The quiz tournament pushed forward. We were past the halfway mark now, with fifteen questions down. The categories were well-conceived and incredibly broad; every time an answer was revealed, I found myself nodding in realization. It was genuinely engaging.
In the Human Realm category, a question about the Hydra Kingdom popped up. It served as a bit of a promotional plug for the country, focusing on its tourist destinations. The correct answer was the private beach I had visited with my lovers, but the other options included various Hydra tourist spots I’d never even heard of. It made me want to travel there someday.
So far, I was on a roll with a perfect score. I had managed to think my way through everything except the high-difficulty questions, and even for those, I had narrowed the choices down to minimize the need for pure luck. All in all, I was doing great.
While a perfect run would be ideal, the high-difficulty questions were truly brutal. I wondered how much longer my luck would hold.
"Next up is... Otherworld Category 4," Fate announced.
"Right, right. Here is your question," Shaltan said. "The fruit known as 'Ripple' in Trinia goes by what name in the otherworld? 1: Apple, 2: Dragon Fruit, 3: Lycopene, 4: Durian."
Questions related to the otherworld were usually a breeze for us otherworlders, but looking around the venue, I noticed far more people struggling with this than with the previous questions.
Regarding this particular question, quite a few people likely knew that the name "Ripple" hadn't been localized into an otherworld term, but when asked what it was actually called in our world, I suspected very few knew the correct answer.
However, the options were designed so that if you guessed it sounded similar or started with the same "Ri" sound, you could narrow it down. Alice had clearly put a lot of thought into the balance of the choices.
"Time’s up! The correct answer is Number 1: Apple. Most ingredients had their names changed to match otherworld terms to prevent the Hero-roles from getting confused. However, 'Ripple' was left as is because it's used in specific regional festivals and because there are certain races in the Demon Realm who worship Ripple trees as sacred."
"Ah, I think I’ve heard of that," Fate chimed in. "Wasn't it a race living in the desert? They have a 'Miracle Oasis' where Ripples grow, and they treat the whole place as a sanctuary."
"Exactly. They are a race called the Fernat, also known as the People of Illusion. Actually, there's one in this very venue. Frau-san, the assistant to Akane-san who participated in the hidden talent show earlier, is a Fernat. She likely eats a Ripple on a specific day every year, following her tribe's traditions."
Now that she mentioned it, I remembered Lilia-san wondering if Frau-san was from a desert tribe back during the Maid Olympia. Lilia-san hadn't known the specifics at the time, but apparently, the race was called the Fernat. Alice's supplementary commentary was making this a very educational and entertaining experience.
"Now then, let's move on."
"Okay... Oh, it's High Difficulty 1."
"Ah, it’s finally here," Shaltan said, her tone shifting. "Personally, as the creator of this quiz, I consider this to be the hardest question of all. It’s incredibly difficult. Honestly, if I were asked this without knowing the answer beforehand, even I might get it wrong."
"What?! A level where even Shaltan might mess up? I mean, it’s still multiple choice, so you have a one-in-four chance of guessing right, I guess..."
Wait a minute. If Alice thought she might get it wrong, the difficulty must be off the charts. The high-difficulty questions so far had been legitimate head-scratchers, but it sounded like I was finally about to face a question where I would have to leave it entirely to fate.
"This question is in a slightly different format, so please look at the large monitors on the stage. We will display four photos numbered one through four, captured with a recording magic tool. Please select your answer based on those images."
"I see. A visual round! You're really mixing things up, aren't you?"
A "pick the panel" style question, then? If it was as hard as she claimed, maybe it was identifying a specific location from a tiny, zoomed-in detail?
As I pondered this, the monitor on stage flickered to life... showing four close-up photos of Shiro-san’s face.
"Here is your question: Which of these is a smiling Shallow Vernal-sama? You have three minutes to answer."
"Th-thank goodness..." Fate whispered, looking genuinely shaken. "I am so, so glad I'm not playing this game. Shaltan wasn't kidding; this is insane. The difficulty is astronomical... If I were playing and I got this wrong, the mental blow—the self-loathing—would be enough to crush me."
"You can hop in just for this one, if you want?"
"No! Absolutely not!! If I failed, I wouldn't be able to pull myself together for the rest of the tournament. I mean, look at them... look at the other Gods and Oli-bin. They're desperate. Their eyes are practically bloodshot. I can feel it. They know this is an impossibly hard question, but they can't afford to get it wrong, so they're thinking with everything they've got."
Following Fate-san’s gaze, I looked over at Chronoa-san and Life-san. They looked positively ghastly—burning with a terrifying resolve to scan those photos for even a microscopic hint of a clue.
The atmosphere in the venue was a strange mix of excitement and dread over this unprecedented challenge. However... since the answer was "ridiculously easy" for me, I couldn't quite share in the tension. I had already submitted my answer the second the question was finished.
Serious-senpai: "As usual, our protagonist exudes a strong-character vibe in the most baffling situations."
???: "Well, Kaito-san is truly the undisputed world champion at reading Shallow Vernal-sama’s expressions. Even when Kaito-san’s monologues describe Shiro-san as 'looking happy,' to any outside observer, her face hasn't changed in the slightest."