Part 112: The Girl's Death

BGM: Silence


07/15 (SUN), Evening
Thank you for coming.

Closing time arrives once I've rung out the last customer. It's a little early, only a bit past 4 p.m., but I've been open since 8 a.m. That's the norm when the store's open all through the weekend, really.

BGM: Lion House Cafe
You're such a hard worker.

She sure is!

Miharu and Naomi had arrived a little bit earlier. They've been waiting for me to finish up for the day. Once done with my cleanup duties, I make my way over to our usual table. I hand them both a cup of coffee as thanks for coming.



I'm glad I got to see the two of you before tonight's election.

That's the only way I can think to lead into the topic. Following that, I place the diary on the table and open it up. The photo is what I want to show them first.

Is this some kind of joke...?

That's Miharu's immediate reaction upon seeing it. Naomi seems puzzled, so I explain its significance to her. About how the girl in the photo is Dianna Harrison, and her uncanny resemblance to Parca.



S-So she and Parca are the same person...?

I say nothing, but offer a reaffirming nod. Now that they've seen that, it's time to show them the name card of Numeral XIII.

The goddess has cards, too...

I wanted to use these to preface our discussion, but maybe I've served the entree before the appetizer, as it were. You could cut the tension with a butter knife.

First things first. This diary was written by my great-great-grandmother, Linda Harrison.

Now feels like the right time to talk about the contents of the diary.

…

BGM: Sinking in Flames


Based on what I know, Dianna died in a fire when she was twelve. Linda wrote about her regret over this tragedy at the end of the diary. She regretted not being able to save Dianna despite her pleas for help.

The main issue is the eleven weeks leading up to her death, though.

Eleven weeks before Dianna's death, a boy seeking to become her father's pupil fell down the stairs and died from trauma to the head. One of the assistants who had been to their home the week after soon died of food poisoning. The week after that, the mother of the boy who died two weeks prior died from a fever.

Every week following that, someone with some sort of connection to Dianna died. There wasn't any pattern behind who died. Some were close to her while others weren't. These events terrorized her family. It led them to a natural conclusion. That any one of them could be next.



Their fears came true with the twelfth victim. Yep. It's just as I mentioned before. The fire took not only their home but also Dianna's life.

The destruction caused a bookcase to fall on her, crushing the lower half of her body. Linda was in the same room at the time and did all she could to save her. She just wasn't strong enough to move the bookcase. This was a hundred years ago, so they lacked the same means to extinguish fires as we do today. Upon finding the two, their mother had to make an impossible decision. But to her, the answer was clear. Even with her aid, they couldn't get the bookshelf to budge. Their father had passed out from smoke inhalation. The fire would likely consume Dianna were they to stay and call for help, too. So their mother made the only decision she could.

She had to save who she could.

She chose to save Linda at the expense of Dianna.



Linda viewed it as the wrong choice. She felt a responsibility to write about these events in the same diary she received from her beloved sister. Her feelings toward Dianna are penned in detail. It's through them that the entire tale feels all the more tragic.

…...

BGM: He Reveals me the Answer


That's the most important thing I came across while reading.

Things remain tense after I finish my explanation. Understandably so. It's hard to remain composed when you realize the cute girl in the photo died not long after it was taken.

Anyway, this is a sure bet to be our trump card.

Yeah. Parca was originally human. And the sister of my great-great-grandmother, no less.

I came to the same conclusion after listening to you, but it's still hard not to be surprised.

We're all on the same page.



Twelve participants competing over a span of twelve weeks... So the events leading up to her death may have been the basis for Divine Selection.

Yeah... A tragedy through and through.

There's a lingering sadness in Miharu's voice. I doubt she could feel anything else in the face of this revelation.

So a human became a goddess? Part of me finds that hard to swallow...

Both the Court of Fate and Divine Selection exist, though. The re-writing of events and memories, too. We have to accept that the possibility exists based on what we know.

This is just a theory on my part, but it doesn't seem like Parca has any memory of her time as a human.

R-Really?



That'd make sense. She sees us as nothing more than inferior beings.

It doesn't feel like she's spiting us because she was once human, either. Her role as a goddess is unquestionable to her. That's how I saw it before now, so I agree with Miharu's theory. All three of us start to ponder on our own. Naomi eventually speaks up, suggesting that we've probably noticed what she's about to say.

You should be able to elect Parca if you've materialized a card of hers, shouldn't you?

Both myself and Miharu stare at Naomi in response. Our cards contain information that represents our past, present, and future. Most importantly, they allow us to elect and eliminate others. The fact that Parca has her own cards must mean she can be elected as well.

There are too many unknown factors, though. I've got my card book with me, but a card hasn't materialized. Odd, considering I now know both her name and what she looks like.



Does that mean Rinka's somehow special, then...?

I'm not too sure about that, but there must be a reason why.

I'd been wondering why Miharu's card book never reacted to the information I shared. I've been wondering something else, too. Something Naomi picks up on, as well.

The circumstances surrounding Dianna's cause of d-death have been made clear, but Rinka hasn't obtained a card for it...

Based on the contents of the diary, her cause of death would either be from the fire itself or smoke inhalation.

Linda didn't witness the moment Dianna died, though. I think something might've happened after she was dragged away.

Hmm, there are plenty of possibilities, then. Blood loss, the ceiling collapsing in and crushing her, and so on.



It's shocking how calm we are while imagining events from a hundred years ago. It's the only method we have to learn more about Parca, though. This is a possibility that's been right next to us since the beginning, and yet it's one we've only discovered at the last moment.

Putting aside whether it's possible to elect her or not, we'd still need her regret.

That's going to be the hardest part. There's no way we'll get our answer by asking her directly. Not like she'd even be able to if our theory about her not remembering her past is true. It's nothing but a theory, and yet it's one we have to base everything on. I want to believe that we're not following the wrong trail.

This gives me hope, though. Electing her has to be the way we both survive.

I share your hope, but we can't be sure this is the only way yet. We'll need to test it out during the next election.



You want to see what happens when you can't elect one another, right? Is that what you're going to try?

We can't now. It's entirely possible it could result in a situation where we need to settle things by a means other than electing, which might result in us losing the ability to elect her.

Isn't it dangerous to ask her about it, though? She could always prepare countermeasures if she knows what you're planning...

That's true. Perhaps it might be best to do nothing this time around rather than rush things. If we can't figure anything out by the twelfth election, then we can try it.

Yeah. We can't let her know we have her card, either.

You're so close, though!

Naomi's words hit close to home. I'm getting my hopes up. All that's left is to turn my hopes into a winning strategy. It's kind of ironic, though. They talk about fortune smiling on those with hope, but we're dealing with the Goddess of Fate here.



S-So, umm... can I borrow the diary, then?

I can tell she feels guilty asking, but she just can't suppress her curiosity.

Sure. Just remember that it's my gran's. I need it back as is.

Thank you! I'll treat it with the utmost care!

Part of me's worried you'll embrace it so hard it'll crumble.

Important and valuable to my gran as it is, I'm sure it'll be fine in Naomi's hands. Its a source of information, too. Naomi might just be able to pick up on something I missed. Once we've finished that topic, we spend the rest of the day hanging out as normal. Both of them head home after dark. Seeing them talk to each other like friends when I see them off is a relief.

…...

BGM: Rinka's Room


I can't hide my happiness, not even after getting back to my room. I never would've imagined this scenario at the beginning of Divine Selection. Not only is Miharu looking to survive now, but we've also found a possible way for us both to make it through.

Parca, huh...

It's basically confirmed that she used to be human. What happened during her dying moments, then? Something must've caused her transformation. We're left with more questions than before, but it's also proof that we're making progress. I'll do this, no matter what.

Having steeled my will once more, I dive into bed in preparation for tonight's election.