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The Lumberjack’s Statement – Part 01

My name is Gideon Legrant. I’m a student of architecture at the University of Sauville. That’s right. It goes without saying that I am not, in fact, a lumberjack. But everyone was lying about their identities, calling themselves the Orphan, or the Empress, so I followed their lead and gave a false occupation. They laughed at me, though.

I live in a boarding house in Saubreme. Yes. What I told that oriental boy right there, Kujou, was true. I lost my parents in a train accident when I was a child, and since then, my adoptive father has been funding my studies. I’ve been trying to repay him for my tuition fees in various ways. I can’t just mooch off of him, you know.

The reason I took the train was, well, like everyone else, I went to watch the show at the monastery. I got a ticket through some connections. Was the show interesting? To be honest, I don’t know. The ladies seemed to really enjoy it, though.

…Hmm?

I’m acting restless? No, I’m not.

I am?

I mean, I can’t relax. I’ve never given a statement at a police station before. Besides, I saw a person die right in front of me. It’d be weird if I was calm, no?

Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’ve calmed down. Moving on.

It was a coincidence that I ended up in that compartment. The train was awfully crowded, and there were people everywhere. I ran into a man wandering around, looking for a seat, a large guy who called himself the Dead. We were walking down the corridor, having a chat, when he looked into that compartment and said it was empty. So I went in, only to find that there were four other people there. It just so happened that the seat he spotted was empty, so he assumed there was no one inside. The woman who called herself the Empress let us in, and so we settled in that compartment. The Empress is nice. I kinda wish I had a mother like her. Childish, I know. It’s embarrassing. I shouldn’t have said that.

…What?

I’m looking restless again?

No, I’m not.

Am I?

I must be doing it subconsciously, then. I just can’t sit still. I mean, I’m in a room in a police station, surrounded by detectives. My legs have been shaking for a while now. I’m too faint-hearted, I guess.

I keep glancing at the door?

Am I waiting for someone to arrive?

What did you say? Um, I believe you introduced yourself as a Gray Wolf? Did you catch a cold? Your vassal was worried when you got your dress all wet. I was jealous of how close you two were. You remind me of my sister. What? She’s bigger than you. It reminded me of when we were kids. She was frail, too, and caught colds easily.

Oh, sorry. Back to what happened. This girl keeps on pointing out how I keep on looking around. I’m not moving my neck, then. I don’t think I’m behaving suspiciously.

Does it bother you, Inspector?

I see. Good. If it doesn’t bother you, then I suppose it’s fine.

That’s a nice hairdo. No, I’m not sweet-talking you. Individuality is important.

Uh, so, where were we?

Ah, yes. We were in the compartment with four other passengers.

One was a kind woman who called herself an Empress. She was very concerned about the girl next to her. And I mean very. The girl had dark hair and blue eyes, and was overall pale. She kept mumbling to herself. It was kinda creepy. She dropped a box? Ah, right. I think she did. A red box? Y-Yes, that’s right. It was about the size of my palm. What kind of box was it? It was square, so it couldn’t have been a pencil box. It was too plain for candies too. Anyway, it had a strange design, now that I think about it.

And then there was this pretty girl right here and her oriental friend. We introduced ourselves to each other and started talking. First, the dark-haired girl, I don’t know if she was neurotic or hysterical, but she opened with a rather spooky statement. She said she was an Orphan and she was looking for her birthday, which put the big guy in a bad mood. So the lady played along for her and introduced herself as an Empress. I really like the lady. I thought she was like my mother. Oops, there I go again. I shouldn’t have said that. How embarrassing. Anyway, I went along with them as well and said something about the king of the underworld and that I was a lumberjack and that I was traveling around chopping wood. The big guy burst out laughing, and he started telling us his own story, using a tale from the monastery called The Masque of the Black Death. He told us that he was a dead man who had possessed the body of a man who had just died. I found his story most amusing. I couldn’t help but laugh.

And then he and these two kids here went out to change. I had a little chat with the Empress. But she had to calm down the crying Oprhan, so I decided to leave for a bit.

As soon as I started walking down the corridor, I felt sick. What? Yes, that’s right. You remember? How embarrassing. Yes. These two here saw me shaking because I wasn’t feeling well. How did I get sick? I remembered my parents’ train accident. When I was a child, I saw my parents fall off a runaway train and die. With my own eyes. You know how you can keep your mind off things when you’re with others, but when you’re alone, the thoughts come rushing like darkness. That’s it. I felt dizzy in the corridor and entered the nearest room. The communications room? Was it? Ah, right. I guess. It was a tiny room with communications equipment. But I’m not really familiar with them. Hmm? You heard a voice when you passed by? What did it say?

Brother, help me?

…

……

………

Quit joking. I didn’t hear anything. The equipment wasn’t working, and I didn’t touch anything. My head was pounding, and I felt so distressed, sad, and heartbroken that I felt like a different person. I felt suffocated in the small room, and as soon as I stumbled out, I ran into you guys. Yes, these two kids right here. They had just changed into the servers’ uniform and were on their way back.

And then… Let’s see…

I was so sick, my memory’s a little fuzzy. I think I returned to the compartment, but then I went to the dining car with the Dead. I was feeling uneasy because the Orphan was crying and yelling about enemies or something. She said she was going to get killed, and I thought, I gotta stay away from her. Then she actually ended up getting killed. Maybe she was telling the truth about the whole enemy thing? If so, I should have listened to her instead of finding her annoying. It’s too late for regrets, though.

While we were in the dining car, this oriental boy, the Vassal, the Empress, and the Orphan arrived. The Vassal was concerned about the Gray Wolf left in the compartment and wanted to leave, but he was forced to say. The Dead and I had been drinking wine, so I prepared glasses for the other three. The waiters were too busy, and I didn’t want to cause too much trouble by calling one. The Empress drank wine too, while the other two had water, and while we were talking, the Orphan suggested a game called Pick a Raisin.

Who brought the bowl of raisins?

…

……

It was me.