He definitely didn’t like me remembering Kaoru’s name.
Reo scribbled something.
Moving his hand from my back, Kenji put on a forced calm expression, but I could still feel the Dragon simmering angrily beneath. “You don’t need to know their names at this time.”
“Okay.”
“Are you ready for your test?”
My mouth went dry. “Yes.”
The faintest curve touched his mouth. “Each man will say three statements about himself. Two statements will be true. One statement will be a lie.”
“And I have to spot the lie?”
“Correct.”
“Any other rules?”
“You may ask them one question for each of the three sentences they say. Obviously, you can’t ask them about which statement they are lying about.”
“Got it. So. . .one question per statement?”
He nodded. “No more than one for each statement, so choose carefully.”
“So. . .I can ask three questions per man?”
“Yes.”
“And their answers to my questions. . .are they obligated to tell the truth?”
“Yes. They will answer your questions truthfully.”
Reo’s pen paused over his notebook as if he’d been expecting my barrage. The corner of his mouth tipped up.
Kenji didn’t look at him; he watched only me.
Three statements. One lie. Two truths.
I eyed Kenji. “Time limit?”
Reo’s voice slid in, smooth. “You have two minutes with each man. That's total. If you waste it on your first question, the clock won’t forgive you.”
“Alright.” I put my view back on Kenji. “Can I ask the same question to more than one man?”
“You may.”
“Can I ask a trick question? Something that corners him? Or is that considered out of bounds?”
Reo clicked his pen once, clearly amused. “You can be as clever as you like. However, remain focused. You are testing their truthfulness.”
Aww. So you want to see if I can quickly tell when a person is lying without much information or conversation. Why?
Now I was getting why Kenji brought extra men in. He knew I could already catch him in a lie so there would be no reason for him to be the test.
However, three men I didn’t know. . .that would be a good gauge of my skills.
This wasn’t just going to be a test of lies either, it would be a duel.
