Bad∞End∞Night Vol 1 Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Stolen Page

All the cast besides Kaito and myself had already gathered in the living room. I sipped on tea which Meg poured me. 

As I slowly inspected everyone one by one… I had a sudden flash of déjà vu. In act one of the play, the Villager entered the mansion in the woods and looked over each of the mansion’s residents; this scene felt exactly the same, with people who emanated a very similar mood. A giant crystal chandelier hung from the center of the semi-cylindrical ceiling, and indeed, less than half of its candles were lit, giving the room an unsettling gloom. The cast and the set… Wherever I turned my gaze, I saw a perfect recreation of the world in the play’s script. 

The Mistress, Meiko, elegantly sipping tea, put her teacup down in her saucer with a serious look. 

“To think that the next page would be gone…” 

“My word, such a serious problem… Time appears to have stopped.” 

Meg and Gack… I watched their interaction out of the corner of my eye. The Maid, whose mouth claimed she was worried, but so deeply enjoyed trouble and incidents, and the Butler, who wouldn’t stop polishing silverware even when everyone else was concerned - no situation would dissuade him from diligently attending to his work. There were resemblances to the way they usually were, but I could see some major differences. 

Meg was one to often get caught up in things, but she would never joke around about matters which clearly concerned the others. And when Meg’s mischief did cross the line, Gack would always lightly rebuke her. I didn’t feel that comfortable sense of stability between them now. But… Just maybe, they only happened to be acting that way right now. I had to properly ask them, not just make guesses. 

“Um… Miss Meg… and Mr. Gack?”, I said to them. But they didn’t even turn my way. 

“Too soon…? My, it seems our butler’s eyes are going already… Rather useless, isn’t he! It’s clear here that something’s been torn out, so open up those eyes and take a look! You can see it, can’t you?! This rough tearing obviously speaks to a frantic theft!” 

The Butler’s face clouded from the Lady calling him “useless,” finding it all too cruel. 

“AhaHAHA! SOMEone STOLE it!” 

“The script was in the oldest desk in the hall the whole time. Aren’t you two always playing there? Did anyone see the culprit?” 

“No, NO one SAW!” 

“Hm, the way the paper is torn… It certainly looks like it was ripped quite roughly! I don’t suppose that could speak to the personality of the one who ripped it…? And the torn page was nowhere near the script. So then surely…” 

The Master, who had silently been watching this unfold, spoke in a dignified voice. 

“One of us tore out the page and hid it… Who?” 

The tension in the room surmounted, but no one would so much as touch the string. 

“…” 

No one spoke up. Everyone stared down everyone else with dubious looks. 

“No ONE will adMIT it? YahaHA…” 

“But who would steal it…? And for what, hm?” 

“NO doubt, they WANT to deSTROY THIS play! YaHAHA, what FUN!” 

“Um…” 

I finally cut in after being silent the whole time. Everyone turned to me simultaneously. 

“…If the page being lost stopped the play… is there something bad about that? I mean, um… You’re all free to talk as you like right now, and…” 

If this world were a play, then the cast that lived in it could only act according to script. But what if the next scene for them to act were taken away? Then they’d have nothing to do, like right now. But was it bad for things to remain in this stopped state? 

The Master spoke with a slight wrinkle between his eyebrows. 

“Actors exist because there is a script. Our existence is based in the world of that script. But what happens if the script goes away? Then our existence written within vanishes with it. Wouldn’t you think?” 

“Huh…?” 

“A world without a script… It’s really quite inconceivable.” 

The Master continued his explanation with a look of despair. 

“If the play does not conclude according to script… Then the world within cannot exist. We, and this play, will all cease to exist. This world exists because of the script. For that script to be damaged means nothing less than the complete loss of order in this play.” 

“EveRYONE will GO aWAY! We’ll ALL die… NO! This WORLD will have neVER exisTED in the FIRST place! But as LONG as we all GO togeTHER, maybe THAT’s not TOO scary, RIGHT? AhahaHA!” 

“They are going a bit far, aren’t they? People are going to suspect that you two are the thieves, you realize?” 

The Lady stood up with resentment toward the Doll Twins’ teasing, and the Mistress quietly rebuked them in an attempt to stop it. 

“You’re MEAN! And WRONG! PbbBBT!” 

“Then who else would steal it, hm?! Who? If you fess up now, I might not be quite so mad!”, the Lady demanded, the flames of rage faintly burning in her eyes. 

“Madam, you look very angry as it is! Actually, with how much you’re suspecting everyone… and the rash tearing, fit for someone prone to anger… Could it be that you…!” 

“…Why would you suspect me? I wish for tranquility in this mansion more than anyone…” 

“OHH? But there’s THE highest CHANCE that the BUTler DID it! Because HE stays up the LATest in this HOUSE! AhaHAHA!” 

“…AH, right YOU are!” 

“…! N-No, nothing.” 

“Ah…” 

Milk tea for the heart - how did I not notice it before?! That flavor before was exactly the same as the usual tea Meg made, and yet it was here… So they really were the same people, taken by this world! Their memories were lost, and they were made part of the set…! 

“Did… I…?” 

It was me who had done this to them all. I was the culprit who profaned the play, and this was my punishment for ruining the production of Burlet’s lost libretto. To be trapped in this fictional world as the only one who knew the truth, dragging everyone else in, and being made to redo the play all alone. Those who profaned a Burlet play were cursed, soon vanished from the stage, and died; indeed, that long-standing legend wasn’t merely an embellishment, exaggerated over many years and blindly believed. 

I was taken by the worst regret and self-loathing of my life. My pulse quickened, I clenched my teeth, and my hands shook. 

“I want to go home…” 

To reality. To the world where everyone was just normal… I soon found my vision growing misty, and tears fell. Everyone stared at me as I suddenly broke into tears. 

“Miss Villager, are you all right…? Do you wish to return home that badly?” 

“Okay! We may not know who stole it, but there’s only so many places to hide it! It’s a biiig mansion, but it has to be here somewhere! Let’s search!” 

Possibly spurred by my shameful tears, the tension in the room seemed to ease up. Even the belligerent Lady and Maid seemed to temporarily make peace, though still kept their guard. I wiped away my tears and swung up my head. 

“Even if one of us did steal the page… There’s no point in suspecting one another without any proof. We’ll just search for the page while staying aware that the culprit is among us.” 

“But what IF, the CULprit really ISN’T among US? AhaHAHA!” 

“BAH! Then SOMEone here is LYing to us!” 

Upon the Master’s orders, the Butler prepared a top-down map of the mansion and laid it out on the glass table. Everyone began to decide where they would search. I couldn’t just be sobbing here alone, either; I had dragged them all into this. One of the people here knew something about the truth. I had to stay focused. And I had to get them back to normal… and back to the real world. 

Chapter end