Chapter 39: In This Case, I Choose 6

The demonstration round of The Breath of Judgment continued.

“Good. Now you may perform two actions. One is ‘Accept’ and the other is ‘Verify.’”

If the testimony is true, accept it.

If it is false, verify it.

“Try making a decision.”

Currently, the top face of the die shows a 6.

And Do has just testified that this event corresponds to the “first perfect number,” meaning the smallest perfect number.

Therefore, the testimony is true.

“Accept.”

Bang!

[Testimony X: “Aaaah! What I saw was the first perfect number!”]

[(Accept)｜××]

Below the statement, among the options “Accept” and “Verify,” a red seal appeared over “Accept,” while “Verify” was crossed out.

“When you accept a testimony, its truthfulness is not revealed. Even if you judge a false testimony as true, the Breath will not judge you.”

That means if I consider a testimony to be true and accept it, I will never know whether I was right or wrong.

And even if I’m wrong, I won’t receive any penalty.

“Now try verifying it.”

A second identical copy of the same statement appeared.

“Verify.”

Bang!

[Testimony X: “Aaaah! What I saw was the first perfect number!”]

[××｜(Verify)]

“Do not hesitate.”

As that solemn sentence descended upon me, I heard a hissing sound coming from the gas mask.

“Mmph…!”

Startled, I immediately held my breath and tried to remove the mask.

Naturally, it was useless.

The mask wouldn’t come off my face.

It was as if it were part of my skin.

“This is still only a demonstration. Nothing that can harm you will happen.”

“Haa… Please warn me before doing things like that.”

Ignoring me, Do continued his explanation.

“On the other hand, when you verify a testimony, its truthfulness is revealed immediately. If you verify a false testimony, nothing happens. But if you verify a true testimony believing it to be false, the Breath will judge you.”

“Will I die instantly if I inhale it?”

“The Breath of Judgment enters one breath at a time. With a single breath, blood will begin pouring from your eyes, nose, and mouth. The more Breath you inhale, the faster and heavier the bleeding will become.”

It seemed to be some kind of poisonous gas that caused hemorrhaging.

Holding my breath probably wouldn’t help.

The mask couldn’t even be removed.

And even if I tried, I would die from suffocation in a little over a minute.

“After about three breaths, the game will end. You may even drown in your own blood before the internal bleeding kills you.”

“Ah.”

That means I can withstand two breaths.

Three, if I’m lucky.

“You truly will make an excellent gambler.”

The corners of all twenty-one eyes curved upward, as though they had read exactly what I was thinking.

“There will be a total of six events. If you manage to solve all six and remain alive for more than six minutes, you win.”

“Don’t I need to correctly determine whether they’re true or false?”

I just have to survive?

It doesn’t matter whether I correctly accepted a truth or correctly verified a lie?

“Is that what you think is important? What truly matters is deciding what to believe and what not to believe.”

Something didn’t add up.

If I accept a testimony—

The event ends regardless of whether it was true or false.

I receive no penalty.

On the other hand, if I verify a testimony…

Nothing happens if it’s false.

But if it turns out to be true, I inhale poisonous gas.

Then…

Wouldn’t it be enough to simply accept everything?

I looked at the gambling die suspiciously.

There was no way he hadn’t realized that.

And there was no way he would offer me such a simple game.

“There is no wager without tricks.”

For some reason, that phrase came back to me.

I had a feeling that winning The Breath of Judgment would not be so easy.

I didn’t know exactly what trick Do intended to use.

But he would probably try to prevent me, somehow, from simply accepting every testimony.

Even so, I didn’t believe my chances of winning were zero.

Because, in theory, every labyrinth problem always has a solution.

Assuming you survive long enough to find it.

“Then let us begin The Breath of Judgment.”

In other words, the fact that Do had proposed this game meant there was a possibility of victory.

And if there was a possibility—

Then I could win.

And if I won…

I could get Jung Jiho out of the labyrinth.

…I could save someone from the labyrinth with my own hands.

“Yes. Let’s begin.”

Clack.

The die rolled and finally stopped.

Top face: 1.

“An event has occurred. I will begin my testimony.”

[Event ① – Statement of 1]

[Testimony A:　　　]

“I saw it clearly!”

The statement continued in the voice of an unknown young man.

“The number of eyes is equal to the floor number where the exit of this labyrinth is located!”

“You cheating bastard.”

At that moment, I realized I was doomed to lose.

***

When someone hits the back of your head hard with a thick book.

Something like that shook my mind.

[Testimony A: “I saw it clearly! The number of eyes is equal to the floor number where the exit of this labyrinth is located!”]

When you receive a hard blow to the back of the neck with a thick book.

Something like that shook my mind.

[Testimony A: “I saw it clearly! The number of eyes is equal to the floor number where the exit of this labyrinth is located!”]

It was a game I was destined to lose.

Because of the nature of labyrinths, which respect “doors,” I assumed the exit was on the first floor.

But an assumption was not a certainty.

And if I could actually confirm it, all the better.

If the labyrinth itself guaranteed it, there could be no more reliable proof.

“This…”

If I wanted to know the truth, I had to verify it.

If I accepted it, I would never know whether it was true or false.

Only by verifying it could I find out.

And of course, if I verified it and it turned out the exit was not on the first floor, then I would be correct and everything would be fine.

But if it really was on the first floor…

Then I would inhale the poisonous gas.

Haa…

A game that could be won simply by accepting all six statements in a row.

And yet, he was using this kind of trick to prevent me from accepting them.

“No way. This is too…”

Unfair.

That word reached the tip of my tongue.

“Then do you think it makes sense to escape this labyrinth simply by winning a single game?”

The die’s voice descended coldly from above.

The enormous pupils embedded in its six faces seemed to be laughing at me.

“It is precisely because it doesn’t make sense that the wager exists.”

That a single game could change a life.

Yes.

That was a wager.

“Asymmetry. Irregularity. Irrationality. That is the essence of gambling. If it made sense, it would be nothing more than a simple transaction.”

I had known that when I accepted.

But even so…

“Decide. Do not believe the time granted to you is infinite.”

I clenched my teeth.

“…Verify.”

Bang!

[Testimony A: “I saw it clearly! The number of eyes is equal to the floor number where the exit of this labyrinth is located!”]

[××｜(Verify)]

No matter how convinced I was that the exit was on the first floor, it was still only an assumption.

And if, by some remote possibility, it wasn’t there…

If I passed by an exit located on another floor…

I might never get out.

No.

Not that.

I don’t want that.

I have to get out.

I…

“Do not hesitate.”

Hissssss—

“Y-You bastard…! Kugh!”

In the end, that metallic liquid burst violently from the depths of my body.

The blood pouring from my nose didn’t even reach my lips before I started coughing blood inside the mask.

The blood I expelled struck the mask and flowed back inside.

“Cough… Ugh…”

My vision blurred.

Drops of blood mixed with tears fell onto my pants.

My whole body trembled.

It felt as though claws were tearing apart my internal organs.

Breathing was difficult.

A salty metallic taste lingered on the tip of my tongue.

“The event has concluded.”

**

Do not doubt. The exit of the labyrinth is on the first floor.

**

Shhhk.

The statement slid aside.

“Ugh…”

And that was after inhaling only a single breath of the Breath of Judgment.

If I was already this bad after one, I felt that after three I wouldn’t die afterward—I would die right then and there.

Did I do something unnecessary?

Wouldn’t it have been enough to simply believe that the labyrinth’s exit was on the first floor…?

No.

No.

I wasn’t wrong.

If, in a labyrinth where you can’t be certain of anything until you’ve seen it with your own eyes, an assumption can become certainty…

And the price is only a cup or two of my blood…

Then it’s a profitable deal, isn’t it?

“It seems the first incident is already weighing on you quite heavily. At this rate, I wonder whether you’ll even manage to solve the remaining five.”

“Shut up…”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a mouth to shut. It would be troublesome if you lost your eyesight so soon.”

“You bastard… not even once… do you ever stay quiet…”

“I dislike losing.”

Clack.

Rrrrk.

The red-eyed die rolled across the table and stopped.

Top face: 6.

“An incident has occurred. I will begin the testimony.”

[Incident ② – Statement for 6]

[Testimony B:　　　]

I looked at the new statement placed before me and nervously waited for the next words.

“Ten years have already passed.”

This time it was the voice of an elderly woman in her seventies.

“The number of corpses you pulled out of the Moon Well was exactly this number, wasn’t it?”

The fist I had clenched began to tremble.

“Violence not explicitly listed in the game’s rules is prohibited.”

Ah.

Ah…

I swear I could never count that number.

A simple six-sided die would never be enough.

“Verify.”

Bang!

[Testimony B: “Ten years have already passed. The number of corpses you pulled out of the Moon Well was exactly this number, wasn’t it?”]

[××｜(Verify)]

“A false testimony stands before your eyes.”

His voice sounded heavy, as though delivering a death sentence.

“The incident has concluded.”

Shhhk.

The statement slid aside once more.

Clack.

Rattle.

The ivory-colored die spun several times in the air, flipped over, and finally came to a stop.

Top face: 4.

“An incident has occurred. I will begin the testimony.”

[Incident ③ – Statement for 4]

[Testimony C:　　　]

“Hey, you know I really thought of you as my own little brother, right?”

“Ah.”

That voice.

Young.

The voice of someone who had once been young.

Someone who was the same age I am now.

“Mom and Dad said the same thing. They said they felt relieved because it was like they’d gained another son.”

“Ah…”

Breathing was difficult.

Grrrk.

Crack.

The mask.

I couldn’t remove the mask.

“So if someone had asked me how many people were in our family before that happened to me, I would have answered with exactly this number.”

Why?

Why does it still hurt this much?

Why?

Why do I still miss him this much?

I thought I had already emptied it all out.

Again and again.

Without stopping.

Until it was completely dry.

“Ugh… ah…”

I looked at the four red dots swaying before me and tried to organize my thoughts.

Right now, this was the third incident.

That meant there were still three remaining.

I had already inhaled the Breath of Judgment once.

If I inhaled it two more times, I would die.

…So.

I can afford to inhale it one more time.

Please.

Just this once.

Just once.

“Verify.”