I'd call that a checkmate.
Seeing Ayou's face turn ashen at One-Eyed Scrooge's question, while he struggled to get a single word out, Fu Qian secretly applauded.
Anyone with a nose could tell what the strange smell in the air was, yet Scrooge had gone and asked that anyway. The malice was plain as day.
Of course, given that there were four other people awake besides Scrooge, Fu Qian suspected he might have woken up earlier than he let on, judging by how precisely he'd struck his target.
Ayou's face was this bad because he'd probably realized it, too.
"Scrooge, aren't you a little too full of energy? You've even got time to bicker with Charlotte over here."
Seeing how tense the atmosphere had become, Ess broke the stalemate, resting one hand against her forehead with an exasperated look.
"Don't tell me you were slacking off in there on purpose?"
"You give me too much credit."
The subject had finally changed, but as Scrooge spoke, he continued to look at Ayou, whose real name was Charlotte, with a faint smile.
"I've always known my limits. I was mainly just a little afraid it would hurt."
It seemed most of the puzzles weren't very pleasant.
Forced to watch a bit of court intrigue, Fu Qian finally gleaned some useful information from that remark.
At the same time, he heard metal strike the ground.
The Saint who'd been resting had walked over and crouched beside the unfortunate teammate to examine him.
As he studied the man's features, now peaceful once more, the wings on his staff spun far faster than before. A few seconds later, he shook his head at Ess and the others.
"We've lost him. He made too many mistakes in the Holy Grail's puzzle."
"What a pity."
Ess said