Not a detective

Page 174

The third time, Mo Yue saw it very clearly: the large coin fell very slowly, so its trajectory was not difficult to see.

It clearly landed face-up in the Zashiki-warashi's hand!

However, when she turned her palm over, the coin turned tails, just like a magic trick, thus declaring Asakawa Riku's defeat.

—It's obvious that the Zashiki-warashi cheated; those yokai really did conspire together.

But didn't she say that "the referee is fair and cannot interfere with or affect the coin toss"? Could this be a lie?

No… Shinonome Suetsuki reacted quickly; she immediately thought of another possibility.

If, as Riku Asakawa said, Zashiki-warashi are rule-bound yokai who must be bound by rules and cannot easily lie, then this statement is very likely true.

But in this world, "truth" can also be used as "lie," and if you think about it carefully, you can find the loopholes.

"The referee was indeed fair; she did not interfere with or affect the coin."

Within seconds, Mo Yue came to a conclusion: "But it didn't say that the opponent in the game cannot interfere with the coin... It didn't prohibit the opponent from cheating!"

As an opponent, Hannya is not bound by this rule. Hannya is a yokai skilled in possession, manipulation, and influence. If she wanted, she could subtly interfere with a coin by manipulating two drops of water in the air, turning it over. For example, after Asakawa Riku says "heads," she could secretly turn the coin in the Zashiki-warashi's hand to achieve the effect of cheating.

Asakawa Riku cannot see the monster, nor can he see this secret action, so he is unaware of her cheating and can only feel that he is unlucky.

Mo Yue was a little anxious, but she couldn't say it out loud because the rules stipulated that she couldn't interfere with the game's progress.

...It was decided in advance by Zashiki-warashi. It seems she had anticipated this situation. What a cunning yokai.

Now it seems that it's impossible for Zashiki-warashi to be completely unaware of Hannya secretly manipulating the coin in her hand; her tacit approval of this cheating behavior is tantamount to collusion.

Such tacit approval does not violate the referee's principles, since she herself did not cheat. This is a roundabout way of circumventing the rules, and it seems that this person is a repeat offender.

But the more Moyue thought about it and saw, the more regretful she became.

She regretted not having foreseen this, wishing she really had some kind of "Rinnegan" so she could have prevented the cheating from happening.

He was extremely anxious as he watched Asakawa Riku bet his life on something he didn't understand, only to find it was an unfair battle.

"The result of the fourth round was..."

"Let me think about it again."

Asakawa Riku fell silent. It seemed that the three consecutive failures had not been entirely without impact on his mentality.

At least the initial confidence and determination have vanished, and the longer one thinks, the more uncertainties arise.

No matter how he thinks, the monsters will adjust the result to be completely opposite, and he will lose whether he is "positive" or "negative"!

Dongyun Sueyue knew that as the only one who knew the truth, she could no longer remain silent and had to take action.

However, you only get one chance.

Even if their cheating is exposed, the Zashiki-warashi will never admit that they are in cahoots. Without evidence, there is no point in exposing them.

You need to think carefully about what you're going to say before you open your mouth!

Asakawa Rikuo slightly opened his mouth, just as he was about to announce the result.

Mo Yue suddenly grabbed him from behind and shouted two words:

"Kawa Asa...!"

“Bystanders who interfere with the game, they will be punished and expelled from the game area.”

The Zashiki-warashi sneered and instantly seized her moment of weakness, announcing at high speed.

Then, before Moyue could utter a single word after that title, she was blasted away by an invisible force, falling off the rooftop and disappearing without a trace.

Zashiki-warashi no Aki: Chapter Fifty-Six: Cipher

"The last month—!"

Asakawa Riku chased after him to the railing and shouted.

He saw the detective's figure shrink into a tiny piece, thrown from heaven onto the campus, leaving a bloody, mangled mess.

Of course, Mo Yue's resurrection ability is still effective, and you can see that group of flesh and blood slowly coming together, restoring their human form.

Although it doesn't have the same high-speed healing ability as the [Nirvana One], and is a bit slower, it shouldn't be a big problem. However, the anger it brought to Asakawa Riku was genuine.

He slowly turned to this side and said to the empty rooftop:

"Zashiki-warashi, no matter if you're a god or not, let me tell you, you're doomed."

"Serves you right! Serves you right! Serves you right!"

Prajna also smiled sinisterly, seemingly gloating over Moyue's departure.

Neither of these two monsters can escape.

"Take care of yourself first before you talk about anything else."

The Zashiki-warashi was not intimidated by Asakawa Riku's murderous intent, but maintained a cold and mocking tone: "Now, if you fail again, you will never be able to stand up again."

She was right; the golden halo surrounding Asakawa Riku had vanished, and that sacred aura was gone.

The power of the [Nirvana One] is indeed strong, but it can only be maintained when Shinonome Suetsuki is by his side. Once the two are separated for too long, it cannot continue.

Zashiki-warashi had already spotted this opportunity, and the moment Suetsuki opened his mouth, he used the excuse of "breaking the rules" to expel him.

...Now, Asakawa Riku doesn't have countless lives left. Killing him one more time will end it all!

However, now that there is no one to relay the message, Asakawa Riku has lost his channel of communication, so the Zashiki-warashi is not interested in saying much and is just waiting for him to give his answer.

Whether it's the front or the back.

Both were game-winning shots.

"and many more."

At this moment, Hannya suddenly said that she was using the yokai's exclusive channel and whispered to the Zashiki-warashi, even though Asakawa Riku couldn't hear her no matter what.

"I want to flip the coin over so it's heads."

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

The Zashiki-warashi said impatiently, "He hasn't said it yet. Is it impossible for him to say 'positive' four times in a row? Even if he is, it's not too late to change the result after he says it."

Yes, Shinonome Suetsuki's guess was correct; the two youkai had been conspiring to cheat.

"I'm certain he'll choose the opposite this time."

Prajna smiled mysteriously: "Because only I understand Asakawa-kun's heart, I can't be wrong, believe me."

Tell me why, or there's no point in talking.

The Zashiki-warashi was completely unmoved by her act and said coldly.

"Alright." Prajna had no choice but to give in. She paused for a moment before saying, "Do you remember the two words that woman said before you threw her out?"

“‘Kawa-Asa’, I remember his surname should be Asakawa. Did he mispronounce it in the heat of the moment, or is it some kind of code?”

The zashiki-warashi frowned.

Prajna nodded: "Yes. Because Miss usually has a habit of calling people by the wrong name, this code is not obvious and is well hidden. But I know that 'Chuanqian' was just how Miss called him at the beginning. Now she has changed to calling him by his name directly, 'Lu'... How shameless. In short, this abrupt address is very unnatural."

"Asakawa...Asakawa Asaka."

The Zashiki-warashi raised her hand and glanced at the coin on the back of her hand: "It's the opposite, [reverse]."

Since Asakawa Riku couldn't see the actions, she had even stopped bothering to pretend that she was cheating.

"Yes, it's insidious, isn't it?"

Prajna smiled. The coin had indeed landed tails on the back of her hand. It seemed that Shinonome Suetsuki had seen it at that moment and wanted to remind Asakawa Riku in this way.

To reduce the code to two words or less, to a simple title, is truly impressive. Unfortunately, Xingyu has the corresponding information in her memories, and the code has already been seen through.

However, instead of immediately flipping the coin, the Zashiki-warashi calmly suggested another possibility:

"But it's also possible that they discussed it beforehand. When they say this code, it means 'the opposite of the opposite.' When we flip it over to heads, it might be exactly what they planned, and they might guess that it's heads. If you only deduce from the literal meaning of the code, you can't determine the real meaning or know which layer is the truth."

Yes, once you enter the psychological game, it becomes a multi-layered cake with endless nesting and reversals.

In the end, it always comes back to the situation where "I thought one step ahead of you," and this can happen whether it's a positive or negative outcome.

Prajna seemed to have already thought of this answer, and once again her smile stretched from ear to ear:

"Don't worry... I've already thought of a plan. No matter which side he chooses, it's a sure-fire way to win."

...

"Answer me! How long are you going to drag this out? Are you going to wait for that woman to come back? Give me the result, is it positive or negative?"

After correcting the coin toss result, Hannya impatiently yelled at Asakawa Riku, urging him to make a choice immediately.

Asakawa Riku opened his eyes after a long period of silence and immediately gave his firm answer:

I choose the middle option.

"What……!"

Prajna's eyes widened, her body seemingly frozen in place: "What...did you say..."

"The middle, which is the situation where the coin is standing upright, is neither heads nor tails, it's the middle."

Asakawa Riku answered calmly, as if he had already witnessed the outcome.

"How could this be... How could you... No... It can't be real!"

Prajna shouted in a panic, losing her confidence. Asakawa Riku's answer was completely beyond her expectations.

"It's very simple. You must think that Sueki's call of 'Kawasaki' is a 'negative' hint, right? Actually, that's not true. Sueki did mispronounce many people's names, most of which were randomly cobbled together new names, such as 'Kato' becoming 'Kondo,' which are completely unrelated. But there are only two names that she didn't actually mispronounce."

Asakawa Riku approached step by step: "One is my name, changing from 'Asakawa' to 'Kawasaki,' a reversal. The other is your name."

“She didn’t actually mispronounce the name when she changed it from ‘Hoshimi Koha’ to ‘Hoshiha’, omitting the middle part. Only these two names remain. She just changed the order.”

"You should understand now. When she used that title, she wasn't implying anything to me, but to you. Because you are not Xingyu herself, you are Hannya, the possessed demon. You don't know that you have the medicine bottle and notebook on you, and you don't know Xingyu's feelings. So, blinded by jealousy, you can only see my situation, but you can't see the care and friendship that Miss has for you. You've forgotten that she is also very important to you, and you've forgotten the meaning of that title itself, which is to imply the absence in the middle, the absence in your heart."

"When she called out the name 'Kawasaki,' the coin probably wasn't standing upright yet. This means she had foreseen everything. She's amazing; she expressed everything with just two words, even anticipating that you would change your mind at the last minute. This shows she knows you well enough. People blinded by jealousy can't see all of this. Hannya, you've lost."

------

It won't get stuck here; I'll add another chapter later.

Zashiki-warashi no Aki: Chapter 57 The Fist of Imagination

"I didn't lose...!!"

Prajna screamed sharply, reaching out her hand. It wasn't over yet; they could simply change the coin's position now!

She manipulated the moisture in the air, condensing it into water droplets. The coin was indeed standing upright, but it could be easily knocked over before it was lifted!

No matter which side it was, Asakawa Riku guessed the middle, and he was wrong!

However, at that moment, Prajna's expression and movements froze simultaneously.

Her body seemed to convulse and tremble uncontrollably, the moisture in the air seemed to be out of her control, and her entire expression began to become disordered.

……hateful!

Could it be a backlash from Hoshimi Kohane's consciousness?! This has never happened before! What on earth is going on?!

How can someone who's been possessed still possess their own consciousness?! Could it be that those words just now awakened her?!

How could something like this possibly happen?!

In that instant, while Prajna was still struggling and writhing, Asakawa Riku had already raised the upright coin high and ruthlessly announced:

"It's the middle, I won."

The Zashiki-warashi's expression was also stiff, and the words involuntarily escaped its lips:

"Asakawa Riku, victory! You have gained the absolute ability to expel possessed monsters."

The next instant, Asakawa Riku dropped the coin and slapped forward with his palm.

The palm struck Xingyu's chest directly, and an invisible yet immense force forced the demon form of Hannya out of the girl's body!

The venomous demon was blasted out of Xingyu's body in terror, unable to resist at all, and flew several meters away.

"You...you guy!"

Enraged, Prajna floated in the air, baring her teeth and claws as she shouted, "So what if I've been banished! I won't die from it! Don't be so smug! Even if I can't possess this guy, I can possess other girls. There must be other girls who are in love with you! That detective is pretty good, right? I'll possess them one by one, tormenting you until you die, and see if you can save them one by one! Anyway, you have no inspiration, so you can't do anything to me, hahahahaha!!"