Memory 29 (trivial neutral)

[thinkoutsidethebox]

Missing corpses. [EP5] Form of a Jasper-colored scrap of paper. Eat it. (One use.)

Moving together after informing Natsuhi about the murders in the cousin's room, the family and Erika check Krauss's room and find that he's missing, his bed bloodied. Natsuhi insists on running back to look at Jessica and the others' corpses herself, but when they get there, their corpses are missing too. Checking Genji's corpse in the servant's room confirms that he's gone as well.

"......What's going on?! Where is Nii-san?!"
"Judging by this blood-stained bed...... I don't like to think about it, but we should probably assume that he was killed and had his neck cut open, just like the people in the guesthouse..."
".........Probably... Judging by the amount of blood lost, ...it's hard to imagine that he's alright..."
"B, but...... Where did Krauss-sama go......?"
Large amounts of blood stained the top of the bed, but there were no similar marks on the floor of the room.

Whether Krauss had been seriously wounded and wandered off somewhere...or killed and carried somewhere, ......they had no clue where this 'somewhere' was.
".................."
......Natsuhi knew.

Though Krauss had been sounding far from his best over the phone, he at least hadn't sounded like he was on the brink of death.
In other words, these blood stains had to be a setup.
That might not even be blood...
.........However, ......just what was that man thinking?
...What's this supposed to be...?!
"What the heck...............So, on the first twilight..., there were six sacrifices......?"
".........Was Krauss nii-san in the habit of locking his door? We just came in without unlocking it."
"......Yes, Krauss-sama did have a habit of locking up."
"A, at this house, Madam has ordered that all non-public areas be locked."
"How many keys can unlock Krauss oji-san's room?"
"In addition to the one key Krauss-sama held, the master keys..."
"Oh, all that stuff about keys is a pointless argument. ......Did you forget that Genji-san is already a victim? His master key is missing. That means all of the locks in this mansion are meaningless."
".........How boring. In other words, no closed room murders have existed or will exist in this mansion. ......Sheesh. This is getting to be a pretty boring mystery."
Erika laughed off this murder in disappointment, as though it was something she was watching on TV.
......I can't understand it.

...Why is 'her world' so different from ours?
It's almost like she's in a separate dimension from us...
"......W, ...was Jessica also......like this, ......in a bed?"
"............"
"......Yes, that's right. ......Just like George, her neck.........was cut......"
"......Jessica.........Let me be with Jessica... I haven't even seen Jessica's face yet...! .........Jessica, ...Jessicaaaaaaaa!!"
"W, wait up, Natsuhi-san......!!"
"The culprit might still be hiding nearby! It would be dangerous to let her be alone..."
Natsuhi flew out of the room and dashed towards the guesthouse this time.

...It was only natural.
Natsuhi still hadn't even seen Jessica's dying face.
Everyone probably thought that.
.........Of course, even Natsuhi was half thinking that.
The other half......was her desire to shift everyone else's attention away from the study.
Strange crimes had occurred, the gold had been discovered, and some relatives had even recommended Battler to be the next head.

Even in these twisted circumstances, .........she had to protect Kinzo's secret.
.........Aahh..., ...if my head...is going to be wracked by this suffering anyways...
......Please just let my head explode right now.

That way, I won't have to suffer any longer.........
"So, everyone. For Natsuhi-san's sake, let's return to the guesthouse for the time being. ......Though it's not as though seeing their dead faces is going to lead to any developments."
".........Do you even have a heart?"
"A heart? What's that?"
Just seeing her daughter's dying face wouldn't bring Jessica back to life, nor would it heal Natsuhi's anguish.
On the contrary, she would probably wail, wasting a considerable amount of time before being able to think properly again.

......This probably sums up Erika's screwed up argument...
..................
"

[...]

"Wh, ...what in the............"
Natsuhi flew into the cousins' room on the second floor of the guesthouse, ......and was struck dumb by the blood-stained beds and the eerie magic circle which looked like it might have been drawn with the victims' blood...
"......Where is Jessica......? Where is Jessica...?! Jessicaaa!!"
"In that......bed........."
"Bed? Where?!"
"Huh? ......George...? Wh, ......where is he......?!"
"Wait a second, ......what the hell......is going on here......?"".........This room was locked tight when we left. We can now be certain that the culprit has a master key. Once again, my reasoning was correct."
"Who cares about that...?! Where did they go...? Wh, where did everyone's corpses go...?!"

[...]

Just like the four in the guesthouse, Genji's corpse was also hidden in some unknown place...

[...]

"Pardon me. ......The humans have confirmed the disappearance of Genji's corpse in the servant waiting room. ......They have started moving towards Lord Goldsmith's study."

Erika now already remembers the red truth from EP5 endgame that after all these people's deaths, their corpses were never moved, so at this point she knows that they weren't dead at this post to start with. (And she didn't check their corpses herself before they vanished.) THIS MEMORY WILL THEREFORE BE PRETTY ANNOYING.