Whisper (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
whisperscrawls) wrote2023-05-05 07:00 am
whisperscrawls) wrote2023-05-05 07:00 am
Entry tags:
- a-ya,
- b-ko,
- c-ta,
- d-ne,
- shuuen no shiori
Shuuen no Shiori 4: Chapter 3
Chapter 3 - Greetings From Backstage
“And so, that’s how it is.”
“That’s how what is?”
“...Who knows?”
“You’re the same as always, A-ya.”
“Your angry face is as lovely as always too, B-ko-chan.”
“Seriously...! D-ne, C-ta, don’t tease me.”
“So, what on earth are these ‘circumstances’ you mentioned?”
“I heard that there will be a stage greeting.”
“A stage greeting?”
“So this isn’t connected to the actual story, then?
“...Who knows. Could be?”
“So you don’t actually know anything?”
“...I told you that I don’t.”
“I see~...”
“It’s fine to have conversations about meta-related or story-related things.”
“Meta... -related? What?”
“Hm, it's like... the stories we've covered up until now?”
“Huh? Are they relevant?”
“...Well, they seem relevant.”
“I mean, a ‘stage greeting’... That’s just seeing behind the scenes, right?”
“Sigh... Well, whatever. But if that’s what it is, can we learn something from it?”
“...I don’t know.”
“You...”
“Nothing I can do about that.”
“But with this, doesn’t it feel like we’ve explored every option?”
“Really does. Feels like any more than this and we’ll hit a dead end.”
“...Nothing’s been settled yet, though.”
“Right. You could instead say that it feels like the mystery’s deepened.”
“So what should we do, then?”
“...Who knows?”
“No, like I said, it’s not just ‘who knows’!”
“...There’s nothing I can do about it; you don’t know what you don’t know, after all.”
“Yep.”
“Indeed.”
“Seriously... So you’re saying that everything we’ve done so far has been for nothing?”
“...Not necessarily.”
“?”
“What do you mean, A-ya?”
“It’s true that there’s a lot we don’t know, but there are still things that we do know.”
“Huh?”
“So, how about we try reviewing what we’ve learned so far?”
“Oh, sounds good.”
“There’s four of us, but there were five of them; therefore, if you add in the culprit, how many characters are needed?”
“That’d be five and six people respectively, right?”
“...Heh.”
“Hey, what’re you looking down on me for!?”
“Hmm... As cute as you are when you’re angry, B-ko-chan, it does feel like your thoughts on this are a bit surface level.”
“Even you, D-ne...? What is it, then?”
“The answer is this: ‘aside from the minimum amount of people, you can’t state for sure how many characters there were.’”
“What?”
“First, you can’t just add 1 to account for the culprit; there’s no definitive proof that there was only one culprit.”
“...Ugh, that’s true...”
“Second, there’s a possibility that the culprit is from within the group.”
“But...! The conclusion of the Revival Arc was different, wasn’t it?”
“You’re excluding the four people who were given roles, but if one person played two roles, the story would probably change again.”
“...What?”
“The fox was one of them too, after all.”
“...What do you mean?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“...Kinda feels like you’re trying to trick me.”
“It does seem that way.”
“But, for example, if you took a puzzle out of its box and finished putting it together, but even then there was a missing piece, what would you think?
“That it’s... impossible to complete, right?”
“Yes, it’s impossible. In short, even though you put it together correctly, it was defective, so there’s a missing piece. It’s natural to think that.”
“So... no matter how hard you try, you’ll never complete it?”
“That’s right.”
“Isn’t that just a defective product?”
“It is. But you can’t know that until you put it together, and even then, you probably still won't understand what you're seeing.”
“What a terrible story.”
“Yeah, it really is.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...So?”
“Hm?”
“No, not ‘hm?’! So what did you mean by all that?”
“...Like I said, I don’t know.”
“What? You mean there isn’t even an ending to your story?”
“Nope.”
“S-Seriously...?”
“Hmm... Well, we don’t know whose perspective it is in the first place, so if it’s the case that we’re forcing ourselves to reach a positive conclusion, then...”
“If that’s the case... what?”
“The Revival Arc took place in the same world, on an imaginary stage. So, the ‘someone’ who peeked backstage was looking at the records, memories, and stories that were created until now. But, maybe, if another lost puzzle piece were found, even though it was never intended to be on the stage, the story would be able to move forward by even a page.”
“So basically, we don’t know what’s true and what isn’t?”
“I wouldn’t say that for sure. Reality is reality. If we can obtain the same testimony from everyone, we can understand the truth.”
“When you say ‘everyone’, do you mean all of us? If you want that...”
“No, the ‘same testimony from everyone’ that A-ya’s talking about is regarding multiple worlds, right? Like those 5 people...”
“Huh... Well, I don’t really get it, but if things can change, I’ll hope that’s the case.”
“Ufufu... Well, I don’t mind going along with it if I can spend more time with the confused and struggling B-ko-chan.”
“There’s no way that we’ll be unable to move forward, though.”
“Right.”
“Let’s bet on that, then.”
“Bet?”
“Yep.
“—On the existence of the last puzzle piece.”
now loading...
<-- Chapter 2 || Chapter 4 -->
“And so, that’s how it is.”
“That’s how what is?”
“...Who knows?”
“You’re the same as always, A-ya.”
“Your angry face is as lovely as always too, B-ko-chan.”
“Seriously...! D-ne, C-ta, don’t tease me.”
“So, what on earth are these ‘circumstances’ you mentioned?”
“I heard that there will be a stage greeting.”
“A stage greeting?”
“So this isn’t connected to the actual story, then?
“...Who knows. Could be?”
“So you don’t actually know anything?”
“...I told you that I don’t.”
“I see~...”
“It’s fine to have conversations about meta-related or story-related things.”
“Meta... -related? What?”
“Hm, it's like... the stories we've covered up until now?”
“Huh? Are they relevant?”
“...Well, they seem relevant.”
“I mean, a ‘stage greeting’... That’s just seeing behind the scenes, right?”
“Sigh... Well, whatever. But if that’s what it is, can we learn something from it?”
“...I don’t know.”
“You...”
“Nothing I can do about that.”
“But with this, doesn’t it feel like we’ve explored every option?”
“Really does. Feels like any more than this and we’ll hit a dead end.”
“...Nothing’s been settled yet, though.”
“Right. You could instead say that it feels like the mystery’s deepened.”
“So what should we do, then?”
“...Who knows?”
“No, like I said, it’s not just ‘who knows’!”
“...There’s nothing I can do about it; you don’t know what you don’t know, after all.”
“Yep.”
“Indeed.”
“Seriously... So you’re saying that everything we’ve done so far has been for nothing?”
“...Not necessarily.”
“?”
“What do you mean, A-ya?”
“It’s true that there’s a lot we don’t know, but there are still things that we do know.”
“Huh?”
“So, how about we try reviewing what we’ve learned so far?”
“Oh, sounds good.”
“There’s four of us, but there were five of them; therefore, if you add in the culprit, how many characters are needed?”
“That’d be five and six people respectively, right?”
“...Heh.”
“Hey, what’re you looking down on me for!?”
“Hmm... As cute as you are when you’re angry, B-ko-chan, it does feel like your thoughts on this are a bit surface level.”
“Even you, D-ne...? What is it, then?”
“The answer is this: ‘aside from the minimum amount of people, you can’t state for sure how many characters there were.’”
“What?”
“First, you can’t just add 1 to account for the culprit; there’s no definitive proof that there was only one culprit.”
“...Ugh, that’s true...”
“Second, there’s a possibility that the culprit is from within the group.”
“But...! The conclusion of the Revival Arc was different, wasn’t it?”
“You’re excluding the four people who were given roles, but if one person played two roles, the story would probably change again.”
“...What?”
“The fox was one of them too, after all.”
“...What do you mean?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“...Kinda feels like you’re trying to trick me.”
“It does seem that way.”
“But, for example, if you took a puzzle out of its box and finished putting it together, but even then there was a missing piece, what would you think?
“That it’s... impossible to complete, right?”
“Yes, it’s impossible. In short, even though you put it together correctly, it was defective, so there’s a missing piece. It’s natural to think that.”
“So... no matter how hard you try, you’ll never complete it?”
“That’s right.”
“Isn’t that just a defective product?”
“It is. But you can’t know that until you put it together, and even then, you probably still won't understand what you're seeing.”
“What a terrible story.”
“Yeah, it really is.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...So?”
“Hm?”
“No, not ‘hm?’! So what did you mean by all that?”
“...Like I said, I don’t know.”
“What? You mean there isn’t even an ending to your story?”
“Nope.”
“S-Seriously...?”
“Hmm... Well, we don’t know whose perspective it is in the first place, so if it’s the case that we’re forcing ourselves to reach a positive conclusion, then...”
“If that’s the case... what?”
“The Revival Arc took place in the same world, on an imaginary stage. So, the ‘someone’ who peeked backstage was looking at the records, memories, and stories that were created until now. But, maybe, if another lost puzzle piece were found, even though it was never intended to be on the stage, the story would be able to move forward by even a page.”
“So basically, we don’t know what’s true and what isn’t?”
“I wouldn’t say that for sure. Reality is reality. If we can obtain the same testimony from everyone, we can understand the truth.”
“When you say ‘everyone’, do you mean all of us? If you want that...”
“No, the ‘same testimony from everyone’ that A-ya’s talking about is regarding multiple worlds, right? Like those 5 people...”
“Huh... Well, I don’t really get it, but if things can change, I’ll hope that’s the case.”
“Ufufu... Well, I don’t mind going along with it if I can spend more time with the confused and struggling B-ko-chan.”
“There’s no way that we’ll be unable to move forward, though.”
“Right.”
“Let’s bet on that, then.”
“Bet?”
“Yep.
“—On the existence of the last puzzle piece.”
now loading...