Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin: Volume 1 Chapter 4 Part 5

"I'll go next."

Just as I was about to unlock the door to the storeroom for my 13th try, Tensai, who was standing by, nominated herself.

"No, it's fine! I'll take care of this trial by myself!"

I declared flatly as a result of my growing hype that had arisen from my failures.

"Then let's go."

And she easily ignored me. This girl really doesn't care about what others say huh.

And thus, for my 13th trial, I undertook it together with Tensai.

I turned the lock to the door in what had already become a familiar motion, and entered the room. Then, as a repeat of the same deterministic pattern that had happened many times, the door locked with a click behind us.

"Hm, this room is obviously strange."

Said Tensai suddenly the first time she opened her mouth upon entering the room.

"How so?"

"The room is a size smaller. There's probably another room next to this."

"How can you tell?"

"I took a peek into the room right above this one. It's a size bigger."

"Why the room above?"

"There's no room below here. It probably contains the mechanism that has been throwing you out all this time."

Tensai, who had seemed to have investigated all those things without me being the wiser, started checking alongside the wall, and returned immediately.

"There seems to be a hidden door or something. The door will probably open once we solve this problem."

Upon saying that, she quickly got on to peering at the problem on the signboard.

"What do we have here...... aah, by the way Juugo."

"What is it?"

"Have you tried giving an answer from another place aside from standing in front of the signboard?"

"Erhm, are you asking me whether I tried answering while staying away from the signboard?"

"That's right."

"Yeah, did that."

It was during my 6th try. As I was sick of dropping down, I tried to cheat by shouting out loud "indoor shoes" three steps behind the signboard. Upon doing that, a hole opened, in the floor three steps behind, right where I stood.

"I see, so that's part of the setup huh. I really am a genius (tensai)."

"Hey, moron. Do you already know the answer?"

"Yup." She replied immediately.

"For real! What's the answer?"

I took the bait without thinking and the great detective grinned.

"Eehh, should I tell you the answer, I wonder?"

After assuming an irritating air of superiority, Tensai finally said something outrageous.

"All right, but I'll only tell you the answer after you tell me right here how much respect you have for me."

What the hell is with that high and mighty order?

This girl really pisses me off.

Hmph, fine. If you're willing to go that far, I'll say it.

I took a deep breath, and yelled.

"I love Tensai from the bottom of my heart!"

"Nya, Nyhaat!"

"...... the joke I was able to make said it all."

I was sent flying over like a bowling pin and hit the back of my head hard. That was a dead on counterattack. It hurt a lot.

"Jeez, that's something you shouldn't be joking about!"

The great detective, with her face flushed red, was seriously angry. Even I, knew that I was clearly at fault for what happened, and as such, "Sorry", I prostrated and apologized sincerely.

"T-That really took me by surprise."

The great detective hung her head in embarrassment. My, even if you make that kind of expression, my heart is not going to waver you know, like a tsundere(?), I desperately tried to steel my heart.

"More importantly, what's the answer?"

Even though it was a pity, in order to quickly get her to stop that behavior, I urged her for the answer. On saying that, Tensai immediately responded with an "all right", faced the signboard, and shouted.

"The answer is, 'human'!"

PING PONG.

Different from previously, this was a sound affirming that the answer was correct. Then, just like what Tensai said, the hidden door opened.

The correct answer was 'human'. Among the lifeless objects scattered in the storeroom, the only ones that were different were the living humans who entered this room to solve this problem, in other words, us.

I see, I was on one hand impressed while awfully chagrined on the other hand.

"You got the answer pretty quickly."

"This is just an elementary problem. There's nothing difficult about it."

Except that I couldn't solve it at all.

Even as she directed her cockiness towards me, she resumed her exposition.

"But it was an interesting mechanism. Somewhere in this room , there's probably a device that can detect voices. However, it seems like it's unable to make very precise distinctions."

"What do you mean?"

"Earlier, I called your name in front of the signboard, and called myself 『genius (tensai)』."

"Yeah, what're you so smug about, moron?"

Bhish, she struck me.

"You're the moron here. Don't you get it? Even though the answer to the question on the signboard is 『Human』, but to be precise, both 『Yama Juugo』 and 『Ikkyuu Tensai』 are correct as well."

Indeed, strictly speaking, they are correct. I see, undeniably, when she shouted out my name and genius (same reading as Tensai though with a somewhat different accent), nothing happened at all.

"Meaning that it is unable to make precise distinctions, to put it in other way, it is unable to handle new information......"

"You know, let's drop the details and get moving."

I had to admit that Tensai's deductive capabilities were amazing. But regrettably, her explanation was needless long, and she was too hung up on things that were beyond necessary. This was what they call 'flogging a dead horse', an idiom I learned in class .

"Hey, I'm still talking here......"

"You're really awesome."

On hearing that, Tensai's face broke into a smile.

"I see, as long as you get it."

I had pretty much grasped how to deal with this moron.

At any rate, it was an undeniable fact that it was thanks to Tensai that the puzzle was solved readily. Compared to her, someone like me failed 13 times.

Subsequently, I peered into the neighboring room together with Tensai.

It was a long, narrow room that was about a meter wide.

And at the end of that room, was the treasure box.

"I see. Once we return with what's inside, we would clear the club entrance test."

"Is that all? That's too quick."

Tensai snorted with a hint of disappointment. Well, that was true for her. Whereas for me, I already had enough.

"C'mon, open it."

I stepped aside, and Tensai gave me a blank look.

"Are you fine with this?"

"You were the one who solved the puzzle right? The credit goes to you. Such a privilege should go to the one who accomplished the most right?"

On hearing that, "Eh-hehe", Tensai giggled in embarrassment.

That action of hers was pretty cute.

"Well, I really am an super-amazing person huh."

When she opened her mouth, it just made me feel pissed.

Tensai proceeded into the hidden room alone and advanced forward, then squatted down. She placed her hands on the treasure box that was the same as size as she in her squatting form, and pushed the lid up.

"There's something inside."

And what Tensai took out, was a stone large enough to require two hands to carry it.

"What's that? A pickle press?"

I murmured upon seeing the thing Tensai took out. Right after that.

The wall before my eyes suddenly vanished cleanly.

The dark room was enveloped by the light from outside in an instant.

Both Tensai and I were speechless at the sudden development.

Then, at the same time a gah-tahn sound was heard, the floor of the hidden room tilted instantly.

Tensai's body started rolling along the tilted floor. She was going to fall out into the open air.

My eyes widened on reflex.

This was the third floor, different from the height from which I was thrown out earlier.

Crap, crap, crap. It's going to be nasty at this height.

Tensai will get hurt.

I looked down for an instant, and took aim. Without hesitation, I immediately ran along the slope of the hidden room, and jumped toward the tumbling Tensai.

My hand reached Tensai right when she was launched out into the air. Following that, I embraced her and braced myself for the upcoming impact.

Shoulder first, I dived into my targeted trees grown in the courtyard, and smashed through the branches before landing on the lawn. It really hurt.

"Cough, cough...... a-are you okay, Tensai?"

I said to Tensai as I got up, and found her spacing out in my arms. With a vacant look, she was holding close to her, onto the pickle press found earlier inside the treasure box.

"Hey, Tensa......"

"Kukkukkuh, nyaahahhah."

"Ny-nyaa?"

Tensai suddenly broke out in laughter. Cackling with her head turned toward the sky.

"...... did you hit your head somewhere? Please rest in peace."

Palms together.

"Don't kill me off just like that."

There was a dent, in the pickle press. That was quite an impact.

"Hey......"

"Oh my, that's amazing. I'd never expect such a thing to happen after solving the problem and obtaining the treasure."

"Kukkukkuh." She was so delighted that the corner of her eyes were brimming with tears and her legs were rattling.

Is there anything that funny?

I then looked up. It was like a joke. Part of the wall of the third floor of the club room premises had lowered down in a sliding fashion, and the floor of the hidden room was tilted 45 degrees. The empty treasure box was slanted and sticking to the tilted floor.

"Who actually made such a mechanism?" While feeling partly confounded, I looked to my side, and saw the moron whom I had jumped out to save laughing idiotically. As I felt creeped out by that Tensai whose screws in her head must have loosened, out came running Daruku to the courtyard.

"Are you both okay?"

"I'm fine, but I can't say the same for the moron beside me."

I replied as I watched Tensai rolling on the lawn, cackling happily as she hugged the pickle press. Looking at that Tensai, Daruku giggled.

"It's been a while since I saw her like this."

Judging from how she said it, it seemed like this great detective cracked up regularly.

"What in the world is wrong with her?"

"It's because she just faced something that went beyond her expectations. Probably, this time, it went too far beyond her expectations when she got thrown out despite solving the puzzle, and that hit the right spot in her."

What the hell?

"This great detective is really quite a handful huh."

"But that's also what's great about her."

I realized it at this point. The attendant who was sending a passionate gaze at the great detective, seemed to have also caught the moron-virus from the great detective.

Then, after rolling and laughing for a while, Tensai finally got up slowly.

"Juugo."

"What?"

"Thanks, for saving me. Thanks to you, I managed to get out of this unscathed."

Wearing an innocent smile not seen on her usual self, she thanked me suddenly.

Did the muscles on her face become sodden from laughing too hard? I couldn't feel any of her usual fearlessness from that bright smiling face that was exuding a cheery happiness.

"It's nothing...... just remember you owe me one."

I replied as I turned away from that smiling face of hers, and Tensai acknowledged unreservedly.

"Yeah, I owe you one."

As I looked up, the opened wall of the third floor had already returned to its original position.

By the way, when I looked to my right, I saw a Daruku who was pouting in displeasure.

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