Request 09: Rhapsody in Blue is the tenth scenario in Flower, Sun, and Rain. It features Sumio Mondo repairing a bike for bike messenger Ken Sakurapee and fixing a problem with the hotel's electrical supply.
Summary[]
Once again Sumio is woken up by Edo Macalister calling him that breakfast is ready. He then proceeds with his usual coffee routine. He thinks about the couple from yesterday, how strong they are and how he wishes them nothing but happiness.
After having his coffee, Sumio heads to the Front Desk hoping to make it in time for breakfast. But Edo tells him off as Sumio has to take care of that bomb. Apparently Edo does not want him to eat breakfast. So he has no other choice to go to the airport with an empty stomach.
He heads out and leaves the hotel grounds. This time the gate is open, so he is able to proceed to the highway. As he arrives he witnesses a truck and a car having an accident blocking the road to the right. He immediately runs towards it to see what happened and says he has to tell someone about it.
As he walks further down the highway at Power Beach, he sees a man sitting next to his bicycle in the middle of the road. He says his bike his busted and asks Sumio to fix it. The man says he's a bike messenger and cannot work without it. He identifies himself as Ken. There is apparently something wrong with the gears. Even though Sumio is not a mechanic he will see what he can do.
With the help of Catherine he jacks into the bike. He remembers that there was an article about Stephan Charboine in the guidebook. He decides to take a closer look and indeed there it says something about gear ratios. Sumio does not fully understand what that means, but he tries applying his new found knowledge to the bike anyway. So if the front gear has 48 teeth and the rear gear has 15 that should make a gear ratio of 3.2...
It worked, the bike is fixed. Ken is happy and would like to take off now, but he still has to wait for Mati Sding, the maid. He says her daily schedule is, after finishing cleaning, she helps at the diner. So does Ken. Sumio proceeds to give him a speech about how important and useful Ken's job is as he let on he was not confident about it. As thanks he wants to treat him at the diner. Sumio decides to go there right away as Ken is insisting on it.
After a rather long walk down the highway Sumio finally arrives. Ken is already waiting for him. He is worried because Mati is still not here. He asks Sumio to look for her at the hotel. Sumio protests as it is quite far, but does it anyway. He also did not get his promised free meal yet...
He tracks back and passes the accident side again. He totally forgot to tell someone about this. He should really do that.
As he arrives at the hotel ground he sees Mati standing outside. As soon as he approaches her to his surprise the sign on top of the hotel starts spinning faster and faster until it comes loose. To his shock it flies towards Mati and him, missing him only by an inch. What was that? Mati fortunately is alright as well but the sign is now separating them both, blocking the path towards the hotel.
Mati tells him she was busy trying to fix the electrical supply of the hotel. Edo apparently thinks that this was the work of terrorists. For Sumio that is certainly an exaggeration.
The problem is supposed to be over on Eleki Island. As always it is Sumio's job to sort that out. To get there he has to go back to the highway again, follow the signs to Power Beach and find the Jetty. There should be a boat getting him to the island.
On his way to Eleki Island he passes the traffic accident again, but as he still forgot to tell someone he is sure it will sort itself out and continues to ignore it.
He finds the boat on the jetty at Power Beach and crosses over. After arriving at Eleki Island he continues to head towards the center. Realizing that he always takes peoples jobs, he tells himself he really is a pushover, Shoutaro Kai was right about that. As he arrives at the power plant huge electric charges are emitted from the pylons in it. That is probably what sent the sign flying.
He continues inside it and sees six electrical pylons there. Each has a number, 1 - 6. A quick look into the guidebook tells him he has to solve an psychological quiz of the Eleking electrical pylons. Each questions seems to have a hint for a number. This is going to take a while.
He starts with the first pylon and jacks Catherine into it. The first psychological questions is:
You arrive in your room in Flower, Sun, and Rain. The beautiful scenery from the window takes your breath away. You see three prominent things around you. Which of these strikes the biggest impressions?
A. 2 brightly colored birds.
B. 5 palm trees growing out in the garden.
C. The hand on the clock, pointing on 7.
This seems easy, thinks Sumio as he puts in the number 257. That did the first electrical pylon is fixed. On to the second one:
Rock, the bartender, has offered to make you a special drink. Here are the three he has offered you. Which do you select?
A. A "Seven Flowers," filled with southern spices.
B. A "Twin Suns," hot and fiery.
C. An "Umbrella," maybe better shared?
This one seems a bit more tricky. A=7 is clear, B=2, because twins, and C should be 1 as it stands alone. Two pylons repaired! On to the third one:
While out on a walk you encounter Ken, the bike messenger. He tells you about his work for today, "I've been busy since this morning. First, I got 8 messages from Edo. 2 were for the diner, where I also picked up 4 more. Then I collected 7 more from the postbox by the Spice Shop. Then I returned to the hotel and gave five 5 messages to Edo. That's where you found me. Oh and here's one for you! So bet you're wondering how many messages I have left, huh?" But who is the message you received from?
A. A male friend.
B. A female friend.
C. Someone above you; a boss or a superior.
In this question the answers can be certainly ignored. Important are the messages Ken has left, let's see:
That's it! Half of the pylons are fixed. Number 4 it is now:
You are taking a stroll along Power Beach at dusk. You want to find a beautiful shell to take back to your partner in a distant homeland. You pick up two shells every three steps, and toss one into the sea every five steps. After walking fifty steps you look down at the collection of shells in your hands. What is the first thing you see?
A. Two broken pink shells.
B. A lovely, whole white shell.
C. A blue stone at your feet.
The answers are again irrelevant for deciphering this question, what seems to be important is the number of shells Sumio has after fifty steps:
Shells picked up:
Shells tossed:
Subtracting the tossed shells from the picked up ones:
Sumio puts this number in and the fourth pylon is fixed. Two to go:
You are eating dinner when Edo comes to ask you a favor. "I'm very sorry, sir/madam, but could you lend me a hand here? Six people have ordered cheesecake but we only have one 20cm diameter cake left. Can you help me work out the exact angle to cut in order to give each person the same size piece?" How do you reply?
A. "Very well," happily agreeing to help.
B. "It's all mine!" and eat the whole cake yourself.
C. "Sounds like too much hassle," and you get up and leave.
Sumio feels called out by this questions as he certainly will pick answer A, but the important answer for solving the cypher is the angle to achieve it. Assuming the cake is round the exact angle for 6 people has to be 60 degrees (360/60) the diameter does not matter at all. He puts the number in and fix the fifth pylon. On to the last one:
Another day on Losspass Island ends, and you are in bed. In order to make the most of tomorrow, you reach out to set the alarm clock by the bed. Rather than using a chime this alarm clock turns on the radio when the set time comes around. In the darkness you are forced to set the clock by touch alone. There are three buttons used to set it. From the left 'Hour', '10 Minutes,' '1 Minute.' It is still set to 7:50 from this morning. You press the left button three times, the middle button four times and the right button twice. When the alarm clock comes on in the morning, what is the first thing you hear?
A. The weather.
B. The latest hit song.
C. The sound of a harp.
Sumio knows directly that the answer to this last cypher must be the time set on the clock. It is easy to deduce this must be 10:32. Sumio fixes the last pylon and the electrical problem seems fixed for good. He thinks this island is bewitching and he is not sure how that makes him feel. He should tell Mati that everything is okay first though.
While he leaves the power plant behind a plane appears flies over the plant and explodes.
A bit later Toriko Kusabi is still looking for Christina at the highway. The pink crocodile is at the sign for Power Beach and Toriko runs into Ken standing next to his bike on the highway. She asks Ken for Chris, but he has not seen her. He says if he spots her he will tell Toriko right away. He then asks where he will be able to find Toriko when he does find Chris. She just gasps...
☆Welcome back.☆Oh, an adventure to Eleki Island!☆You look worn out.☆There's no way to get around on this island aside from running around, after all.☆You'll be running a lot more in upcoming chapters, too!☆Oh, by the way, thosevpylons are called "Elekings."☆It's short for "Electronic Kingdom."☆Not what you where thinking, is it?☆I shall be waiting with a smile at the Front Desk.☆