Chapter 121 121: Sabbath Day

The Seventh Day was the Day of the Sabbath―the biblical Day of Rest. Assuming the eleven day theory was correct, then today, there should be no confessions made. Of course, it was only a guess. There had been no concrete evidence provided to say that we would be here for that long, so the reality could very well be different. Still, I believed it to be true. Not particularly because of the Protagonist's logic and reasoning or anything, but because Cecilia hadn't made an argument against her point. I didn't think she would deliberately obscure such a fact, for one, considering the time limit was already plainly stated in the inscription. Most of all, however, having been here for a week now, there was something I realised about the way this whole Decalogue Trial was constructed―or perhaps even the source material as a whole. That is, simply, the fact that #Mystery wasn't really the main focus here. It might've been at the start, but now that everything has been figured out... well, not really, but more or less... Anyway, after enough days had passed, I got the sense that the theme shifted somewhere along the line. Or, perhaps, that the true theme was finally revealing itself. Rather than figuring out who the culprit was like an ordinary murder mystery, wasn't this more about making sinners repent for their past actions? More specifically, making the Protagonist repent for the heresy of denying God. From her perspective, wouldn't the point be to avoid that ending? I've never played the visual novel this world is modelled after, but the source material's story should be told from the Protagonist's perspective, right? That's what makes them the Protagonist, after all. So then, I really couldn't fathom what made this a big #Mystery when even the Protagonist herself seemed to have figured it all out within a few days. Ever since then, nothing much has happened while the rest of us were stuck here, just waiting for it to end, so I also wondered what the point of it even was. By the time a week passes, if we manage to convince the others to vote for the Protagonist, then won't she just die and we win? So it's just a waste of time in the end. Anyway, as always, I guess it doesn't matter so long as the Contract is cleared. 'Something about it is weird, but I keep confusing myself by thinking about it, so I don't even know anymore...' During the Sabbath Day, because we suspected that we were not supposed to do anything that could have possibly been considered as 'work', we all basically lazed about. Not having much else to do in the meantime, I observed the interactions between "Matthew" and "Thomas", and despite the latter's rather absurd confession the day prior, it didn't seem to serve as much of a setback in their relationship. Well, I thought it was probably a good thing if they got along since they were both on my side too, and though seeing two teenagers act so awkwardly around each other might've ordinarily been funny, soon enough, I felt the spark of something like a cramp in my chest. Eventually, I had to turn my attention away from the two, moving over instead to Cecilia who was sitting on one of the pews with her eyes closed, as if asleep. Taking a seat beside her, I swivelled my neck and asked. "You resting?" Slowly opening her eyes, she glanced at me. "Praying." 'Oh. I guess that makes sense...' "Is this your first time doing it since we came here? I've never seen you praying before." Staring at her mostly indifferent face, I watched her look towards the highschooler duo, then back to me. Thereafter, she said simply. "Because today is the Sabbath." Her words contained something akin to odd intensity, making me feel a little strange, but I disregarded it and nodded, straightening my body and looking ahead at the apse. "I see. Should I pray too, then? The last time I did that I had a god speak directly to me." "..." 'Uh, wait. Was that too much? Shit.' Immediately regretting the words that just exited my mouth, I cast a glance back at her just to catch her staring at me blankly, and added. "It was the god of another world, though, so... not this one." Subsequently, I averted my gaze again, and a while passed with that sort of air of uncomfortable silence. Eventually, she shattered it. "So that's where you came from. Another realm." Looking at her from the corner of my eye, I saw her facing forward the same as me and appearing as if she had finally gleaned some sort of mystical understanding of the world. Following those words, she lowered her head slightly and muttered. "...Of course. Because only our Lord is king in this universe." Barely managing to catch that, my ears flinched slightly. Deciding that things were going a little too far, I thought to change the subject. There were still a few questions I'd meant to ask, but refrained from asking due to one reason or another. Leaning a little closer, I ensured the subject wasn't around and whispered. "So, what's the plan to hunt the witch? We still don't know who "John" voted, and if we don't want to get caught off-guard, we need to get the others to vote for her." A second passed without a response, and when a number more passed with only quiet, I began to feel something wasn't right. "...Excuse me." Suddenly, her low voice sent a shiver down my spine. Flinching, I straightened my back and met her gaze. Those cerulean eyes, clear like a crystal sea, seemed to penetrate into my own, encasing the silent reflection of myself within them. And, with a tone that was firm yet gentle, she lightly reprimanded me. "Please refrain from speaking of work matters during the Sabbath. You shall perhaps be forgiven because you are a foreigner here, and thus unaware as to our Lord's teachings, but let it be known that an intentional second offence will be met with undeniable consequence." "..." I paused. Was that enough to count as 'work matters'...? So, rather than simply not having any confessions, we weren't allowed to discuss anything that was even slightly related to the Trial on the Seventh Day? Not knowing how to respond, I could only give a weak nod. "Ah... right. My bad." "It is alright. As I said, the Lord is benevolent. Should you recognise the error of your way and demonstrate a corrected attitude, you shall be forgiven with no punishment." Voicing that gently, she continued with something I hadn't even considered until now. "There is a reason why retribution is only carried out at night. Wouldn't it be just barbaric to punish sinners before they even realise that what they had done was wrong?" The reason for people to die only at night... It wasn't because Cecilia wanted to disguise her identity as the executioner, or perhaps that was only part of the reason, but the primary rationale was something else. "Even scum deserve their time, after all." ――It was to give the sinners ample time to repent. Looking around, I only saw the highschooler duo in the nave. Everyone else was either in the South Transept or in the kitchen. Even the Protagonist, who I thought would have gotten bored to death for being so passive the past few days, was still minding her own business and not interacting with anyone else. It was an unsettling fact, but because I knew she wasn't really 'dangerous' per se, I didn't think there was much need to worry. In any case, at this point, and with those who remain, I couldn't imagine anyone committing any sins, at least not knowingly... Now that we've come this far, I also couldn't imagine that anyone would be foolish enough to not confess when their turn came. After all, those people, the ones foolhardy, stubborn, and dumb enough to be so painfully obstinate as to sin or refuse to confess... had already paid the price for doing so. Like that, the day continued as it was foretold, as a day of rest. By the dawn of that Seventh Day, the Day of the Sabbath, eight of us remained. And, by the dawn of the Eighth... There were six.