Moments later, Frisk shows up once again. I guess it's my turn for a puzzle this time.
"Human! I hope you're ready for—"
"Sans! Where's the puzzle!?"
"It's right there on the ground. Trust me—there's no way she can get past this one."
Frisk walks up carefully, her eyes narrowing as she spots a sheet of paper lying on the snowy ground. She crouches down and picks it up, squinting at the faded letters.
"Monster Kidz Word Search?" she mumbles aloud, tilting her head slightly.
She stares at the paper for a few long seconds, silently scanning the jumble of letters. Then, without saying another word, she gently sets it back down on the snow and simply walks past it, completely uninterested.
Papyrus, who has been watching with growing frustration, isn't amused one bit.
"SANS!! That didn't do anything!" he yells, practically hopping in place.
"Whoops. I knew I should've used today's crossword instead," Sans replies, a little sheepishly.
Papyrus gasps as if he's been personally insulted. "What!? Crossword!?" he says, voice dripping with disbelief. "I can't believe you said that!! In my opinion, junior jumble is easily the hardest puzzle out there."
Sans laughs dryly. "What? Really, dude? That easy-peasy word scramble? That's for baby bones."
"Unbelievable! HUMAN!! Solve this dispute! Which is harder?!"
Frisk, caught awkwardly between their bickering, hesitates for a moment, then shrugs with a small smile. "...Uuumm, probably crosswords."
Papyrus gives an incredulous look. "You two are weird! Crosswords are so easy! It's the same solution every time—I just fill all the boxes with the letter Z because every time I look at a crossword, all I can do is snore! Nyeh heh heh!"
Still mumbling about the injustices of word puzzles, Papyrus strides on ahead, clearly trying to change the subject.
I lean toward Frisk and whisper, "Papyrus finds difficulty in the most interesting places. Yesterday, he got stumped trying to solve the horoscope puzzle."
Frisk chuckles softly and follows after him.
Eventually, she reaches another puzzle. She reads the sign carefully: Turn every X into an O, then press the switch. The first one seems pretty simple—just two X's positioned on opposite sides in the snow. Confidently, she steps forward, making a few quick moves. In no time, she solves it and prepares to move on.
But just as she's about to continue, Papyrus suddenly blocks her path.
"What!? How did you avoid my trap?! And more importantly—is there any left for me!?"
Frisk, realizing he's talking about the frozen spaghetti from earlier, smiles calmly and replies, "I left it."
His eyes light up with surprise and joy. "Really!? Wowie! You resisted the flavor of my home-cooked pasta just so you could share it with me?! Fret not, human! I, Master Chef Papyrus, will make you all the pasta you could ever want! Heh heh heh! Nyeh!"
With a proud strut and an exaggerated bow, he turns and leads her further down the path.
As for me? I'm just watching from the sidelines, quietly observing everything they go through—talking and laughing as they go.
It didn't take long for them to reach the second puzzle. This time, the snow is arranged to resemble Papyrus's own smiling face. She blinks in amusement, then solves it with some difficulty but still manages to finish quickly.
"Good job solving it so quickly," I say, casually stepping beside her again. "You didn't even need my help... which is great. 'Cause I love doing absolutely nothing."
With that, Papyrus marches ahead, eager to prepare more puzzles, more pasta, and more grand proclamations. Frisk follows soon after, ready for whatever comes next.