I decided to go see someone over the holiday weekend.
"Go to the 'Death-eating Bird (死喰い鳥)'. I need to see this guy."
"Certainly, sir."
The servant of the Baskerville family faithfully carries out the Lord's orders without question.
He leads the horse to the destination, a short distance from the palace.
Apart from the coachman, it is just me and Urza in the carriage. Aeris and Nagisa are not here.
Aeris is a representative of the Baskerville family and is present at social gatherings, trying to make contacts and gather information in the aristocratic society.
Nagisa was on a mission with her fellow assassins to destroy a gangster from another country who was bringing illegal drugs into the country.
Despite their differences in form, both of them are working for the Baskerville family.
"..."
And now, I rest my weight on the back of the carriage, rocked by the intermittent vibrations. Urza sits next to me and leans her head against the back of the carriage, so I pat her head for the moment.
As I am rocked by the carriage... what comes to my mind is the information that Polaris has given me. It was about Shakuna Maafern, the descendant of a hero.
"Shakuna..."
I call out her name, and a pain shoots through my chest.
I can say that [DunBrave1] is the best game I have ever played in my life as a gamer... but the sequel [DunBrave 2], and the additional scenario 'Jade Tombstone', I didn't like until the very end.
I disliked [DunBrave 2] because I... or rather, 'Zenon Baskerville's' cuckolding of me pissed me off.
And the reason why I disliked 'Jade Tombstone' is that the last scene was so sad and empty.
Princess Shakuna cooperated with Leon and staged a coup d'etat, and finally overthrew King Maafern and accomplished the revolution.
After defeating her father, Shakuna proclaimed herself as the new queen to rebuild the nation... but in the ending, she was killed by an assassin's sword.
Shakuna's chest was pierced and she died in Leon's arms who rushed to her with a smile on her face.
'Why didn't you resist?! You could have deflected that attack, couldn't you?'
'Because... she was just a child. How can I point a sword at a child...?'
Shakuna smiles weakly in Leon's arms.
The assassin who killed Shakuna was a small child.
The child who was the son of the king's aide and the son of the Knight Commander turned his blade against Shakuna to avenge his father's death.
Shakuna could have resisted if she had wanted to, but she was led astray by the face of the child, and her chest was pierced without resistance.
No matter what the cause, there is no war without sorrow.
Even the boy who stabbed Shakuna's chest was also a victim born from war.
That last scene made me cry.
I cried a lot.
I played the game again and again to see if there was any other ending, any other way for Shakuna to survive... Unfortunately, no matter how many times I played the game again, I could not save her.
This last part shocked many gamers.
Although not as much as in [DunBrave 2], many players complained about it.
'Shakuna had to die. No matter what the cause, we must not justify causing a civil war. We must not glorify the war. Just as Oda Nobunaga and Ryoma Sakamoto were killed in the end, Shakuna had to take responsibility for causing the war.'
This is what the scenario writer later said in an interview.
War is not allowed for any reason. Shakuna had to be killed for causing a civil war in the name of revolution, and she had to be killed for the grudge she bore.
I understand what the scenario writer is trying to say... but as a fan, I cannot agree with his comment.
"Goshujin-sama, where is the carriage headed?"
Urza, sitting next to me, asks me with a scowl as I remember something unpleasant.
"...Hmm, yeah. We haven't met yet. We're going to meet a magician in the service of the Baskerville family, 'Death-eating Bird'."
"'Death-eating Bird (シクイドリ)'... what a funny name, desu~no. And what business does Goshujin-sama have with this person?"
"Well, 'Death-eating Bird' has the corpse of the scum nobleman Jack Salt from the other day. He's a magician who can talk to corpses and get information out of them. I'd like to find out a little more about Maafern Kingdom, so I thought I'd meet him in person."
"This person can talk to corpses? A very strange person, desu~no"
"That's true, but... hmm?"
The carriage stopped abruptly. The horses are neighing.
"What's wrong! Did something happen!?"
"W-Wakadanna-sama! It's...!"
"...!"
I asked the man in front of me. His voice came back impatiently.
It seems that an accident has occurred. Urza and I immediately jump off the carriage.
The carriage is already outside the capital. The unpaved footpath is surrounded by trees, and we seem to have been going through the woods.
"This is...!"
"It's an enemy attack!"
The carriage is surrounded by numerous enemies. There are ten enemies... no, there must have been more than twice as many, including those hiding behind the trees.
The shadows of the enemies around us are not human. But that does not mean that they are monsters.
Around the carriage is something humanoid.
They had no eyes, no nose, and no mouth. It looked like a mannequin doll with a face like an egg, but with clothes on.
"""""..."""""
The crowd of creepy dolls surrounded the carriage silently... and then they pulled out weapons such as knives and clubs.
"Good grief... so that's what this is about. It's a mess."
I instantly understood the situation... and sighed deeply.
"Looks like we're getting a warm welcome... Urza, can you kill it?"
"No problem! Goshujin-sama's enemies are all dead, desu~no!"
At her Lord's question, Urza nodded with a ferocious smile on her young face.
She raises her beloved kanabō high into the air and strikes at the armed puppet.
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