Chapter 15: Investigation - 1
“Ugh.”
The mont I opened my eyes, I saw people surrounding about twenty steps away.
There were five of them.
Each held a small blade in hand.
I quickly scanned my surroundings.
‘This doesn’t look like a neighborhood with good law enforcent.’
A shabby back alley.
A few rats scurried by, and a handful of vagrants lay scattered around.
It was the textbook image of a dangerous street at night.
Apparently, Magireta had sent us to the most dangerous and gloomy district in Mogiren.
Then—
“He’s awake.”
“Heh. So what? What can he even do alone?”
They whispered among themselves and began inching toward .
From their sinister air, crooked grins, and eyes glinting with greed, it was clear they weren’t approaching with goodwill.
I reached behind my back and rummaged through my bag.
My hand found the kitchen knife Magireta had called a “weapon.”
‘Diary Book. Where are the Princess and Aina?’
[They haven’t woken up yet.]
‘Wake them up. Now. I don’t care if you have to headbutt them with your cover.’
[I wish I could do that too.]
I was just saying that.
Still, this was quite the predicant.
I wasn’t a monster like Aina. Could I really escape unhard from five ard grown n?
Srrrk—
They took another step closer.
What should I do…
Then—
[It’s actually a good opportunity. Why not test out a new feature?]
‘Hm? A new feature?’
Now that I thought about it, after the Second Quest, the Diary Book did ntion sothing.
Sothing about an upgraded search function or whatever it was.
[It’s a feature that automatically searches for future information that Mason wants to know or that might be useful as a hint.]
‘What? Really?’
[Yes. With this feature, you won’t have to gamble blindly like during the Second Quest.]
‘That wasn’t a gamble—it was the result of rational deduction…’
[However, reading a future entry through the search feature consus twice the normal cost: 100 points.]
Interrupting like that, huh.
Anyway, 100 points, huh?
It was a bit of a waste, but if I could find the exact information I wanted with 100% certainty, then twice the cost was nothing.
Still, would the solution to my current problem really be written in a future diary entry?
[You might as well try. If there’s no information, I won’t deduct any points. Generously, of course.]
‘That’s not generosity. That’s just common sense.’
Either way, I didn’t have ti to hesitate.
‘Then give a hint to get out of this situation.’
[Understood.]
The Diary Book floated into the air.
[Searching the Future Diary for a hint to overco the current situation.]
[Points consud: 100]
[Remaining points: 100]
I fell into despair.
The Third Quest ended.
I survived, but it didn’t feel like living.
Arlia. And Aina.
They must have ant far more to than I had realized.
Maybe because we crossed the line between life and death together in that “first-co, first-served” ga.
But in the Third Quest, the “Note Test,” they both t their fate.
It was a ga where you were given books to study from and plenty of ti. Then, you had to answer questions from those books to determine who passed and who failed.
Unfortunately, Aina failed right at the first week’s test.
Arlia wept bitterly at her death—that had caught by surprise.
Well, I couldn’t stop crying either, strangely enough.
But there was no ti to mourn, so the two of us left had to prepare for the next test.
I knew Arlia’s mory was exceptional, so I hadn’t been worried about her at all.
But she failed the final test in the third week.
Honestly, if it weren’t for that bastard Machet Boltram, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.
From the start, Machet wasn’t satisfied with just passing—he put in every effort to make Arlia fail.
And in the end, his malicious effort paid off. Arlia died.
It’s all my fault.
Ah… if only I had a psychic power to talk to others in my mind.
Then I could have saved them all.
I can’t even lift my head before those who have already beco spirits of the dead.
Liquor. I need more liquor.
I finished reading the future diary and said,
‘Who wrote this miserable, almost ruined diary?’
[You did, Mason.]
‘You an Arlia and Aina both die in the Third Ga?’
[Yes. Ah, by the way—]
Suddenly, new lines appeared in the Diary Book.
I let out a deep sigh.
‘Refund the points I just spent.’
[What a joke. No matter how grim it is, please don’t take it out on .]
‘Hey! It’s not about that! Where’s the hint to overco the current situation in this future entry?’
[That’s for you to figure out, Mason.]
Well, complaining to the Diary Book wouldn’t help.
The answer was already there in the diary itself.
‘If only I had a psychic power to talk to others in my mind… huh.’
I had that ability now.
It was clear that the “Mason” who wrote that future diary didn’t have the Diary Book back then.
I couldn’t help but think again how disastrous it would’ve been if I didn’t have this thing.
Then—
The thugs had closed in right in front of .
One of them, who seed to be the leader, spoke.
“You’re awake, huh? What a pity. For you, that is.”
“……”
“You could’ve gone peacefully in your sleep.”
Srrk—
He revealed a sharp blade.
“If you don’t resist, I’ll make it quick.”
“What are you people doing? Who are you?”
“Actually, that’s what we should be asking. Maybe we don’t know who you are, but that woman behind you looks quite noble. What’s soone like her doing in a place like this, getting into trouble?”
“Isn’t this the Mogiren district?”
“It is. But even in Mogiren, there are filthy corners where decent folks don’t step foot. And this happens to be the finest example.”
Damn it.
There was no way I could take on all of them by myself.
‘No choice, then.’
The Diary Book said the hint lay in what I had read.
And from that future diary, there was only one piece of information I could use aloud.
Nothing to lose—might as well try it.
“Hey, do you guys know soone nad Machet?”
Suddenly, they all flinched.
“Machet? Don’t tell you an Brother Dwayne?”
“If you’re talking about Machet, that’s his old na…”
“You look like an outsider. How do you even know that na?”
“Actually, that makes things quicker. Our big brother happens to be that man himself.”
“So don’t resist. You should know well how cruel Lord Dwayne can be. We’ve learned a lot from him ourselves.”
Huh.
I quickly ran through the thoughts in my head.
They were clearly thugs, not the kind to do any decent work.
And they called this man Machet—the one they served as their “big brother.”
‘Could it be that Machet guy… is so kind of ruler of Mogiren’s underworld?’
Every region had its dark corners where the lord’s authority didn’t reach.
And in those shadows, there were always power holders who ruled them.
So, the ruler of Mogiren’s nights must be that Machet—now going by the na Dwayne.
At that instant, a plan ford in my head.
I spoke up.
“You lot don’t seem to be very trusted by Lord Dwayne.”
“W–what?”
“You bastard—!”
Their flustered reaction was all the confirmation I needed.
That made things much easier.
I licked my lips and continued.
“Because I don’t recognize any of your faces.”
“What’s that supposed to an?”
“If I don’t know you, and I work close to Lord Dwayne, that makes you small fry, doesn’t it?”
“Y–you serve Lord Dwayne?”
“Yeah.”
I said it with a calm expression.
“Lord Dwayne rules over the nights of Mogiren. A man like him needs soone to handle the kind of jobs that muscleheads like you couldn’t. Soone like .”
“……”
“I manage so of his… less-than-public funds. You see these?”
Srrrk.
I picked up the sack lying beside .
Then loosened the knot and showed them the inside.
It was filled to the brim with gold coins—Magireta’s reward after the Second Quest.
“Whoa.”
Their mouths dropped open.
Even if they saved for a lifeti without spending a single coin, they wouldn’t fill half that sack.
And there were three sacks of them.
‘There’s no way they’ll doubt my words now.’
Srrrk.
I tied the sack shut again and said,
“There was a bit of an incident while transporting these in a hurry. So I’m laying low here for a while.”
“T-those won behind you, who are they?”
“What do you think? You know how fond the boss is of won.”
“I haven’t heard anything like that…”
“Ah, right. People at your level probably wouldn’t. It’s… a private hobby of his.”
Their expressions softened, showing comprehension and agreent.
Good. Ti to finish it off.
“Anyway, what are your nas? I should ask Lord Dwayne about you.”
I crossed my arms and grinned.
“Lately, it feels like he’s hiring people of very poor quality.”
“Ugh. W-we’re sorry!”
“We didn’t recognize you and were terribly rude…”
“Please forgive us just this once. We really didn’t know.”
I waved a hand dismissively.
“Enough. Just get lost. I can’t afford to be involved in a scene right now.”
“……”
“Didn’t you hear ? I’ll pretend this never happened, so get out.”
“Th-thank you, sir!”
A man who looked at least ten years older than just called sir.
Anyway, they bolted away in a hurry.
I let out a small sigh.
Then—
“Pfft.”
“…? What. Aina?”
“Your quick thinking is impressive as always. Machet? Where’d you hear that na?”
I decided to deflect that question.
“Hey. If you were awake, you could’ve helped.”
“Sorry. I wanted to see how you’d handle it.”
“What the—my precious points…”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s a thing.”
Well. There was no need to regret the points now.
Sure, Aina could’ve handled that situation easily without spending any.
But if she had, I wouldn’t have learned anything about that man, Machet Boltram.
And from the future diary, it was clear that Arlia had fallen victim to him.
So, in the end, it had been a valuable warning.
‘And I learned what the Third Quest will be, too.’
Aina stretched and said,
“Still, what just happened made certain.”
“Of what?”
“That you’re a man worth working with. It might be late to say it, but I look forward to being with you.”
Saying that, she kicked the still-sleeping Arlia.
“Hey, she’s still the Princess…”
“Mm… five more minutes, Cecil.”
“Wake her up harder.”
Aina nodded and raised her arm.
Smack!
“Kyaah! W-what—?”
“Did you sleep well, Princess?”
“Mason? Ah, right. After the Second Quest ended, we were sent to Mogiren.”
“Yes. Did you have a pleasant night?”
“No. My cheek hurts strangely. I think I bit the inside of my mouth.”
“Oh dear. Seems Magireta sent us here rather roughly. Very witch-like of her.”
Arlia tilted her head.
“So this is Mogiren? Doesn’t look like the kind of place you’d find the Tower of Knowledge.”
Aina answered instead.
She had already packed her gold and her bag.
“Let’s move first. Staying here won’t do us any good.”
“You know this place well.”
“I grew up rough. Let’s get to a district where there’s so law and rent an inn.”
We nodded and followed her lead.
That night.
Maybe because Magireta had forced us into sleep earlier, I wasn’t the least bit tired.
Feeling restless, I decided to take a walk and opened the door.
“Ah.”
And right there, about to knock, was Arlia.
“Princess? You’re still awake?”
“Strangely, I can’t sleep. You as well, it seems?”
“Yes.”
“If you don’t mind, would you walk with for a bit?”
“Of course.”
Mogiren hadn’t left a great first impression, but fundantally, it was a rich and splendid territory.
The inn we stayed in was one of the most luxurious in the area, even with a small garden inside.
Walking under the moonlight with a princess in a garden—
I never imagined I’d live to enjoy such a luxury.
As we silently strolled, Arlia suddenly looked up at the moon and said,
“Do you know why I called for you?”
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