HEO 44

“……Huh? No, what are you saying? Your Highness!”

“I’m not a prince. We’re already dead. We’ll die again, but…”

Red Eagle wiped his eyes with his sleeve and smiled.

“What I said earlier, I meant it. I’ve always thought you were more mature than me. By that standard, you’re the true prince.”

“You’re mistaken. Any commoner boy has no choice but to grow up early.”

〔The clown’s fifth rotation has ended.〕

〔The clown begins its sixth rotation.〕

Wolf’s mouth went dry. He’d proclaimed he’d calmly accept death, but now that time was running out, he grew anxious. His hand kept reaching to flip the hem of his clothes. Give up, he told himself. What good would seeing those dizzying scraps of writing do? Just pray the fairy is in chest 3.

“Prince and servant! What are you sulking for?”

The woman plodded through the water toward them. Silver followed behind. Both hugged their barrels as if they were honey pots.

The woman gestured toward Black Weasel.

“Why don’t you tell that guy too? Let’s all open the chests together.”

“Huh?”

Wolf pulled his head back. What was this nonsense?

“Better to die quickly than shiver in fear while stalling, right? Two people open one chest together, then the remaining three open the rest one by one. Only the unlucky one dies.”

Following the woman’s words, Silver quickly slid his blade across his own throat.

“Th-that… Excuse me, but that…”

“Haha! Don’t be scared, kid! Didn’t you see when the warrior died? It sends you off painlessly!”

“No, I’m not talking about that issue…”

The situation was absurd. It was shocking enough when Black Weasel pushed the woman to the front, but now she went even further and urged the group to commit suicide together. Even Silver was going along with it.

Do the Stolls value not only others’ lives but their own so lightly? Even if they say there’s no pain, it’s still death in the end. No matter how hopeless the situation, is it really fine to give up your life so easily? This doesn’t feel right!

That’s right! No! I don’t want to die, I don’t want to!

Wolf yanked the hem of his clothes. Atanian proverbs paraded through his mind. Truth, though slow, will eventually reveal itself. Even on an endless road, morning comes. Behind the clouds, the sun always shines.

It was too rash to give up already. The voice guiding the people spoke fluent Atanian. Proof the skeleton evil spirit knew Atanian culture. Could the fairy rescue problem also come from Ellis Debates? Maybe it deliberately gave an Atanian logic problem to torment the Stolls.

I will definitely return. I’ll roll around with Silver in a field full of blooming flowers.

“Kid, you’re staring at that again?”

The woman with the eye patch gaped.

“My eyes are spinning, but you seem fine? Chest 6, I tell you. My gut says so.”

“Ma’am, there are only five chests. I choose 2!”

Silver burped and spoke. Wolf focused his entire mind on the problem. I was stupid and couldn’t find the clue. But this time is different. I will find the clue. I will find it!

…….

…….

I can’t find it…….

“That’s it? Stop wasting your breath and just pick one.”

Silver chuckled, and smacked Wolf’s back. Wolf slumped his shoulders.

“You’ve played card games before, right? There are four chests left. If you’re just picking, your odds are way better than in a card game. Honestly, just because you racked your brains to reach a conclusion doesn’t guarantee it’s the right answer.”

“Silver’s right, Wolf. You did your best. You can stop now.”

Red Eagle also cautiously chimed in. Wolf, who had been silent, soon extended the hem of his robe and smiled faintly.

“Then shall Your Highness and I give it a try? You go first, Your Highness.”

“Hmm… number 2.”

“Same as Silver?”

“Well, uh, I copied him. I’m going with a gambler’s intuition.”

“Wise choice. Then I shall…”

Wolf scanned the writing on the lining. An unexpected sense of déjà vu suddenly invaded him. It was right after last year, when he’d stopped by a famous witch’s shop with friends out of curiosity and had his cards read. The witch had laid out several cards and said, “Pick one that draws you in.” The moment she spoke, his eyes had darted to a specific card. It was the same now. And surprisingly, it was 2.

“Me too… Chest 2.”

At Wolf’s words, Silver paused mid-sip of his drink and glanced over.

“Copycats.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. The prince is a copycat, but I picked it based on instinct.”

Red Eagle blushed.

“Hey, wait! I didn’t copy Silver! I actually had my eye on chest 2 too!”

“Excuses.”

Silver snorted, but Wolf’s expression turned rigid. Even the prince had his eye on 2?

“Ma’am! Which number will you pick?”

Wolf lifted the lining to reveal the woman. She pulled her mouth away from the barrel and slurred, “Chest 8.”

“You insolent little brats! Can’t you see my eyes are spinning? I see dozens of you right now! Don’t disturb an adult when they’re drinking!”

“Ah, yes… Sorry…”

Just as Wolf bowed his head, Silver spoke.

“You picked number 2 at first too.”

***

Wolf couldn’t move a finger for a moment.

“Really?”

When he finally managed to get the words out, Silver looked off into the distance.

“She yelled ‘Chest 2’ while you were solving it. My memory’s good. Only in crisis situations.”

“Even she picked 2…”

“I’m telling you. Fuck.”

Silver flung the barrel aside and splashed water on his face. He rubbed his cheeks roughly with both hands, and took a step closer to Wolf.

“Hey, let’s look at that scribble again. There’s definitely something there.”

“Yes!”

Four people had chosen the same chest. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

Wolf and Silver scanned the writing on the lining. Beside them, Red Eagle watched while holding his breath. Not long after, Silver frowned.

“Hmm. I get it.”

“What?”

“Look.”

Silver traced each line with his fingertip.

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.

Chesy 3: There is a fairy here…

“The phrase ‘Chest X’s statement is false’ appears on every line, only number 2 is never mentioned. When you’re told not to think about something, you end up thinking about it, right?”

“Ah… Because 2 wasn’t visible, everyone subconsciously thought, ‘What about 2?'”

“Probably. I skimmed it like before, but I thought, ‘Where’s chest 2?’ Then my eyes automatically went to line 2.”

“Silver, you’re amazing!”

Red Eagle’s eyes widened as he spoke. Wolf held his breath for a moment while staring at Silver. Silver, your mind races in crisis situations. You’re like a carnivore that only gets diligent when hunting.

Silver’s reasoning hit the nail on the head. Wolf, too, had skimmed the writing and a nagging feeling of needing to confirm something drew his gaze to number 2. Was this how a deer felt when bitten by a wolf? He was overcome with despair. Was this the reason people chose 2? Damn 2.  If you hadn’t been sticking out all by yourself… I wouldn’t be letting my hopes rise again…

Huh?

Huh…

His mind suddenly cleared. Wolf pulled the hem of his clothes up to his eyes and looked through it again from the beginning.

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

Chest 2: There is a fairy here. Chest 3’d 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.

Right! Only number 2 is missing!

Chests 1 and 3, Chests 4 and 5 are paired opposites. Chest 1 claims “Chest 3 is lying,” and Chest 3 counters “Chest 1 is lying.” Chest 4 claims “Chest 5 is telling the truth,” and Chest 5 counters “Chest 4 is lying.” Only Chest 2 has no counterpart.

One more thing. Among the chests that correspond to each other, one must be lying. Chest 2 was outside this correspondence, so it had a relatively higher probability of telling the truth.

It pretended to be a logic problem, but it was actually a pattern recognition problem.

“It’s number 2.”

Wolf stated decisively.

“The fairy is in chest number 2.”