Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru Part #132 - Quiz Tournament (Kyrie's Question)

Part 132: Quiz Tournament (Kyrie's Question)

BGM: Happy Maria! (instrumental)

"Well, who knows? If that's as far as you can go, maybe you should give up, right...?"

"This one's really hard! Even Mama couldn't solve it! But I solved it on my first try!"

"So, do you get it? How many trips does it take to get every person across?"

"This isn't a cheap trick or a riddle, right? There's no way you can solve this straightforwardly, right?!"

"No, that's not true. I'm sure you'll get it Nee-san, smart as you are. How many trips does it take to get every person across?"

BGM: Stuffed Toy

"...Huh? Three?! How...?!"

"It's easy. The peasant and his wife get on the boat, then the wife gets dropped off on the other side in the first move. Then, the peasant takes the boat back across in the second move. Then, he crosses with the shepherd in the third move."

"But what about the cow and the sheep?! What about the meat and the vegetables?!"

"Huh? Ah..."

As Aunt Eva's mouth flopped open, Aunt Rosa started applauding. After clicking her tongue, Maria onee-chan joined in.

"That's right. The question just asks how many moves it would take to move each person across. The animals and luggage never had anything to do with it."

"They only got it because you kept saying 'every person' over and over again, Mama. Uu!"

Aunt Rosa had probably said it so much as a sort of hint. Without that, even I wouldn't have figured it out.

"Come on. I was totally taken in. That was a mean question!"

"Go on, Maria. Give Ange-chan her medal."

"Uu-uu-uu-..."

Whining like a unhappy dog, she reluctantly handed the medal over. I grabbed it, and started jumping around like a happy dog. As Maria onee-chan smiled at me from behind, her face was bright, just like a big sister's.

"Next time, I'll have a really nasty puzzle that's even harder...! One so hard that even I can't solve it!"

"No way! I'm not playing with Maria onee-chan anymore...!!"

"*giggle*. Look, Ange-chan. Your parents are waving at you, so let's go. See you later, Rosa."

"Sure. Later, Ange-chan. There aren't too many people left with puzzles for you. Keep it up until the end. And make sure you keep cheering her on, Nee-san."

"Of course. We got all these medals by working together, right?"

"Yeah!"

We dashed away. Dad and Mom are waving at me from over there. I'm sure they've thought up some mean problems. Still, they'll have to be easier than Maria onee-chan's...! I hate Maria onee-chan! She's such a meanie!

BGM: In the Sun

"Well, I wanted to play with Ange a lot. If it was an easy one, she'd solve it right away, right?"

"You really love Ange, don't you?"

"I hate her. She made fun of you and called you a stuffed animal."

Maria pouted as she said this, but her expression didn't match her words at all.

"I hope Ange finds happiness."

"I'm sure she will. After all, look at all the people here wishing for her happiness. And now, Battler is the Game Master, and he's set up this final game just for Ange's sake. After all this, there's no way she won't be happy."

"...Still, even though everyone can bring a person happiness, only the person can grasp it for themselves."

"That's right. That kid is really bad at finding Fragments of happiness. Even though we tried to teach her how, she's been covering her ears for 12 full years. This game might be much harder for Ange than Battler thinks."

"...I'm sure that Ange will find happiness."

"Yeah. If she really does enjoy herself at this party, that itself might be the greatest lesson we can teach her now."

12 years in the future, she will become the last person to inherit Beatrice's name.

"At one point in time, that kid understood my white magic."

"Yeah. And she understood me too."

"She even summoned all of the Seven Sisters and understood magic itself. And yet, she still can't use magic on herself."

"...Beato."

"It is easy to cast magic on other people. And believing in other people's magic is not so difficult. The hardest thing is casting magic on yourself."

"Is that... something Ange can do...?"

"She can. Even that Battler managed to understand magic. Of course his little sister will be able to do the same."

"You're right. There are some magics that we can only see when we're kids. There are some that only adults can understand. Right now, Ange is between the two of those."

"She's lost the magic of children, and yet, she has yet to understand the magic of adults. The most painful period of one's life."

"It's so sad... that she didn't have anyone close to her during that period..."

"That's not true. We're always by that kid's side. She just doesn't believe it."

Ange, please, realize that quickly. There are so many people smiling at you from behind, watching over you. If you would just turn around, we would be able to smile so much more, and talk to you so much more.

...ANGE Beatrice, final witch of Mariage Sorciere.

"Even if you aren't able to reach the proper end, I pray that you can at least enjoy yourself tonight..."

Have fun, Ange. So long. The time we spent together feels so long, yet so short. Even so, for me, the memory is eternal...