What exactly constitutes a “difficult problem” that everyone would agree on?
Is it a complex and abstruce problem that can only be solved with excellent education and knowledge?
Or is it a problem that requires not just knowledge, but also creativity and inspiration?
Perhaps it’s a problem like philosophy or religion, where there is no single correct answer?
Or could it be a problem that includes inside jokes known only to specific individuals?
Certainly, all of these are difficult to a comparable degree, and it’s hard to say which one is the most difficult among them.
However, “Nekoneko” has given a completely new perspective to the proposition of “What is a difficult problem?” that no one could have imagined.
It is—
“As expected, this is a problem I’ve never seen before…”
Looking at the problem displayed on the Sphinx’s abdomen, I sighed.
It would have been easier if at least a familiar problem had appeared, but this leaves me at a loss.
However, this is one of the troublesome characteristics of “Chiru Mono.”
While I may be disappointed, it’s not something to be surprised about.
I have cleared this quest once before, but the “Chiru Mono” quest is designed to present 50 questions out of an enormous pool of 2,000.
Clearing it just once means you won’t even see the remaining 1,950 questions.
(No matter how you think about it, the number of problems is too large.)
An immense number of 2,000 questions.
That is what turned what should have been a simple Riddle Quest, “Chiru Mono,” into a monster.
Even 50 questions is already a lot, but to prepare 40 times that number of reserve questions shows a level of obsession that’s hard to comprehend.
If it had been just 50 questions, and if they hadn’t greedily dabbled in various genres, this “Chiru Mono” quest might have simply been a slightly difficult Riddle Quest.
“…Mm.”
At that moment, Serie, whom I was holding, stirred slightly, and I snapped back to reality.
While the activated Beckoning Sphinx is a concern, I should prioritize tending to the collapsed Serie first.
Healing skills cannot be used inside the library.
I immediately took out HP recovery Potions and status ailment recovery Potions, and tried using them on Serie, but…
“She’s not waking up?”
Neither of them had any effect. I thought fainting was a status ailment, but perhaps there’s a different way to cure it if one collapses from extreme tension.
“Then…”
If it’s about restoring spirit, it should be MP, so this time I try using an MP recovery Potion.
Then, Serie’s eyes fluttered open faintly. Our eyes met as I peered into her face from a surprisingly close distance.
“Serie…?”
Serie, who looked at me with a dazed expression, her usual sharp demeanor gone, I asked tentatively.
She didn’t react at first, blinking a couple of times before finally speaking.
“…A dream?”
As she murmured that, her hand gently reached for my face…
“…If you want to dream that badly, I’ll give you a sleep that will never end!”
Interrupting her, Layla, holding a knife, drifted closer.
Her face wore an unnatural smile, but her eyes were completely vacant. This is bad.
“W-Wait, Layla!”
“Please, calm down, Your Highness.”
The rampaging Layla was quickly pulled away by Mitsuki, but the knife that suddenly flashed into her vision seemed to have fully awakened Serie.
“Um, what was that just now…?”
“…Think of it as a little episode, perhaps.”
To Serie, who asked with a trembling voice, I answered so, entrusted her to Maki and the others, and then headed towards Layla.
“Ugh. Th-That woman, ughhhh…”
Layla mumbled tearfully, but the fact that “To the Disloyal, Death!!” didn’t activate probably means she’s managing to suppress her jealousy. Layla is growing too. I want to believe she is.
“You… did great, Layla. It’s okay, calm down, alright?”
With the caution of negotiating with someone holding hostages, I soothed her and patted her shoulder. Layla gradually began to calm down.
“That’s good. That’s right, take a deep breath, deep breaths. Come on, inhale, exhale—”
As I urged her, Layla obediently followed my instructions and began to take deep breaths. She’s like a bomb that could explode at any moment, a dangerous person, but this kind of obedience is her saving grace. She should calm down soon.
“In… out. In… out. Innn… ouuut. Innnn… ouut. Innnnnnn… ouuut.”
Even now, Layla is earnestly trying to follow my instructions, burying her face in my chest and taking deep breaths…
“W-Wait a minute.”
“Feh?”
I hastily pulled Layla away from me.
She had been taking deep breaths normally at first, but at some point, she was clearly inhaling something other than air. This is what they mean by “never getting anywhere without a fight” or “no room for complacency.”
“Finished? I can take more deep breaths, you know?”
“M-Maybe later.”
This should have calmed her down.
Fleeing from Layla, who was clearly asking for more with her drowsy eyes, I imidiatelly returned to Serie.
“I… I am so sorry. That was quite a blunder.”
When I went to Serie, who seemed to have finished explaining, she hung her head upon seeing me.
“Normally, I wouldn’t collapse from something like this, but well… I was reading books all night yesterday and didn’t sleep, so that’s probably why…”
She probably ran out of steam due to a double punch of sleep deprivation and emotional shock. She seems composed, but she also has her weaknesses.
“You shouldn’t push yourself. Oh, do you want to drink another one?”
One wouldn’t be enough for a full recovery. I took out another MP Potion from my pouch and offered it to Serie.
“No, I’m fine. As you can see, being a librarian is a physically demanding job. I’m more of a combat-oriented type, you see.”
“Haa… But still, you really shouldn’t push yourself…”
As I urged her again, Serie replied hesitantly, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
“It’s not a matter of pushing myself. That’s why I’m combat-oriented. So, one is more than enough.”
“Um… ah!”
The words “combat-oriented” and “don’t need the Potion” didn’t immediately connect, but after thinking about it again, I understood.
Combat-oriented = warrior type = low max MP.
In other words, despite appearances, Serie is actually a simple brute—
“M-More importantly, I apologize for activating that device without permission…”
“Eh? Ah, yes…”
At her words, I shifted my gaze back to the Beckoning Sphinx.
It’s probably impossible to return that fully activated thing to its previous state.
“I heard from Maki earlier. I had no idea there were such circumstances with you, Sagara-sama and the others, so I apologize for my rudeness.”
I wonder what exactly Maki told her. The imposing aura she had when she first appeared was gone, and Serie looked utterly dejected. I hastily shook my head.
“No, it’s fine. It wasn’t something you absolutely had to do.”
“However…”
It’s a shame I can’t clear “Chiru Mono,” but at least the minimum objective has been achieved. Honestly, I felt we could just go home for today. But…
“No! I will not be satisfied with that! No matter how long it takes, by the honor of the Royal Library Librarian, I will solve this riddle!”
Serie clenched her fist and made an unexpected proposal. Indeed, as the librarian here, Serie might be good at such riddles. Just as my feelings wavered, my companions also voiced their opinions.
“W-Wait! Then, I will too! I will too!”
“Ah, then me too—!”
Revived Layla and Maki, who had been observing, joined in. Come to think of it, these two seem to enjoy solving mysteries.
(It would be rude to refuse such kindness, wouldn’t it?)
So, I made up my mind. While the “Chiru Mono” quest is difficult, it’s not impossible to clear. Depending on the questions asked, there’s a possibility we could clear it smoothly.
“…Alright, please proceed.”
I bowed deeply, and the conquest of “Chiru Mono” began.
“Chiru Mono” doesn’t just include simple riddles, but also a wide variety of other problems—for example, questions about the Knights’ Order newly established by Licht Kingdom’s third King, or problems involving points P and Q moving on a quadrilateral ABCD at speeds of 3 km/h and 4 km/h, respectively—drawing from an incredibly broad range of genres. Even considering the difficulty of the problems alone, they are not straightforward.
On the other hand, our trump card, Serie, claims to have memorized nearly all the books in this library, regardless of their genre. In the Game era, most of the books in this library were mere dummies and couldn’t be read, but that’s not the case in this world. To have memorized all of them is an incredible feat of memory.
So, how is she faring?
“It’s bread, but what kind of bread can’t be eaten? This problem is too naive and vulgar to even be called stupid. Considering the knowledge written in the books related to bread that I’ve read, and the tendency of the Sphinx’s questions, the answer is as clear as day. With a 97% probability, the answer is rotten bread—”
“Yes, yes, frying pan, that’s it! Correct!”
She has a rather disappointing correct answer rate.
“…W-Well, 97% means there’s a 3% chance of being incorrect. I-It can even be said that my prediction was correct.”
Pretending not to notice Serie, who was gently wiping the corners of her eyes after removing her glasses, I casually averted my gaze. It’s not that she’s completely useless, of course. She’s exceptionally good at history and calculations, and she immediately solved problems that even Layla, a professional in her own right, would ponder. On the other hand, she’s notoriously weak at problems requiring inspiration, like riddles, and her lack of motivation often leads to her efforts being in vain. However, with her joining, the team’s overall strength has increased. With Layla handling adventure-related knowledge, Serie handling general knowledge, and Maki handling puzzles and riddles, we’ve formed a lineup with almost no gaps.
But there’s a downside to that as well. Occasionally, a problem that I’ve seen before would appear, and…
“Ah! I’ve seen that problem before—”
“Speed, right. Correct! …Did you say something, Soma?”
“…No, nothing.”
She usually solves them in an instant, so I don’t even have time to step in.
(Well, it’s fine. It’s not like it’s absolutely necessary to clear it, right?)
Thinking so with a hint of sour grapes, I watched the three of them work for a few minutes. They continued to digest the problems smoothly, and I started to think, maybe I’m not even needed here, around the thirteenth question.
(This is…!)
The moment I saw the problem text, I leaned forward.
“What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening? What is this creature?”
The famous riddle that appeared on the Sphinx’s belly excited the other three as well.
“Ah, I know this one! I’ll press it! Is that okay?!”
Gone was her stern image, as Serie, the most excited of the three, pressed the button. Layla, who had initially been competitive, and even the selfish Maki, watched with gentle smiles like a grandfather watching his grandchild excited.
“Um… hu, man, that’s it! Correct!”
Serie enthusiastically typed in the answer. After typing “ningen,” she smiled victoriously and pressed the confirm button. …But,
“Eh?”
A buzzer sound rang out. The Beckoning Sphinx mercilessly rejected Serie’s input.
“Eh? Eh?”
Thinking it might have been a typo, she retyped “ningen,” but the result was the same. Panicked, Serie tried entering answers at random.
“Th-Then, ‘Hito.’ …Wrong? Then, ‘Human’! …Not that either? Then, ‘man’! …If not this, then….”
But unfortunately, all of it was in vain. No matter what she typed, the incorrect buzzer rang. Seeing this, I sighed.
(…It can’t be helped, I guess.)
I had hoped it would go smoothly, but as expected, it wasn’t that easy. The only good fortune is that I happened to know this answer.
“Let me have that for a second.”
“Sagara-sama?”
Gently pushing aside Serie, who was continuing her futile efforts, I reached for the input panel. Without any hesitation, I typed in “furo.”
“Soma? What are you doing….”
Ignoring Maki’s suspicious stare, I pressed the confirm button.
…Then,
“Eh?”
A pleasant “Ping!” sound announced the Sphinx’s success in overcoming the problem.
“W-Why…?”
Everyone looked at me in surprise, faces reflecting their astonishment at the unexpected turn of events.
Of course, they would. Who would answer “Bath” when asked about a creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening? And who could possibly accept it as the correct answer? Accepting their feelings with great empathy, I opened my mouth.
“Well, this is difficult to say, but…”
What I’m about to say is the biggest drawback of the “Nekoneko” staff dealing with an unnecessarily large number of 2,000 questions, and the main reason this quest became the most difficult. It’s the worst violation of rules in any game, or indeed, when posing a question to someone.
“—Sometimes, the answers to its questions are wrong.”
The Riddle Quest, “Chiru Mono.” It’s an absurdly unfair quest where, in order to clear it, you not only have to get the correct answer, but also guess the staff’s incorrect answers.
