Let's Play Umineko Chiru, Episode 8 Scene 26: The Negotiations

[prof]

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I'm... going. I gave Bernkastel that key. It's my responsibility. I'll go and bring it back.
The City of Books, is it? But there's no way for us to get in. There's a barrier around that place.
She gave me this. WIth it, I can come and go as I please. What an idiot.



That's it. One of those temporary entry passes that you get when you turn in your invitation. As long as you have that, at least one of you will be able to get into the City of Books. Well, as long as someone takes you across the Sea of Fragments first.
Lambdadelta. Take me to the City of Books.
Ange.
This is my way of taking responsibility. I'll see that the Book of the Single Truth isn't made public.
Are you serious? That place is a den of monsters among monsters. Now that you've lost Bern's protection, you'll be weaker than a fly. Squish. The end.





No! This is my responsibility, my way of making up for what I did! If I don't do it myself, the future won't change at all, and I won't be able to save the cat box of the future!





What's your problem? Save it for later!
We're having an important sibling discussion here!





Huh? Why...? These are... the same, aren't they...?
No way... Why are there two? I was only given one of them!
I don't know why. At any rate, you've got two bells that'll get you into the City of Books. Now I don't have to sit here and watch the two of you play with each other any more. From the very beginning, this game has belonged to the two of you. There's just been a slight change in who the opponent is. It's a fight between Battler and Ange, who want to close the lid on the cat box, and Bern, who wants it opened. Ange has moved from Bern's team to Battler's team. That's all there is to it.
Lambadelta. Take us to the City of Books.





Stop right there. I forbid you to come any closer.
If you do... I'll kill you.





I've come to deliver our terms. There will be room for negotiation. Please open the gate.





Erika is led to Beatrice, accompanied by the Siesta Sisters.



We have been dispatched from the Great Witch of Theatregoing, Drama, and Spectating's Noble City of Carefully Selected Books. I am the Witch of Truth, the commander of the Library Fleet, which is committed to bestowing honor and protection to books. My name is Furudo Erika. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Shall we get down to business?
You ought to celebrate. We of the Library Fleet, dedicated to offering honor and protection to books, have come to bring good news to you all. First, I would like to announce that, after careful selection, the City of Books has acknowledged and accepted the game board created by the Endless Witch Beatrice as a great and honorable book.
Hoh. That is indeed a great honor.
That game board is a profoundly entertaining and original masterpiece worthy of close study. It deserves to be released for all of our subjects to read. And so, the City of Books has ordered us to grant eternal honor and protection to this game board.
This is all quite long and boring. Get to the point.
We demand that you hand the entirety of this game board over to the honorable City of Books. Doing so will give this board and its pieces the greatest honor and protection imaginable.



Are you not concerned that the shared property of all subjects might be destroyed in this assault of yours?
According to the Great Library Protective Regulations, when a criminal guilty of monopolization of a cultural artifact raises that objection, the executive fleet may prioritize arrest over its protective duties, as long as they obtain permission from the Great Court. Of course, we have already obtained the Great Court's written authorization.
I imagine the word 'arrest' is closely followed by 'dead or alive'. Am I right?
My, my. I'm impressed that you can read those tiny letters. Now, enough fooling around. Let's hear your answer.
What do we have to gain by accepting your conditions?
Both of us will be saved a troublesome task. Furthermore, your brave and noble acts will be written down as a glorious final chapter in the City of Books.



So, you claim that my only option is to decide how the library witches write of my final moments. Hahaha...
The rest is up to you. If you treasure this game board, you ought to surrender. The pieces will be treasured by our many subjects for all time, and will be able to continue their roles on into eternity.
Hmph. In other words, the tragedies I created at will shall continue forevermore.
How is that any different from what you've been doing so far?
It isn't. Is there anything else? If not, allow me to give you my answer.
Go ahead.





I'll be honest. The truth is... I am tired.
What do you mean by that?
My game already achieved its purpose when my fight with Battler ended. And yet, for various reasons, the game has repeated several times since then. To be perfectly honest, I am tired of it.
To be honest, I didn't expect that answer. So, you want to surrender? Really?
Simply put, I don't care either way. It doesn't matter whether I surrender, or whether we're vanquished by you. I simply wish to have the curtain closed on this game board and tale, regardless of who does the deed.



They just need to hold out until Battler and Ange steal the key from Bernkastel.



...If you do surrender, it may be a bit of an anti-climax, but it will save me a lot of trouble.
But, well... it is not so simple. You see, and this is just between you and me... as you may know, the great Lady Lambdadelta is staying here. She is, you see, pushing us to show her a dramatic climax.
That's a pretty cruel whim to force on someone. How are a few wimpy people in what's basically an already-solved puzzle supposed to fight against our fleet, with its hundreds of thousands of troops?
Very true, very true... the gap in strength is overwhelming. We told her that it wouldn't even be a fight, but... Well, Lady Lambdadelta didn't listen, and just said she would bring some of her friends to support us, so we should fight with everything we had.
Lady Lambdadelta's... friends...?



This is quite a problem for us, with Lady Lambdadelta all ready for action. Without any regard for us, she keeps calling up friends and acquaintances on the phone from all over the place, telling them to come over...







I firmly oppose taking a last stand that would lead to our deaths! What could possibly be gained by dying?
How can you be such a coward?! It is inconcievable that we shold live on in shame as prisoners!
THere are times when the mere fact of being alive gives one opportunities.
Yes, indeed, a short temper makes a bad leader...
Battler, if you call yourself a man, now's the time to act like one! The Great Lambdadelta is even willing to help out, right?!
I agree! These are times when a man has to make a tough decision!
In many cases, the timing of a decision is more valuable than the decision itself.
If we surrender, they might not be violent...
You can't be serious! Weren't you supposed to be a male lion? Where are your fangs now?!
If death awaits us regardless, I would rather die as a wolf than as a pig.
Are you stupid? Are you saying you want to die like a dog?!
It all depends on the strength of the support Lambdadelta can provide...
Lambdadelta. Are your friends really strong enough to win against them...?
It's a bet. Do we surrender and die, or do we lose a bet and die?
Interesting. In that case, our chances for survival might be higher if we take that bet.
An honorable surrender will surely cause the Great Court to show MERCY.
They're backed by the Senate, aren't they? Sure, they'll hem and haw, but we'll all see the guillotine in the end.
A-Anyway, let's all calm down! Cool your heads! I'm opposed to letting our emotions control us!
Why don't you calm down first? We have another possible strategy: Mutually assured destruction. We might not be able to win, but if we can convince them that we plan on taking enough of them with us, that might force our opponents to show restraint.
So basically, if they're determined to attack, we'll let them know we aren't going down without doing some damage first!
Kihihihihihihi! All of Lambdadelta's friends are incredible! She knows lots and lots of witches, beasts, demons and gods, all of which have really, really huge legends and histories! Even if those ships outnumbered the stars in the sky, Lambdadelta's friends would wipe them out in a single blast! Kihihihihi!



Enough, you gutless swine! Do you lack the backbone to finish with a bang?!
H-Hold on! Don't forget that some of us are opposed to fighting! I think we should surrender!
Whaaaaaaat?! Goooohda, you loser-loving fooooool!
Ow, ouch, Master, it's j-just an act, gyaaarrrrgh!
It looks like the debate has gotten quite heated!
So, will we surrender? Or will we fight back? Which will it be?!
Nobody knows!



We don't want that, either. I came here to fight you, but I'm no match for Lady Lambdadelta's friends.



But if Lambdadelta got involved, the carnage would probably be on an enormous scale.



Might you be willing to lend us some of your strength, so that my game board's beauty will be preserved? Yes, it was a great error to invite that busybody as a guest. Haha...
...I understand. I'd like to end this quietly, if I can. How can we work together?
For some time now, we have been arguing over whether we should surrender or resist. I intend to return to them and propose that we surrender and ask Lady Lambdadelta not to do anything that might destroy the game board.
That would please me very much. So, what should I do?
I would like you to guarantee that we have the necessary time to debate the matter. After all, your ships are surrounding and pressuring us at the moment. Everyone is so tense at the thought that we may be attacked at any time that they're falling apart. So, if you guarantee that we will have enough time to discuss this amongst ourselves, everyone will surely be able to keep their composure during that time. Furthermore, I will have enough time to convince Lady Lambdadelta.
Very well. About how long do you need?
Would you be gracious and avoid giving a specific time limit? If a time limit is imposed, everyone will just fall apart again as the limit nears, possibly leading to an agitated decision...
You have a point there. The most important thing about a fuse is whether it's lit or not. The length of the fuse is a trivial matter.
In that case... will you give us the time we need?
Understood. I guarantee that you will have time to discuss it. However, that time will not be unlimited. I will wait here and listen in on your discussion.





Is there some sort of problem?
Okay, okay. Don't make such a scary face... In that case, please wait here. This is a, um, confidential conference! So you must, uh, come no closer than this line...! Help them see me in a good light. If it's clear that I have obtained a generous agreement from you, that will be a powerful weapon in my hands in the debate.
...Could I get a chair?
Y-Yes, yes, of course! Siesta Troops, bring Lady Erika a chair and umbrella at once! And a hand towel, too! I'll wipe it nice and clean for you!


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