Let's Play Umineko Chiru, Episode 7 Scene 11: The First Culprit

[prof]

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Just what did you think happened in that room?
I don't think it was actually Beatrice's curse. It might have been a prank done by the servants.
A prank?
Maybe they'd recorded Maria's voice previously. They then called at exactly 2:00 and pushed the play button. They could've cut the power at the switchboard or something. Then, someone who had been hiding in the VIP room beforehand would make a creepy laugh, take the doll, and leave. If that's how it happened, everything fits.
Doesn't sound like you're really convinced.
I guess. If that was just a prank to scare me, the scale was way too large.



They'd need one person at the switchboard in the basement, and another person calling to play back Maria's tape. Then, a third person would need to hide in the VIP room to take the doll.

Why go through all that trouble?



I agree. A curse would be better. Did you ask the servants about that later on?
What's the point? They'd just play dumb. And there had to have been at least three of them... On that day, only Genji, Gohda, Kumasawa and Shannon stayed the night. So three of those four helped out with that creepy prank? It doesn't make sense! I couldn't ask about it.



You still believe the servants tricked you?
...No. I was probably scared and mistook what I saw and heard. The doll probably just fell somewhere, and I just had trouble finding it.
Are you trying to say you imagined the whole thing?
Other than the doll disappearing, there was no other proof that anything had changed. Later on, I talked to Maria, and she said she didn't know anything about that song or the phone call. I don't know if she was lying or not, of course. What happened that night... is just something I thought happened... and there's no proof of any kind.
That's ironic. Even if you had met Beatrice direectly, you wouldn't have been able to prove that, either.
The shock lasted for a while, but as time passed, I began to think that lightning or something had shut off the power for a second, and maybe one of the trees in the garden had fallen, which I mistook for that slithering sound.
And the laugh?
Maybe some strange bird. Anyway, I might have misheard something to get that sound... I act tough, but I'm actually a real coward. That's why I let my imagination get a hold of me. I tried to use that as an excuse to help me forget everything that happened that night.
To let everything be wrapped in darkness...
People are pretty good at forgetting things if they try. After that night, I'd feel uncomfortable every time I heard the word 'Beatrice', but I tried hard to not let it show on my face.

---

About the VIP room?
No. About the dining hall.
The dining hall?



And Ange wasn't in the room because of her stomachache. Her seat was next to yours, right?
Yep.
Was that the seat to your right?



What's up, Jessica? Why the confused look?
Well, uh... right... left... ???
You're so weird. How's it going, Will? Have George and Jessica told you anything useful?
A bit. That ghost story about Beatrice was pretty fun.
Ghost story? What are you talking about?
The one about Beatrice's ghost appearing in the VIP room at 2:00 in the morning. Pretty scary story.
I've never heard of that. I don't know who put that out there, but that'd be really rude, making up ghost stories about the women our Head is indebted to.
A model answer.
What?



That epitaph by Beatrice's portrait.
My apologies, but I have no idea what you mean.
'Behold the sweetfish river running through my beloved hometown'.
...What are you talking about?



That's a very interesting difference. You've lived on Rokkenjima all your life, right?
Of course. What's your point?
When you were a little kid, you were told not to go near the woods. Threatened about it.
Yes. They always said to stay away, since it would be dangerous if we got lost.
Because a witch lives in the forest?
A witch? What witch?
The Golden Witch, ruler of Rokkenjima's night. Beatrice.
Beatrice is a woman to whom grandfather owes a great debt. Don't you think it's a bit rude to treat her like a witch or a ghost?
...You don't know about the witch Beatrice?



...I see, so that's it. Then how did they scare you to keep you from going into the woods?
They said that wolves lived in the forest.
Wolves, not a witch... of course. Very interesting.
It isn't interesting to me. What are you talking about? What is this witch?
I'm just talking to myself. I have one more question.
Please, go ahead.



I get it. It's all mashed together in a confusing mess, but it's interesting.
Well, I don't have a clue.





You don't mean the Head, do you?
Bernkastel isn't asking about the two Beatrices involved with Kinzo. She's talking about who killed the Beatrice of 1986.
I'm not sure what you mean. What's all this about a witch called Beatrice? There's what we were just talking about, and that epitaph, too. Isn't it about time you explained all this to me?
All right. No point stringing you along.



BGM: 7 Weights

You mean the ghost stories themselves?
To be more specific, even the ghost stories are only one of the elements that create the concept.
You've lost me.



The legend of Rokkenjima's evil spirits, and the made-up story for keeping kids out of the forest... These were combined with Kinzo's constant cries of 'Beatrice, Beatrice' and gradually became the legend of the witch. Ushiromiya Maria became entranced by that fictional witch and begged for a chance to meet her. And then, someone granted her wish.
I'm still not following, but I'll just not and tell you to keep going. What do you mean by 'granted her wish'?
Because of the unfortunate way in which Maria was brought up, she became obsessed with the occult. Someone felt sympathy for her, acted the part of Beatrice, and played with her.



With this in mind, Maria's first meeting with Beatrice takes on a new light.



Even though they looked the same, Maria would recognize them as a different person who suddenly 'appeared'.



It's true that Rosa brought Maria up by herself, and that she was always busy with work. I do feel sorry for Maria, but still...
Don't ignore the heart. So, Maria believed for the sake of believing. She believed in Beatrice's conjuring trick from the bottom of her heart. That probably comforted her a lot. And, at that moment, the witch Beatrice was born.
Someone saw that Maria wanted to meet a witch, so they decided to play witches with her?
That's right.



So, when Bernkastel asks us who killed Beatrice, she means who killed the kind person who pretended to be Beatrice?
That's close, but not quite. It's not about the one who pretended. We're talking about two different people. In Maria's eyes, just like how her mother and the black witch are different people, Beatrice and the person who played that part are also different people.



You mean, even if you kill the character, that doesn't mean you've killed the kind person who was playing the part?
Even if Beatrice's vessel is lost, that isn't the same as Beatrice being killed. Let's say I call you on the phone - from my perspective during the call, the phone is you, in the sense that it's what I talk to. But what if I break the phone?
...I see. If you kill the phone, you won't be able to talk to me, but that doesn't mean you've killed me.
We know Maria once offered to let Beatrice possess her, early on in their relationship. That clearly shows that Beatrice didn't look like the portrait at that time.
So, if the person acting the part and the witch character they play are different people, we're talking about killing just the witch character itself. Is that even possible?



You mean that the person who played witches with Maria is the culprit Bernkastel's talking about?
That's it. But, as if this wasn't confusing enough, this chapel is now a world inside a cat box. The culprit is the cat. There are now two cats existing at the same time... one alive, and one dead.
Confusing is right. I'm still lost, but keep going. You're saying that there are two culprits?
Right. The human who can create and kill Beatrice, and the human who never gave birth to Beatrice in the first place, who can kill the entire concept of Beatrice. Both of those humans are here.
Then let me ask. In this Beatrice murder case, who are the two culprits?
Let's start with the dead cat.
Who is it?



It's painfully easy to guess. Your world is the only one where the witch Beatrice doesn't exist.
I don't understand.
Both Maria and Jessica told me stories about the witch Beatrice. However, when they talked about the ranking system at the dining table, you weren't there.
I wasn't there...?
Maria came to visit Rokkenjima with Rosa, and Rosa was sitting next to her. That's impossible - if you exist, then Lion comes after Rosa, then Jessica, then Maria.



It was the same in Jessica's story. If you were added to the ranking system, then when looking down the table towards Kinzo's seat, you should be on the left side and Jessica should be on the right. After that comes George on the left side and Ange on the right. Jessica and Ange will be sitting next to each other whether you're there or not, but which side of the table they're sitting on changes.



Every time someone talked about the witch Beatrice of 1986, they were all talking about a world where you don't exist. And, in your world, there are no ghost stories about a witch. To you, Beatrice is either Kinzo's mistress or his benefactor, not a wandering ghost.
The Head loved Beatrice deeply, did he not? I can't imagine why she would be made into a ghost story.
Exactly. If you exist, the witch Beatrice doesn't. You existence 'kills' Beatrice.
Are you saying I'm the culprit who killed Beatrice? That's... just crazy. How can I be the culprit if I don't even understand her and have never met her?
Flip it around. If you don't exist, Beatrice will be born.
Flip it? Are you trying to say Beatrice and I are two sides of a coin?
That's a good way to put it. That's it exactly. You're a coin, and Beatrice is on the other side.
I don't get it at all.
At first, I didn't get your existence, either, but I've formed a theory about you, after hearing all this. The important fact is that you're 19 years old.
I don't remember telling you my age, but you got it right. How?
Jessica said you were already the student council vice-president when she started, and that you became the president the next year. That means you're one year older than Jessica.
I see... and what sort of theory can you make, now that you know I'm 19?





Why are you the successor to the headship, instead of Krauss?
I will succeed the headship when I come of age. When I have a kid, I'll probably pass the title down to them when they come of age.
Then why didn't Kinzo give the headship to Krauss when he came of age?
...You heard what our Head said. He was used by the cunning elders of the Ushiromiya family and suffered much. THat's why he decided that only young people should inherit the headship from now--
In the world without you in it, there is no silver ring for the successor to the headship. That silver ring proves that Kinzo had a strong desire, which he didn't show in any other world, so see that you became the next head.
...I can't deny that you may have a point there. The Head always seemed to adore me particularly, and I was very young when he first promised to make me the Head when I came of age. He was very strict when he told me to keep up in my studies in preparation for that day, but I don't think my father was any less talented. Why did grandfather skip over him and make me the successor? I've thought it strange from time to time, but since it's always been that way, I never said so aloud.
Do you know why Kinzo wanted you and not Krauss to become the next Head?
Are you trying to tell me to not ignore the heart again? Do you think you understand how the Head's heart works?




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