itsalluseless | Memory 02

Memory: Erika questions the legends of Rokkenjima [ep6] (Trivial Neutral)
Game: Odile's popularity game
Day: 159
Form: Memories come in the form of familiar-looking blood rubies. Hold it with intent to view it. 4/5 uses left.

The cousins, Shannon, and Erika are on their way to the guesthouse after dinner. A room has been prepared there for Erika as well.

ERIKA: ......And, snce the guesthouse is a good distance away from the mansion, ......no matter what kind of trouble happens, you can't hear what's going on in one from the other.

BATTLER: Heh. Are you still in detective mode? Ihihi, sounds as though you'll be disappointed when we wake up tomorrow and everyone can say 'good morning' to each other.

ERIKA: *giggle*, true. It would be troublesome if our numbers haven't thinned by tomorrow morning. Right?

They pass the portrait in the entrance hall and Erika asks about it.

SHANNON: ......This is the Master's benefactor, Beatrice-sama.

GEORGE: I've heard that she gave Grandfather a vast quantity of gold, meaning that she's to thank for the Ushiromiya family's revival.

JESSICA: .........She's just a witch of Grandfather's delusions. They say that her ghost walks the corridors of the mansion every night.

BATTLER: Hey, quit it... That story always freaked me out when I was little, so much that I couldn't stand being in the mansion at night.

GEORGE: Oh, right, that's true. What about now, six years later?

BATTLER: I'd totally forgotten, but looking at this portrait head on, I can feel that old fear coming back a bit.

MARIA: Uu-. Beatrice isn't scary. At least, as long as you respect her. If you don't, .........kihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi! Right, Shannon?

SHANNON: Uh, ......yes. ......That rumor does exist among the servants as well. ......Rumors about servants patrolling at night bumping into mysterious silhouettes...or gold butterflies...

JESSICA: Yeah, was it last year or the year before? Didn't one servant fall down some stairs and get so badly injured that they quit? Wasn't there a rumor that it was Beatrice's curse? Ihhihihihi~!

The cousins keep talking about the "curse", trying to creep Erika out. She ignores that, though, and keeps pressing Shannon about when and how the legends started. Grandfather was the first to talk about "his beloved witch Beatri~ce". Erika dismisses the story as nothing more than nonsense.

MARIA: ......Uu-. Beatrice exists. If you say things like that, you'll definitely feel the curse of the witch.

ERIKA: Oh, how frightening. Please, curse me if you can, Beatrice. ......*giggle*giggle*.

BATTLER: Ihihi. So, if we find you mysteriously dead next morning, it'll be the start of a witch's murder case. ......You're the detective, right? Wouldn't having the detective killed off in the beginning be a little too radical?

ERIKA: Ah, that would be troubling. That would get in the way of the crime scene investigation. ......I see, even the Knox rules don't prohibit the detective being killed.

Maria offers everyone scorpion charms that are supposed to work as protection against Beatrice. Shannon mentions that she is also vulnerable to spiderwebs, just like the evil spirits of Akujikishima.

Later at the guesthouse, Shannon goes into further detail about how Beatrice was treated as a ghost story by the servants and blamed for strange happenings like things disappearing or windows being left open. Again, Erika is dismissive, treating the stories as childish gibberish. After all, there's no way Beatrice actually exists! Maria tries to prove that Beatrice is real by describing a magic trick she was shown: making candy appear beneath an upturned cup. Like the huge bitch she is, Erika spoils the childish wonder of the trick by showing how it's done.

JESSICA: Okay, let's go, Maria...! Let's play cards together in the room upstairs...

GEORGE: ......Erika-san. As an adult, I cannot condone that conversation just now.

ERIKA: My apologies. I'm still just a kid, after all.

MARIA: ......*hic*, .........*hic*......

After seeing that wonderful candy magic brutally insulted by Erika, ......Maria had been crying this whole time...

BATTLER: Haah... ......I started noticing it at the quiz party after dinner, but your personality is screwed up. ......Do you think this is fun?! Do you like tearing a little kid's dreams apart?

Disgusted, the cousins take off to their room to play cards and leave Erika down in the parlor.

What he learned:
+ Beatrice is definitely the witch of the forest!
+ But she's more a ghost story than anything?
+ I think we were mostly just trying to get Erika's goat.
+ Speaking of which: Wow Erika
+ wow