AUDIENCE: XIE LIAN

[retellers]

Comments

[retellers]

... Yes. May the light that has shone today--from her, and from everyone's efforts--continue to be a beacon, for times to come.

[dianxias]

...Is it strange, to say that I feel hopeful?

[ xie lian lifts his head to smile at him properly, now. ]

[retellers]

... Not at all. It is good to have hope--all the more so now.

[dianxias]

...we're getting close to the end of this, aren't we, Brother Goat?

[retellers]

Based on what others have said, most likely.

[dianxias]

I think... I hope, that I will be able to repeat it again next week. Plans are starting to come into motion. From what I've gathered, I think that we have almost reached the threshold required - all of us.

...I know, that we have. [ xie lian glances down into his cup. ] ...And how difficult that must have been for him, too.

[retellers]

[ ... ] Yes. But if it had to happen, especially for that child... I think he would've wanted it to be him, rather than someone else.

[dianxias]

... I agree.

[ in fact, he knows it. ] And.. knowing that this won't be the end - that is the hope that I have held on to. Soo-won is a practical person... I've no doubts that he is holding onto that with even more determination towards the end, too.

It is my fault that we didn't see an icon flash today, right? Since Miss Jeanne was saved?

[retellers]

What? No, I doubt that has anything to do with you.

[dianxias]

[ ... ]

...Wait, but, if Soo-won completed the task, shouldn't... your icon have flashed, on my PHS?

[ can i not read ]

[retellers]

Should it? Why the PHS flashes has only ever been a theory, so no one can say for certain when it should or shouldn't be doing so.

[dianxias]

[ he

looks vaguely like he wants to die for a second ]

....O-Only a theory, huh....


[ closes eyes. anyway. ]

Before when it did, you remembered something, right....?

[retellers]

I did.

[dianxias]

Did you remember something today?

[retellers]

... If a Leader loses all of their team members, then they will essentially become another participant, and as a result, the removed connected to them will not be able to cross over.

[dianxias]

[ oh. hm. that's bad, but... not necessarily unexpected. ]

En... I heard that from someone else, too. Was that it, or did you also regain a memory about yourself...?

[retellers]

... I did.

[dianxias]

--Oh! That's good, Brother Goat, I'm glad. If you'd be willing to share with me, we can do our normal exchange...!

[ ...

wait a second, he was talking about something important!! my friendship but also my theories, ] -- Um, well, that can wait a second. Brother Goat... you must know that theory does make the most sense, right? With the flashing, and all...? And that my ability simply blocks anyone from recognizing who did a kill during a certain week because we didn't technically execute someone. We've been using those flashing markers to track how many teams have killed up until this point.

Is there any other explanation besides that one that you could tell me?

[retellers]

Well... has anyone ever actually seen their icon flash more than once? [ because goat sure hasn't heard anyone claim that. ] Maybe it simply doesn't.

[dianxias]

[ he frowns down at his cup, thoughtful. ]

Why would it need to only flash the one time...?

[retellers]

I don't know. But I think it's a simpler theory that it only flashes once, and not that your power has anything to do with it.

[dianxias]

Sometimes, we do tend to overthink things, don't we?

[ that

is an understatement. he at least says it in a way that you can tell he recognizes it, scratching his cheek sheepishly. ]

I do trust your judgement. That announcement you all had to make today.. it seems we are all often theorizing quite wildly off track, hm...?

[retellers]

I think it's good to theorize, even if they may not necessarily be accurate... but it seems that the further those theories spread, the more people forget that they have not been confirmed, and that is when they treat them as "fact".

[dianxias]

[ goat says fake news has no rights ]

It does become something of a conspiracy theory then... I'm glad you all were able to reinforce what you did, though.

[ I LEARNED WHO THE FUCKING PAWN WAS LIKE FIVE MINUTES LATER

ANYWAY ]

[retellers]

On a practical level, it perhaps makes little difference... but we did not want people to believe things to be more cruel than they actually were. [ we're very proud of you all ]