Chapter 25: A Familiar Face - 2
To think I’d be facing an unknown ability user the day after tomorrow.
I felt a faint sense of nervousness creeping up on .
Was it perhaps an unconscious desire to shake off that tension?
My thoughts suddenly drifted elsewhere.
‘Co to think of it, a new feature was upgraded this ti.’
[Yes. It’s the Administrator Page feature.]
‘What is that, and how do I use it?’
[Like this.]
Shrrrk—
The Diary Book opened in midair.
I could see countless nas filling the pages to the brim.
W–What?
I scanned down the Administrator Page carefully.
So that’s how it worked.
I scrolled the page up and down several tis in fascination.
Then suddenly, a question struck .
‘Why does it go up to 155?’
[Sorry?]
‘In the quiz test, we saved 152 people. Add Arlia and Aina, and that should make 154 total.’
Muttering to myself, I scanned the list once again ticulously.
Of course, there was no way I’d find anything unusual by doing that.
After all, aside from Arlia and Aina, I hadn’t even exchanged nas with anyone else during the three quests.
Just reading the nas wouldn’t bring any aningful information…
‘Huh? Wh–What the!’
I rubbed my eyes several tis.
There it was.
A na even I knew well—soone famous enough that no one on the continent wouldn’t recognize them.
I saved this person?
When? How?
Just then—
Tak.
The Diary Book suddenly closed on its own.
[It’s embarrassing when you stare at like that.]
‘Where did you even learn to talk like that?’
[Who else would I learn it from, if not you, Mason?]
‘……’
[In any case, you can check this anyti, so I recomnd you rest for today.]
To be fair, my eyelids were already drooping on their own.
I shook my head.
‘Now’s not the ti to sleep. A great threat will co in two days.’
[Yes, in two days. Which is exactly why you should rest today.]
‘No, I don’t have the ti—’
But before I could finish, my eyes slowly drifted shut.
And then, I heard the Diary Book’s voice.
[Don’t worry too much. After all, this ti, you have .]
The next morning.
Feeling refreshed, I sprang up and headed downstairs.
In the first-floor dining hall, the Princess and Aina were already seated, with their als ordered and served.
Seeing those two sitting side by side and eating together—
That was sothing I couldn’t have imagined when we first t. Truly, they had co a long way.
“Mason. You’re up.”
Arlia had returned from the black hair she’d shown throughout the third quest to her original bright platinum blonde.
“Yes. Good morning. You’ve gone back to your original hair.”
“Mm. Aina did the work for .”
“Is it all right not to disguise yourself anymore?”
“The Tower of Knowledge is a place frequently visited by renowned figures. I was only cautious for that reason. I prefer my real hair.”
At that, Aina shrugged and cut in.
“I think it looks better too.”
“Oh? Ahem. Th–Thank you. I didn’t expect you to say that.”
“You’ve got a gloomy look already. Dark hair just makes you look duller.”
“……”
That girl didn’t just wear her heart on her sleeve—she simply had no filter at all.
As soon as we all sat down, Arlia spoke, her tone firm and dignified.
“I’ve ordered your al as well. Forgive for choosing without asking.”
“Not at all.”
“Then listen as we eat. The reason I proposed coming to Deut Territory was—”
“Ah, before that, let say this first. We’re going to die in two days.”
Drip, drip.
The soup Aina had just scooped spilled down her spoon.
“Hot!”
“Don’t wipe it with your hand. What do you think napkins are for?”
“Do you think now’s the ti to care about that? How can you say sothing like ‘we’re going to die’ so casually?”
“Says the assassin. I’d say you should do a little self-reflection.”
“What’s that supposed to an? Wait, don’t tell —the fourth quest starts in two days? Already?”
I shook my head.
Then, using the convenient groundwork I’d laid earlier, I told them I’d divined the future using my ability as an astrologer and magician.
Arlia, with her unmatched trust level, accepted my words without hesitation. Aina, though frowning, still nodded.
“So soone will co for us—to take our lives.”
“Yes. Astrology couldn’t reveal their na or appearance, but I’m certain that person is another participant in the ga.”
“Hmm.”
“This part is my intuition, but I believe it’s the one who took first place in both the first and second quests.”
Both of their faces stiffened.
Even I, who could see the Future Diary and had joined hands with the greatest talents of the era, had only managed to place first once so far.
That was how difficult an achievent it was.
To think such a person was now targeting our lives—it was only natural to feel a chill.
Arlia spoke.
“Why would he want to kill us specifically?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“Then I’ll make sure to ask when we et him.”
“I don’t think we’ll have the leisure to ask.”
“What are you talking about? We have Aina with us.”
At those words, Aina lifted her chin proudly.
It seed she had left her humility back in the cradle.
But I shook my head.
Of course, her skills were among the best on the continent, yet the Future Diary had clearly shown that she would die by that man’s hand.
“My astrology still shows our deaths. It ans Aina won’t be able to stop him.”
“But her skill is…”
“This isn’t a matter of skill. Don’t forget that he’s holding two first-place prizes.”
Both of them nodded in agreent.
It was far more realistic to assu he’d made use of Magireta’s first-place rewards sohow than to imagine soone more talented than Aina.
Aina let out a small groan before speaking.
“Then we’ll have to counter with a first-place prize of our own.”
She pulled out a teleportation bead—
a mystical orb that allowed one to teleport anywhere on the continent by simply speaking the destination aloud.
Indeed, with this, escaping from him would be easy.
If we just left Deut Territory, there’d be nothing he could do.
“How about we move to another region right now?”
“That’s too passive. I’d rather take this opportunity to learn more about him.”
“Learn about him?”
“Yes. To be precise… after I find out, I want to kill him.”
A brief silence fell over the table.
Resting my arms on the table, I continued calmly,
“I want to uncover how he managed to take first place twice, and how he pulled it off. And if we can seize his prizes in the process, all the better.”
“Heh. Well, they do say crisis breeds opportunity.”
“I doubt he’ll talk willingly… Aina, you have so knowledge of torture, don’t you?”
“I’m not sure it qualifies as knowledge, but yes, sowhat.”
“Make him talk. And once he spills everything—”
At that point, I glanced toward Arlia without realizing it.
It felt awkward to talk about killing soone in front of a princess with her kind of temperant.
However, Arlia rely tilted her head and asked,
“Why did you stop speaking?”
“Ah, well, it’s just that…”
“Because of , perhaps?”
Aina cut in imdiately.
“Of course. You tried so hard to save people during the quiz test quest.”
“Did you already forget I tried to kill Matets?”
“...Ah.”
“The only reason I tried to save the other participants was because they hadn’t shown hostility toward us. You could say they were neutral. I simply focused on bringing neutrals to our side.”
“……”
“Machet and that unknown double first-prize winner are a completely different matter. Both have already declared themselves our enemies. In that case—”
Her voice turned cold.
“There’s no need to hesitate to take action.”
“Uh, right. You’re… unexpectedly decisive.”
“Soone once taught that hesitation shortens one’s lifespan.”
“That soone being Cecil?”
“Cecil, yes… and also—”
She cast a brief glance my way.
I chuckled softly and clasped my hands together.
“Anyway, that man will co in two days. So let’s put that aside for now. Please tell us, Your Highness, why you chose this place as our next destination.”
“Ah, right.”
Arlia set her spoon down with a soft clack.
Then, after wiping her lips with a napkin, she straightened her back.
It looked like she was about to say sothing important.
“Mason. Don’t be too shocked when you hear this.”
“Yes? O-Okay.”
“This is Berseum’s hotown.”
“I see.”
……
Huh? Berseum?
Berseum was a cult leader.
But before he went mad, he had been a great scholar—an astrologer renowned across the continent.
Even the Emperor once sought his counsel before making important decisions.
Yet, in his later years, he spread the claim that ‘The Demon King will descend,’ deceiving the masses, and was ultimately captured and executed.
By now, we had left the inn.
Arlia was leading us sowhere, her eyes gleaming with excitent.
“Isn’t this thrilling?” she said.
“Sorry?”
“Why are you so unenthusiastic? We’re visiting your master’s hotown. Who knows, you might find your lost mories here.”
I replied dryly,
“That was your made-up backstory, Your Highness.”
“Fufu. Don’t be embarrassed.”
“No, seriously, why are you so fixated on this? He was executed under Imperial law. Shouldn’t that disqualify him as my master?”
Arlia fell silent, speechless for a mont.
Then her shoulders drooped, and she muttered,
“Now that you ntion it… you’re right.”
“……”
“But this was such a brilliant deduction of mine. It’d be a sha to toss it out.”
“Your Highness.”
“Cecil, I’ve still got a long way to go. I forgot your advice—that arrogance always clouds the eyes. To think I, who rember everything, could forget your counsel. Foolish of indeed.”
It seed the Princess had quite a bit of pride in her own theory.
Well, to be honest, the idea wasn’t entirely baseless—
that Berseum had gone mad while researching magic and began talking about the Demon King’s descent,
or that my mory loss was a side effect of my magical studies.
Aina spoke softly, almost comfortingly.
“I can understand it. The bizarre nature of his magic and the strange depth of his astrology… it almost requires invoking Berseum’s na to make sense of it.”
“Right? You think so too—”
“I’ll pretend I do. Now, how about telling us why we’re actually here?”
Arlia deflated again, but quickly gathered herself and spoke.
“It’s just a simple deduction. Berseum deceived people by saying the Demon King would descend, right?”
“He did.”
“Then tell —who in this world could be closer to a Demon King than Magireta?”
“……! You an—”
“Yes. I believe the Demon King Berseum spoke of was Magireta. He had seen our present through astrology.”
That ant…
Berseum must have known about Magireta’s ga.
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