Book 3: Chapter 81 (1/2)

Lord Briffault grimaced as another portion of the army was swallowed by the ground. The genie floating above them was looking on with a sorrowful face. Perhaps it really was trying to help him with easy questions, but due to his lack of knowledge, he failed his men. “Please,” Lord Briffault said towards the small creature, “give us a proper riddle where we have to think about the answer, not a riddle that tests our knowledge.”

Mervin tilted his head. “Are you sure about that? I can do that if you really want me to.”

“Yes,” Lord Briffault said. With millions of soldiers, it’d be impossible for none of them to figure out a riddle. But questions pertaining to knowledge…, what if the genie asked something beyond mortal understanding? How is a watermelon a vegetable? It’s sweet and juicy! It has seeds! Only an expert in the field of watermelons would’ve been able to answer that question correctly, and none of his men were experts in raising watermelons. “Something that we can figure out if we put in enough time thinking about it.”

“If that’s the case…,” Mervin said and rubbed his chin. “Okay, I thought up an easy one for you.”

Lord Briffault nodded. “Thank you.”

Mervin cleared his throat. “Listen up because I’m only going to say this riddle once: When you pay attention to me, I appear quite slow. When your focus turns away, I may fly over your head. You can find me in the sands. You can find me in the sun and shadows. I don’t have hands, but with hands is how people normally catch me. What am I?”

“Now this is a proper riddle,” Lord Briffault said and smiled. “Let’s work together to figure it out, men. When you think up an answer, tell your squad leader. All the squad leaders will take the most common answer, or any answer that you think may be the right one, and tell me. Then I’ll report it to the genie.”

“Take your time,” Mervin said and sat down in the air with his legs crossed. “There’s no rush.”

After thirty minutes of clamoring and writing down answers in the ground, Lord Briffault stared at the words before his feet. There was no doubt about it. “Genie king, I have the answer.”

Mervin yawned and stood up. He cracked his neck by twisted his head and nodded. “About time,” he said. “It’s really so simple. You didn’t have to spend so long on it, you know?”

“About time indeed,” Lord Briffault said and smiled. “The answer, is time!”

“Hooray!” Mervin shouted and threw his hands into the air. “You did the impossible! You actually got the easiest riddle I had incorrect!”

Lord Briffault’s eyes bulged, nearly falling out of his head. “I-incorrect!? What do you mean incorrect!? When you pay attention to the time, it moves slower! When you don’t pay attention, it flies by. You can count the time as it passes with an hourglass. A sundial uses the sun and shadows to tell the time. But you and I can both agree that the most common way to tell time is with a clock! Time may not have hands, but a clock has a second hand and a minute hand. If time isn’t the answer, then what is it!?”

Mervin crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “A duck.”

“A…, a duck,” Lord Briffault said and lowered his head. “A duck. I see. It’s a duck. Truly, I’ve never once thought a duck was fast. And—”