A timer appeared above the central clock.
The players now had one hour left to find the exit.
Most still hadn't found it — and the number of traps and monsters they had encountered and fought was overwhelming.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Leigh, Lieutenant Ren, and Lieutenant Eisha were still together — and currently the closest group to the exit.
But it wouldn't be easy for them.
On the other side of the maze — not far from Lieutenant Leigh — were Nyssa and... another Leigh.
Wait, wait, wait... Did you read that right?
Yes. There were two Leighs inside the maze now.
But which one of them is the real one?
Further away from both groups, Captain Xu was relaxing... inside a hot spring.
Yes, a hot spring.
Don't even ask why there's one inside a maze.
Outside the maze, the captains were watching the chaos unfold.
Captain Kei was eating ice cream.
Captain Masashi was drinking sake — again.
Lieutenant Arla was trying to figure out which Leigh was the real one.
Captain Zeid sat elegantly, reading a book — glancing only occasionally at the smoke screen.
And lastly, Captain Kaito was preparing food.
Turns out he had already moved from their position and was now inside the beach house. insert haha emoji
"Lieutenant Ren is close to the exit," Captain Masashi said with a smile.
"I have nothing left to say about them. Even after falling into my trap," Captain Kei added with a grin, taking a sip of water. "Oh... wait, Nyssa is near Ren now."
Everyone turned their attention to the screen showing Nyssa and Lieutenant Ren.
"Captain Zeid, you're really not betting on Nyssa?" Captain Masashi asked with a smile.
Captain Zeid didn't even look up from his book.
"Nope."
---
"AAHHHHHH!"
Lieutenant Leigh and I screamed in unison as we suddenly bumped into Lieutenant Ren.
Behind them was a massive rolling ball — likely about to crush them — while behind us were giant monsters chasing our tails.
"Lieutenant!" I shouted, looking to our right.
"We've gotta run this way!" I yelled and bolted ahead — but not before grabbing Lieutenant Leigh's arm.
Lieutenant Ren followed us.
Soon, we were far ahead, hearing only echoing sounds behind us — probably from where we came. Just hearing those noises told me the giant ball had crushed the monsters chasing us.
We were all gasping for breath. Some sat down, others leaned against the wall.
"I thought I was gonna die from running," Eisha huffed.
"Wait, Leigh... Why..."
Lieutenant Ren looked between the Leigh next to me and the one beside her.
"Leigh number two?!" she exclaimed, pointing at the Leigh beside me.
Eisha and I furrowed our brows and looked at the two Leighs now with us.
"Oh oh…" I muttered and stepped back.
"I'm the original Leigh!" they both said at the same time, then stared at each other.
"Haaa? Who are you calling ugly, huh?" one of them snapped.
"If you can call someone ugly, you obviously don't look like me. I'm the original, so shut it," the other Leigh retorted.
An argument instantly broke out between the two Leighs.
We quickly pulled the three of them aside to talk.
"I seriously can't tell which Leigh is the real one," Eisha said.
"You mean the original?" Lieutenant Ren clarified, nodding.
"Okay, let's settle this. Leigh number one is the one with you guys, and Leigh number two is with me," I suggested. They both nodded.
"Anything strange about Leigh number one?" I asked.
They exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"All of Leigh's behavior is just an act. I have no doubts," Eisha said, touching her chin.
"Really? I can't tell which Leigh is with me either. We haven't spent much time together. Since Leigh and I are similar, I can't tell if she's lying or not," I explained.
"Hmm…"
We all fell silent, thinking.
This was going to be tough.
Honestly, Leigh had changed a bit recently — even Captain Xu had too. But they weren't turning evil or anything. It's just that, for example, if they used to be quiet, now they were loud. People change.
"You've known Leigh since the old days. You probably know how she behaves and how she's changed," I said.
They all frowned.
"You say 'old days' like we're ancient," Eisha said, pretending to be offended.
"How old are you now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
She looked up, thinking.
"Umm... about 350 years..." she said — before Lieutenant Ren smacked her head and looked at me.
"She's 150. But I stopped counting properly. Anyway, I have a plan," she said.
"What was that for?!" Eisha complained, frowning.
We ignored her as Lieutenant Ren continued explaining her idea. In the end, we all nodded and faced off.
"Okay, to avoid fighting each other, we need a test. Maybe one of you is an imposter — but you won't know all of Leigh's preferences, habits, or everything about her. So we're having a Q&A session," Lieutenant Ren said with a grin.
The two Leighs looked like they were about to start wrestling each other — ready to pounce at any moment. But we grabbed their clothes and pulled them back to their original spots.
"We didn't say anything about starting a judo match. We said Q&A," Eisha said, groaning.
"Tch!"
Lieutenant Ren began explaining the test. In the end, we all agreed and stood facing each other.
"Okay, since you're tied, we'll need a special question — only Leigh herself would know the answer. Yay!" Eisha said cheerfully, waving her hand. Why did she sound so excited?
"What kind of question is that?" Leigh number two asked seriously.
"Be ready!" Eisha said energetically.
"We've been ready this whole time!" the two Leighs replied in unison, annoyed.
"I'll—" Eisha cut off Lieutenant Ren by putting a finger to her lips.
"Shhh... I'll ask the question, Lieutenant Ren," she said with a wink and looked at the two Leighs.
"When other clans were still hostile toward each other — about 50 years ago... who was..."
"Hurry up!"
"Oh my god, they're so excited," Eisha teased.
"Eisha, speed it up. We don't have much time," said Lieutenant Ren.
"Okay... Who's the Captain that Leigh has a huge crush on? And why?"
Ohhhh… interesting.
I smirked too.
Leigh number one immediately turned red.
Looks like I already knew who the real one was.
"Leigh number one, do you know the answer?" I asked.
"WHY IS THAT THE QUESTION?!" she exclaimed, panicked.
"Just answer," we said.
She hesitated for a long time.
I gripped my spear tightly — the same one I'd been holding all this time.
"One!"
"C-Captain M-Masashi!" Leigh number one blurted out, covering her face with her hands. "B-Because Captain Masashi saved me back then, even though our clans were enemies at the time." She explained, embarrassed.
I smiled — I was kinda swooning inside haha!
Eisha and I exchanged glances. She pointed her katana at Leigh number two.
"Sorry, Leigh number two," said Lieutenant Ren.
Leigh number two smiled too.
"Well, you guys are fun to be with... so I'll let it slide." She winked and then vanished like a bubble.
"Captain Masashi, huh…" I muttered.
"Nyssa!"
"I'm kidding," I said, looking up.
Only 30 minutes left…