Memory 9 (trivial negative)

[thinkoutsidethebox]

vs. MARIA. "...Let it be known that this fight has no point..." [EP6] Form of a jasper-colored spun sugar bird.

The cousins (George, Jessica, Battler and Maria), plus Shannon and Erika, are gathered having tea. As usual, <brackets> denote English. ALLCAPS means the word was written in katakana.

MARIA: Uu-!! Uu-uu-uu-!! Beatrice exists! I've met her!!
ERIKA: Ooh, could you tell me about that in detail? You met Beatrice? And did she show you magic or something?
MARIA: Uu-! I see her all the time! Every time I come to Rokkenjima! And she always shows me fun magic!!

Denying the existence of the witch would always have the immediate effect of infuriating Maria.
However, Erika, who didn't know to avoid this topic, had challenged her head on.
But no matter how Maria tried to smooth over the matter of Beatrice's existence, she stood no chance of defeating the ruthlessly intelligent Erika in an argument...

George and Jessica hurried to calm Maria down, but Maria's anger could not be settled by this point.

ERIKA: <Good>! So, she showed you magic? Could you explain in detail what kind of magic?
MARIA: She would always use magic to give me candy as a present!! Beato can create candy with magic!!
ERIKA: She just took it out of her pocket, didn't she?
MARIA: No, she didn't!! It was magic! It was incredible!! Tons of candies poured out of an empty cup!
BATTLER: W, wow, that's some awesome magic...
GEORGE: That's right, that really would be magic...!
MARIA: Yeah, it was magic!! It really was empty!! I checked inside it myself!!
ERIKA: Huh? What do you mean, you checked inside it?
JESSICA: G, give it a rest, Erika-san... She's just a kid...
SHANNON: Anyways, Erika-sama, ...would you like some more t-...kyah-
ERIKA: <No thank you>. I'm having a seriously intellectual discussion over here. You outsiders can stay out of this! You'll have to tell me in more detail, Maria-san. What do you mean when you say that you checked inside it? Fortunately, we have right here with us a tea cup that's just been overturned and emptied! Come on, be my guest and reenact what happened then, okay?! Let's see it, if you would, let's see it!!
After holding the cup of black tea, which she had just overturned and was still dripping, upside down over the table, Erika slammed it down hard and slid it over to Maria.
Erika's eyes glowed repulsively, like those of a snake about to snap up a frog.

Those eyes were ice-cold and had a madness in them that made one want to avert their gaze.
On the other hand, Maria was glaring furiously, her whole body shaking uncontrollably, in the greatest expression of anger that a human can manage.

The look on her face was frightening...not at all something one would expect to see on a nine year old girl.

SHANNON: S, stop it, both of you...!
MARIA: Uuu--!!! Okay!! So Beatrice took the empty cup!! Then she did this!! And she put it upside down on the table!!
ERIKA: Yes, and then what?! Did she then lift it up and candies flowed out?! Incredible, that really would be magic, right? ...It *would* be!!!
Battler and the others tried to get between the two and calm them down, but it was no use.

The two violently pushed aside the others, and, glaring at each other from so close that their foreheads banged together, they repeatedly slammed down the upside down cup on the table.
The sound of their foreheads banging together and the cup being slapped down...shattered the barrier between reality and illusion...!!

[A SCENE CHANGE. Instead of being in the lounge of the mansion, they are in the golden rose garden in the meta world. Battler, George and Jessica aren't there anymore, but Dlanor, Cornelia, Gertrude and Sakutaro are, and Maria is now wearing her witch dress.]

MARIA: It is magic, it is magic!! Beato used magic to make candies appear!!
ERIKA: Then why don't you reproduce it for us?!! Founder of Mariage Sorciere, MARIA, the Witch of Origiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinsss!!
DLANOR: Lady Erika, this opponent is not worth your TIME. This battle is not worth FIGHTING...
ERIKA: Shut up, murder doll!! Alright!! How do you claim that the overturned cup was filled with candies?!
MARIA: Just turning the cup over won't make candies come out!! Because you have to use magic to make them come out!! Beato can use magic because she's a witch!!
ERIKA: Oh yes, magic, she used magic!! How did she use magic?! Did she swing a magic wand and tap the cup to make candies pour out?! *giggle*, no, that can't be it, right? Right?!
MARIA: Beato is a witch so she used magic! Magic is when you say an incantation and cause a miracle!! You can't use the magic that makes candy unless you say the incantation!!
ERIKA: Oh, sure, understood. <Good>, <good>, very <good>!! Let's see this incantation, let's see this magic, come on, what kind of incantation would a witch use? What kind?!?!
MARIA: Come, try and picture it!! The inside of the cup is filled with candies!! Try and picture such a wonder!
ERIKA: Ooooooooooh? And then whaaaaaaat?
MARIA: Look, the inside of the cup......is filled with candy!!!

Maria grasped the overturned cup so tightly that it nearly cracked, ......and slowly......lifted it up...
Then, ......from the inside, ......several cute candies poured out...!

Maria looked at Erika with a full smile, as though saying 'that showed you'.

ERIKA: <Good>!! Is this what you call Beatrice's magic?! Dlanoooooooooor!! Beat her to death!!!

DLANOR: ........................As you WISH.
SAKUTARO(?): I won't let anyone deny Beato's magic!! After all, magic is magic!!
ERIKA: Magic is impossible. You might be telling a lie about something that never happened!!
DLANOR: Repetition DEMANDED. Failure to respond will be a violation of Knox's 7th.
MARIA: Ahahaha, I'll respond! This is the truth!! This story really happened!!
ERIKA: This wouldn't have anything to do with a trick in the actual cup or table, making this just a sleight of hand, right? That would be against the rules, wouldn't it?!?!
DLANOR: Hidden devices and tricks are in violation of Knox's 3rd. However, if and only if foreshadowing has been presented, these are permitted by Knox's 8th.

Knox's 3rd prohibits hidden doors and devices that have no clues pointing towards them. However, by presenting foreshadowing and clues that point towards the existence of said devices, Knox's 8th allows them to be used.

MARIA: They had no such tricks in them!! It was just an ordinary table and an ordinary cup!! That's why it's magic, not sleight of hand!!
DLANOR: ......UNDERSTOOD. ......By Knox's 9th, we acknowledge that Lady MARIA witnessed MAGIC.
ERIKA: Ahahahahahahahahaha!! That's right, with the 9th at least!! Observers are always allowed to speak their personal opinions! Otherwise, mysteries where the culprit is seen dressed up as a woman and it's written 'I saw a woman' would all be disqualified!! Sure, that's fine, claim that you saw magic all you want!! All truths are nothing more than claims! So, I'll make a claim separate from yours and smash right through yours!! That is the detective's duty, and the time we shine the mooooooost!!
MARIA: You can't break through this, this is magic!!!
ERIKA: Since it is magic, only witches can use it, right?
MARIA: That's right, only witches can use it!!
ERIKA: ...So, if a human like me could use it too, that would mean it isn't magic, right?
MARIA: You can't use it!!! Only Beato can use magic!!
ERIKA: <Good>!! Then why don't I show you?!! I'll make candy appear from out of this empty cup!!
MARIA: If you think you can, just try!! Impossible, impossible, useless, useless! There's no way a human can do it!!
ERIKA: Then please, please, please just relax and watch!! Okay, here we have an empty cup. Is that okay? It is, isn't it? Then we turn it over on the table like this!!
CORNELIA: ......Let it be known that this fight has no point...
GERTRUDE: ............
ERIKA: Okay, can you say the incantation for creating candies? In fact, why don't we say it together? Come, try and picture it!!
MARIA: The inside of the cup is filled with candy!! Try and picture such a wonder!!
ERIKA: <Stooop>!! Maria-san. Why do you close your eyes when you say the incantation? Why not witness the miracle of magic?
MARIA: Humans are stained by the anti-magic toxin!! If a lowly human saw it, the miracle of magic would be wiped out of existence!! That's why there's a rule that says lowly humans have to close their eyes when using magic!!
ERIKA: I see, I see. Okay, I understand the protocol used by humans performing magic!! In other words, not once have you ever witnessed the moment the magic happened! Isn't that right?! Look, it's done! Please, try and lift up the cup, okay...? After all, I've used the magic to make candies appear.
MARIA: There's no way someone who makes fun of witches could use the candy magic...!
ERIKA: But if it actually did work, all the better.

After glaring at Erika with the utmost of malice, ......Maria slowly stretched her hand out towards the overturned cup...

......There was no way that Erika, someone who made fun of witches like this, could ever use magic.
There was no way that there'd be candy there...

ERIKA: ............So, how's it look inside?
MARIA: .....................Ah-

......And there......lay a single...candy with a cute wrapper......

ERIKA: .........See?
MARIA: ............
ERIKA: ......This is magic, right?

Erika smiled gently......
A look of disbelieving shock rose in Maria's eyes......along with envy for this person who could use the same magic as Beato...

MARIA: Erika.........you can...use magic too...?
ERIKA: See? It's magic, isn't it? What I did there.

MARIA: Y, ............yeah!!
ERIKA: So, in other words-

Erika smiled pleasantly. ......She and Maria had finally reached a deep understanding...

ERIKA: You're a morooooooooooooon!!! While you had your eyes closed, I just lifted the cup up and tossed a candy in!! Call that magic? It's just a third-rate triiiiiick, hyahhaaaaaaah!!! There's my blue truth as the detective. Now, as the Witch of Truth, here's my red truuuuuuuuuuth!!!
Your so-called candy magic is nothing more than a sleight of hand!!
Just a sleight of hand that the fake witch calling herself Beatrice or whatever claimed was magic!!
I mean, seriously, did you really get tricked by such a stupid sleight of hand? The magic that your perspective speaks of is completely untrustworthy!!!
ERIKA: Everything that you ever thought was magic was just a trick that you didn't get!! There's no way it was magic! There's no way magic exiiiiiiiiiiiiiists!!
MARIA: ......Huuuh?!
SAKUTARO: P, putting the candy in this cup might have been your sleight of hand, but that doesn't prove that Beato's magic was also a sleight of hand. Uryuuu--!!!
ERIKA: However, you also can't prove that it could only have been done with magic!! You rotten stuffed animaaaal!!
CORNELIA: ......Please, allow me to speak.
GERTRUDE: Know that this is a meaningless battle.
ERIKA: You damn scraps of paper!! Why'd you have to butt in at the good part...?!!
DLANOR: That is ENOUGH. Lady MARIA has been shown that the magic which makes candy appear in a cup could possibly be a trick that she misunderstood to be MAGIC. Therefore, her claim that it was magic is DISMISSED.
SAKUTARO: However, it might really have been magic when Maria saw it...! Just because it can be done by a sleight of hand doesn't disprove magic.
DLANOR: ......Well done, Lady Erika. Congratulations on crushing Lady MARIA's Illusion of the WITCH.

The Illusion of the Witch is created by making the existence of magic be acknowledged by claiming that it would be impossible without magic. That is the attack used by witches.

If someone can argue back and say that it would be possible without magic, the Illusion of the Witch is defeated, and the witch must retreat.
The magic that Maria claimed to have seen had the possibility of being a trick, so it was unqualified to be acknowledged as magic.

That was only the result of this battle. It was still too early to bring the fight into the domain of denying Beatrice, the witch and the magic that Maria believed in......
However, battles will always end instantly when your opponent surrenders.

Erika had wanted to hit Maria with everything at once, defiling the witch and magic she believed in and crushing it without a fragment of compassion...

ERIKA: ..................Sheesh!! Just one more step and I'd have been able to take a heart as innocent as the smooth sand just after a wave has pulled back...and tear it to bits. .........What a shame. This isn't any fun anymore. ............Are you satisfied now?! Ouch, ...owowowow......

Erika grumpily punched Dlanor's arm that had been restraining her. However, that cold, hard, marble-like arm just made Erika's hand hurt.

SAKUTARO: .........D, diplomatic immunity...! This battle is over...!
GERTRUDE: Allow me to speak. Diplomatic immunity accepted.
CORNELIA: ......Know that this fight is childish.
ERIKA: Did you say something?!
DLANOR: She did NOT. ......Let us WITHDRAW. Lady MARIA is no enemy of yours, Lady Erika. There is no need to pay any attention to small fry such as THIS.
ERIKA: ............Hmph. ......You're right. How childish of me, tearing a kid's dreams apart. I'm really sorry, okay? I apologize for my momentary lack of elegance. *giggle*giggle*. Let's go.

Erika's group turned their backs on Maria, who was still crouching down limply.
However, ......as detectives in famous mysteries have always done in the past, Erika clapped her hands, stopped, and turned around.

ERIKA: Oh, that's right. ......What do you think...?
MARIA: ............?
ERIKA: Simply by the existence of the overturned cup, this level of reasoning was possible for Furudo Erika. .........What do you think, everyone?
MARIA: .........!

Erika's merciless words gouged themselves into Maria's heart once more......
*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*, ahhahahahaahahahahhaahaha!!!
Erika left, leaving an evil laugh behind her.

[...]

[BACK IN THE REAL WORLD AGAIN.]

JESSICA: Okay, let's go, Maria...! Let's play cards together in the room upstairs...
GEORGE: ......Erika-san. As an adult, I cannot condone that conversation just now.
ERIKA: My apologies. I'm still just a kid, after all.
MARIA: ......*hic*, .........*hic*......

After seeing that wonderful candy magic brutally insulted by Erika, ......Maria had been crying this whole time...

BATTLER: Haah... ......I started noticing it at the quiz party after dinner, but your personality is screwed up. ......Do you think this is fun?! Do you like tearing a little kid's dreams apart?
SHANNON: P, please stop, Battler-sama...! Please, for my sake, don't push any further here...! Please...!

Shannon, who had been looking flustered, bowed her head deeply and implored Battler to stop.
George, who didn't want Shannon pressured, fell in line.

GEORGE: Let's go. Let's spend this year in the cousins' room too. We can watch TV and play cards.
JESSICA: ......I've heard that Erika-san has her own room. Shannon, please guide her.
ERIKA: Oh, no need to bother yet. I'll relax down here for a little while longer. I want to savor it a bit.
BATTLER: ......What the hell are you trying to savor......pft.

Battler and the others could no longer hide their irritation.

They had no obligation to entertain their uninvited guest any further than this.
Erika herself understood perfectly well that no place would welcome a detective.
Battler and the others wanted to leave, and Erika wanted to stay.
Neither had any desire to stop the other.
Jessica urged Maria, who was still crying, to come along...

Then, Maria stopped and spun around.

ERIKA: .........Got a problem?
MARIA: Kihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi!! They do exist here and there...humans that are practically lumps of the toxin that doesn't believe in magic! There were many boys like you in my class! They don't believe in witches, or magic, or miracles, or happiness! You can't become a witch if you let the toxin of people like that burn you to ashes! I may not look it, but I'm Beatrice's disciple! I'm the Apprentice Witch of Origins! Kihihihihihihihihihihihihihi!!!

Maria, who had been sobbing until a second ago, seemed to have been transformed into an entirely different person. ......She laughed...no, cackled eerily.

Battler's group stiffened up at this sudden change, but Erika was watching calmly.

Then, she smiled and gave a small nod in response.

ERIKA: . ......You've got some guts. Goodnight, <Miss> MARIA. Let's fight in a more satisfying game next time.
MARIA: Sure, let's. It's a promise. ......Kihihihihihihihihihihihi.
JESSICA: Y, you stop that too, Maria...! Come on, let's go.
GEORGE: What about you, Shannon-chan? You can play cards with us, if you want.
BATTLER: Come on, join us for at least one round. It'll cheer you up.
SHANNON: Uh, ......ah...th, then, just for a bit......

Shannon couldn't remain in this suffocating lounge any longer either.
In part apologetic and in part trying to escape, she followed after Battler's group...
After that, Erika was the only one left in the lounge...

Still wearing a thin smile, she tapped a glass with her finger.
There was a light *chink*.
......A surprisingly boring sound.

Even so, Erika wore a thin smile, as though pleased...

Effects:
- Knows Sakutaro! ...He's a useless stuffed animal.
- Knows some more about "magic" and Beatrice ("It's just a sleight of hand that the fake witch calling herself Beatrice or whatever claimed was magic!! ... The magic that your perspective speaks of is completely untrustworthy!!!")
- Knows that she is the Witch of Truth and that does not contradict the above bullet point at all.
- Probably will fairly quickly notice the contradictions here with her EP5 memories! She remembers dinner and after dinner but definitely no "quiz party after dinner." And she remembers Battler realizing she's got a terrible personality in a different way. :'D So clearly there is more than one sequence of events going on here somehow.
- Bullying nine-year-olds is totally fun you guys. (More seriously, she's actually kind of upset and petty and unsatisfied here, which is why it's down as trivial negative.)