"Thank you for buying Higurashi When They Cry ~Onikakushi~,

a visual novel by 07th Expansion!

How was it?

If you enjoyed it, even a little bit, it would make me happy."

"Even a little bit is stretching it!

That incredibly dark ending made me angry, you know?"

"...Made us angry."

"Ahaha!

This ~Onikakushi~ chapter is the first story that readers challenging the mystery of the entire series get to experience.

So it's actually supposed to be somewhat of a prologue."

"How could the prologue... have such an incredibly dark ending?"

"Yeah, but doesn't that happen sometimes?

The player digging through the story in order to avoid a bad ending is the point of these types of games after all."

"...It's still just the first chapter. I'm looking forward to the next one."

"What happens in the next chapter?

Rena, do you know?"

"Yeah. They said the next chapter will introduce another aspect of the story."

"...That's a strange way of putting it.

What does that mean?"

"In this chapter, they introduced the string of mysterious deaths that were happening in Hinamizawa recently, right?

The next chapter will introduce some of the history of Hinamizawa."

"With one strange event happening after another, I got totally lost... what exactly is Oyashiro-sama's curse about?

Actually, what is Oyashiro-sama to begin with? They didn't explain it much."

"...Hmmmm, I haven't heard much about it.

But... I have kind of a bad feeling about it."

"...It feels like it'll be another one of those scary stories where somebody gets cursed again."

"Tough luck for Kei-chan~!

What kind of curse is he gonna get hit with this time?"

"However, I am looking forward to seeing what kind of story it's going to be!"

"Sorry for being late, my bad, my bad."

"Hey everybody!

Good work today!"

"Same to you~!!

Huh? Where's Kei-chan?"

"Keiichi-kun is already off reading the script for the next chapter.

It must be hard being the main character!"

"...Huh...

That's too bad.

He could have at least poked in to say hello."

"...It's probably because he doesn't have any character art so he couldn't poke his head in even if he wanted to."

"Rika-san, that's what we refer to as a 'personal problem,'

hehehehe!"

"In any case, that story really was a lot of trouble, especially for Keiichi-kun and Rena-chan!"

"Trouble? That was the mother of all Bad Ends!"

"I wonder... What was the identity of the thing that attacked Keiichi-kun?"

"My theory is that it was the work of people made to look like a curse."

"...But Keiichi made that mysterious phone call at his demise."

"Yeah.

I also thought that call was strange.

At that point, Kei-chan should have been certain that the culprits were people."

"...That really was a strange phone call.

It almost sounded like he was being chased by a ghost or something."

"Just from that phone call... it really makes me think that it was the work of a curse after all."

"Since we're all here, why don't we all share our theories?

Let's start with Sonozaki-san."

"I absolutely believe it was people!

I think it was a man-made incident that was just imitating the strange folklore floating around Hinamizawa!"

"Certainly.

Every year, on the day of the festival, for another link in the chain of mysterious deaths to happen certainly is suspicious."

"That so-called chain of mysterious deaths, it has to be somebody trying to reenact the folklore! Definitely!"

"I think it was the curse!!

Looking at the scene were Keiichi-san went berserk in the entryway, and the last scene with the phone call, those cannot be explained with a human culprit."

"When you say it that way...

It really wasn't the type of scene that would make you think it was the work of an actual person."

"...Yeah, but even then... I still think it was a person who did it.

That last scene and the one with the entryway, I think that the stress must have driven him into paranoid delusions."

"You aren't helping me to understand by using such complicated words!!"

"...In other words, Keiichi was so scared that he was imagining things."

"Then, then, thennnnn... what was the meaning behind that scene...? What exactly was that mysterious presence behind Keiichi!?"

"A red herring. R-e-d H-e-r-r-i-n-g."

"Mii-chan, what do you mean by a red herring?"

"Like old man Tomitake here said, that scene was the result of Kei-chan having a stress-induced delusion from being mentally cornered.

The overly graphic depiction was a ploy to make the player think it was a curse.

That's why it was a red herring!"

"Wh-When you say it like that... hmmmmmm... but, but..."

"Hahaha, well it just means that there's that possibility."

"In that case... the theory that Ooishi-san proposed during the story that it was a conspiracy by the villagers was correct?

What does the man himself have to say about that?"

"Me?

Ahahaha...

Hmmm...

It makes you think, eh?"

"Huh?

I totally thought that Ooishi-san would be behind the 'people' explanation."

"...During the story, I said it was definitely the work of people. But if a person really was to blame, that leaves a lot of loose ends."

"Like what?

Let us hear what Detective Ooishi-san's theory is!"

"First of all, if a human is the culprit, then there has to be a motive...

In other words, somebody has to gain something from it."

"So what you mean is, if this was the work of people, there would have to be something gained from causing the chain of mysterious deaths?"

"Exactly.

I felt that somebody could have benefited from the deaths of people related to the dam development, but the recent victims weren't related to that at all.

...First off, who benefits from killing Maebara-san?"

"I see.

If you say it like that, my case is kind of weak too..."

"I mean, none of your money was stolen.

There's no way it was human culprits!"

"But that's not everything there is to it, right?

Like Mii-chan just said, there might have been some sort of reason for them to reenact the folklore..."

"Exactly!

This wasn't a murder where you consider the typical motives.

It makes me think that this was most likely... some sort of ritualistic murder to reenact the blood-stained history of the village!"

"...So I'll ask the question of the hour, who gains from this reenactment...?"

"It's not about simple benefit... it's a more psychological reason.

I think... that maybe this was an act of revenge.

Something native to the region...

Some connection not touched on this time around!"

"I see.

A member of some repressed family looking to air out an old grudge of their ancestors... something like that?

Hmmm... I don't like that."

"Then what is it? It couldn't be that you're leaning towards the 'curse' explanation, Ooishi-san?"

"That's right, that's right!!

The man playing the detective said so!

It's decided! It was a curse!!"

"If, as Maebara-san said during the story, it was the case that Oyashiro-sama possessed Ryuugu-san and Sonozaki-san and committed those acts...

That would fit the evidence the most.

As much as I hate to say it."

"Ummm... Actually, I'm of the same opinion as Ooishi-san.

I can't come up with any other explanation for the normally-kind Rena and Mii-chan to suddenly start acting strange like that."

"...About that

...

It may sound strange coming from the person herself, but I think that I, Mion, did it."

"...I don't get what Mii is saying.

I'd like an explanation."

"Oh, sorry.

In other words...

I think this may end up being a really cruel story."

"Huh... Wait, Mii-chan...

You don't mean..."

"Taking the human culprit theory to its logical conclusion, that's how it would seem...

I also have my suspicions."

"In other words, Ryuugu-san and Sonozaki-san both actually had those personalities to begin with, and were merely deceiving Maebara-san...

Am I right?"

"I don't like that at all!!!!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

This is all the curse's fault!

Rena-san and Mion-san and everybody else are all kind, nice people!!!!"

"I-I think that too!

I think that Rena and Mion-chan are really good people at heart.

...I think that during the story, they must have been possessed by something."

"So Rena also thinks it was a curse.

Then let me ask everybody who thinks it was a curse...

There has to be a reason for a curse, right?

It doesn't make sense for a curse to just indiscriminately befall someone.

Can somebody explain that?"

"A curse is a curse!

Human logic won't get us anywhere!"

"Ahaha, Satoko-chan.

A personified deity is, in the end, nothing more than the creation of people.

That's why their method of thinking is also understandable to humans.

Just take a look at the Greek Pantheon.

They cry, get angry, get jealous... basically, they're just like humans."

"Uhh... So what you're saying is that Oyashiro-sama is cursing people with some benefit in mind?"

"That's an odd way of putting it, but basically, yes."

"That's why they say: Far from Jupiter, far from his thunder.

Ahaha, you do have a point."

"...Basically, it doesn't matter if it's Oyashiro-sama, or humans, there has to be a reason."

"But Rika,

what if that reason isn't clear?"

"...I don't know."

"Ahahahahaha!

That's right.

This is still just the prologue.

There's still a lot of stuff that hasn't been revealed yet."

"Yeah.

It's hard to come up with any more theories at this point."

"Nooo!

I won't be satisfied until this is all made clear!"

"Mion-san seems rather particular about this."

"Ahahaha!

We'll just make the best with what we know!!

Doesn't this feel interesting? Like the club a little bit?"

"Ah, yeah!

If you put it that way, it does seem interesting!"

"Well then, let's summarize.

Let's see, I think it was a curse.

Tomitake-kun thinks it was people, right?"

"Yeah.

I'll go with it being people."

"I also agree with the 'people' explanation!

That's not to say I hate such fantastic things like curses.

But in this particular case, the connection to a curse is a little weak~."

"Two for the 'people' explanation then.

Ryuugu-san was on the 'curse' side of things, right?"

"Yup.

Satoko-chan and I believe it was a curse.

Right~?"

"Yeah!

I think it was a curse!

People who say that Rena-san and Mion-san were evil to begin with are more befitting of a curse!!"

"Well...

I don't want to believe that my own personality was that twisted.

But I have to keep a cool head when I'm in Club Mode!

If I base my choice on just emotion, I'll regret it, you know~?"

"Well now...

It doesn't really matter which side you pick, does it?"

"Huh? Rika-chan hasn't said anything yet.

What do you think?"

"...I don't think that Oyashiro-sama is a bad god."

"Huh, that's an interesting opinion."

"...I don't want to worship some bad god that just curses people.

I'd like a generous god more than one that curses."

"That's right, Rika-chan is a shrine maiden...!

Yup. Good opinion."

"Then what?

If Rika-chan doesn't believe that it was Oyashiro-sama...

then do you think the perpetrators were human after all!?"

"...We'll just go with that.☆"

"Well now...

That means the votes are split right down the middle!

So half of us think it was a curse, and half of us think it was people?"

"Rena-chan, just for reference,

what did the test players who played the beta version think?"

"Hmmm.

Yeah.

There were a lot more players who believed in the 'people' explanation!"

"See, see, right there!

Our veteran comrades are cool, collected, and very observant!"

"...But the beta version only finished partway through the story."

"That's right.

Even the people who played the beta might change their minds if they got through to the very end."

"What should we do then?

This means that the opinions are still split.

It's no fun if we don't settle this!"

"We need there to be an odd number of judges, in other words:

We need one more opinion!"

"Ah, perfect timing then.

Why don't we ask Keiichi-kun himself?

Let's call him!"

"...The opinion of the victim himself is very valuable."

"Since that's decided, it's time for the phone!"

"Hello, Keiichi-kun?

It's Rena.

Are you busy with work right now?"

"Yeah, really busy.

Just when I thought I'd get a break because the chapter's over, it's already time for the next one!"

"How's Kei-chan?

Busy?"

"Yeah.

He's moping."

"I can hear you, you know!!

It must be nice having a wrap-up party!

I wanted to go too!!!"

"...You can come if you get some character art for yourself."

"Rika, that's a secret..."

"Ah, sorry about that, Keiichi-kun.

Anyways, during the current chapter,

Keiichi-kun,

didn't you

...

die?

We were just talking about who the culprit might be."

"Basically, we're deadlocked on whether it was people or Oyashiro-sama's curse that killed you."

"I'm really sorry!

Even though you're busy reviewing the script...

Keiichi-kun, which do you think it was?"

"That's obvious, isn't it?"

"Which?"

"Isn't it both of them!?

Targeted by suspicious people from the village, and then cursed by some strange Oyashiro-sama on top of that!

It's both humans and a curse!!!

Everybody's just picking on me!!!!"

"...So very, very, pitiful.

Next time, I'll give you a good patting on the head."

"In the end, the opinion's still split, huh."

"I'll think this over again.

We might have missed something."

"Well then, please look forward to the next release, 'Higurashi When They Cry ~Watanagashi~'!"