HEO 42

〔The clown’s first rotation has ended.〕

〔The clown begins its second rotation.〕

For now, the water has only risen enough to wet the tips of their shoes. For now.

The water level could suddenly rise.

The next moment, Wolf flinched. Black Weasel had approached unnoticed, and pointed his axe at Wolf’s neck. Cold, gray eyes stared down at him.

“Nothing coming to mind?”

“…Sir.”

“Find out which chest the fairy is in. You know why I let you morons join the group, right?”

“That’s…”

Wolf opened his mouth to say, “Sir, don’t be unreasonable,” but shut it again. Black Weasel kept the axe pointed at him while only rolling his eyes to scrutinize the people. The look on his face was unsettling. Even a ten-year-old would see it. That rotten-toothed assassin was scheming to coerce them into opening the chests one by one.

Five people left. Four chests. One person would inevitably survive. He had to calm Black Weasel and buy time.

Wolf slowly opened his mouth.

“Sir, the water isn’t rising that fast. It said the clown would rotate fifteen times, so we have plenty of time. Let’s not rush. If we put our heads together, we can find the fairy.”

“Count me out. The only thing on my mind is smashing those damned chests. Oh, and leave Silver out too.”

Silver’s gaze darkened. The woman, who had been facing away, turned her head and glared at Black Weasel.

“Hmph, what are you looking at? Got another idea?”

Black Weasel slung his axe over his shoulder and sneered.

“I’ll give you time until the clown rotates nine times. If those Atanian fools still haven’t found the answer by then, we open one chest per person. You, the fake one-eyed bastard, go first.”

“Why me?”

The woman with the eye patch, who had been picking up her crutch, retorted in Atanian. Black Weasel shrugged one shoulder. He was completely unfazed.

“You’ve lived long enough. Old enough to be my older sister, so give way to the kids.”

“I’ll give way. If you pluck out one of your eyes and give it to me.”

The woman with the eye patch raised her middle finger. Wolf’s heart pounded. At least he’d bought time. Now he had to find the chest where the fairy was hiding.

Wolf looked at Red Eagle.

“Your Highness. I know it’s hard on you, but please help me. I can’t solve this problem alone.”

“Wolf.”

Red Eagle, who had been avoiding his gaze, finally nodded. Wolf lifted the hem of his robe. While listening to the chest’s shouts, he wrote line by line on the lining with the blood on his hands. Black Weasel, Silver, and the woman with the eye patch also approached to look. Even the fairy fluttered around Wolf.

Chest 1: There is a fairy here. Chest 3’s statement is false.

Chest 2: There is a fairy here. Chest 3’s statement is false.

Chest 3: There is a fairy here. Chest 1’s statement is false.

Chest 4: There is a fairy here. Chest 5’s statement is true.

Chest 5: There is no fairy here. Chest 4’s statement is false.

The woman and Silver grimaced.

“Damn it, writing it down just makes it more confusing. I’d rather die than rack my brains over this crap.”

“I agree. But ma’am, you speak Atanian?”

“Can’t you tell by my chestnut hair? My father was Atanian. He was kidnapped by my mother and forced into marriage. I understood every word of that conversation you had with that wolf-skin guy earlier in Atanian.”

“Wow! You really are a smart lady. But why are you still wearing that eye patch?”

“I’m used to seeing with one eye. But those guys… are they really a prince and his servant? They look as blind as pickpockets who can’t tell human hands from feet.”

Unlike Silver and the woman, who were spouting idle chatter, Wolf and Red Eagle’s expressions were serious.

“Your Highness, this…?”

Wolf lowered his voice to a whisper. Red Eagle murmured in agreement.

“Yeah. It looks like <Ellis Debates>.”

“What debate?”

Silver joined in. Red Eagle pointed a finger into the air.

“In Atania, they call the world ‘Ellis’. It encompasses everything, sky, sea, land. The refers to the arguments Atanian philosophers engage in. The topics are all over the place, like why the sea is water, what is time, why humans exist… There’s a lot of weird things.”

“Yeah. Weird.”

Wolf nodded vigorously. For commoner boys in Atania, the reason philosophers were considered the worst kind of scum was precisely because of the Ellis Debates. In the boys’ words, philosophers were “guys who spew crap the moment they open their mouths.”

“The Ellis Debates involves a lot of logical arguments, one being how to distinguish truth from falsehood. It’s called a logical debate, but it’s mostly about seizing on the other person’s words to attack them, which is why it’s so notorious. Feelings get hurt during these debates, leading to duels.”

“I’ve heard about that incident where two philosophers, arguing over ‘What is the identity of the strange hair found on the pillow in the marital bed?’ ended up fighting and dueling to the death.”

“Are there really such fools in the world? Do they make money?”

Silver asked incredulously. Wolf spread his hands wide.

“Hard to believe, but they make a fortune. Most are private tutors for noble children or royalty, university professors. Ellis Debates aren’t just for philosophers. It’s like… essential refinement for the upper class?”

“Right. Nobles often do it at tea parties too.”

Wolf’s eyes sparkled at Red Eagle’s words.

“Then this problem is something Your Highness…”

Wolf stretched out the hem of his robe toward Red Eagle. Black Weasel, Silver, and the woman with the eye patch also turned their gaze towards Red Eagle. The latter blushed and started fidgeting, before lowering his eyes.

“I’m sorry… I have no interest in Ellis Debates… Adults often have them at tea parties, but among my peers, whether noble or royal, showing interest in philosophy gets you treated like a fool… Princess Charlotte also can’t stand it…”

“Ah, what the hell! Then don’t act like you know anything!”

The woman whacked Red Eagle’s head with her crutch. Wolf was disappointed but still patted Red Eagle.

“I understand, Your Highness. Anatomy and biology books are far more interesting than philosophy tomes.”

“That’s exactly what I mean…”

At least he had a lead. To find the fairy trapped in the chest, he had to approach it logically.

Wolf muttered while staring at the lining of his robe.

“It does look like a problem about distinguishing truth and falsehood……”

“Wolf, I don’t understand any of this. What about you?”

Wolf was lost in thought for a while after hearing Red Eagle’s words.

“Well… chests 1 and 2 make the same claim. They both say they have the fairy and that chest 3 is lying. But if chest 3 is telling the truth, then chests 1 and 2 are lying. That means neither of them has the fairy.”

Wolf pressed his temples with both hands as he continued.

“If chest 3’s statement is false, then chest 1 and 2 are contradictory. Because the fairy can only be in one place. Assuming that rule for now, chest 3 is the most consistent.”

“Chest 3! The fairy is in chest 3!”

Red Eagle clapped his hands. Wolf quickly waved one hand.

“There’s something we need to be careful about. Every chest makes two claims: ‘The fairy is here’ or ‘There is no fairy here,’ and ‘Chest X is lying’ or ‘Chest X is telling the truth.’ The chests’ claims might only be half-true. In other words, the fairy could be in either chest 1 or 2.”

“Ah…”

“That leaves 4 and 5… Chest 4 has been proven wrong. But chest 5 claims it doesn’t have a fairy. Of course, that could be a lie too…”

“This is giving me a headache! Just pick one! I could spend a hundred years and still not solve this!”

The moment the woman shouted,

〔The clown’s second rotation has ended.〕

〔The clown begins its third rotation.〕

“It’s two beats faster.”

Silver said with an expressionless face. Wolf nearly took a step back. Huh, since when was he counting the beats?! No, this wasn’t the time to be impressed by Silver. The water had already reached his ankles.

“The assumption that only half of the chests’ statements are true might be me overthinking it. But just in case……”

“Chest 2! My gut feeling says so.”

The woman with the eye patch blurted out, but Wolf ignored her. The more he stared at the problem, the more his head spun. What the hell is this?