Chapter 118 : Slave - 2
Chapter 118: Slave - 2
I looked over the Diary Book once again.
As expected, I hadn’t seen it wrong.
<<??? Year ?? Month ?? Day>>
What in the world was this.
I couldn’t hold back anymore and shot up from my seat.
“Kyack. Wh-what. Mason.”
“Puhahaha. Did you hear that? She said ‘Kyack’.”
“It sounded much nicer than your ‘puhaha’.”
“Ah, seriously…”
Ignoring my companions, I spoke to the Diary Book.
‘What is this. Why aren’t the year and date written?’
[Who knows.]
‘No, if it was going to be like this, I would’ve preferred the diary saying I would die three days later. At least then I would’ve known when I’d die.’
[Calm down and keep reading.]
At the Diary Book’s words, I steadied myself.
Fine, think positively.
The content mattered more than the date.
With a bit of anticipation, I checked the next part.
And my expression gradually twisted.
<I didn’t know exactly what day it was today.
My memory had been cut off in the middle.
When I came to one day, I was in hell.
My whole body was twisted, and horns had grown on my head.
Eight legs.
My tongue, long enough to reach the ground, flicked out endlessly.
After some time passed, all my memories finally returned.
—Aaah. Aaaahhh!
I cried out until my throat tore.
My voice wasn’t human.
Right. A monster.
I had become a monster.
Then I heard Magireta’s voice.
—Long time no see, little brother.
—Magireta……
—You understand the situation now, right? You were eliminated in the eighth quest.
—M-my companions. What about Armelia!
—Who knows? Am I obligated to tell you how they’re doing? Once, you were the most promising of the promising, but now you’ve been eliminated and turned into nothing more than a monster.
Her words stabbed deep into my chest.
Then Magireta said something unbelievable.
—All the games have ended now, so I dropped by for a moment because you crossed my mind. I even returned your memories temporarily.
—……
—Honestly, I’m a little disappointed in you, but you did entertain me quite a lot at one point.
—All the games… have ended?
She smiled faintly and didn’t answer.
Instead, she tossed something toward me with a flick.
Using my eight arms—which were also my legs—I caught it.
They were a notebook and a pen.
—You used to enjoy writing in your diary, didn’t you?
—……
—Try writing down how you feel right now. If you try, you can manage to write even with those grotesque limbs.
—Turn me back… Turn me back to that time.
—Pffft.
Magireta didn’t hide the ridicule in her voice.
—Your face is full of despair. I only restored your memories for a moment to see that expression. You amuse me until the very end.
—Magireta. Magiretaaa!
—I’m sorry, but you don’t have the right to be angry at me. As I said, I’m disappointed in you.
Wiping away her smile, she continued.
—Well, it’s not that there weren’t reasons to consider. The eighth quest was a bit difficult.
—……
—And because of ‘that guy,’ you were probably at quite the disadvantage. Still, I thought you’d pull through somehow.
—That guy? Who is that guy. Edgar?
—No, not Edgar.
Magireta’s body slowly rose into the air.
—Let’s stop the conversation here. I’m going to go rest.
—What about my companions? Did the others all get eliminated and turned into monsters?
—I told you, you don’t have the right to know. Still… I suppose I can at least tell you that at this point, things like elimination or passing no longer matter.
—What?
—The truth is, your group was the last one.>
At those words, it felt as if a stone had thumped down onto my chest.
She said earlier that all the quests had ended, right?
That must mean this round had ended.
And if this round had been the last one…
Had the world been destroyed?
Had all humans died?
Had they all turned into monsters?
Maybe Magireta had returned to hell to rest until the next intelligent species was born.
—Goodbye. I won’t be coming back anymore.
—Please, please!
—I’ll give you five minutes. In five minutes, you’ll lose your sanity again and become one of the ordinary monsters rolling around in hell.
—Magireta……
—Write your last diary entry properly.
She disappeared completely.
Clutching the Diary Book Magireta had thrown to me, I shed endless tears.
But soon, I grabbed the pen and began writing my final entry.
That was what I had written up until now.
The eighth quest.
Thinking back now, the “hints” had been everywhere.
wa na geuttae al-atchariji moraim deuram.
geugeo irameureuilbeoraemmmmmnalmeubeuㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ>
My face stiffened.
Goosebumps rose all over my body.
My companions, realizing my reaction was clearly strange, also held their breath.
Sssrk.
Karin rubbed my forearm and asked,
“Hey. What’s wrong. Why’re you making the mood so heavy.”
Instead of answering her, I spoke to the Diary Book.
‘Damn it. The diary cuts off at the most important moment.’
[Yes. It seems the five minutes Magireta gave ran out. He lost his sanity and turned back into a monster.]
‘It was only five minutes, so why was the future me wasting time writing about the conversation with Magireta?’
[Well, from Mason’s perspective at that time, it was a quest he had already failed. Talking with Magireta would’ve been more important than reviewing the past.]
‘Ugh.’
[Still, thanks to that, you know now, don’t you? That this round is the last round of the “human world.”]
I had nothing to say.
The Diary Book was right.
Besides, the future me probably never imagined someone would use his diary as a guide to clear quests.
‘First, I need to figure out what the eighth quest is. I’ll use the searching function.’
[Understood.]
‘……’
[Hmm. It’s not working.]
Huh?
‘Not working? An error?’
[No. As I always say, I am……]
‘Perfect and refreshing?’
[Correct.]
Then what?
‘Don’t tell me I was eliminated the moment the eighth quest began?’
[Or it may have been a quest where you had no time to write.]
What do I do.
I bit my lip.
Seeing that, the anxious faces of my companions darkened even further.
Realizing that atmosphere, I tried to ease the tension as much as possible.
“I don’t know what the next quest is.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know what it is, but I fail. Whether you all fail too is something I couldn’t confirm.”
Armelia spoke.
“If even you are eliminated, then of course we would be as well.”
“No. That isn’t necessarily—”
“So we have absolutely no information?”
“There is one thing.”
In the future diary, Magireta had said:
—You were probably at quite the disadvantage because of ‘that guy.’ Still, I thought my little brother would overcome it somehow.
“Someone is going to hinder us. In the eighth quest.”
“Someone? Edgar, perhaps?”
“No. It isn’t Edgar. I don’t know who it is.”
“Then…”
[Ah, wait a moment!]
“Ah, wait a moment!”
Without thinking, I repeated the Diary Book’s outcry.
And once I did, even I was startled.
‘You scared me. What is it?’
[There’s something newly updated in the Insight.]
‘Hm?’
[Please check it yourself.]
The Diary Book flipped over with a whirl.
<32nd place. Haigel Omil
–Reliability: 39 points / 100 points
–One-line evaluation interview regarding Mason
: ‘If this person hadn’t been there during the Frozen Season Quest, I would’ve frozen to death.’
–Insight that will be helpful to Mason
: He is operating a grocery store. Today’s sales are the highest ever!>
‘What is this.’
[A hint that will help Mason.]
‘No, how does that person’s best-ever sales day help me.’
[Who knows.]
The Diary Book returned exactly the same answer as if it had been promised.
But honestly, I didn’t need to ask.
‘For an Insight like that to pop up right now?’
That person might be the one who interfered with us in the eighth quest.
……
But among the ordinary participants I had saved so far, there wasn’t anyone with particularly exceptional abilities.
With a faint hope, I asked Armelia,
“Your Highness. Do you remember anyone named Haigel?”
It was a sudden question, but Armelia answered sincerely.
“Hmm. Are you referring to the person who held the pole when we pitched the tent during the Frozen Season Quest?”
“So he did.”
“He had quite the large and rough appearance, but he spoke simply. I believe he did run a grocery store.”
“As expected, you’re amazing.”
Hearing her words, I roughly remembered who he was.
The faint image of his face certainly didn’t match someone with a sinister scheme.
It was only intuition, but Haigel himself likely wasn’t the interferer.
Then…
‘He must be related to the interferer in some way.’
He apparently had the highest sales ever today, right?
整理ing my thoughts, I spoke.
“That person probably had the highest sales he’s ever had today.”
Karin tilted her head.
“Setting aside how you know that… what does a big revenue day have to do with anything? Oh, is he trying to collect the debt from letting him live?”
“Ha.”
“What, again. Aina.”
“You’re so materialistic. Does saving someone require a reward?”
“You don’t get to say that. I heard all about your past.”
“I’m joking. The materialistic part was real, though.”
Ignoring the two of them, I turned to Armelia.
“It’s strange for him to suddenly have record-breaking sales when there’s no festival.”
“Ah, well, it is strange… but it doesn’t seem important.”
“No. It’s important. Instead of ordinary customers just coincidentally crowding in on that day, it’s more plausible that some big-spender bought a large amount of goods.”
Everyone fell silent.
Benjamin asked,
“That big-spender is the ‘interferer’ you mentioned earlier?”
“It’s only a guess.”
Otherwise an Insight that useless wouldn’t have shown up.
I took out a teleportation bead and said,
“I’m not certain either. So let’s go verify it.”
Meanwhile, in a certain part of hell, a secret conversation was taking place inside a hidden chamber.
A being lounged half-reclined on a soft sofa.
In front of him stood another being—at least it appeared human—maintaining a stiff, straight posture.
The one on the sofa spoke.
“I heard Helena is dead.”
“She isn’t dead, but it seems Magireta made her into an ordinary monster.”
“That’s the same as being dead. A garbage monster that can’t even communicate. That’s no longer Helena.”
“Yes, well. You could see it that way.”
“Your tone is irritating. Kaid Bel.”
Cold sweat trickled down Kaid’s forehead.
“My apologies.”
“Well, Helena wasn’t to my liking anyway. She often showed hints of arrogance toward Magireta. If it weren’t for our non-interference pact, I would’ve torn her apart myself long ago.”
“……”
“This time, Magireta made the proper decision. You don’t need to worry about that part any further. But.”
The man’s eyes sharpened.
“That Mason fellow is a bit concerning.”
“……”
“Magireta seems to have a great deal of interest in that human, doesn’t she?”
“So it appeared.”
“Why didn’t you report that to me earlier.”
“I’ve never been on the same team as Mason during a quest.”
“But you could have found out anytime if you wanted. Just like you have now.”
Kaid barely steadied his trembling legs and answered.
“My apologies for the delayed report.”
“If you understand, then go kill Mason.”
“Master. I’m terribly sorry, but I am not particularly strong. According to what I’ve gathered, the strongest people in the human world are gathered around Mason.”
“So you’re refusing?”
He slowly raised his hand.
Kaid flinched violently in fear.
“N-no. I’m not refusing… I mean I will wait for the appropriate stage.”
“What stage?”
Wiping cold sweat, Kaid answered,
“As you know, I’m a quest participant of this round.”