Chapter 32: The Deal – 2
Yes.
Participants of the quest could make a “deal” with Magireta.
However, one had to be very careful about what to offer and what to ask for.
Because inside Magireta’s mind existed a virtual scale.
On that scale, she placed the participant’s request on one side and the price they offered on the other.
If the scale tilted toward the side of the request… aning they asked for more than what they offered in return?
Then their head would explode — as punishnt for trying to deceive Magireta.
‘Still…’
It struck once again how far ahead Edgar was compared to the other participants.
He monopolized so much information that no one else knew.
‘That guy really is a balance breaker by himself. But well, it can’t be helped. He hasn’t broken any rules.’
She asked,
“Shall I send you now?”
“Yes. Let just stretch first.”
Edgar approached the edge of the cliff and looked down toward the Deut Territory.
“Ugh—aaah.”
With a strange sound, he stretched widely and muttered,
“Would be nice if they fall into the trap… but if they don’t, I’ll just have to kill them next ti. After I make plenty of subordinates.”
And in the next instant—
Both Edgar and Magireta completely vanished.
I was gripping the Diary Book with trembling hands.
[Please don’t shake like that. You’re making dizzy.]
‘……’
[You don’t even need to hold , you know. I can open to any page you want.]
‘W-what the hell is this now?’
The page I was looking at was the last one.
Wondering if my lifespan might have been extended because of this incident, I paid 50 points and turned to the final page.
But—
‘It didn’t change. It didn’t change, so why did you take my 50 points, huh?’
[P-please calm down. I’m seriously going to vomit.]
‘The only thing you’re going to vomit are the points you stole!’
[The page you’re seeing is definitely different from before. Keep reading.]
I glared at the Diary Book suspiciously and read further.
“Huh.”
A low exclamation escaped .
That ant all the belongings we retrieved—his clothes and other items—were just trash.
Then Arlia’s voice rang out.
“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been waving your hands in the air like you’re grabbing sothing.”
“Yeah, you look completely insane. Well, not that you weren’t already.”
“You’ve had a hard couple of days, that’s all. I’ll lend you a room—get so rest first.”
We were having dinner at Berseum’s house.
I shook my head.
“Edgar is alive.”
“……!”
“Cough, hack—what?”
“He’s alive. I confird it through astrology.”
Boom.
Aina shot up from her seat.
“That’s impossible. I definitely—”
“The first-place reward from his Second Quest was an elixir that revives life.”
“W-what?”
“He can only revive five tis, though.”
“That crazy bitch Magireta really can do anything, huh.”
Then Berseum spoke with a solemn expression.
“As expected, your astrology isn’t just astrology. You couldn’t have discovered that with re divination. It’s magic, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Well, it’s a different field than yours, but still.”
“Fascinating. Tell more—”
“Grandpa, is that really what matters right now? We should hunt him down and kill him four more tis first!”
Berseum lowered his head with the expression of a grandfather being scolded by his granddaughter.
It seed he couldn’t go against Aina anymore.
I said,
“No. He’s lying in wait, with traps already set.”
“What kind of trap?”
“I don’t know. But precisely because I don’t, we shouldn’t go after him yet.”
“……”
“Don’t worry. Sooner or later, we’ll et him again in another quest. That’s how it’s ant to be.”
I spoke firmly.
“When that ti cos, we’ll kill him then.”
“Grrr.”
“Calm down, Aina.”
Arlia elegantly sliced her steak as she said,
“If Mason has spoken with such confidence, then that man’s life is already forfeit.”
“You’re getting crazier by the day, you know that?”
“Do you disagree? Surely you don’t think Edgar surpasses Mason.”
Aina sulked for a mont, then muttered,
“That’s absolutely not it.”
“Good. Then there’s no need to worry. Sir Berseum, please calm yourself as well.”
“I wasn’t agitated in the first place.”
Everyone looked at with eyes full of trust.
I scratched my head.
In the Diary of the Future, the “” there had lost them all to Edgar in so unknown quest.
But that wouldn’t happen to this .
[Because I’m here.]
‘Yeah. Because you’re here. I’m always grateful for that.’
[……]
‘What’s wrong?’
[I-I just wasn’t expecting such a sincere thank-you all of a sudden. Uh… I should be the one thanking you.]
The Diary Book fluttered like a bird, then vanished with a pop.
I let out a faint chuckle and raised my glass.
Inside the glass was a special wine made by Berseum himself.
“Then let’s make a toast—to that bastard who’s destined to die soday.”
Everyone lifted their glasses with laughter.
Clink.
“Aina, you mustn’t drink that. Imperial law forbids drinking before adulthood—”
“Gulp. Too late, I already finished it.”
“……”
“Don’t glare at . It’s juice.”
“I-is that so.”
“But why can’t I drink anyway? How old do you think I am?”
“Sixteen, aren’t you? The youngest daughter of the Noel Family should be that age.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then you can’t drink!”
The table erupted into cheerful laughter.
Noisy, but oddly warm and pleasant.
It was a lively, happy night.
And amidst that joy, the Diary Book chid in once more.
[I almost forgot. Mason, you said sothing weird just now, so…]
‘What did I even say?’
[Anyway, please check this.]
[You have successfully cleared the Unexpected Quest ‘The Light of Despair.’]
[The records during the Unexpected Quest ‘The Light of Despair’ have been altered.]
[Due to these changes, parts of the Future Diary have been updated.]
[The function ‘Shop lv.1’ has been upgraded.]
[You achieved the survival of Arlia in the Unexpected Quest. You receive a reward of 100 points.]
[You achieved the survival of Aina in the Unexpected Quest. You receive a reward of 100 points.]
[You achieved the survival of Berseum in the Unexpected Quest. You receive a reward of 100 points.]
[Current Points: 453]
Ahh.
The wine tasted amazing.
—The next day.
We decided to take the entire day off.
Berseum went to work as a gardener as if nothing had happened yesterday.
For so reason, Aina secretly followed him, but later I heard that he only treated Eris as his “employer,” just as Bake would.
Eris, in turn, treated him as an employee, not her father.
“For now, that emotional gap won’t be easily nded,” Aina remarked.
Arlia tilted her head.
“But didn’t he already confess yesterday? That he’s her father?”
“Emotions don’t work like ‘one plus one equals two,’ you know.”
“Hm.”
“Besides, if they really want to talk deeply, the topic of the quests will inevitably co up—and Magireta strictly forbade that.”
In other words, Berseum seed to plan on surviving every remaining quest before finally approaching her as a father.
Anyway, after that, everyone spent ti separately on personal maintenance.
Arlia spent her day reading all sorts of rare books in Berseum’s house.
Aina wandered around all day, saying she needed to restock so tools.
The four of us gathered again for dinner that evening.
We found a rather elegant-looking restaurant, and Aina asked,
“Hey, old man. How’s Eris doing?”
“Thanks to the dicine you gave her, she’s doing much better.”
“Tell her not to skip doses just because she feels better.”
“Of course.”
He stroked his mustache and continued,
“Eris also asked to pass along her regards to you.”
“I see.”
“Well, our vacation was only for today. What should we do next?”
Berseum said that, then turned his gaze toward .
The others followed suit.
Apparently, I had naturally beco the leader of this “party.”
It didn’t exactly suit my personality, but since I was the one reading the Future Diary, I supposed it made sense.
“For now, Edgar will likely stay quiet for a while, and we’ve also learned so of Magireta’s secrets… Let’s try to find out what the next quest will be.”
“Can you even do that?”
Instead of answering, I called upon the Diary Book.
‘Hey, Diary Book.’
[Yes.]
‘The next quest… Wait, hold on. Didn’t you say sothing got upgraded last ti?’
I had ant to ask yesterday but forgot.
A new feature—Shop lv.1.
I understood the “Shop” part, but what did “level 1” an?
‘What’s this used for?’
[You can check it yourself later. For now, your companions are waiting for your answer.]
‘Hmm… Right.’
Still, a “shop,” huh.
In so ways, this Diary Book was even more mysterious than Magireta herself.
But it was a mystery that helped . That was enough for now.
‘Tell soday—who you really are.’
[I’ll do my best.]
‘Anyway, I’ll check the shop feature later. For now, let’s find out what the next quest is.’
[Understood.]
Soon, the Diary Book opened with a soft flutter.
[Using search function to locate details about the Fourth Quest.]
[Cost: 100 points]
[Remaining Points: 353]
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