“Wow, this is why we need a magician in our group.”
Raffaelo said with a playful tone.
“But Raffaelo, you are a magician too. Actually, it’s not so much about having a magician but rather someone who is good at math and logic.”
“Uh, it’s basically the same.”
Anyway, I started to explain.
“First, let’s assume A is telling the truth. If that’s the case, B must be lying, which means A is telling the truth. C is lying, which means B is telling the truth. This contradicts our assumption that only one person is telling the truth.”
“Hmm, I understand that.”
“Second, let’s assume B is telling the truth. Then A is a liar, which makes A the thief. B is telling the truth that A is lying. C is lying, which means B is also telling the truth, and D is lying, so B didn’t steal.”
“Oh, this fits perfectly.”
“Yes, that’s correct. The thief is A!”
To be thorough, I decided to check the scenarios where C and D were telling the truth.
“If C is telling the truth, A and B must be liars. But if B is lying, that means A is telling the truth, which is a contradiction.”
Finally, Simone explained D.
“If D is telling the truth, A and B are liars, which for the same reasons, is a contradiction.”
“Yes, that’s correct. So, the answer is A!”
After finishing the explanation, Raffaelo applauded us.
“I don’t think I could solve a similar problem if it comes up again, but that was a brilliant explanation.”
“Does that mean you didn’t understand my explanation? Darn it, my reputation as a top instructor is at stake…”
“What are you talking about?”
Anyway, we entered A in the input field. With a click, the box opened.
“There’s a letter inside!”
[Oh, you all can solving this quiz, was it mainly thanks to Ghieuspe?
Or maybe Seraphina, who likes philosophy, solved it because it’s a logic problem!
I’m heading to the Trevelora region! I hope we can meet there!
By the way, Seraphina, I’m spending your money very well :)]
“Aagh, that damned Aurora!”
Anger flared up in me instantly.
Behind me, as I huffed and puffed, Arkhangelo posed a question.
“Why on earth is Aurora telling us her destination? I thought she wanted to run away.”
“Indeed, that part puzzles me too.”
“Could it be that she is deliberately giving us hints to mock us?”
“That makes sense too.”
Knowing Aurora as I do, that was entirely possible. It didn’t seem like she had any deep thoughts behind her actions.
In the end, we agreed to head to Trevelora and made our way to the train station.
Fortunately, there was a direct train to Trevelora.
As I looked out the window from a similar compartment as before, Raffaelo spoke up first.
“Seraphina, have you ever been to Trevelora?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“It’s quite a beautiful place. I think you’ll like it.”
“Have you been there before?”
“Of course, I’ve traveled all around the kingdom of Boleno.”
Raffaelo had a rather joyful look as he reminisced.
“It feels good, like I’m returning to my youth!”
“You’re still young now.”
Anyone older would be upset to hearing that.
“Well, my father keeps nagging me to get married, and in social circles, I’m not exactly considered young anymore.”
“That’s just because people in this country get married too early.”
“Right, in the Cassan Empire, they say I’m not even at the age to marry yet.”
After some small talk, I suddenly got curious and asked Raffaelo.
“Then why aren’t you getting married? I mean, do you have a girlfriend?”
In the original story, he was obsessively in love with Aurora, so it made sense that he wasn’t married. In this country, unless there’s a special reason, people get engaged and married to the partner their parents choose for them.
But to my question, Arkhangelo sneered and said.
“Ha, do you know how many women have fallen for that guy?”
“Really?”
“Haven’t you heard the rumors? In social circles, he has been with countless women.”
“Haha…”
I could only give an awkward laugh. After all, I have no memory of Seraphina’s social life, so I couldn’t relate to the gossip.
“Well, you were more interested in Princess Eva than men, so you might not know. Anyway, he met every woman he wanted.”
“He started new romances without a break, and the ladies he previously dated ended up resenting Raffaelo.”
“It was incredible.”
“Look, even Ghieuspe is saying the same thing!”
“It wasn’t that extreme, you fools.”
Raffaelo scratched his head awkwardly but didn’t particularly deny their words.
So, according to them, Raffaelo had quite a colorful past. He could easily seduce any woman he wanted.
Indeed, Raffaelo had an impressive appearance. Even if he looked slightly fierce, he would have smiled in front of the women he was trying to seduce.
With a playful smile, Raffaelo would have looked quite attractive. His well-built body from his military duties added to his charm.
More than anything, to the young noble ladies, his background of deviating from the predetermined path of his family to become an army major must have seemed attractive as well.
“Raffaelo, you were really something.”
“No, they are exaggerating.”
“Don’t believe it. The only female friend he has left is Aurora because he seduced all the others.”
“My goodness, a Casanova indeed.”
“Oh, come on, I’m not like that!”
The atmosphere became lighter as they teased Raffaelo, allowing me to relax a bit about Simone.
Since there was nothing I could do immediately about Simone, I decided to think about it later.
“But didn’t Aurora fall for you?”
“Are you crazy? Why would I seduce Aurora?”
“She’s pretty.”
“Hey, I at least judge people by their personality. Aurora is a maniac I can’t handle, and she has no interest in dating me.”
“Well, I agree that Aurora is not an ordinary person. She seems to have powers greater than a magician.”
“I agree; her ability to annoy us is extraordinary.”
“I acknowledge that.”
Listening to even Ghieuspe say that, I suddenly had a question. If there was anyone who might know the answer, it would be Ghieuspe.
“Ghieuspe, why are spatial mages so rare?”
I had just succeeded in my first attempt at spatial magic, and my father suddenly praised me immensely for being a rare spatial mage. It was still bewildering to me.
Honestly, it felt a bit like this:¹
“Whoa, that guy drank <water>!”
“What? He drank water and didn’t die?”
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
Yeah, it felt exactly like that.
So, I was curious why spatial magic had to be considered so special.
When I asked the question, Ghieuspe started explaining slowly. It was rare for him to speak in such long sentences.
“The greatest forms of magic are considered to be time and space.”
“Oh, I can somewhat understand that…”
“But time magic doesn’t exist.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s beyond human reach.”
“Hm, that makes sense too.”
Magic in this world isn’t all-powerful.
For instance, a water mage can gather moisture from the surroundings to create water, but they can’t create water out of nothing. Similarly, no mage can conjure food from nothing.
In other words, the magic in this world is ultimately a crystallization of mathematics and science.
“Since time magic doesn’t exist, spatial magic is considered the greatest.”
“Well, I get what you’re saying. Are spatial mages really that rare?”
“There isn’t one in the Magic Tower.”
“How many mages are there?”
“More than a hundred.”
“There aren’t as many mages in this country as I thought. Spatial mages are rare, but it seems that mages, in general, are rare too.”
Then I remembered something and spoke.
“But if time is beyond human reach… could time magic become possible with more research?”
In my previous world, there had already been some research on time, like Einstein’s theory of relativity.
So, could time magic become possible in the future?
Ghieuspe pondered deeply and then nodded.
“It might be possible in the future.”
🍓 :
¹ Describe a surprising and impressive event where someone drank water, which was presumably dangerous or deadly, and still can survived. The same expression of shock that Seraphina’s father or others had when there were mages who could use spatial magic.
