I can't say I'm surprised. Even after the Watchers told me he was alive last week, I felt as though I was going out of my mind with worry when Alphinaud was missing.
[They just have to hope that the others come back, just as they did last week.]
Is there something more troubling you? [Alisaie's just going to. Kneel down next to Susato's chair so that she can meet her eyes--when you're feeling so low, people tend to look down.] What is it?
[She gives a soft huff of air, something that's almost a laugh, but not quite, because Susato's being silly but she doesn't want to laugh at her.]
Those shards have been causing a great deal of problems throughout this week. I won't say we don't have important things to worry about today, because we do, but the way those shards affect us is just as important.
I've seen a great deal of painful memories in them.
I'm not certain. I only know that he never died at all. And that means. . .
[She takes a deep breath.]
I was the one to discover him. He was on the floor, motionless, and wouldn't stir. He was taken away to be looked at by the ship doctor, but when we learned he was dead and had likely been murdered. . . Mr. Sholmes examined the body and determined the cause of death.
[So. If he wasn't actually dead, how does that add up.]
That doesn't make sense. One would imagine that if he hadn't truly been dead, it would have been discovered by someone.
[She's having a hard time imagining Susato not being able to tell that he wasn't dead, for one? She knows nothing of the ship's doctor, of course, but Sholmes... Alisaie frowns.]
Is it possible that Sholmes might have been in on it?
I never had much of a chance to look at him myself. I saw that he would not stir and called for help right away - I presumed he died of his injuries.
[But when she mentions Sholmes, Susato nods.]
That's the only possible explanation. I know what some think of him, but he is not foolish. He is a brilliant man and he knows how to examine a body. The only reasonable conclusion is that he lied.
. . . Please understand. He is such a kind and wonderful man. That is why it is so shocking to me, to think this of him. He has been nothing but good to me the entire time I have known him.
[She shakes her head, sitting back onto her knee so that she can fold her arms.]
I believe you, Susato. Truly.
I'm just irritated because that oaf called me by my brother's name mere minutes after I'd introduced myself to him. Now I wonder if he didn't do it just to see what a reaction he'd receive.
Oh. Well. . . it's possible. He tends to be quite forgetful when it comes to names, but.
[Hmm.]
Actually, upon one of our first meetings, he called me by Naruhodo-san's name and Naruhodo-san by mine, and I realize now that it is actually quite impossible he forgot my name, because he was a close companion to my father. So you may not be wrong.
[Oops, sorry, derailed for a moment. Alisaie groans, dropping her head into a hand.]
I knew he was playing at foolishness. The first time I met him, he was pretending to have fallen asleep in a doorway. He told me that he'd been tired--but why would someone choose to sleep in a doorway?
He leaped up as soon as I'd stated my name. I can only guess that was his intent...
[And then he'd promptly called her Alphinaud a few minutes later.]
I can't understand what you see in him. I believe you when you say he is a kind person, but I don't understand how you put up with that all the time.
[She's not trying to be mean but SUSATO???? YOU CAN FIND BETTER FRIENDS?????????]
[She does look a little uneasy about all of this. She's angry at Sholmes at the moment, but even so. . .]
Yes, he teases people sometimes and acts a little strange, but that sort of attribute isn't. . . isn't all that important to me when it comes to measuring a person's character. I have seen him countless times choose to be kind to a person whose suffering all others have turned away from, and he has always been there for me during difficult moments.
To me, that matters much more than whether he is eccentric or even frustrating.
[Alisaie will take a moment to get a hold of herself. She's not meaning to make Susato uneasy, it's just...!]
Pray forgive me. Yes, those are the traits that matter most in the end.
I simply... [Now it's her turn to look a little bit uneasy.] I do not like being made to feel ignorant. With Sholmes, I am never certain if he is being truthful or playing a game.
The more important thing was what you mean to do with this information, now that you have it.
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week 2; thursday
Alisaie. . . thank you for helping earlier.
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Of course. I didn't do much, but we all have to do what we can.
How is Sheba, now that Diluc has been healed?
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I think she is doing much better, though the stress has been difficult, and Mr. Alberich and Sir Rochalizo are very much on her mind.
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[They just have to hope that the others come back, just as they did last week.]
Is there something more troubling you? [Alisaie's just going to. Kneel down next to Susato's chair so that she can meet her eyes--when you're feeling so low, people tend to look down.] What is it?
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Those shards have been causing a great deal of problems throughout this week. I won't say we don't have important things to worry about today, because we do, but the way those shards affect us is just as important.
I've seen a great deal of painful memories in them.
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. . . You wished my memories about Kazuma-sama had turned out the way yours had, do you remember? But in a way, they did.
Lord van Zieks told me, and showed me in a memory. Kazuma-sama. . . is very much alive.
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What happened...?
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[She takes a deep breath.]
I was the one to discover him. He was on the floor, motionless, and wouldn't stir. He was taken away to be looked at by the ship doctor, but when we learned he was dead and had likely been murdered. . . Mr. Sholmes examined the body and determined the cause of death.
[So. If he wasn't actually dead, how does that add up.]
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That doesn't make sense. One would imagine that if he hadn't truly been dead, it would have been discovered by someone.
[She's having a hard time imagining Susato not being able to tell that he wasn't dead, for one? She knows nothing of the ship's doctor, of course, but Sholmes... Alisaie frowns.]
Is it possible that Sholmes might have been in on it?
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[But when she mentions Sholmes, Susato nods.]
That's the only possible explanation. I know what some think of him, but he is not foolish. He is a brilliant man and he knows how to examine a body. The only reasonable conclusion is that he lied.
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Then the question is why he did so. Will you ask him about it?
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. . . Please understand. He is such a kind and wonderful man. That is why it is so shocking to me, to think this of him. He has been nothing but good to me the entire time I have known him.
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I believe you, Susato. Truly.
I'm just irritated because that oaf called me by my brother's name mere minutes after I'd introduced myself to him. Now I wonder if he didn't do it just to see what a reaction he'd receive.
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[Hmm.]
Actually, upon one of our first meetings, he called me by Naruhodo-san's name and Naruhodo-san by mine, and I realize now that it is actually quite impossible he forgot my name, because he was a close companion to my father. So you may not be wrong.
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I knew he was playing at foolishness. The first time I met him, he was pretending to have fallen asleep in a doorway. He told me that he'd been tired--but why would someone choose to sleep in a doorway?
He leaped up as soon as I'd stated my name. I can only guess that was his intent...
[And then he'd promptly called her Alphinaud a few minutes later.]
I can't understand what you see in him. I believe you when you say he is a kind person, but I don't understand how you put up with that all the time.
[She's not trying to be mean but SUSATO???? YOU CAN FIND BETTER FRIENDS?????????]
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Yes, he teases people sometimes and acts a little strange, but that sort of attribute isn't. . . isn't all that important to me when it comes to measuring a person's character. I have seen him countless times choose to be kind to a person whose suffering all others have turned away from, and he has always been there for me during difficult moments.
To me, that matters much more than whether he is eccentric or even frustrating.
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Pray forgive me. Yes, those are the traits that matter most in the end.
I simply... [Now it's her turn to look a little bit uneasy.] I do not like being made to feel ignorant. With Sholmes, I am never certain if he is being truthful or playing a game.
The more important thing was what you mean to do with this information, now that you have it.
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I understand. It does not feel good to be treated as though you are being underestimated or dismissed.
[As for the second part. . . ]
I suppose I must find out why he did it, and decide whether I can accept his answer.
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Then you already know the steps you must take.
If there is anything I can do to support you, pray let me know. You need not face this alone.