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Episode 5: End of the Golden Witch

This particular episode is practically a complete, 100% side track as far as the purposes of my solution project are concerned. It gave the reader the idea that the ten rules of Knox apply to the mysteries and provided a lot of clues for the previous mysteries, including the big one, Yasu’s identity. However it did not actually discuss any of the mysteries by themselves, nor did it have many mysteries that I can discuss on their own. On top of all that it had an ONSLAUGHT of Red Truths that were usually barely more than word-games and irrelevant and/or redundant bickering to complicate things, PLUS the Blue Truths on top of all that. Finally, as if those things weren’t annoying enough, the actual mysteries in this episode are so vague that is becomes ridiculously hard to solve any of them with 100% certainty.

That said it is still probably my favorite episode in Chiru, if not in the whole series, because the ???? part is just GLORIOUS. This was the fourth time I read that particular part, and yet I still couldn’t help but giggle like a schoolgirl all the way through. :3

I mean, I still involuntarily squee every single time Ronove shows up and Dream End Discharger starts playing, which is the biggest Crowning Music of Awesome in a game with one of the best soundtracks of all time with about a dozen other CMoAs… :3

But back to the topic:

The phone calls and the man from 19 years ago

Description

Natsuhi receives a call from an unknown “man”, claiming to be Natsuhi’s “son” from 19 years ago and tells her that he is coming on the day of the conference for revenge. Later he asks Natsuhi about her favorite season. She answers fall, and then he instructs her to uncover a playing card depicting the season. Then he proceeds to blackmail her with Krauss’ life, ordering her to hide in a wardrobe in a certain room the next day. Later Natsuhi notes that the only person who would know about her favorite season would be Shannon, and therefore she suggests that she might be an accomplice.

Explanation

It was Yasu, of course. Even though Genji says the call came from an external line, it was actually from an internal line all along. The card and her knowing Natsuhi’s favorite season points at Shannon (possibly a clue for Battler), but it is quite likely that there were four cards hidden in the room, so no matter which season Natsuhi would have chosen, there would have been a corresponding card there.

As for the blackmail, it’s so that she could be framed for Hideyoshi’s murder, though this plan later gets complicated by other factors.

The Witch’s Letter

Description

Battler, Rudolf, Kyrie, Eva, Hideyoshi, Shannon, Kanon, were in the dining hall when there was a knock on the door. When they check it out, there is a letter written by Beatrice with the family head’s ring that declares Battler the family head.

Red Truths

(Ugh… This episode -really- goes overboard with the number and length of the Reds… -.-)

  1. Before the family conference, Erika, George, Jessica, Maria, Nanjo, Gohda, and Kumasawa left the mansion and moved to the guesthouse.”
  2. “Of those who remain, only Krauss, Natsuhi, and Genji were in the second floor corridor, while all others were in the dining hall.”
  3. “Krauss, Natsuhi and Genji did not even touch that letter!”
  4. “Not a single person in the dining hall…no, there’s a simpler way to say it. Among all those inside the mansion at 24:00, not a single person placed that letter in the corridor.”
  5. “Neither Krauss nor Natsuhi nor Genji knocked!”
  6. “This isn’t the limited meaning of them knocking on the door, okay? It means they didn’t use a pillar to transmit the sound or push the play button on a cassette tape they’d recorded or create that knock sound by any means! Of course, this applies to direct, indirect, intentional, coincidental, and unintentional means!”
  7. “Let it be known that at 24:00, except for Krauss, Natsuhi, and Genji in the second floor corridor and all of the people in the dining hall, no humans existed inside the mansion.”
  8. “Let it be known that in addition to Krauss, Natsuhi, and Genji, none of those in the dining hall made the knock. In this sense, ‘knock’ includes all direct, indirect, intentional, unintentional, and coincidental events that could create a knocking sound.”
  9. “In short, this means it was impossible for any character within the mansion to be the source of a knocking SOUND. ……And ‘any character’ refers even to unobserved people that no one has noticed.”
  10. “It was announced in red that no one in the mansion placed the letter in the hallway.”
  11. “No one in the mansion placed the letter in the hallway. This includes doing so by all concepts, such as directly, indirectly, intentionally, coincidentally, and unintentionally.”
  12. “At 24:00, only Erika, George, Jessica, Maria, Nanjo, Gohda, and Kumasawa existed outside the mansion”
  13. “The letter never existed on the ceiling of the hallway.”
  14. “Know that the letter never touched the serving cart.”
  15. “It was impossible for anyone outside the mansion to influence anything inside the mansion around the time of the family conference.”
  16. “None of the characters misidentified a knocking sound.”
  17. “Misidentifying a knocking sound means this: they would not mistake a sound very similar to a knocking sound for a real knocking sound. Hitting a pillar to make something similar to a knocking sound is no good. When you record a knocking sound on a cassette tape and play it back, it becomes ‘the sound of the tape with a knocking sound on it’, and not a knocking sound. So that’s no good either!”
  18. “In other words, all of them would correctly distinguish a knocking sound of something truly hitting the door, and they definitely wouldn’t mishear it. It’s totally impossible that any sounds except hitting that door directly would be misinterpreted as a knock!!”
  19. “‘To knock’ means someone hitting a door with their hand, right?”
  20. “And none of them misinterpreted a knocking sound. Krauss, Natsuhi, and Genji were not involved with the knock. No one else existed inside the mansion. And that knock refers to the action of standing directly in front of a door and hitting it with a hand.”

Explanation

There was no knocking at all. It was Kanon who picked up the letter, but in reality there was no letter on the floor either. Kanon only pretended to hear a knocking sound (thus there was no fake sound or misidentification), then acted out finding the letter in the hallway (thus the letter wasn’t placed by anyone anywhere), fulfilling all the Red Truths.

The First Twilight

Description

George, Maria, Jessica and Rosa were found dead in the cousins’ room on the second floor of the guest house. Their throats were cut open and there was a lot of blood at the scene. There was a magic circle on the door. Genji was found dead in his own room with his throat cut open the same way. Genji’s room was sealed and the seal was only disturbed when the body was discovered in the morning.

Red Truths

(Here I had to pick out a few redundant red truths because there were just so many of them. I mean, holy shit! Just including all the Red Truths would have been longer than the actual solution! If you are unsatisfied with the omissions, make your case why they would be important and I will reconsider. All of them can be found at link)

  1. “So, anyone looking at George, Jessica, Maria, Rosa, or Genji’s corpses could confirm at a glance that they are dead”
  2. “At a glance, anyone could confirm that these corpses are dead, so it is absolutely impossible that they are just people playing dead.”
  3. “At 24:00 in the guesthouse, George, Jessica, and Maria were alive and in the second floor cousins’ room. Nanjo, Gohda, and Kumasawa were on the first floor.”
  4. “George, Jessica, Maria, Rosa, and Genji really are dead.”
  5. “…To go even further, at 24:00, Natsuhi, Krauss, and Genji were in a corridor on the second floor of the mansion. All the remaining people were at the family conference in the dining hall. Of course, at that point in time, no murder had occurred. Genji was also alive.”
  6. “Nanjo had the alibi of being with Erika until 3:00 AM. And he didn’t leave his room after 3:00 AM until morning.”
  7. “Ushiromiya Battler returned to the cousins’ room at 3:00 AM and fell asleep. After that, until the discovery of the crime, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happened in the room!”
  8. “In other words, it was impossible for Battler to commit murder or damage the corpses.”
  9. “It is impossible for someone to reach the second floor of the guesthouse without anyone in the lounge noticing it. ……Though of course, this only refers to reaching the second floor from inside the building.”
  10. “At 24:00, Natsuhi, Krauss, and Genji were in the corridor on the second floor of the mansion. The rest of them were in the dining hall on the first floor.”
  11. “Of all the people in the dining hall, not one of them left the dining hall until 1:00 AM…!”
  12. “When Genji finished transferring the call, he immediately returned to the waiting room.”
  13. “At 1:00 AM, Eva sealed Genji’s waiting room, and that seal was broken by Kanon and Kumasawa in the morning when the crime was discovered.”
  14. “During the short break at 1:00 AM, the first two to leave the dining hall were Rosa and Eva. Until Eva returned, everyone in the dining hall remained there. After seeing Rosa off, Eva went to the waiting room and sealed it. Of course, she did not enter the room at all at this time.”
  15. “Genji never left the mansion after 24:00”
  16. “Ushiromiya Natsuhi is not the culprit!”
  17. “Ushiromiya Krauss is not the culprit. And he was killed long ago, shortly after you heard his voice over the phone, get it?”
  18. “Due to the above, the seals are guaranteed to be PERFECT. <Miss> Erika’s seals were not broken by anyone, and deception is IMPOSSIBLE!!”
  19. “Eva’s seal was of the same type as <Miss> Erika’s. That is because this method of sealing was one that <Miss> Erika and Eva conceived of together after DINNER.”
  20. “It is impossible to tear off any of the seals by any method without leaving marks.”
  21. “There were no suspicious marks on any of the seals…!”
  22. “All of Erika and Eva’s seals were not tampered with in any way that hindered their ability to act as seals, such as being scraped off.”
  23. “All deaths were homicides.”
  24. “Know that none of the corpses would ever lead to a mistaken autopsy”
  25. “Know that no corpses exist except those of characters who have appeared in the story”
  26. “After George’s death, his corpse was never moved!”
  27. “After Jessica’s death, her corpse was never moved!”
  28. “After Maria’s death, her corpse was never moved!”
  29. “After Rosa’s death, her corpse was never moved!”
  30. “After Genji’s death, his corpse was never moved!”
  31. “After Krauss’s death, his corpse was never moved!”
  32. “Therefore, the corpses couldn’t have vanished after being discovered!! Your theory about Kinzo carrying the corpses away fails!”

Special Notes

It was mentioned a number of times how the magic circle was apparently drawn pretty sloppily and how it was an “imitation”. Erika never saw the corpses, and they were hidden under blankets.

Explanation

The cousins, Rosa and Genji only pretended to be killed as a part of a show put up for Erika. All of the adults, the servants and Battler was playing along. It became possible because Battler was not the detective of this episode, therefore his POV is just as questionable as everyone else’s. The magic circle was written up by one of the “accomplices” using Maria’s notes, explaining the inaccuracies.

Since there were no corpses to identify or deaths to confirm, #1, #2 and #24 are sidestepped. #4 is explained by the time of the declaration: if a Red Truth doesn’t have a time-frame attached to it, it means that it only applies to the events/facts of a particular game that happened before the Red was uttered.

Since the “trial” technically takes place on the 6th at midnight, it means that the victims could have died at any time between the discovery of the bodies and the time of the trial and the Red Truth would still be true.

They also “disprove” the possibility that the crime took place after 3:00, except that it’s another technicality: there was no crime to speak of, therefore it didn’t take place either before or after 3:00. The cousins and Genji died at another unspecified time (which also explains #26-30, as it is completely possible that if they were killed elsewhere, then their bodies would not be discovered and moved).

Hideyoshi’s Murder

Description

Hideyoshi was killed in a guest room with a stake in his back. Natsuhi was in the wardrobe during this time, but the wardrobe was closed so she didn’t see anything and didn’t move because of the blackmail. A few minutes later Eva calls for help because her husband didn’t answer and she couldn’t enter because the chain was set from the inside. Gohda cuts the chain with a wire-cutter.

Explanation

This is pretty much the vaguest “murder” in the entire series, since there is no Red Truth dedicated to it at all and it wasn’t even discussed in the game.

This is my take on it: Hideyoshi enters the room and locks it with the chain. Then he plays out being attacked while Eva is outside. This was planned in advance, as it is shown by Gohda showing up with the wire cutter almost instantly.

Everyone rushes in to discover the “corpse”, but by the time Erika with her detective privilege arrives he is already wrapped in sheets and taken to the parlor, so she cannot confirm his death.

In short, it is another fake murder played up in case Erika is within earshot.

Why are the adults playing along with the game?

Explanation

It is more than likely that it was the cousins who came up with the idea of creating a murder mystery game for Erika just to spite her intellectual rapist ass. The reason why the adults are playing along is a different matter however, namely that they are doing so to put Natsuhi in a corner. Their goal is to create a situation where they can force Natsuhi to admit that Kinzo was dead all along and use this evidence to force Krauss to actually accept Battler’s claim for the headship and streamline the process of dividing the gold. This would also explain why Eva put her seals everywhere beyond any human reason.

In fact it is quite likely that the reason Hideyoshi’s murder was staged was because of Kinzo’s “escape” from the study and, since they don’t know what happened to Krauss (it is almost certain that he was taken by Yasu at this point) they plan on putting the blame on Krauss to corner Natsuhi even further, but then Erika catches Natsuhi on the way back and this diverts the discussion.

Because of this it is almost sure that Yasu wasn’t working with them, since it is stated in red that Krauss was killed right after the morning phone call to Natsuhi, where his life was used to blackmail her.

The Unreliable Narrator

This particular Episode takes the unreliability of the narration to never-before seen heights. The biggest point of confusion this caused was thanks to the scenes where Shannon and Kanon appeared to be present in the same room at the same time with Erika, the detective with the infallible objective viewpoint. How does that work? Let me quote Redsoxit from down below, as he put it quite eloquently:

[…] Even if the “Narrative” states that both Shannon and Kanon existed at the same time and in the same room as Erika, we are never explicitly shown Erika’s OWN perspective and point of view throughout the episode. Remember that the only thing established regarding the role of the Detective is that the Detective is not the culprit and that the Detective’s OWN point of view is completely and unmistakably objective. So unless, Erika HERSELF unequivocally states in red that she saw both Kanon and Shannon at the same time in the same room, we still have plenty of room to doubt the perspective of the “Narrative” (as written by Hachijo and read aloud by the witches) that allowed Kanon and Shannon to exist at the same time and room as Erika. For example, the “Narrative” shows us (the readers) corpses on the beds in the cousins’ room and attempts to convince us that the corpses are dead only because Erika never bothers to check that the corpses are fake. If we were shown Erika’s 1st person point-of-view, we would have seen something resembling the adults “crying” over their children’s deaths while completely covering Erika’s view of the bodies and we (as readers) would have been much more EASILY able to doubt the validity of the corpses.

In other words, not a single scene we are presented with can be considered objective, and as such even scenes featuring Erika should be treated the same way as the magic-laden meta-events of the rest of the series.


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