Let’s read Umineko! - episode 3 - part 12

originally posted at https://canmom.tumblr.com/post/163707...

Last time, Eva actually seems to have solved the riddle of the gold! She had the help of the younger version of herself inside her head, who may or may not be a disguised witch. Unfortunately for us, the narration sees no need to share how she reached her solution.

A dark rainy space. Eva is saying “………This way?……That means go this way, right…………? They are……inviting me to go this way, after all………”

She’s evidently left the guesthouse behind. Somehow, she’s found an underground spiral staircase.

Narration from Eva: ‘I resolutely pushed the switch for the lights, and rough lights almost like you’d find in a coal mie or something flickered on sporadically, making a staircase that stretched underground come hazily into vision…’

Where is this staircase? We don’t know.

At the bottom, Eva finds a metal door, and the illustration resembles a mine. At the bottom is written “On the tenth twilight, the journey ends, and you shall find the home of the gold.”

Well, well, well!

Behind the door, she finds a ridiculously posh room.

A sumptuously decorated room covered in golden wall decorations and red and white curtains and hangings. Narration: ‘A bed with a canopy, and a rocking chair that looked like it would be very comfortable to sit in. An extravagant sofa and carpet.’

And, in the centre of the room… is the gold. Eva gets very excited, decides money can indeed buy happiness.

A stack of numbered gold bars. Eva: “With this mountain of gold before me, I’ve finally realized something so obvious…!! I can give birth to all the happiness in this world by melting this gold! With this money, my husband’s company is fine now. We will always be happy as a family. And I can even leave a vast amount of money to George…!!”

So… does that mean Beatrice’s ritual is finished? That was abrupt. Or is there some loophole she can wriggle out of?

Eva laughs about how the rest of the relatives will be ruined and disappear, while George will restore the family’s honour. Charming.

Eva thanks young!Eva for her magic.

Young Eva: “…Thank you. But my magic couldn’t have been granted if we both didn’t believe in each other.”

Waiting for something terrible to happen. Like, there’s five episodes to go. This is clearly not the end of the games.

Eva leaves the room, and encounters Rosa at the top of the stairs. I wonder how Rosa found it…

Rosa, holding a gun: “……I shouldn’t have given you that hint, Nee-san. If I hadn’t, I definitely would have been the first to reach this place. ………Too bad.”

So Rosa has also solved it?

Apparently the main hint from ‘sweetfish’ is to the ocean, and Rosa thought too much about it. Anyway, Rosa says she’s not interested in being head, and she’s happy for Eva to take it from Krauss, as long as she gets her agreed-on portion of the gold.

They both recognise what they each have to gain by shooting the other, and even level their guns. But they stand down.

Eva, also armed: “……That’s right. That plan of shooting the other and having all the gold to ourselves is fascinating for both of us.”

What is with the Ushiromiyas?

They agree that murder wouldn’t be worth the risk (morally wrong? who cares about that apparently) and they trust each other the most of the siblings.

I note that right now, Eva and Rosa could qualify as two who are close. And we have those who remain in the guesthouse.

They discuss how to handle bringing up the gold so that Krauss can’t claim ownership since it was on the mansion. This turns into an argument: Eva wants to keep it secret, but Rosa wants to keep to the agreed protocols: announce the gold as soon as it’s found. Eva promises Rosa 150 million yen soon, but implicitly threatens to withdraw it if she blows the lid. The argument gets a bit heated.

Rosa also claims that, due to the locked-room mystery, Nanjo could only have been lying, as part of some scheme of Kinzo’s to encourage them to solve the riddle, and nobody is actually dead.

Eventually they agree: Rosa will keep the secret for one day, until the end of the family conference - when the seagulls cry. Eva promises Rosa she will split the gold fairly, and just needs time to think.

Young!Eva interrupts, petulantly demanding that Eva should keep all the gold.

Narration: ‘In a loud voice, the witch inside Eva calimed exclusive possession of everything. …Of course, that didn’t come close to reaching Rosa’s ears, and it probably didnBt even reach Eva’s, either.”

They’re literally calling her ‘the witch’ in narration now.

And Beatrice decides to acknowledge this ‘witch’. They talk in the gold room.

Beatrice: “……*cackle*cackle*, there is nothing that should frigthen you so. I am praising your exploits. …Truly excellnt. Imagine that you would spectacularly solve that riddle of the epitaph… It is worthy of my admiration…!”

If young!Eva was Bernkastel or Lambdadelta, it would be odd that she doesn’t recognise Beatrice. Unless… this is Lambdadelta before she became Lambdadelta???

Beatrice presents the head ring to young!Eva as proof that she’s the new head.

Beatrice: “How many nights have you dreamed of putting that on your own finger as you have now done? ……The strength of those feelings became your magic and made that reality. Now, you are worthy of calling yourself a true witch.”

So Eva has forked into two people, one of whom is a disembodied witch child, the other an adult? Wild.

…and Beatrice goes further:

Beatrice, against a pure white background: “Following my contract with Kinzo, I now pass everything on to you. …All of the gold I entrusted Kinzo with. And all of the wealth he built up through that. And the honor and inheritance of the Ushiromiya family. And I will pass on my power, and the title of the Endless Witch.”

I feel like young!Eva is the last person we’d want to be an Endless Witch, honestly. Beatrice goes even further, also granting young!Eva her name.

How many Beatrices will there even be?

This leads to a coronation ceremony.

New backdrop: a royal court, with a gallery overlooking supported by pillars, a long red carpet, and a simple throne on a dais beneath a pipe organ, or perhaps an abstract sculpture. There are gold butterflies everywhere. Narration: ‘In the throne room, there was a crowd of BEATRICE’s minions and brethren as well as countless gold butterflies, celebrating this first succession ceremony in a thousand years.’

Beatrice sure likes to throw a big party.

Beatrice: “Ushiromiya Eva. You have spectacularly solved the ridle of the witch’s epitaph, and reached this GOlden Land. ……I praise that accomplishment, and hand over all of the Endless Magic as well as the titles of the Golden and Endless Witch.”

Beatrice seems awfully calm about relinquishing all her status, especially given how hard she fought Virgilia to keep it. Something doesn’t add up.

Young!Eva takes on the new name of Eva Beatrice, and gets a new look.

Young!Eva in a new outfit: a purple dress, a golden staff with the Ushiromiya symbol, a red rose on a bow around her neck, a red bow, a black cap with whit edecorations and a rosette on it, long black gloves.

I guess there’s just a fashion spell or something? We get a CGI of the ceremony, with the audience present.

A coronation ceremony. On the left are four of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory. On the right stand Lambdadelta, Bernkastel and Ronove. In the centre of the frame, on either side of the portrait of Beatrice, are the outgoing Beatrice standing face to face with Eva Beatrice.

Interestingly, Lambdadelta and Bernkastel are there in the background. Anyway, the portrait changes to one of Eva Beatrice.

A framed portrait of Eva Beatrice, viewed from below, i nfront of some mountains.

Virgilia also offers her congratulations, along with mildly scolding Beatrice. Ronove reveals his service has transferred to Eva Beatrice, and mentions being one of the 72 demons ‘permitted to serve the Golden Witch’ - presumably the 72 Goetic demons?

The now ex-Beatrice tells Ronove to take care of her.

Lambdadelta: “Thank me, ’kay? I signed as your reference for the succession of the witch, you know? So basically, if I hadn’t signed, you wouldn’t have been able to become the wtich. So thank me a little, alright?!”

Apparently witches need references? There’s a witchy bureaucracy? Apparently Lambdadelta is a ‘witch of the Senate’, and now Eva Beatrice’s guardian. Though she immediately regrets it when she judges Eva Beatrice insufficiently grateful. Bernkastel scolds her for being irresponsible.

Outgoing Beatrice: “Lady LAMBDADELTA is also the Witch of Certainty. ……The Witch of Certainty prefers to make fate firm, to create a fate of Certainty. She took a great liking to your efforts up to today, and held them in the highest regard.”

Apparently Lambdadelta also had an ‘unfortunate childhood’ with ‘unrewarded effort’. Yeah, like the unrewarded efforts of the workers exploited by the Ushiromiyas? *socialist grumbling*

Bernkastel, on the other hand, doesn’t hold back.

Bernkastel: “……From my point of view, your succession, well, it’s more of a coincidence than a miracle. You wouldn’t have been worthy of my recommendation.”

Bernkastel, it turns out, only came for the novelty and the drinks.

Beatrice offers Eva Beatrice the gift of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory as well, in order for Eva Beatrice to carry out her own resurrection ritual.

Beatrice: “……After you succeed the Golden Witch, you will need to perform the ritual for your own resurrection. The Seven Sisters of Purgatory perform an essential role in that ritual. ……They’re a bunch of miscreants, but they serve their purpose. Have them do whatever you wish.

Oh. So this isn’t the end of murders on Rokkenjima? Oh no.

Finally Battler interrupts.

Meta!Battler in front of the Eva Beatrice portrait: “…………What……is all this? of course, I’m not going to swallow this story, …but what on Earth does it all mean?!”

Will it mean Eva Beatrice steps in as his opponent?

Virgilia appears. She reminds Battler not to necessarily trust what he’s seeing.

Battler asserts this ceremony must be fake. He asks about the nature of young!Eva. Eva says he wouldn’t believe her if she told him. Ronove says to think of her as a ‘visualisation of a different being inside Urishomiya Eva’.

Then, the newly-ex-Beatrice asks Battler to name her. Really? You trust this guy?

Beatrice saying to Battler: “……Which means that I am nameless! Battleerr, isn’t there some name that is fitting for me? I shall take your recommendation! Isn’t there a name that’s refined, full of elegance, and make it a little cute if you can…!” On top of this image, I have edited the part of Homestuck where the player attempts to type ’Zoosmell Pooplord’ in as a character’s name.

Battler misses his chance, and just goes for “Beato”. She’s disappointed.

Virgilia says this distinction should be useful. Battler wonders what her game is. They both agree, at least, that Eva did a good job in solving the riddle, and clap for her, calling a truce of sorts.

The next chapter is called The New Witch.

Comments

Add a comment
[?]