Let's Play Umineko, Episode 3 Scene 11: The Closed Circle

[prof]

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Virgilia

As a now-retired Endless Witch, she was Beatrice's teacher. She used the Endless Magic properly, and devoted her life to the smiles and happiness of many people.

She taught Beatrice the Endless Magic, and retired, believing that Beatrice would also devote herself to the people.

At the same time that she was Beatrice's teacher, she also served as the magician of Beatrice's home. Because of that, Virgilia had come in contact with her with the position of a servant. It is said that this became her downfall, and invited Beatrice's arrogance and recklessness.

---

October 5th, 1986, 7:00 AM
17 hours remain



Shannon and Kanon are dead, and that's only the beginning.

The twelve survivors are gathered in the guest house lobby.



The four rifles are held by Krauss, Eva, Rudolf and Rosa.



Eva suggests the possibility that what they saw wasn't Kinzo. After all, the body was burnt beyond recognition.

The six toes seem quite clear, but it might be concievable that Kinzo found someone else with polydactyly and murdered them to fake his own death. I mean, you know, this is Kinzo.



Let's review what happened. Six corpses were found.

Kinzo's burned body was in the boiler room. The five servants were found in different rooms throughout the mansion. Nanjo said that they seemed to have been stabbed or shot with some kind of weapon.



Everyone has withdrawn to the more defensible guest house. Right now, the mansion is a deadly place.

A letter was found in the boiler room. This is what it said:





The adults carefully locked the doors and windows in the guest house, then set up camp in the lobby.

The day has barely begun, but fatigue is already starting to set in.

---

Purgatorio



That makes sense. Both this time and the time before that - the servants who know everything about the mansion and who walk around with keys are all the most suspicious people. A good example in the last game is Jessica's closed room - if I had only accepted that a servant was the culprit, that wouldn't even have been a closed room.
Therefore, that child went straight for them. She probably blocked the only way of escape that you are running towards.
Beato already proclaimed in red that there are no more than 18 people on this island. Like, she's saying 'give up'. Now I have to suspect one of the 18.
That child will probably come at you by stealing the pieces for the 18, and descending as a 19th person who shouldn't exist, thereby making you accept that she is a witch. That is because her intimidation strategy of trying to force you to surrender by showing you magic has failed. She can only make a frontal attack.
Perfect. Bluffing won't work any more.
Be careful. Deception is a witch's strongest point. No matter what that child says or shows you, it definitely won't threaten the truth that you believe in. Don't forget that.
Sure. I'd hate it if the same moves worked over and over. Come out, Beatrice. Let's get started!



That is no problem. Teacher's moves are old-fashioned classics. There is nothing to fear.
What moves can you make beyond the classics I taught you? I am looking forward to seeing, Beatrice.
Hahahahaha, is that all right, Battleeeeer? If a person who denies witches such as yourself accepts a witch as a strategist...
That stupid provocation is useless. This is my adviser, no, my second. That doesn't change one bit that this is a fistfight between you and me!
I understand. You're so wobbly that you probably need training wheels on your bicycle. Do as you like. Come. Begin! It is your turn!
Let's begin with the reconstruction of the crime scene. Virgilia, please!



Beato, give me an explanation. Reconfirm the definition of a closed room.
Hmm. The term closed room refers to a room where the inside and the outside of the room are completely separated. Obviously, for any form of intrusion or escape, no intervention is possible. That comprehensively includes a denial of hidden doors, as well as all margin of intervention from the outside. Henceforth, this will be referred to as 'Beatrice's Closed Room Definition'!
Let me check the details. What is your definition of 'margin for intervention from the outside'?
It refers to all types of direct intervention from the outside, such as using a fishing line or a long, thin rod. In conclusion, there is no gap in the doors and windows where those tricks will work.
I wonder. Even if there wasn't a gap, you should be able to interfere with radio waves, like with a remote control, right?
Very well! I will add to this definition that it is impossible for radio waves and all methods of remote control to interfere.
There's also an extension telephone in the parlor. A device linked with that wouldn't count as a remote control, right?!
Although the phones are already unusable... oh, that's a pain. I'll include that, too. All direct and indirect methods of interfering from the outside of the room to the inside of the closed room are impossible.
What about a voice or a knock? Those should be able to interfere from the outside without entering the room, right?
...Even though it is a closed room, it probably isn't impossible for someone to knock or call out. Whether the room allows for a mutual understanding with the outside or not, it does not go against the definition of a closed room.
In other words, you can't define it so that even methods of communication are interrupted?
That is the case.
Understood. So, Shannon's parlor satisfies Beatrice's Closed Room Definition?
That is correct.
Closed room definition, understood. Continue, Virgilia.



Beato, repeat it. How many master keys this time?
Hmph. The same as last time. There are five, one for each servant.
Which means that this still isn't a closed room. There are still four master keys left. It just means that after Shannon was murdered, one of the other four keys locked it.
That is correct. Also, it wasn't only a master key that was found.
Yes... alongside the corpse, there was a western envelope with the family crest. Instead of a letter, the key to the guest room on the second floor was inside it.
The key to the second floor guest room... The only key other than the master key that can open the door to the second floor guest room. Is that definition all right?
Hmm. There is no problem. Unlike the master keys, there is only one.
In other words, in order to unlock that specific room, in addition to the five master keys, this is the only one.
In other words, this is a message telling them to go to the second floor guest room next. So, the adults moved there?



Kumasawa was in possession of one master key. The relatives collected this. Like with Shannon, there was an envelope discovered alongside her. Inside was the key to the third floor waiting room. The relatives moved to the third floor waiting room.
So there was a magic circle on the door to the third floor waiting room, and that door was locked?
Yes. Inside the room, Gohda's corpse was discovered. The room was a closed room, based on Beatrice's Closed Room Definition. Gohda was in possession of one master key. The relatives collected this, and an envelope with a family seal was discovered. Inside was the key to the second floor VIP room. The relatives moved to the second floor VIP room.



I don't like how this is going, but I'm starting to see how things will turn out. So, it continues like this for all six people?
Yes, that is correct. Inside the second floor VIP room, Genji's corpse was discovered. One master key was collected. The key to the underground boiler room was discovered. They moved to the boiler room. Inside, Kinzo's corpse was discovered. The key to the chapel was discovered. They moved to the chapel. Inside the chapel, Kanon's corpse was discovered. One master key was collected. The key to the first floor parlor was discovered. With this, our reconstruction of how all six corpses were discovered is complete.
A supplement. Along with the key to the chapel, a letter was enclosed in the envelope found near Kinzo's corpse. The contents of the letter were as you saw. It further urged the relatives to solve the riddle of the epitaph.
What's going on? If the last place had the key to the very first room, the parlor, where Shannon was... That makes six closed rooms, all tied together, right?



Furthermore, all of the doors and windows in the six rooms are normal. No device exists which can lock them without a key, such as an auto-lock. Hahahahahaha, what do you think? It's beautiful, isn't iiiit? Uhyahyahyahyaaaah!
As I said, Milady, that is not dignified.
Uhihihi, sorry, sorry. I just got in such a good mood playing with Battler. So, Battleeer? What do you think of my move? If you can't think of anything in particular, I can show you how I made the goats carry the corpses, and seal all of the rooms with magic!
Do what you want. I'll listen respectfully to this magic theory that you assert. However, I can assert my human theory, which is completely different from your claim, without any interference from yours.



Virgilia, let's reconstruct the crime scene! Search for a weakness! Were they all definitely dead? If one of them is just playing dead, this isn't a closed room at all!
Nanjo checked that all of them were dead. However, due to the Devil's Proof, it is impossible to deny the possibility of a wrong diagnosis. She cannot make the likelihood that Nanjo overlooked the fact that they were alive equal to zero.
Here it is, that Devil's Proof. But there's a sword which can carve that up!
What are those people doing? Looks like they're having a good time leaving me out of the discussion. I'm their opponent, right? Even though I told him to prepare himself...
Originally, as when competing in chess, communication with the opponent is not necessary. You spoke in riddles when you communicated and weren't making your moves, Milady. Perhaps it has come to this because he does not want to be led astray.
For some reason, I can't accept it.
You are challenging him to a chess match, are you not, milady?
That's true, but... muu!



All right, that's where I'll strike. Repeat it! 'The six victims are dead!'
Milady, he has told you to repeat something, has he not?
Hey, enough lazing around! Do you refuse to repeat it?! This is where our battle starts!
Wha?! Owowowow! Sorry, sorry, that's fine, I'll answer.



BGM: Dread of the Grave -More Fear-

Why are you so out of it? Alright, so the first one has been removed. That shortcut that they've been pretending to be dead has been denied from the beginning.
Hahahaha! I won't go easy on you any more, come at me how you like. I'll slice them slantwise one after another!
Then repeat this: No one is hiding in any of the six rooms! Show me that you can deny the existence of people we aren't aware of!
I'll answer. There is no one hiding in the six rooms!
All right. Now I'm sure that it's only the six of them in the can, and they aren't pretending to be dead.
What will you do, what will you dooo? Even though there's already nothing a human could do. Obediently kneel to the fact that I can control locks at will with my wonderful magic!
Quit babbling. Repeat this, too: The six deaths were instant deaths!
Instant death? Hoh, what do you mean by that?
It means there is a possibility that a single victim on the verge of death managed to escape into the room, and after locking it from the inside to create a closed room, they passed away.
A classic closed room murder. In the case where it is determined that the victim received the wound, and then died sometime after that. It is possible that a closed room could be constructed unexpectedly if the victim holed up inside the room to escape the murderer, and then died after locking it.
In order to deny that possibility, you will need to proclaim that the six people died instantly with the red truth.



Well, in its full meaning, it could take several seconds or even minutes for them to die. But no matter what, it would be completely impossible for them to take any action of their own will! In that sense, I can state that they died instantly!
Everything up until now has just been checking for a classing closed room. My showdown with you over the closed rooms starts now, all right? If the culprit isn't on the inside, they are on the outside. So, they somehow killed them from outside the rooms.
Hahahaha, have you lost your mind? Doesn't a closed room mean that murder is impossible from the outside? Therefore, it's impossible for it to be anything other than a magical murder!
No, that's wrong. A murder having happened means that it isn't a closed room! No matter how much you speak in riddles, this definitely isn't a closed room! It's just a sham that looks like one!
However, Battler, Only the victims are inside the rooms, and no other people exist inside the rooms. And by Milady's closed room definition, remote murders from outside the room have been clearly denied, have they not?
Wait. The definition of remote murders is vast, right? It's not just about pulling a fishing line from outside the room and strangling the victim inside the room. For example... a trap would make for an excellent remote murder!
A traaaap?
Just as an example, let's say they were instructed to enter previously decided rooms, and lock the doors from the inside to create a closed room themselves. A trap is set up in those rooms that they don't know about and they are killed by that. How's that?! Now your contradiction doesn't work!
There is no problem. It corresponds to the existing state.
There is no problem with Milady's closed room definition.
Kuhahahahahahahaha, what's with that stupid reasoning?! Nothing suspicious was found in any of the rooms, right? What form did that trap have?! Where was it hidden and how did it operate?! Explain that for all six people, in the parlor, the guest room, the waiting room, the VIP room, the boiler room and the chapel. Well? You can't, can you?!



Wh-What did you say?!
Beatrice, it's a Devil's Proof. The fact that he cannot explain the form of the trap does not in itself deny that there was a trap!
Well done. While overbearing, a wonderful move.
Tch! This guy is getting completely used to this!
Check. Due to murder trap X that they couldn't find, it is possible to establish this closed room murder.
Ah, I'll kill that check with the red truth! The six people were not killed by traps!
The definition of trap?
Oh. Um... that's it! Something invoked when a victim gets caught in it by their own actions. Aah, that's not all! Things invoked by remote control or by a timer. Everything like that is also included!
Pukuku... All devices that can succeed in murder without the direct participation of the person who set it up. I believe that definition may be appropriate.
H-How's that? I've struck back! As though I could let a human defeat this closed room!
...You're also frantic, trying to win.
Whaaaat?! What do you mean?!
You're frantically fighting to make me accept that you exist. Until now, I've thought that I was just being toyed with by you one-sidedly. But that was actually wrong. You're also frantically resisting my comeback, fighting to show that you exist! Now, I finally feel that that's true. This isn't torture inflicted on me about whether I'll surrender or not.



...And if you had acted out some strange magic, I'd probably even surrender. It's that favorite strategy of yours. You completely intercept all of my moves, and in the moment that I've trie everything and fallen to my knees, when my heart's defensive power is at its weakest, you show off some strange magic and take the game all at once!
She has always had a short temper. She still has that bad habit of rushing things when victory is in sight.
Pukuku. Because Milady cannot stand putting off a match.
Shut up, shut up! It's Battler's turn, right?! I have finished off the trap piece that you advanced! What should I repeat next? Show me what you've got!
Right! Now that even a trap has been defeated, at a glance, this looks like a perfect closed room murder. And that's why this is where I'll turn the chessboard around!
Here it is, your special technique! How are you going to turn things around? Try showing meeeeee!
Yeah, I'll show you! It's not about thinking how to kill six people inside closed rooms from the outside! Aaah, it's useless, it's useless, it's all useless! That's right, it's not about how to kill people from the outside. It's about how they died inside the room and created a closed room!
That's it, this is the answer! If you assume one of the six victims was the culprit, this closed room can be explained extremely easily!



Certainly. If the culprit locked themself in the final closed room, and threw away their onw life, this closed room chain would be established.
The culprit's suicide. Normally, it is an unthinkable move, but the argument that it doesn't exist because it is unthinkable doesn't exist. And he has no responsibility to demonstrate a motive. A truly powerful move, which can only be used in a chess match against a witch!
Well, you cannot say for certain that there is no motive. For example, it has been announced that Kinzo only had a short time left to live. He did not regret losing his short remaining life, and he used his own death as a message. It may not be impossible to attach that motive. Milady, it is our turn.
Urgh! Imagine that you would even trample on the dignity of the dead to create a culprit! What a heartless, cold-blooded man!
Setting up the dead as the culprit. This move is worse than inhuman, and it's one you used to attack Kanon in the last game. Even though the games are different, I'm taking a shot back at you with this move, as a tribute to Kanon for that time.
Just now, I have freed that Kanon from his regrets!
Kuuuuuuh!
You have no duty to hold back here. You should check whether suicide was not the cause ofd eath for any of them. I recommend that you have her repeat it.
Right! But suicide is a naive word that won't corner her! Beato, this is the end! Repeat it: The six were all killed by other people!
...That is painful.
Ugh! Kuooooohh...!
Hmm? What's wrong, six people were killed, right?! I'm just checking the simplest premise from the very beginning, right? Can't you repeat it?!



Refusing to repeat this part is the same as resigning, right?! Checkmate! One of the six was the culprit, and they decided on suicide after constructing the closed room! That's all!





That which you demanded she repeat has been falsified. Do not be fooled.
...Kkkkuuuuuuhh....
Pukukuku. It seems it was useless, Milady.
That's right! She didn't say 'the six were all killed by other people'. She changed it to 'none of the six committed suicide'! Which means that one of the people was not killed by someone else and didn't commit suicide! Aaaaaaah, I've got it. I've got it! This is the truth!





D-Damn iiit! Did you think I would be cornered by something like that?! I would never scream my resignation over something like that! I'll slice up that foolish checkmate with my red treasured sword, over and over again! An accidental death among the six people was--



My apologies. Our side requests some time to strategize. Please allow us a brief postponement.
It is just a request. Is there any problem?
Nope! I approve! I've been given those a lot lately. This time it's your turn to use it!
Thank you very much. Come, Milady, this way, and let us quietly count to one hundred inside our heads.



Damn, that demon butler. When Beato gets all flustered, that's an ideal chance to corner her...
Ronove is composed. He probably gave that child some time to cool her head. She was stubbornly trying to remove your check, and was going to easily let several large pieces go. After all, the first twilight is only a skirmish. She mistook her timing.
So, what does it mean? Did I create a checkmate, or didn't I?
That child was going to proclaim it in red. It probably wouldn't have become checkmate yet, but... probably, she will proclaim her resignation once she has cooled her head.
Imagine that. Even though she hates losing?
Yes. In a losing battle, it is essential to withdraw your troops as soon as possible, to try and minimize your losses. The difficult part is measuring whether it is a losing battle or not. It seems that her butler calmly made that decision.
In other words, in another second, she would have gotten away. It's not like I can get checkmate and deliver the final blow so easily.
However, you should measure this as your victory. It seems that they barely prevented a large loss, but without a doubt, they received heavy damage. You should be able to understand well the depth of that wound by watching her panic.
Seriously. Hihihihi, it feels like she's start crying if I bullied her any more than this.



Hey. It's your turn. Did you decide your next move?
I resign. For now, I will let you have your victory.
Well, now that you've resigned, in the end, all that means is that we're even, since my theory and yours can't deny each other. You should treat it more like a tie than a loss.
I don't need your disgusting compassion. I say that this time, it is my loss. When you find a dog drenched with rain, do you have the habit of whacking it with a stick, or something?
Nope, unlike you.



Could she have countered it if she wanted to? It seems likely.

And even after all this, the identity of the culprit remains elusive...


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