Gosick

Gosick I - Epilogue

epilogue — the promise

"...And after the spirits of the past carried out their revenge, the ghost ship Queen Berryonce again sank to the bottom of the dark sea."

On a clear morning, behind the main building of St. Marguerite's School, two children sat on a three-tiered landing overlooking a lush flower garden, speaking to each other in hushed tones.

The scenery was filled with vibrantly blooming flowers, bathed by the sun in intense light. A sweet floral scent assailed their noses. In the background, they heard the faint voices of other students walking along the paths that wound between the gardens. But this landing happened to be nestled out of the way, and there were no other children but the two who sat here, engrossed in their conversation. This was a cozy spot, an empty pocket of air in the bustling campus.

One student was a slight, solemn-faced young Asian boy, and the other was a slim European girl with short blond hair, ruffled by the wind.

The girl—Avril Bradley, a foreign student from England—listened to the boy's story, her large eyes as wide as saucers.

Kazuya Kujou kept a close eye on her expression, feeling secretly triumphant. Here we go. Judging by how quiet she's being, she must be impressed. After all, Avril can only tell ghost stories, but my story is the real thing! He nodded in satisfaction, savoring the taste of victory. I win. Hooray!

Avril suddenly burst out laughing.

"Huh?"

"Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, Kujou! Bwa-ha-ha!"

Much to Kazuya's confusion, Avril began to laugh uproariously, beating her long legs against the ground. Her skirt flapped in the wind, allowing her lithe, slender legs to gleam in the sunlight.

"What's so funny?"

"I mean, come on! There's no way any of that's true!" Avril wiped away tears of laughter with the back of her hand. "Oh, Kujou!"

"But it is true!"

"Really, now! You can give up trying to convince me, because there's no way I'm going to believe any of that." Avril wagged her finger in front of Kazuya's face. "No, sir!"

Kazuya's eyes followed the waving finger back and forth until they crossed. I wonder why she won't believe me? he silently fretted.

"I mean, do you really expect me to believe that this delinquent kid Victorique is actually a girl, and incredibly beautiful, and what's more, she's even a brilliant detective?"

"...B-but it's true! If you want proof, come with me to the top of the library. She really does exist!"

"Ha! I'm not falling for that!" Avril screwed her face up in an annoyed expression and stuck her tongue out at Kazuya. Her smile was adorable and lit up her face. Kazuya fell silent.

"I'd never climb up that huge staircase in a million years anyway. I can't believe there'sanyone in the world willing to do that."

Victorique had said the same thing to him before.... Kazuya's shoulders slumped.

Then Avril lowered her voice, as if she was about to tell another one of her ghost stories. "Speaking of which, I know a story about that library. 'The golden fairy inhabits the top of the labyrinth of stairs'.... Aaaaaaaah!"

"Aaaah!"

"Ha, ha, ha, you fell for it again! You screamed from fright! Kujou's a scaredy-cat!"

"...I'm not! It's just that you startled me. I already told you that I'm not a scaredy-cat. Besides, that story is actually true. Well, she may be human and not a fairy, but she's so different from an ordinary person that you could almost call her one. Anyway, Victorique is—"