The Final Trial

It turned out that Setsuna was a special girl who was born with one attached.

… No, there's also the possibility that Leona further made her misbelieve that. Something like keeping her promise but saying "I only said I'd do something about it, not that I'd return you to normal." That kind of wordplay.

Well, that part's unrelated to me. It's not like I'm bringing Setsuna to bed or anything.

"So, Kehma. What next?"

"We've achieved our mid-goal of having Setsuna smack Leona. Now we just need to entertain Leona a bit more and have her leave."

Alright then, let's entertain Leona a little more and then proceed to the final trial of our Leona expulsion strategy.

 

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The Dragon Pond, a trial of collapsing footholds over a sea of magma. For whatever reason, they'd insisted on using real magma for this one, making it unbearably hot just standing there. Leona and the others easily overcame it and entered the room of the [Final Trial].

The room was pitch black, with only a spotlight illuminating a Golem.

"Now, it's finally time for the final trial. Your score so far is… oh my! A record-breaking 960 points!"

The Golem swung its arms wildly while holding a microphone. Now that they'd finally reached the end, there was a bit of reluctance to let it go, but…

"Hey, Onee-sama. Were there ever any points?"

"I don't think so… And even if they say it's a record, we're supposed to be here testing out this newly made floor, Michiru."

"Honestly. You two, don't sweat the details, okay?"

Setting aside the meaningless score, Leona and the others braced themselves for the final trial.

With a flash, the room lit up and the final trial was revealed.

"The final trial is… a True or False Quiz!"

Ahead, where it narrowed into a passageway, were two gates. Each was blocked by paper doors marked with [O] and [X] respectively.

"If you think the question you hear is correct, jump through the O gate! If you think it's wrong, jump through the X gate!"

"Ooh…! By the way, what happens if you choose the wrong one? Flour? Muddy water?"

"It's a pitfall that leads directly outside the dungeon. The landing is sandy, so you probably won't get hurt. Though it might sting if it gets in your eyes."

Hmm, Leona seemed to be thinking about something. Probably weighing whether to get it right or make things more interesting by getting it wrong.

"And if two out of three of you answer correctly, you'll exceed 1000 points, so as a prize, all you Succubi will receive a one-year supply of your beloved eggplants! Additionally, as a bonus prize, you'll be awarded a giant eggplant cow made of stone!"

They wheeled out a cart carrying an actual cow-sized stone statue designed like the "eggplant with chopsticks stuck in as legs" often seen during Obon festivals. Leona looked utterly repulsed, while the two Succubi were ecstatic.

"Is that an eggplant!?"

"Oh my, that eggplant cow… it's so big."

"By the way, this serves as an eggplant case!"

"" Oooh! ""

When they popped open the small window on the front, there were eggplants inside, and that was simply all there was to it.

"… We have to get this right!"

"… We have to get this wrong…!"

Leona and Suira each clenched their fists.

Then they looked at each other, meeting eyes.

"… Leona-sama. A one-year supply of eggplants is very attractive. Being able to eat eggplants every day would make everyone in Succubus Village so happy."

"Kuh, spare me!"

"Hmm? What's this, a fight? You've all come this far together to the final trial, so cut it out. Or Leona, how about you just set off on your own right now? I'll throw in a free travel set. Even comes with a portable Othello game as a bonus."

"… That doesn't sound bad, actually. Suira. If you two answer correctly, I won't return to the village, you hear? At least not for a year, until all the eggplants are gone!"

"Our journey was to find a peaceful place to live, but if that's how it is, then perhaps this is where we part ways…!"

Lightly provoked by the Golem, Leona enthusiastically fired back tit for tat.

"Well then, I'll put the travel set on the losing side, so use it as you like."

"Huhuhu. So then, what's the question?"

"Right then! Um, due to how the set works, you can only answer once, so all three of you jump simultaneously into whichever gate you think is correct… Here's the question!"

Hurried by Leona, the Golem read the question aloud.

"This dungeon's name is [Cave of Hope]. True… or false!?"

Now answer, the Golem said, stepping out of the way.

… However, all three of them were tilting their heads in unison.

 

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So I'd given them a very simple True or False question, but Suira, Michiru, and even Leona were all tilting their heads.

"… Um. What was the name again?"

"I don't know!"

"Yeah, that's a sneakily difficult question… I think I vaguely remember?"

I'd gone to all the trouble of getting verbal confirmation that Leona could disappear without any problems, and she'd even declared she'd leave on her own. Such favorable conditions, yet they didn't know the correct answer…?

"Hey Kehma. The answer is [X], right?"

"Yeah, it is… Well, of course you'd know, Rokuko, but was it really that hard a question?"

"You'd be surprised how little you think about the name of where you're living unless you actually use it, right? If you're living inside a dungeon, you can get by just fine without knowing the dungeon's name."

Is that how it worked?

But crap. This is bad. What the heck. The success rate of our strategy just plummeted to 50%. I have to do something about this.

"Come to think of it, I did hear it once. This dungeon is… yeah, something-or-other cave. I'm sure of that much."

"I see, so there's a good chance that Cave of Hope is the correct answer!"

"Then I just need to jump into the [O] gate for the eggplants!"

Michiru crouched down as if preparing to sprint. I hurriedly decided to stop her.

 

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The Golem held up its hand to stop Michiru, who was about to dash off.

"Woah there, wait, Michiru. Are you really sure about that?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Are you really going to decide on your answer without hearing the hint?"

"A hint! There's one!? Please tell me!"

"Very well. You two can listen as well—"

With that, the Golem thought for a moment.

"—This cave has various traps installed in it. Among them, the trap that inspired this cave's name is a room where pulling a sword from its pedestal traps you inside. That trap was encountered by a certain pair of adventurers—"

And then, behind the Golem as it spoke, in a spot where the Golem had its back turned and couldn't see, a Clay Golem quietly appeared.

It stood in front of the [X] gate and made an [O] shape with its arms.

Next, it moved to stand in front of the [O] gate and made an [X] shape.

"Hmm? Is there something behind me?"

Following Leona and the others' gazes, the Golem slowly turned around. But the Clay Golem in front of the gates had already hidden itself.

"What, there's nothing there. Now, where was I—"

When the Golem turned its back to the gates again, the Clay Golem reappeared and repeated the same gestures as before, as if to emphasize the point. Then it disappeared for good.

"—and that's what happened. Got it?"

The Golem asked for confirmation.

I see, Leona nodded.

And with that, all three broke into a run. Suira and Michiru jumped into the [X] gate, while Leona jumped into the [O] gate.