Valentine Timeslip Episode 2 Part 1

Flashback starts up with a bunch of forest fairies or wood nymphs gossiping amongst each other. They talk about how Narcissus incurred the wrath of the patron of righteous indignation, and about how Narcissus has horribly rejected Echo, though everyone else saw it coming. One of them pities Echo for being in love with a man who Can’t Love Others. She can’t even talk to him because of the punishment she was given by the patron of jealousy.

 

The faceless gossipers talk about how Echo was called a boring person, then mention how in the end she became just a voice. They say she should have left Narcissus because he had never cared about anyone else. He should just stare at his reflection in the water like he always does, and Rando Voice F is sure Echo thinks so too.

 

Echo however says she never wanted that to happen. She just liked him, and she thought the way he seemed so lonely as he smiled to be painful. She wanted to divert him away from that loneliness, even for a little bit. That was all she wanted.

 

Title card pops up, and this chapter is called Bittersweet Memory.

 

Back to the present, the party has returned to the base, which no longer has the traces of Heracles and Snow’s battle. Snow prepares some tea for everyone, and Echo decides to bow her head towards everyone and apologizes for not having any courage. The rest of the party is a bit surprised by her doing this and look at each other. You either say she promised she wouldn’t apologize, say there was a lot of other trouble so it’s just the way it went, or say you guys will make the chocolate right this time.

 

Going B, Echo is touched and thanks you. Gyumao says she won’t get anywhere if she stays pessimistic the entire time and reminds her the machine is fixed now. Snow says that the overworld shift came from her lingering feelings, so having regrets after rushing the conclusion is natural. Gyumao declares that this time the chocolate will turn out great, so they ought to try again and not get discouraged.

 

Echo agrees with the idea, and Snow asks her to dry her tears and says her tea will get cold. She does so. Snow then asks if Heracles wants any slightly sweet milk tea since it’s good for recovering from fatigue. Heracles declines the offer and has something else on his mind. You either bring up that time was rewound, the chocolates Echo dropped, or the mobs that sprung up.

 

Gyumao says everyone has their concerns and suggests they start assessing the situation. He then asks Snow to do it, so Snow agrees to talk through what’s happening. The Analyst starts up for discussion time, and Snow brings up the time rewind, or the time slip, as the first point of concern. He draws everyone’s attention to two things that the group possesses, meaning the cacao pods and the chocolate maker.

 

You talk about how the cacao had grown earlier but has now reverted to being pods, and that the package they came in is no longer torn up anymore. Snow says that there’s no signs of the planting he had done earlier either. Gyumao brings up the chocolate maker was supposed to be broken, but now there’s no sign of damage on it at all. Heracles asks if Snow is saying that having two things that weren’t supposed to be replaceable returned to their original state is evidence of the time slip.

 

You talk about how the cacao had grown earlier but has now reverted to being pods, and that the package they came in is no longer torn up anymore. Snow says that there’s no signs of the planting he had done earlier either. Gyumao brings up the chocolate maker was supposed to be broken, but now there’s no sign of damage on it at all. Heracles asks if Snow is saying that having two things that weren’t supposed to be replaceable returned to their original state is evidence of the time slip.

 

Snow says that if this place is a memory world coming from Echo’s mental impressions, there might be an effect from her Curse of Repetition. If it’s a punishment that restricts her to repeating the same things over and over, he feels it’d be inevitable that memories would remain. If they were memories of nothing happening, they wouldn’t really make it a punishment after all.

 

Heracles thinks on that and says it might relate to why he got pulled in too. Snow asks what he’s talking about, but Heracles brushes it off as nothing before asking what the dragons and choco mobs attacking you guys earlier was. Barguest says that if Snow’s hypothesis is correct, it might be because the rest of you guys are foreign bodies. Heracles has to ask what that means.

 

Barguest says that the overworld shift is a recreation of Olympus’s past. To be precise, it’s made from Echo’s past memories. If Echo’s curse is to repeat the same punishment over on her, how would it treat the rest of them if they’re foreign bodies? You say it might see you all as obstructions. Barguest agrees that the curse might be trying to eliminate you guys.

 

You ask why Barguest is so sure of this or if he has any ideas on that. He says he remembered something his old Master said. You either ask him to explain or ask if he meant Master as in Like That. In C, he wonders why you’re blushing before it hits him, and he insists it’s not.

 

Barguest says it was a long time ago, long before he was summoned from his home world. He was kept to be a guard dog for a master he says could connect the past, present, and future. That person said that if the present has been decided, then it is normally impossible to change only the past. If you try to change just one thing, an influence kicks in trying to change it back. If anyone could do so, you would need a power to surpass that.

 

Barguest then says that if the Curse of Repetition is the power working to reset things, things fit. This world has already decided on which ending it’ll go for, so even if you tried to change the past, the curse wouldn’t allow it. Echo is shocked about the comment about the world deciding it, and Snow starts thinking about what the monsters are. Barguest finishes Snow’s sentence by repeating his own guess that they’re there to remove foreign bodies like you guys trying to change the course of things.

 

Gyumao figures that means that the time rewind is there to reset the path so that the world will head for the ending it wanted. You either exclaim about how the time slip works, wonder if you guys are foreign bodies, or say it’s hard to understand the topic. Echo gets discouraged as she says what she’s trying to do is not permitted.

 

Barguest tells her to not lose heart, saying that while the shift is her mental world, the outside world is different. She made new memories, which is why the world appears as it does now. She still wants to confess to Narcissus, so Barguest says she should do what she can.

 

Barguest then has some thoughts to himself about the possibility that the constant repetitions of failure may drive Echo to give up on confessing. In the worst case, he figures the curse will affect the rest of them and force the memories to keep repeating.

 

Echo says she’ll try to do what she can, saying she’s sure she can make some nice chocolates to give to Narcissus. She also says she needs to do it so she can return everyone back to where they came from. Snow acknowledges her determination but tells her she needs to be calm when making confections. Portions and processes must be exact, and she’ll need to put in her feelings for Narcissus into them too. He offers to help next time, saying they should make wonderful chocolates that will get her feelings across. Snow also says she can’t be afraid to fail and that she should make all efforts to achieve her goals.

 

Echo nods as she says she will, then says she’ll be counting on Snow’s guidance and encouragement. Snow is a bit surprised as he says she doesn’t need to be so humble, then tells her to take some deep breaths. After she does so, Snow wonders if the way he’s wording himself so seriously is why Echo is unnecessarily anxious. You either say you think it’s good he’s so sincere, say he might be a little too stiff, or say you wish he were more easygoing.

 

Going A, Snow thanks you and says he’s always thinking about sincerity and good faith. Gyumao decides to speak up now about something he’s been thinking about concerning Echo and Heracles. Both are curious, and Gyumao says he had the idea since the night before, but he says he sees them as always doing what other people tell them to do.

 

He’s not familiar with Olympus customs, and he admits it could just be their earnestness, but it sticks out to him. Echo seems strangely afraid of her curse and Heracles is accepting of his lot as a slave, and Gyumao says it looks like they’re helpless against anything given to them. He asks if their apparent fear of deciding things by their own will comes from anything.

 

Echo and Heracles look at each other, and Heracles decides to speak up first. He explains that he used to be called and praised as a hero, but now he’s a slave. But ever since even before his birth, he’s never had the time to think about free will until he met you guys. He just carried out the choices/oracles from above, even if they were unreasonable. Heracles says he just swung his strength around as he was asked to do, but right now that’s been ‘forbidden.’ He can’t go against the oracle, and as a slave he is not allowed to use his strength for himself.

 

Snow understands and sees that’s why Heracles didn’t attack back when they fought earlier. He was wondering about that when they first came to blows since he thought it was odd someone so strong wouldn’t use it. Barguest points out that Heracle’s superior isn’t here, so it’s not like he has to stick with acting like a slave.

 

Heracles eventually answers that he doesn’t mind. You ask why and/or if he’s satisfied with being a slave. Heracles says he’s the son of Olympus’s World Representative who sits at the top of the hierarchy, though he isn’t recognized as a direct descendant. He’s a bastard child, which led to the lady who governed fidelity to curse him. The curse sometimes brings him madness, at which point Heracles destroys everything around him with his own hands.

 

That’s why Heracles is fine with being a slave. Not being able to use his strength for himself is relaxing to him. Barguest asks about the madness, so Heracles says the punishment of being a slave is both his atonement and a way to seal the madness. He says maybe the way he is now might be suitable to him since he was cursed at birth. Gyumao doesn’t say anything at that.

 

Heracles then comments on how odd it is to be named after the one who cursed him. Heracles means the glory of Hera, and he refers to her as the patron of jealousy before suggesting she must have been surprised at being connected like this too. Not that it stopped her from sending poisonous snakes at a baby. Heracles is noted to touch his collar as he talks, and he notices Echo looking surprised at what he says.

 

Echo says she incurred Hera’s wrath too. Heracles is surprised as he describes Echo as quiet and wonders why, though Echo says she isn’t the quiet type and was a lot more talkative back then.

 

Barguest sighs, then asks Echo to tell you guys everything. She seems surprised at the idea, so Barguest says he’s got a guilty conscience himself and doesn’t like to talk to people about a lot of things. That said, holding things in forever would be tough, so he asks her to talk about what she can. You either say you won’t force her, offer to listen to her concerns, or say you want to know her better.

 

Echo takes a moment before agreeing to talk. It takes her a bit to dig up the memories, and it comes out in fragments she has to sort out, which the game puts together into a generally more coherent narrative. There was once a time where the One Who Sits Atop the Hierarchy came to the forest of fairies looking for pleasure. The thing Olympus’s System holds important is the connection one has to someone higher up in the ladder. Love is an impetus to get that connection and as such is something ‘consumed’ in Olympus.

 

There was, however, someone who disagrees with that idea. She was the wife of that noble, Hera the patron of jealousy. Since she governs fidelity, she cursed that her own spouse held extramarital connections. She sensed his infidelity, so she came to the forest as well. Echo was known to love talking, and to prevent her friends from being cursed she stalled Hera in a long conversation. In the end her friends escaped danger, but Echo was punished. She was forbidden to speak her own words and could only quote what other people said.

 

The narrative flashback switches back into Echo talking, saying that after she got summoned to Tokyo and got away from Hera, she’s been practicing to speak on her own. She regrets that she couldn’t speak earlier. Heracles sympathizes with Echo for also being cursed by Hera. Echo says not having a voice hurt, and she thinks that if she had it earlier she might’ve gotten through to Narcissus.

 

Heracles tries to argue the point, though Echo continues by mentioning that Hera isn’t in Tokyo. In that case, she wants to regain her words and convey her feelings. Echo and Heracles look at each other, and eventually the scent of tea drifts in.

 

Snow says Echo did well in speaking and offers her some tea since he figures she must be thirsty. You thank Echo for talking, say her punishment is terrible, or think about Hera. Barguest says he’s not sure if Snow agrees, but he also thinks it’s an awful story. Having your life controlled by someone you can’t go against is just bad, but Heracles says that’s how Olympus is. Everything is as those above will it, and there’s no way to resist being tied to the connections made by those above.

 

Echo says she liked Narcissus even more than she cares about how Olympus works. You wonder about these connections or start to ask something about it. In B there’s an extra line with Snow asking you to hold that thought since the serious discussion is still ongoing.

 

Echo says Narcissus was beautiful and that there seemed to be a lot of people who wanted to connect with him. He however couldn’t be connected to anyone, and Echo says he was always smiling in a lonely way. You ask about him being lonely but not connecting with anyone, ask about him being unable to connect, or wonder if someone in the hierarchy did something to him.

 

Echo says the expression on Narcissus pained her, and she even goes into third person for a moment for some reason. She wanted to take his mind off of his loneliness, but she couldn’t speak to him. Snow asks if that’s why she tried so hard to speak for herself. She confirms that, but she trails off on what would happen if she were to stand in front of him. You say that even if she can’t say it, she can still give him her feelings.

 

Echo seems surprised, and Barguest seems wistful as he thinks on the idea of conveying emotions. He reaches for the tea, but somehow ends up grabbing the teapot with his bare hand and burns himself. Snow is shocked he’d do that and says there’s boiling water inside the pot. Barguest starts talking about the kind of day Valentines is and that he could give things too even if he sucks at speaking. Snow is baffled by this comment.

 

Heracles asks why Barguest’s face is turning red and asks if he’s getting an idea. Barguest claims he doesn’t have anything and was just lost in thought. You either ask him what’s wrong, say his face is red, or say it’s cute how shy he looks. Barguest claims his red face is due to being burned by the tea, then quickly says he’ll go into the forest to look for ingredients like last time. He puts on some glasses and runs off, leaving everyone to wonder what just happened.

 

Anyways, Gyumao says he doesn’t get what that was all about but suggests leaving Barguest to do his thing like last time. Snow says he has good (?) news, informing everyone that the cacao he planted is already growing pods again. You point out that this is odd since it hasn’t even been an hour yet and agree it might not be good news.

 

Echo asks if cacao is supposed to grow that fast. Snow tells her that it takes about half a year for cacao pods to grow. For that matter, a cacao tree takes about four years first before it can bear fruit. Heracles agrees it’s unusual, and Snow says the environment isn’t arranged for things. He tried it out since they had nothing to lose, but now it’s clear that some sort of power is at work.

 

Gyumao says it feels off to call it a solution, but he asks how the quality is. Snow already did the quality check and if they avoid the process (if I understand him right), it should make the greatest quality cacao. Heracles asks if there’s any alternatives since he thinks this is all that’s available.

 

Gyumao agrees as he says they’ve avoided the first bit of riskiness, and that they’ll keep trying until Echo is accepted. Echo smiles as she agrees, smiling brighter than anyone’s seen her do so far as the episode section abruptly ends.