Chapter 89

“Oops, sorry! You can’t use Truth Touch on your own double! Can’t you even remember that, Miss Real Thing?” “I hate youuuuuu!” “Ha-ha-ha! Okay, see ya in the maze!” The god in Pearl’s body skipped away into the labyrinth, leaving the real Pearl flushed and furious. The Ocean Maze Atlantis, start point F: Confronting the translucent, deep blue wall, Nel (real) crossed her arms. “A race through the labyrinth… It would make sense for an athletic person like me to rush straight for the goal, but if I get there without meeting Master Fay or the others, then the true-false test at the end would be completely down to luck, and that worries me.” At a minimum, she wanted to meet three people. If she could find, say, Fay A, Pearl A, and Leshea A, and figure out whether they were real or not, then by definition she would also know if the B copies were her true companions. “I’m not hitting on any way to figure out if they’re real except using Truth Touch…but can I really trust that? It’s all luck. Unless there’s some other way to tell if—hmm?” Nel’s sharp senses detected footsteps coming her way. “Who’s there?” she demanded. “Hmph! Are you my fake?!” From around the corner appeared Nel herself—the fake one. The moment she saw Nel’s face, she pointed and exclaimed, “Fake?!” “My fake…or should I say Mistress Li’l ’Don?!” “Bingo! But without the truth check, you’d never know!” The god who looked like Nel puffed out her chest proudly. “For I know all about you! Example: I know how discontented you are with the small size of your own chest!” The god pointed straight at Nel, who bent forward as if to hide her bust. “Urgh?! I d-d-do not…” “Ah, but you need not bewail it. For your behind amply compensates! Behold!” Fake Nel stuck out her behind at her real counterpart. “So round and taut! You should put this bum to good use and—” “Don’t do that with my body!” “Haaa-ha-ha-ha! I’ll see you again…in the maze!” As the real Nel stood there blushing furiously, the fake one ran off, cackling. The Ocean Maze Atlantis, start point H: Leshea was trotting down the path into the maze. Every branch was politely marked with coral signs that said WAY FORWARD or WAY BACK, a major clue to the direction of the finish line. “Hmmm… If I want to make it to the goal before those fakes, I just need to follow the WAY FORWARD sign every time. But if I clear the maze too quickly, without seeing anyone else, I’m going to sweat when it comes time to pick the real players. The message seems to be: If you don’t want that, take the “way back” and join up with the others.” First came the “way forward.” Getting a grip on the entire labyrinth had to be the priority. She was hoping she could find a likely place to wait and join up with the rest of the gang, but maybe it was a forlorn hope… That was when Leshea heard light footsteps coming her way. “Hello? Who are you? My double, right?” she asked. Two girls with identical vermilion hair ran smack into each other. Of course, their meeting was intentional on the part of the fake, as the real one quickly understood. “Now, you are… Hmm?” The god in Leshea’s form studied her intently. “Not human. A former god, maybe? Why are you with these mortals?” “Because I wanted to play more games!” “Couldn’t you have done that as a deity?” “I wanted to play even more than I could as a god.” The two girls reached out toward each other at the same instant, as if synchronized. Their fingertips brushed one another’s chests—and at that instant, one of the Lesheas flickered like a mirage and disappeared. Only the true Leshea was left. “Is this that Truth Touch thing? Oh, but you can’t use it on your own double, so I guess Poseidon just ducked out.” Leshea crossed her arms and pondered. “Something about this doesn’t feel right. Truth Touch is definitely an advantage for the real players, but it’s hard to judge the moment to use it.” Deciding she had spent enough time standing with her arms crossed, the real Leshea set off again at a brisk trot. Poseidon was already on the move. If their encounter just now had been a sort of greeting… “Then I think she’ll make her play once three of us are together.”