Chapter 62: Hostage Situation – 1
I widened my eyes.
‘What the hell is this?’
[The “Peeking” function allows you to view everything the target has ever written. What you’re reading right now is sothing Arlia wrote for one of her class assignnts.]
‘Huh.’
[By the way, it doesn’t have to be a docunt written with pen and paper. Even doodles scrawled on the ground or a painter’s sketch on canvas can be peeked at. You can even see what’s drawn in the air.]
‘……’
[As long as the person used their hands to draw or write sothing, it’s all fair ga for “Peeking.”]
That’s incredible.
It doesn’t even have to be a diary.
Even if the spelling’s wrong or the content is aningless, it doesn’t matter.
Being able to peek at anything a person writes or draws with their own hands—how impressive is that?
‘Then you’re saying Her Highness the Princess submitted such a rebellious assignnt?’
[Yes.]
‘Bold or reckless, I can’t tell which.’
[She must’ve lived walking on eggshells in the Imperial Palace. Perhaps it’s the kind of sentint that grows when one feels isolated and twisted by solitude.]
I see. So, basically, it was her rebellious phase.
I kept flipping through the pages.
“Peeking” arranged everything the person had written throughout their entire life in chronological order.
Naturally, the number of pages was astronomical, and there were countless aningless scribbles, so finding the right information seed like a real chore.
[That’s right. But you can search by specific keywords—or by the date the docunt was written.]
‘Really? Then show the last thing Her Highness wrote.’
The pages fluttered rapidly.
The final entry was this:
September 5th?
……That’s today. Right now!
‘What’s wrong with Her Highness?’
[You should ask her yourself.]
No, honestly, I had a vague guess.
But still, that’s absurd.
She’s royalty, and I’m a commoner.
I suddenly grew curious about the administrator page.
How high was Arlia’s trust level toward right now?
Then, without even asking, the page flipped on its own.
Her trust level had increased significantly since last ti.
For so reason, that made feel pleased.
Then I suddenly noticed sothing odd.
‘Huh? Why does it end at 163?’
[What do you an?]
‘I’ve saved well over 200 people by now.’
[……]
The Diary Book stayed silent.
And I figured out the answer myself.
‘Ah.’
They must’ve been eliminated.
The people I saved—so of them must’ve been disqualified in later quests.
[There’s no need for you to bla yourself, Mason.]
‘I’m not. It’s not my fault anyway.’
That’s what I said, but to be honest, my heart still felt heavy.
They weren’t complete strangers, after all. They were people I’d saved once, even if only for a while.
I slowly rose from bed.
Then bowed my head in brief silence.
‘Diary Book. From now on, if anyone listed on my administrator page gets eliminated, tell imdiately.’
[……Understood.]
I could guess the fate of the eliminated—just look at Berseum’s son.
So I couldn’t tell them to rest in peace.
But I could promise at least this much.
‘I’ll definitely avenge you. Against Magireta.’
The next morning.
When I woke up late and stepped outside, I saw Arlia.
She seed to have just co out of her room as well.
“Are you awake?”
“Mm. Good morning.”
“Are you heading to breakfast?”
“No. To be honest, I overate at dinner yesterday. I was so full I couldn’t even sleep properly.”
So that’s why she sat at her desk and traced my na, huh.
Feeling my face grow a little warm, I quickly changed the topic.
“What about the others?”
“I knocked on their doors, but there was no answer. They must be sleeping deeply—or perhaps out for a stroll.”
“Shall we take a walk too?”
I said it without thinking.
Arlia answered, her expression brightening slightly.
“Would that be all right?”
“I was planning to take today as a free day anyway. We’ve been running nonstop—resting for a day won’t hurt.”
“I thought you might’ve seen the future again last night. I half-expected you to say, ‘Your Highness will die again.’”
“Pfft.”
I burst out laughing without realizing it.
Arlia followed suit, laughing as well.
When I stopped laughing, I said,
“How did you know? Her Highness dies again.”
“Ahaha.”
“……”
“Hahaha… haah. Honestly.”
“I was joking.”
At that, Arlia narrowed her eyes and glared at .
I waved my hands quickly.
“My apologies. I guess that’s been weighing on your mind more than I thought.”
“Not that much.”
“I haven’t seen the future yet. I’ll check it tonight when everyone gathers. Anyway, shall we go?”
“All right.”
And so, we headed outside.
The Deut Territory was quite a large place, with plenty to see.
We strolled through parks, plazas, and markets, buying various snacks along the way.
For lunch, we stopped by a small restaurant for sothing light.
Arlia seed genuinely delighted by everything, her eyes shining the whole ti.
“I never thought I’d experience sothing like this in my lifeti. Once again, I thank you.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. But have you really never gone out like this before?”
“I’ve never walked the streets on my own feet. I begged Cecil for it many tis, but she never allowed it.”
Cecil—that must have been Arlia’s nanny.
The one I t before the Second Quest began, during the process of joining up with Arlia.
“Now that I think of it, you must really care about her.”
“‘Care about’ sounds like I’m placing myself above her.”
“But technically, you are above her.”
“My relationship with Cecil isn’t like that. It’s more accurate to call her my second mother.”
A small smile appeared on her lips as she said that.
We continued wandering around the area.
Just as it was about ti to return, I spotted a small jewelry shop.
Beautifully crafted pieces glead behind the glass display.
One item in particular caught my eye.
Hmm…
“Your Highness, could you wait here for a mont?”
“Hm? Of course.”
She tilted her head slightly but nodded.
I went into the jewelry shop, picked sothing out, and ca back.
She was looking up at the sky.
This was… a little awkward.
“Your Highness.”
“Oh, you’re back… huh? T-This is?”
What I handed her was a necklace.
It resembled the one Arlia had given up as a trade during the Diet Quest—at least in design.
I scratched my head and said,
“Last ti, Your Highness sacrificed your necklace. It wasn’t just a trinket—it carried your mories as well.”
“Mason…”
“So, I know this might be presumptuous, but I wanted to give you sothing new to hold new mories in.”
“……”
“Please fill this one with new mories. Of course, our journey might be too rough to call them ‘mories,’ but still.”
Arlia stayed silent for a mont, then reached out her hand.
But instead of taking the necklace right away, she grasped my hand.
That wasn’t what I expected.
She pulled my hand toward her forehead.
“Y-Your Highness?”
“Thank you. Truly, thank you, Mason.”
“Ah, um…”
“I’ll treasure it dearly. From today, this will be my most precious treasure.”
Arlia took the necklace.
Then, with graceful movents, she fastened it around her neck.
To be honest, it was a cheap, faded jewel—unworthy of a mber of the royal family.
But sohow, it looked stunning on Arlia.
“Does it suit ?”
“Yes. Truly.”
“I’m glad.”
“The necklace your mother gave you—you used to keep it close but never wore it, didn’t you?”
“Mm. That one carried mories too, but it also reminded of the grief of losing her.”
She smiled softly as she continued,
“But this one—it only gives joy, not sorrow.”
“Your Highness.”
“Ahem. Let’s head back. The others have probably returned by now.”
She turned briskly.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but her ears seed a little red.
That evening, we regrouped at the inn and then returned to Berseum’s house.
On the way back, Aina nudged my side with a teasing grin.
“Not bad, huh?”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s a necklace on Her Highness’s neck I’ve never seen before.”
Berseum chid in.
“Reminds of my younger days. Back in my ti…”
“Fufu. People our age don’t really like stories that start with ‘Back in my day,’ you know.”
“‘People our age,’ you say?”
“Yes. Why? Is that wrong?”
“……No, not at all.”
Anyway, once we returned ho, we imdiately gathered for a eting.
By now, these etings had beco so routine it was almost frightening.
Before the actual discussion began, everyone chatted casually for a bit.
During that ti, I spoke to the Diary Book.
‘Let’s check the last page again.’
[Understood.]
[Opening the last page.]
[Points consud: 50]
[Remaining points: 763]
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