[Puzzle 007]

[hisapprentice]

Does anybody know a way to make yourself stop missing home so much?

[Gold's message got him thinking about his mom, and everyone else he wishes he could see again.]

Comments

[voice]

[mirrorblade]

I know it's not easy, but you should think about the good things, not the bad ones. Maybe try doing something that makes you happy?

[voice]

[hisapprentice]

I could try.

[Hmm time for some quick thinking.]

How many nines are there from one to one hundred?

[voice]

[mirrorblade]

[...well, that's not a random question or anything! But Claude knows this kid probably needs some cheering up, so he decides to just go with it.]

Um, let's see... [He pauses to think about it. Hmm...] There's ten nines, right?

[voice]

[hisapprentice]

Nope! Try again! It might help to count the numbers with nines out loud.

[voice]

[mirrorblade]

Oh. Okay. [He pauses again, though he doesn't end up counting aloud. If that was wrong, then there has to be something else...] Wait. You mean the number nine by itself, don't you? In that case, there's just one.

[voice]

[hisapprentice]

If I meant how many nines by itself, it wouldn't be a very fun puzzle.

How about writing them down?

[voice]

[mirrorblade]

Oh! I see what I did now. [The feed cuts off for a bit as he turns the page in his journal to scribble them down. After a minute or two, it comes back on for him to add—] There's twenty!

[voice]

[hisapprentice]

You got it!

Did the numbers that start with 9 trip you up?

[voice]

[mirrorblade]

Yep! I completely forgot about them! I can't believe I did that.