prof | Let's Play Umineko, Episode 1 Scene 16: The Study

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BGM: Nighteyes

Eva has accused Natsuhi of lying about meeting Kinzo, in order to confuse her alibi and falsify the time of death.

She responds poorly.

Nanjo confirms this - especially considering how long it will be before the experts can arrive, the time of death is going to be very uncertain.

Not helping your case, Natsuhi.

She can't shoot, of course. If she shoots Eva, that's the same as admitting guilt.

What she needs isn't violence, but an explanation. Since she's not providing one, Eva offers her own.

When Natsuhi first opened the door, Kinzo was there. The second time, he wasn't. That's because, during the first visit, Kinzo left the room, without being seen by Eva.

How did he accomplish that?

After she left Kinzo's study, Natsuhi went to check the doors and windows. It would have been the perfect time to hide the body.

Hideyoshi doesn't want to believe it, but he can't think of another explanation. Natsuhi is on the verge of cracking. Probably violently.

BGM: Core

Which means it's about time for the detective to speak up!

The receipt in the door is a powerful barrier. How could Kinzo have gotten through that door?

Let's turn the board around.

During the time between Natsuhi's two visits, all exits to the room were sealed. So, how did he escape?

No, when did he escape?

The important thing about dealing with Kinzo is that you must never consider that there's something too insane for him to do. What if Eva was wrong? What if Kinzo was in the study the whole time?

Battler's counterattack, in summary: The door wasn't opened. However, when Natsuhi and Eva returned to the study, Kinzo was still there, hiding somewhere Eva didn't look. Then, after they left - and after the receipt was removed - Kinzo escaped freely.

With this logic, Natsuhi's guilt is no longer absolute. And that's not all!

If Eva thinks that a failure to provide an alibi implies guilt, then she'd sure as hell better have an explanation herself.

Eva just had the entire inheritance fall into her lap. Can she prove that she's innocent?

In the excitement of the moment, Jessica is hit by an asthma attack!

Apparently her asthma has gotten worse over the years. Thanks to Nanjo, though, she pulls through okay.

Regardless, the atmosphere of escalating paranoia has been broken.

If everyone keeps cool until the police arrive tomorrow, this will all be solved. However, Eva is like Battler in one way:

She wants to solve the mystery.

Battler is torn. He doesn't want to acknowledge an evil witch haunting the mansion, but he also doesn't want to believe that anyone in the family could be a mass murderer.

Everyone is too stressed. The accusations are flying because everyone is on the verge of panic.

Eva and Hideyoshi decide to head over to one of the mansion's prepared guest rooms, both to relax and to get out of Natsuhi's hair. After all, this is all pointless. The police will solve everything tomorrow.

The room has a chain lock. They should be safe.

If it's not Eva or Hideyoshi, and if it's not a 19th person, then the murderer is in this room. To stay here is to take a serious risk.

George is willing to take it. Eva and Hideyoshi leave.

It's getting late.

Looking for something to do, Battler makes eye contact with Maria. Time for a chat.

After that display, he's willing to compromise his beliefs. It's fine for Beatrice to exist. Anything to avoid suspecting his family.

Abducting Kinzo from a sealed room is a piece of cake for the Golden Witch.

Battler asks Maria to pass on a message to Beatrice:

If she wants to kill again, she should do it in a way that no human possibly could. Prove beyond a doubt that there's a 19th person.

How many people are on Rokkenjima?

The number floats in a strange space between 18 and 19. Neither is wrong, and neither is right.

It's not 19 people. It's 18 people and one ghost.

October 5th, 7:00 PM

While nobody talks about the mystery, everyone thinks about it.

If the boat is coming on time, then that's 9 AM tomorrow. In other words, we need to endure for another 14 hours.

She's no former hotel chef, but Kumasawa is doing her part to keep spirits up with some food. We've barely eaten all day, after all.

Kanon is under a lot of pressure right now. Shannon was his only family.

Genji seems detached from this whole event. He's not after the inheritance, so maybe he feels like he's not a target.

But why would he think that? Two of the servants have already died.

Isn't he a piece on Kinzo's chessboard, just like everyone else?

Eva and Hideyoshi's room is very secure. The door is locked and chained shut, and it contains its own bathroom, so they have no reason to leave.

Eva wonders out loud if she didn't rush into having a child without thinking it over first.

When Krauss married Natsuhi, it seemed for a long time like he wouldn't be able to have children. Six years passed before Jessica was born.

During that time, Eva realized that she had a chance of inheriting the Ushiromiya family. If Krauss couldn't produce an heir, then she could.

Eva waited until a time when Kinzo was unhappy with Natsuhi, and was able to talk him into accepting Hideyoshi as a son-in-law.

Hideyoshi doesn't think Eva's done anything (in this matter, at least) that she needs to apologize for. He's getting old, but he has no regrets about how his life has gone.

Eva and Hideyoshi talk the hours away, as if they were newlyweds again.

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