| 2 | 死者の魂が難破船をおしあげる The Souls of the Dead Raise a Shipwreck |
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Synopsis[]
The Queen Berry sails in the middle of a violent sea to parts unknown.
Kazuya appears to regret having themselves involved with the Miniature Garden Box Evening, but Victorique stays calm through the first few moments of the night. What's worse is that the dinner is only entitled to a single person per invitation, and this rules out Kazuya from the dinner. Kazuya starts to wonder about food, and Victorique takes the time to blame him, since he left all the food provisions in exchange for less luggage.
Victorique eventually becomes tired of her companion's complaints, and gives him a roll to eat.
The next thing Kazuya noticed, he is elsewhere.
Victorique realizes that she, Kazuya, and the rest of the quests have been drugged, and was taken to a single room which was locked from the outside. As some of the guests begin to find their way out, Victorique finds out something unusual: she remembers that there are nine other guests aside from her and Kazuya, but currently, there are twelve people inside the room.
Kazuya and Victorique try to keep their conversation discreet; as the other visitors talk to each other, Victorique tells Kazuya that the one who has taken them to where they are might be the twelfth person. Soon, the other visitors begin to talk about hares and the Miniature Garden Box.
Then, Kazuya's curiosity leads him to the fireplace, where a replica of the Queen Berry sits on top. Before he could touch it, someone throws a dart at him, causing him to be frozen with fear. This commotion caused the people to realize that they might be inside Queen Berry, the ghost ship that Kazuya has read about in the library.
The story of the Queen Berry reads that the cruise ship has sunk ten years ago, and was raised by the souls of the dead whenever there is a stormy night. Those who are lured into boarding the ship become living sacrifices, dragged beneath the waves as the Queen Berry sank again.
Victorique is clearly not convinced by the tale, and even laughs at Kazuya, thinking that the tale was some kind of joke. However, Kazuya is serious about what he read.
Soon, a momentary blackout occurred, causing Kazuya to think that the ghost ship is trying to separate them, but the lights went back on even before he could look for Victorique. Nothing appears to have changed before and after the blackout, but the visitor wearing a red dress changes that.
She screams upon the sight of something written on the wall of the lounge. It says:
|
(French) Il y a de cela une dizaine d'années. |
(English) It was ten years ago, |
The guests are clearly alarmed by the text written in the wall; ironic that the dinner consists of hare meat, the visitors realize that they are now the same animal that they enjoy watching. One of the guests desperately flees from the room and discovers that one of the doors are unlocked. However, it spells the death of the unfortunate man, who lies dead with what seems like an arrow through his forehead.
With the trap seemingly sprung for them, the rest of the guests run outside the room, and Kazuya and Victorique leave last, with the young girl apparently indifferent of the gruesome scene that unfolded.
Kazuya and Victorique catches up with the other guests, who utilize the ship's lifeboats to escape. Despite the warnings of one of the guests, six of them jump to the lifeboat and they have it lowered, only to be crushed by a towering wave within the first few moments outside the ship.
At that moment, there are only five of the guests remaining. Despite the number of deaths around her, Victorique stays calm, and this fact just worries Kazuya even more.
As they return back inside the ship, they find out that the same lounge they have stayed in is now filled with webs and dust. Another surprise for them is that the corpse of the man who was first killed by the trap earlier is now missing, with no traces of being moved. This proves too much for one of them, who lost his cool and attempts to flee the scene.
After being calmed by Kazuya, the man introduces himself as Maurice, a man who works for the Foreign Ministry of Sauville. The other guests introduce themselves as well; the woman who wears a red dress is Julie Guile, the daughter of an owner of a coal mine, and the man with blond hair is Ned Baxter, a stage actor from England, who is to play as a murderer in his next play (although he outright denies that he is the killer). Kazuya then introduces himself and Victorique.
Then, Victorique approaches Maurice and asks him to explain what is going on, much to his puzzlement. She then points out that he knew about the trap in the model of Queen Berry and warned Kazuya about it. Cornered by Victorique's analysis, Maurice explains his side of the story.
According to him, the model of the ship they saw in the lounge is based on the same ship that sunk in the Mediterranean Sea in 1914. Among those who boarded the ship are a group of children nicknamed "hares". These eleven children possess vastly different features and might have come from different parts of the world. Maurice is assigned to examine how the children were inside the ship, and he discovered that they killed each other.
Ned confronts Maurice for the point of such bloodshed, but Maurice admits that he has no idea himself, as he was only assigned to gather the bodies. Nonetheless, the ship began to take in water at an alarming rate, and it sank, taking with it the only pieces of evidence.
Maurice then realizes that they are dragged into the same fate as those children because they are responsible for their deaths. He also declares that it is over and they shall die like those children.
And even Victorique is not amused with Maurice's story.
She does not believe that ghosts can write invitations.
Maurice tries to convince that the ship did sink ten years ago, but Victorique refuses to believe it. She asks everyone to use their noses, and it is there that they discover that there are traces of wet paint in the room. Also, Victorique points out that wine (apparent vintage is 1890) located inside the lounge does not show that it is truly old, and might have been a newer wine placed in a bottle with an older label.
Victorique believes that the ship is supposed to be a perfect replica of the Queen Berry.
However, Maurice remains stubborn, pointing out the dilapidated look of the lounge and the painted message in the wall earlier. Victorique is forced to convince him once and for all... by reconstructing the chaos.
Victorique leads them outside and asks them about the reason for choosing to go to the room they stumbled upon. Julie answers that it is the only open room in the cabin, and they know that the only open room is the room they exited.
However, Victorique has a hunch that it is not the only lounge. Kazuya is told by Victorique to open the door on the other side, and there, they have a shocking discovery: the man that was killed earlier is on the other side, and the other room is the lounge they found themselves in.
She also pointed out some clues in the newer-looking lounge. She picks up pieces of wallpaper hidden behind from chairs and explains that the blackout is needed to give the culprit some time to tear away the newer wallpaper to expose the words written on the wall. Kazuya commends Victorique for her ability to solve the crime, but she interrupts him; she tells him that the case is far from being solved.
Maurice listens to the sound of water flooding the lowest levels of the ship and frantically tells them to go to the radio room one deck below to call for help.
Upon discovering that the elevator is also rigged with traps, they are forced to look for the stairs. On their way, Kazuya notices that Victorique's height might be disadvantageous for her and offers his hand to him. However, Victorique does not like how it sounded, and begins to bicker at Kazuya. This becomes a small commotion which eventually screeches into a halt when Victorique barely escapes from a trap installed in the hallway.
Soon, Ned discovers a staircase and the others rush to his position.
There, Julie takes the time to praise Kazuya for saving Victorique. Kazuya blushes to it, and notices that Victorique is now holding his hand, much to his surprise.
They manage to catch up with Maurice, but he brings terrible news: the lower deck has been flooded already. Despite this, Julie shows her determination and steps first into the flooded deck. The others follow, and Kazuya offers his back to Victorique, who hesitantly accepts it.
As Kazuya wades on the knee-deep waters, he notices that Victorique is lighter than usual, and that she might be afraid of water, as shown by her trembling hands. However, she appears to be the type who does not want personal things to be asked to her.
Soon, Kazuya realizes that no matter now mysterious or stubborn she might be, Victorique is simply a girl... a small girl that needs someone's protection. However, he himself doubts his strength.
Maurice can barely cling on to his sanity as they arrive at the lower decks. Even Ned's assurance cannot improve his mentality.
Then, he snaps.
Before Julie could enter the hallways leading to the radio room, Maurice rushes in and discovers a pistol in the many hidden compartments throughout the ship. He tells them that there are many weapons hidden all over the ship's interior, and its purpose is for the "hares" to kill each other off. He accepts the fact that it is the ultimate fate of everyone aboard the ship, and he shall be the one who will survive after he kills everyone else.
Victorique stays calm throughout Maurice's psychotic speech, but Kazuya accepts what he can do and stands in front of Victorique, willing to shield her from Maurice's attacks. He tells Victorique that he is responsible for her since he was the one who started the idea of using Roxane's invitation, and thus, will protect her as the son of an Imperial soldier.
Maurice congratulates Kazuya for being the "hare" and, as Kazuya closes his eyes...
...a gunshot rips through the Queen Berry.
Characters[]
(In order of appearance)
New Characters[]
- Seven other guests
- Maurice
- Julie Guile
- Ned Baxter