Part 23: Besieged
October 5th, 1986, 8:00 PM
Even though Doctor Nanjo and the rest did all they could to heal him... There was very little that could be done on an island like this without medicine or proper facilities...
However, Kanon was the only human ever to confront the culprit. If only he could give us some kind of clue... However, at the time we carried Kanon here, it was already... too late.
Jessica was crouched in the corridor, crying in anguish. She had probably been taking care of Kanon until the moment of his death. George-aniki tried to approach her with words of comfort, but when Jessica pushed him away, he stopped trying to force her to talk and left her alone.
BGM: Fortitude
"How can you say it like that?! Kanon-kun spotted the culprit and bravely stood up to them!! If only Kumasawa-san had gone with him, the culprit might have hesitated and chosen to run away!!"Emotion-filled words that I never thought I'd hear coming from Jessica's mouth tumbled out. Kumasawa, looking truly sorry, could do nothing but hang her head...
"Jessica..."
"...You shouldn't have said that. It's the same for me, and probably Battler-kun as well, okay? We don't know what's going on, and it feels like our hearts are going to split open..."There were tears in George-aniki's eyes again. Seeing Jessica break down crying probably brought back the pain of losing his parents. I had already cried myself dry. So I didn't want to cry anymore. However, I understood how great the pain in their chests was.
"Beatrice will resurrect the dead, and even love that has been lost. So you'll definitely be able to meet him soon. Then, everyone will be able to live in peace." "Is this Beatrice of yours, the one who supposedly gave you that letter yesterday, the one who killed Kanon-kun?! Where is she?! Where is she hiding?! I'll find her and tear her apart!!! Say it! You know, don't you? You know who the culprit really is!! What do you know and what are you hiding?!! Tell me, damn iiiiiiiiit!!!"
"M, Milady, please stop...!"
"Uu-! Uu-! Beatrice exi-sts! 'Exi-sts'!! Uu-uu-uu-!!"
"Damn it, let go of me, Genji-san!! Maria knows who the culprit is!! And she's been hiding that she knows it! She must be telling them what we're doing, guiding them as they kill us!!"
"Jessica, be silent!!"Jessica rushed at Maria and grabbed hold of her... Genji tried to stop her, but Jessica could not be calmed. The next thing I heard was the sound of aunt Natsuhi slapping Jessica's face. After that, Jessica's sorrowful sobbing voice resounded throughout the hall...
Although those words seemed kind, they clearly showed that George still had some doubts about Maria. He hadn't tackled Maria. However, he felt exactly the same way Jessica did.
"...Aniki. I already asked her the same thing. The answer was the same, too."
"I want to hear it from Maria's mouth. Who is Beatrice?"
"...Even if I tell you, you won't... believe me anyway."
"What do you mean by that?! Is it possible that the culprit is someone I know well, and that, for some reason, you're covering for them by remaining silent?! Who gave you that letter?!"
"...I got it from Beatrice. I'll say it no matter how many times you ask. I got the letter from Beatrice. Kihihihihihihihihi. George onii-chan, do you refuse to believe in Beatrice because she's not an opponent you can hit?" "You want to turn your feelings of helplessness into violence and beat someone up. So you won't be satisfied unless your opponent is a human you can hit. So even if I tell you the truth, you won't accept it. So it's pointless for me to tell you. You won't believe."
"In that world, Mama is nice, Papa is with us and is also nice. I want to go there right away. Everyone is afraid of Beatrice. But that is only natural. So calm yourselves. Beatrice said so herself. By the time the typhoon has passed, I will have ended everything." "...Ouch."
"...Maria, I don't mind you being talkative, but let's leave it at that for now. I'll bet this is all a pretty happy situation for you, since you're always going on about how a witch exists, but keep that to yourself for the time being. Leave everyone else out of it." "Uu-." "Th, this brat, I had a bad feeling about her before, and there's something wrong, something's wrong with her!! Don't you think so too, Battler, Genji-san?! Kumasawa-san?! What about you, Mom!! Maria knows who the culprit is and she's hiding it! Maybe she hasn't directly done anything! But she's definitely the criminal's accomplice!! That's right, a spy! We can't let her stay with us any longer!!!"
"...Kihihihi."
Aunt Natsuhi glared at Maria with frightening eyes. Maria was used to aunt Rosa's loud style of scolding, but she apparently wasn't immune to this kind of silent telling off. She shrugged and kept her mouth shut.
A desolate feeling filled the room... It felt as though things would just get more complicated if anyone spoke.
BGM: At Death's Door
Six people in Dad's group. After that, both aunt Eva and uncle Hideyoshi, Kanon-kun, Grandfather... There were a whole 18 people on this island, and 10 of those people have been killed. More than half of us have been killed. And right now, there is absolutely no proof that the remaining eight people will be alright...
"...Anyways, now is not the time for discord. Now that we are certain that the culprit can enter and leave the mansion at will and strike out of nowhere, we must give our undivided attention to surviving until tomorrow."
"...I agree strongly with aunt Natsuhi. Tonight, we can put off searching for the culprit. Instead, it would be better to think of where we can barricade ourselves in."As I said this, I pointed out the clock to everyone. It was already 8:00 at night. We had been receiving shocks over and over again since the early morning, and both our bodies and our minds were completely tired out. There was still a long, long time until tomorrow. We needed to find some place to barricade ourselves in so we could rest our bodies and get even the smallest amount of relief...
"...Were Shannon, Kanon-kun and Gohda-san holding master keys?"
"...Yes. They were supposed to have them on their person during work."
"...We didn't want to disturb the scene, so we didn't investigate that closely. We can't eliminate the possibility that someone stole a key from them."
"...We know there's a chance that the culprit visited the servants' room at some point in time so that they could unlock the shutter to the rose garden shed. It's conceivable they obtained a master key from there earlier on."There were many servants serving the Ushiromiya family. Because of that, there were several master keys. Furthermore, every time the shifts changed, the keys were passed between servants, and we had to acknowledge that this had probably gotten a bit sloppy at times in the past.
"Even if they borrowed a bundle of keys from the pockets of one of the murdered servants, is there any safe place that even those keys couldn't open...?"
"...Because of the conditions of our jobs, we have been entrusted with keys to all of the rooms... All of them in the mansion and in the guesthouse..." "So in other words, no matter where we hole up and lock ourselves in, it'd just be pointless. Sounds great, like you'll even need a key! If you're gonna come, come on, dammit! I'll beat you at your own game!!" "...The enemy won't approach us from the front. I don't know about the first six, but if we look at what happened to my parents and Kanon-kun, and even Grandfather, the enemy has only gone after isolated people. They don't have the power to assault all of us openly in a secure room." "That's right. It's just like Aniki says. Maybe aunt Natsuhi's rifle can serve to stave off the enemy." "...I hope that is so, but..."
"..." "Maria, I know you want to say something, but keep it to yourself and stay quiet for a while." "...Uu-."Maria probably wanted to say that witches weren't afraid of things like guns, or something like that. But if she were to say it out loud, the atmosphere around here would start to get pretty edgy. I had noticed and decided to put a stop to it...
"...Would you mind? I know of only one place that can't be entered even with the servants' keys."
"Where is that?"
"I, I'm against this!! I don't even wanna think about going in Grandfather's creepy room!" "How many keys can gain access that room?" "...There are two. I always have one of them. The other was held by the Master himself, but just now, from the corpse in the boiler room..."Genji-san took a handkerchief out of his pocket and opened it, showing us the burnt and filthy key to the study. Then, he showed it alongside his own key, which he had once lent to Natsuhi.
"...Normally, I should have left the Master's key for the police, but because he ordered me to protect the safety of the study, I borrowed it for the time being."
"...I see... Which means that Kinzo's study is the only safe location right now..."
"...It would appear that way. I don't even want to think about being shut up in that strange room all night, but it appears we must accept that his room is safer than anywhere else right now." "...After Grandfather locked himself up in that safe room, the culprit brought him out and killed him. We can't say for certain whether it's truly safe." "According to your theory, Grandfather skillfully let aunt Natsuhi and Mother walk right past him, which removed the receipt, and then left the room of his own free will. If you think about it that way, it still might have some worth as a place to barricade ourselves in..." "...You're too optimistic, Aniki."
If we assume that the culprit used some technique to kidnap Grandfather from his study... they would have to show us the same trick again if they wanted to assault us in the study. That would also give us a chance to make the culprit show us some proof right before our eyes. If they're a real witch, we would be forcing her to use her little magic trick to open the door right in front of us...
But such a thing is probably impossible. If you turn the chessboard over, you realize that the culprit is obviously trying to act like they're a witch. If that's true, all they have to do is appear in front of us and wow us with a colorful display of magic. Since they've avoided doing that, everything must be the work of a fake witch who wants us to think otherwise.
Therefore, a culprit who used a technique other than magic to defeat the closed room couldn't open the door before our eyes.
"Whoa. That's incredible. But isn't that weird? You're saying he built another house inside his house? That's pretty cramped for that last house of someone like our Grandfather, who bought a whole island and realized all of his dreams."
"...That's right. After some point in time, Father wouldn't trust any other place even inside the mansion."
"...We always sneered about how he shut himself up in there, and this time, we're the ones who are gonna shut ourselves up. Ha!"Jessica spat the words out.
"Jessica-chan, it feels like you would rather go search for the culprit than stay shut up somewhere."
"...Of course, I don't think we'll be able to find them if we just start searching now. In the end, we can't do anything but wait. Then it doesn't matter where we wait, does it?! We can't run away or hide. Why don't we just take it easy in the parlor, watching TV or something and waiting for Beatrice-sama to appear?!" "...It's alright if she doesn't appear. There is no need for us to expose the culprit."
"Well said... We shouldn't take too many risks before the police get here." "Thank you, Doctor Nanjo. I think we should move to Father's study. Considering the possibility that Father was taken out of there, there's no proof that it is completely safe. However, I can't deny the other possibility... Perhaps, as Battler-kun reasoned, Grandfather left the study of his own accord and was attacked outside."
And Grandfather couldn't have used that trick unless he had known that the receipt was wedged in the door. Aunt Eva hadn't pointed out that last part, but it's clear how absurd the theory was. Then does that mean, as aunt Eva claimed, that the door was sealed and the room was closed? Is it a doubtless fact that aunt Natsuhi was the culprit, and that the room was a closed room...? If aunt Eva were here now, she would probably make that claim openly and blow my strange theory away.
But anyways. I had to admit that a room with both a bed and a toilet, that all eight people could be shut up in, and with only two keys, both of which were gathered here, had to be the safest place in the mansion right now... At the very least, I figured this would be better than just staying shut up in the parlor and hoping nothing would go wrong.
...Aah, it's useless, it's useless, it's all useless... My flimsy head is about to break out in a fever. If I keep turning the chessboard over, right and wrong will keep switching with each other over and over, and I won't be able to believe anything...
When it seems like the culprit is one of the 18, I want to believe in Beatrice, and once I start believing in Beatrice, I start wanting to find the culprit amid the 18. If that keeps spinning around forever, in the end, my thoughts won't have taken one step from where they started...
How far back in the past was it that Kyrie-san taught me this chessboard way of thinking? That concept of examining the situation by turning it over and thinking from the enemy's side... I get the feeling that I was so interested in this way of thinking at the time, that I let it guide the way I thought about everything.
By the way, Kyrie-san was Dad's coworker back then. I hadn't dreamed that the day would come when she would be added to our family...
...Didn't Kyrie-san... tell me something? I get the feeling she once said that, while this chessboard thinking was one way to look at things, it clearly wasn't all powerful, and it wouldn't be good to rely on it too much...
BGM: Mind
"I really wanna try it! If I could study and perfect my chessboard thinking, it'd be fun to be able to read into any opponent's moves, wouldn't it?"
"But you can't believe in it blindly. Game theory is a very deep and complicated subject. Chessboard thinking is just my interpretation that skims the surface of game theory. In order to thoroughly read your opponent's moves like you are imagining, you need to study your opponent. Additionally, while chessboard theory is convenient and practical, it isn't perfect. It has many weak points despite its convenience." "...Weak points?" "Yes. Chessboard thinking is founded upon game theory. When you thoroughly investigate game theory, it boils down to math. Do you know what the weak point of math is? It's noise."
But, for example, unlike math, the Japanese language has noise mixed in. Kanji are a good example. Old kanji and new kanji are slightly different, which represents an introduction of noise created by the changes between time periods. Isn't history the same? There are dozens of policies that seem foolish in the modern era, but were meaningful at some point in the past.
Because the rules of chess are fixed, when a pair of experts are discussing one particular layout, it's possible that they could reach the same conclusion whether they're from one hundred years in the past or one hundred years in the future. However, if the rules of chess had gone through massive changes over time, it is possible that a discussion about the same layout would have changed as well.
...That's right. Kyrie-san definitely said that... Chess has always been a game were both sides play by the same rules and fight with the same conditions for victory. This is why it is possible for both sides to predict the other's moves. It's possible to read an opponent because you can always suppose that they will advance with the best moves they can find.
But what if... the opponent is fickle or a little tired, and makes a move that can hardly be called 'the best'? Or maybe... what if the game actually has special rules, only the enemy knows them, and they can make use of something unknown to you? In fact, what if the opponent actually has some goal other than victory?
Many times, I've thought that by using chessboard thinking, I could perceive the plans of the person hiding behind this case. However, I don't know anything about the culprit. Am I just playing in a labyrinth of thought? If Kyrie-san were here at a time like this, she'd probably be able to notice something with her much, much sharper thinking ability...
Everyone was already trapped by paranoia. Kumasawa-san had prepared dinner at one point, but after the case involving George-aniki's parents, the kitchen and the parlor had become devoid of people. Someone had said that it might have been death by poison. Because of that, we were unable to even touch the food that Kumasawa-san had taken the trouble to make for us.
The manner in which the first six had been killed was still unknown, but there was a possibility that it was poison. Of course, if this were the case, even a single person would be able to carry out the murder of six large adults. Furthermore, this idea made it seem like there was only a single culprit, who was afraid of aunt Natsuhi's rifle, and this was very good for our emotional stability.
But the fatigue and hunger were even harsher than we had imagined. We all went along with Kumasawa-san's proposal to go together to the kitchen, and gathered some canned food, which would be hard to poison, to take in with us. All of Kumasawa-san's efforts to reward us with just a little dinner on this savage day regrettably came to nothing... The food piled up on the serving cart looked just a little sad.
Once we'd dragged ourselves up to the third floor, just as aunt Natsuhi had warned us of beforehand... there was a mixture of a chemical smell and a sickly-sweet aroma, a stench hanging in the air that felt like it was eating into our heads.
"...I see, this kind of stench probably would give you a headache if you were shut in with it for a whole night. I know it's a little late, but I'm with Jessica. I vote against going into Grandfather's study."It felt like the stench was floating out from this magnificent door. It was the door to the forbidden study, which should defend against any who would enter...
While Genji-san was unlocking the door, Maria was staring at the door and the doorknob with great interest.
"...Uu-. Incredible door."
"It looks old and strict and like it'd stop any jokes cold. Sure is a fitting door for Grandfather's study."
"...It contains a really strong power to ward off any spiritual menace. Beatrice probably couldn't open this door." "Oh...? What does that mean?"Maria pointed at the doorknob. A scorpion crest... no, a design like a magic circle arranged around a scorpion, was inscribed there.
BGM: Witch of the Painting
"...The fifth magic circle of Mars is a strong magic repellent. Additionally, this magic circle was very diligently constructed, and is full of power. To beings of magic like Beatrice, this magic circle is quite troublesome." "Isn't that comforting. Are you saying that we can even escape the grip of Beatrice's evil hand in this room? Our little witch here sure is reliable." "...Then how did Beatrice take Grandfather out...?" "Just as Battler reasoned. Beatrice can't go inside. But since she has magic, she can create a familiar. Using them, she might have been able to force Grandfather to leave the study." "Aa-, I read that in a manga. I've seen a bunch of scenes where vampires were frightened of crosses, so they couldn't get close, but their familiars were fine, so they made their familiars attack." "Those scorpion keyholder-like charms I gave to you yesterday also had the fifth magic circle of Mars on them. The power dwelling within them was weak, but they should be enough to protect you until we leave the island. Although it sounds like you've lost yours, right? Kihihihihihihihihihihihi..." "...Scorpion keyholder charms?"
"Ah, aaah, that... The charm I gave you yesterday was something I got from Maria. I heard that it would repel magic if you put it on your doorknob, and at the time I thought maybe it would be better if you had it..." "...Is that so? I thought it was an odd thing for you to be carrying around." "...Aunt Natsuhi put that... on her doorknob?" "Yes. Last night, after hearing about it from Jessica, I hung it from the doorknob on the inside of my door." "Then aunt Natsuhi, you're really fortunate. If you did that, Beatrice probably couldn't even lay a finger on you yesterday. I think Beatrice must have been really annoyed. Kihihihihihihihihihihihi..."...Beatrice, annoyed...? Couldn't lay one finger...? Natsuhi thought back on that eerie scribble she had seen that morning, like someone had been tearing at the outside of her door with blood-soaked hands, and gasped in surprise.
"Quit it, don't talk about that... Witches don't exist. The culprit does. And that's a human just like us. And if you need proof, why don't we dice her up and see if her blood's red?" "Damn it, damn it... How could you... to Kanon-kun..."
Part 24: Besieged II
He had done nothing more than fortify it thoroughly with his occult hobbies. If Grandfather's hobby had been chasing after pop idols, these walls might be buried beneath idol posters. Even if I didn't understand it, I did realize that this room was a bundle of all his hobbies.
Even so, I couldn't help but remain dumbfounded by the smell of his creepy medicine and the sweet stench that seemed to melt my head...
The shutter, the receipt, the chain. And now, the auto-lock. This fourth door had the most magnificent lock yet, and this was doubtlessly a closed room.
Just to make absolutely sure that the room was secure, we checked all over for ways in or out. The window was tightly locked. That should have been enough, but just in case, we tried knocking all over the walls. After all, it was rumored that there might be a hidden door in this room... But we couldn't find anything suspicious.
Grandfather's study was very large. Even though we called it a study, it wasn't really a single room. It could be divided up into four basic sections: a study section, a bedroom section, a toilet/bathroom section and a section for cooking that had a sink. I see, this study has enough in it to live in. Now I understand how Grandfather could live his whole life in this room without ever leaving. It seemed that Grandfather wasn't in the habit of watching TV, because there was no television or even a radio in this room.
We can't do anything except pass the time listening to the sound of the rain... until tomorrow morning.
It was apparently the partly finished chess match he'd been playing with Grandfather until yesterday. The black had the white pretty well cornered, and it looked like checkmate would be reached within a few moves. The last part of the endgame. Even though checkmate had almost been reached, the endgame had been rushed, and in the end, was never completed.
"...Kinzo-san. It seems... we weren't able to see this match through after all..."
"...Doctor Nanjo..."
"...I was Kinzo-san's friend for a long time, but I never knew about more than half of him. I believe that two Kinzos existed, a wise one... and one trapped by some madness... I never understood anything about him..."
"...Especially when it came to Beatrice-sama, it would seem like his personality changed..."
Grandfather probably spent every day in this room, and so much of his time... talking to the witch in that portrait.
Who was Beatrice to Grandfather in the first place? Right now, you couldn't just explain it away by saying it was a story made by the parents to frighten children away from wandering into the forest...
Whether the culprit was Beatrice herself or someone pretending to be her, whether they were a witch or a human, that was besides the point. The woman in this portrait was strongly related to the basis and background of this case. You couldn't talk about this case without talking about her.
"...That's right. Mom, you picked up the culprit's letter in aunt Eva's room, right?"
"Yes... I still haven't opened it... Let's try opening it."Aunt Natsuhi took out that western-style envelope. Genji-san pulled a paper knife out of a drawer in the study desk and handed it to her. While watching her open it, George-aniki grimaced slightly. After all, it was a letter left at the site where his parents had been murdered. There was a good chance that its contents would say something unbearable to Aniki...
It seemed that aunt Natsuhi also realized that... So she glanced over the contents first without reading it aloud. We were a little frightened that she might grimace after reading something shocking, but she just frowned unhappily.
"...What does... it say...?"
"...There is one unpleasant sentence. ...It must be trying to provoke us."Natsuhi, after deciding that the contents could be shown to the children, set it openly on the table. Everyone stared at it at the same time.
"..."
"Normally, you'd expect another weird magic circle to show up."
"...But it wasn't a magic circle. It's just as I expected. Kihihi." "What could it mean...? I wonder if she wants to tout her own existence..." "That seems reasonable. With this letter, we now know that the author of last night's letter is the culprit. I think the identical envelope is more significant than what is written here."
"...Without a doubt, this is the type of envelope and sealing wax that the Master used." "...Ooooohh... I don't know what's going on anymore... This is the first time I've seen anything like this since I started working for the Ushiromiya family..."
"If we're to believe the letter last night, then Beatrice claims to be Grandfather's oldest confidante. Grandfather often said the same thing in the past, right?"He spoke to Genji-san and Kumasawa-san, who nodded together.
"...So, the two of you knew more about this than anyone except Grandfather. Could you tell us?" "For a long time, I made a point of ignoring this topic. But now that it has come to this, I can no longer do so. Genji, tell us everything you know."
"..."Genji-san didn't answer. Did he remain silent despite his knowledge, or did he know nothing at all? Still, I had a good guess.
The ghost story of the witch Beatrice had long been deified among the servants. He had probably been very close to Grandfather and his occult hobbies. So there was a good chance that he'd been indoctrinated with even weirder things, and had increasingly come to deify the witch.
As Grandfather's most trusted servant, who had sworn loyalty to him, he might be the most influenced by the illusion of the witch that Grandfather had created...
...A short while ago, Maria had been more than willing to speak bluntly and unrestrainedly, and that had earned her a scuffle with Jessica. It was natural for Genji-san to keep his silence...
BGM: Sukashiyuri
His concubine... That could be possible. For ordinary poor people, polygamy isn't only viewed negatively from a moral perspective. It is also an unmaintainable financial situation. But that isn't the case for the very rich. It's possible for them to have another lover in addition to their real wife. We can't deny the possibility that Grandfather had another woman in his life besides Grandmother.
"Maybe... When Grandmother was alive, it seems she strongly suspected it. She thought he was cheating on her. I always thought she meant Grandfather's imaginary witch..." "...This is getting really interesting. You told me, didn't you Genji-san? You said Beatrice has been working for Grandfather since before the mansion was finished."
"I heard that the construction of the mansion was completed in Showa 27 (1952)."
"That would mean that this person called Beatrice has been in a relationship with Grandfather for over thirty years..."
"Could that concubine of thirty years ago... or maybe a relative or hidden child with that person... hold some kind of grudge and be planning revenge? ...Ihihi, I see, this is starting to sound just like your standard western mansion mystery."
"...It's a filthy topic, but the easiest line of reasoning to accept. What do you think, Genji?"
"...Who is this person called Beatrice?! And what is she doing now?!" "...I have heard that she passed away before the mansion was completed." "She's already dead...?" "...Yes. The Master mourned for her most grievously, and he devoted himself to the art of black magic as a means to revive Beatrice-sama. The Master loved Beatrice-sama from the bottom of his heart. It was that madness which drove him to do all that you see here."As Genji-san said this, he spread his arms, as though asking us to look at this room, filled with the signs of Grandfather's madness.
BGM: Worldend
Almost anyone would find it impossible to understand. What could be possibly be so enrapturing about this unpleasant black magic hobby? Since Kinzo was just an 'eccentric' who had restored the Ushiromiya family amidst his madness, nobody had tried to understand him... All that had been on Grandfather's mind was the loss of a beloved woman, and the sorrow that he couldn't escape.
...Earlier, this room had seemed creepy, but in an instant, our understanding of it began to change. The creepy books, the magic circles, the medicine, all of it. All just because he wanted to revive the face of a single woman who had left this world for thirty years, for one last time...
"...The Master only told me about Beatrice-sama's story once, when he was very drunk. Although I have forgotten the details. It was... a deep, deep love, enough to make a woman like me jealous." "...When Kinzo-san succeeded the headship of the Ushiromiya family, his marriage to his late wife had already been decided by the few surviving elders of the family."
"...So, he was forced into a marriage with some woman who would benefit the Ushiromiya family?" "...That is correct. Kinzo-san was installed as the head who would revive the family, and had to bear all of that heavy responsibility. I do not pretend to know the details of when or where Kinzo-san first met her."
"...It'd be rude to say any more than that."At that point, Grandfather had truly fallen in love for the first time...
"...I... had it all wrong, Genji-san." "...What, exactly?"
"I... I've always thought that... maybe you servants believed blindly in the witch because you were influenced by Grandfather's creepy black magic hobby. But that's not how it was..."By acting as though at least Beatrice's soul had been restored, and existed inside this mansion, you might have hoped to soothe Grandfather's heart... With closed eyes, and an expression as though he was remembering something from the distant past, Genji had broken his long silence. In making that confession, he probably felt like he was betraying his one and only Master in the most serious way, even though that person was already dead.
Beatrice has revived as a witch, and she is in the mansion even now. He had been told that, had believed it, had been made to believe it, and Genji would take that with him to the grave. This might have been the last service he offered up to his Master.
"...I remember denying the witch's existence in front of Father on multiple occasions. Now I finally understand how much that must have wounded him..."
"...Right now, I can understand very well. If I thought that I could revive Shannon using black magic... I'd immediately become the next owner of this room and start researching..."
"...Aniki."Another strand of tears dripped from George's eyes. Maybe his tears were infectious. Tears rose to Jessica's eyes too, and she sniffled...
窶補彪ery soon, the door to the Golden Land will be opened. In the promised land that glitters gold, the souls of all the dead will be resurrected, and the lost love will be too.
Then I will sleep in a world of peacefulness for all time.
"...Did she say that? The Beatrice who gave you the letter?" "...You don't believe, do you? ...Kihihihi."
"...If only Grandfather were here. I'm sure he'd be happy. I'm sure he'd be jumping for joy now that Beatrice is about to be revived... In that case, I believe. If Grandfather gave up half of his life for this research, trying to resurrect the soul of the woman he loved, and spending the rest of his life believing, I'll believe too."
"...Battler..."
"...When love for a single woman is persistent over a long time, it is shared by those around you and becomes the truth. Maybe you could say they're just being considerate. But right here, now, I'd like to call that magic."
"...It isn't just consideration. It really is... magic. She's a witch. Kihihihihihi. It looks like nobody can see Beatrice after all..."
"...If you ask me as a woman, then while I'd like to understand Father's feelings of true love, it did leave Mother in an awkward position."
"Haha, I agree. Cheating is cheating. No way to make it pretty..."
"...That's also true. Poor Grandmother." "And... is there any story about a child between Beatrice and Grandfather...?"The keyword 'Beatrice' has been hidden in every corner of this case. So it's natural to suspect any relative of Beatrice.
"No. I have not heard of anything like that." "If there was one, a memento of his most beloved person, he surely would have given them all of his affection. Since that didn't happen, and he immersed himself in black magic... maybe we should assume that there was no such child."
BGM: Lure
"Tell us, aunt Natsuhi. Don't you agree that we shouldn't hide things from each other?" "...It's a worthless story. It is said that Father heavily supported an orphanage... and that they started having the orphans employed as servants for his house, as part of their social studies. It's nothing more than a story spread by some foolish people, saying that this had something to do with one of Father's filthy hobbies." "At one point, there was a rumor that he was collecting sacrifices for his black magic... Actually, since he's always doing weird experiments and ceremonies in this room, I half believed it myself..." "...And these servants who came from the Fukuin House?" "...There were several of them, but during the family conference, only Shannon and Kanon were scheduled to be here."To resurrect Beatrice, he had summoned servants from an orphanage, as sacrifices...?
"After all, everyone that Grandfather selected as a servant was young, about the same age as Shannon or Kanon-kun. I was sure that it was because Grandfather had some bizarre hobby." "Jessica! Control your words."When aunt Natsuhi scolded her, the atmosphere instantly went sour and everyone fell quiet. However, something was tugging at the back of my mind.
Sacrifices... Sacrifices... Sacrifices brought over from an orphanage... What is it? Freaky words like 'sacrifices' don't pop up often. Even so, I've seen or heard that word recently. Some part of my memory is tugging at me.
...Hey, Beatrice. What do you know...?
...Below it, just like in the entrance hall, was the epitaph said to point out the place where the gold was hidden...
"...Ah...! Sacrifices... here."
"Wh, what the hell, Battler? You're creeping me out..."
BGM: Play
Both of my eyes were as wide as plates... Right there, everything had been predicted since the very beginning...! Everyone crowded around. And the same expression of terror rose to everyone's face...!
That's right. It was written in the epitaph.
"Ah, aaahh, there's no doubt. Six people died in the beginning! And even on the shutter where the magic circle was drawn, no, where the Hebrew was written, it mentioned the offering of sacrifices...!!" Uu-. I've been saying that from the beginning."That's right, Maria had been saying it from the very beginning! Right after we found the six bodies, when Maria was in the parlor watching TV, she had said it!
'...Uu-. The culprit isn't human. It's just the sacrifices chosen by the key.'
"This has nothing to do with the location of the hidden gold!! It's black magic or something, the instructions for a resurrection ceremony! After all, this epitaph requires a large number of 'deaths'!" "...It, it sure does. Even reading through it quickly, there'd be 6+2+5... 13 people who must die...!" "...How many people are normally on this island?!"
"It, it changes depending on the shifts for the servants, but there's Father, my husband, me and Jessica. And two or three servants. Today and yesterday, there were five of them, but there aren't normally that many." "Which means that normally, there wouldn't be enough sacrifices to carry out this 'ceremony'. No, wait. There's that rumor that Grandfather was collecting servants from an orphanage to be used as sacrifices in some creepy ceremony..." "So what does this mean?! He increased the number of servants to increase the number of sacrifices, and waited for the annual family conference when even more people would gather... Isn't now the only time of the year that this ceremony could be held?!"When Jessica screamed this, Maria broke out in that creepy laugh, looking truly pleased.
"Kihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi. Aren't there some people who make bets to test their fate?"
...When flipping a sandal, you have at worst a 50% chance. Even if you get it right side up, it's not worth much. But if you carelessly roll three dice and they all come up six, you might think that's a small miracle.
"...Magic works the same way. If you want an unlimited, impossible effect, then you continuously praying earnestly. Then, the feelings from all those stored up prayers gain magical power and become incarnate. The magic that Grandfather was trying to perform was probably like that. The key randomly selected sacrifices in a lottery. So to reduce the chance that he himself was selected, he chose the day with the greatest number of people on the island to carry out the ceremony..." "Ridiculous!! Are you saying that this entire situation is because of something like a ceremony for some weird magic?!"Natsuhi yelled. She couldn't stop thinking fearfully about how she might have been protected just because of the scorpion charm.
...The culprit had noticed the charm from outside the door, and had given up trying to open the door. A human couldn't have perceived that. The charm meant to stop someone that was not human... had done just that...!! Impossible, impossible, impossible!!!
"However, Natsuhi-san... Look, the epitaph goes on after that..." "A, at the second twilight, those who remain shall tear apart the two who are close... Could this be talking about Eva-sama and Hideyoshi-sama...?" "...P, painful as it may be, ...we must reach that conclusion. And after the culprit killed them, they left the words from 'the third twilight' in a letter there." "Th, that's right... After carrying out the second twilight, they left the third twilight in that place. The third twilight was... just like aunt Natsuhi just read...!!"'At the third twilight, those who remain shall praise my honorable name on high'
Aaaaaaaaaahhh, if you read it this way, it just keeps going on, doesn't it?
"...That's Grandfather... He had been burned in the incinerator, and our eyes were so drawn to that part that we didn't notice, but Grandfather's forehead... no, his head had been gouged." "Grandfather is... the victim of the fourth twilight? Th, then, Kanon-kun...!"
"...'At the fifth twilight, gouge the chest and kill'. We thought that Kanon-kun's case was an unexpected encounter with the culprit, but that's wrong. They had been planning on luring someone out alone and driving something through their chest from the beginning..." "...If the culprit has followed the epitaph this far...does that mean three people still have to die...?!"
"...Y... yes, you could read it that way... hiiiii..." "Well, I wonder about that... After those three die, it reaches the ninth twilight. Take a look..."
"We are... all going to be killed by Beatrice..."
"...I don't get it. Doesn't that mean that everyone will die no matter how many people there are? What was Grandfather's goal? Doesn't this mean that this ceremony would kill Grandfather himself no matter what...?!" "...It's alright if no one's left alive. At the tenth twilight, we finally arrive at the Golden Land."'At the tenth twilight, the journey shall end and you should reach the village of gold'
'The witch will praise the wise, and should bestow four treasures'
"...Grandfather wasn't afraid of something like death. Look at the second and third of the four treasures." "...'One shall be, the resurrection of the souls of all the dead. One shall be, even the resurrection of the lost love'. So Grandfather believed that he would eventually be revived, even if he died partway through this ceremony...?" "Ridiculous, that's insane!! When you die, it's over, right?! The dead don't come back to life. Isn't that a miracle that humanity has been chasing after for thousands of years and still hasn't accomplished?! So is this what it means? Something like, you'll be able to meet them in the world after death, where they can be revived?!" "...If what you say is right, would that mean... Grandfather, whose remaining life is slim and who is insane because of love, is committing suicide, no... a massive forced group suicide...?!" "..."
"...Genji. Can that possibility be considered...!?" "...I don't know. The Master is a man who sometimes has the wisdom to see a thousand years into the future. However, there are times when that appears to be nothing more than madness to commoners such as myself..." "What, does that mean yes?! What do you say, Kumasawa-san?!" "I, I don't know anything...! That's right, I don't know... Do you think I would be on this island today if I did know? I would have faked an illness or done anything to take the day off, that's right!!"
"What about your opinion, Doctor Nanjo? You've been Grandfather's friend for many years..."
"...I, I feel the same as Genji-san. Kinzo-san was a man who far surpassed ordinary people. I've even felt a sort of inhuman power from him at times. ...I too... don't know what Kinzo-san was thinking when he wrote that epitaph...!" "...All we can say... is that even if the person who created this outline was Father, the one carrying it out is a different person." "That's right. At the very least, there's another culprit who attacked Grandfather and Kanon-kun. Furthermore, that person is still continuing the crimes just as the epitaph says...!" "...The letter in the beginning that we didn't think deeply about... What was it that was written there?"
But then she had also revealed a special clause. If someone discovered the location of the gold Grandfather had hidden, that right would be lost. At the time that the letter had been read, Grandfather was still alive. But at that time, it had already been sealed with wax by the 'head's ring'. Which meant that Grandfather had handed the ring over to Beatrice while he was still alive.
If you think about that straightforwardly, maybe we should assume that Beatrice is carrying out that strange contract, and that Grandfather is securing her that right. In other words, this was the same as saying that Grandfather knew of and approved of the contents of that letter. In other words, it's as though this is a joint message from Beatrice and Grandfather... telling us that Beatrice will start collecting interest if we don't solve the riddle. In other words, Grandfather and Beatrice were telling us to solve the riddle of the epitaph. And if we couldn't, they were saying that the massacre would be carried out according to the epitaph.
What does that mean? What do they want?! I don't have a clue what it means!
"...Look, another letter from Beatrice." "...Huh? What did you say?"Maria was pointing at the top of the table, where the canned food that everyone had been eating just now still lay. A western-style envelope really was sitting there, but, ...something about it...
Aunt Natsuhi let out a hysterical cry, looking between her own hand and the table... Because the envelope that she had just opened was still grasped in her hand.
...And despite that, there's an envelope on the table...?!
Part 25: Besieged III
"...Just now, I looked at the table and it was lying there. Uu-."
"I, I don't know anything, anything!!"
"This isn't funny, there's only the eight of us here!! There's no way some ninth person snuck in!! There wasn't enough time during the few seconds that we gathered around the portrait, right?!"
Video: The Third Letter
A certain voice provided by Sayaka Ohara.
BGM: System 0
Genji-san was overpowered, his face looking like he didn't have a clue what was going on... Of course, I felt the same, but a few moments late, I reached the same conclusion aunt Natsuhi had.
Until just a few seconds ago, there was no letter like this on the table...! And nobody entered this room! That means someone among us placed it there during the few seconds when everyone was looking away, preoccupied with the portrait...!!
"Battler-kun, open that envelope and read what's inside!"
"Y, yeah!!"I picked up the envelope. It was still sealed with wax. Even without disturbing its contents, I realized that this was an unopened envelope, an unknown envelope!
Without relying on a paper knife, I violently tore it open and pulled out the letter inside. The contents were as follows.
"That's what it says..."
"...It isn't clear who put this letter there. However, I have been able to narrow down the list of suspects. It's you all!!" "...M, Madam... How... could we have..."
"Just before I moved towards the portrait, I set a can of food down here. At that time, there definitely wasn't anything as strange as this letter there!!"
"...Uu-. We aren't Beatrice. Beatrice 'exists'!" "Silence!!! I don't know whether I should suspect one of you or all of you. But without a doubt, at least one among you is the culprit!!!"
"...Th... that's right. There can't be a 19th person...! There's no way witches exist!! Even when Kanon-kun was killed... yeah, that could be explained if Kumasawa-san was the one who did it!! The truth is that Kumasawa-san entered the boiler room with Kanon-kun and killed him! And then she lied, saying he had already fallen when she got there!!" "Y, you're making a mistake, Milady...!! Why would I do something like that...?!!"
"...I don't have the slightest idea how my parents were killed in that closed room. But when they were killed, everyone except for the servants had an alibi. The only ones who didn't were the servants... But, does that mean we should suspect them...?!"
"...Y, yes... now that you mention it, they have no alibi for any of the cases... Nng!!"
"...Na... Natsuhi-san. Please, calm yourself... A lot has happened today! I understand the condition your heart is in right now...!"
"Doctor Nanjo, it truly pains me to say that you are suspicious...! But as Father's head physician, as his only peerless friend, you've been together with Father for a long time. You might even know about Beatrice. Are there any old obligations that you're hiding?!"
"How could there be...!! Calm yourself...!"It was pitiful to watch Doctor Nanjo frantically pleading his innocence. It was probably a normal reaction that anyone would give if they were suspected. Kumasawa was the same. Since Jessica had started suspecting her in the murder of Kanon, she had been totally flustered. That was why Genji's still calm appearance looked so bold.
Aunt Natsuhi pointed the barrel of the gun.
"...Genji. You were Grandfather's number one subordinate. Was Beatrice an illusion you showed to Father, with you as the performer?!"
"...If by suspecting me, you recognize me as the Master's greatest servant... then it is a great honor to me, regardless of the circumstances. However, I am not the one who put the letter there." "Do you expect us to just accept that!! You must be the ringleader! Maybe Kumasawa and Doctor Nanjo are your accomplices!! And Maria-chan."
"Maria-chan. By this point, we can no longer remove someone from suspicion just because they are young. So for the last time, let me ask the question that everyone's had since last night! Yesterday, who was the Beatrice that handed you the letter?!!" "...Uu-."
"...Maria, don't try to fool us!! Make it clear! Who gave you that letter?!!"
"...Kihihihihihi. How many times do I have to tell you? It's Beatrice. The thousand year old Golden Witch. If you want to know what she looks like, just turn around. See, she's right there. Beatrice is. Kihhihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi!" "D, don't mess with us, Mariaaaaaaaaa!!!" "Enough, Jessica! Maria, too. Don't you understand the situation?! What are you hoping to gain by saying stuff like that?! Stop stirring each other up pointlessly!" "...I don't understand. All of you are fine with calling someone the culprit? You only believe in Beatrice when you don't want to doubt one of your own. When you're trying to settle a grudge because someone who's close to you has been killed, only then do you want to believe in a human who you can attack with violence, and deny Beatrice."
"...Like I said, she can't be seen. Beatrice 'exists'. You all can't see her!" "Silence!!! I don't want to label you as the culprit, but there is no longer any doubt that you enjoy making this situation unpleasant and are providing assistance to the enemy!!" "...Kihihihihihihihi. Then what will you do? Shoot me? I don't mind. Very soon, the door to the Golden Land will be opened. Then all the dead will be resurrected. Right now, death is nothing to be afraid of. Kihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi!" "M, Mom, they really are suspicious!! We can't stay with them!!"
"But aunt Natsuhi, please, calm down...! There's no reason to shoot Maria! Please remain composed...! The letter was meant to provoke us, but it's nothing to be afraid of! Even the culprit is scared... scared of tomorrow. They're scared of the police! Right now, this island is free from the reach of the law, but that's only because it's isolated by this typhoon! Once the typhoon passes, the law will return! So you mustn't shoot...!!"
"...How can you stay so calm, George nii-san?!! One of these four is the culprit! No, maybe all four of them are working together! How can you stay so calm when one of these four might be the culprit who killed your parents?!!" "Even I have the desire to find the culprit and kill them...! But that would be simple barbarism. I will leave the judgement of crimes to the law! So no matter how suspicious they are, you mustn't pull that trigger!!"
"I, I feel the same as George-aniki... Aunt Natsuhi. Get a hold of yourself for a second... Anyways, it'd be bad to shoot, ihihi...! In times like this, I hear you should tilt your head back and say 'Stay cool' three times..." "...Let me make this clear. Witches don't exist! Not on Rokkenjima, not in the Ushiromiya mansion!"
Those words... were the final words of farewell... that settled everything. To protect her daughter, aunt Natsuhi would regard any suspicious person as an enemy. The only reason George-aniki and I were standing on this side was because, by coincidence, we had a clear alibi regarding the letter. If I hadn't approached the portrait... I would also be at the other end of that gun barrel, treated like a criminal...
Genji-san and Kumasawa-san and Doctor Nanjo. All of them were on Grandfather's side. Maybe you could say that once Maria started blindly believing in Beatrice, she was also on Grandfather's side. That's right, they're all suspicious. But is this really alright...?! If we throw out all of the suspicious ones so chaotically, would it still be alright for us to defy the chaos of the witch...?!
Aunt Natsuhi didn't tell them to leave with her own words. But with wordless pressure, she induced them to say that themselves. Because if Doctor Nanjo didn't say those words, this cold silence would surely continue forever.
"...Calm yourself, Natsuhi-san. But I understand your feelings well. I myself feel like there's something wrong with my head after all of these strange, repeated cases... So I understand well why you want to suspect us..." "...If you really have nothing to do with this... I would think that what I am doing is beyond rude. However, please understand, just this once."
"...I... I don't want to...! After all, that means we'll have to leave this room knowing that the wolf is among us, right...?! I don't want to Madam, please forgive me. Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...!"It was obvious what Kumasawa-san was trying to say. If she was innocent, then she was being ejected into dangerous territory along with the culprit. In the current situation, urging her to leave this room along with the suspects was almost exactly the same as letting her get killed... However, Kumasawa-san really was suspicious just for being the first one to discover that Kanon-kun had been murdered. At that time, everyone except Kumasawa-san had an alibi. As long as the use of some device... or the existence of some 19th person could not be established, Kumasawa-san was by far the most likely suspect.
I didn't want to believe it. However, aunt Natsuhi and the rest of us were in such a difficult situation that we couldn't help doubting her as well... So we didn't say anything to stop aunt Natsuhi from trying to oppressively chase them from the room. We had stopped her from shooting, but we were passively agreeing to chase the others out of the room...!
On top of that, Maria spoke to the fretful Kumasawa-san.
BGM: None
However, the three other people had agreed to leave the room. Kumasawa couldn't fight the flow, and had to agree, crying as she left the room...
"...Well then, Natsuhi-san. That will be all for tonight. Let us meet again tomorrow." "...Yes. Please understand, at least for tonight. When the police come, all of us will surely apologize for our rudeness. You may play chess, but do it in a safe place if you can. Genji, I leave it to you."
"...Certainly."
"...Ho, hohoho... It can't be helped, can it... They always say that the most frightening bears are those with their children." "...Genji, Kumasawa, my sincere apologies. Let us meet again tomorrow. Maria-chan too... Please forgive your cold aunt."
"Uu-. Maria forgives. Uu-!"
"...And, I will also hand over my bundle of keys to the inside of the mansion."He took out a bundle of about ten keys of various shapes, and handed it over. To the servants, those keys were probably proof of their position. Being placed in charge of those keys meant that they were trusted, relied upon. When they were forced to return them, it meant that they had lost that trust. Thinking about it this way, to Genji-san, who had worked here for a span of many years, there could be no greater shame.
However, Genji-san's usual indifferent expression remained on his face.
"...Genji. I had planned that, after Father passed away, I would reward you for your many years of hard work and allow you to retire. And yet, treating you like this... makes me feel ashamed from the bottom of my heart..."
"I have already received the Master's favor. Everything I have done until today has been in repayment for that. Please, do not worry over it." "...Well, then, shall we, everyone? Good night to you all."
"Uu-. Good night. Battler too, good night, uu-!"
"...Ah, ...Maria. Wait a sec."Knowledge of my crime made me call Maria back.
BGM: Voiceless
"...This repels magic, I think. ...Wear it." "Uu-...? Didn't you say you dropped it..."
"...Back then, I was a little annoyed, and I was just bluffing that I'd lost it. There's no way I'd lose my precious charm." "..."
"...Well then, everyone, good night to you..."We watched them leave, our expressions completely tired out, and we weren't even able to respond. Until the door closed and we heard the auto-lock, we were unable to breathe...
Then, we were finally allowed to take a breath. After that, I noticed that Beatrice's letter, which I had been gripping the whole time and which was soaked with my sweat, actually had two sheets. The paper had been tightly stuck together, so I had mistakenly thought that there was only one.
Inside the circle, a large triangle and a small triangle were fit together in a simple design. But just as before, there was writing in Hebrew, and it seemed clear that it held some kind of meaning. I wanted to know what that could be, but we had just chased Maria, the only person who could understand the meaning of magic circles, out of the room... I thought of this magic circle as Beatrice's second message. What does this magic circle mean? Damn it...!
After chasing out all the suspicious people, all we had to do was stay barricaded here until morning, and everything would probably be over. Once the typhoon has passed, when the seagulls cry, everything may be resolved. But the letter, which had unexpectedly appeared in the study, forced us to reject that naivety. It had made it very clear that, if time ran out, it would mean the witch's victory.
When time runs out, is the witch planning to take on the offensive? This time, is she planning to display some fearful magical power, maybe something that could have been used to kill six adults at once? Wait, when is time supposed to run out? I don't know... anything...
Of course, none of us felt like breathing a sigh of relief.
At least, not until we could hear the cry of the seagulls once more...