, I don't understand. ......What is Beatrice after that's making her cause this crime? If she just wants to massacre us all, she could just do it secretly, without this whole crazy setup. There was no need for that scrupulous advance notice, this closed room acting or anything.

...It's all over-acting. I don't understand at all what it means. As long as I continue to think of Beatrice as a greedy human culprit, will I be able to understand anything?

...If I don't accept her as a witch, will I be unable to even set the pieces on the chessboard after all......? ......If she was really a witch, and everything Maria had said was true, there would be only one thing for us to do. ...The reasoning and the discord and searching for the culprit had all been pointless.

We should have all gathered in the dining hall, combining our knowledge to solve the riddle. If we had combined the knowledge of that many people, maybe we would be able to at least grasp a thread of the answer... The greedy humans, desiring to gain something more than their opponent, ......were being offered up as sacrifices one by one, without gathering their knowledge together.

.........In the end, did the humans get what they deserved? They thought they were thinking, ...but they were actually thinking only of their greedy selves. In the end, chessboard theory is a technique of thinking where you project yourself on your opponent. ......So greedy people see their greedy selves inside their opponents... I looked vaguely at Rosa oba-san.

She was probably tired from being under all this tension the whole time. She couldn't sleep, but she kept staring vaguely at some point off in space. Rosa oba-san had proclaimed that she couldn't trust anyone who had not been killed.

......Rosa oba-san's chessboard thinking, ......saw herself inside her opponent. ...In other words, Rosa oba-san, ......might have been an isolated woman, unable to trust anyone and unable to let her guard down.

...Long ago, I think I heard a bit about it from my dad. Rosa oba-san had originally been a very obedient child.

......But her age was too far separated from the other siblings, and furthermore, because conflicting demands were often made of her by her confrontational siblings, since she was young, her thoughts had become psychologically harsh.

Often, when she copied one of her siblings, another sibling would give her a hard time. Certainly Rosa oba-san had said many things today that could be taken as abusive language. .........But, in a sense, those were words that had been showered upon her, and engraved on her vocabulary.

The many abusive words that she had spoken, ......were also words that Rosa oba-san had been showered with in the past...

...Now that I think about it, I've had the feeling that her style of speech sometimes has traces of Krauss oji-san or Eva oba-san in it.

......I'd accepted that they might be similar because they were siblings, ...but maybe that wasn't the case...

I sympathized from my heart with Rosa oba-san, who I had come to think of as being only gentle... Then, what about Maria...? Maria had been claiming something for a while.

If we could solve the riddle that the witch announced to us, the ceremony would be halted and we would definitely be saved. And I think she also said that Beatrice would never break that promise. ......But this is Maria we're talking about. She herself would never break a promise, and she had the most innocent heart... So she believed that Beatrice also wouldn't break a promise. She could believe that.

But wasn't that just an image of Beatrice that Maria imagined...? There's no proof that the real Beatrice definitely keeps her promises, right...?

~*~*~*~*~*~

BEATO: I keep my promises. If you solve the riddle of the epitaph, you should be able to reach the Golden Land. When you have, the ceremony will be over. No more people will die.

BATTLER: ......So you're saying a complete monster like you follows the rules?

BEATO: I won't deny that I am brutal and unjust and a monster. ......However, I am a witch. I use magic. In order to use magic, there are some rules that must be followed. ...Because I am a witch, I cannot neglect those. You should believe at least that much.

BATTLER: .....................Even after everything's gotten so crazy, you're still telling me to believe only those rules?

BEATO: ......I do play tricks. Of course, I also deceive people. That's no different from humans. ......But not once have I disregarded something that I have said as a promise. What about humans? Do you always keep your promises?

BATTLER: .........Since we have catch phrases like 'Keep your promises', ...it's doubtful that we always follow them properly.

BEATO: From my perspective, humans are much more selfish monsters. ......There's nothing as doubtful as a human's promise. Even I sometimes make contracts with humans, but it's hard to imagine how strict an agreement must be made just to grant a single foolish wish. ...If there's even a small loophole, they'll immediately say something like 'Increase the number of wishes to one hundred', or 'try changing into a tiny speck'.

BATTLER: ......Dad often tells me something. He says that there's nothing as scary as contracts. ......He said it's only natural that people who agree without reading them thoroughly will be chewed to the bone. ...He made a killing through vice.

BEATO: ............Imagine it. When people are born, they don't know of fraud. ...They get it from somewhere. And so they learn it.

BATTLER: ..................

BEATO: Yes, the crimes of the human world, which must be forced on one another. ......Let me see, I've heard that from a witch somewhere. Oh well. ......I'm not as heartless as you think, you see? *cackle*cackle*cackle*!

BATTLER: Liar!! You killed so many people!! And you did it in such a horrible way too, how could you not be heartless?!! You say you keep your promises?! Don't say stuff like that!! I won't accept you. Never. I believe that not giving that up is the only way I can resist you!

BEATO: .........I see. So you're saying that this eternal torture, will be the same for me. .........*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*. ......Maybe. One thousand years is a long time...... Maybe a witch's true strength is decided not by their magical power, but by the strength of their determination. ...I see, I can accept how terrifying Lady Bern is.

BATTLER: Damn you, babbling on and on about this incomprehensible stuff. .........Let's quickly continue this eternal torture. I'm prepared to stick around for one thousand years or even ten thousand years.

BEATO: *cackle*cackle*! Good, good. It looks like you've regained some of your will to fight. It would be boring otherwise. Come now, don't you often see it in competitive games? Sometimes one player intrudes on their opponent's territory, but the opponent is so weak that it's a bit of an anticlimax, so the first player loses on purpose to extend the game until the last round, when they get serious and shower their opponent with blows, right?

BATTLER: ......I don't get what that means.

BEATO: It's the same as wine. If you don't let it age well, it won't sparkle. ......You are the same as that wine. I'll carefully make you age. ......I'll raise you to be the best alcohol to color my elegant time... So don't give up after only this much. Keep on denying me. After all, as long as you don't accept me, I'm nothing more than a fleeting illusion. ......*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*...!

Memory 49: white chocolate bone (Taken): SigPos: A New Element
BATTLER: Here. It's the Queen book I promised.

SHANNON: Th-Thank you very much. I'd be happy to borrow it.

BATTLER: That's okay. You can keep it, Shannon-chan. I've already read it.

SHANNON: B-But... I can't accept this... It was probably expensive.

BATTLER: It's just something I got for a few hundred yen at a bazaar. Don't worry about it. I'd rather if you read it quickly so we can talk about it. It's fun to talk about this sort of stuff with you, Shannon-chan.

SHANNON: Yes, it's fun for me too. It's much more fun to read mystery novels with two people instead of alone.

BATTLER: I like discussing it and imagining all kinds of things. With mystery novels, reading's only half the fun. My theory's that you can only really enjoy it when you talk with other people who've read it too.

Our relationship began when we realized that we both read mystery novels. We were both surprised and very interested to find that the other not only read tons of mystery novels, but read them very thoroughly. Ever since then, it's been like this. Separate from the games we played with all the cousins, the two of us met together for some time alone...

At first, it was like a sort of contest to see who knew more than the other. However, eventually, this turned into respect for how much the other had read and how deeply they were able to think about it. Respect. Trust. Those emotions made our friendship even stronger. Of course, all of that had still fallen within the category of "friendship"...

...But we were still slightly aware of the fact that the other was of the opposite sex, making for a relationship that was charming, or youthful... or maybe you could call it exciting. However, we were still at the age where the word "little" would not be an exaggeration. Of course, we didn't know a thing about love. So, we couldn't understand that exciting feeling in our chests, both bitter and sweet, that we only felt when we were alone together. However, we realized that there was some unknown emotion hidden behind that feeling... and as our hearts raced, we had our hands upon the door. That was the exciting age we were at.

So. At some point, our discussions about mystery novels became just an excuse for us meeting alone...

BATTLER: There aren't many mystery novels that care much about the "why dunnit".

SHANNON: The "why dunnit"? You mean the culprit's motive...?

BATTLER: Yeah. There are three points you need to figure out in mystery novels: the "who dunnit", the "how dunnit", and the "why dunnit". A lot of mysteries deal with the first two, but surprisingly few worry about the final one.

SHANNON: Well, I know about many works that take great care to have the culprit confess his motive after he's found out...

BATTLER: But it has to be something that you can reason out before the culprit confesses, or it doesn't count. Personally, I think it's unfair for a person who supposedly didn't have a motive to commit the crime, unless it's possible to reason his or her motive out.

"Who dunnit". Who's the culprit? "How dunnit". How did he commit the crime? "Why dunnit". Why did he commit the crime?

BATTLER: There are a ton of works that ask about who the culprit is, and what tricks they used. In fact, almost all are like that. However, I don't think there are many novels that ask you to figure out the motive.

SHANNON: Good point. That might be the most neglected of the three.

BATTLER: Mysteries that don't take the "why dunnit" seriously don't really feel complete to me. ...No, I'm not saying they're boring. ...It's more like... they're missing the most important part.

SHANNON: The most important part... is missing...?

BATTLER: The heart. The heart is missing.

SHANNON: ...The heart...

BATTLER: I think the human heart is a really important thing. If a person's gonna decide to commit murder, plan it out, get everything ready, and actually carry it out, you'd need an incredibly strong force of the heart. The heart is what moves people.

...In other words, only the heart can kill a person. When an emotional upheaval grows strong enough to make a person want to kill, the result is the tragedy called murder. If we turn it around, does that mean that the true way to close in on the crime is by searching for the heart that brings about the tragedy of murder?

Only the heart can kill. So, if a person has been killed, you must search for the heart. That's what he was saying.

BATTLER: That's why I can't really enjoy novels where the culprit is just a homicidal maniac who kills for fun.

SHANNON: ...Then you like novels that show a strong enough movement of the heart to lead to murder?

BATTLER: That's right. And my favorite ones are the novels that let you reason that out.

As he spoke, he looked back at me and smiled. ...Before today, I used to like novels that focused on exposing the tricks. However, I decided to look for novels like the ones he recommended in the future.

BATTLER: I don't like ignoring the heart. ...The heart is what makes people move.

SHANNON: ...Yeah. I think you're right...

This isn't limited to the mystery genre. All humans are moved by their hearts all the time. Being able to notice the heart is what allows for interactions between people... no, interactions between hearts. None of us humans can live on our own. And yet, we have no way of peeking into the hearts of others. That's why every meeting between people... is a mystery of the heart. Finding those, reasoning about them, and understanding each other is the key to interactions between people and hearts.

The two of us are here, all alone, talking together about mysteries. And through that... We are searching out each other's hearts, speaking of the heart's mysteries...

I want you to feel about me...

...the way I feel about you.

We're both searching, trying to figure out the depths of the other's heart... in this mystery of love.

BATTLER: Nn... look how late it's gotten. I wonder if Aniki and the others are waiting for us.

SHANNON: Yes, we should probably go back soon...

BATTLER: ...Time seems to fly by when I'm talking with you, Shannon-chan.

He seemed to be speaking the words of my heart. We were thinking the same thing, so the same words came out.

SHANNON: I wish we could talk together like this forever... I hate clocks.

BATTLER: Same here. Talking about this stuff with you is the most fun part of coming to Rokkenjima.

When I saw that his smiling eyes were looking right at me... I turned around. I couldn't let him see my suddenly red face.

SHANNON: If only I could leave this place... I'd be able to read so much more...

BATTLER: ...

The bookshop on Niijima that I go to and the bookshop he goes to in the city are on completely different scales. The book exchange between the two of us had become completely one-sided, with him giving me all the books.

BATTLER: How long do you plan to be a servant, Shannon-chan?

SHANNON: ...I don't know.

BATTLER: If, someday, you decide to quit...

SHANNON: If I do...?

BATTLER: Come over to my place.

He said it almost carelessly. Maybe he was a bit embarrassed, since he laughed weakly and blushed.

BATTLER: And then... we won't need to worry about time running out anymore.

SHANNON: ...That's right. ...We could be together... as long as we wanted...

The little secret dates on this island only happened a few times a year... and even when they did happen, it was only for a short, uncertain period of time. It wouldn't work over the phone or with letters. We can only talk about our mystery when we're standing together like this.

BATTLER: I know that day'll come someday.

SHANNON: ...You think it will...?

BATTLER: Yeah. I'm certain of it.

Certain? Why is he certain...?

BATTLER: When that day comes... I'll come for you, riding a white horse.

SHANNON: ...Wha...?

After saying this, he turned away. He was probably too proud to show me his blushing cheeks. But even without seeing, I knew what his face looked like.

To come riding on a white horse... umm, isn't that... Uhh, isn't that like a prince riding a white horse...? So, what exactly does that mean... umm... ummmmm... Does it mean... you're going to be my prince...?

...My mind was going blank, so I just couldn't reason out his mystery of love, even though it was all plain and simple...

SHANNON: I... I wonder... when that day will come...

BATTLER: Very soon, once you've made up your mind.

SHANNON: Huh...?

My heart skipped a beat... It was so sweet... yet it hurt...

BATTLER: Any time's good for me. This is your life we're talking about, Shannon-chan. You should think about it carefully before you decide. ...And once you've made up your mind, I'll respect your decision, no matter when you make it.

SHANNON: O... Okay...

BATTLER: I'll keep on waiting until that day comes.

SHANNON: Nn... ah...

If only I had been a bit more foolish... and courageous. I could have said then and there that I was already prepared, and asked him to take me away from this island right away... But I couldn't say it. I had to think carefully about my future, for both of our sakes... My head was filled with pointless, senseless thoughts...

SHANNON: I... I'm glad... Thank you...

BATTLER: Heheh...

With his back still to me, he scratched his head and laughed. I knew he was doing this out of embarrassment, so I could clearly tell what his expression must have been. In the same way... He must have realized what my face looked like. We're both puzzle-solvers of love. We theorize about each other's love, solving each other's mysteries...

SHANNON: ...Thanks for giving me time.

BATTLER: You have all the time in the world.

SHANNON: No. ...I'd feel bad if I kept you waiting too long.

BATTLER: Hahaha.

SHANNON: So, I've prepared myself. ...No, I should say that I will prepare myself. ...I'm not going to quit my job right now. ...Yes... one year. ...I'll do it in one year.

...If, a year after now, you still feel like coming for me on a white horse... And me too. If I still like you a year from now... I'd like to dedicate the rest of my life to you...

SHANNON: One year from now, right here... I'd like to make my decision.

BATTLER: ...A whole year, huh? That sounds good. Spring, summer, autumn, winter. ...That's a good amount of time to look deep into your heart.

SHANNON: S... So... next year...

You'll come to get me... right...?

BATTLER: Yep.

He responded to my cowardly determination with a quick, strong answer...

BATTLER: I'll be waiting for that day to come.

SHANNON: Yes. ...I'll be waiting too... Make sure... you come, okay...?

BATTLER: Yeah.

SHANNON: ...Don't forget. Come here next year, okay?

BATTLER: Yeah. I'll definitely come. I'll meet you here.

Definitely.

...I see. So... this emotion that feels like sweet suffocation... is love...? It is an emotion I do not know. One I do not have. Though my magic can grant any wish. Though my paradise can grant any wish. That thing I cannot have... that incomprehensible emotion... that burns like fire, and yet, madly, one wants to hold it close...

All I know is that no matter how great a witch I might become, I cannot create this emotion. It must be given by another person. For the first time, I realized that I wasn't all powerful. And, I knew what Shannon had discovered in the world of humans...

BEATO: ...This emotion... it's just too much... Once you've felt it... there's no forgetting it, is there...

...Shannon. ...You win.

Love... is it? It may be the most important element... and the one that I lack...

...Shannon. I'll watch and see how your love develops. So please... tell me more and more about this new emotion...

Memory 50: heart-shaped raspberry tarts (3/4): TrivNeg: "You're an eyesore, so disappear. You monster."
BEATO: ......I will say it in red. Rosa and Maria died. The cause of death was as Nanjo diagnosed. ......She wasn't eaten by a spider, nor was she crushed by a mountain of cake. Don't worry.

BATTLER: .........So you argue that even though you toyed with their death so much, it's all okay because the corpse is clean... I definitely won't forgive you. ...I definitely won't forget all of that brutal treatment you gave Rosa oba-san, so I won't forgive you...

BEATO: ...L, like I said, that wasn't me.........I think I gave them a much more peaceful death than the way she treated them...

BATTLER: Shut the hell up. I don't want to listen to you. .........It was stated that there are no more than 18 people on this island, and now that eight people are already dead, there are 10 people to press as suspects. One of them probably killed those two. ...Or could it also be an accidental death? Like Maria was having a tantrum, and when Rosa oba-san tried to stop her crying, she misjudged how much power she was using and accidentally killed her. Then she was so upset that she slipped and fell, landed on the fence, and unluckily, died. ......How's that? That way there's no need for a witch or magic.

BEATO: ......Well, that's not true. Actually, Rosa and Maria...

BATTLER: Shut up. Didn't I say that I didn't want to listen to you? You're an eyesore, so disappear. You monster.

Battler said that without rage, ...but with a horribly cold voice. ...Beato had also felt something out of place since the beginning. In a fight, both of them could go at each other without restraint.

However, he wouldn't even step into the ring. She could feel that coldness. Beato didn't find that interesting. ...She thought about flaring up, but she held back.

Maybe even though she was innocent and childish, she had enough sense to realize that she shouldn't fight.

BEATO: ........................Is that so? Then I will hide myself. ...Ronove, continue for me.

RONOVE: Certainly. ...Will that be satisfactory, Battler-sama?

VIRGILIA: .........There are no problems with that proposal. If Battler-kun says that he doesn't want to see Beato's face, that is alright.

BATTLER: Do what you like. ...If I can live without seeing that monstrous face, I don't care about anything else.

BEATO: ......Hey, wait a second. ...You keep saying monster, monster, but isn't that a mean way to speak of me? ......Why do you instinctively hate me so much, Battler? Even though none of that was me, even though it was all the work of my disciple...

BATTLER: .........It's not like I'm only mad about what happened just now. It's from the very beginning.

BEATO: Hey, Battleer. Don't misunderstand, alright...? Aren't we just a pair of players confronting each other through a game? ...We look for moves to make things painful for each other, but...

BATTLER: Don't get the wrong idea. I don't hate you because you're my rival in this strange game about whether I accept you as a witch or not. ......No matter what happens, I won't forgive how senselessly cruel you are.

BEATO: That's because a serial murder is part of the game... It's probably impossible to avoid a little cruelty...

BATTLER: I'm not just talking about what just happened. The last time, and the time before that too. ......Tearing everyone's stomachs and stuffing them with sweets, plowing their faces, what was the point of all that?

BEATO: ............That's, ...well...

BATTLER: All this stuff about closed room murders and tricks and alibis, I'm willing to give you a pass on all that. You want to claim that this is a murder done by magic, so I'll grudgingly accept that those complicated crimes have to occur. ......But what exactly are all those grotesque murders supposed to mean?

BEATO: ............Well, umm, ............nothing much...

BATTLER: That's right. They don't mean anything. You're just fooling around by mangling the corpses for fun. That has nothing to do with whether you're a witch, or whether it could or couldn't be done with magic. You're just exploring the depths of cruelty for fun. That's not because you're a witch, or anything like that. There's just some things I cannot forgive as a human.

BEATO: .........Wh, ......what do you mean, as a human...?

BATTLER: For example, ......the six people of the first twilight for this game. ...Well, other than Grandfather being burned black, the other corpses were killed in a normal way, without any unnecessary shaming of the dead. ...It wasn't clear whether the weapon was a spear or a gun, but anyways, as far as killing goes, that was permissibly better. It was much better than the nonsensical grotesqueness and cruelty from the first twilight last time, or the time before that. And this time, there were six closed rooms tied together to make a closed room chain. ......That was sort of interesting. When we were going back and forth with each other that time, to be perfectly honest, I thought it was just a little fun. ...You were frantic to make me accept your existence, and I was frantic trying to deny it. ...We were both frantically doing all we could. This may sound weird, but I've felt a faint sense of sportsmanship between the two of us. ...We exist in conflict, but I faintly thought that we might not be completely unable to understand each other's existence. .........But just now, that feeling has been blown away without a trace.

BEATO: Th, that's where you're misunderstanding...! That wasn't me-

BATTLER: That's not it. That's not what I'm talking about! ......You watched Rosa oba-san being killed horribly over and over, and you sneered at it like it was an interesting show. [...] The problem isn't whether you're a witch or not. ......I will not forgive that cruelty of yours. And I can't understand it! I can't forgive it, either! Still, I'll continue this game of whether to accept or deny witches. I won't step down and accept my own defeat. However, your pointless cruelty is absolutely not needed for that game. So I've decided that I won't accept you as my opponent. Ronove is a hundred times better. He doesn't have the same cruel hobby you do. Even if he does, he doesn't have the awful taste to show it off in front of me. ......That's right, you have awful taste. You're heartless and cruel, so you can't understand. That's unpleasant in an opponent. So I don't want to see your face again.

As Battler went on and on by himself, Beato was shocked into silence for a long time.

Maybe she couldn't understand what she was being told, and this was a sign that she was doing all she could in an effort to understand. For a while, she kept switching between angry expressions, frustrated expressions, bold expressions, ......as though she didn't even know herself what attitude she should take. In the end, she made her face into a candid expression, as though she had come to her senses, and shrugged her shoulders as though she was tired.

BEATO: ...........................In that case, do as you like. From now on, I will continue this game through Ronove. ......You have no complaints as long as I don't show myself, right?

BATTLER: ......For the time being. But I definitely won't forgive all of your cruel actions up until now. So I definitely won't accept you. For that reason as well, I won't back down from this fight you've picked. And I definitely won't lose. ...That's all there is to it.

VIRGILIA: ............Beato. No matter how many more excuses you give, his impression will not waver. ...I have something to talk about later. Until then, stay back.

BEATO: ...............H, ...hmm......Understood. ...Then I'll hide myself until you call...

Looking lonely, Beato turned her back to them, and hid herself.

Memory 51: jar of rotting fish smell (3/4): SigNeg: Battler’s test
Beneath the roof of the entrance, .........there's something set down.

BATTLER: ......What is this? .........A...box?

It looked like the kind of small box that girls often keep trinkets in. ......Or maybe it was the same kind of extravagant cigar case you'd find in a reception room. Either way, it didn't look like something that should be here... It clearly looked, ......as though I was being told to open it.

[...] I continued to glare at the box, still beaten down upon by the rain. Then, .........mixed in with the thunder, was some kind of, ......music? ...It sounded like something like that.

......It was the tone of the big clock in the hall announcing 24:00. It was also a sound announcing that the insane day, October 4, had finally ended, ......and that the much more, incredibly insane day of October 5 had begun. That sound quieted, ............and I could hear an eerie laugh coming out of nowhere......

I got the feeling that the voice was coming from the heavens, ......and I looked up at the sky. ......What I saw there, ........., was a woman I had never seen before.

No, it's not true that I never saw her before. ......I saw her once today.

Yes, in the portrait inside the mansion...... The clothes were different, ......but that face was just like the witch of the portrait......

Aaah, who am I kidding...I already know who this person is...!!

BATTLER: ......A, ......are you Beatrice?!!!

BEATO: Yahhoooooooooi, Battleeeeeeeeeeeeer...!!

From the second floor balcony, ......leaning out under an umbrella and waving high-spiritedly, ......was without a doubt, ......the witch of the portrait, ...Beatrice.........!! [...]

I adjusted my grip on the spear, and, imagining goats creeping out of the surrounding shadows and the entrance and surrounding me, I raised my guard in all directions...

BEATO: Ahhaha, be at ease, there's no one here but you and me, see? Without the goat furniture, there are no demon butlers or Teacher, and the demon that's my close friend either. And, without the gold butterflies that help compose my flesh, there are no magic circles, and no summoners as witnesses!! ......Do you know what that means?

BATTLER: No clue. Quit babbling...

BEATO: It is true that I have met you several times even in this world. Almost as though we just missed each other. ......As you know, this world of humans is filled with a toxin just by your existence and your doubting of me. Almost like solid ramparts strengthening the guard around you, the king! And through multiple games, I have advanced pieces one by one, split them apart, and cornered them, leveling your ramparts bit by bit. Then a faint crack finally opened, and I sent a bishop in, so that it could approach right up next to you. .........But as you know, bishops are pieces with blind spots. As long as you stay on the black squares, a black bishop can wield a massive influence, but if you escape just one step to a white square, even if I close in right next to you, I will not be able to touch you. That is why I have progressed through this game by sending in various pieces so that you cannot stay on a white square, forcing you out in front of me, the one who controls the black squares next to you. Howeeever!! There are now holes opened all over your ramparts, and I was able to send in not a bishop, but a full queen!! Do you know what kind of piece a queen is?

BATTLER: A rook+bishop. ......Is this what you're trying to say? ...That now, you not only control the black squares that are part of the illusion of the witch, but have been able to eat into the white squares of the human world at will...?!

BEATO: That is correct!! You have been calling the squares where the gold butterflies that are my family exist 'the Illusion of the Witch', and without an observer, you have theorized that these were unrealistic and denied them, right...? *cackle*cackle*, I know......!! For that very reason, I have openly descended to the white squares like this!! Do not worry, I'll call plenty of gold butterflies and goats, demons and witches later! If you wish, I will invite you to the Golden Land!! There, any wish can be granted...!! Wahhahahahahahahahahahahahaha...!!

BATTLER: ......It's starting to look like someone knocked an ink bottle over the chessboard of this island.

BEATO: I see, a pleasant phrasing...! *cackle*cackle*, soon, you will be covered in ink as well. You will finally become covered with pitch black, and surely become a black king...! You really are pitiful, drowning in a sea of ink right now, aren't you?

BATTLER: No, that's wrong. I'll admit that the island has been stained completely black from your ink bottle, ......but there's still a white square left.

BEATO: Hoh, where...?!!

BATTLER: The place right under my feet. .........Your ink of magic tried to cover the entire island, but it can't cover the ground my feet are standing on. ...Even if this island seems to be stained pitch-black at a glance, I am me. I'm here, stepping on a white square!!

[...]

BEATO: Well then. It might be interesting to wait until you catch a cold in all that rain, but it's about time to move to the matter at hand. .........You noticed that there is a box there? Your test is inside of it.

BATTLER: Wait. ......After all that's happened, I'm not interested in some stupid game about who'll be the next head. My game is to take you and the damn geezer, ......and all of those who killed everyone, and smack 'em with a Gian punch. One of those face-crushers.

BEATO: Hoh. So you will fly in the sky up to my balcony? Very well, very well, *cackle*! Then, look, come on right now, here here, up up!

BATTLER: ......Damn you, acting so carefree just because you're in a completely safe place... I'm coming over there right now, so prepare yourself and wait for me!!

BEATO: Aah, no, no. The door is locked. Of course, the shutters are down for all the windows. My castle isn't so fragile that a single knight like you could break in!

I tried opening the door to the entrance anyways, ......but it really was locked. When I looked around, I noticed that the shutters were closed on the windows after all.

......Normally, those wouldn't be closed.

BATTLER: ......Tch. Looks like you've prepared for everything. ......Where's the key?! [...] Damn............Guess she's no fool herself.

BEATO: Do you really want to be right beside me so muuch? Alright, if you impressively pass your test, why don't I grant you an audience? If you pass, then you will be the next head, and my new master. ......My flesh and soul will be yours to do with as you please. Because I am the Ushiromiya family's furniture! Ahhahhahhahhahha!!

BATTLER: ............Well, it looks like you want to make me take this test no matter what. ......Alright. I'll take it on. ...If I pass, my first prize will be a punch to your face.

BEATO: Scary, scaary... But it's not like I mind being controlled by violence, you see? Grab onto my head! Make my face twist in pain, tear me apart like a hawk does with its talons to its prey, scratch at me and violate me...!! Aaah, remind me of Kinzo in his younger days once more...!! That single time in my thousand year life! Remind me of that day I was taught the joy of being controlled, surrendering and being reduced to furniture!! Uhyaaahhyahhyahhyahhya!!

BATTLER: ......You damn drunk, we aren't getting anywhere.

Ignoring the stupidly smiling witch, I picked up the box.

BEATO: Yes. Open it. Inside is a letter. Read it.

BATTLER: ..................

I opened it. ......There was a faint smell of cigarettes.

Apparently, it really had originally been a cigar case.

But there were no cigarettes or cigars inside. Instead, there was a western envelope with the One-winged Eagle crest. And when I opened that too, ......there was a letter inside. I looked up at the witch. She was grinning down at me.

......It seemed she was looking forward to seeing what kind of reaction I'd have to the contents. ......Damn, just perfect.

Its contents were something like this...

Among the three mentioned below.
In order to gain two, sacrifice one.

1. Your life
2. ＿＿'s life
3. Everyone else's lives

If you do not choose one, all of the above will be lost.

BATTLER: .........What's this? Some pretty creepy stuff's written here. More importantly, the second one is blank, so I don't even know whose life.

BEATO: Hmm. That second one is where you put the name of the one that person loves the most. For Jessica's test, it was Kanon's name, and for George's test it was Shannon's name. ......Since they had obvious feelings for certain people, those names were written in beforehand, but I don't know who you have feelings for. So I didn't know whose name to write, and left it blank.

BATTLER: That's perfect. I love you, Beatrice. I'll stick your name in here. In that case, I'll choose the second choice. Is that alright?

BEATO: Hey hey, quit joking, quit joking. Heey, please Battler. Tell me the name of the person you have feelings for. If you don't, then this won't be a test, right?

BATTLER: Sorry. I don't have any girl in particular. Even if I did, why the hell would I tell you?

BEATO: In that case, this test will not work for you. Hmmm, what a shame, what a shame. And I was really wondering what kind of woman was your cup of tea! *cackle*cackle*!

BATTLER: .........What would you do if I said I liked flat-chested lolis with long, black hair? That wouldn't match you at all, right?

BEATO: Lies, you breast sommelier! Blonde and bouncy is best, right? Am I not truly the embodiment of your ideal, *cackle*cackle*!

BATTLER: If guessing your bust size is the test to become the next head, I'll take it gladly.

BEATO: Ah, yes. This was the test to choose the next head. It was so fun chatting with you that I've been getting a bit off topic. ......Then let us begin the test for the next head. I will question you to see whether you are qualified to be the next Ushiromiya family head. Answer with care.

The witch, who had been joking around like she was drunk until a second ago, suddenly regained her dignity.

......She looked as though she truly had stepped out of that dignified portrait...

BEATO: .........I am the alchemist to the Ushiromiya family, the Golden Witch and the Endless Witch, Beatrice. ......Do you have the qualifications to inherit the Ushiromiya family and all of my gold. That is what I will test. .........State your name.

BATTLER: ............Ushiromiya...Battler.

When faced with a dignity you wouldn't have imagined from her appearance a short while ago, I answered without any hesitation.

......And from that, ......yes, I see, ......I can see why she is worthy of calling herself the queen of this island in the truest sense.

BEATO: Very well, Ushiromiya Battler. .........However for these six years, you have thrown away that Ushiromiya name, have you not...? Why is that...?

BATTLER: .........Nn, ..................Because I ran out of love for that old bastard.

BEATO: I know. It was because you felt your father's remarriage disgraced the death of your mother, who you respected, yes...? I see, you have no blood relation to the new mother whatsoever. It's not as though I don't understand why you would feel unable to accept that mother. ......However, no matter who your father remarried with, that wouldn't change the fact that his blood runs in your veins, correct?

BATTLER: .........What are you trying to say?

BEATO: I can somewhat understand your childishness which led you to resist your father's remarriage because you wanted him all to yourself. However, was throwing away the Ushiromiya name as a means of resistance not a disgrace to your family and blood? .........You were born and raised Ushiromiya, were you not? Do you think you were qualified to forget that debt and throw away the Ushiromiya name?

BATTLER: ......It had nothing to do with you. This is between me and Dad...!

BEATO: The Ushiromiya name does not belong to you and your father alone. That was your childishness, nothing more than your resistance from not being able to forgive the fact that your father was stolen away by an unknown woman. ......Those six years during which you threw away the Ushiromiya family register were a significantly long period where you covered the Ushiromiya family in mud. Know the depths of that sin.

BATTLER: ............Well, sorry I'm so childish...

BEATO: However. Even though it occurred around the time of the deaths of your grandparents, you did well to return to the Ushiromiya register. For that, let us give you a chance to purify that sin yourself. Now is the time to compensate for your sin of six years ago. Come, try to remember, remember your own sin. Remember that, confess, and repent. ............That shall be the test that I give you.

......At that time, a massive thunderclap rang out, making my mind go blank.

BATTLER: .....................You tell me to repent, ...but what do you mean? .........Are you trying to tell me to apologize?

BEATO: .........The test has already begun. You may think as you wish.

The witch's expression did not look like one of a person thrusting a tough question on someone and sneering at them.

......She was seriously asking, and he could even feel a quiet determination.

Even though the rain fell on Battler, he did not shift his eyes from that gaze. ......The witch threw her umbrella away. She abandoned herself to the falling rain. So that the rain would fall on her until Battler answered that question.

......She had chosen to let the rain fall on her as well until he reached an answer.

[...]

BATTLER: N, ......no, ...well. ......If you ask me that, I'd have to say it was me being childish... All things considered, even Dad getting remarried didn't make us even regarding the debt I owed for him raising me. ......I hear that Dad always kept on paying for my living expenses, ......and that he even said he wanted to participate in school events. .........The only reason he couldn't come, ......is that I told Grandpa and Grandma not to let him come no matter what......

BEATO: ..............................

BATTLER: ......I, it's true that, ......you could probably explain it away as my childish resistance. .........But you know, ...in that case, ......who would clear away Mom's, ......Ushiromiya Asumu's regrets...?! Even though Mom was so devoted to our family, and did the very best she could...?! And even so, Dad was also cheating with Kyrie-san. He even got her pregnant with Ange...! And then, along with her birth, he rushed to move them into his register. ......If that isn't a betrayal of Mom, then what is?! Who will clear up Mom's regrets?!! ......But what you're saying is also right. Even though the cheating was a fact, the debt I owed for being raised was also real. In that case, they cancel each other out, so there's absolutely nothing wrong with me leaving the family, is there?!! That's right, I had the right, ......no, the duty to smack Dad in Mom's place, didn't I?! I let him get away without that! I left without saying anything, as though I hadn't been there in the first place!! And Dad forgot about me and started a new family with Kyrie-san and Ange! Doesn't that settle everything?!! [...] It started to get more and more ridiculous!! I thought it was about time for me to cool my head as well. So I said I'd put it all behind me as long as Dad apologized. On the day of Grandpa's funeral! And then, he really did put his hands on the floor and apologize...!! Looking unbelievably pathetic...! Dad did that and seriously bowed his head to me, you see...?! ......When I saw that, it felt like it'd be stupid to keep it up any longer. I'm sure Mom thought the same thing! Every time Dad and I fought, Mom would always laugh and mediate for us. 'Oh, were you fighting over something that silly?' is what she'd say. ......I could feel Mom saying that and laughing...!! Therefore, ......while I couldn't go so far as to say I'd forgive him, .........I thought it might be alright to start over again from zero. So I decided to wind everything back to how it was six years ago. .........Then I returned to the Ushiromiya family register...!! I'd also cried, raged, and worried for a whole six years! It might have been the same way with Dad, and for my dead Mom. Maybe even for Kyrie-san and Ange. ......So we went back to zero, and I returned to being Ushiromiya Battler!!! That's my immediate family's problem, ......and has nothing to do with the Ushiromiya family!! You aren't qualified to judge that to be a sin, and I have no duty to show repentance to you! If there was anyone I should have done that for, you've already killed them!! So I won't apologize for anything! I won't repent!! That is my answer for this test!!!

BEATO: ....................................Is that all...?

BATTLER: What.........? ..................

[...] the witch's blank expression didn't change in the slightest. [...] I could feel a sense of shock about her, ......something you could almost call disappointment.

BATTLER: .........What do you mean 'is that all', ......I've exposed everything about me, right? Why so unsatisfied?

BEATO: The settlement of your sins is still insufficient.

BATTLER: Settlement? ......What the hell, are you asking me to prostrate myself right here and apologize like Dad did...?!

BEATO: ............That's not it. I have no interest in matters concerning your immediate family or your home. Where are we? Rokkenjima. The main residence of the Ushiromiya head family. ......Isn't there a sin you should remember, fitting for this place......?

BATTLER: ............Are you, ......saying that I have...another sin......?

BEATO: ......Remember, Ushiromiya Battler. .........Also, not being able to remember that is your sin. For that reason, I shall forgive you. If you can remember that, I shall forgive you. .........Remembering that is my test of atonement for you.

BATTLER: .........Even if you, ......tell me to remember......

~*~*~*~*~

BEATO: ............Remember. ......That's why it is a sin.

BATTLER: Sorry, Beato. ......I have absolutely no memory of it. ......You make it feel like I caused you trouble six years ago or something, but I supposedly met you for the first time at this family conference. It's true that your legend also existed six years ago, but I shouldn't have been acquainted with you.

BEATO: ......Naturally. On the Rokkenjima of six years ago, I was not yet materialized.

BATTLER: Then what kind of sin are you saying I have? ......Are you saying, ......I've sinned against you somehow...?

BEATO: Don't make me say the same thing twice. I was not materialized six years ago. There is no way I was acquainted with you. In the world of you, it was as though I didn't exist.

......Beato's cold eyes, ......felt as though they were seeking some kind of sin.

At a glance, it felt as though she still hated me for some way I'd treated her, and that she blamed me for it.

[...]

BATTLER: .........At least give me a hint. ......Does this crime, ......have anything to do with you and me......?

BEATO: I had no connection to you six years ago. Remove me from your thoughts already. ......Why...do you think it is a sin against me?

BATTLER: .........Your, ......eyes.

BEATO: Eyes...? ............Hoh.

BATTLER: You see, ......your eyes are whispering at me to apologize. ......But I had no connection with you six years ago, and it looks like you acknowledge that too. .........Is that true? ......Is it really not a problem between me and you......?

BEATO: .........I already said it wasn't. No problem between me and you has anything to do with this.

BATTLER: But still, ......your eyes are telling me differently. ............So I don't even have a clue. .........Can you say it in red? Can you proclaim that the sin you're telling me to remember isn't something between you and me?

BEATO: ...........................Very well. The sin I am now demanding that you remember is not between Ushiromiya Battler and Beatrice.

BATTLER: .........Then, why are you looking at me with those eyes......?

BEATO: I don't know. .........I am simply gazing at you blankly. If it feels that way to you, ......perhaps that is because there is something that makes you feel that way.

BATTLER: ...........................What kind of sin are you saying I have?

BEATO: Ushiromiya Battler has a sin.

BATTLER: ......I'm asking you what kind. It's probably just some stupid sin, like hitting someone or tricking someone.

BEATO: Because of your sin, people die.

BATTLER: L, liar...! I've never killed anyone...!! Then say it! Who did I kill?! When? Who? How?!

BEATO: Due to your sin, a great many humans on this island die. No one escapes, all die.

BATTLER: Wh, .........whaaaaat?!?! Wh, what kind of incomprehensible thing are you saying?! Are you saying I killed everyone?! I'm a killer?!

BEATO: It doesn't mean you carried it out directly. .........However, because you committed a sin, from an imperfection in the cogs that stretch back a full six years, a wiggle was created, ......and tonight, this many lives are lost. You are one of the causes of this tragedy.

BATTLER: ......G, ......give it a rest!! I'm the cause?! Then what?! Are you saying 13 people died because I abandoned the Ushiromiya register six years ago?! Are you saying that 13 people died because I came back to the Ushiromiya family after six years?! Don't fuck with me, give it a rest!!! For these six years, I've been the man farthest from the Ushiromiya family, right?! How could I have influenced what in which way?! It's not like I came to the family conference because I wanted to, right?! I'd returned to the gathering after six years, so to make up for that lost time, I came to Rokkenjima reluctantly...!! It's not like I had some duty to come here today! I came back, and because of that a massacre occurred? Then what?! You're saying that if I hadn't come back, no one would've had to die?! Say it in red!! Can you say in red that, if I hadn't come back, this massacre crime wouldn't have occurred?! ......There's no way you can say it, because you're the culprit for everything!! Repeat it!! 'If Ushiromiya Battler hadn't returned to Rokkenjima, the crime wouldn't have occurred'. If you can say it, try saying it...!! ......Can't do it, can you? You can't say it! The culprit is you, not me!! Don't just try to rub that responsibility off onto meeeeeeee!!!

BEATO: ........................

BATTLER: ......Answer, in red!! Try to repeat it...!! You can't! My existence has nothing to do with the crime. Quit saying incomprehensible stuff and trying to confuse meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! [...]

~*~*~*~*~

BEATO: ..............................Is there nothing that you remember?

BATTLER: .........Sorry. I don't even have a clue.

BEATO: .....................

BATTLER: ......Hey. ......I'm starting to get a little pissed off. ......If there's something you wanna say, then say it. If you have a grudge against me. you just have to say it out loud. ......Don't say it in such a dirty way, telling me to remember.

BEATO: ............I'll ask one more time. ......Can you remember any sin?

BATTLER: No!! I can't remember anything...!!

BEATO: .........So, ......he says that he can remember...nothing.

With this, are your regrets at an end......?

BEATO: ....................................H, hmm...

For even a hopeless bet, regrets will remain if you do not take it. ......That is enough.

The betting itself has meaning.

BEATO: .........That may be true. ...In that case, this is...the end of my regrets, and my game.

What will you do...?

BEATO: ...Who knows. .........I'm not interested at all anymore. ......Sorry, but I wish to leave the game board now.

.....................

......I see. ......I understand.

BEATO: I will take over for the rest of the game. .........You may rest.

BEATO: ......Yeah. ..............

BEATO: All that remains, I will finish. .........You may forget everything and bury your head in your pillow. A feather futon should gently protect you from everything.

BEATO: .........I'll be counting on you, ......to finish up the rest.

BEATO: Leave it to me. ......Leave everything else to me, and sleep.

The witch who had questioned Battler hid herself, and the other witch, who had appeared from behind, remained.

She was certainly identical, the same witch, .........but her expression was somehow indifferent and ice-cold, ......completely removed from the one who, despite seeming drunk up until then, had been in high spirits.

BATTLER: ............Hey!! Are you listening?! Isn't this enough for that test thing?! I don't care whether I passed or failed! I won't be satisfied until I can bash your face!! Come down here!! Or else open this door...!!

The witch did not answer.

Her eyes were as ice-cold as Battler's shoulders.

......She was clearly a different person since the time she had first appeared on that balcony. The witch gazed into my eyes, ......and gave two small shakes of the head.

Even without words, I was able to gather that she was expressing some kind of disappointment...

Without saying anything, the witch turned on her heels. After that, only Battler remained, the cold rain still beating down on him.........

The study was in the middle of a lively party. It seemed that Gaap was making fun of Virgilia, having tripped her up in some stupid way. ...They were spitting 'Lialialia', 'Gapgapgap' at each other.

With this as a sideshow, Kinzo and Ronove had opened a new bottle.

KINZO: Oh, you're back. How were the results of Battler's test?! Maria's test got passing marks with no complaints, you see? I've despised her as a little girl, little girl, but see, but see, why, why, oh my, oh my, not bad, not bad! Wahhahhahhahhahha!!

It seemed like Kinzo was dead drunk.

Towards Beato, who had returned, he laughed with the same level of tension as the time they'd left for the tests. ...However, Ronove and Virgilia instantly noticed the change in enthusiasm. Gaap also froze her expression and went silent.

KINZO: Wahhahahahahahhahha, what is it, Beatrice, my beloved witch? Not enough to drink? Not enough on the side? Let's pour it all over a cow or something and roast it whole, ooh, not bad! Ronove, prepare one right away! Beatrice, let's leave the results of Battler's test for later. Why don't we have a toast with spare rib first, uwahhahhahhahhahha!!

BEATO: ...............Roast yourself whole.

KINZO: -hahhahhahha, ......what?

The witch, who had spoken bluntly, coldly passed by Kinzo's side as he doubled over laughing in a great mood.

......Then behind the witch's back, .........the old summoner's body suddenly went up in flames...

KINZO: Gyaaaaaahhh!!!! Gwohh, gah, ......gyah........., w, h, y............?!

As crimson flames spat from his eyes, mouth, nose...every hole on his body, Kinzo rolled around.

......Even though it was a terrible hellfire, it didn't burn anything except Kinzo. Kinzo didn't have a clue what was going on.

......Unable to understand why Beatrice, who had been in such a good mood, had suddenly turned so cold, he rolled around...... The dancing silhouettes of the witch and demons created by that massive rolling torch...looked like a group of excited spectators around a burning at the stake.

However, the eyes of the demons who watched over that were indifferent...... When Kinzo finally stopped moving, the fire disappeared, leaving a pitch-black corpse.

The inside of the room was commanded by the stillness of the sound of the rain......

RONOVE: ......What has happened, Milady?

BEATO: I've gotten over...my excitement. .........Clean up those bothersome cinders.

Beatrice's expression, ......was unbelievably indifferent.

...There was an iciness that might easily bring the others to the same fate as Kinzo if they annoyed her.

GAAP: ............Y, yes. I will clean it up...

Gaap made a jet-black pitfall swallow up Kinzo's cinders.

...If she hadn't carried that out quickly, Gaap might also have been burned. You could even feel that thirst for blood. No, a thirst for blood probably isn't the best way to describe it. ......Just like humans don't have any particular emotion when they step on an ant while they're walking. ......That was how much, unconsciously and mercilessly, Beato was now filled with a brutal emptiness that wouldn't hesitate at burying a passerby...

VIRGILIA: ......Wh, what is it, Beato?

BEATO: I don't want to answer. ...............No, even answering is too much of a pain to do now.

GAAP: ......What is it? This isn't like you. ......Did something happen? Did Battler say someth, .........ack, gah, gyah-

Beatrice didn't even answer. It seemed that she even ignored it.

But there was a change in Gaap.

From her feet, a creaking, cracking sound rose, like thin ice breaking, ......and in an instant, turned Gaap into a glass sculpture.

VIRGILIA: G, ......Gaap...

BEATO: .........Disappear for a while. I'm in a very bad mood.

Beatrice spoke that, ......in a truly cold voice, which could freeze the heart just by hearing it.

RONOVE: ......Certainly. Then, please allow us to retire. .........If you need anything, call at any time.

After bowing, Ronove turned into a group of gold butterflies, and hid himself. After turning Gaap, who had become a sculpture, into a group of gold butterflies, Virgilia also turned into a group of butterflies, which mixed in with the others and disappeared. ............In the study made untidy by drinking, ......Beatrice stood still, alone. Since the time she had returned, her expression hadn't changed in the slightest...

......However, when she saw the fallen empty wine bottles and scattered cheese plates, her brow furrowed, and she looked a bit displeased. And when she whispered 'disappear', in that instant, the room was cleaned up in a flash, as though nothing had happened. The reception chairs were neatly arranged, and there was no wine or cheese. There were no stains or scattered trash either.

......To the contrary, even the air had frozen over, and, enough to make one doubt whether a large number of noisy people really had been in this room until a short while ago, .........the study had returned to silence.

.........In that silent, ......frigid study where even the air had frozen, Beatrice stood still...

Then, she called, muttering.

BEATO: ...............Battler. Are you there?

~*~*~*~*~

BATTLER: ......I've been here for a while. .........What the hell's going on with you? You've been strange since a short while ago.

BEATO: Do I seem strange? My apologies.

BATTLER: ............Even though you were drinking so happily with that damn geezer, you suddenly burned him up, and your demoness friend is a glass sculpture. ......When you told the demon butler and your teacher to leave, they disappeared right away at your words. ......Just how fickle and selfish are you?

BEATO: Battler. It's already over.

BATTLER: What is?

BEATO: .........I've had enough already.

BATTLER: Wha? .........That's, well, you were the one who started this game. Heh, if you've had enough, that's great for me. So basically, you're giving up?

BEATO: I am not giving up. I am just ending it. No, I won't even end it. I am just abandoning this game for all eternity.

BATTLER: Doesn't that mean you're giving up? ......Nah, the words 'got tired of it and threw it away' fit you perfectly.

BEATO: That is correct. I am tired of it, and am throwing it away. I don't care about the rest. It can remain abandoned and gather dust as much as you like.

BATTLER: ........................What's going on with you? You've been kinda hard to deal with since a short while ago. ......Is this still the effect of that incomprehensible test from earlier? If you've got a grudge, all you have to do is say so clearly. You said in red that it has nothing to do with you, but that's got to be a play on words, right? It's written all over your face. You have a grudge against me.

BEATO: How many times will I have to say I have no grudge against you before you'll understand? At the time you left your sin behind, I did not exist.

As Beato spoke with an offended expression, her face twisted to look even more displeased.

Fickle. Inconsistent. Moody. Temperamental. ......Selfish and simple-minded and cruel.

But even so, she hadn't shown an expression as strange as this even once until now...

BATTLER: ............Well, you were the one to provoke this game. I'm a bit let down that it wasn't resolved, but feel free to invite me again if you feel like it. But when that happens, allow me to politely refuse, alright? Heheheh.

He intentionally spoke in a mocking tone, but Beato showed no reaction.

......Battler hung his head and clicked his tongue...

BATTLER: We've circled around October 4 and 5 over and over again, but I've finally had just about enough of this role. ...This way the boat will come tomorrow. ...That's right, then the seagulls will return to the harbor. ......I'll finally be able to hear Rokkenjima's signature nya-nya- cries. After all, maybe because of the weather, they weren't there at all when I came to the island. .........When the seagulls cry, everything will end, I guess. Done, done, the end, the end. So refreshing.

BEATO: .........Exactly what is that it you're misunderstanding?

BATTLER: Hm? What'd you say?

BEATO: .........I said that nothing would end. With this, everything will be abandoned. The game will be forgotten, and the pieces on the board will be abandoned as they lay. There will be no advancing or returning, no taking and being taken. No victory, no defeat, not even a tie. Just abandoned.

BATTLER: ............Doesn't that mean it's over?

BEATO: Wrong. On my turn, the game will stop for all eternity. Your turn will not come. So there will be no victory nor defeat nor a tie. .........In the past, I could not have you do that. Because you had the goal of victory. However, that has lost its interest. So there is no longer any point in advancing moves any further.

BATTLER: ............What do you mean...by my turn not coming...?

[...] At that time, I suddenly heard a voice from behind me. [...] ......A mysterious girl, with no light in her eyes, was standing there.

BERN: .........What this kid is saying means something like this. ......She means putting the lid on this game, leaving the pieces as they are. Without ending, the game will be locked away for all eternity.

LAMBDA: The only way for you to return to your original world is to win against Beato. .........In other words, if Beato were to abandon the game......get it?

Suddenly, in a different place, was a girl wearing a bright pink dress. [...]

BERN: .........That's right. A match won't be resolved unless enemies and allies gather. .........It would mean that you would never be able to win and escape this world for all eternity.

LAMBDA: What it comes down to, I guess, ......is something like taking the key to the cage that you're locked in, fastening it to the collar of a pigeon or something and letting it fly. ............This isn't funny, Beato. We didn't come this far to watch such a boring game. Calling it a day like this just isn't funny.

BERN: .........I'm the same as Lambda. I came here to make Battler win, and to make you writhe in defeat. I still haven't achieved that goal. ......I won't stand for you abandoning the game at a time like this and running away.

BEATO: I acknowledge that it would mean the curtain call for a game that disappoints you Ladies. ......However, I, the host of this tea party, am after all fickle. Once it's lost its fun, I know no way of entertaining. ......I believe that was my witch-like way of doing things in the first place. There are no problems, yes...?

BERN: ........................Certainly. I won't go against your creed.

LAMBDA: I won't accept it.........Quit fooling around, how much do you think I've supported you... You think I'd be okay with that after all this preparation? Don't mess with me...!!

BEATO: I am saying that I have tired of it. Nothing more, nothing less.

LAMBDA: That's not going to work... We'll have you continue this game. You want to win against Battler, right? You want to win and make him surrender, right?! It's almost over, isn't it?! Ri~ght?!

BATTLER: .........D, don't nod at me when you say that. ......But, I have an opinion too. Listen to it.

BEATO: ............What?

BATTLER: This is a fight you started. I'm prepared to settle this once and for all. ......I've come close to surrendering many times, but I've never had any intention of escaping part-way through, leaving the match undecided. ......Since I am here, showing the will to fight, ......you aren't running away, Beatrice.

ANGE: .........I agree. Getting Battler involved and then leaving without giving him victory or defeat is just too irresponsible.

Suddenly, even Gretel was there.

......And everyone was blaming Beato for being irresponsible.

BEATO: Hoh. ......It seems the greatest reason I am being called irresponsible is that Battler will, as an opponent, be stuck. .........In that case, Battler. Will you, as I shall, step down from being an opponent? That way, there will be nothing to criticize me for.

BATTLER: If I step down, will I be able to leave Rokkenjima...?

BEATO: There is no chance that you will be able to leave. Just be covered in dust and let it pile up on your shoulders.

ANGE: .........Quit fooling around. What an irresponsible person. You've killed such a large number of people. On top of that, using a witch's power, you've done it over and over. Killing in gruesome ways! .........I definitely won't permit you to escape without taking responsibility...!

BEATO: Responsibility. ......Hoh, what is it I should do to take this so-called responsibility?

ANGE: Fight until a resolution is reached. Battler will sit in the chair across from you, never giving up and fighting until he beats you. So you too, fight until you are defeated. If you don't like that, try and defeat Battler...!! I won't forgive you...if you leave everything unresolved and abandon Battler in this chair, ......locking him up and never letting him return, .........I won't forgive you......!!

BATTLER: ......Gretel. [...] Beato. Face this way.

BEATO: ..................

BATTLER: I am here. Across from you, in the seat of your rival. ......Get it? As long as I continue to sit here, I won't permit you to escape. ......So don't escape. Fight. Isn't this a fight that you began? You did all that crap over and over, making a complete mess of things! How could I let you end it because you're tired, after all this time?!! I am your opponent!! As long as I am here, I won't let you escape!! Are you listening, you irresponsible witch?! Try saying somethiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!

After I yelled at her, ......Beato went silent for a while [...] gazing at me with an expression I could read no emotion from, ......and when she realized that I noticed, she averted her gaze.

Then she turned her back to me, ......and said this....

BEATO: So, since Battler will not quit as my opponent, ...the Ladies are saying that the abandonment of this game will not be acknowledged. ............In that case, I shall ask. Whether the man over there was qualified to be my opponent in the first place.

LAMBDA: .........Qualified?

BERN: ...Probably has something to do with that test or whatever just now.

BATTLER: ............What are you planning to do...?

ANGE: ...Y, ...you couldn't be...

BEATO: I will now question whether you are qualified to be my opponent. .........Alright, Battler? If those qualifications are acknowledged, I will stay in my seat and continue the game. And I shall promise to fight for all eternity until the outcome is decided.

BATTLER: Heh! I was ready for that from the beginning.

BEATO: ............However, if you are not qualified, ......you will disappear. If the opponent disappears, there is no game. I can leave this place openly. .........Are the Ladies satisfied? Interruptions are unnecessary.

BERN: ...........................Go ahead, do as you like.

LAMBDA: .........B, ...Battler... You, ......make sure you answer well...

BATTLER: The very reason I'm here is because I'm qualified, right? Heh, there's nothing to be scared of...!

ANGE: .....................Y, ......you couldn't be......

Gretel grew suddenly pale. ......I'd thought her to be the calm, collected type, so that expression surprised me.

BEATO: ......Well then Battler. I shall have you repeat it in red.

BATTLER: Y, you're telling me to repeat something? Heheh..., damn you, stealing my signature move. ......But can I do the red truth too? How...?

LAMBDA: ............I, if you wish for it to be that way, you can do it. It's easy.

BATTLER: My name is Ushiromiya Battler. ......W, ......whoa, pretty cool.

ANGE: Stop it!! I know what you're after...!! But stop that! He......!!

When Gretel yelled, Beato glared at her. Then, her form was wiped away in an instant.

BEATO: Shut up. Leave your seat for a while. You too, Ladies. If you interfere, I will not hold back.

BERN: ............We won't get in the way. Go ahead, do as you like.

LAMBDA: B, Bern, this is bad!! She's trying to erase him...Battler!!

BATTLER: ...What's that......? What's, ......she planning......?

BEATO: Well then, I shall question your qualifications. ............Interesting. Attack and defense are reversed from a normal game. This is a very precious experience, coming at the very, very end. .........Ready? First listen carefully. I will speak with the red first. I am the Golden Witch, Beatrice. And I opened this game in order to fight Ushiromiya Kinzo's grandchild Ushiromiya Battler.

BATTLER: ......I know that. So what?

BEATO: Repeat it. .........'Ushiromiya Battler's mother is Ushiromiya Asumu'.

BATTLER: Whaa?! ...Why's Mom's name popping up all of a sudden......?

BEATO: I do not require chatter. Just repeat it in red.

Beato urged me with the same indifferent tone. ......But I don't have a clue what she's trying to do. ......I have absolutely nothing to feel guilty for that would trouble me if thrown in my face, and there's nothing that I'm hiding.

There's nothing that could trouble me by demanding that I repeat it. ......So, why something like this...?

BATTLER: Sure, I'll repeat it. Ushiromiya Battler's mother is Ushiromiya Asumu. ......The red sure is convenient. No need to bother myself with bringing a copy of the family register.

BEATO: I do not require chatter. Let's continue. 'Your name is Ushiromiya Battler'.

BATTLER: ......Sure. My name is Ushiromiya Battler.

BEATO: It was from Ushiromiya Asumu that Ushiromiya Battler was born.

BATTLER: It was from Ushiromiya Asumu that Ushiromiya Battler was born.

BEATO: It was from Ushiromiya Asumu that you were born.

BATTLER: It was from Ushiromiya, ......, ......nguh, ............?! ......?!?!

At that time, my throat suddenly closed... I was rapidly assaulted with a choking suffocation. [...]

BATTLER: It was from Ushiromiya Asumu that I was born......Damn, It was from Ushiromiya Asumu that I was born...............Wh, what the hell? Even though I was doing it so easily a second ago, I suddenly stopped being able to get the red to work...?!

BEATO: ..................Do you refuse to repeat it?

BATTLER: I'm not refusing anything...!! It's not working for some reason...!! It was from Ushiromiya Asumu that I was born...!! Why?! Dammit, why can't I use the red?! What the hell?!?!

LAMBDA: ............tch...

BERN: ..................

[...]

BEATO: If you try to forcefully speak red that cannot be spoken, you choke. There is no need to strain yourself. .........Allow me to use the aforementioned fact to press you in blue. ......Do you remember? The blue is used to proclaim a theory for the opponent to deny. They are then burdened with the responsibility of denying that in red, and if they do not, it becomes your victory. .........Then let us begin. Due to the previous demand to repeat, and the subsequent refusal, I proclaim that you are not qualified to be my opponent. After all, Beatrice opened this game, in order to fight with 'Ushiromiya Kinzo's grandchild Ushiromiya Battler'. This gave you the responsibility as my opponent, to declare in red that you are 'Ushiromiya Kinzo's grandchild Ushiromiya Battler'. You have refused to repeat that. This means the loss of your qualifications.

LAMBDA: ......D, ......deny something about that in red......Quickly!!

BATTLER: S, sure... I, I am Ushiromiya Battler...! Because I can say that in red, I should be your opponent!!

BEATO: It may be a fact that you have the name Ushiromiya Battler. However, People's names are not exclusive. There is a possibility that multiple humans have the name Ushiromiya Battler. In short, this is what it means. ......You are a different person with the same first and last names as Ushiromiya Asumu's son Ushiromiya Battler.

BATTLER: Wh, ......what'd you say......?!! Don't talk so stupiiiiiiiiid!! I'm Mom's child!! Ushiromiya Asumu's child!! It was from Ushiromiya Asumu that, ah, ngagh, ......nnnggghh......!!! ............Gwah! Damn!! Why?! Why can't I say that I was born from my Mom?! How could something so stupid be true?

BEATO: No need to suffer. I will not play. ......This is checkmate. You are not Ushiromiya Asumu's son.

[...]

BATTLER: You're........., kidding......me............

BEATO: Who are you? What person calling themselves Ushiromiya Battler?

BATTLER: W, ...wait a second.........I am, ...Ushiromiya Battler...... It was from Ushiromiya Asumu that I was born, and I'm Dad's and Mom's son...!

BEATO: No. There is no way that you are my opponent Ushiromiya Battler. With this as proof.

BATTLER: Proof, you say?!

BEATO: You do not know of that sin six years ago.

BATTLER: .........Uh, .........th, that's.........

BEATO: No, the true Ushiromiya Battler did not commit a sin. But as a result, a sin occurred, the span of six years became a blank space, and a man who knew nothing of that time took the name Ushiromiya Battler and appeared on Rokkenjima. ............That truth...goes like this. Six years ago, ......my opponent, the true Ushiromiya Battler, was already dead. You were involved in a plot by Rudolf having something to do with distribution of the inheritance...a body double set up in Ushiromiya Battler's place.

BATTLER: H, ......how could something that stupid be true.........? .........That's......so, ......ridiculous............

LAMBDA: ......B, Battler......! Get a hold of yourself...!!

BERN: .....................Well. ...If he can't counter back, there's nothing more to do. ...Battler did not possess that qualification. That's how it is.

LAMBDA: A, are you okay with that, Bern?! If you accept that, you'll lose too, right?!

BERN: Won't you win? ......Why are you taking Battler's side......?

LAMBDA: N, ............nnnn...

BERN: What a shame, Battler. .........What a real shame that you didn't have the qualifications to be Beatrice's opponent. I was careless myself. Betting on an unqualified piece. ............It's my utter defeat, Beatrice.

BEATO: ......There is no victory or defeat. The opponent will simply disappear. Perhaps I should say that he wasn't there in the first place.

BATTLER: But then......, who, .........am I......? Am I, ......not Dad and Mom's child......?! Who am I......, what am I......? ............If I'm not Mom's child, ......then what, are you saying I'm a kid they picked up somewhere, like a stray cat?!

BEATO: If that is the case, it would mean that you do not share Kinzo's blood. Either way, you are not qualified to compete in this game.

BATTLER: ...............You're kidding........., .........you're kidding............

BEATO: That is enough. ......I was slightly aware from the beginning that you might not be Ushiromiya Battler. ......So, I had to question you. I had to ask about something the real Battler would have known. ............What a shame. I even bet on the one in a quadrillion chance of a miracle, that you might really be Ushiromiya Battler. However, it looks like you're a different person with the same first and last names after all.

BATTLER: ............ku, ......uuu............

Bit by bit, ......Battler's form began to be clouded in darkness...

No, maybe it was the other way around. ......The whole world was clouded in darkness, leaving only Battler... Battler was down on all fours, hanging his head and repeatedly questioning himself. ......However, he was not given an answer......

In the world stained with darkness, Beato spoke something and Lambdadelta ran up to him, yelling something very quickly, but it already seemed very far away, and it didn't reach Battler's ears...

............Then 'he', .........not knowing who he himself was, ............erased, ...himself............

LAMBDA: Battleeeeeeeeeeeeer......r, ......nn, ah.........

BEATO: Now the opponent has disappeared. ......Well then, if you would excuse me. And Ladies, you should prepare for your journey. No more festivities are prepared for in my territory. It was good seeing you. ......Goodbye.

[...]

In a world where everything had sunk into darkness, Beato questioned herself.

BEATO: ......As I thought, .........from the very beginning, magic should only have been used within Mariage Sorciere.

MARIA: .........Seems so. ...Maria also, ......thought that with Ange.

BEATO: The witches' alliance is you and I. It started with those two. ......Mixing in other people was the first mistake...

MARIA: .........It's just so fun. ...We wanted to add someone close to us into that circle.
And we wished that the witches' alliance would grow very large, that everyone would be able to use fun magic together, and that we'd all be happy.

BEATO: However, .........only you and I were able to understand magic after all.

MARIA: We are, ......the only witches who met with a miracle in this world. .........By now, as long as Maria has Beato, no one else is needed.

BEATO: ............Me too. As long as you are here, I don't need anyone else anymore.

MARIA: In the very first moment that Mariage Sorciere was formed, ......it was already complete.

BEATO: ...............That is...so. That is truly so......

It had been a witches' alliance to make everyone happy together with magic. ......I wonder when it got this screwed up? What did I want to do when I started this game? ......I can't really remember even that.

No, I may remember, ...but that is a feeling I now wish to throw away to the far side of forgetfulness.

MARIA: .........It's alright. Why not forget everything? Mariage Sorciere, with just the two of us. ......We will acknowledge each other. And no one will hurt us. So we won't be hurt. We won't cry. Let's forget everything. ............Hey, Beato. ......We are...eternity......

BEATO: ........................Maria..................uuuuuuuu, .........uuuuuuuuuuuuu...!!

Memory 52: two gingerbread people (1/2): TrivNeg: "Is the cat in the box alive or dead? The time has now come... to check."
......In the Golden Land, the endless rain continued to fall. Battler was nowhere to be seen.

It would very soon reach the time that Battler had joined in on the 5th game, and control of the pieces would be passed on to Battler. In other words, he would only be officially added to the game now, in this final stage, where Bernkastel had pinpointed the culprit. So, he had left the arbor a short while ago. Now, the only ones in sight were Virgilia, who continued to knit silently, ......and Beato, ...who just sat there blankly amidst the smell of her black tea, not even putting the cup to her lips...... Virgilia stopped knitting for a moment......and looked out across the vast golden rose garden that extended as far as the eye could see.

VIRGILIA: ......I think we can say that Battler-kun has gained the power to never again surrender......in the game about who the culprit is.

BEATO: .....................

VIRGILIA: By the 4th game, you sent him all the messages. .........In other words, ......at this time, Battler-kun is capable of realizing the truth at any moment. .........However, he is naive. ......Therefore. Even if the games continue at this rate a hundred times, he won't solve it for all eternity. He'll just wander forever like someone trying to find the blue bird.

And that is.........you, Beatrice. It's the same for you.

Even if this game continues hundreds more times. You will never reach the answer you seek...for all eternity. Bernkastel will abuse this game without a doubt. Lambdadelta will also churn this game about with the utmost arrogance.

At a glance, that may be humiliating and appear to you and Battler as though the game had been stolen from you. .........However. That is something the two of you need right now.

To end Battler's naivety. To end your hesitation.

VIRGILIA: And that's why...you called the two of them here. To end the eternal torture between the two of you.

BEATO: .....................

VIRGILIA: Those two will bring you either victory or defeat. But no matter how it goes, that result has already been filled with compassion. .........You should understand that as well by now.

Virgilia faced Beato, whom she had come to adore as a daughter, ......with cold eyes that she must not have shown often.

It was like the gaze of a mother who, instead of scolding, silently urges their child to recognize their mistake.

VIRGILIA: Beatrice. .........How long do you intend to stay there.........neither alive...nor dead. .........Not rising up to heaven...nor falling into hell...there on the peak of Mount Purgatory......?

BEATO: ..................

VIRGILIA: I am Virgilia. I have guided him through Purgatory and brought him to you at its peak. ......And you are Beatrice. You must choose whether to take his hand and rise up to heaven or grab him and fall into hell.

Did you know that the discord called Purgatory, which lies in the gap between heaven and hell, is sometimes more torturous than even hell itself...? On the gates of hell, it is written that you must abandon all hope.

......A human without hope can accept their suffering and give up.

However, the residents of Purgatory have hope. A hope of possibly reaching heaven, a hope that cannot be abandoned. And that tortures them.

Even in the depths of hell, ...no greater torture device exists than the single pin known as hope......

VIRGILIA: Fly. Fly from the cliffs of Purgatory. ......Take with you the regrets caused by your fleeting, fragile, foolish hopes and open up Pandora's box. Are you scared? Scared of opening the box?

Beato was silent, .........but with a single tear, she nodded slightly.

VIRGILIA: Is the cat in the box alive or dead? The time has now come...to check. ......If the cat is dead, quickly hold a funeral for it and have it rise to heaven. If the cat is alive, quickly feed it and give it all of your affection. Whether it is alive or dead, your cat box eternally desecrates the cat. .........The key to the box which you were afraid to open...has been brought to you by those two people.

Beatrice.

It's time for you to die now.

I hope...

I hope that your heart is stopped......by the hand of the person you desire.


Skill 12: magic body / auto-regen / elemental weaknesses
OKAY so this skill is a small number of things smushed together!

+ has a ~magical~ body which would ping as such, but is otherwise fully functional human female (and it looks the same as she already does in Aather. 99% chance you won't notice a difference just by looking!)
+ has accelerated regeneration now. it's not instantaneous even in canon, and under the powercap it will probably be a matter of hours before wounds heal, and at least a day or two for larger wounds, if she's leaving it solely to her own regen.
+ her silly mythical weaknesses will now legitimately physically harm her, instead of her putting on airs. these weaknesses would be:
-- Mirrors; looking into a mirror will be sort of like looking into a bright light that also makes her feel like burning inside.
-- Spiderwebs; just touching a spiderweb with a fingertip is like slicing her finger over a burning hot razor.
-- Scorpions; less serious than the other two, but only because she can't make it close enough to touch them... scorpions act as sort of a banishment/barrier to her and she cannot open doors with scorpion seals and probably could not enter a room with a scorpion AND SO ON. The image of a scorpion is as effective as an actual scorpion in this instance.
-- this is not really something that comes up in canon (denizens of Heaven appear but in... a non-orthodox... way), but she could probably be weak to holy magic/blessed objects/wtfever. WHY NOT.

all of these weaknesses become void as long as she cancels the magical form :|a I'll treat it as an actively chosen state of being rather than something she has no control over. but unless UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES ARISE, she won't cancel it with anyone else present anyway, so don't expect her to look at a mirror in front of you without cringing :')

Skill 13: white peach: THE ABILITY TO MYSTERIOUSLY NEVER GET TOO WET DESPITE BEING OUT IN THE RAIN
Ryukishi said in an interview that he has totally handwaved the consequences of heavy rain in Umineko, so that sounds like an opportunity for a pointless skill!! She will still feel the effects of rain as it is happening, and she'll get wet, but somehow as soon as she gets inside she won't be completely soaked no matter how much rain there was, and everything in her pockets and so on will be perfectly dry... It's waterproofing, basically! (So I guess it might work with other water too?)