prof | Let's Play Umineko Chiru, Episode 6 Scene 11: The Brooch

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Lambdadelta

Because the end of the game has now been ensured by the victory of the human side, she no longer stands in opposition to anyone.

As a previous Game Master, she also knows the truth, and has taken a position of non-interference.

Now, she is simply acting as an observer and enjoying the way her beloved Bern's face contorts itself...

In the cousins' room, the kids enjoy some card games. Kanon's playing, too.

Battler and George are high-level Sevens players, so even with his determination, Kanon's not doing too well.

It's just a game, though. Who cares who wins and who loses?

As time passes, furniture just gets older and dustier. Humans grow.

The fact that Kanon can grow from this experience speaks of the growth of his soul.

It's subtle, but Kanon is learning how to smile.

There's just one thing that Kanon doesn't understand.

He's learned much, but still doesn't see his own good points.

The problem is, her own reasons are a lot harder to put into words.

So he won't ask her to do so.

Instead of asking what about him she already loves, he'll become a person deserving of the love she already has for him.

There's a problem, though. Kanon isn't human. Not yet.

What don't you understand? Let me hear it.

Since this game began, a large portion of the time has been spent on Shannon and Kanon's determination to fall in love. I have no problem with interpreting that as a story of growth and teenage determination for a girl and boy who call themselves furniture. However, one of the assumptions they make feels really out of place to me.

Why is magic necessary. Is that it?

Both Shannon and Kanon call themselves furniture. These furniture have always claimed that there cannot be love between furniture and humans. At that point, the magic of the golden butterfly brooch comes into play, and as the miraculous result of that magic, love is established between Shannon and George. That's what they claim.

Could it not be merely that forbidden love between people of different classes would be impossible to manage without a miracle of magic?

Good point. I can accept that Shannon and Kanon, who are servants in forbidden love with members of the family and suffering for it, might debase themselves as furniture.

Then what is it that you cannot accept?

'Without the power of magic once more, marriage will be impossible'. That seems to be common knowledge between Shannon and Kanon. I just can't understand that part.

Trying to stand between two who wish to be wed is as foolish as standing in front of an arrow and trying to catch it.

Exactly. Now that George has sworn to protect his lover for the rest of their lives, he has no need to fear opposition and disinheritance from his parents. On the contrary, you might even consider that a perfect test for his love for her. In other words, they will be married no matter what. No one can stop them, and they've both consented to the engagement.

No one can stop them or impede them. Trying to break apart lovers is a foolhardy venture...

Yeah, and that's what's strange. There's no need for magic.

However, George has already sworn to it. He doesn't care whether his parents approve of the engagement or not. There's nothing standing in the way of their engagement, and Shannon should know that well herself. So why is it now, on this night where the proposal went so smoothly, she's still praying for a miracle?

The furniture claim that she will not even have the right to marry without that miracle...

And there you go. It means that Shannon has accepted George's proposal, but she knows there's still some kind of barrier that can't be overcome without a magical miracle. That barrier isn't something that they can overcome by their own efforts. That's why they need this miracle. If two people love each other, what other miracle could they possibly need to be together?

Hmm, I see...

And that same question applies to Kanon as well. The love between him and Jessica has just begun, but their emotions are pure. There's nothing standing in their way. They're already in a loving relationship even without the golden butterfly brooch. It'd be no surprise if the relationship they've started lasts for years and eventually results in marriage. There's nothing standing in their way, either. As long as they don't seek approval from Krauss and Natsuhi, it seems that they won't need a magical miracle, either...

Exactly. Kanon watched how Shannon lived, and changed his own way of life. Then, he let his true feelings be known and started a relationship with Jessica. If it were a one-sided love, then he might need a love charm or something, but their feelings are already mutual. They've already communicated their intentions to one another. So why do they still need a miracle?

So this is the question: Why is furniture not allowed to love?

So you ask why love is not permitted without the miracle known as magic.

And also, there's this golden butterfly brooch that's supposed to give the lamenting furniture the love they so strongly desire. Just what on Earth is that?

So, it can only have an effect for those who believe in magic and witches.

Correct. So, Shannon, who was capable of interacting with me, was able to make use of its benefits. However, if Shannon had dropped it on a sandy beach and someone who knew nothing picked it up...

If that person was shrouded in anti-magic toxin, they wouldn't be able to make use of the brooch's magic power.

Precisely. A witch's magical items often lose their power if they are not handed over directly. However, just as how a witch can manifest herself if her existence is acknowledged by a great many humans and the anti-magic toxin disappears, the power of that magical item can also be preserved if it is believed in by a great many people.

That's ironic. No matter what kind of magic we witches give out, everything depends on whether the human we give it to can accept it.

I have heard that the same goes for medicine. Even with the exact same medicine, humans who know of the medicine's effect experience it to a greater degree.

Oh, I think I understnad. When taking cold medicine, I've gotten the feeling that it's more effective when you read the description on the bottle.

Shannon had given up on the idea of a future with George. However, the witch's magic made her regain hope, and the possibility of her overcoming the odds rose back up from zero.

The power of belief becomes magic...

And those who make others believe are witches.

What if someone performed the same magic trick, but did it as part of a sacred ceremony inside an ancient temple, amidst a crowd of believers? Would it still just be viewed as a trick?

In that case... could this here be magic?

Oh? Will the witch who cannot use magic now perform it for the first time?

Yes, it is empty. And then?

You take it... turn it like this... and place it upside down on the table.

Heheheheheh. And then? What next?

Um... let's both close our eyes and chant the incantation.

Come, try to remember... what was inside the cup?

Hmm. Come, try to remember. What was inside the cup?

May I open my eyes now?

Y... Yes. Please open your eyes and inspect the contents of the cup.

Well, now. Let us see how well your first bit of magic has worked... aha.

BGM: Far

Could this be... magic...?

It may be viewed as a trick. It may also be believed to be magic. It all depends upon the toxin of the individual.

Then again... while this can explain some of the magic that's been used in the past, it can't explain everything. To get back to the point, all this stuff about believing in magic and charms... it doesn't answer the question: What was this golden butterfly brooch, which allowed the furniture, who strongly believed that they could not love, to finally find love?

If we blindly accept the story of those two Beatos as true, might we assume that magic had the power to cancel out their resignation?

'Why mustn't furniture fall in love?' 'Why is the power of the magic brooch necessary?' Yes, it does seem at a glance as though what you and the Beatos are saying provides an answer, albeit a vague one. However, let me say this as a Reader: I can't accept this as you've presented it.

You cannot accept it, you say?

The tragedy those furniture were struggling to resist was something much more immense than this would allow for. I doubt they could reform their way of thinking just because they were given a charm for making relationships. It's true that the brooch gave Shannon the change she needed to get together with George, but after that, she said she wanted to deepen their relationship without borrowing the power of magic, and even tried to give the brooch back to Beato. At that point, she supposedly rejected the miracle of magic for a while. In that case, why is that power necessary again?

Perhaps there is no way to say it except that love and marriage are very different things.

Let me hear it. What's your view?

I'd like to keep that to myself for just a while longer. And of course, watching you form doubts and let your mind race is one of the joys of being read aloud to. If I gave you my views, you would accept them and stop thinking. Then, having you read aloud would be no fun.

So you're having me read a mystery novel you already know the answer to, just so you can enjoy watching me blunder about.

Well, I am the Witch of Theatergoing. If you wish to laugh at my bad taste, please do not hold back.

Wa ha ha ha.

Pff, hahahahahaha...

When someone prays to do well on a test, that prayer has no direct power to change their score. However, that prayer still does hold a bit of influence in their heart.

When Shannon first received the brooch, it was probably just a good luck charm.

Shannon and Kanon are fighting for something much greater than simple sleight of hand.

A true miracle.

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