Chapter 106 : Joining - 1
Chapter 106: Joining - 1
[Understood.]
[Accessing the diary entries for February 7th and 8th.]
[Point cost: 100]
[Remaining points: 1,132]
<Year 325, February 7th
Around 10 a.m.
Karin Oblang came to find our party.
To be exact, she attacked us.
In truth, at first we didn’t even realize it was an attack.
Hard to believe, but to write it exactly as it was, only Berseum’s house was struck by a storm.
A storm that surged at just this house and nowhere else.
The roof flew off, the windows shattered, and the furniture was smashed to pieces.
Berseum said this phenomenon wasn’t magic.
And because it wasn’t magic, we couldn’t block it.
Sure enough, the defensive spell my brother cast didn’t work in the slightest.
Whether it was misfortune or luck, the storm didn’t take our lives. No, we didn’t even feel any wind.
It was as if the wind intentionally passed us by entirely.
While we blankly stared at the house that had been blown apart like that,
Karin appeared.
She revealed that she was the one who brought about this destruction and said this.
-You saw for yourself just now that you can’t block my attack. You understand who stands above whom, don’t you?
-…….
-Now. Then will you answer my questions.
Aina bristled and tried to jump at her, but I stopped her.
Then I politely suggested we move elsewhere.
Because the sight of a whole house being blown apart in broad daylight had drawn a crowd.
Once we slipped away from the attention and booked an inn, Karin asked,
-You were first place in the Bungee Jump Quest, right? How did you do it?
I answered truthfully, intending to draw her into our side.
Karin seemed honestly surprised, and then eventually said,
-Can I sleep here tonight? No, I want to. I’ll go get a room.
-What are you talking about?
-I want to hear more. I think I was really in the dark about the Quest.
That day, I explained the Quest to Karin until late at night.
After hearing about the path we had taken, Karin didn’t hide her amazement.
She was someone whose thoughts showed plainly on her face.
It had started pretty rough, but maybe she might actually get along well with our party.
Of course, Berseum didn’t forget to say one thing.
-I’ll be billing you for repairs to my house.>
<Year 325, February 8th
Maybe because our bedtime was too late yesterday.
We overslept.
We gathered in one place to have something between breakfast and lunch.
When Berseum actually calculated the repair costs and formally billed her, Karin handed over every single pouch of gold she had received so far as survival reward from the Quests.
-I don’t need this much. I don’t even know how much change I should give back.
-No. I still feel sorry.
-If you’re sorry, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place.
-Honestly, I thought it’d turn into a life-or-death duel……. I didn’t think you people would be this reasonable.
While the two of them kept trading and returning the gold pouches back and forth,
Magireta suddenly appeared.
Her visits were always sudden, so that alone wasn’t surprising.
What was surprising was her demeanor.
Magireta simply stared at us in silence, with a deeply troubled expression.
Even when I asked what was wrong, she didn’t answer.
She just let out heavy sighs several times, then turned around and left.
What on earth was that.>
Ah.
It felt like I had grasped a clue.
“February 7th, meaning tomorrow, Karin will come to find us.”
Berseum stroked his mustache as he replied.
“You mean the one who flew through the sky freely. I’m already worried sick knowing we have only three days of lifespan left. Quite the headache.”
“No. I think she actually gets along with us better than expected. We argue a bit at first, but everything settles with nothing more serious than Brother’s house being destroyed.”
“I see. That’s a reli— hmm? What about my house?”
“But the truly important one is February 8th. That day, Magireta comes.”
Armelia pressed her forehead.
“Why would that demon come again.”
“No idea. And the fact that we don’t know is the problem.”
I told them that Magireta had simply stared at us and sighed before leaving.
Since it was behavior unthinkable for the usual Magireta, everyone tilted their heads.
‘The me in the future diary must have brushed it off lightly.’
Back then, I probably couldn’t imagine I would die on February 10th.
But the me now knew I would die on February 10th.
Which was why I had realized I needed to dig into Magireta’s strange behavior on February 8th.
It struck me anew—this must be the difference between knowing the future and not knowing it.
“Magireta must have been trying to tell us something. She was probably trying to warn us that danger was coming.”
“But you said she didn’t say anything and just left.”
“She must have had a reason she couldn’t speak.”
And if there was anything that could force Magireta into silence……
“The Hidden Rule.”
“Yes. I think one of the Hidden Rule entries prevented her from speaking.”
“…….”
“We uncover that rule, and get Magireta to tell us the details of the threat. That’s our way to survive.”
Everyone swallowed hard.
Sienne carefully asked,
“Do you have any guesses? About what the threat might be.”
“At this point, none at all……. I’ll think on it more.”
“Ah, yes. Me too.”
“For now, let’s stop here. It’s late.”
Then Aina opened her mouth.
“Aren’t you being too calm? You said you—or we—die in three days.”
“Panicking won’t change anything.”
“Sometimes I think your nerves are thicker than Her Highness the Princess’s waist.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“……What did you just say?”
In any case, everyone accepted that no matter how much we racked our brains together, no solution would magically appear.
The party dispersed with a slightly somber mood.
That night.
As I had requested earlier, the Diary Book recited the names of those added to or removed from the administrator page.
The current total population became 199.
I recited the names of the eliminated participants and held a brief moment of silence.
Then I buried my head in the pillow and kept thinking until my mind twisted itself into knots.
And the result?
‘I have absolutely no idea.’
What would happen on February 10th.
What Magireta had tried to warn us about on February 8th.
I truly couldn’t guess even a little.
If there was only one suspicious person, it was still that bastard Edgar Tyler…….
‘But even if it’s Edgar, could he really wipe out our entire party at once?’
Maybe in the past, but now three members of the group had already taken Awakening Pills.
Not to mention, Brother’s infinite-power defensive magic shouldn’t ever break.
Besides, Edgar had targeted us countless times already, and not once had Magireta warned us beforehand.
‘Then what is it. Seriously.’
As I tossed in bed, the Diary Book spoke up.
[Let’s sleep a little, Mason.]
‘You sleep?’
[It’s just an expression.]
‘You’re awfully carefree. I might die in three days.’
[That’s how much I trust you, Mason. I’m sure you’ll overcome this crisis too.]
I pressed my lips shut.
What baseless confidence.
I was about to retort—
Then I realized a small smile had formed on my lips.
…….
I really was helpless.
That same night.
Edgar and Louis lay together on a single bed, whispering this and that to each other.
To anyone else looking, it would have seemed exactly like lovers exchanging sweet pillow talk.
“This Bungee Jump Quest was pretty boring, wasn’t it?”
“Well. I was satisfied just knowing you were safe.”
“Thank you. You really are a wonderful wife.”
“Hmph.”
“Anyway…….”
Edgar’s voice grew stiff.
“Mason was first place again.”
As soon as the Bungee Jump Quest ended, Edgar had asked Magireta.
Was Mason first place?
Naturally, Magireta said she couldn’t answer.
So Edgar made this request:
-Please move Louis and me to a location 100 kilometers away from Mason Gear.
-100 kilometers? Why that far?
-I’m not trying to meet him. I just want to know whether he was first place or not.
-……?
-If the place you send us turns out to be hell, that means Mason didn’t win. But if we end up in the living world, then it means he did.
Magireta praised the idea as clever.
Then she transported the two of them to a point 100 kilometers away from Mason.
It was an ordinary provincial city on the continent.
‘Huh. So he somehow managed to take first place again, Mason.’
The fact that this wasn’t hell meant Mason had survived.
Edgar felt considerably disheartened.
While he was reminiscing about that moment,
Louis suddenly stroked his cheek and spoke.
“Should I ask Lady Magireta? Which game the shoes-related Quest appears in.”
“Louis.”
“I—It’s not like I’m doing it for you. I’m just a little curious myself……”
“Are you going to wager your height again?”
“What else do I have to offer?”
“Hm. Let’s postpone that for later.”
You are mine. So your height is also mine.
‘Why is she trying to bet someone else’s height…’
Edgar swallowed that thought.
Louis looked a little moved.
“Thanks for worrying about me.”
“As your husband, it’s natural.”
“Ugh. Honestly.”
“But Louis.”
Edgar changed the topic.
Because he had an idea flash through his mind earlier.
“What is hell like?”
“Huh? Why are you suddenly asking……”
“I was thinking—do we really need to confront Mason head-on? Especially when that freakish blood of his and that Replication Sack are such a terrible match for us.”
“Well, yeah. I know better than anyone, since I suffered from it.”
“So I was thinking—what if we bring powerful monsters from hell and unleash them in front of Mason’s group? Wild beasts take care of him for us. We reap the benefits without lifting a finger.”
Louis didn’t show it, but she was impressed.
Despite having crawled up from hell herself, she had never thought of such an idea.
After a moment of thought, she said,
“But even hell’s monsters probably couldn’t beat him. And there’s no guarantee they’d listen to us.”
“Isn’t there at least one unusually strong one?”
“There is. But I’ve never met it myself, only heard of it.”
“That’s enough. Please tell me.”
Louis then raised four fingers.
“According to rumors among monsters…….”
“What? Monsters communicate with each other?”
“Of course. The ones you saw during the Frozen Season were just trash we use as firewood. Among higher-rank monsters, there are plenty with real intelligence and strategy.”
“I see. Please continue.”
“Yeah. Rumor says there are four monsters that divide and rule hell.”
Edgar found something odd in her words.
‘Rule hell?’
Wasn’t hell Magireta’s home?
If there was already a rightful owner, was “rule” the right expression?
Or perhaps they were beings Magireta entrusted with its governance as representatives.
“Three of them—I don’t know their names or appearance. But I know the last one. It was near the district I used to live in.”
She explained slowly.
A few minutes later.
After hearing everything, Edgar nodded and spoke a simple sentence.
“Good. Let’s go meet it immediately.”