[jjblue1]

Originally Posted by Drifloon

Which is really weird, because the VN text implies that Rudolf's gun was used.

I wonder if they changed that line in the PS3 version too? I can definitely imagine Kyrie shooting Hideyoshi better than I can Rudolf, so it wouldn't surprise me if that's something Ryukishi changed his mind on or something.

In itself the novel can be seen as pretty vague because, even if the gun used was the one near Rudolf's body, Rudolf and Kyrie's body were moved after they were killed and they were revived and killed many times, which might have caused the bodies to switch position.

To make things vaguer, it's also said that Hideyoshi took the gun of one of them but the novel said it could be one of the other.

So the gun that was closer to Rudolf could have belonged to Kyrie since the novel took care to say it was unknown which gun Hideyoshi took.

At least that's what is said in the fantasy scene as likely the bodies weren't moved after their dead.

Due to the vagueness of the novel I like to think the manga is giving us an hint about Hideyoshi being shoot by Kyrie or being betrayed by her (in the magic scene he's shoot in the back). [Ep 3 chap 14]

Interesting enought the anime (Ep 16) uses a gun that's far from both.

On a sidenote I've always thought that EvaBeatrice represented the alliance between Yasu and Eva so in the mystery side she was nothing else but a Yasu who had sided with Eva which makes rather interesting her argument with MetaBeato as it shows the two Beatos having different goals.
MetaBeato wants to be acknowledged by MetaBattler but EvaBeatrice has no such goal, nor care for MetaBattler who, in a discussion, is defined as a person with which EvaBeatrice wasn't supposed to interact (and, interesting enough, it will be Battler who'll 'force her' to interact with him)

"I'm telling you, that is not the problem...! If you act so undignified and cruel, ...umm, some people might take it badly..."
"..............................You mean, your opponent in that game, who I heard you were fighting with somewhere? Ronove told me."
"......D, damn that blabbermouth. .........Well, to be perfectly honest, that's how it is. If you go a little too far, umm, ...that person will object, you see?"
"It's not like there's any need for them to tell you to pass it on instead of objecting directly. ...That coward."
".........Well, that person is a resident of a different world from this one. There's no choice but to use me as an intermediary. Well, that's beside the point but-"
"........................Which means that this person can't interact with me even if they want to. And I can't interact with them even if I want to either. Should I view this as an unrelated person from a world so far away?"
"H, hmm. ......For example, perhaps you could say these worlds are like very close parallel lines. The worlds are very nearby, but because they are parallel lines, they will never cross. For the time being, you may view that world in such a manner."
"They never cross. Which means, ............that world has nothing to do with me. ...If you're telling me to be prudent because you are speaking for that person, please pass this message on to them."
"Tell that person? What should I say...?"
"It's none of your business, so disappear, granny. Why don't you just give up and die...?"
"...............Whaa..."
"...Oh, I'm sorry. Since it was a friend of yours, I just imagined that she'd be a woman. By 'granny', I'm definitely not talking about you, Predecessor-sama, so please forgive me. *cackle*cackle*cackle*cackle*...!"
When she spoke, the witch was looking straight into Beato's eyes.
...Anyone in that place would be able to figure it out just by looking.
"............Predecessor-sama. There is something I find very strange. ...Why do you have to play a game with someone from another world, and have him accept that you are a witch?"
"Well, about that, ...that is because making all humans accept the existence of witches is related to perfect control. There was a single holdout, and he just won't accept me as a witch."
".........Why is it that you need the approval of a human? Witches are witches, and can use magic, so why do we need to be accepted by humans?"
"...Mu, .........well, like I said earlier, that which is called magic is..."
"I am a witch. I can use magic without anyone's approval in particular, so what's your point......?"
"In this world, right? However, since that person will not accept it, umm, ...umumu, how should I explain it..."
"......I don't need an explanation. After all, isn't this all about a different world that never crosses this one? In other words, it's just as though that world doesn't exist.
............Whether you're fighting in a game in another world, or talking about your delusions, that doesn't change a-nything. ......I'll say it again. It has nothing to do with me. And, I am already a witch."
"Predecessor-sama, somehow or another, it seems that you can't become a witch as long as this person doesn't accept you, but I'm different. Even though no one has accepted me, I am already an excellent witch. .........Since you are my predecessor, I will formally pay you respect, but that is out of good will, not out of duty.
......I won't ask for your advice anymore, because I clearly know what I should do and how I should play from now on.
.........So I will carry out the murder of 13 people as a final act of respect for you. However, there is absolutely no reason for you to interfere with the methods I use, and what I do after that. ...............Therefore, I'll be counting on you in that regard."

Interesting enough Battler deals with 2 Beato even in EP 4, and although they're apparently the same person the first loses heart when he can't remember his sin (same as MetaBeatrice) while the second is... cold.

The witch who had questioned Battler hid herself, and the other witch, who had appeared from behind, remained.
She was certainly identical, the same witch, .........but her expression was somehow indifferent and ice-cold, ......completely removed from the one who, despite seeming drunk up until then, had been in high spirits.
"............Hey!! Are you listening?! Isn't this enough for that test thing?! I don't care whether I passed or failed! I won't be satisfied until I can bash your face!! Come down here!! Or else open this door...!!"
The witch did not answer.
Her eyes were as ice-cold as Battler's shoulders.
......She was clearly a different person since the time she had first appeared on that balcony.
The witch gazed into my eyes, ......and gave two small shakes of the head.
Even without words, I was able to gather that she was expressing some kind of disappointment...
Without saying anything, the witch turned on her heels.
After that, only Battler remained, the cold rain still beating down on him.........

Ep 5 too has two Beatos, one who's comatose and the other who's on the gameboard and, although the fantasy narrative presents Beato as on Natsuhi's side we know that actually it was Yasu who worked to put her in troubles, again presenting a dualism.

And we've 2 Beato even in Ep 6 and one of them can't care less about Battler and don't interact with him while the other does. Interesting enough the one we call Beato the elder is however close to the other Beato and apparently seems to have the same goal as her although ChickBeato's motive is that she wants to please Battler by becoming the Beato he wanted her to be while Beato the elder doesn't share this feeling and, although presented as a piece that's from the past, she interacts with the present.

If we assume Beato the elder is actually PieceBeato and that Yasu began to write tales in which she figured were written prior to Battler's return and therefore prior to trying to send a message to him she's technically a Beato of the past who originally had a completely different goal than 'making Battler remember' although in the end she also tried to work to help the other Beato to reach her own goal.

Yes, young Beato is defined as a piece that Battler 'set on the gameboard' but I wonder if the gameboard involved is the one of the mystery tale or a meta one.
Besides MetaBattler too was defined as a piece in the beginning and, although he looks like he wants to challenge Erika, in truth is possible he was using Erika to have Beato remember. In short he was sort of challenging her in a gentler way than the one Beato used with him.

To make short a long story I'm still of the opinion that the goal of MetaBeato and PieceBeato aren't exactly matching and that PieceBeato is a piece that MetaBeato is trying to use to reach her own goal.

There's also this interesting bit of discussion in Our Confession between Shannon and Beato:

"You have no regrets?"
"...None. It is all as Beatrice-sama wills."

Although the magic side (which we're not shown) might have showed us a Shannon that had, as goal, to marry George and was kidnapped against her will, we know that in the mystery side Shannon orchestrated her own disapearence and here she's willing to put aside her own supposed goal to comply with Beato's wishes. Kanon will do more or less the same although we're told that in the fantasy side we'll see him fighting Beato with all his might which seems to prove the scenes of Kanon and Shannon obeying to Beato don't belong to the magic side Battler was supposed to see.

So, Shannon's goal here seems more to fulfill MetaBeato's will than her own.
If she and MetaBeato were the same person it'll look like Yasu is insane but if she's just a character in MetaBeato's story it'll make more sense that she will accept the author's goal as her own.

[Although a good writer shoulden't force a goal on a character... however it's possible that the 'forcing' represents that the real Shannon wasn't a killer but that in the story her PieceVersion becomes one to fulfil the author's purpose more than the purpose of the real Shannon. Due to this her actions were 'forced' as they wouldn't fit the real Shannon but they needed to be as such to fit with MetaBeato's purposes]

Another sidenote.

In Ep 5 Natsuhi said she confessed being the cause of the servant's dead in front of the servant's husband grave few years ago.

Although likely Natsuhi didn't mean to be heard it's possible she traveled to where the guy was buried with someone else (for example Shannon) and this person overheard her saying so without her noticing. This would explain why Yasu knows Natsuhi caused the baby to fall a thing Natsuhi apparently didn't tell anyone.

Of course another possibility is that, since Ep 5 was written by Battler, it was Toya who found out this. Since it's said that the servant and the baby were rushed to the hospital both apparently still alive the servant might have said something like 'madam pushed me' but the whole thing was hushed by the Ushiromiya's money or whoever picked up the servant's confession didn't dare to report it to the police in fear of the Ushiromiya's power and due to lack of proof and that tattled it out only after the incident, helping to build up a Natsuhi culprit theory in Toya's time.