"Well hell," Al says, rubbing the back of his neck. "I sure ran my mouth there, didn't I? Boy, I'd look even worse of an old fool than usual if I said all that, then just let you two run around town alone after getting on her case..."
Al strokes his beard thoughtfully while Shiori and I stare up at him. Are we about to be chaperoned? Can we really afford to do that? My mind's swimming, trying to figure out what the best course of action is, but it seems like I'm always on the verge of forgetting what we're trying to achieve.
Calm down. Think it through. All we're really doing is looking for my specific diary entries. For whatever reason, we're getting all kinds of other diaries, from other people. Including Shiori. Including some mysterious "Girl X." Then we have The Codex Sussurokawa talking about destiny. Or at least, Alexa, who's like some fairy of The Codex, keeps talking about destiny. The way she pointed out my blanked out name, it feels like if we follow her lead, we'll get the rest of it.
On that note, the "NPCs" we talk to seem to respond to how much of my identity I've managed to reclaim. I'm pretty sure I heard Al call me M, and I don't think there was any way he could have heard Shiori give me that nickname. It's almost like this entire weird fake town is set up for me to relive the past, remember my memories, and reclaim my name as a function of those first two things.
I take a furtive sidelook at Shiori, who's sort of rocking back and forth on her heels like an excited kid. She's not losing her sense of identity... she definitely remembers who she is, why she's here, and the fact that she's not actually ten. But she's also definitely getting hard pulled into the role.
"Tell you what, Miss Shiori, Miss M. Why don't you both accompany me to my abode, and you can play around there while I take a nap before the magic show?" Al says.
"It's a ritual!" Shiori chides him.
"Of course," he winks. "Now, come on. Follow me. I'll try to not to walk an old man pace, so just scamper behind and don't wander off."
Al sets off down the stairs actually... at quite the decent march. He's spry, that old man, and maybe not that aware of how slow short-legged kids actually are, even if they're bounding with energy. Shiori seems to pale for a moment thinking about taking another long walk, but gives Yorick a small squeeze for self-assurance before she, in fact, starts scampering after.
"Come on, M! We don't wanna get left behind!" Shiori says.
"Shiori," I say, "you remember why we're here, right?"
For a second she looks surprised. But she sort of squirms back and forth impatiently. "I do! Of course, I do. But I also really wanna see this magic show for some reason! Come on! And we'll probably find some more telltail snitches at The Creepy Peach!" And off she goes, bounding down the stairs after Al.
The what now?
It only took about five minutes of follow the oblivious leader before we had to beg Al to slow down a bit. Or, Shiori had to beg I mean. I probably could've kept up with it. Yeah. But anyway, we asked him to slow down, and the old man seemed genuinely surprised by it. But he just stroked his beard a bit, and decided he'd "go his old man pace, after all."
So now he's just humming what sounds like sea shanties to himself while taking a leisurely stroll just ahead of us, making sure to take a glance back and forth every so often; then when he sees the two of us, he smiles a bit, and turns around and goes on humming.
I like Al. I feel protected around him. I must of liked him in the past too, because it's a familiar feeling.
"Shiori," I whisper. "What's The Creepy Peach?"
"It's where Al and Hana live," she whispers back. "Their house is really close to yours! It's "The Creepy Peach" because it's kinda yellow and pink, and rote, rotat... roter-"
"Rotund?" I suggest.
"Yeah! It's rotund but it's got a really spiky black fence that's really creepy! And it's in, um, it's all netted up with metal, like, so the vines can grow on it, it's um..." Shiori struggles.
"Espaliered?" I suggest again.
"Maybe! Why do you know so many big words now?" Shiori asks, a bit struck, with maybe a bit of envy creeping into her face.
I don't know, actually. This feels like a new thing. I definitely felt like I was getting smarter the closer I got to The Heart of Waechner's Vault -- like all the secrets of the world were trying to find their way into my head, and I was a vessel prepared to understand them. Or something. And now that we're just in The Heart itself, soaking it all up...
"Stop looking so smug," Shiori huffs.
"I am not," I say.
"You are." Shiori keeps acting childish. Even Yorick seems to notice, the way his gray slime eyes strain and stress a bit, asking for understanding, apologizing for her. Don't worry Yorick. I get it. Wait, he's giving Shiori that look, too? What did I do?
At any rate, the timber-lined path slopes gently downward and to the right. It's an almost racetrack like curve it's so gentle, except it goes downhill. But as we traverse it, down, and down, and down, I see more and more flowers. Scattered bushes of fluffy white hydrangeas. Little tufts of golden rayed lilies here and there, scratchy and patchwork like a someone did a bad job shaving. Snowdrops assembling in little crowds, big enough that it feels like they want to be called fields, but it's just not quite so. And everywhere, every color of evening primrose growing tall and keeping the other plants in check.
But it's not just flowers. There's all kinds of weeds you'd usually kill. There's ugly crabgrass everywhere. We're still in a clearing, so this place was obviously cleared at some point, and probably had beautiful fields and bushes that were carefully arranged. And at some point, the maintenance must have just stopped all together.
In the center of it all, a statue -- or maybe two statues, depending on how you divvy it. It's of a man and a woman... a little more accurately, a faun and some kind of nymph, both in sweet embrace. The faun's got the look of a charmer and a womanizer, the way he holds a goblet up to the nymph, who seems ravished by the drink's mere bouquet. The look of ecstasy on the nymph's face...
"It's kinda lewd..." Shiori says.
No kidding. And somehow the tall grass surrounding the statue escalates the sense of thrill and hedonism, as if the two lovers are so engrossed in pleasure they haven't noticed the world pass on by, that their beautiful sanctuary has fallen into subtle ruin all around them and now they're stuck in its tangle. Above the tall grass, I can barely make out the plaque.
Consumarre est Coniungi.
...What's that mean, exactly?
Just like Shiori said, at the end of a path of lower cut grass through the field, there's a rotund, yellow-pink building with a creepy black fence, and creepy metal espaliering. It really does look like a peach in a metal fruit net. It's huge, too. Whoever designed this must have thought it would look cute, but it's more unsettling than anything.
"Now, you kids will be juuust fine playing here. Hannah should be home, and she can watch you two," Al says.
Hannah? I'm pretty sure that was another one of the murder victims. What exactly is the relation between Al and Hannah? Now that I'm thinking about it, for a guy who looks like he's been doing blue collar work all his life, this sure is a big and fancy house. The kind of fancy-ugly that only someone really rich could afford.
"This is Hannah's house," Shiori whispers to me. "Al's like... a handyman around Rumeuri. Al says he lives with Hannah because Hannah takes care of him, but... it's kinda the other way around. At least that's what everyone says."
I think I'm catching what Shiori's saying. Fair enough, but who is 'everyone', exactly? This is the problem with small towns, where 'everybody' knows 'everybody.' Was Shiori just chatting away with random housewives whenever she had the chance?
"Hannah!" Al calls out. "Hannah, are you in there dear? I've got Miss Shiori and Miss M here!"
A big heavy door creaks open slowly. It's probably made of bronze. It's appropriately rich and regal, but an absolute mismatch for the petite woman trying to push it open. Al walks over and helps her swing it open like he's done it a million times, and Hannah walks out. She's... huh.
"Hannah's a horse girl," Shiori gapes. "But... um! I guess no one called them that back then!"
I've never heard the term "horse girl," but she definitely has a rider's get-up. Just a little more... racy. Breeches are already tight fitting, and rider's boots already have that kinda sexy vibe to them. But combine that with a hot pink equestrian shirt which makes no attempt to hide cleavage, and very ostentatious white choker, and the whole outfit makes a miraculous 180 from classy to tawdry.
"She kinda looks nut-gobbly..." Shiori says, with a bizarre solemnity.
"Shiori, I'm begging you, self-filter a little bit," I tell her.
"I am self-filtering though?" She tilts her head. "The ladies in town say it about Monika!"
Hannah walks over and pulls the two of us into an unexpected hug, and we both let out a little 'oof!' as we're pulled face-first into her chest. "Why, you two are smelling wonderful today!" Huh? Is she sniffing us or something?
"What do we smell like Miss Crecer?" Shiori peers up at Hannah.
"Hmm, hmm~. Like cinnamon and kindness, I'd say. My, what a charming scent. As if you've been doing nice things all day, and now you're wearing all those wonderful deeds like a sweet perfume! Though, I'd say kindness is a child's natural fragrance." She lets the bear hug go at Al's chiding, but keeps holding both our hands as she we walk toward The Creepy Peach.
Me on her left, Shiori on her right. I feel a bit flustered since it's almost like two children walking hand-in-hand-in-hand with their mother. Plus... Have I done anything nice today? I'm pretty sure not.
There's something strange about just how regal her elocution is, with her very not-regal get-up. But the hints of what some people call 'good breeding' shine through so clearly, that everything 'off' almost highlights a fundamentally aristocratic nature. If I had to describe it, it's like classy which got tired of being classy.
It's kinda like all the flowers around here. What clearly used to be almost shines brighter than what actually is, right now.
Once we're inside, I look around to see we're completely ensconced in cherry-stained mahogany. The floor, the doors, the walls. The tables, the coffee tables. Just about everything besides some satiny couches. I think you could safely call this a drawing room. The kind you'd see 'reimagined' on a museum tour for some famous fancy house.
The only part out of place are some colorful mats on the floor. Like, kindergarten colorful. 'Out of place' might be an understatement, actually.
Alphonse gets himself into a long stretch and yawn. "Now you all do what you do. I oughta go lay down and nap so my golden thread is nice and uncuttable when we go see those soothsayers."
"Actually, the way your thread's cut is determined at birth!" Shiori chirps, leading Al to chuckle and pat her head before he sets out at an 'old man pace' up the stairs.
Hannah claps her hands together.
"Make yourselves at home, children~, I'll go grab some toys I bought just for this sort of occasion," Hannah instantly gets to fussing, treating us more like we're five than we're ten, sauntering away out of sight. The sounds of rummaging around in what sounds like a closet tell me she's not kidding about the toys.
"Um, I think we'll be alright." I speak for the both of us, though I at least check if Shiori might be interested, given her increasingly young mindset. But she's too busy making faces at Yorick. I guess she doesn't really need toys. "Miss Crecer-"
"M, what'd I say about just calling me Hannah~"
"Hannah... why do you have toys, anyway?" This is definitely the type of question you shouldn't ask, but I can't help it. Besides. This whole town's got the 'mysterious lack of children.' It doesn't hurt to be a little suspicious.
"Oh, you know, sometimes a girl just can't help count her chicks before they hatch. Or even... before they're conceived," she says languidly. "I thought that if I started preparing then perhaps, just perhaps Nick would pick up on the hint. But he always likes to play the imbecile, you know? My, I've been trying to edify him on the things in life that truly matter. The small grip of a child... a baby's absolutely beatific smile. We'd be doing a service for this community if we'd have two, or three, or four kids... He'll be here soon, actually, are you hungry darlings? Once he sees you he might..."
Uh oh. This lady seems a little dangerous. Not in the 'I think she's hiding something' kind of way. In the 'I feel sorry for whoever ends up marrying her' kind of way. Right on cue, I hear the sound of the big heavy door being laboriously opened behind us, along with a man's voice.
"Oh! Nick, darling!" Hannah immediately snaps out of her obsessed mumbling.
Nick's young and handsome. That much is clear. Tan skin that's ambiguously foreign-looking, with curly hair, and a stubble that says his beard grows in fast no matter how hard he tries to stay clean-shaven. That handsome face is wincing, though.
"Hi, Hannah. Shiori. M. Don't usually see you two here." He seems a little on edge. Enough that he's only got enough emotional energy in him to greet two children like they're work acquaintances. "Al's not awake, is he?"
"Nick, you know Al's prickly but he loves you like a son," Hannah admonishes him.
"No. No, he really doesn't," he sighs. "Well, that's good news for me. That'll give me time to make you guys meals for the whole week without him busting my balls."
"Don't use that kind of language in front of children," Hannah prods him harshly in the ribs, and Nick gives the two of us a sheepish, apologetic 'oops' shrug.
"I might as well make us all something nice to eat for lunch while I'm here," Nick says. "You two just sit tight, and I'll have something whipped up in a couple of hours."
"Let me get those toys I was talking about!" Hannah claps her hands together once again.
"We'll be alright! Actually, Shiori says she wants to read some books. Right, Shiori?" I elbow her a bit.
"Huh? Do we? Oh. Oh yeah! We do! We wanna jump into a book like the posters!" Shiori catches on.
"O-oh... you want to read, huh? Well, the study's in the left hallway upstairs..." Hannah seems a bit disappointed.
I feel bad but we've gotta do what we've gotta do, and Shiori set off up the same stairs Al just went up. This is... a really tall house. But maybe because it's all wood, the sound seems to travel way too well, because long after they should be out of ear shot I can hear Hannah and Nick arguing.
"Hannah, are you sniffing me? Seriously?" Nick says.
"Hmm? Hmmmm? Having a little amourette are you? Is this another woman I smell?" Hannah is going on in the weepiest tone I've ever heard. "You just can't wait to find some pretty girl who's normal!"
"Hannah. First off. We're not dating. And second off, no?" Nick sounds absolutely exasperated.
Um. Let's leave them to it.