Chapter 105 : 1st and 2nd Place - 3
Chapter 105: 1st and 2nd Place - 3
I nodded.
“Yeah. Anyway, we talked about that briefly during the quest.”
“I agree. But we need to prepare thoroughly, so I think it’s best to head to Deut Territory first. We have the teleportation bead anyway.”
“That’s true.”
I asked to be transported to Deut Territory.
“Alright. See you next time.”
Soon my vision began to blur.
Along with the grateful farewells of the twenty-four ordinary participants, the Diary Book’s voice echoed.
[You safely passed the Seventh Quest ‘Bungee Jump’.]
[The records during the Seventh Quest ‘Bungee Jump’ have been changed.]
[Future Diary entries were partially revised due to the changes in the records.]
[The Diary Book’s ‘Shop lv.5’ function is being upgraded.]
[You achieved the Hidden Quest: Armelia’s survival. You receive 100 points as a reward.]
[You achieved the Hidden Quest: Aina’s survival. You receive 100 points as a reward.]
[You achieved the Hidden Quest: Berseum’s survival. You receive 100 points as a reward.]
[You achieved the Hidden Quest: Sienne’s survival. You receive 100 points as a reward.]
[You achieved the Hidden Quest: Benjamin’s survival. You receive 100 points as a reward.]
[You rescued 24 ordinary participants. You receive 24 points as a reward.]
[Current points: 1,282]
Among the ingredients Magireta prepared, there were many fresh fruits.
Karin picked an apple from the bunch and took a bite.
Crunch.
As she swallowed the sweet juice and enjoyed the moment, Magireta spoke to her.
“It’s over.”
“You made me wait ridiculously long.”
“I couldn’t help it. There were still teams that hadn’t finished.”
“I spent quite a bit of time flying through the sky too, you know. A team that finished even later than me?”
“It’s your little brother’s team.”
Just as she brought the apple back to her mouth, she froze.
“That Mason guy or whatever?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m asking just to be sure…….”
“You know how ‘just to be sure’ always gets people in trouble? Your brother took first place in this game.”
Thud. Roll.
The apple slipped from her foot and rolled away.
“Why? How? By what means?”
“All three of those are the same question. Pick one.”
“Shut up. How the hell did he beat my score!”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Ugh, seriously, this is annoying.”
Last time, Edgar took it from her.
This time, Mason took it.
‘I lost twice. And to the exact types of guys I hate the most!’
Karin trembled with anger and spoke.
“Where is that bastard Mason right now?”
“I won’t tell you that either.”
“Fine. Then send me to wherever Mason is. After the game ends, you always send us once to the place we want, right?”
“You want to go to Mason? Not Edgar?”
Magireta tilted her head.
“Last time, you said you’d personally beat Edgar up.”
“Of course I will. But Mason comes first.”
“Why?”
“During the first-come game, I didn’t actually give my all. I believed I could get first place easily even with moderate effort.”
“…….”
“But this quest, I really did my best. I seriously worked hard. Yet I still didn’t get first.”
So Mason annoyed her and felt even more hateful.
Magireta still thought Karin’s logic was impossible to follow.
She let out a small laugh and asked:
“So you’re going to kill your little brother?”
“I’ll decide after I meet him.”
“Hm. Alright. I’ll send you. Sounds fun.”
Magireta was about to snap her fingers.
But before that, she realized something and asked:
“By the way, do you even know what your little brother looks like?”
“Of course not.”
“Then even if I send you near him, how will you find him?”
At that, Karin scoffed.
Silently, she raised her palm upward.
Soon, something appeared out of the empty air.
A small object, shaped like a tiny doll that could fit on her palm.
It couldn’t be called a living creature, but it took on the form of one.
She stroked it affectionately and said:
“Don’t worry. These little ones will find him for me.”
After returning to Deut Territory, I immediately spoke to my companions.
“We can’t afford to relax just because we returned from the quest.”
Last time, the Doppelgänger Sudden Quest happened on the same day we came back.
Clearing one hurdle didn’t mean we were given time to breathe.
My companions understood at once.
Berseum opened his mouth.
“I will protect all of you. I’ll make sure no one can invade this house at any time of the year.”
He then flashed a refreshingly confident smile.
He had always been so robust that his age felt questionable, but after gaining the ability ‘Infinite Power’, he seemed even more vigorous.
Sienne smiled softly and said:
“It’s like you’ve gotten ten years younger, Mr. Berseum.”
“Then I’d be about your age, wouldn’t I?”
“What?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“……Never mind.”
After that, Berseum said he would also use detection magic to sense suspicious movements.
He declared that it was truly astonishing that he could now cast two spells simultaneously without limit, but of course, none of us understood.
Naturally, because Berseum would fall asleep due to the rebound, the rest of us decided to take turns guarding him.
After roughly setting the plan, I called for the Diary Book.
‘Diary Book.’
[Yes.]
‘Find me some information in the Encyclopedia about this person named Karin Oblang.’
I planned to make contact with Karin before the next quest began.
Anyone with such a strange ability to freely fly through the sky was definitely someone I needed to recruit.
And even if I failed to recruit her, at the very least, I shouldn’t turn her into an enemy.
But the Diary Book returned an unfortunate answer.
[It can’t search.]
‘Huh? Why?’
[It seems that’s not her real name. As I explained at the start, the Encyclopedia can’t search unless it’s a real name.]
Ah.
The real name mentioned here referred to the name given at birth, at the moment of receiving one’s life.
‘Then what’s Karin’s real name?’
[I’m not sure.]
‘Search using the Searching function.’
[Hmm……. It doesn’t exist.]
I felt slightly discouraged.
Did the version of me in the Future Diary perhaps have very little interaction with Karin?
I really wanted to avoid meeting her blindly with no information at all.
Based on the communication I’d had earlier through Mr. Jones, she seemed to have quite a formidable personality.
“Mason?”
“Oh, yes. Your Highness.”
“I just felt like calling you. It suddenly got too quiet.”
Aina quickly cut in.
“He must be trying to read the future again.”
“I haven’t looked at the future yet. I’ll look now.”
“Haah. It scares me how I’m getting used to conversations like this.”
I let out a small laugh and spoke to the Diary Book.
‘Show me the last page, like always.’
[Understood.]
Let’s see.
Before the Bungee Jump quest, my last page had been February 6th of Year 325.
Because Edgar had stolen first place from me and dragged me into hell.
Originally, the last page had been January 10th of Year 327.
[Opening the last page.]
[Points consumed: 50]
[Remaining points: 1,232]
Now, shall I check…… if I returned to January 10th of Year 327?
<February 9th, 325
There was nothing particularly noteworthy today.
It has been three days since Karin joined. She blended into our party better than I expected.
Compared to the noisy encounter we had on the first day, it was great progress.
Anyway, it was a rare, trouble-free day.
May tomorrow be the same as today.>
…….
This was the last page?
“Why? Why?”
“Huh? What are you saying?”
“Oh, nothing. I got a little excited.”
“That’s how you look.”
“Whew. Just wait a moment. Let me organize my thoughts and I’ll explain.”
Receiving the worried, uneasy gazes of my companions, I spoke to the Diary Book.
‘What is this supposed to mean?’
[What do you mean?]
‘If February 9th is the last page, doesn’t that mean my life doesn’t include February 10th?’
[That would be the case.]
A calm answer, as always.
But paradoxically, it helped me regain my composure.
I calmed my mind and thought it through carefully.
Today was the night of February 6th.
Practically speaking, it was already the 7th, meaning I had three days left to live.
No, no.
There was something far more important.
‘Why is the last page written like that?’
[…….]
‘It wasn’t always the case, but generally, the last page of the Future Diary contained hints about the next course of action.’
The me inside the Future Diary recorded, at the final moment, “when everything first went wrong.”
If I had been writing the diary myself, I would have done the same.
So typically, the last page contained information helpful for the next step.
But this time, there was no such hint.
Only a statement that the day had been peaceful.
‘Why was the version of me in the Future Diary talking so carefreely this time?’
[Think calmly. If it’s you, Mason, you would know the reason.]
Following the Diary Book’s advice, I calmed myself again.
I thought I had already calmed down, but apparently not.
Soon, my mind began functioning normally again, and I found the answer myself.
—Death.
That’s it.
‘I died without even having the time to write in the diary.’
Until now, the only reason I could fill the last pages with long, detailed explanations was because Magireta had given me enough time to do so.
As a form of mercy on the final journey.
But the crisis that struck on the 10th had given me no time—not even enough to write a diary entry—before I met my end.
‘And it also means I couldn’t foresee even a shred of what would happen.’
[That seems to be the case.]
‘Can the current me figure it out? What will happen on the 10th?’
[You must figure it out. Otherwise, you won’t survive, Mason.]
It wouldn’t be just me.
I might not be the only one who died on the 10th.
I took a deep breath and shared what I had just discovered with my companions.
At once, everyone’s complexion turned pale.
Those who had been sitting somewhat casually now straightened their backs.
Benjamin spoke first.
“Our future ends in four days…… or rather, in about three, considering the time. To think we only have that much time left.”
“We don’t know whether all of us die or only I do. Still, it’s safer to assume the worst—that all of us are in danger.”
“And the reason is unknown, correct?”
“Yes.”
“How unfortunate. This is the first time something like this has happened.”
Armelia nodded and added to his words.
“To think we finished the Bungee Jump quest in first place, only for it to extend our lives by merely three days.”
“There’s no need to think only pessimistically. At the very least, we know now that ‘we die in three days.’”
“…….”
“It’s better than being clueless and getting caught off guard.”
“Hehe. Hearing it put that way does make it sound different.”
At Armelia’s light laugh, the tension eased slightly.
In that moment, I spoke to the Diary Book again.
‘Let’s see the rest of the pages as well.’
[What?]
‘The entries for the 7th and 8th.’
Those were the only Future Diary pages left for me anyway.
There might be a hint between those days.
Honestly, the odds were low…….
‘But right now, I have to cling to even a straw.’