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tiletta ([personal profile] tiletta) wrote2023-07-17 01:07 pm

The Cuore of Truth Brings Good Fortune - Episode 6

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Ernest: H-Huh? Oh, it's just a dog. You scared me there...
You’re in such bad shape, are you a stray...? You seem like you're used to humans though... Where did you come from, little buddy?
???: ......
Ernest: ... Are you perhaps hungry? You've been looking at my biscuit... Right, you look like you need to eat...
Ernest: .........
...... Oh, well. It’s the end of the road for me anyway.
It's all yours now. Here, eat up.
???: ... Kyu.
Ernest: Oh, you wolfed it down real fast. Phew. You're not as weak as I'd feared.
???: Kyu...
Ernest: Ahaha, was that a 'thank you'? It's no big deal. Well, as a farewell, could you let me pet you for a bit?
???: ...... (startles) ......
Ernest: There, there. You're adorable... Stay strong for me, okay?
Man... I'm glad I managed to do some good before I breathed my last…


[ Present time ]
Ernest: And then, Elmo got to its feet, and it showed me into this mansion.
Arthur: So Elmo was the one who brought you here.
Ernest: That's right. I know it’s not good to trespass, but I was terribly cold, and it was freezing out there...
I told myself I'd stay just the night, and once I met the owner, I'd apologise sincerely.

But the next day, the proprietor did not return home. Apparently, it was then that Ernest began to feel faint from hunger, and Elmo started growing weaker...
That was the reason why, even though he knew he shouldn't, Ernest took a small amount of food from the larder.

Ernest: By a good stroke of luck, I found a cluster of herbs growing in the nearby forest while out foraging. I managed to make some money from that, and that was enough to reimburse the owner for the food I’d taken from the larder.
Bradley: So that's why there was spare change lying around in the larder. What an upstanding fool you are.
Ernest: I had planned to leave the mansion behind after I paid off my food bill, but then...
Shylock: You weren't able to, because that was the start of the strange occurrences and Elmo's injuries, correct?
Ernest: Yeah... I'm truly, deeply sorry for what I've done.

Ernest lowered his head into a deep bow, his bony frame looking very small and shrunken in that moment.

Arthur: Raise your head, Ernest. Even though your conduct was unbecoming, the kindness that you’ve shown is true. That much is plain to see.

[ Murr CG ]
Murr: Weeell, stories like yours are pretty commonplace when the world at large is fraught with chaos!
Owen: Yeah, and random children hide away in candy houses too.
Riquet: Still, no more lying. God will save you if you live your life properly and truthfully.
Bradley: Besides, there's no point in lying to wizards. It doesn’t work unless you’re double-tongued like this guy here.
Figaro: Oh, don't point your finger at me. Hmm... Knowing Ernest's story hasn't brought us any closer to the truth behind the nightly occurrences. It doesn't seem to have any direct relation.
Akira: I suppose it all boils down to what Elmo is up to at night...
Shylock: Indeed. I suggest we look into the presence in the forest before night falls, and we should search this mansion a second time for secret rooms too.

Figaro: I'd like to patch Elmo up sooner rather than later, too. Shall we split up?
Arthur, Kenja sama, will you accompany Ernest and myself to search for Elmo?
Arthur & Akira: Okay!
Figaro: And Owen, we'll be having you on our team too, since you're the only one who can communicate with Elmo. You'll be on interpreter duty.
Ernest: Whaaat!? You can understand Elmo?
Owen: I can, but I don't wanna. Not with Figaro there.
Ernest: P-Please don't say that! I want to hear what Elmo has to say, word for word...!
Akira: Please consider it! Don’t forget, this'll also bring you one step closer to the reward!
Owen: .........
... It can't be helped, then. And if I don't get that reward after this, I'll have you die instead, got it, Kenja sama?
Akira: (I... I don't wanna die! Figaro, my life is in your hands!)

Shylock: Then I shall investigate the mansion and forest with Murr, Riquet, Mithra and Bradley.
Murr: Got it~!
Mithra: I agree with this. I wanted to take a look at all the other charms too.
Figaro: Once the sun sets, let's all regroup in this room. Now, shall we set off?


[ Event theme song BGM ]
Riquet: We didn’t find anything in the forest, huh...
Shylock: We did try going after the mysterious presence, but they shook us off their trail.
Mithra: They probably didn't appear because they were terrified of my presence. That sort of behaviour is very typical of laoshu packs.
Riquet: Laoshu?
Shylock: Laoshu are cunning and tricksy magical creatures. Individually, they are weak, so they naturally form large packs.
Bradley: I got a bad feelin' about this... Normally, when they sense Mithra's presence, laoshu run for the hills as fast as they can.
But these rodents chose to hide instead. They're just varmint; they can't seriously be scheming to get us when we have our backs turned...
Murr: Either that, or there's something they want so bad that they don't mind getting into a fight with the Mithra! Regardless of which it is, it's testament to how cunning and greedy they are!

Riquet: We ought to have searched through the forest more thoroughly, then.
Shylock: I think that it's better for us to not relentlessly pursue them. Now, it is time for us to explore this mansion.
A mansion this large and wide — yet its owner does not return, not even to check up on it. We have more or less inspected all of its rooms, but there may be merit in checking the place for any hidden secrets.
Murr: The peculiar noises were definitely made by laoshu! But the mystery of why they approached this mansion remains!
Shylock: We also have yet to find out why Elmo has been getting injured nightly. Ideally, we could get some sort of clue leading to the truth...

Mithra: Isn't it because that thing simply likes having pain inflicted on itself? It's a thing some people are into.
Bradley: No way it’s into that, that thing's all pride and dignity. For a broken rag, it sure is haughty as all get-out.
It's like, you know you're going to get pulverised by someone like Oz, but that’s when you gotta really go all out, you know? That rag's got that sort of spirit, it seems.

Murr: Surely it must be love!
Riquet: Really?
Murr: Yep! That's why it's still so composed even though it's riddled with wounds, and Ernest is there worrying himself silly.
Sometimes, to love means to be hurt and destroyed. Regardless of everything else!
Isn't that right, Shylock?
Shylock: Oya, whyever are you asking little ol' me? Surely you’d be better served by asking yourself — the wizard who went so close to the moon, his soul shattered to pieces.
Murr: Oh, really? But weren’t you also hurt by your love?
For example, when you turned the fragmented me into the me I am now!
Shylock: .........
...... Fufu. Truly...
How detestable of you.
Bradley: Hey, that’s enough of that from you two. The sun’s just starting to set. Now ain't the time to be caressing someone's chin.
Murr: Meeeeoow! But I looove chin scritches!
Riquet: Is it improper to have your chin touched at this time of day? Even when Murr is so happy about it...?
Shylock: Let us say that the answer to that question is that it depends on the time, the circumstances, and the person, and leave it at that. Right now, we're talking about the cause of Elmo's injuries.
I'm of the same opinion as Murr. For Elmo to keep going even though it's been hurt so badly every night requires a powerful motive.

Mithra: I don't think that pompous creature will suffer injuries in the name of love.
Bradley: ...... Well, I wonder.
When you’ve lived your life a certain way all this time, when you’ve already chosen who and what you are... Most people can never give up those parts of themselves. Yet, being able to let go is precisely what makes it love.
Even Tiletta, who was once a Great Witch of the North, chose to become a witch of the South, didn't she?
Mithra: .........

Murr: Ooh! Hey, look, look! If you press on this portrait's frame, it moves!
Shylock: Ah... This must be a hidden door. I sense Elmo's presence on the other side. Let's open it.

[ The wizards enter the hidden room. ]

Riquet:
Wow...! There's charms of white animals everywhere in here! It's not just the walls and the shelves, it's packed all the way up to the ceiling...
Mithra: They're all kikii-adjacent things. It's my first time seeing this many too.

Shylock: There's a silver feeding bowl over there. This seems to be a room for a pet.
Riquet: It's rather messy, but for some reason, I feel at peace in this room. Something about it is rather nostalgic...
Shylock: I suppose it's due to the lingering traces of feverish piety, faithful devotion, and fervent prayers in this room. This atmosphere is one where you’d feel most at home.

Murr: What have we here? A collar that's been bitten and torn! It's got giant jewels on it!
Bradley: Oh, that’s a hell of a nice find. If you sold all of those jewels, you'd make enough money to play around without having to work for quite a while.

Mithra: There's kikii blood over there. The bloodstains lead to the window.
Murr: You're right~! And the window isn't even locked!
Shylock: ... In other words, Elmo...


[ Meanwhile... ]

After we saw Shylock and the others off to the forest, we started our search for Elmo.

Arthur: Elmo!
Ernest: Come on out, Elmo!
Akira: Elmo! ... Umm, I guess it's not that easy to—
Owen: It's there though. Right there.
Akira: What!?

In surprise, I whirled towards the direction Owen was pointing at.
In the tiny space between the open door and the doorway was Elmo, staring at us.


Episode 7 ⭢