Chapter 149 : Understanding the Preference – 1
Chapter 149: Understanding the Preference – 1
Karin answered lightly.
[It was a turtle.]
A turtle? They put up a turtle as the item?
It was such an unexpected object that I was left dumbfounded.
Sienne asked.
[A turtle? You mean that turtle I’m thinking of?]
[Is there any other kind of turtle?]
[At best, it’s just a turtle……. Well, of course, I also think they’re really cute.]
[Turtles are cute?]
[Aren’t turtles not meant for eating in the first place?]
Then Armelia cut in.
[No. Some nobles cook them as a delicacy. I recall that His Majesty the Emperor had eaten it several times as well.]
[Is that so. I envy the Empire’s rich dietary culture.]
[When you say it like that, it sounds somewhat sarcastic……. Anyway, I can’t understand it. Until now he bought only fruits, so why did he suddenly pay such a high price for a turtle?]
I folded my arms and sank into thought.
I also didn’t know the common point between turtles and fruits.
But.
‘I think I know the common point between a pineapple and a turtle.’
Perhaps this was B’s preference.
I was almost certain…….
‘But this is already the third intermediary trade.’
If I was wrong again this time, it would become truly dangerous.
I needed some kind of confirmation.
But from whom, and how, could I obtain that confirmation?
At that moment, Magireta’s voice was heard.
“The second intermediary trade has ended. Refer carefully to this result and think about what to buy next time.”
We returned to the human world.
In order to purchase the item for the third intermediary trade.
The location was, as before, the Imperial Capital.
The participants’ faces were quite dark.
“We’re sure the correct answer is fruit…….”
“But we have no idea which fruit he likes. The prices are all arbitrary.”
“Even among fruits that taste equally sweet, he bought some at a high price and others cheaply.”
“What on earth are we supposed to do?”
At that moment, Armelia tugged at my sleeve.
I immediately understood what she meant and spoke to her through Secret Conversation.
[Why do you ask, Your Highness the Princess.]
[Are you not going to reveal it to them? The fact that the item in Edgar’s box was a turtle.]
[Yes. Regrettably, not for now. You know the reason, don’t you?]
[Huu, yes. It can’t be helped.]
Our companions had not yet secured enough gold coins.
The gap between us and the ordinary participants was not that large.
Since this game required entering the Top 50 percent, we could not disclose the information at this timing.
[I will release that information after we have secured sufficient gold coins.]
Berseum nodded.
[You mean when the difference is large enough that a reversal becomes impossible.]
[Yes. Even so, only ten people can survive this game. If things continue at this pace, Edgar will probably take first place.]
[…….]
[When it becomes certain that our companions will occupy second through eighth place, then I will release the information.]
That meant there would be only two spots left for the ordinary participants.
Out of the twelve ordinary participants, only two would pass.
It was quite a tight probability, but I could not reveal the information about the ‘turtle’ out of pity.
As I said repeatedly, my companions came first to me.
The participants hesitated, glanced around cautiously, then scattered in all directions.
At the end, Edgar stared at me intently and spoke.
“Are you having another Secret Conversation?”
He had recited the exact name of the Diary Book’s function, so I flinched slightly.
But I answered calmly.
“About how to crush you.”
“……Huh. Well, fine.”
He turned sharply and disappeared.
Benjamin asked,
“What should we buy this time?”
“…….”
“Mason?”
“What do a turtle and a pineapple have in common?”
Everyone tilted their heads.
Without waiting for an answer, I continued.
“They both have shells.”
“……!”
“Furthermore, those shells are hard.”
My companions nodded unconsciously.
I continued speaking.
“In the second intermediary trade, B bought all kinds of fruits.”
“Because fruits also have peels…….”
“Yes. However, my orange had a relatively soft peel, so it didn’t receive a high price. The participant who presented an apple received a higher price than I did. Because an apple’s peel is harder than an orange’s.”
“…….”
“First, it must be edible and have a shell. Second, that shell should be as hard as possible. I believe that was B’s preference.”
Berseum spoke.
“I see. The problem was that we were only thinking about ‘what kind of taste he prefers.’”
“It’s natural to focus on taste once we learn that the correct answer is food. That aligns with our common sense.”
“…….”
“I’m not sure if I can phrase it this way, but it seems B prefers food that has a ‘chewy texture.’ Probably.”
Yes, probably.
And that was the problem—it was only probably.
“The issue is that I have no confirmation for my hypothesis. Even though this is already the third intermediary trade.”
“Hmm.”
“So I think we’ll have to look into the information that Odline passed along.”
At that, everyone’s eyes widened.
Karin opened her mouth.
“You can find that out too? With your strange ability.”
“No. If I could, I would’ve told you already.”
At the very least, I couldn’t obtain that kind of information through the search function of the Future Diary.
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Think about it. Edgar said this.”
Odline doesn’t directly know B either. They’ve never even met in the first place.
…….
However, those sharp teeth from when B bit into the pineapple earlier. He said he had heard about that appearance before, so he was able to guess B’s identity.
Aina tilted her head.
“So?”
“From whom did Odline hear about B’s appearance?”
“……Don’t tell me.”
“Yeah. There was that pitiful slave who used to be his hand and foot.”
I stopped there and raised my voice.
“Noona!”
“Yes, little brother.”
Just like always, Magireta appeared as though she had been standing here from the very beginning.
With a sly smile, I said,
“Please call Kaid. Into my dream.”
“Little brother, you’ve been treating noona like a servant since last time…….”
“It’s to screw Odline over.”
“I’ll gladly cooperate.”
She waved her hand lightly.
Suddenly, drowsiness washed over me.
Last time I had fallen asleep because of Aina’s potion, but it seemed Magireta couldn’t even spare that amount of time.
‘She really must hate that maggot bastard.’
My body tilted.
Just before I collapsed, I felt someone catch me from behind.
But when I turned my head to see who it was—
“Ah, it’s a dream.”
I was standing on the familiar fog-covered path.
Before long, Kaid revealed himself.
In his true body form, with large horns and iron-like scales covering him.
“Mason, I’m currently in the middle of a quest.”
“So am I.”
“Then since we’re both busy, could you stop summoning me one by one like this?”
“You’re also looking for an item that matches the preference of a high-ranking monster, right? So are we. It’s a monster called B.”
“B? That’s a ridiculous name.”
It wasn’t her real name.
It was merely a temporary alias Magireta had given to hide information from me.
Of course, explaining that would have been a waste of time, so I went straight to the point.
“On our side, we have Edgar. And inside Edgar’s arms is your master, Odline.”
“Huh. Don’t tell me those two joined hands.”
“Exactly. Here’s the problem. Odline had at least some shallow information about B. And he passed that information to Edgar.”
Kaid’s fierce face, fully transformed into his true body, stiffened seriously.
“My master really is a coward. I told you that bastard’s trash.”
“…….”
“Ah, I wasn’t caught just now, right? Talking behind his back.”
“I already know your cringing personality, so that’s enough. Anyway, B had teeth as sharp as a shark’s, and her mouth could open abnormally wide.”
I went on to describe B as I had seen and experienced her.
Her sturdy teeth and jaws that could chew through a pineapple or even a turtle shell whole.
And though she appeared to be a young girl on the outside, her refined attitude and gestures made her seem like a noble young lady.
Unexpectedly, Kaid listened to my story with sincerity.
After finishing all my explanations, I swallowed and asked,
“This monster called B…… You know her too, don’t you?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Odline said he had never met B directly. Someone must have told him about B’s existence. I think that someone was you.”
“Mason……. Correct!”
Kaid winked.
An intense irritation surged within me.
“Does this look like a situation to joke around in?”
“S-sorry. People often say I lack tact.”
“If you’re sorry, then at least tell me B’s real name.”
“Nope. I don’t know her real name either.”
I frowned.
Kaid hurriedly continued, spitting out his words.
“It’s true. Long ago, my master suddenly told me to scout a region of Hell outside my jurisdiction.”
“Why?”
“He said he wanted to create a map that could show all regions of Hell at a glance and present it to Lady Magireta. He’s completely insane. There’s no way Lady Magireta would need something like a map of Hell.”
“…….”
“So…… while wandering around, one day I entered the territory governed by the second MVP of Hell. I was walking along a rough mountain path when I slipped and fell off a cliff.”
“……What? What did you say?”
“And then I died. Hehe.”
I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
“Are you really a monster?”
“What can I do? In reality, I’m weak!”
Don’t say that proudly.
“Well, I didn’t die immediately……. I barely maintained consciousness with every bone in my body shattered. At that time, something approached me slowly.”
“That was B?”
“If it matches the appearance you described, yes. She grabbed my face and turned it this way and that, smacking her lips as if tasting something.”
“Smacking her lips?”
“Yes. B said, ‘This doesn’t look tasty.’”
I felt a chill crawl up my spine.
But I didn’t want to admit that feeling, so I deliberately crossed my arms and stood crookedly.
“So?”
“B left me there as I was dying and simply went away. She was a truly cold monster.”
“…….”
“After that, I eventually couldn’t recover and died once. My master revived me.”
I nodded.
“Go on.”
“Before I died, I reported what I had seen about B to my master. He was very intrigued and told me that this time, I should approach B in her dream and dig up information.”
“Hmm. Since you had already made contact with B once, that would’ve been possible.”
“Yes. I resisted, but my master threatened to punish me with the maggot punishment, so I gave up. In the end, I encountered B again in her dream……. Ugh.”
Suddenly, he shuddered as if recalling something terrifying.
“The moment she saw me, she opened her mouth wide and tried to devour me.”
“What?”
“But as you know, I’m invincible in dreams, aren’t I? So I properly taught her a lesson and ran away.”
“…….”
“That’s all. I only reported this much information to my master. The information he passed on to Edgar is probably about this much as well.”
…….
Good. That was enough.
I had obtained the ‘confirmation’ I wanted.