Section 4: Game 1 - Lateral Thinking

All right, it looks like we have our teams. For Team A, we have:

Paracelsus, Sanson, Mordred, and Medusa.

For Team B:

Karna, Arjuna Alter, Gawain, and Enkidu.

And for Team C:

Nemo, Cú Chulainn Alter, Saito Hajime, and Oda Nobukatsu.

And of course, the Master of Chaldea.

Hang on, Mage of Flowers. Where does that leave me?

Since you don't seem to have any affiliation of your own, why don't you join me as another master of ceremonies?

That sounds great!

Very well, it's time for the first game. How about we start with something simple and familiar?

"A man ordered turtle soup at a seaside restaurant"

And killed himself because he had eaten soup made with that meat.

Aha, I should have realized you'd already know the answer. But yes, let's go with this.

What could be more fair than a game focused on lateral thinking?

How does that sound to you?

Of course.

In general, "Turtle Soup" is a game where a situation is described, and players must then think of the motivations and events that led to it.

For example, my earlier riddle would usually go something like:

"A man ordered turtle soup at a certain restaurant.

Afterwards, he asked the server if it was really turtle soup, to which the server replied that it was.

Later, the man took his own life. Why?"

Of course, that information alone isn't enough to reach the right answer, so players may ask questions.

Though for the most part, these need to be "Yes" or "No" questions.

For example, "Has the man eaten turtle soup before?" Yes.

"At the same restaurant?" No, at a different location.

And you keep going from there until you've figured out the answer.

Do you? Then I won't bore you by going over the process further.

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Let's begin.

"Two men were collapsed on the ground, bleeding. One of them had a gun. The other was empty-handed.

Only one of them survived. How did he do it?"

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Okay, Team A, let's hear your question. If you don't have one, you can pass, but you have to say so.

Please note that any team can try to answer at any time.

However, if two people raise their hands simultaneously, I'll let the one who most recently asked a question go first. Got it? Good.

Annnd begin!

Did the man with a gun win?

No. Team B?

Was the man with a gun sick?

Also no. Team C?

At this point, all we know is that the empty-handed guy won.

And the cause was not illness.

So who's gonna ask a question?

...If no one else wants to, I'll go. I'd like to check something, anyway.

Did the empty-handed man kill the man with a gun?

Yes.

We can safely say the empty-handed man killed the man with a gun.

Does everyone get how the game works now? Then let's pick up the pace!

Did the empty-handed man beat the man with a gun to death?

No.

Is it important that they're both men?

No. Neither one's gender matters for our purposes.

I'll go next.

Were the two men near each other?

Yes. Very near.

Oho. Good question.

If they fought at close range, the empty-handed guy could've easily evaded a gunshot.

Hmm...

Were the two men near each other when the fight began?

No. They were relatively far apart.

Huh?

Uh-oh. That throws a wrench in the whole thing.

Was the empty-handed man a fast runner?

He was not, but how fast the men could run does not matter.

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All right, I'll go next. Anything you want me to ask about, Master?

Got it.

Were the two men over one hundred meters apart when the fight began?

No. They were closer than that.

I see. Tch...

Was the empty-handed man still unarmed when he killed the man with a gun?

Yes. He remained empty-handed the entire time.

Was the empty-handed man still unarmed when he killed the man with a gun?

If you're wondering whether the empty-handed man picked something up, the answer is no.

He was empty-handed the whole time. This you can take as a fact.

Were the two men over one hundred meters apart when the fight began?

No. They were closer than one hundred meters.

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Were the two men over twenty meters apart?

Oho. Still no.

That's pretty close... Definitely within firing range.

So here's everything we know for certain, including information from the other teams' questions.

I think this should cover it.

So, to go over the whole scene... It began when the two men were inside twenty meters of each other.

The empty-handed man got close to the armed one to kill him.

And he killed him with his bare hands without beating him to death.

Wait. Hang on. Something doesn't add up.

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Exactly.

It makes sense that the one with a gun would be, since he wound up dead...

...but how did the empty-handed man get injured, too?

Maybe he got shot when he ran in to get close?

Nah, that can't be it. Merlin said it doesn't matter how fast he could run.

And if he ran to get in close, his speed would definitely matter.

Oh, right.

... ...Hm? Hang on. How does any of this make sense?

All right, you're up, Team C.

Aah! What should we ask about?

There're some things I'm curious about, but we still don't have the full picture.

Why don't we stop asking definite questions and try asking random misleading ones?

Good idea.

Were the two men over ten meters apart?

Yes, they were over ten meters apart.

So we know they started out between ten and twenty meters apart.

If they started out near each other, I would get why it wouldn't matter how fast they were, but in this case...

If it doesn't matter how fast they were... Maybe the empty-handed man ran into the armed one with a car or something?

Yeah, doubt that'd qualify as empty-handed.

Yeah, I guess you're right.

... ...Sister's Master?

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Team B, the answer to your question is "no." Though if you know the solution, I'm willing to hear it.

No, I'm afraid not yet.

All right then. Go ahead, Team C.

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... ...Yes.

!!!

!!!

Well, that's the answer.

Wait what... Ah, dammit!

Okay, Team C, in this case, you get to answer first. Go ahead.

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That's correct.

Yes! We did it!

Heh.

Phew... What a relief.

Nice job, team.

While I'm sure the other teams have realized what happened by now...

...the unarmed man tried to commit suicide by jumping off a building, only to collide with the armed man walking beneath him.

The hell!? Then they never actually fought at all!

Oh.

What?

...So that's how he got us.

We assumed they had fought when we asked who killed who, but he never actually told us the two fought.

He had no obligation to correct our mistaken assumption.

What!? No fair!

Hahaha. Of course. I am not here to correct your mistaken assumptions or warn you that you are on the wrong track.

A four-story building is approximately fifteen meters tall.

If a man were to jump off such a building, and collide with someone on the ground...

...it's possible that the jumper may live and the man on the ground may not, depending on the point of impact.

Dammit.

I should've realized it was something like that when he said it didn't matter how fast they could run!

Same here. I don't know what I was thinking.

Were you perhaps thinking of humans as though they were Servants?

Guh.

Good point. That IS what the untrained human body is like, isn't it?

You there. You should know better than to apply medieval British conventions to modern times.

Now, we do have more games ahead, so I suggest you chat amongst yourselves while you have the chance.

What we need is creativity.

I agree.

Whatever sort of contest awaits us next, I'm sure we'll need to be able to consider it from many different angles.

Yeah, intuition ain't gonna do us much good here.

I'm sure our common sense will be tested, too. Speaking of which, Paracelsus...

I think I speak for everyone when I say you're our best hope.

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Hmm?

I do feel I know a decent amount when it comes to alchemy, medicine, philosophy, and astronomy...

...but there are plenty of other fields where I am but an amateur.

Even though you're a Caster?

My deepest apologies.

(Ahh, I feel so worthless. If only he had been here instead of me...)

Heh. I don't mean to brag...

...but I struggle with basics like boiling water for tea, and I often forget to eat or sleep.

You're unlikely to find a Servant who would be more helpless when living alone.

(...On second thought, maybe he wouldn't be much help, either...)

So you're basically useless outside your field.

Essentially, yes.

Well damn, at least you're honest!

For the time being, why don't we all note down our own specialties?

It may serve as a useful reference.

I don't know what kinda game we're gonna have to play next, but okay, I'll go first!

Lessee... I'm great in a fight...and at pissing off my old man...

I feel like I'm fairly knowledgeable about Greek mythology, but I also feel like that could become a liability.

Hmm. I suppose I also know a fair amount about theology.

Aside from that... Hmm...

You can't think of anything else?

Now I wish I hadn't devoted my entire life to the pursuit of magecraft...

I was just an executioner, but I consider myself well-versed in health care, too.

You know, that reminds me: the advances that have been made in medical technology today are astounding.

Compared to my era, when we still had little knowledge of infectious disease, the difference is night and day.

Medicine has progressed all throughout human history.

And in modern times especially, knowledge and technology are being shared at unprecedented speed and scale. It's wonderful.

It used to be that medicine was considered magecraft in its own right, and was therefore to be kept secret.

Oh, yes. Now that you mention it

By the way, I know this is blunt, but I have to ask:

Is there any bad blood between you two? Because I'm worried that it may become a problem.

...You don't beat around the bush, do you?

No. That's just how I am.

...I'd be lying if I said there wasn't...

But strangely, in this Singularity, I've felt far calmer than usual.

You too, huh, Arjuna?

It's true. Here, my burning competitive spirit has cooled to a smolder.

That would normally be a bad thing...but in this Singularity, I think it will help.

I agree. That aside...

Go on.

We need to reflect on where we went wrong.

Agreed.

Absolutely.

What is it we were lacking?

I think we were taking things too literally.

With combat, there are inevitable distinctions drawn between friend and foe, and tactics for deceit and surprise attacks.

But this last battlefield required us to think along different lines.

And you and I both tend to be a little impulsive.

Huh?

Oh yes. I know just what you mean.

Wha...?

So, what you're saying is...

...we might be at the greatest disadvantage of all the teams!?

...!!!

I guess this is more of a victory party than a postmortem.

It's not over yet. We still have more games ahead.

That's true. At this point, I'd say Team A is the biggest threat to us.

Not Team B?

Team B would definitely have the edge in combat...

...but if the next game is anything like the last, we have just as much chance of winning as anyone else.

All four of the guys in Team B are expert fighters...

...but that doesn't translate to good lateral thinking in games like Turtle Soup.

What do you think, Sister's Master?

Right?

Well, we should definitely be wary of Paracelsus. Sanson seems like he has a lot of life experience, too.

The snake woman is quick on her feet. And Mordred is...

Mordred is...

...spirited?

Choo!

Was that supposed to be a sneeze?

Piss off!

Huh. Wasn't expecting that.

Well, they are all great heroes. Guys like that tend to pack a punch.

Yeah.

You never know what heroes like that will come up with when they go after you! Though no one beats Sister at being unpredictable...or anything, for that matter!

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How are we doing? Everyone finished with your postmortem discussions?

Then let's move on to the next game. KōnI mean, Michael?

Why don't you explain this one!?

A little warning would have been nice... But okay.

Since our first game focused entirely on the intellect...

...we thought the next one should test your stamina and luck.

This is why we're going to have you play what I like to call "Oni!"

Or, as it's commonly known in Western countries: tag.

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You rang?

You rang?