June H’s Reviews > Killing Commendatore > Status Update

Protagonist learns that Mariye returned home safely. They meet and Mariye shares her account of what happened during the 4 days she was missing. She snuck into Menshiki’s home and met the Commendatore while in hiding. The Idea helps her stay hidden and plan an escape.
“You will know when the right moment comes in. As in, ‘Aha, now is the time!’ You are a brave, smart girl, my friends. Just stay alert.”

Donna Anna takes the protagonist to an opening reminiscent of the Mt Fuji wind cave his little sister Komi found. He crawls in and feels stuck. His sister voice tells him to think of something real/concrete. He thinks of their cat and his Peugeot car. A tentacle grabs his ankle (a Double Metaphor?). He continues forward and falls into the pit in the woods; the hole he came from is gone.

The faceless man/ferryman takes the penguin charm from P as payment. P takes the ferry across the river and leaves the jetty.
“Now each of your actions will generate an equivalent response, in accordance with the principle of connectivity.” - Ferryman
P follows a path away from the riverbank and to a forest. He approaches a woman with a lantern. She is Donna Anna, daughter of the Commendatore.

Ch 54. The protagonist stabbed and killed the Commendatore. Long Face appeared. P tackled him and threatened to murder him if he did not say how to find Mariye. Long Face called himself a Metaphor, a lowly one. He gives P info and is released. Long Face mention P’s sister’s name, Komichi. P travels down an odorless, tasteless river and finds a tall man devoid of feeling.

Ch 51. Protagonist visited Tomohiko Amada with Masahiko. The Commendatore appeared. He says that P must stab him in order to find Mariye Akikawa. P kills the Commendatore just like the painting.

“You have the strength to wish for what you cannot have. While I have only wished for those things I can possess.”
Menshiki to the protagonist

Ch. 47. Protagonist and Menshiki find a penguin charm in the pit. Shoko confirms it belonged to Mariye; P says he found it in the studio. P and Menshiki stay up together. P goes to bed and is visited by the Commendatore. The Idea gives P a hint to Mariye’s whereabouts but warns that several sacrifices may be required.
“Someone will call me this morning and invite me somewhere. I must not decline.”

“Did you think about your time in prison when you spent that hour alone down in the pit?”
“Yes. I need to return to that experience once in a while - it’s my starting point, so to speak. Where the person I am today was formed. It’s easy to get soft when life is comfortable.”
- Menshiki talking about his time in Tokyo prison

Ch 45. Shoko calls protagonist to say Mariye is missing. Protagonist thinks there’s a connection between her being missing and his completed painting of The Pit in the Woods. He calls Menshiki to come over.

“Even if we had been able to divide the records, we could never have separated the memories attached to them. I had to leave them all behind.”