"Hey, Shishimai-san. Can we defeat this yokai?"
"It will be quite challenging."
"I thought so."
Tamaki nodded faintly. Then she turned to the human-faced lion beast.
"Well, there's no choice, is there?"
In response to Tamaki's resolute answer, Shishimai no longer objected. There was no room for objections, and her slight hesitation was also a reason.
'Are you done here?'
"Yeah. Give us the question."
With a mocking grin, the yokai nodded arrogantly in response to Tamaki's agreement and started to speak about the first question.
'So, here is the first question. Six faces, twenty eyes and one eye. What is this?'
"Huh? What is it?"
Shishimai frowned at the sudden and nonsensical inquiry. As she glanced downward at the trickling sand grains, she immediately regretted it.
Meanwhile, Tamaki, showing a pensive gesture with her hand on her mouth, suddenly widened her eyes and muttered to herself.
"...Could it be... dice?"
"Wait! Think a little more..."
'That's correct.'
"Huh!?"
Shishimai was astonished by Tamaki's overly quick response, scolded her in disbelief, and was left dumbfounded by the questioner's answer.
"Dice have six faces, so they have six sides, and the total number of dots on the dice is twenty-one. It matches the content of the question."
"Well, technically... yes, but!?"
Shishimai exclaimed that it wasn't that kind of question.
"By the way, how did you know!?"
"Hahaha. I encountered a similar problem back in my hometown, and I remembered the solution."
The bodyguards led by Inoue Katahiko, whom Hotoya often employed in their village, along with Tamaki's friends Iruka and others, frequently engaged in gambling with dice. There was a similar problem mentioned in one of their jokes, which led to Tamaki's swift response.
'Alright then. Moving on to the second question. How do you read '子子子子子子子子子子子'?'
"It's 'Neko no ko koneko shishi no ko kojishi.' (A cat's child is a kitten, a lion's child is a lion cub.)"
'...Correct.'
Tamaki answered the second question seamlessly. The yokai itself was taken aback by the quick and effortless response.
"...Isn't that too fast?"
"It was easier to understand than the first question, wasn't it? It's something I've read before in books at home."
Tamaki answered, inclining her head in response to Shishimai's incredulous gaze. Indeed, the current question resembled one that could be found in old books. Tamaki's family had an extensive collection of books, thanks to her father's preferences. While she didn't bother with heavy academic texts, she had been engrossed in reading entertaining books since she was young.
"Well, never mind. Regardless, we have two correct answers now. Let's move on to the next question, shall we?"
"Ahaha... the third question, please?"
Sighing, Shishimai reluctantly urged them forward. Tamaki, smiling wryly, also demanded the next question. In contrast, the yokai displayed an obvious struggle and discomfort at the sudden turn of events.
'Ugh... ah, in the morning it has four legs. In the afternoon it has two legs. In the evening it has three legs. What creature is this?'
And as the third question was presented, Tamaki fell silent for a moment, focusing on digging up the memories in her mind.
"Do you know the answer?"
"I have a memory of reading about it in a book. I think it was a riddle from a foreign land?"
Tamaki confidently nodded in response to Shishimai's worried words. Then she provided her answer.
"It's a human, right?"
'...Is that truly the correct answer?'
The yokai, unlike the previous two questions, confirmed with a questioning tone. Tamaki was puzzled by their stoic and suppressed reaction.
"Is it a way to buy time? Or perhaps an attempt to make her change her answer by making her uncertain?"
"..."
Shishimai's murmurs of discontent made Tamaki suspicious. She had a feeling that something was not right. She couldn't explain why, but...
'What's wrong? Where's your answer?'
"Um... well..."
As the youkai prompted for an answer once again, Tamaki hurriedly nodded and attempted to respond. She was about to provide the answer to the third question...
"The answer is hum—"
And at that moment when Tamaki was about to utter her answer, she indeed saw it. The mouth of the youkai in front of her, contorting into a sinister smile. And she became certain. She had made a grave mistake, falling into a trap. However, her mouth couldn't catch up with her thoughts, and...
"Hmm?"
"The answer is... 'such a creature doesn't exist,' right?"
Just as Tamaki was about to utter her answer, a talisman forcefully intervened and sealed her words. Simultaneously, a resonating effect, likely a result of spiritual art, resounded in the sandy dunes.
The answer to the third question, the response to be given, was forcefully sealed within Tamaki's mouth.
"?!?"
'...!!?'
Both Tamaki and the youkai hastily turned their gaze in the direction of the voice. The owner of the voice's cold stare matched the tone of her voice as she continued.
"Furthermore, that question is a double-edged one. The true answer is 'human,' but that is a metaphor when considering the sunrise and sunset as stages of life. Based solely on the wording of the question, such a creature does not exist..."
After explaining it in detail, the girl, the owner of the voice, wore an obvious mocking expression and coldly laughed.
"This is a well-known question found in foreign folklore... a trap, indeed. It's a sneaky tactic to ensnare those who answer and mock their ignorance. Quite a shallow trick, typical of a creature like you."
'Grrrrrrr!'
The response to the insult came in the form of a leap accompanied by a roar. The human-faced beast attacked with its sharp fangs and claws aimed at the small figure.
"Watch out...!"
"Genbu, go!"
As Tamaki shouted, a bear-like youkai spirit leaped out from inside the talisman almost simultaneously. The next moment, the bear's strike sent the human-faced beast flying.
"What!?"
"In the folklore, didn't the creature who received the answer feel ashamed and throw itself off a cliff? A clever lie often intertwines with the truth... and it seems to contain some truth in this case."
The chaotic scene indicated that the creature's ability was to "kill those who answered incorrectly and die if answered correctly."
(No, the way it was thrown back was quite one-sided for two great youkai. Perhaps answering the question weakened it to some extent?)
However, speculating about its ability now seemed irrelevant. The outcome had already been determined.
'Gghhh...? Hey, wait! Stop! Stoooop...'
"I've grown tired of those words."
The girl's response was cutting, and immediately after, with a cracking sound, Onikuma snapped the human-faced beast's neck. The bear let out a triumphant snort as if it had completed its task. Tamaki and Shishimai were left in stunned silence, their expressions frozen. Upon closer inspection, they recognized the bear's familiar appearance, and Tamaki, who regained her senses a step ahead, shifted her gaze back to the figure in the dunes.
"Oh, you're..."
"...You're still alive, huh? That man as well. It seems he has quite a strong stroke of bad luck."
Noticing Tamaki's gaze, the young girl, Botan, wiped the sweat drenching her forehead with her sleeve. Her pale and exhausted expression seemed contradictory, yet she was visibly flushed from the heat. It was clear that her health was deteriorating. Her footsteps and the look in her eyes appeared unsteady.
"A-Are you okay...?"
"Genbu."
Botan murmured, rejecting Tamaki's concerned approach. Then, she called out the name of her shikigami.
In a swift leap, a large bear blocked Tamaki's path. The towering figure of the bear made Tamaki instinctively falter.
"I... don't want to gather with anyone. Besides..."
Botan murmured, her voice growing faint. She paused midway, briefly shifting her gaze to someone else. Tamaki quickly understood that her gaze was directed at Shishimai.
"...Is it an imitation of that man that you pick up strange things?"
"Huh... Ah!?"
Before Tamaki could fully grasp Botan's words, she reflexively ran towards the collapsed Botan. The bear shikigami allowed her to pass without any obstruction, leaving Tamaki inwardly puzzled, thinking, "Huh? It just let me through normally?"
"..."
Only Shishimai, the lion girl, remained standing in silence at that spot...
