Part 17: Queens High

Alright, we've officially finished our first route! This update is going to be kind of a “bonus” update- specifically, one where I break down the specific mechanic of the route itself, as well as show off the other endings we missed for this route.

The route we ended up on is the Dog Route, and the endings in question are the Queens cards. Believe it or not, roughly 50% of the votes I got had Q listed as one of the routes they wanted to start with, and when I played this VN for the first time myself, this was the first route I ended up on as well! I think it's actually a really great introduction to the general vibe of this VN, even if it does drag on a little bit- it gives most of the cast a little chance to shine and fleshes them out a bit more- kind of a “tasting” of each person's deal. I definitely think it gets weaker the further in the game you are, too, so great that we got it out of the way now.

Dog's route is also really straightforward in how the endings are obtained (or avoided), too- because it's literally just picking between a wrong and a right choice for the first two and then whether you win or lose the game of Liar's Dice at the end. The creator of this VN, Themis, said that this route was one of their favorites because it let them write a gambling route, and I can tell that they weren't satisfied with just this, because the second game in this series has a much larger gambling theme going on with it

That said, there were some other endings we missed, so let's not waste any time and get to it! The first ending we avoided was in the first Taming Whip game- we chose to watch the game, but what would happen if we go look for trinkets?

[Go look for trinkets.]



Okay, well, have a good game you two. As for me, I'm going to spend this time searching for Minor Trinkets.

Good idea there, Mouse. Make the most of the time you have!

Do whatever you want. Right now, all that matters is this game.

That's the spirit, Horse! Keep up the good fight.

[BGM: Silence]


With that, I went down to the second floor and started looking through classrooms. It was slower to search for items by myself than it was with a group, but that wouldn't discourage me! This was just free time on the clock to find Trinkets. Why weren't more people taking advantage of this?

A few minutes later, I heard another announcement on my tablet.

Attention! Dog is currently attempting to tame Tiger. During this challenge, the Round's timer has been paused. Know that any participant that in any way interferes with the challenge will instantly be executed.

Damn, Dog. Tiger too? I guess that answered who won the Cribbage game. Horse had a real good lead there. What happened? Dog must've got a lucky batch of cards.



Why was he also challenging Tiger though? Well, he probably had a good reason.

I was determined to make good use of the time he was giving me. I kept searching through classrooms. And another announcement played.

Attention! Dog is currently attempting to tame Dragon. During this challenge, the Round's timer has been paused. Know that any participant that in any way interferes with the challenge will instantly be executed.

Dragon too? Damn, Dog was really on a rampage. Surely he had to be worried about risking his life this many times in a row, isn't he? Why was he so desperate to put people under his control? Or perhaps the group had decided to throw games to him. When you look at it in a certain light, the whip is the greatest investigation tool there is.

So long as we trust Dog.

I'd learn the story later. For now, I needed to search for Trinkets. I looked around a bit longer for any hidden Trinkets.



However, as I was going through a classroom, a familiar face walked in.

Horse! What are you doing here? And what's on your face?

Instead of answering me, he just approached me. He had a grim look on his face.

What are you-

[BGM: Metal Horse]


Before I could even finish my question, he grabbed my throat with one hand. I tried to get him off me, but he was so many times stronger than me. I was utterly powerless. I kicked and kicked, I scratched and clawed.

But eventually my oxygen ran out and I passed out. I wasn't choked to death then. However, I would be killed before I woke up. I died without having the slightest clue what had gone on. But I did die peacefully in my sleep, and I guess that's worth something.

[BGM: Silence]


Ending - Queen of Clubs

The Zodiac Race is a war of information. While resource gathering is important, isolating yourself from the group means you have no influence on events.

In this case, while Mouse's idea wasn't bad, she chose to pursue it over monitoring a potentially dangerous situation. And the situation grew deathly dangerous.

The second ending we missed is when Mouse realizes that someone needs to be proactive and challenge Dog to prevent his plan from taking place. To continue on the route, you have to give Bunny the code, but what happens if Mouse makes a break for it herself?

[Make a run for it.]

[BGM: Constriction]


I couldn't trust Bunny with that sort of power. I had already seen what it could do. No, I had to be the one to use it. While everyone was just standing around, still frozen, I needed to make the first move.

I ran towards the nearest door. However, my path put me in close proximity to Horse. My movement broke the standstill. As I tried to run past him, he grabbed onto my arm like a vice.

Oh no.



I immediately regretted my choices as he swung me around with surprising ease and slammed me into the nearby wall. My bones cracked, my head spun, my ears rang. Just like that, I was already disoriented. But I was aware enough to see Horse coming towards me, about to deal another kick to my head.

It was a smart move- incapacitate some of the weaker variables before starting any hard fights. But over to the side, Tiger was rushing at Horse. Surely she'd slam into him before he could kick me, right?

I held onto that hope right until the shoe reached my nose.

Getting punted in the face by Horse is enough to knock most out. I was not an exception. This was a blessing in disguise, though. Since I was knocked out, I didn't have to be conscious when the knives entered my neck.

[BGM: Silence]


Ending - Queen of Diamonds

Dog will take control of powerful fighters using the Taming Whip. Mouse needs to be keenly aware of her limited physical capabilities.

If she can't utilize the group's main advantage, numbers, she won't be able to prevent defeat. The key is not to engage physically, but to challenge Dog on his own terms.

And then, lastly, the final ending is pretty obvious- lose the game of Liar's Dice. For this ending, I've gone back and we're going to properly play through again, showing off a possible outcome for losing.

[Lose the game of Liar's Dice.]

[BGM: A Bite That Persists]


One 6.

I'd start out with a bluff. Dog hesitated.

To call... to not call...

Eh, what the hell. I'm calling your bluff. You don't have a 6!

…

He showed his dice, and he didn't have a 6. I showed my dice, and I didn't have a 6.



Looks like I got the first hit in. Yay, me.

…

Interestingly enough, it IS possible to get him to not call your bluff when you pick One 6 here... but it's tied to a previous choice we made. Specifically, you have to have given the wrong answer when investigating the true/false room with Bunny and Dog earlier, because then he'd underestimate you after remembering you made that mistake earlier. Because we never made a mistake, he has no reason to look down on Mouse here, and therefore he calls our bluff!

As the loser, I had to discard one of my dice. Now I just had one left.

Time to roll again!

And like that, we made our fateful rolls. I was super-duper focused on my die, willing it to be good. Be a high number, be a high number.



It was... a 2. Damn it! Dog, on the other hand, had two dice to work with. Against my measly one, that was a huge advantage. And to make it worse, once more, I had to make an offer first. So... what was my move? What to claim?



Unfortunately, we're kind of in a bind here- you have to win Round 1 to be able to win the game of Liar's Dice at all. But since we're trying to lose this, well, that works for us.

I didn't have room to bluff. I had to be honest.

One 2.

One 2, huh? Well, good game, Mouse. ...Nah, it wasn't really.

Two 4s.

Two 4s?! That couldn't possibly be right. He couldn't roll doubles twice in a row. Well, I only had one option.

C-Call, I'm calling that.

I showed my hand, consisting of only one two. And his?



Two fours.

Shit!

Hate to see it Mouse, but it looks like I did, in fact, have two fours. Which means I win.

Which means, you need to get rid of that last die of yours.

…

And that was that. I had been thoroughly, utterly beaten.

Nice try Mouse, really. You had the demeanor of a scary opponent. But it just wasn't enough.

His cocky smirk. Hatred filled my lungs. I couldn't breathe, I was so angry. This degenerate, scummy, worthless piece of vermin would be the only one to survive this game? Fuck that! Even if he was unstoppable, I wasn't going to let him just walk all over the group.

Monkey, Sheep, Pig, and Rooster were all still free. Everyone else was hoping one of them would be able to defeat Dog and save them. But if any of them had a fraction of the conviction I had, things could've been settled. If I was going to die, I was going to let four people live, not one.



Immediately, I rushed towards the couch where Dog had left the guns.

Shit!

Dog struggled to get out of his seat and chase me, but I had the element of surprise. The problem? I didn't know which gun was the loaded one. Fuck it, I'd have to guess. I grabbed at one, pulled the hammer, turned around and fired wildly.

Just then, I felt metal impact my heart.

[BGM: Silence]


Dog, who had chased after me, stabbed me in the chest with a golden knife.

But my shot rang true, and blood started gushing out the side of his neck. Serves him right. That was the last thought before I collapsed to the ground, bleeding out. I guess Dog bled out faster though, because before I was completely dead, I started to feel my neck contract. The blades in my collar were choking me.

So this is it, then. Go on, Monkey, Sheep, Pig, Rooster. Make this worth it.



Ending - Queen of Hearts

Ultimately, the best way to defeat Dog is to beat him in a gamble. The problem then comes in actually beating him, since he's quite good.

Mouse has gotten to observe how he played a variety of different gambles at this point. Perhaps, by looking on the past, she can read how Dog will try to play her.

And that's that- we've now seen all the endings you can get on Dog's route. I'll be doing a 'bonus' update like this for each route, showing off what endings were missed as well as talking about the way the route works itself, as well as any specific commentary the creator may have made about the route itself. Some routes have a more convoluted setup that doesn't lend itself to a bonus update like this, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Next update, we start on a different path towards a different route!