Memories 56-58

[thinkoutsidethebox]

"You're the culprit, Ushiromiya Natsuhi." [EP5] Form of five Jasper-colored candies. 4/5 remaining.

Right now, no humans exist on this island except for those in this parlor.
And, with one exception, it has been shown that none of them have committed murder.

And, the culprit is among these people.
"......Whoa, whoa. ...In that case, ...it's conclusive, isn't it...?"
"Unless the culprit is a witch who committed murder with magic, that is..."
"......It was you?! You killed George, killed my husband?! Why?!! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!!"
"I, ...I didn't kill anyone...! I, I, d, didn't...!!"
"....................."
In a panic, and with a voice that really couldn't be called flowing, ......in a manner that was, to put it coldly, unsightly...Natsuhi oba-san denied the suspicion placed upon her...
However, ......there was no longer any way around it...

She・・ stood up, ...brushed back her long hair, pointed at Natsuhi oba-san and said it one more time.
"......You're the culprit. Ushiromiya Natsuhi-san."
Red-faced and tear-streaked, ......Eva walked up to Natsuhi......and grabbed her by the collar.
Then, wordlessly, she slapped Natsuhi's cheek.
Natsuhi, who had never been slapped in her life, was shocked by the taste of iron, which she was feeling for the first time.
It turned into a scuffle between Eva and Natsuhi.

Battler immediately tried to stop them, but Eva planted a sharp knee into Battler's gut and he doubled over.
"Give them back, give back George and my husband!! Why did you kill them?! You murderer, murdereeeeeeeer!!"
Sobbing, Eva kicked Natsuhi, who had fallen to the ground, over and over.
Battler tried once more to cut in and stop them, but he was brushed aside, ......and after that, no one tried to stop them.
Repeating her son and husband's names over and over, Eva kicked Natsuhi. And kicked her.
Then she started grabbing whatever her eyes fell upon and throwing it.
......Natsuhi was hit with a steaming teacup, ...hit by a can of black tea, whose tea leaves fell out all over her.
She was kicked, her hair pulled and dragged up, her cheek slapped so many times that it started to swell.
No one tried to stop it.
It wasn't because they were worried about Eva kicking them too.

It was because they thought it an appropriate act of retribution for a person who had lost her beloved son and husband.
A proper...retribution.
A proper...truth.

Everyone in the parlor accepted that Natsuhi was the culprit......They accepted the truth Erika claimed.
So it became a proper truth, and Natsuhi was designated as the proper culprit.

She had already lost the husband and daughter who might have protected her, ......and even Kinzo, who should have given her a final bit of strength, had already vanished like a bubble in the ocean of illusions......
No longer...would anyone protect her.
No longer...would anyone believe her.

So she was now...the true culprit.
Eva's shoulders heaved with her heavy breathing.
......Apparently, her anger still hadn't abated.
Erika patted her shoulder and made Eva take a step back.
......Of course, this wasn't to protect Natsuhi from violence.

It was to further humiliate Natsuhi, ......now that she had been branded as the culprit.
"Natsuhi-san. I've solved two of the three riddles. The 'who dunnit'. The 'how dunnit'. The final riddle--the 'why dunnit'--must always be confessed by the culprit herself. Please follow the rules of the mystery genre and confess."
The 'why dunnit'......refers to the motive.
"If this was a third-rate mystery, ......Natsuhi-san would let out a high-pitched laugh about now, confess to the crime, and start telling the story of her sad past. ......Don't tell me you intend to make me explain that part as well?"
"......I am not the culprit!! Someone, believe me!! I just had my husband taken hostage, was threatened, ......and fell into a trap...!!"
Natsuhi, with her hair a mess and her face red and tear-streaked......protested to everyone, ......but no one met her gaze.

Because it has already been resolved that Natsuhi was the culprit.
Because Lambdadelta had acknowledged that the culprit of the tale was Natsuhi and woven it that way, none of the pieces would pay any heed to Natsuhi's......to 'the culprit's' words...
"Natsuhi isn't the culprit!! I am the Golden Witch, Beatrice!! I am the one who commands Rokkenjima's night and who has reigned since long before the time you were all still scared of the dark!"
"Why can't you just call it my sin? Why must you suspect Natsuhi?!! Acknowledge me!! I committed all the crimes!! There's no way a human is the culpriiiiiiiiiit!!"
The Illusion of the Witch had already been crushed, ......and Beato's voice didn't reach anyone.
The verdict had already been made.

After this, Things happen in the meta world, including Battler's objection and death.

Verifying locations and sealing up everyone in the guesthouse. [EP6] Form of a small, unmelting chunk of ice. Hold it until your hand goes numb. Unlimited uses.

Erika suddenly clapped her hands as though she had just remembered something, then whispered in Hideyoshi's ear, interrupting the old story, which he had grown very engrossed with.
"......Sorry, I'm going to go the cousins' room for a second. There's one little thing I just need to check on with the servants over there."
"Can't you use the phone? You just need to dial the room number."
"Oh, have you forgotten? It seems the culprit has broken the phones."
"Wait, you don't mean......you've found some kind of contradiction in their testimonies?"
Up until this point, Erika had spent a lot of time giving the impression that she behaved like a detective. So, Hideyoshi immediately assumed that this was something vital to do with the crime.
"It'll be easy to check, ......but it might be a huge lead. ......I'll be quick about it. Please don't let anyone leave this room."
"Even though it's the next room over, it's too dangerous to go alone. You sure you don't want to take someone with you?"
"The servants and Nanjo-san are completely untrustworthy. ......You're in charge of this room. George-san is needed to support you. There's no one left. ......Don't worry, the detective never gets attacked."
Erika had already worked hard to look like a sharp, clearheaded person.

Hideyoshi relaxed and agreed, thinking that it was just next door and wouldn't be a problem...
"After an hour......no...... Better not to wander around. I'll stay over there until morning. It'll be better if I wait until it gets light before I come back."
"Good thinkin'. Be careful."
"*giggle* I'm just going to the next room over. ......Take good care of this room. ......Please don't let anyone go outside. ......We've already brought everything we need up here, so there's no reason for anyone to leave."
Food, drinks, blankets, medicine, towels, tissue paper, everything.
The women also had their cosmetic pouches.

They could spend 48 hours without needing any physical item at all.
"I know. ......We aren't just here to protect ourselves. ......We're also on the lookout for the culprit, if he's among us. I understand..."
"......<Good>. Goodbye then."
"Where are you going, Erika-chan...? We promised that no one would go outside."
"Oh, Erika-chan remembered somethin' important she had to do. She's going to the next room over. Don't worry, she'll be fine."
Hideyoshi suspected that Shannon might be one of the culprits.
Since he also knew that Shannon and George had a special relationship, he apparently thought it would be prudent to mislead George about Erika's actions and motives.
Hideyoshi slowly opened the door and checked both ways down the corridor, his gun raised.
"It's okay. No one's there."
"That's far enough. For all we know, Shannon-san might take George-san hostage as soon as you leave the room, right...? It's careless even just to show your back to them, as you're doing now."
"Y, you're right... Then be careful. ......Tell me all about it later."
"Sure. Bye then."
Erika closed the door, pushing Hideyoshi back inside.

She then waited for the sound of the lock on the inside......and her smiling eyes opened wide.
Her expression had become ruthless and intelligent.
In this way, Erika was able to gain several hours during which all of the suspects were sealed up and she alone was free...
"Fi-nally, I can investigate to my heart's content...! But first! Ushiromiya Battler!!"
"Don't use my full name."
"Allow me to confirm the location of all characters present. Repeat it!"
"Of course, I am not obligated to respond, remember...?"
"If you don't, I'll just say that someone sneaked out while I wasn't looking, and that this person was responsible for the bizarre crimes that are sure to follow. If you want to show me an impossible murder, you should first confirm their locations...!"
"......Sure, why not. I'll listen, at least. Let me hear it."
"From now on, let's refer to the room next to the cousins' room as 'the next room over'. Does that work for you?!"
"That's easy to remember. Got it. ......And?"
"When I check the characters' locations as I am about to, I am not concerned with whether they are alive or dead. Think of it as the location of their body. And of course, I'm referring to the current point in time. Here we go."
"'The six first twilight victims are located at the places where they were discovered. Natsuhi is in her room, Eva is in the VIP room, Kyrie is in Krauss's study, Rosa and Maria are in the parlor, and you are in the guest room!'"
"............"
"Don't tell me you're already going to refuse?!"
".......Don't worry. I acknowledge it."

First off, it was acknowledged that the victims' locations were the same as the rooms that had been shown by the witch side's illusion.
"<Good>. I'll continue. 'Hideyoshi, George, Shannon, Kumasawa, and Nanjo are in the next room over!'"
"Acknowledged."
Just now, the humans who were in the room Erika had just left had been specified.

It was the role of the human side to check every one of these little details.
"<Good>. I'll continue. 'Everyone else is in the cousins' room!'"
The word 'everyone' drew a slight reaction from Battler.
......The intuition he had built up from all of his previous games told him not to answer this one instantly...
"......I refuse. Acknowledging that would mean that Kinzo's corpse would also have to be in the cousins' room."
"Ah, pardon me. It has already been shown that Kinzo no longer exists, so please remove him from the word 'everyone'."
".........Why are you using the word 'everyone' for the cousins' room alone...? Why are you so vague......when you could just mention the names of Krauss and the other five individually?"
"It'd just be too much of a pain to read out all of their names. ......Or is there something wrong? Does using the word 'everyone' create a problem with some trick of yours...?"
".................."
If Battler had been told to repeat 'Krauss, Rudolf, Jessica, Genji, Gohda, and Kanon are in the cousins' room', he would probably have responded with the red without thinking too much about it.

Of course. Normally, Erika would have mentioned the names of everyone inside and had him repeat it precisely.

Battler had paused, feeling some kind of unease because of that unexpected demand and the word 'everyone'...
"Excluding Kinzo and me, there are 17 people on this island. Six were killed and are lying in the mansion, and five are in the next room over. And, the remaining six are in the cousins' room. I don't think my reasoning is mistaken here."
".........However, since there are 17 people on the island, if we subtract six, then five, then six again, we're left with zero humans whose location has not been checked...but that sort of idea would be extremely dangerous. I'm pretty sure that this sort of trick involving names and numbers of people caused you a lot of trouble with Nanjo's murder in the third game."
".........Good point. ......That trick worked because the 18 names given didn't match up with the 18 people who actually existed, leaving room to add in an unknown person."
"Exactly. And so, I can't feel secure just by checking their location by name. ......That's why I used the word 'everyone'. That word can prevent you from using a new trick that I haven't even thought of."
"............I see. ......Pretty crafty of you..."
If Battler was planning a new trick where the names and number of people would be used to create false alibis, like the murder of Nanjo in the third game...
Even naming off all 17 people and checking their positions left a trace of uncertainty behind.

And if he skillfully managed to slip somebody past the names and numbers of people...
"For example, let's say that an unknown assassin X is hiding on this island. ......Let's call him Purupurupiko-Man."
"......I see, Even if you list everyone's names and check their locations, this Purupurupiko-Man guy would fall outside the net."
"Precisely. Even hearing 'there are only 17 people on this island, and here are the locations of 17 people' is insufficient. There's already a precedent for this."
".........However, the word 'everyone' is just too broad. Can't you word it a little better...?"
"......No, ......if we run away from the word 'everyone' here, there's a chance that Erika will be able to use that as a basis for making Purupurupiko-Man the culprit for everything. ......In my old fights with you, I also nailed several riddles with no basis other than the unknown person X."
"The word 'everyone' is significant. ......Make sure you think ve~ry carefully first."

Erika wore a full but evil smile, confident that she had made a powerful move.
......Players on the witch side must eradicate all possibilities that would be possible for humans.

If I don't crush any chances for this ridiculously-named Purupurupiko-Man right now, ......he'll be used to explain everything the witch does.

That was a move I liked to use in my old games with Beato.
Back at the very beginning of the fight, my counterattacks were all based on the unknown person X.

Because of that, Beato had restricted the number of people on the island, making it necessary to eliminate any unknown person hiding somewhere.
......In that case, this time is the same.

So, just like Beato did, I need to get rid of any leeway in which that X can exist.
The number of people on the island has already been announced, but since she's suspecting tricks involving the names and number of people, saying the same thing again won't satisfy her.

............In that case, I have no choice but to respond to her demand and use the word 'everyone'.
That word has a disturbing ring to it......and though I haven't figured it out yet, ......it feels like there's some kind of demonic killer move hidden within it...

Damn. After insulting Beato so much and saying that the witch side had a huge advantage, ......I'm getting this pressured just having to deal with a single line to repeat...
"......Deflection, right?"
"You mean the chess term?"
"Yes. ......It's a technique of putting pressure on an enemy piece, forcing it to move and making them weaken their own position."
"......I'm threatening you with the broad and powerful piece called 'everyone', pressuring you to move. ......With this, Battler-san will be able to perfectly guarantee the alibis for all of the survivors, and it'll probably make it possible for him to trap me in the later impossible crimes. ......What are you afraid of? Shouldn't this be a powerful move for you?"
"But it's a move that you're pressuring me to make. ......You're trying to make me weaken my own position in some way."
"No matter how good a move seems, it is a bad move when it is what the opponent wants... ......However, it will be hard to avoid the word 'everyone' here......"
The red truth can cut the weak reasoning of the human side apart over and over.
......In the past, I feared its ruthlessness.

However, I also knew that it could be used as a basis for a counterattack.
"So, ......the red truth is a trump card. ......Now I'm painfully aware of how Beato felt."

It can kill with ease, ...but it's not something to be used unnecessarily.
Using it carelessly can corner the witch side instead......
"......What will you do? We can put this on hold if you want?"
"No, ...........................Okay, I acknowledge it. I acknowledge that everyone else is in the cousins' room."
"<Good>! Thank you very much, Battler-san. Beautifully done. ......Oh, I'm in trouble. If a letter from a witch comes in this situation, just who could I suspect?"
She said she was in trouble, but her face didn't look troubled at all.

......On the contrary, she looked as though she had just succeeded in placing a huge opening move.
In the witch's game, even a single mistaken move is fatal......
In both chess and Shogi, you can't take back a move once you've made it.

......That last exchange had left a bad aftertaste, as though flesh had been torn and bones broken......
"That should be enough of confirming everyone's position. ......Shall we continue the game?"
"Yes, we shall. Dlanooooooooooor!!"
"Yes, Lady Erika."
"Let's get started right away. Let's use the privilege our merciful Game Master has given us...!"
"Yes, UNDERSTOOD. ......Gertrude, Cornelia. Use two rooms' worth of the three sets of seals we were given...!"
"Let it be known that-"
"We understand...!"
"Seal the cousins' room and the next room over. This means that everyone other than the victims has been sealed. No matter what happens after this, the humans within the seals won't be a problem!"
"By the seals on the doors and windows, the complete sealing of both the cousins' room and the next room over has been GUARANTEED."
For just an instant, a red longsword had returned to Dlanor's hand.

She had been given permission to draw it, thanks to red truth that she had finally gained.
......When the fight concerned these two sealed rooms from now on, Dlanor would be able to use that merciless blade, the 'red key'...

This overwhelming power could slice even the Game Master in half.
For a while, Erika and Dlanor grinned at each other, entranced by the ruthless red light that was burned into their eyes...
"......Senior Aide, allow me to ask a question."
"What is it......?"
"The players on the human side are to interpret the questions proposed by the witch as being the work of humans."
"......You are not mistaken."
"Then why are Lady Erika and Commander Dlanor...fighting to lower the number of 'humans who can commit crimes'...?"
......Cornelia's question was very simple.

Those two had made this move boldly and treated it like a powerful one, so it almost made it seem as though this move would greatly damage the witch.

However, if you thought about it......Erika was just strangling her own neck...
"We still don't know what sort of crime will occur in the future. Would it not be more advantageous to the humans if there are more people whose locations are not specified...?"
"......Know that now is not yet the time for the Lady or the Commander to reveal their thoughts."
"I apologize for my idle chatter............"
Cornelia looked like she wasn't satisfied.

In the previous game, Battler had desperately tried to crush the closed room of Kinzo escaping from his study using various methods.

As a result, Kinzo had escaped into the darkness of the night, and it had later been possible to treat him like an elusive phantom.
In other words, closed rooms were advantageous to witches and disadvantageous to humans.

Witches proposed closed rooms, and humans destroyed and denied them.

That should have been the standard tactic of this game...
And yet, Erika had created closed rooms herself......and sealed a full 11 humans in them.

In other words, ......this was the same as abandoning the right to use those 11 people when explaining all of the later tricks......
In the past, Battler had confirmed the location of certain people, but that had been to check whether certain pieces existed with which he could break closed rooms, a completely different situation.

...Why had Erika taken these 11 people, who were also her pieces, ......and sealed them in a closed room?
Cornelia hadn't experienced enough fights to understand this move, which looked as though they were trapping themselves......
"A disturbing move... What on Earth is Erika planning..."
"......It isn't necessarily an attack. In chess and Shogi, strengthening the guard around your king is a valid strategy."
"In other words, the seals around those two rooms aren't an attack...but a guard...?"
"That seems likely. Thanks to that, it's hard to lay a hand on the survivors. It'll be tough to carry out the second twilight."
"......Ah, ...I see. The witch side has an advantage when more riddles are presented......"
"Yeah. After all, if even one riddle goes unsolved, the witch wins. Each new closed room we present increases our advantage."
The riddles that the witch side sets up are equivalent to attacks.
The human side must perfectly intercept all of those.

......It's almost like a penalty kick face-off, where letting a single point slip by means defeat.
So, the witch side wants to increase its number of attacks.

The human side wants to lower the number of attacks......
When Battler had fought on the human side, he hadn't thought of the survivors holing up in a room as being particularly useful.

However, from the witch side's perspective, this strategy was simple but effective.
What made Beato incredible was how she had bluffed and sneered at that as though it was useless.

......On the inside, she must have been very worried about how to break down all of these barricades in each game. Right now, I'm sure of that......
"I see, so strengthening your guard to make it hard for a crime to occur is one way for the human side to fight..."
".........However, that's a simple move. ......That 'great detective' Furudo Erika wouldn't have looked so confident after playing a move like that."
Would Erika be happy after playing a defensive move...?

Though this move looks as though she's restraining herself......it's also extremely unlikely that Erika had played a defensive move......
"I'm sure......that this is an attack, not a move made for defense. ......Though I don't know what kind of attack it is."
"Next is our move......What shall we do?"
".........For the moment, she has, at least apparently, spent her turn on strengthening her guard to stop the second twilight, instead of reasoning about the first twilight. ...If they push, pull back; if they pull back, push. In that case, it's time for us to attack."
"But how should we attack...? The guesthouse is well guarded."
"Yes, it appears as though the area around the guesthouse is now under Erika's control. ......However, there are certain pieces, like bishops and knights, whose specialty is cutting behind enemy lines."
Battler snapped his fingers, ......and a single gold butterfly appeared from the darkness, ......then flew in front of the chessboard, trailing gold sparks behind it.
It landed without a sound, ......then transformed into a black piece representing the witch's darkness.
"X-ray. ......That's also a chess term."
"Yes, it's a high level technique. ......It's when a square seems to be under an enemy's control, but you've actually spotted that your own pieces have enough influence, so you attack."
"......Erika. If you really believe that you can stop my next attack just by sealing up all the survivors......that's a naive idea."
Battler raised his new black piece high.

......His target was a single open space deep behind enemy lines.
"How will you handle it...? This is my......response."
"Haah. Now I can finally stretch my wings. First off, let's take a midnight stroll to the mansion."
"You would take a stroll in the middle of the night to an eerie mansion where a killer might be HIDING? ......You must be very INSANE."
"I am not. It took so long to get this time to myself, didn't it? I feel like it's free time after a swimming lesson."
......Now that Bernkastel was nowhere in sight, Erika was regaining her high spirits.

She wasn't exaggerating when she said she could spread her wings.
Dlanor knew that she was risking her own destruction in this game.
......And she was not in a favorable position by any means.

Dlanor could do nothing but assist Erika so that she could fight to the best of her abilities...
"Alright. ......The locks on the first floor of the guesthouse are perfect. The entrance is sealed up with a chain lock."
Before leaving the guesthouse, Erika did a check of the first floor, making sure that nothing was out of place.

Then she found a flashlight and umbrella in the servant room next to the entrance.
"Then let us GO."
"Yeah. We at least have to check the cause of death for all six."
She unset the chain, unlocked the door, and opened it.

The freezing outside air poured in......
"......It appears to be quite windy STILL."
"Well, this body is just a cage of flesh to me. I don't care if it gets wet or cold. ......Let's go."

Natsuhi's confession of sin. [EP5] Form of a Jasper-colored cloth mask. One use.

"Then just say that I did it, okay?! That's what you want me to say, right?! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh...!!!"
As though she had given up and decided that it would be useless to try and talk her way out of this any longer, Natsuhi oba-san said that and screamed.
......It was a sad incident.

I wanted to believe that, despite the pitiable circumstances which led to her marriage into the Ushiromiya family, ......Natsuhi just might have been able to grasp a sliver of happiness together with Krauss oji-san and Jessica.
......However, by Natsuhi oba-san's own doing, Krauss oji-san, ......and even her beloved daughter Jessica, ......had been heartlessly killed...
It was even harder to believe that Grandfather had been an accomplice and hid the corpses...

However, judging by the clear testimony given by several people who knew him, Grandfather's mental state for these last few years has been far from what anyone would consider normal.
Perhaps, possessed by a mad devotion to the mistress he had lost long ago, ......Grandfather might truly have believed that Natsuhi oba-san was a reincarnation of Beatrice.
Where is Grandfather now?
Like Erika had theorized, did he really believe that he could revive Beatrice by carrying out murders following the epitaph, and succumb to Natsuhi's cajolery?

......Right now, is he holding some kind of disturbing ceremony with the bodies he carried away......?
"Are you........., ......satisfied now.........? ......This, ......is what you wanted to make me say, right......?"

Natsuhi oba-san sobbed as she spoke.
"......This is, .........your revenge, isn't it......? You, the man from 19 years ago...!!"
This 'man from 19 years ago' that Natsuhi oba-san kept mentioning was supposedly someone who had caught her in some sort of trap.

However, she had only mentioned that this man from 19 years ago existed, and she most certainly hadn't tried to explain what had happened 19 years ago...
"I'm sure, ......that man's underling is one among us here. ......I'm sure that right now, that man is ridiculing me through one of you..."
".........Then tell me...! Are you happy now? Has a bit of that pain and suffering you've endured for 19 years gone away...?! .........I finally understand. ...The reason you've cornered me so far, ......is because, ......you wanted to make me acknowledge that, right......?"
"......Natsuhi-san. Other than us, there's absolutely no one here. Please stop this insanely desperate charade and quit pretending that someone who doesn't exist actually does."
Erika laughed mockingly, but, as Natsuhi oba-san looked at us...

......No, as she looked at some being behind us, ......she hung her head and shook.
Then, .........she confessed to her sin.
"I, .........committed murder......"
"So, you've finally acknowledged your crime directly."
"No, this is not about what has happened today and yesterday. .........I will confess to a murder that occurred 19 years ago."
The adults all whispered together, wondering what this was about.
......Because they had never heard about a murder case 19 years ago.
"N, ......19 years ago, ......I, .........committed a sin. .........I couldn't forgive it. ......That, .........baby...!!"
"Baby? Now what are you talking about?"
"......On that day 19 years ago, ...Father entrusted me with a baby. .........Since I still couldn't bear a successor on my own, Father told me to adopt a child, ......and he made me hold a baby which he said had been brought here from an orphanage..."
"Do you have any idea, ......how humiliating that was to me as a woman...?!"
With a mix of conflicting emotions, of anger, sadness, regret and possibly defiance, Natsuhi oba-san confessed.
The humiliation as a woman that she was no longer expected to bear a child.
And also, the indescribably unpleasant feeling of being made to hold an unfamiliar baby.

It caused her great sadness and rage, and before very many nights passed, it ate a hole into her heart......
And then, ......I sold my soul to demons...

.........It happened when I went on a walk through the rose garden to the harbor, along with a servant holding the baby...
......I wanted to be alone, ......but that female servant holding the baby faithfully followed me everywhere.

I was unable even to tell her to stop following me, ......and therefore unable to escape from the child's crying......

.........That day...marked the beginning of 19 long, headache-filled years......
.........Then, we faced the cliff from across the fence.

If by taking that baby, ......and throwing it down onto the rocky beach far below me......I could undo it all...
......I really did listen to that demon's temptation.
"Then, .........for the smallest of moments, I thought of how wonderful it would be if I really could do that, ......and lent an ear to that temptation. ......At that time-"
The servant holding the baby stepped on a large rock, twisted her ankle, and staggered......

She leaned against the rough fence, ......and at that time, I thought I heard the fence creak loudly.

I told her to look out and tried to grab her shoulder.
"......No, ......I shouldn't be so vague... I'll repent. I'll confess. .........At that moment, I'm sure that......as I told her to look out, ............with both hands, I reached for that servant's shoulder, and with a thud, ......pushed her away hard......"
The rough fence snapped from the base, .........and the servant, ......along with the baby held in her arms, .........fell down towards the rocky beach below......
Even though......I remember that moment vividly, ...for some reason I recall a vague......and very strange feeling.
It almost felt as though instead of falling, ......the two of them were silently swallowed up into empty space.

So I didn't even hear the sound of them crashing to the rocky beach.
No, I'm sure I heard it.

But because I wanted to think that they'd disappeared, ......I must have erased that sound from my memory...
".........A, .........and then.........?"
"For an instant, ...I thought it was a dream. ......It was high enough that I couldn't see the two of them below me just by leaning over. So I didn't know whether them falling...or the few seconds before that...had actually happened or not..."
I must have been wishing that the child would fall from here so much that I just had a daydream...

Trying to make myself believe this, I hurried back to the rose garden. ......Then I decided to let the servant take care of the baby, choosing to take a rest alone in the garden...
......Then, .........Father asked what had happened to the baby, .....................And an uproar began over the disappearance of the servant who had been in charge of the baby.........
Eventually, the broken fence was discovered, .........and the two corpses were found at the bottom of the cliff...
......The child had been here for reasons that couldn't become known, so its existence was hushed up, ......and the official story was that the servant had had an accident on her own and died.

That's right.
I......stole away two innocent lives in one go.........
As for the poor servant......her family was graciously compensated.

Her aged husband, who didn't know the truth, accepted this even though he grieved over the unfortunate accident.

Then, just a few years ago, he died of old age, .........and I confessed the truth over his grave, apologizing.
".........But until this day.........I have never apologized to that baby. ......Yes, .........that's what you're after, isn't it......?"
"So right here, right now, I'll confess to my crime! ......I, Ushiromiya Natsuhi, .........did 19 years ago.........push you off a cliff......and try to kill you......"
......But, ......you didn't die, did you......

.........You're still alive, ......and you still call me 'Mother'...

.........You came to this island, .........and took your revenge on me, didn't you......
For these 19 years...

......You knew that the one you should have called your mother pushed you off a cliff, ......and you must have lived a very hate-filled life...
"......And now, ......you've taken everything I've gained since pushing you off that cliff, 18 years of my life, ......and smashed it all to pieces.........I no longer have my beloved husband and daughter. ......And I've lost even my honor, ......and am being called a murderer............No, ......I really am a murderer, aren't I......"
"Yes, that's right. ......It all went according to your plans. ......I'm now regarded as a killer...............How's that...? Is this enough......for your revenge......? My husband and daughter have been killed, ......I've been made to look like a murderer......like an adulteress even...... After seeing me living in disgrace like this, ............are you satisfied......?! Yes, I'll bet you're quite satisfied.........Because my family......my honor.........everything.........has been stolen from me............Ooohh, ...*hic*......, gaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!"
".........After all this, do you still claim that you were framed? Seriously, you just don't know when to give up."
"Can you hear me?! You, the cursed child from 19 years ago...!! Are you satisfied now?! You've stolen everything from me now!! What else could you want?! ......Please, ......just, .........forgive me........."
"......It's useless, isn't it..."
"Huh.........?"
".........Battler-san, did you say something?"
"It's all useless."
".........B, .........Battler......ku......n......?"
".........Yeah. ...It's useless, isn't it... It's all useless......"






"Ah......, .........aaahhhh...............!!"