Title: 『お祝いの理由』(The Reason for Celebration)
Summary:
The MC forgets where she is at
first when she wakes up in her new room in the “tea room”. She is definitely
still depressed about her situation. No one is around as she enters the living
space. She comments on how immaculate it is and wonders what kind of housework
she should be doing. She does dismiss making the Mad Hatter’s bed since she
does not have permission to enter his room. She realizes that since no one is
there, she could have a chance to escape. Just as she is about to leave, the
Mad Hatter comes back. He doesn’t realize her plot, fortunately, and starts
rambling about a dream he had the previous night. Perhaps trying to placate
him, she tells him that she likes the world of fairy tales. He thinks they have
similar minds in that regard, and want to know if she agrees. He then asks her to help prepare breakfast and
shows her the kitchen. He goes to drink some tea, and she notes how beautiful and
refined his movements are. As she observes him, she realizes that she hasn’t
eaten since the day before. He politely serves her tea, but she thinks about
how she really wants solid food.
The Dormouse and March Hare
arrive in the afternoon. The Mad Hatter tells the MC that they need to prepare for
the upcoming feast. She is instructed to call the hotel kitchen to put in the
order, and then they go to the study to gather up decorations for the evening. The
study is filled to the brim with all sorts of oddities. She has no idea what theme
he is going for, so she is at a loss for what to pick. He keeps giving odd
commentary as he selects item after item. The March Hare and Dormouse enter
the study, but instead of helping, they sit and watch in silence.
After finishing in the study,
the Mad Hatter asks the MC to put a frilly dress on Cheshire. She finally finds
the cat out in the hallway, but Cheshire doesn’t want to be caught. She catches
her but gets scratched. The Mad Hatter arrives shortly after the incident. The
MC thinks about her situation again as he approaches and decides that her predicament is not really his fault. At first, it seems like he might be worried
about her injury, but then he gives her a cold reply (that the blood is unsightly), and she decides that he
is “cold-blooded”. She laments her situation again as she is pulled back to the
tea room.
The feast begins that evening,
but all of the food is extremely strange. Everything is odd in color and
shape. Foods are shaped like insects and lizards, though they are made from all
edible things. The Mad Hatter seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself, but the
MC is not having fun at all. She is still hungry so she tries to eat, but she
isn’t in the mood to be enjoying the food. After a while, she asks the Mad
Hatter what they are celebrating, and he gives her a surprised look. He tells
her that they aren’t celebrating anything (literally calling it “nothing day”).
He asks her if she likes the food. The cat is finally warming up to
her by the end, and she rethinks her opinion of the Mad Hatter yet again,
saying that he’s not a good person but he isn’t a villain either. The next
morning, the Mad Hatter is clearly very upset. The MC has no idea what is
wrong.
My commentary:
This episode only made the Mad
Hatter even creepier. I seriously got a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach
as I read this part. I was kind of upset that he wasn’t kinder to her about her
injury. He was quite selfish to be honest, but that was certainly addressed in
the first episode. I did feel kind of sorry for him because it’s clear he doesn’t
have much in life but possessions by the way they went through the items in the
study.
Songs to
listen to while reading this chapter:
“Entrance of the Gladiators” by Julius Fučík (if you
don’t know this one by the title, look it up on YouTube. I’m funny, dammit!)
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