[Game] Umineko - Spoilers, Theories, Interpretations

[haguruma]

Originally Posted by Captain Bluebeard

The worst thing is, he doesn't seem to be saying 'who am I to speak up to my master? Wardrobes don't talk'. What he seems to suggest is that it is Yasu's right to do all of this, and he's perfectly cool with it.

Well, from the perspective of a perfect servant (which Genji is told to be aspiring to) it IS her right to do it, if not even her duty. That's why I added my comment on the usage of the word shinjuu in the original text. I think many people would be surprised at how prevelant a positivism on shinjuu still is in certain circles and especially during the 80s it sometimes happened for failing patriarchs to decide that it is better to kill their whole family then for them to live in shame and debts.

In medieval Japan it was actually so prominent and positively regarded (some forms of Buddhism told that you would be able to enter a Pure Land by committing suicide) and religion taught that people who loved each other and died together would be together in the next world as well.
This thinking was strong enough that it had to be outlawed in the 18th century.

I'm not saying anything like, "Japan regards suicide as great," but in an environment like Rokkenjima, between a person like Sayo and Genji, Genji would probably regard her decision as something noble.

Originally Posted by jjblue1

There's to wonder if actually there's more to Gohda's job than we know. Or was Gohda maybe blackmailing Natsuhi or something

Well, at least the article you linked says a little more about it, so I assume it's in the missing pages:
Gohda quit his previous jobs because of sexual relations with women. So Sayo is assuming that his reason for flirting with Natsuhi constantly is in order to get personal gain out of this situation. And for her it seemed clear that if you found one sin, then others would just continue to appear over time...
Well, her personal experience kinda taught her that
- "Btw honey, you might have been a boy. Oh...and you're an incest baby...and you're the aunt of your boyfriend...and your father might have raped your mother...and planned to kill all people here...and we might have set you up...was that all Kumasawa?! I think I'm forgetting something..."

My solution for Ep 3 is that Eva (and Rosa) didn't solve the epitaph, Eva was bribed by handing them the solution to the epitaph. Rosa was alternatively bribed or followed Eva secretly, ergo she too didn't solve anything.

BUT, if that is the case, why did she hand Eva the ring of headship? It is clearly a part of the narrative that Eva succeeded the headship of the house and became the next Golden Witch from 1986 to 1998...for that she must have solved the epitaph or it wouldn't go according to Sayo's rules.

[Renall]

Originally Posted by haguruma

I'm not saying anything like, "Japan regards suicide as great," but in an environment like Rokkenjima, between a person like Sayo and Genji, Genji would probably regard her decision as something noble.

He's still a monster by the morals of the story, though, so it really doesn't matter. There's absolutely no equivocation over whether what she's doing is actually wrong, it totally is and she knows it and she wants it to not happen. Genji's acceptance of it for any reason is just downright evil. I'm not even passing this judgment, the story is... more or less. It seems to be soft-gloving his responsibility, although part of me thinks it's because Genji became the plot hole scapegoat and has to basically be an evil robot for some of the story fixes to make sense.

[jjblue1]

Originally Posted by Renall

The question of the symbolism is twofold. First: Did Battler and Eva both do something to cover up what happened, or did they both just remain silent so their knowledge would be lost to the world? Second: Did they do whatever they did independent of one another, or in collusion?

These are really important questions and we just don't know! The way it's set up, it could kinda go either way. Eva might or might not have known Battler was alive. Battler might or might not have made a conscious decision regarding his role in things. After all, Tohya doesn't necessarily know what Battler intended to do with whatever knowledge he had late on the 5th or early on the 6th of October, and in the time thereafter leading up to the state he was in when he became Tohya.

Although it seems probable that Eva must have consciously avoided some detail if she knew about Battler's survival. In fact, if the two had contact with one another on the 6th I'd almost have to think they had to be in collusion, but I don't know quite why Battler wouldn't want to be found. If they split up or if Battler was worried Eva would accuse him of something it'd make sense that way, but then it'd mean they each independently decided not to say anything at the least.

Well, one of the two didn't just remained silent, he or she also covered up everything by turning on the bomb... or by letting it on the on position.
If Ep 7 Teaparty is based on the info given by the diary it was Eva. Battler might have agreed/might be forced to agree to it as he too tried to escape.

I rechecked the truth in Eva's diary and in it we can see that not just Battler's but also Beato and Maria's fate isn't depicted (and okay, the servants' but I think the scene with the bleeding dining room is supposed to stand for them being dead).

Another interesting thing is that facts are either not depicted in the order Eva saw them for the shock value of seeing Rudolf and Kyrie as the culprits smirking cruelly (which can be) or Eva didn't witness them in the order suggested by the Teaparty. After the massacre in the golden room we've George's death body, the dining room smeared with blood, Jessica's dead body then Rudolf sitting out of the chapel and then Kyrie apparently leaving the main house.

As they grin we see both of them are dirtied in blood which can work for Kyrie but not so much for Rudolf as he stood under the rain who should have washed it away and also likely didn't went so close to George that blood should have sprayed on him.

So I wonder how much is exactly in the diary and how much is Ange's interpretation of it.

Originally Posted by haguruma

I'm not saying anything like, "Japan regards suicide as great," but in an environment like Rokkenjima, between a person like Sayo and Genji, Genji would probably regard her decision as something noble.

While I sort of think to get what you mean somehow the setting for me doesn't work up so well that I can wave it off as just that.

If I turn the chessboard over I see contraddictions all the way in Genji's behaviour. He claims he wants to protect Lion and make him grow happy and yet he basically not only forced Sayo in an environment even more miserable than the one of the other Fukuin children and exposed her at the risk of Kinzo recognizing her as Beatrice's reincarnation but not as Lion in disguise but didn't help her to grow as an happy, stable person at all. He didn't protect her, nor he support her. He mostly washed his hands clean of her and set up things so as to protect Kinzo from sinning... or if he had to sin again with Sayo from knowing he sinned with his own child all over again.

When she starts to show problem in regard to her gender identity which are pretty obvious no one helps her to cope, they just cover up for her.

When Kinzo is about to die Genji sets up a farce in order to please KINZO, to absolve KINZO, to let KINZO die in peace.

He doesn't explain things to Sayo, he doesn't tell the truth to her and then asks her if she wants to meet Kinzo regardless and forgive him and all the stuffs. No, he forces her on a dress, in front of Kinzo, while she's utterly confuse and feeling scared and guilty as she evidently wasn't sure she was allowed to discover the gold and have her deal with all that situation that make her feel as if she has to call Kinzo "father" when she can't see him as such just to please him because she feels some pity for him as he seems miserable is totally disregarding her feelings and her wishes.

She wanted a family. She gets money in form of gold. She's basically paid to act that role.

It doesn't end here. After the farce is finished Genji acts all understanding with Kinzo, claiming he had atoned when actually... who's Genji to judge? And what Kinzo did to atone to Sayo apart from giving her some money?... and Genji does so in front of Sayo.

Then he proceed to tell her the full truth over which was Kinzo's sin whom she had unknowingly helped to feel free of. Kinzo died more or less happy. She's left to live in a miserable state and they knew she was miserable and didn't help her at all.

Genji was way more emotionally supportive of Kinzo, way more caring, way more ACTIVE than he is with Sayo, whose life he had basically screwed up more than Kinzo could have done. While Jessica and George might have missed the signs Sayo was desperate those signs had been spelled out loud for Genji (and Kumasawa and Nanjo) to hear and they... pretended not to.

They didn't support her as servants, they washed their hands clean of her problems.

My only hope of redemption for Genji is that actually he pretended to agree with Sayo's plan but then tattled out the solution of the epitaph to either the adults or the cousins in hope this would stop her and they would help her.

If it's the adults his plan didn't work but maybe he couldn't predict it, if it was the cousins, he did it too late but again he couldn't predict it but, at least, he did something.

Otherwise for me he washed his hands clean of her and no matter how he dresses this up, he didn't give a damn about that poor girl and it was all about Kinzo and himself.

Originally Posted by haguruma

Well, at least the article you linked says a little more about it, so I assume it's in the missing pages:
Gohda quit his previous jobs because of sexual relations with women. So Sayo is assuming that his reason for flirting with Natsuhi constantly is in order to get personal gain out of this situation. And for her it seemed clear that if you found one sin, then others would just continue to appear over time...
Well, her personal experience kinda taught her that
- "Btw honey, you might have been a boy. Oh...and you're an incest baby...and you're the aunt of your boyfriend...and your father might have raped your mother...and planned to kill all people here...and we might have set you up...was that all Kumasawa?! I think I'm forgetting something..."

Well, that's interesting even if unexpected. I thought Gohda left his previous work for disagrements with the head chef as the tip said, not because he slept around.

Originally Posted by haguruma

BUT, if that is the case, why did she hand Eva the ring of headship? It is clearly a part of the narrative that Eva succeeded the headship of the house and became the next Golden Witch from 1986 to 1998...for that she must have solved the epitaph or it wouldn't go according to Sayo's rules.

The ring of headship was handed to Battler as well in Ep 5 and in Ep 5 also we see that Battler succeeded the headship of the house. So it can be that the ring was handed along with the solution of the epitaph. We know that in Ep 2 Rosa too tried to escape from the island but was late. Eva wasn't but it's possible that Banquet's first version, if it was written by Sayo, ended with Eva leaving Battler supposedly dead and the extra about Eva escaping to Kuwadorian was an addition by Tohya (or Ikuko or both) as the narrative allowed it and it would fit with reality.

Banquet was released as Itokuko's work so even if we assume Banquet was originally written by Sayo, Tohya (or Ikuko or both) might have changed stuffs so as to make it fit with Prime.

In this setting Sayo is still the killer but Eva took "advantage" of it to become the new Ushiromiya head. By doing this however she inherited the blame for Sayo's crime and the title of golden witch.

Though of course, to understand better how Banquet and Alliance came to be I guess we'll need more manga info.

[Dr. Casey]

Originally Posted by jjblue1

I've the feeling that even in their past Kinzo and Genji weren't that nice. Probably they weren't as bad as they'll be as adults but as youths they were probably closer to Rudolf (who did money in illegal ways even prior to getting married but wasn't as bad as he'll become later) than to... let's say Battler or George.

Growing up in the wrong environments probably pushed everything downhill so that Kinzo wouldn't stop in front of nothing and Genji basically would let him do whatever he wanted.

Kinzo and Genji being unremarkable petty crooks during their youth's an interesting idea. That goes along with my mental image of the two of them being nowhere near as tainted as young men as they grow to become as old ones, while being more consistent with their overall characterization than my original interpretation of "Kinzo used to be an angel as pure as the driven snow, before suddenly developing a criminal streak during middle age."

And for everything you posted about Genji being infinitely supportive of Kinzo while severely neglecting Yasu, that's something I find fascinating about the older characters (Kinzo, Genji, Nanjo) and something that contributes a decent amount to Umineko's charm, incidentally - the group gives off a rather strong feeling of being insular, though some members of the group are worse than others (I won't count Kumasawa here since she's a social butterfly that's taken plenty of interest in the younger generation and is in no way stuck in the past). Kinzo's by far the worst offender, given the way he's notoriously bad for playing favorites. Kinzo has his very small group of people that he cares about and to whom his loyalty and affection knows no bounds, but anyone outside those chosen few who received the Kinzo Seal of Approval can go kill themselves for all he cares. With the exception of Lion, the only people Kinzo cares about much are those he met when he was young or fairly young - Genji, Beatrice, Nanjo. Unless Kinzo met you in the 1940s or before, he don't give a fuck about you. I know I'm rambling here because I'm not very well-rested, but I did always find it an intriguing character trait somehow how Kinzo's so incredibly stuck in the past. The 'rebirth' he went through in World War II could be considered short-lived in a way, since he spent the rest of his existence mired in nostalgia for the years of 1944 through 1948.

On that note, does Kinzo ever comment on Kumasawa in any way, or does the narrative ever give any insight into their relationship or what Kinzo thinks of her? To my memory the subject is never broached at all, but Umineko isn't exactly a short story so I might be forgetting something.

[haguruma]

Originally Posted by Dr. Casey

Kinzo and Genji being unremarkable petty crooks during their youth's an interesting idea.

Was it brought up so far that the manga actually ascertains that picture? I don't remember. Kinzo said that in their youth they were both sons of rich families and used to get themselves and other people into a lot of trouble. He describes Genji as pretty good at scamming people and even Kinzo himself constantly fell for his schemes (yet couldn't stay angry at him)...kinda sounds like that power-dynamic didn't change a lick either

I think that from their early days on they've lived in an environment that made them care too few about the people around them. Both rich, both good at being on the right people's side...Genji's family was just too stupid to notice that in an uprising it might not be the best idea to hold on to your fortune that you amassed by working with the government

On that note, does Kinzo ever comment on Kumasawa in any way, or does the narrative ever give any insight into their relationship or what Kinzo thinks of her? To my memory the subject is never broached at all, but Umineko isn't exactly a short story so I might be forgetting something.

The narrative actually gives us close to nothing but it kinda makes me wonder whether she wasn't "the wandering priest" who built the shrine on Rokkenjima to ward off the evil spirits...or better if she was the one responsible for being kind of the "ghost story press department" in order to keep people from digging too far.
We can assume, by her love of fish and what indirect info we get from and about her son, that she might be from a fishing family and we know it was the fishers who started the legends about Akujikijima.
I do really wonder if Ryukishi ever planned to do much with her, except make her one of the co-conspirators.

[jjblue1]

Originally Posted by haguruma

Was it brought up so far that the manga actually ascertains that picture? I don't remember. Kinzo said that in their youth they were both sons of rich families and used to get themselves and other people into a lot of trouble. He describes Genji as pretty good at scamming people and even Kinzo himself constantly fell for his schemes (yet couldn't stay angry at him)...kinda sounds like that power-dynamic didn't change a lick either

I think that from their early days on they've lived in an environment that made them care too few about the people around them. Both rich, both good at being on the right people's side...Genji's family was just too stupid to notice that in an uprising it might not be the best idea to hold on to your fortune that you amassed by working with the government

Well, I'll say that's a vague description what we have but somehow I've the feelings the two of them definitely didn't start as little angels.

Originally Posted by haguruma

The narrative actually gives us close to nothing but it kinda makes me wonder whether she wasn't "the wandering priest" who built the shrine on Rokkenjima to ward off the evil spirits...or better if she was the one responsible for being kind of the "ghost story press department" in order to keep people from digging too far.
We can assume, by her love of fish and what indirect info we get from and about her son, that she might be from a fishing family and we know it was the fishers who started the legends about Akujikijima.
I do really wonder if Ryukishi ever planned to do much with her, except make her one of the co-conspirators.

Well, we know Kumasawa is good at lying and acting, that she was Kuwadorian Beato wet nurse, that despite often pretending to be ill the Ushiromiya never fired her and that she claimed she learnt about Kinzo's love story with Beatrice by Kinzo himself when he was drunk. It might be she didn't know exactly where was the gold as her son implied she was searching for it... which in a way is bad because she knows who Sayo is and how the gold should belong to her so... unless she planned to do it only for the fun of it, it meant she would have no qualms taking it from her.
She kept silent when Kuwadoran Beatrice was raised in ignorance and when Kinzo took advantage of her and we know that she would be willing to take part to a mystery murder game that would likely scare who doesn't know is a game a lot as well as cause considerable emotional pain just for money.

I think... there's the possibility Kinzo hired her knowing she would do what he asked of her without questions regardless of how bad it was and kept her as compensation for her services.

She's probably not this terrible person, more like a servant old style who just exist to obey but I think she's more loyal to money than to the master.

*sighs* The more things come up about Sayo's past the less I like Genji and Kumasawa so maybe my judgement is biased because lack of love.

[haguruma]

Originally Posted by jjblue1

*sighs* The more things come up about Sayo's past the less I like Genji and Kumasawa so maybe my judgement is biased because lack of love.

Maybe it's my inner Bern or something but I honestly think it's rather us being biased because we have too much love. The stories made us doubt the adults but kinda made us like the servants, didn't they?

With Genji it was almost always depicted to be his strong side how loyal he was, how he was an admirable person for how he stuck with the family despite all the odds.
The same with Kumasawa being a sweet, old lady, always with a wonderful story on her lips to make people forget the stress, hiding behind corners because she is weak but always feeling all the sadness of people suffering...even her creepy stories were mostly written off as her having fun.

We keep ourselves from even considering that these two might be bad people...and I think the authors within the story are often doing the same. Sayo was raised by those two and they might even be nice at times, but deep down they have serious dark sides.
Just look at Kumasawa in EP2 and how she is getting a major fix out of having that ghost story conversation with Jessica, about the legends and the unexpected visitor appearing (and her so obviously not talking about Battler).

[Renall]

I always figured the reason Kumasawa couldn't get fired is because she essentially had blackmail dirt on Kinzo. Even if she never made any sort of direct threat on that, she kinda knows about his hidden lovechild and all. Kinzo and Genji would have to be pretty dumb (well, dumber than they apparently already are) to tick her off.

[jjblue1]

Originally Posted by haguruma

Maybe it's my inner Bern or something but I honestly think it's rather us being biased because we have too much love. The stories made us doubt the adults but kinda made us like the servants, didn't they?

With Genji it was almost always depicted to be his strong side how loyal he was, how he was an admirable person for how he stuck with the family despite all the odds.
The same with Kumasawa being a sweet, old lady, always with a wonderful story on her lips to make people forget the stress, hiding behind corners because she is weak but always feeling all the sadness of people suffering...even her creepy stories were mostly written off as her having fun.

We keep ourselves from even considering that these two might be bad people...and I think the authors within the story are often doing the same. Sayo was raised by those two and they might even be nice at times, but deep down they have serious dark sides.
Just look at Kumasawa in EP2 and how she is getting a major fix out of having that ghost story conversation with Jessica, about the legends and the unexpected visitor appearing (and her so obviously not talking about Battler).

Well, I can't really say I liked the servants but at first I didn't thought they were that bad. But then the more I learn about them and the more I think about them the more I'm disgusted. And ironically this applies more to Kumasawa, Genji and Nanjo than to Gohda who yes, in the beginning is not depicted in a favourable light but all considered he's not there claiming he cares about Shannon or Kanon or the Ushiromiya.

Kumasawa, Genji and Nanjo, who claims they care for Sayo, who's basically considered blindly trusted and that saw most of the family grow up... and that instead don't really care about the family not even in the limits of normal decency... well, that's pretty bad in my books.

Kumasawa will accept to be paid to play a 'prank' in which not only she madly scared people by letting them think there's a murderer around but also causes them quite a lot of grief by making them think their family is dead. That's not a prank, that's cruel. And I won't go how she cared about Sayo and Beatrice only the bare minimum necessary. Sayo saw it as a lot but that's only because she had nothing else.

Nanjo is even worse as he was bribed for much more serious things. Hiding Beatrice (which could be seen as betrayal for his country), hiding Kinzo's incest and possible rape of his daughter (I'm not sure if rape is technically the right word because I fear in the end she was manipulated into saying 'yes'... even if she wanted to say 'no' as Kinzo likely took advantage of her ignorance and obedience), hiding a child (which basically is kidnapping) and taking part to covering up a crime as he must know people are dead for real.
And I don't know if the plot for Forgery of Purple truth was planned by Ryukishi but if that's the case this mean for money he would have no problems killing everyone.

Genji is the top of the list. Basically he claimed to care for Kinzo and Sayo but used Sayo to protect Kinzo from himself and to please him in his final moments, condemned her to a rather unpleasant life and when she claimed she was suicidal he washed his hands clean of her problems as he didn't care about living any longer and, oh, too bad for everyone else but he's totally cool with her killing everyone.

*sigh* Gohda can be unpleasant with Shannon and Kanon because he feels superior to them but at least he doesn't claim affection for anyone in the family. He's there for a job, if he'll get better paid he'll accept to make another and I don't even think he thought of doing something illegal (though if that was a prank I would sue him for giving me psychological damage... two days believeing I've a serial killer going around and people dropping dead around me won't help me sleep well the night)

Originally Posted by Renall

I always figured the reason Kumasawa couldn't get fired is because she essentially had blackmail dirt on Kinzo. Even if she never made any sort of direct threat on that, she kinda knows about his hidden lovechild and all. Kinzo and Genji would have to be pretty dumb (well, dumber than they apparently already are) to tick her off.

Yes, I fear so. And the same probably apply to Natsuhi and Krauss because she knows Kinzo is dead. So even if I think Natsuhi doesn't love her much she kept her. Interesting enough in Ep 1 Eva seemed to dislike her but it was never explained why.
However we see that Kumasawa seems to have the habit to spy or eavesdrop conversations. Maybe she was prone to blackmail the family members and Eva hated this? Though Rosa seems to have a nice relationship with her... or else is she trying to bribe her with tea? LOL actually in the tea box she gave Kumasawa there was lot of blackmailing money to shut Kumasawa's mouth on some secret about Rosa that the woman knew...

[haguruma]

Sadly I haven't yet gotten my hands on part 1 of CotGW since 2000Yen is a little expensive for my taste (especially since it's only about 40 pages), but at least I have part 2 and 3 complete and will leave you with the translation of both chapters for now. We'll see what more I can do later

Spoiler for Confession of the Golden Witch (2):

Confession of the Golden Witch (2)
And despair plunged this heart so very deep into darkness...
Beatrice:

Kihihi...
A human seen as a witch will never gain happiness. Didn't you even know that, furnituuure?
Your tears are an apperitif to me! This pain of love is the most delicate hors d'oeuvre!

p.2
Kanon:

Begone, witch!
Don't even come near my sister!
Sis...
We are and will be furniture...
There cannot be love between people and furniture! You have to tell this to Master George as well!
You must not get any closer to people than you already are...! To furniture...there is only one way to properly live as furniture...!

Shannon:

Kanon...
But...I am...

Sayo:

Work...
It's time to work...

p.3
Sayo:

..."One is the ressurection of all the souls of the dead"
"One is the ressurection of even the love once lost"
"Put the witch to eternal rest"...
Nothing like that happens...now it's just about returning the mechanism to it's original shape so that the gold stays hidden...
“So you get four treasures, right?!“
...what a joke
I lost everything...
in exchange for that gold.......

p.4
I spent my days like before, without ever any change
The fact that I solved the epitaph and succeded the headship
even the circumstances of my own birth, I told to nobody
Even Genji and the others order me around in the same harsh tone as before
I was afraid of laying it out in the open
If I spoke it out loud, it would come rushing in with so much more actuality, how miserable I am
And the feeling of guilt, for not revealing it to the person I held fond feelings for, clung unto me all the time
No matter how much gold there was, there were no means for me to be saved from my cursed fate
The only thing left was to push it all deeper and deeper into my heart
p.5
The death of the Master
was as if the witch within me had cast her magic
through a secret agreement it all became concealed
Sir Krauss took on exorbitant loans
that is why they had to push the question of the inheritance further away, they said
Kanon:

What an arrogant woman
She talks of protecting honor, but the only thing she cares about is her own appearance! That scum, they were all to ready to deny our honorable head a proper funeral!

The days krept by without change
p.6
Beatrice:

It's a just reward for Kinzo who held me prisoner as well!
And Natsuhi, she made you fall off that cliff...

My world was turned into a negative image of itself on that day
Jessica:

Shannon, isn't the stench coming from Grandpa's study lately the worst?
Honestly, what is he researching there?!

Shannon:

Lately the Master is putting all his efforts into this...and since he has a lot of very bad days, I think it is better if you don't go to his study anymore, Milady...

Sayo's thoughts:

I will have to discuss the inspection of the freezer and an increase of preservatives with Genji...

p.7
Genji:

Yes...let us propose the acquisition of a new freezer to Madam

Shannon:

Genji...

Shannon:

In the underground...where did all these skeletons come from?

Genji:

Once, Rokkenjima had been a base for the Japanese army. I heard there was a mass killing...between the Japanese soldiers and the people who came on the Italian submarine that had also brought the first Lady Beatrice here.

Shannon:

The bones...

Shannon:

They are all gathered in one room

p.8
Shannon:

There they were piled up
cluttered
unorganized
those skeletons wearing Italian and Japanese uniforms
all thrown on a heap
as if dumped on a garbage pile

Why did the master leave his comrades like this, without even a proper burial?
Why did he built his mansion on this island, as if to hide them all?!
The master...he killed them all, didn't he?!
To monopolize Beatrice and the gold...

p.9
Shannon:

Maybe he carried them here after killing them
or...
I...
In this body...
flows...
this dirty blood...

It was at that point when–
p.10
Jessica:

Tell me already, what is there between you and George?

Shannon:

Between...

Jessica:

You seemed to hit it off quite well the last time he was on the island!
*Are you two going steady?*
Did you go on a date?

Shannon:

No...going steady would be....
He just helped me with some shopping and
It wasn't really a date...

Jessica:

Shut up! It was a date, I tell you!!
And now you keep saying you're not going steady?!
He's your boyfriend! And you're his girlfriend!!

Shannon:

I don't know about...being a girlfriend...

p.11
Jessica:

Really?! So you didn't try to get ahead first?? We promised we would get boyfriends at the same time!

Shannon:

Mi...milady

Jessica:

...
Hey...
Shannon...

Shannon:

Yes?

Jessica:

Among the servants...
There's this boy called Kanon...am I right?
Are you...close?

Shannon:

....eh?

p.12
Jessica:

Kanon, does he...
have a girlfriend or something?

I was getting dizy
of joy for being approached with such favor
Shannon:

Milady...have you ever talked to Kanon?

Jessica:

Just a little bit! But he doesn't seem like he wants to talk to me!

For Kanon, who was this lump of all the ugliness inside of me
For him who was the opportunity for a life as a boy,
For him to have somebody approach him with such favor.
Jessica:

He always seems so lonely, looking into the distance...so I wondered...
Ah...
When I say wondered, I don't mean like like-liking him...
But, you know...if I speak to him more...maybe I can cheer him up a little...

p.13
It felt almost as if he had been allowed to live.
At the same time
I was shuddering in disgust
p.14
towards the genes of Ushiromiya, deep deep within myself.
Shannon:

I do not think that Kanon has a girlfriend.

Jessica:

Really?!

Shannon:

Well...no...ehm...
He always keeps himself shut off
but I think he would feel joy at being talked to by Mylady.

Towards the blood of Kinzo flowing within me, feeling joy because of this favor.
The only people who make me feel needed
are my bloodrelatives.
p.15
The only thing changing on were the days and months, while I kept silent
And the feelings of those two only deepened more
p.16
Jessica:

Listen to that if you feel down!
It's a mix-tape with my recomendations!
Listen to it if you like!

George:

I get to know so many new emotions, just by being with you
You make a gentle wind breeze through my heart
Shannon...I am so happy to have met you

For someone like me, who is living by denying themselves
p.17
George:

Thank you for being born

the raw feeling of "being loved" or "it being alright to live" was more bliss than I ever knew. Will anybody be able to understand that?
George:

Wha...? I wasn't planning to make you cry...

And that was what
swayed my resolve of having to bare the truth to them
p.18
That is why I felt a little relieved
when he was talking about staying a night on our trip
I was so sure that on an occasion like this, even a weakling like me would be able to overcome the fear
I cast all my wishes on this sliver of hope that if George truly loved me, he would accept me even if he learned the truth...
But my resolve was in vain, that chance did not come about...
Jessica:

Wha...separate rooms?!

Shannon:

Mi...milady

And Sir George suddenly brought up talks of getting engaged
Shannon:

What should I do...
I can't trick him any longer...
I have to tell Sir George the truth as fast as possible...

p.19
Sir George would surely be able to accept me...!
Beatrice:

AREN'T THAT SWEET WORDS, FURNITUUUUuuuuUURE?!
LOVE MEANS LUST AND CAN ONLY BE MEASURED BY TWO BODIES LYING TOGETHER!
GEORGE WILL DESPAIR
AS SOON AS HE KNOW ABOUT YOUR BIRTH AND YOUR BODYYYIiiii!!

p.20
Beatrice:

WHY ARE YOU PRETENDING TO BE RIGHT FOR GEORGE WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN FULFILL HIS DREAM?!

George:

A good life, sorrounded by all our children and grandchildren....
I want a future like that with you

Beatrice:

YOU ARE SINFULL JUST FOR IMAGINING YOURSELF AND HIM TOGETHER

Shannon:

But George...he is sincere...
Our love it...will not be destroyed...
by something...like that...

Beatrice:

QUITE JABBERING THAT NONSENSE!
IT IS BECAUSE GEORGE IS SINCERE!
IT WILL PUT OUT ALL HIS LOVE FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOU WHO KEPT LYING TO HIM, EXPLOITING HIM WITH A FRUITLESS LOVE!
THERE ARE COUNTLESS REPLACEMENTS FOR YOU!
THERE IS NO NEED FOR HIM TO CHOOSE YOU!!

p.21
Shannon:

Bu...but I
I wanted to be loved by somebody!
And I wanted to love somebody!
It just accidentaly happened to be Sir George!
Is it a sin to even consider going through with my love for Sir George?!

Beatrice:

SO YOU WANT TO BE WITH THE SON OF YOUR SIBLINGS?
I HAVE TO CONGRATULATE YOU FOR FOLLOWING THE SAME PATH AS KINZO WHILE ALSO HATING HIS DEED THE MOST...!!
WHAT WILL YOU DO THEN? WILL YOU BE WITH GEORGE, HIDING THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THE FUTURE WILL ONLY HOLD DESPAIR IN STORE?
NOBODY WOULD EVER ALLOW FOR A PERSON WHO DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THEIR LINEAGE TO BECOME THE SPOUSE OF THE HEIR OF A COMPANY
OF COURSE, IF YOUR LINEAGE BECAME KNOWN THEN YOU MIGHT JUST HAVE TO FORCE GEORGE INTO A LIFE IN THE SHADOWS WITH YOU

p.22
Beatrice:

AND
SOMEBODY WITHOUT EVEN A COMPLETE SOUL
DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT FOR LOVING GEORGE ANYWAY

Kanon:

Because I...
Because I love Milady!

Shannon:

Kanon...

Kanon:

It was so painful, having to refuse her on that day!!

Jessica:

Kanon, please tell me...
Your real name...

Kanon:

It was so painful, having to hurt Milady like that
It was especially harsh because it was like denying myself, because I do like her...!

p.23
Kanon:

Milady shines like the sun and she makes even someone like me shine!!
When I am with her, I feel like I don't have to keep living like this anymore...!!!
Sis, you know that even if you get refused by Sir George, there will still be Lady Jessica, right?!
Milady Jessica is not a replacement for Sir George!!
Because I...I want to have love!!!

p.24
Beatrice:

Jessica?
That carefree girl who doesn't even know the true form of this family

Kanon:

Then why don't you step forth and reveal yourself, Golden Witch?!
With your gold all the problems of the household should be solved in no time!!

Beatrice:

My, my, it is not that easy a story
If I reveal my existence to them, those greedy hounds while show their true colours and start to fight
And the only thing remaining for you and Shannon will be ruin

Shannon:

stop...
STOP IT ALREADY...!!

It was the cursed blood of Ushiromiya that drove you to this point
And you are nothing but that
p.25
Whatever you may choose
there is no running from the pain
p.26
Choosing...
Whatever I choose this pain clings to me...
I have been driven to the far end of the wall...
I have to decide until the day when Sir George will give me that ring during the family conference
And that day will mark the border when my life will truly change without fail
p.27
(several letters addressed to Ushiromiya George lying about)
I have to tell Sir George
everything there is
Sir George will surely accept me
And then I will leave the island and cast away the me that is Kanon and the me that is Beato
I will live as Sayo. The life that I am longing for as Sayo.
But I will not be able to give George the bliss of being surrounded by people
Still, my wish isn't great so
p.28
If we share true love then we can surely be happy
George:

Don't come any closer
You make me wanna puke
You've been deceiving me all this time, haven't you?!
Did you think somebody like you could honestly marry me?
You're disgusting
Don't ever show up in front of me again

p.29
Sayo:

.....

Having never experienced being accepted for who I truly am
it was exceedingly difficult to imagine and believe in a happy future
Sayo:

No...
George isn't like that...
He isn't like that...!

If I could just go eternally without telling him the truth, then I could be happy with him eternally, yet...
p.30
Sayo:

George...
You will...
You will accept me, right...?
I will believe in you...
So please...

While being haunted by nightmares, that day kept closing in day by day
Natsuhi:

That's all for the fine details
So from here on...
Shannon! Are you even listening?!

Shannon:

I am sorry, Madam!

Natsuhi:

I gave you the task to clean the hall
The family conference is soon, so keep yourself together
I already told you all but...

p.31
Natsuhi:

For the first time in 6 years, at this family conference, Battler will be attending again
Let us prepare with all our powers so that no embarassments occur on that day

p.32
Young Sayo:

Is it true that Battler is coming back?

p.33
Young Sayo:

Battler is coming home!
He really didn't forget his promise!
He's coming home!
He's coming to take me with him!
He finally appeared during my time of greatest hardship and will save me from this hell called fate!
This time I will finally become Battler's bride!
I love Battler most of everyone in the world!

Shannon:

Please go away...
I thought I had seperated myself from you, my emotion of first love
There is no way that Battler is coming to take me with him now...somebody who didn't even manage to send a letter
He probably doesn't even remember a childish promise like that...

Young Sayo:

You doubt our beloved Battler?

Shannon:

My current self is only thinking of George

Young Sayo:

Liar

p.34
Young Sayo:

I can hear you (written as "me") howling in pain

Beatrice:

KYHAHAHAHA
Let's stop being strong!
Aren't you the one who feels the most joy, for having expected Battler's return home more than anybody else?!
It comes just right. Why not make it an insurance for when George has broken up with you?
Or why not change to Battler right now?

Shannon (in Beatrice's voice):

OOH THAT'S RIGHT! NO MATTER WHO YOU CHOOSE
YOU HAVE THAT FILTHY BODY THAT DOESN'T ALLOW YOU TO CONNECT WITH ANYBODY

I have been a squirming, stupid spider, caught in it's own web

p.35

I was just running around confused, trying to escape my fate
Young Battler: I will come on a white horse for you
Young Sayo: I want a family
Sayo: Why is he not coming back...?
But I keep stumbling all too soon and end up crying again and again
Eva: Even you will probably find a partner that is just right for somebody like you
Kinzo: I just want to say one thing, Beatrice...
Forgive me...
Kumasawa: Your mother, she was...
Nanjo: But it left a huge scar on your abdomen
I cursed fate
I cursed the world
Jessica: Please tell me your real name
p.36
It was at a time when I was tied hand and foot to an inescapable fate that kept choking me
when I noticed that I had spun that thread by my own devices
Maria: Beato, you will take me to the Golden Land, right?
There Mama and me and Sakutarou and everyone will be happy...
Natsuhi: After 6 years Battler is attending again
Maybe, if I had stood up and chosen a life for myself a bit faster, without desperately running from fate
things might have ended without this day ever occuring
p.37
But by now I had not even the power left to put up an honest struggle
Shannon:

I don't want this anymore...
Make it stop...
I want to...
be happy...
I don't want to...
live in a body like this...

p.38
Shannon:

If I could just make it all never happened...
somehow...
If I could just be smilin with the people I love...
In a world without ties or bonds......somehow...
But I can't...
Because I have this body...
I can't go anywhere...
I can't become happy...

p.39
If I was only freed from this lump of flesh tied down by obligation
and could be connected to all of them by our souls
p.40
But...
it is so easy...
For I am now Beatrice, the Witch of Rokkenjima
p.41
I will return this island...
to the Golden Land
NO OPEN FLAMES
EXPLOSIVE STORAGE 1
p.42-43
I have that power
You planned to commit suicide with this whole island in a case of emergency, didn't you?!
Now...
to see if it can still be used...
p.44
I will carry it all out on the day of the family conference.

For now only this chaper, because I have to go eat something and putting it in a proper format takes time. So see you later and have fun so far. Only 19 days left till the first chapter after Confession...let's hope it involves the Hachijos

[GoldenLand]

That's really excellent! Thanks so much for the translation, Haguruma.

I have to say that I'm pleased that there did turn out to be a freezer involved in Kinzo's corpse storage. Though it seems he was stored in his study and they also used preservatives. Good lord, how ghoulish it must have felt for all of those characters. Were they really having to go in and regularly clean a study with a dead preserved freezer body, and bring in Kinzo's meals to that room daily? They must all have been driven loopy. Maybe it was just Yasu who was left with the job.

And I can only wonder what the hell Yasu thought about all those skeletons being in the underground before she asked Genji how they got there. Not that she was pleased with the actual answer either.

[Ayu-ayu]

That's really amazing. The catbox lid is slipping back more and the guts are starting to emerge.

The really interesting angle is Sayo's self-loathing over the scope of the incestuous desires and repeating, in both her mind, and in a very real sense what Kinzo did by having a relationship with people who are her own...what? Cousins? Second cousins? Nephews/nieces?

This on top of the timing of finding the bodies of the soldiers (never expected that myself, but it better explains the relevance of the red scene in episode 7), and as we knew, dealing the new knowledge of her gender "flaw" and the conflicts of finding validation as her (his) birth gender from an unexpected source while trying "Kanon" out...on top of everything else.

And in comes Maria to help things move along to the Golden Land...

[haguruma]

Originally Posted by GoldenLand

Maybe it was just Yasu who was left with the job.

And I can only wonder what the hell Yasu thought about all those skeletons being in the underground before she asked Genji how they got there. Not that she was pleased with the actual answer either.

Genji and his tactfulness again
In the first scene he's just like, "Oh yeah, I should tell Natsuhi we need a better freezer for her dead father-in-law, hope she has the money " and in the second it's like, "I just hoped you wouldn't bring it up...."
I mean, it's not like he was there for the death of the soldiers and I give him the benefit of the doubt that he would probably be willing to trust Kinzo when he says that he didn't kill them...but still, Genji is either the most loyal bag of stupid or the most scheming bastard in the whole story.

Originally Posted by Ayu-ayu

That's really amazing. The catbox lid is slipping back more and the guts are starting to emerge.

I generally like it how these chapters use many sequences and sentences from the games and reframe them in this new light, most of them becoming much darker. Like Beatrice's verbal attacks on Shannon from EP2, or how George kept on harping on about him knowing that Shannon and he were "connected by their souls even beyond death"....so many characters didn't even notice the hurtful things they said.

Saddest I found was how Sayo even admits that it is her fault for never standing up and becoming tangled in her own web of lies and stories, but that she is just too weak and scared to even attempt to untangle it now.

Now on to the current chapter:

Spoiler for Confession of the Golden Witch (3):

p1
I am the true ruler of Rokkenjima
the Golden Witch Beatrice...
p2
I shall return Rokkenjima and the whole household of Ushiromiya to the Golden Land
For that is the curse of Beatrice the witch of gold who enthralls this household
p3
Sayo:

Dr. Nanjo, Kumasawa, I have a favor to ask of you as the family head
I want you to do exactly as I say during the family conference this year
I will give you as many ingots as you want for it...

Kumasawa:

We will do whatever is in our powers when it comes to you!
We don't need any money for that!

Nanjo:

We want to repay the compassion you had for us with any chance of making you happy

Kumasawa:

A murder mystery game?
Of course we will play along!

Sayo:

Genji, you are my most loyal furniture, are you not?!

Genji:

...yes

Sayo:

You will grant me whatever I order you to do, right? As family head I can do with this island and the household as I please, right?

Genji:

...yes

p.4
Sayo:

Even if I said I wanted to commit suicide together with this whole household?

Sayo(memory):

I would never have wanted to live! In this body that can't even love!

Genji:

........................yes
For I too am to blame for driving you into this corner, my mistress.
I shall serve you until the very end.

p.5
Sayo:

.........Thank you

p.6
Rule X: The accomplicee is different every time.
The adults are all in financial trouble.
It is easy to bribe them.
Rule Y: Lies agreed on by everyone can be depicted as actually happening.
In a locked room situation anything goes.
People who observe the golden butterflies are either accomplicees or dead.
Those who were not bribed can only see the golden butterflies in the timespace of 30 minutes before their death.
From that point onwards I began to write down plans for a crime as if I had gone mad.
p.7
To question which future might be the best and what circumstances might satisfy me...
I wrote these tales of endless October 4th to 5th embellished with this illusion of magic
To me, being used to playing around with delusions, this was no mere plan for a crime...
but also the idea of parallel worlds on this day of the crime.
Sayo:

Die

As if my soul was released from my body and I was able to experience all of these worlds...
Sayo:

Die! Die! Die! Die! DIE!

p.8
Sayo:

Die! Die! DieDie! Die! Die!

I started to find a sinister delight in the act of endlessly killing all of the family
Sayo:

Die! Die! Die!

Letter: ...th twilight as a sacrifice and died.
...th twilight as a sacrifice and died.
...th twilight as a sacrifice and died.
...th twilight as a sacrifice and died.
...th twilight as a sacrifice and died.

Ushiromiya Kinzo
With his accursed blood and all his sins he is the root of all of the chain of misfortune
To think that you should have the right to rest in peace
shouldn't it satisfy you to serve a role for Beatrice even in death?
Sayo:

Die! Die! Die!

p.9
All of those who continued the chain of misfortune Kinzo began should die as well
Krauss, who is connected to his siblings by a chain of hatred and violence
Sayo:

Die! Die!

and Natsuhi, who derailed my destiny
Sayo:

Die!

Eva and Hideyoshi, who stands in the way of my and George-san's future
Sayo:

Die! Die!

Rudolph and Kyrie, who gave reason for Battler-san not to return
Sayo:

Die! DieDie!

And Rosa, who abused Maria-sama.
Sayo:

Die!

Genji, Kumasawa, and Nanjo, who indirectly created this situation by serving as accomplicees to Kinzo
Sayo:

Die! Die!

And Gohda who tried to get personal gain out of striking a deal with Natsuhi
It would be better for all people connected to the house of Ushiromiya to cease existing
p.10

Notes: Gohda - Fired from his previous position at XXXXX hotel because of a sexual affair
Krauss - Conceals his use of Kinzo's fortune and Kinzo's death. His real estate investments have all failed.
Has been bought out by the majority (hideyoshi)
Intervened into the Child Protection State System. Members of a welfare instition seem to have proposed to put Maria into a shelter system. (Rosa)
Has been involved in fraudulent business. Has been found guilty of breaching contract agreements with an American company. (Rudolph)

From the start I knew that it would only be a matter of time until they, who had made a living by tricking and oppressing others, would go bankrupt
If one family was to make a mistake then all of the past and all the sins of the other people would start to be revealed as well and in the end they would all fall into ruin
Even if they were to overcome the family conference of 1986, there would be no happy future in store for them
That is the destiny, the karmic justice
for this household born from Kinzo's sins and cursed gold
Because no leaves and branches will prosper from such rotten roots
Sayo:

So come and die
Together with me

p.11
Sayo:

Then nobody will have to suffer anymore

p.12
The scenario is a ritual murder committed by a witch
The plan behind the scenes was my family suicide
With the gold ingots
and the cashcard that was charged with money from converting some of the gold　and the fitting keycode
I would try to win the adults over to my side
code: 07151129
Krauss and Natsuhi have many weaknesses, it should be easy to turn them into my pawns
Still, it would be better to hide my true identity when showing them the gold and threaten them with unveiling their conspiracy to hide Kinzo's death, their embezzelment, or threaten to kill Jessica.
But Natsuhi is not very intelligent and she is fast to anger, so there is probably not much merrit to making her an accomplicee
There would be more gain in just watching her in terror, not knowing what is happening
For Eva and Hideyoshi it would probably be just as worthwhile to use George as my trumpcard
Eva's actions are simple to predict, she is soft towards her next of kin but quick to leave those outside of her immediate family behind
She would be the perfect pawn in my game
p.13
If I can bribe Rudolph and Kyrie alongside Eva, I could probably employ them as acting murderers
A clear downside is that Kyrie is fast to doubt people
If I am unable to make them into my pawns early, I should dispose of them as fast as possible...
I doubt whether Rosa would be open to discussion based on Maria's life, but she should be open to the promise of gold
A petty villain like Gohda should be easily bribed and made into a valuable member involved in the secret agreement
The one with the most value as a pawn is Maria
Adoring the witch, she would do whatever I tell her, and there lies a taste of truth in the words of a true believer like her.
She would surely take the role of confusing the people on the scene, as well as thickening the presence of the witch.
Yes, Maria is my most precious accomplicee, who I promised to take to the Golden Land.
I would never allow for her body to be disgraced, she must rest in peace
p.14
Since Genji, Kumasawa and Nanjo feel indebted to me they are loyal and will become my eyes and ears
Due to their long service they are trusted by the family, so having all three of them as accomplicees is a huge advantage
Especially Nanjo, since he can give false statements upon states of death
He will also be able to provide me with the necessary drugs and poisons for a crime
It might be a mystery staple to have the physician as an accomplicee, but it can be very rewarding to follow old customs
Those who were bribed under the pretense of "it is going to be fake murders" will surely loose their composure when being confronted with actual corpses
I'd better play dumb and tell them "I prepared dummies with all the money" or "Somebody else is going around actually killing all those people" and if that doesn't work I will have to dispose of them
Guns exist in abundance
If I hide them in several convenient places in the mansion I don't even have to carry them around all the time
While also hiding the bullet wounds with Kinzo's collection of stakes and sawed-off rifles, it should also be quite the bizarre set-up for the corpses.
p.15
By switching the breaker I can easily pretend the phones were disabled
The means of communication and the electric system are all under my control
It is all in the palm of my hand, the hand of the witch and the family head
I have power over life and death of every being on this island! With the magic called gold their very thoughts will do as I command!
I am spinning this world from 16 pieces
Again and again
and again
As long as I have my magic I can spin countless worlds within the world of October 4th and 5th
p.16
This endless IF
it gives birth to endless Fragments in this catbox called October 4th and 5th
These are all parallel worlds floating within the catbox
and I am there to watch in on them
I do not have to abandon my plan
At times I follow it, at other times I play around
I just have to go about it at random, if I end up getting cornered then I might just kill anybody right then and there
Because I have abandoned making any choices
So no matter what development or what result there is, I will surely be satisfied
p.17
It's like a kaleidoscope!
What pocket will the roulette hit next?
Who will be the accomplicee? Who will be the victim?
And soon another new Fragment will be spun
What Fragment shall I peek at?
What Fragment shall I spin?
This is wonderful! My magic is unfathomable!
Now I have finally become a true witch!
p.18
This is a level of overhead-view that humans cannot reach
p.19
This is my domain
p.20
Shadow:

You are calling yourself a witch, aren't you?

Sayo:

Yes, I am already a witch

p.21
Sayo:

But to prove that I have truly surpassed the domain of humans
I need to be observed and acknowledged by a being even higher than myself
If you should be that
then please, make me a witch

Shadow:

And if I say no?

Sayo:

Then I will make you acknowledge me
Because I am already a witch without being acknowledged by anybody

p.22
Shadow:

To tread from the physical realm of humans over the threshhold into the realm between the Fragments is a feat that only us "witches" can pull off...
And even higher than us...Those are the ones freed from all constraints, rulers of all things in creation, the gods...
You humans are naught but splinters tossed about by the destiny that we give rise to
And you little woodchip say that you want to be on one level with me?
Since this child swore to me to "become a God" you are the first to raise my interest.
I am truly intrigued.
by you.
And by your magic system.

p.23
Shadow:

While you are nought but human flesh, by bringing your spirit on my plane of existence you created a proper domain
This catbox of yours holds perfect and endless possibilities.
Aah! How far will you be able to ease my boredom, I wonder.

p.24
Lambda:

Very well!
In the name of the Witch of Certainty Lambdadelta
I acknowledge you as a witch...!!
As long as your "certain magic world" keeps being "certain" that is!!
I will forever continue to be your guardian...!!

p.25
Beatrice:

This endless tragedy of October 4th and 5th
I shall spin it until I am satisfied!!

p.26
The timelimit is midnight on October 5th
500t of explosives will blow this island away
Until that moment!
p.27
Well then, try and stop me!!
The parents will definitel gather in one place and discuss family matters until deep in the night on the 4th
Murder will be so simple
Their bodies will be hauled to the storage shed that has been painted with a magic circle beforehand, and to hide the bulletholes I will use the sawed-off shotgun to blow off their faces
p.28
If I put poison into the drinks they toast with I can bring it to a fast end
If I make the First Twilight as horrible and occult as possible and play it off like an impossible crime his interest should definitely be peaked and he will feel like taking on the riddle
If I kill either Shannon or Kanon early on then moving around after that will become so much easier
But it might also become very enjoyable to present myself as the actual living Beatrice on the other hand
With the two sets of keys I carry, that of Shannon and Kanon,
I can also pull off some locked room tricks, if done right
p.29
Yes, there was one idea for a locked room that I have real confidence in
A chain-locked-room that seals in the corpses and keys in a consecutive link
First, starting with room (2) and going around, I seal in a corpse and the key of the room before by locking them in
In (1) there is only the key for (6) and the door is left unlocked
Finally I enter room (6), lock the door with the inside-lock and pretend to be dead
The important point is that (1) has to be at a place as far away and as difficult to find as possible
(6) on the other hand must be very easy to spot
It must be a room that has a window or something, which allows the locked room to be easily destroyed from the outside
The people discovering (6) will easily brake the window pane and enter the locked-room, finding the key to (5) inside and being leas in reverse order around the rooms
In the meantime I will sneak out through the broken window and enter (1), lock the door from the inside and again pretend to be dead
Nanjo's help is essential in this but there is a very high gain to it
p.30
Of course there is also the method of locking the door from the inside and then committing suice to create a locked-room
I read that in one of those many mystery novels...
You tie the gun to a string of wire and the blast from the shot will catapult it back behind a piece of furniture to hide it...
I would just have to place a stake beforehand
then the illusion of the witch would prevail beyond my death, wouldn't it?!
Otherwise I could attach a misleading tag to the wrong key and place it in a room
even if I was to look the room from the outside then, the illusion of a locked room wouldn't be broken.
Since nobody except the servants would be able to discern a true key of this mansion from a fake one in the first place.
Of those many tricks I know, which one should I put to the test?!
Aah, but even if I don't go through the huge trouble of preparation, I still have my golden magic of the secret agreements.
p.31
As long as I have my magic
any locked-room trick
any trick of vanishing corpses
any impossible crime are at my free disposable just by pinning the crime on somebody else!!
p.32
What to do next? A royal-road mystery? A really bizarre horror story?
How will the pieces move when I point my finger?
Sometimes I might even carry out the murders without any accomplicees
Or rather make everyone into accomplicees of the fake murder game
I should test
whether they truly fulfill my expectations

Letter: Rules - From the three items listed below choose one as a sacrifice to gain the other two
1, Your own life
2, ______'s life
3, Everybody else's lifes
If you choose nothing then you will loose all of the above.

Thank you, my beloved people
Thank you for loving me
p.33
You will be with me forever
-----even as souls after we die
p.34
You two would gladly sacrifice yourself to my desire, right....?
p.35
Is this really right...?
Something so horrible...
Really...?
p.36
...and kill's George wi
*tears up the page*
To make those I love take part unwillingly, to make the familie of the one's I love take part unwillingly
can I be satisfied with that?
Is this really the right thing...?
p.37
No, this can never be right
I want the people I love so much to live
Because I really...
p.38
want to live happily, if it can be granted somehow
Beatrice:

What is this?
After all you have done
Do you really think that you could still lead a happy life?
FURNITUUUUUUUUUUuuuuRE!!

p.39
Yes!
It is not yet decided, yet I can think of nothing else.
So, that is why there must be someone else to stop me.
Rule X: Please, somebody stop me!
Kinzo said, solving the epitaph equals a miracle
So if I were to entrust it to a bet on the magic of...miracles
The one to solve the epitaph would arrive at this room, switch off the bomb and survive
I want to gamble with this chance as well.
If by any chance my beloved someone would solve the epitaph and through it inherit the headship...
p.40
I would devote my life to that miracle...
I would throw away all my other emotions and would live forever at that person's side...
and I would stop the murders and confess all of my sins
Such a result, whatever end it might bring, I could accept it...
For this would surely be my punishment.
I am sure you will be able to solve it, right?!
You will notice that I am the culprit
and then you will stop me, right....?!
p.41
If that might not come true, then at least let us all be happy in the Golden Land.
All of these bottle mails are made in a way that, if you follow all of the many rules, you will be able to unveil the culprit.
That is why each and every one of these bottles contains a confession of my sins.
Repentance for my sins that would not exist had I not written them down.
p.42
At least as a small apology I send the bereaved families a very small Golden Land of mine.
-- Of course I know that these would not excuse any of what I did
Once I would have Maria-sama recite the invitation I made her memorize, the curtain on this tragedy would have to rise, I assume.
After that it would all be left to the result of the roulette.
On October 5th when the bell strikes midnight we will surely all be welcomed to a land where we are freed from all of our suffering.
p.43
I am the noble witch of Rokkenjima
Beatrice
And I shall make the curtain fall on this accursed bloodline and this chain of ill fate.
p.44
And if by any chance I might be forgiven
Please grant me the miracle of smiling with that person
when the seagulls cry.
This is the last message that the witch left as a human.

And yes, one of the panels when she explains how her magic makes everything possible also shows Shannon killing Nanjo in EP3

[Uberzaki]

The manga is obviously a deception made by Ryukishi in order to allow the truly great detectives (such as myself) to obtain the even truer answer. I'll quote the red text:

Rosa [...] killed [...] other people.

See? It was obviously Rosa in the garden with the fountain pen! Just check the alternative theories online.

[theacefrehley]

p.15
By switching the breaker I can easily pretend the phones were disabled
The means of communication and the electric system are all under my control

Interesting
So this means the means of communication with the outside were not actually broken.

With this, Kyrie's hurry in EP7 Tea Party to kill everybody, instead of waiting for the bomb to blow everyone, makes some more sense.
She was right to suspect this was the case with the radio/phone.

Spoiler:

「生かして朝を迎える理由がないわ。朝になれば、騒ぎになって面倒になる。無線で島の外に連絡したり、助け を求めたりするかもしれない。
……だからこれが、極めてベストなのよ。チェス盤を引っ繰り返して考えればね……？」
＜霧江

[jjblue1]

Originally Posted by haguruma

Sadly I haven't yet gotten my hands on part 1 of CotGW since 2000Yen is a little expensive for my taste (especially since it's only about 40 pages), but at least I have part 2 and 3 complete and will leave you with the translation of both chapters for now. We'll see what more I can do later


For now only this chaper, because I have to go eat something and putting it in a proper format takes time. So see you later and have fun so far. Only 19 days left till the first chapter after Confession...let's hope it involves the Hachijos

I'm really thankful for your translations!

And the new bits make Sayo's condition even sadder.
Genji and the others order her around in the same harsh tone as before...
Not only this shows they weren't that kind with her... or at least not kind in a way she could get... but no one tried to support her or to cover up for her more... or if they did she didn't even perceived it...

And it's horrible how she has to keep everything inside... and everything starts to turn black...

And I suspected they were keeping Kinzo in his room although i was hoping I was wrong because still... keeping a decomposing body in the house... that's so disgusting... I've heard not only the smell is nauseating but it can get so strong it even permeated whoever will get too close... they didn't even had the decency to bury him or burn him...

*sigh* maybe I talk because I come from another culture but this is so... I've no words...

And then Natsuhi played the oh so righteous part when Eva and the others attacked her...

I'm disgusted.

And it's interesting how it's more like it's Jessica who consciously or unconsciously is pushing Shannon in George's arms than Shannon trying to get in them, labelling them as a couple even if they only went out what? Once? Twice?

But I wonder if Jessica understood Shannon liked someone but misunderstood who that person was... so when she believed Shannon was 'taking action' she thought Shannon was much more involved than what she really was.

Her situation is pitiful though. She wants to be loved but the only ones that show her affection are her relatives and so the happiness she feels at receiving love feels wrong because she blames it on Kinzo's genes...

Oh, and it's a nice touch that the tape Jessica handed to Kanon got mentioned. Kanon talked about it in Ep 6 but I don't remember it being mentioned previously so it felt a bit weird.

It's also good to hear confirmation about how part of her problem was that since she had never experienced being accepted for who she truly was she couldn't imagine a future for herself.

And picturing little Sayo who's so happy because Battler is coming back... in a way it seems that even if Shannon says her love for George is the strongest she still favour Battler over George. Little Sayo called him the one they love the most and denies that Shannon loves George the most and even Beato insists that Shannon was the happier when she heard of Battler's return.

And *sighs* she really ended up on trapping herself, although she probably couldn't see it at first. She must really hate her body.

And Genji really... you're the worst.

Uhm... I'm sort of surprised by how Kumasawa and Nanjo seems to have been willing to join in without even wanting money back. But I'm not sure what Nanjo means with 'the compassion she had for them'?

Still... apart from humouring her in this it doesn't seem like they supported her a lot... and agreeing to a mystery murder game like the ones Sayo planned is just... sort of sick. I mean didn't they realize the pain and the fear they would push on the other unwilling participants?

And somehow even if it had been all a game I don't think Natsuhi and Co would have forgiven them. And while for Kumasawa it might be okay to quit her work as she's old enough Nanjo might have troubles. So hum... it feels like there's something I'm missing. Or do they though the fact they were accomplices with Natsuhi and Krauss was insurance good enough there wouldn't be repercussions?

Well, at least we know that Nanjo thought of a game at first and that Shannon planned to trick him into making him believe she wasn't responsible for the murders... but it's still hard to believe they would keep on playing when the first twilight would turn out to be a real murder.

Expecially in Ep 1. It would be a good moment to insist on quitting instead than pretending that Shannon is also dead.

And have I already mentioned Genji is the worst?

Also interesting how this confirms the part of the tip over Gohda's past false.

LOL to Sayo blatantly telling Natsuhi isn't very smart and has no use as accomplice.

And hum... Rudolf and Kyrie as acting murderers? Scary... I wonder if they were really bribed in Prime and the plan went messed up as they didn't understand the game was called off...

It's nice to have the solution for so many tricks.

But also it's good to hear of her horror at following this route, to how she wanted to be stopped. Honestly I've my doubts she would have managed to go along with her plan even if she hadn't been stopped.

And, interesting enough it seems she really want to be stopped by Battler and smile in the end with Battler, not with George. But she really didn't understand that when seeing a gruesome murder for real he wouldn't go exactly into investigator mode... or maybe she did as in her tales he's not exactly depicted as such. Battler's investigations are really minimal... He's mostly obeying orders of not touching, not looking, not going around and so on...

... I'd like to know the difference between the messages Sayo sent and the episodes we read. Although it seems they had a lot written in them I've the feeling they didn't have all we read. But maybe it's just me.

Anyway, thanks again for your translations!

[theacefrehley]

Originally Posted by jjblue1

... I'd like to know the difference between the messages Sayo sent and the episodes we read. Although it seems they had a lot written in them I've the feeling they didn't have all we read. But maybe it's just me.

I always had the impression the bottle stories were like Bern's 'purple truth game'.
Short, blunt and not much inner monologues like Battler has, that fills quite a lot of time. I mean, you can't stuff 300 pages in a bottle, can you?

[Kirroha]

According to EP1's epilogue, the contents of the message bottle was just "one thin piece of notebook paper crammed with words". So it's probably just stuff like what's on the character sheet, like XXXX, sacrifice for first twilight, offered up as a key, blah blah

[Ayu-ayu]

Looking at the three rules mentioned, shouldn't the last one be "Rule Z"? Just trying to be sure here...

Originally Posted by haguruma

Rule X: The accomplicee is different every time.
The adults are all in financial trouble.
It is easy to bribe them.

Rule Y: Lies agreed on by everyone can be depicted as actually happening.
In a locked room situation anything goes.
People who observe the golden butterflies are either accomplicees or dead.
Those who were not bribed can only see the golden butterflies in the timespace of 30 minutes before their death.
From that point onwards I began to write down plans for a crime as if I had gone mad.

(...)

Rule X: Please, somebody stop me!
Kinzo said, solving the epitaph equals a miracle
So if I were to entrust it to a bet on the magic of...miracles
The one to solve the epitaph would arrive at this room, switch off the bomb and survive
I want to gamble with this chance as well.
If by any chance my beloved someone would solve the epitaph and through it inherit the headship...

[theacefrehley]

Originally Posted by Kirroha

According to EP1's epilogue, the contents of the message bottle was just "one thin piece of notebook paper crammed with words". So it's probably just stuff like what's on the character sheet, like XXXX, sacrifice for first twilight, offered up as a key, blah blah

And if the tales Yasu wrote are really short, like just a few pages long, that could explain how Ange is not part of the story. There's enough time to produce tales without Ange, or rewrite the ones she already had