Episode 0 - Chain Mail - Part 14 - Alt. + Bad Endings

Don't forget to check the last part!

As you've surely noticed, this post will have the remaining endings. Why? Because the remaining dialogue for the alternate ending is short and the bad ending is even shorter. It's a bit disappointing, but that just means we'll be able to move forward to the next episode. So, let's begin.

(Verification 1)

The true identity of "Erisa Hattori" is that of the murderer... If you believe Miyuki Kawahara's testimony, that is.

But now that the only witness, Miyuki Kawahara, has died, there is no one left to prove it.

We might be able to see the whole picture of the case if we can grasp the relationship between "Erisa Hattori" and Miyuki Kawahara.

(Verification 2)

Miyuki Kawahara witnessed "Erisa Hattori"...

What if that was an alternate personality of Miyuki Kawahara...? In other words, the "Dual Personality" theory.

Miyuki Kawahara said that a specialist's diagnosis denied her having a split personality.

But, what if it is a special split personality that cannot be explained by modern medicine...?

Of course, this is just a guess. A deduction that was only considered because it's from a detective belonging to a unique department within the police organization.

However, at least at this point, the dual personality theory seems to be the most plausible.

As I said last time, they're the same answers.

 "Mr. Kogure, maybe Miyuki Kawahara had a split personality."

 "A... split personality?"

 "Yeah. She may have denied it, but that's my only conclusion."

"If you think about why the culprit named themselves "Erisa Hattori" and didn't kill Miyuki Kawahara, it would make sense if it was because of her having dual personalities."

"In other words, the murderer "Erisa Hattori" and the popular singer "Miyuki Kawahara" coexisted inside her."

 "Ooh... Mmhm... I-I can't believe it myself. Miyuki-chan being like that, there's no way..."

For Mr. Kogure, an avid fan of hers, it is only natural for him to not want to acknowledge her dual nature.

Even I can't fully bring myself to support this dual personality theory.

Because I can't believe that the same person can have such extremely different personalities.

"Sir... If your deduction is correct, why did Miyuki-chan inform us about the culprit?"

"Normally, you wouldn't want to talk about a killer that looks exactly like you, would you?"

"Moreover, Miyuki-chan is the number one singer in the country... If this became public, she would become easy prey for the mass media."

 "True... Not to mention her death. To suddenly die in the same night she told us about the case..."

"Well, maybe that was a doppelgänger then." The Inspector, who had been lying on the sofa, sits up with a yawn.

"Doppelgänger?" We tilted our heads once we heard a word we never knew before.

 "Doppelgänger. It means "Double" in German. It's a person's other self."

"Those who see their other selves will surely die within a few days. It's a famous story over there."

 "T-that's ridiculous...! Inspector, what a bad joke... hahahaha... Right, sir?"

Mr. Kogure's face was pitifully constricted with a smirk of denial.

After that day, the serial murder case that shook the city was brought to a close.

Despite the desperate efforts of the First Investigative Division, the criminal has still not been arrested.

The Miyuki Kawahara that we met. She may have been the last conscience left in the cold-blooded killer "Erisa Hattori".

[I love this picture so much, it makes going after this ending all worth it]

Comprehensive Evaluation: S Class

Episode Zero - Chain Mail - End

[We're near 100% completion rate, let's see how much we'll gain after seeing the bad ending, shall we?]

[I'll put some lines before the choice, but I'll also leave a link to the full context here.]

From the other side of the phone, mumbling and incomprehensible words flowed out.

I'm making no progress.

Frustrated, I decide to---

       >ask to meet with her.

                >reprimend her for prank-calling.

There are two ways to get the bad ending, by denying the chance to meet with Miyuki Kawahara in her route, or leaving after her disappearance into the alleyways. They have the same dialogue, except a little extra here.

                >reprimend her for prank-calling.

Disappointingly enough, there doesn't seem to be any truth to her words. If she had no guilt, she wouldn't be so upset.

I saw the need to be very careful here for the sake of her future.

"It's your fault for sending this stupid chain mail! I'll arrest you if you don't put an end to this!"

[The call is then disconnected.]

I reprimanded the prank caller and hung up the cell phone.

That didn't come from being mad, me snapping, or any other personal feeling at all.

"Oi oi, Kazami. Why are you snapping at our honored guest?"

"We're in business to meet the needs of our customers, aren't we?"

The Inspector has a point, but I have no obligation to deal with such a malicious prankster.

We police officers are allies only of law-abiding and righteous citizens.

Damn. I still haven't got rid of this feeling in the pit of my stomach. Working like this will only make me less efficient.

I think I'll report to the Inspector and leave early.

That same night---

As usual, I went to a nearby convenience store to buy dinner.

Although easy to prepare, the lack of human warmth in the bento emphasizes the dreariness of being a bachelor living alone.

"Huh? This is strange..."

Usually, I pass by office workers leaving work and students making their way home, but today, there are no people at all.

W-what? Something is wriggling in the darkness.

What looked like a strange mass, was actually a fallen woman. ...Is she injured!?

"Are you alright!?" I run over to her, throwing down the bento I had just bought.

"Please stay strong! I'll call an ambulance right now!"

I took my cell phone out of my breast pocket and dialed 119. [The ambulance and fire brigade emergency telephone number in Japan.]

"Why... didn't anyone..." She mutters breathlessly. At least she seems conscious.

"Why... couldn't anyone..."

"Don't speak. An ambulance is coming soon."

"Even that person..."

"That person...? That person, who...?" I was curious and asked.

YOU!

"It's because of you that I've been through this!"

[We get a file for failing too, it's named "YOU!".]

Comprehensive Evaluation: D Class

Episode Zero - Chain Mail - End

[No F Class? Oh well.]

[Only 4% more? I guess we'll need the other Class rankings to complete it, however... It doesn't seem we'll get any more dialogue. Instead, let's see the title of the next episode before we begin it.]

Episode One - Kokkuri-san

Next time, we'll start Episode One. I can say for certain that it will be much, much bigger than Episode Zero. After all, it is meant to be an introduction to the game's mechanics. I am extremely anxious in every meaning of the word. I hope you are looking forward to it too.

Anyway, see you next time!

25 - YOU!

【お前だ！、omaeda!】

["Omae" is a very informal version of "you", it implies either aggression or familiarity. Literally means "the one in front of me". The "da" is an impolite version of "to be", used in most sentences without verbs.]

It happened when a family stayed at an inn.

The daughter of the family was brutally murdered in the bathroom. Her face was mutilated and her tongue was removed from her mouth.

The bathroom was locked, and there was only one window with a lattice that no one could pass through.

The investigation was extremely difficult, and the case seemed to be going cold. One day, however, the son of the inn's owner appeared before the police with a videotape. The son happened to have videotaped the crime scene.

The police tried to ask him about the details of the incident, but he was just too afraid to answer any questions.

The officers, frustrated, decided to take a look at the tape. When they played it back, they saw the victim's image appear on the screen. The next moment, the investigators, watching with bated breath, were confronted with a horrifying image.

From the small gap in the latticed window emerged an old woman no more than 30cm in length, holding a piece of glass in her hand. The woman stabbed the girl with the glass in her hand until her appearance was unrecognizable, and then cut off her tongue as she lay dying.

Then, unexpectedly, she turned her head to the camera and said to the investigators, who couldn't raise their voices due to the unimaginable images,

"You're next!"

This videotape is said to still be stored somewhere in the Metropolitan Police Department.

Above was written the urban legend "YOU!". This rumor is said to have originated on the Internet. Other Internet urban legends include "Kaijin Answer" [Lit. Mysterious Person Answer".] and "Hikiko-san". Over time, even the tools for spreading rumors change.

143 - Doppelgänger

【ドッペルゲンガー、dopperugengaa】

Doppel means "double" and gänger means "goer" in English.

As the name suggests, a doppelgänger is a person's alter ego, another self that exists in this world. There have been doppelgänger encounters not only in the West but also in China, Japan, and many other countries around the world.

Many famous and well-known people have claimed to have witnessed doppelgängers. Maupassant, a leading French naturalist writer known for "A Woman's Life", met another version of himself who visited his room in 1889. And, the German Goethe, writer of "Faust", was riding his horse in a park when he saw another self coming from his front on a horse. Other doppelgänger witness accounts include that of English poet Shelley, considered a representative of the Romantic school, and the novelist Ryuunosuke Akutagawa.

In addition, the Russian novelist Dostoevsky and the American poet and fantasy writer Edgar Allan Poe have also written novels based on doppelgängers.

Creepily, it is said that anyone who sees a doppelgänger will die in the near future, and that is what tugged at the heartstrings of these writers.

However, it is difficult to say that the rumors are true because Goethe, who witnessed his doppelgänger at age 21, lived until he was 83.

In recent years, seeing doppelgängers is said to be a kind of psychosis.

In the psychiatric world, this is called "autoscopy" and its characteristics are:

- Clearly seeing oneself several tens of centimeters to meters in front of oneself, or to the side.

- Most of the time, the doppelgänger does not move, but sometimes, it moves in accordance with one's own movement.

- Full-body images are rare, with partial images such as only the face, head, or upper body being more common.

- Generally, the doppelgänger appears to be monochrome.

- It can appear to be flat and lacking three-dimensionality, as a vague image, or transparent like gelatin or glass.

- It does not necessarily need to look like oneself, it can be wearing different clothes, having a different expression, and even sometimes being of different age.

- Etcetera.

However, those who witness doppelgängers, no matter how different they may appear from themselves, are said to have no doubt that they are images of themselves.

According to recent studies, it is also believed that some causes, such as tumors or migraine headaches, may alter the border region between the temporal and parietal lobes of the brain, which controls body image (the unconscious perception of the shape and size of one's own body), causing the actual body and the body image to be perceived as two separate entities.

Episode 0 - Chain Mail - Part 13 - Alt. Ending

 Check the 4th and 5th parts if you've forgotten the beginning of this route!

However, let me give a short summary here too. After deciding to meet with the mysterious woman behind the chain mail, we meet up with her in a family restaurant, where she reveals herself to be the very person she accused! Or so it seemed, but as she explained, the killer claimed themselves to be her during their confrontation in a back alley. Now, we reach the moment where we decide to believe or distrust her story. Let's begin.

Miyuki Kawahara's True Intentions

Why did she choose such a roundabout way as chain mail in the first place?

        >Because she didn't need to use her name.

                           >Because it can be sent to an unspecified number of people.

   

Let's see what's on the other option.

                           >Because it can be sent to an unspecified number of people.

Is her aim really to stop the culprit?

        >That's right.

                     >It may be something else.

  

Since we won't believe her, we should choose this one. 

                     >It may be something else.

Different possibilities... Those could be---

                                   >That she never saw anything.

   >I don't know...

   

Well... there's not much confidence here, but at least we have a path to the conclusion we want.

                           >That she never saw anything.

Then, is her testimony completely false?

                              >Unfornunately, yes. (Conclusion)

           >No, I should rethink this.

   

There is another way to get here through the very first option, by the way. It's the more logical path too, oops!

  >Unfortunately, yes.

Miyuki Kawahara's testimony is a complete lie---

People use lies to often cover up the truth.

But, in this case, she has no reason to hide the truth about the serial killings unless Miyuki Kawahara herself is the culprit.

However, why would the culprit bother to contact us? So why would she lie?

"Habitual lying".

I've heard stories of an illness in which people lie so that they could look greater than they actually are, or to stand out more.

If it's just at the level of bragging, it can be charming, but when it becomes a serious problem, not even the person themselves can recognize what is true or false.

If we assume she is a pathological liar, everything would make sense, wouldn't it?

Although I'm not confident in this idea, I should try to talk to Mr. Kogure about it.

"Mhmm..."

"What do you think, Mr. Kogure?"

I asked Mr. Kogure, who continued to groan with a sour face, for his opinion.

"Well, sir... I can't believe it myself. Miyuki-chan's testimony being a complete lie..."

"And, while that theory explains why she wasn't killed by the murderer, it doesn't explain why she went to the trouble of testifying that the culprit called themselves after her real name."

"And, that frightened look on Miyuki-chan's face... That is undoubtedly true!" Mr. Kogure strongly asserted.

Mr. Kogure's words certainly make sense. Maybe I'm the strange one for suspecting her story to be a lie.

But, I am a detective.

There are times when you must doubt each and every human being for the sake of pursuing the truth...

"This is an ill-fated job, after all..." Without speaking to anyone, I muttered to myself in a self-deprecating manner.

"Excuse me, Detectives." Covering her mouth with a handkerchief, Miyuki Kawahara sat down.

She's still a little pale. Maybe because of that, her impression feels a bit different.

"Is everything alright, Miyuki-chan!?"

"Yeah... Apart from that, I still need to work. I have to get back to the set as soon as possible."

When she said that, she sat up as if to run away.

"Hey...! Wait a minute!" I couldn't help but grab her hand. It was thin and cold.

Since the veracity of Miyuki Kawahara's testimony is still uncertain, we can't just leave her alone.

Besides, if she really did see the killer, her life would likely be in danger.

"You are a witness to a murder case. And, the murderer saw your face. As it is, you are in danger. The police will take you into custody for your protection." I tried to persuade her to stay.

"That's a problem. I have a job to do. I have a lot of fans waiting for me, you know?"

"But, if the killer attacks you and you get injured, you'll have a bigger problem. Your opponent is a horrible serial killer. It might end up being more than just an injury."

"Miyuki-chan! This is for the sake of your fans too! Please listen to us!" Mr. Kogure, on the behalf of her fans, earnestly requests her cooperation too.

"...Alright. I'll ask my manager to adjust my schedule for the future."

"But, I can't do it today. I can't cancel this shooting right now."

"In that case, we'll take you to work. You never know what might happen along the way."

"No, it's fine. My manager is waiting for me right there. The shooting set is just a short drive away, so don't worry."

"But..."

"If I stay with you guys, strange rumors could pop up. That would be a problem. You understand?"

Strange rumors, what kind of rumors... I had the urge to say something in return but decided to hold back.

However, this is a problem. Again, since we have no warrant, I can't do anything forcefully.

What should I do---?

                      >Follow her, even if forcibly.

   >Do as she says here.

   

Let's take the safe route this time, we might get something from her if we're nice.

   >Do as she says here.

It can't be helped. Let's respect her wishes here.

If we force her to do something and she doesn't cooperate, there will be no way to get her trust back.

Not to mention, I don't want to make enemies of Miyuki Kawahara fans all over Japan, including Mr. Kogure.

"Well then, if something strange happens or you feel uneasy, you can call my cell phone."

"Also, never be alone. Always have someone you trust near. Understood?"

I made sure to remember to ask for her phone number.

Of course, this is for my job. I have no ulterior motives.

On the other hand, Mr. Kogure didn't forget to ask her for an autograph and a commemorative photo before parting.

Of course, this wasn't for his job.

[Photo flash]

Then, we saw her off...

The following day---

"---Popular singer Miyuki Kawahara's sudden death shocked not only fans but also many others."

"According to police, Ms. Kawahara's cause of death was a heart attack."

"Last night, during filming for a TV program, the program staff found Ms. Kawahara collapsed in her dressing room."

"Ms. Kawahara was immediately taken to the hospital, but she was dead on arrival."

"There are concerns from many sides that the sudden death of this nationally popular singer may lead to suicides by her passionate fans."

 "Ridiculous... Miyuki Kawahara suddenly died? By heart attack? That's... I can't believe it..."

I stood there, unable to move at the shocking news that came on as soon as I turned on the TV.

[Crashing sound]

"Sirrr-! Miyuki-chan's...! Miyuki-chan is...! Guhfhfhfhfhfh...!" [Crying maybe?]

Mr. Kogure burst into the room and buried his messy face and runny nose into my chest.

 "Sir...! Am I having a nightmare?! To think that Miyuki-chan would end up dying...!"

 "Yeah... I can't believe it. By a heart attack..."

"Sure, she said she wasn't feeling well yesterday, but for her to die... No way, could the killer have..."

All sorts of speculation run through my head.

 "Sir... the person we met yesterday was definitely Miyuki-chan, right?"

 "Eh... What do you mean by that?" Mr. Kogure had said something weird out of nowhere.

"...Please look at this." Mr. Kogure held out two pieces of colored paper.

The colored paper on the right is vaguely familiar. This is the autograph Kogure got from Miyuki Kawahara yesterday.

I've never seen the autograph with the heart on the left. Is it also an idol's autograph?

 "What's wrong with them...?"

 "Well sir, as you know, the autograph on the right is the autograph Miyuki-chan gave me yesterday."

"And on the left, that's the autograph that I won from a magazine sweepstake."

 "Huh, who is it from?"

 "From Miyuki-chan."

My head went blank. "W-what do you mean?" The left and right papers are clearly different, but...

I grabbed them and asked for an explanation.

 "That means that the autograph I got from Miyuki-chan yesterday wasn't Miyuki-chan's autograph!"

 "No way...! I mean, she drew that autograph right in front of us!"

 "That's right, sir... That's why I asked if we could be certain if she really was Miyuki-chan..."

"I was so excited at the time I didn't even notice that the autograph was fake."

"However, when I compared them this morning..." So this isn't Miyuki Kawahara's signature?

"I thought I was mistaken, so I looked up her signature on the Net, but..."

"...As expected, yesterday's autograph is a fake."

Good lord. What the hell is going on?

The woman we met yesterday... She must have been, without a doubt, Miyuki Kawahara. But then, why---?

[Inference Logic time!]

Okay, I've decided to skip the answering process because it's the same as in the other ending for this route, only with fewer keywords. However, the dialogue after it may be different, so I'll translate those, but first...

I'll stop here. Next time, we'll get every route ending for this episode. After that, I'll show this route's dead ends and get all FOAF files. This will probably take only three more posts before moving onto the actual 1st episode, lol. But, before ending this post, the fact she died of a heart attack is actually pretty interesting to me. The real Elizabeth Báthory died of one as well, meaning that no matter how many people she kills or how much she reincarnates, she'll never be able to live forever. That's a nice detail.

Anyway, see you next time!