Chapter 73: Harsh Winter - 1
The deal with Magireta ended like that.
I stopped spreading the letters, and she made sure that Edgar would never be able to take any more hostages again.
Now, Sienne’s younger sister, Berseum’s wife and daughter, and Mrs. yren would all be safe.
If Edgar ever tried to approach them, Magireta herself would protect them.
It felt like I had obtained the key to the safest vault in the world.
After the deal was done, Magireta spoke.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
“……”
“Why are you looking at like that?”
Magireta pulled her hood back over her head.
“This is the first ti.”
“What is?”
“The first person who figured out the hidden rule. The first one who told to na my own price for a deal. The first who made take off my hood. The first who made this angry.”
“……”
“You’re the first for everything, little brother.”
She vanished with a faint sound as she continued,
“It’s a complicated feeling. Truly.”
A brief silence followed.
Then Arlia spoke.
“Let’s make sure we never see that woman again.”
“No, that’s impossible.”
“I know.”
“Then why…”
“I’m just expressing how I feel right now.”
What’s that supposed to an?
Then Aina leaned back deeply in her chair and said,
“Whew. That was terrifying.”
“Hm?”
“What’s wrong, oppa?”
“It’s just… this is the first ti I’ve seen you sound weak in front of anyone besides .”
“Hehe. It’s fine with our party mbers. You’ll be like this too soon enough, oppa.”
“Ahem.”
Benjamin wore a mixed expression—sowhere between pleased and disappointed.
Sienne changed the subject.
“Still, isn’t it kind of a waste? Of course, it’s great that my little sister’s safety is guaranteed for life, but… we’ve lost the only way to deal with Edgar for good.”
“We just went back to the beginning, that’s all.”
“That’s exactly what I ant by ‘a waste.’”
“I thought it was best not to provoke Magireta any further. If she suddenly lost her temper, she could’ve destroyed the whole ga and everything along with it.”
It wasn’t a joke—if she’d gotten angry, she really could’ve destroyed the world.
Thinking about it that way, I might have saved the world today.
I gathered my thoughts and said,
“There’s no need to wander across the continent anymore. Let’s just return to Deut Territory and rest.”
Everyone nodded.
Especially the Diary Book—it seed the happiest of all.
[Ahh. Does this an my self-harm finally ends?]
The hostage quest had been full of twists and turns, but it ended well in the end.
And the very first thing I cared about, now that I finally had so rest ti, was of course this.
“Benjamin, give your hand.”
“My hand?”
“Yes. Well, more precisely your fingers… Anyway, hold still for a mont.”
I looked at the Diary Book.
The string it always insisted on calling the Thread of Connection—and I insisted on calling the bookmark string—fluttered lightly.
As always, I pulled it out, but the Diary Book didn’t even flinch.
‘Guess it doesn’t hurt anymore, huh?’
[After being torn apart over a hundred thousand tis, do you think sothing like this matters anymore? A little bookmark string is nothing.]
‘…….’
[No. It’s the Thread of Connection.]
‘Too late.’
Anyway, I tied the invisible string—sothing only I could see—around Benjamin’s finger.
He looked at blankly and asked,
“What are you doing?”
“It’s nothing much. With this, we’ll be able to continue participating in quests together from now on.”
“Wh-what?”
He made a weird noise, totally out of character for soone who usually acted so composed.
Aina giggled and interjected,
“It’s just one of those things.”
“Aina, you actually believe this?”
“We really have kept taking quests together, haven’t we?”
“Haah. Really, you chose a good leader.”
“I’ve always had an eye for talent.”
She lifted her chin proudly.
Now that her older brother had joined the party, she seed a bit more lively and playful than before.
Of course, that wasn’t a bad thing at all.
In fact, that was how she should act for her age.
Anyway, since we had finished what we basically needed to do, I relaxed my shoulders and said,
“Let’s rest for today. Everyone, you’ve worked really hard.”
The group smiled and nodded in agreent.
That night.
As always, I lay down on the bed and called for the Diary Book.
‘You really worked hard this ti.’
[Indeed.]
I couldn’t even tell it to be humble anymore.
I changed the subject.
‘I want to see the last page. I want to know whether Edgar gets eliminated in the next quest or not.’
[Yes. Please wait a mont.]
Soon, the pages began to turn.
[Accessing the final page.]
[Points consud: 50]
[Remaining points: 713]
I slapped my forehead.
‘The next one won’t be easy either.’
[You’re right.]
‘Don’t sound so casual about it.’
According to the Diary Book, Magireta would provide winter gear, but that would just be a secondary matter.
The real key to the next quest would be how fast we could locate and hunt the monsters that served as fuel.
‘Hmm. By the way, what exactly are those monsters?’
[Would you like to search for it in the Future Diary?]
‘Just tell yourself.’
[You already know what I’ll say.]
No point in asking further.
I’d discuss this part with the party tomorrow.
I held the Diary Book in my hands and said,
‘I’ll use the secret conversation.’
[With which party mber?]
‘No. Not the party mbers.’
[What?]
‘I’ll use it with everyone registered on the administrator page. I need to tell them that the next quest is Midwinter.’
The Diary Book fell silent for a mont, seemingly surprised.
I continued speaking.
‘Rember last ti? You said there must be more than two hundred people I’ve saved, so why are there so few registered on the administrator page?’
[Yes. That was because they were eliminated afterward.]
‘Honestly, this should’ve been done from the start. Of course, unless they’re bound by the bookmark string, I can’t personally protect them, but at the very least, I should’ve told them what the next quest would be.’
[Mason, you’re under no obligation to do that.]
‘If I’m not obligated, then it doesn’t matter whether I tell them or not. So, I’ll do it because I want to.’
[Hehe.]
The Diary Book let out a soft laugh.
It was quite a gentle sound.
The next morning.
Half-asleep, I stumbled out of my room.
Since I’d spent the whole night talking to everyone on the administrator page, I hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
At first, I tried to talk to over 150 participants all at once, but the overwhelming noise nearly made my head explode, so I canceled it.
Then I took my ti, speaking to each person individually to explain the next quest.
Their reactions were dramatic.
—Oh, that’s incredible. Truly incredible information.
—Thank you. I don’t even know how to repay this favor.
—Sob… There really are people like you in this world.
—If you ever have ti, please co find . I want to treat you to sothing.
Thanks to that, everyone’s trust levels rose across the board.
‘Anyway, at least they’ve been given the essential information…’
Now it was ti to take care of my own party.
I felt bad for the others, but my companions were far more important to .
When I went out into the living room, the group greeted .
“Mason, good morning.”
“You slept in? That’s unusual.”
“A young man shouldn’t be sleeping so much.”
“As people get older, they sleep less. So that’s why I sleep a lot.”
“……”
“Why’s everyone so quiet?”
“It’s just your imagination.”
I greeted each of them one by one and took my seat.
After finishing a simple breakfast and clearing the dishes, Aina asked,
“So, who dies this ti? Is it the Princess again?”
Since I’d always foretold the future after each incident, questions like that had beco second nature by now.
Arlia blushed and protested.
“I don’t die in every quest, you know.”
“……”
“…I don’t, right?”
“Unfortunately, you do.”
“Sigh.”
“Well, only Sienne and I survive this one, anyway.”
Sienne smiled with a faint, victorious expression.
“I suppose I should apologize, everyone.”
“In exchange, you’ll lose your leg.”
“Uh…”
“Let explain.”
I gave them a detailed explanation of the upcoming quest—its na and contents.
When I finished, Benjamin spoke up.
He looked as if his head hurt just from listening.
“Is it always like this around here?”
“Pardon?”
“I an, everyone just accepts that these things will happen in the future. Honestly, it’s a bit hard to follow this conversation.”
“There’s no need to force yourself, Sir Benjamin. Mason’s words aren’t sothing to be understood with your head, but with your heart.”
“I still have no idea what that ans, Your Highness.”
Well, he’d get used to it soon enough.
Then Berseum spoke.
“Still, sothing feels odd.”
“What do you an?”
“With my magic, creating fire is simple. There shouldn’t be any need to rely solely on the purple fla Magireta gave you for warmth.”
“There must’ve been a rule about that. Sothing like—only flas she allows can be used.”
“Ah, then that makes sense. So the key is how quickly and how many monsters we can find for fuel.”
He stroked his mustache thoughtfully as he continued.
“I can use detection magic. With that, I should be able to find the monsters’ locations.”
“Well, if that’s true, why didn’t my future self use that thod?”
“Hmm… That spell locates things based on body heat. If those monsters have no warmth at all, it’d be difficult to detect them.”
Aina responded to him.
“So, what are those monsters anyway? Does anyone know?”
I thought that was a question no one would be able to answer.
But surprisingly, Berseum replied in a serious tone.
“I’m not sure if they were monsters, but… I’ve seen a very grotesque creature before.”
“What? Where?”
“Didn’t I ntion it before? I once used magic to look into another dinsion. And then…”
“I saw ‘Hell.’”
We all instinctively shuddered at that mont.
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