We return months later to the 1985 family conference, where Natsuhi and Co. will be maintaining the mascarade of Grampa still being alive (obviously, Krauss's investments haven't paid off yet, which doesn't surprise me at all). Natsuhi has yet another pep talk with Grampa and Beatrice, who congratulate her for her strength, while they all walk in the garden. Oh, and Kanon somehow participates in the conversation...
"BREAK TIME !" interrupts Lambdadelta, which causes Bernkastel to deadpanly indicate that there are more discreet ways to ask for a bathroom break. It's time for Battler to explain why Grampa can still be walking around the mansion and interacting with people if he is dead. Surely it's magic !
(Insert here a lovely parody by Lambdadelta of Battler's catchphrases and tactics, including suggestions of a virus called Rokkenjima Syndrome, hallucinogenic scales of a butterfly only native to the island, ans a secret organisation called Yamainu using a mysterious delusion-causing drug.)
Of course, Battler sees the easy answer : it's just Natsuhi, Krauss and the servants doing their best to maintain the Mascarade, always talking as though Grampa was with them just a second ago. No magic needed.
Bernkastel slow claps, but what she adds is full of reproach against Battler's past tactics : she's playing the "mystery" side, so she'll avoid invoking crazy theories such as mystery drugs, mystery weapons and secret passages in her reasoning. They're barely different from Lambdadelta's "fantasy" tools, and thus self-defeating. Any such argument is a waste of time : Battler's strict "anti-fantasy" moves are sterile and lead nowhere.
Oh, and she points out that Beato's body is right behind them, suffering from his every blow against the "fantasy" side. Nice job hurting her, hero !
Back in the real world, Krauss's siblings and their families go back on the boat without having doubted an instant that Grampa was alive, and Natsuhi congratulates the servants for their acting chops while confirming they'll get a big fat bonus for this. Then she goes off to have tea with Beatrice, reminiscing about her honeymoon (it's not really flattering for Krauss).
Meanwhile, Battler is spoon-feeding tea to the inert Beato, while Bernkastel questions his resolve to really kill her. She compares his actions to removing fingernails, and that by taking so much time he's just making this torture more painful for Beato. And then, because every scene has to remind us that she's an asshole, she counters Battler's theory that Natsuhi may not be delusional, and is just talking to a real person calling herself Beatrice, by stating that Natsuhi is alone drinking tea. That was just cruel and unnecessary, and Battler rightly calls on her for it. Bernkastel doesn't care, and indicates that she's starting to enjoy the game, and certainly won't leave...
Well, that was certainly interesting. There's no surprising revelation in those flashbacks (we do get a confirmation that Kanon and Shannon are by now also in on the scam, but not the other nameless servants we don't care about), but the metagame is getting fun. Lambadelta's banter is hilarious (I love the constant Shout Outs and Take That! to Higurashi), but I'm more fascinated by the depiction of Bernkastel as irremediably evil. It's an interesting move, especially with the persisting suggestion that Beato may just doing a Wounded Gazelle Gambit as usual (presumably to get rid of Bernkastel).
