The quiz was surprisingly well-constructed. It demanded a wide range of knowledge, and I liked how different guests could find specific categories where they excelled. An-san, for instance, probably found that earlier tricky question about the Cruel race to be a total gift.
"All right, next up is... Human Realm, Envelope Number 5!"
"Continuing with the Human Realm, it looks like we've hit every category at least once," Shaltan added. "To make sure no nation feels left out, we have five types of Human Realm questions: those concerning the Three Kingdoms, those about the Friendly Cities, and finally, questions about Kaito-san's own house."
Apparently, my home was now a trivia subject. I should have been able to answer those without any trouble... right? Then again, if they asked me something like the exact number of hidden rooms in the mansion, I honestly wouldn't have a clue.
"Here is the question! From the following options, please select the one that does not currently exist within the boundaries of Kaito-san's property. Please note that Lilia-san's manor grounds are not considered part of Kaito-san's house for this question; we are strictly referring to Kaito-san's personal grounds. Furthermore, items stored inside Kaito-san's Magic Box or located in subspaces are excluded. Focus only on what is physically present on the property at this very moment. Your choices are: 1. The World Tree, 2. Tea Trees, 3. The Stone Spa, 4. The Bar. You have three minutes."
I winced. This was a total trap. Almost everyone knew the World Tree was in my yard, and since my black tea brand was well-known, most people would assume the tea trees were there as well. That was the lure.
The correct answer was 2. The tea trees certainly used to be in my backyard, but if the condition was "currently," the answer changed. Shortly after Canaris arrived, she had moved the tea trees, cacao trees, and the rest into a separate dimension she created. All that remained on my property was the entrance to that space. Since subspaces and Magic Boxes were explicitly excluded, the tea trees were no longer technically on my grounds.
As for the other options, the stone spa was part of the relaxation room, and the bar was in the basement.
"...And time's up! The correct answer was Number 2, the Tea Tree. Since the trees exist in a separate dimension created by Canaris-san, they do not count as being on the property under the condition that subspaces are excluded."
"That was a total trick question," Fate-san grumbled. "Though, the moment Shaltan went out of her way to specify that Magic Boxes and subspaces didn't count, we probably should have suspected the tea trees. They're the only things on the list that could feasibly fit in a Magic Box."
Fate-san was right; the mention of the Magic Box was likely a subtle hint. Compared to a whole spa or a bar, the tea trees were the only things with even a remote chance of being stored away. Of course, you couldn't actually grow tea in a Magic Box since time stayed frozen inside... though I supposed the Black Tea Trees I received from Shiro-san might count. But even then, those were "Black Tea Trees," not "Tea Trees."
"Well, five questions down, and we still have quite a few people with perfect scores!"
"Oh, impressive! I guess those who know, really know. In that case, let's move on to the next one... High-difficulty Question, Envelope Number 2!"
"Oho, another high-difficulty one," Shaltan said, her voice brimming with mischief. "Here is the question. The Nagelist world rankings are updated once every six months. In the rankings released during the official announcement on the 30th day of the Month of Earth, which of the following athletes was not ranked within the Top 100? 1. Purple Strong, 2. Maria of the Far End, 3. Lia Maid Wing, 4. Grand Bull. As always, you have three minutes."
"Wait, that's impossible!" Fate-san cried out. "I've never heard of any of these people!"
"Well, the players in this bracket are all in the lower tiers of the ranking. Even dedicated WANAGE fans might not keep track of the bottom of the list, making this a truly difficult question. All of these athletes have been in the Top 100 at least once, but you must choose the one who was unranked in this year's Month of Earth release."
The difficulty spike was brutal. However, even this wasn't completely unsolvable. I remembered the names Purple Strong and Maria of the Far End—they had competed in the WANAGE Night Game I went to see with Fia-sensei.
It was possible the other two had been there as well, but I didn't recall them. I also couldn't remember their exact ranks from that night, but I did have a vague memory of Fia-sensei mentioning that Maria of the Far End was one of the higher-ranked players in that specific game, second only to Baby Castella Mask.
I wasn't certain, but I decided to rule out the two names I recognized and went with my gut. I picked Number 4.
"...The correct answer is Number 4, Grand Bull! For those interested, Purple Strong is ranked 85th, Maria of the Far End is 75th, and Lia Maid Wing is 97th. Incidentally, Grand Bull was ranked 98th in the previous announcement during last year's Month of Heavens, but he fell out of the list this time, while Lia Maid Wing took a spot."
"Wow, that really was tough," Fate-san admitted. "I wonder if any WANAGE fanatics actually knew that? It's a popular sport, so maybe a few people kept track."
I had managed to get it right again, partly through luck, but these high-difficulty questions were getting ridiculous. If I just guessed blindly, my Luck Correction would probably force me to the right answer anyway, so I felt like I had to at least try to deduce the answer using whatever fragments of information I had. I’d narrowed it down to two before the final guess, so I felt like I’d earned the "Safe" status for that round.
Serious-senpai: "Alice acts like she's being merciless with these high-difficulty questions, but she's actually tailoring them to ensure Kaito has enough information to make an educated guess. I bet there isn't a single question in this quiz that Kaito hasn't received a hint for at some point in the past."
???: "That makes sense. It’s a brilliant way for Alice-chan to keep Kaito-san from just winning through blind luck."
Serious-senpai: "I suspect she's actually rigging the game to favor him just enough that it isn't obvious..."
???: "Truly impressive! Her countermeasures against his luck are flawless!"
Serious-senpai: "............"