My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

Moving on to the next stall with the Arctic fox as a grand prize, the game turned out to be one I could never lose in a million years.

"All I have to do is guess how many balls are in each jar, right?"

In front of me was a table with three glass jars of varying sizes. They all contained a differing amount of small, multicoloured balls in them.

"Yep! These are the three jars, and if you can guess within 10% of the real number for all three, you get the fox!"

"Are those the rules?"

"Sure are!"

Hearing the rather simple explanation, I pointed at the first jar.

"3,302 balls."

"I-It's quite specific. Are you sure?"

Glancing once at the nervous face of the stall owner who appeared to only be in his late 20s, I pointed to the next two jars.

"1,111 balls. 2,050 balls. Final answer."

As the words exited my mouth, I witnessed all colour drain from the man's face.

"S-sir, is it possible that you--"

"Was I close?"

"..."

I looked at him with a blank expression. If he didn't want people to cheat, then he should have stated as much when detailing the rules.

If not for me, then whoever possesses the Measurement to 'measure the number of objects in a container' could have come along and claimed the prize. Going further, someone who could measure the weight of objects could have won with some calculations.

In any case, I would have thought that a rule stating 'No Measurements' would be standard practice for games like this, but perhaps the man simply forgot to state it as presented by his embarrassment.

"...No, you did indeed guess all of them exactly correctly... Here is your prize..."

Despondent, he retrieved the giant Arctic fox plush and gave it to me. He seemed to feel a little better after watching me give it to Sona, however, who received it with the same sweet smile as her sister.

Turning my head, I saw Emir playing at another nearby game stall where a white owl was the main prize. Just behind him, Selina watched with heightened anticipation.

"Oh...!"

Immersed, she covered her mouth so as to not inadvertently exclaim. It only appeared to be a game where the contestant wore a blindfold and had to pin a red bauble on a large printout of a cartoon reindeer, but she was quite engrossed as a spectator.

I surmised the current situation arose as a result of Selina voicing her desire for the owl plush. Emir being Emir, it wasn't difficult to imagine him confidently volunteering to win her the prize.

"There... Did I get it...? ...I got it!"

The spot he needed to pin the bauble on to win the owl was only in the range of millimetres, but somehow, he managed to do it.

I envisioned a few ways he could have used the Absolute Contract to cheat a win, but knowing Emir's disposition, he would never agree to do something like that.

"H-here... You said you wanted it..."

Collecting the massive fluffy owl and handing it to Selina with a face flushed as red as the bauble he just pinned on the reindeer's nose, it was clear as day what was running through his mind at the moment.

"For me...? Ar- Are you sure...?"

Her mouth was visibly trembling as she asked, most likely to disguise the rising emotions of jubilation in her heart.

Obviously, Emir nodded, and as he did so, Selina's radiant emotions simply couldn't be contained.

"I-I don't know what to say... Thank you very much...!"

Expressing her gratitude with what could possibly be the brightest smile in the world, she squeezed him tightly in a three-way hug with the plush. Emir didn't seem to know how to react to the sudden move, so his arms flailed in the air for a second before uneasily settling on her back and patting it.

"Aw, those kids... It's been what, two months? And they're already like that."

Smirking, Sophie stepped up beside me. Then, the corners of her lips rose as she asked.

"By the way, where's mine?"

Immediately, I foresaw where this was going.

"Your what?"

She folded her arms.

"My huge-ass plushie. Where is it?"

"How should I know?"

"I'm askin' you cause you know."

"Isn't it your fault if you lose something?"

"I didn't lose anythin'."

"Then I don't see the problem?"

"The problem is, everyone's gettin' a plushie 'cept me."

"I bought you one last week."

"Buyin' me one and winnin' me one from a game stall like this is different. Also, these are bigger."

"Don't be greedy."

"Don't call me greedy, you bastard."

"I'm just calling it how it is. Why should you get two?"

"Cause I deserve it?"

"You deserve nothing."

"Listen, is it such a big deal to just get me one?"

We bickered, but I quickly realised she wouldn't let me get away without getting her a large prize plushie like the others.

You weren't allowed to win the grand prize from the same stall more than once, so I went over to the next one that seemed easy enough.

It was a standard sort of lottery game where you had to pick a small label out of a large sack full of them; whatever you pulled, you won. Naturally, there were a large number of blank labels and labels with lesser prizes.

Well, it wasn't difficult for me to win. Paying a small participation fee, I stuck my hand in and grabbed the first label I touched.

Then, I merely asked.

What prize is this label for?

「No prize」

I immediately let go of that label and dug my hand deeper into the sack, where I clutched another label.

What prize is this label for?

「Bag of confectionary」

Releasing that label, I continued to dig around and search until I found the label for the grand prize I was looking for.

The stall owner looked at me strangely when I was standing there with my hand in the bag for a few minutes and questioned me, extremely sceptical when the first label I pulled out after all that time was the winning prize, but he couldn't prove that I cheated in any way, so I claimed the prize fairly easily.

"Here. Are you satisfied now?"

"Hmhm~ Thanks, Ciphy~"

Grinning cheekily as she took the Harp seal plush in her arms and hugged it, I turned my head and checked the time.

We had been in the Market for a relatively short while, and there were a few things the others seemed eager to do, so we made a move on.

Starting by purchasing mouthwatering crêpes for everyone except myself, I was not surprised to see all of Sana, Sona, Selina and even Emir's reaction to the simultaneously sweet and savoury food matching that of Sophie's own opinion.

Well, it didn't matter to me that I was the only one with a different preference.

Then, we walked over to the giant Ferris wheel that seemed exceedingly popular during this time.

Passing straight to the front of the hour-long queue, I showed the employees our VIP pass and so we were allowed on the very next go, disgruntling those who could see us from the queue whilst waiting.

The Ferris wheel was incredibly large, especially from up close, and thus the carriages were proportionally-sized, built to support and carry entire families.

Thud-!

The door closed on us as the six of us took our seats in the carriage. Tensions were high between the kids who had all never had such an experience before.

"Eek...!"

Thus, when the cabin jolted and began to move upwards, there were naturally such reactions.

Although I and the twins had indeed travelled to Auriga for the Fighting Festival at the start of August, Auriga is a country sharing a land border with Ain, so we took a train to get there.

So, the only experience they had with being in the air was whenever they used their own telekinesis.

Our cabin rose higher and higher.

The kids stared with wonder at the outer world as we became able to gaze from above.

Tilting their heads down, the entire fairground could be seen; blurry lights of all warm colours, festive decorations, and the joyful masses walking around on the ground, appearing like nothing more than ants from so far up.

Flipping their sights, an entirely different, yet equally fascinating spectacle was present.

Although the benighted winter sky would have been thought to be akin to an abyss, the countless celestial figures sprinkled throughout and the magical glimpses of other solar systems could be viewed.

There was a quiet, low murmuring sound coming from the distant crowds below, but that was all.

In this place, oh so high in the sky, there was a kind of silence like no other.

And then.

Dong~! Dong~! Dong~!

Bells tolled, and a short series of deep ringing resounded. They ended before long, but another sound entered our ears just after that.

"What's that...? Oh, are they singing?"

Selina asked as she watched a spot on the ground where there was a stage with a choir that began to sing hymns.

This forced me to recall the fact that Christmas was initially intended to be a religious event; something I had learnt after brief inquiries with the Measurement of Truth in my childhood because I was curious about its origins.

Of course, I was not religious, so I could not empathise with the feelings of those who gave their whole heart to a being who could not be confirmed to exist. I merely think it irrational, but to each their own I suppose.

Suddenly, I had a consideration.

There was a time, not that long ago in fact, when I thought I would be able to answer the question of "Is there a God?" with utmost confidence.

I had no reason to doubt myself or my capabilities, after all...

However, I feel that my stance on the matter has changed, and rightfully so.

Forbidden Knowledge.

If there was but one question in this world to which the answer would be considered 'Forbidden Knowledge', I have no doubt in my mind that would be the question.

'Is there a God?'

I may have been able to answer that question in the past.

I do not know whether or not that is the case.

What's certain, though, is that I cannot answer that question right now. For better or for worse.

Although in the past I was unaware of the existence of Forbidden Knowledge as it is, I always knew that some things were better off simply not knowing, hence the saying 'ignorance is bliss'; a proverb I favour very much.

That's why I never tried to ask such a question before.

However, now... I am uncertain.

Have I truly never asked that question before?

It is very possible that the question I answered during my escape was such a question. No, it should be expected.

After all, human curiosity is such a thing.

The supposition of a higher power's existence, like a deity or some other divine godhead; an idol, creator, whatever you wish to call it.

Marcus Lynton said it himself.

'A certain question, one we had been anticipating from the very beginning.'

Slowly, my conjecture, which was nothing more than pure speculation based on gut feeling and the few pieces of the puzzle I had, came to a single conclusion.

I wasn't certain, of course, but I had a hunch.

Something humanity would have wanted an answer to the most.

Something that would undoubtedly be considered Forbidden Knowledge.

Something that would compel me to 'oppose the world' if I knew about it.

And then, the time I felt like I was being watched, but when nothing was there.

My premonition.

Unjustifiable suspicion―That was all it amounted to in the end. Even still, my intuition told me my feelings weren't wrong.

No, wouldn't you be able to call it evidence?

Even if it wasn't sufficient, it is all still corroboration that points to one thing.

I hated to ask.

Really.

I despised having to ask a question I knew I would not receive the answer to, but...

"..."

...Could God... be real?