Chapter 86: Doppelgänger - 4
Suddenly, Benjamin spoke.
“Mason. It was sothing Aina asked a week ago, but… how long do we have to keep doing this?”
“Indeed.”
“Can’t you just look into the future?”
“It’s not like I can conveniently search for only the future I want.”
That was a lie.
It was entirely possible to search for the future I wanted.
The problem was sothing else...
[There was absolutely no ntion of a doppelgänger in the Future Diary.]
‘Phew. Yeah.’
I had already checked through the search function but found nothing useful.
In the first place, in the diary’s future, I hadn’t even realized that one of my companions was fake until the very last quest.
If there was a flaw in the Future Diary, that would be it.
The diary only recorded what I had felt and experienced.
Instead, once a quest ended safely, the diary would revise itself—and with that, its contents would change.
Perhaps by then, sowhere in the diary, information about the doppelgänger would appear.
‘In other words, this Sudden Quest is one I can’t rely on the Future Diary for.’
Then Aina spoke up.
“This is so uncomfortable. More than anything, Her Highness snores too loudly at night.”
“Huh? I couldn’t possibly—”
“I’m joking.”
“……”
“Can’t we at least split the sleeping arrangents evenly?”
I firmly shook my head.
“In that case, we’d need two night watchers, which would be inefficient.”
“Still.”
“This matter is more serious than you think. For , a situation where I can’t trust my companions is far more horrifying than one where my life’s at risk.”
At my words, everyone smiled faintly.
Thinking I might’ve said sothing a bit embarrassing, I scratched my head—when Berseum spoke.
“By the way, I was thinking—once we corner the doppelgänger, how exactly do you plan to kill it?”
“Huh? Wouldn’t we just cut it down with a sword?”
“That’s what I thought at first too… but its true body was made of mud. Like how the Hellfire monster during the Frozen Season couldn’t be cut with a blade, I’m guessing even if we slice mud, it’ll just rge back together.”
My mouth fell open at Berseum’s words.
He had a point I hadn’t considered.
Arlia nodded slowly and said,
“Then we’ll need a secret weapon of our own.”
“Indeed, Your Highness.”
“In that case, why not use Mason’s blood?”
…Huh?
In that instant, a strange sense of discomfort rippled through my mind.
I stayed silent, trying to figure out what it was, until Benjamin spoke.
“Ah. Your Highness said Mason’s blood stands in opposition to Magireta’s omnipotence, right?”
“Yes. Mason’s blood even neutralized Edgar’s immortality. The doppelgänger is also a monster—one created by Magireta’s omnipotence. Naturally, Mason’s blood should work on it.”
“Hmm.”
“If it’s a monster made of mud that can’t be cut, lting it away like we did with Edgar might be the best approach.”
“That’s a sound idea.”
Benjamin replied, glancing toward Aina.
Aina shrugged her shoulders.
“If we draw it beforehand, the blood might clot.”
“You can take care of that, can’t you?”
“Sigh. Fine. Mason, can I draw so of your blood again?”
That was when it happened.
A heavy ringing echoed in my head like a giant bell.
I realized what the discomfort had been.
It was a terrifying conclusion.
‘…No way.’
There’s no way.
There can’t be.
I forced my racing heart to calm down.
Let’s test it.
After a slow breath, I spoke casually.
“Alright. Sa as last ti?”
“Yeah. Oh, old man, can you grab the bucket?”
“Sure thing.”
Soon, Aina began drawing my blood again with that sa strange-looking device.
Drops of blood from my forearm fell into the bucket—one, two.
anwhile, I quietly looked at Arlia.
She noticed my gaze and tilted her head slightly in confusion.
“……”
I smiled faintly, as if nothing was wrong.
A few minutes later.
When the bucket was about half-filled with blood, Aina pulled out the tool.
“Alright. Done. Good work.”
“……”
“Mason?”
“Ah. Just felt a bit dizzy.”
“Really? We drew much less than last ti, so you should be fine.”
“Still, I’m a little light-headed. So, Your Highness…”
Arlia’s body stiffened slightly.
I continued as calmly as I could.
“Would you heal like before?”
“...Ah, that’s…”
“Last ti, before I even asked, Your Highness was the one who offered to heal . For the anemia.”
“The thing is, Mason—”
“No, we don’t even need to go that far.”
My voice ca out sharp and clear.
“Back then, Your Highness didn’t even like the idea of my blood being drawn at all. Isn’t that right?”
I recalled the conversation between Arlia and Aina back then.
Back in Bucklet Forest.
When Aina had just stuck the needle into my arm.
At that ti, Arlia had stomped her feet and said—
—S-stop. I think that’s more than enough already.
—Not a single drop has co out yet.
—Ugh…
—Why is Your Highness the one getting nervous? I’m a professional, you know. And my brother’s here too, so don’t worry.
Right.
Even before the real work had begun, she had worried about my condition.
And after all the blood had been drawn, she had healed with the Light of Healing—without my even asking.
But this ti?
Wasn’t it Arlia herself who had suggested drawing my blood in the first place!
Clatter.
I snatched the bucket out of Aina’s hands.
Then, threatening to throw it at Arlia, I spoke.
“Your transformation ability is truly phenonal. The voice, the appearance, even the mannerisms—and you even copied the mories of the one you imitated.”
“W-wait, you’ve got it wrong.”
“The way you treated the others was identical to the real Her Highness. Even when we spoke about past events, there wasn’t a hint of awkwardness. But you missed one step.”
“Calm down for a mont—”
“When did you switch with Her Highness? Where is the real one?”
Before I knew it, my companions had surrounded Arlia in a circle.
From across the way, I could clearly see cold sweat running down Berseum’s forehead.
Arlia—or rather, the Doppelgänger wearing Arlia’s face—cried out desperately.
“I’m telling you to calm down. This is a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yes!”
“Then heal my dizziness. I’m feeling quite light-headed right now.”
“……”
“You can’t, can you? That’s sothing you couldn’t copy.”
That wasn’t Arlia’s personal ability.
It was sothing granted to her by the Diary Book.
Right. That Doppelgänger couldn’t copy anything that originated from the Diary Book.
Gulp.
Aina swallowed hard and spoke.
“So that’s really not Her Highness? But she looks exactly the sa…”
“There’s no mistake.”
“Wait. That’s weird. If she could read the mories of whoever she transford into, wouldn’t it have been better to just transform into you from the start, Mason?”
Now that she ntioned it, she was right.
If it had turned into instead of Arlia from the beginning,
and read my mories, there would’ve been no need for such a clumsy act.
Unexpectedly, the Doppelgänger answered that question herself.
“It’s simple. I couldn’t turn into you.”
She gave a faint smile, as if resigning herself.
I felt my stomach twist and said,
“Don’t smile like that with Her Highness’s face.”
“It’s the exact sa smile though, isn’t it?”
“……What do you an you couldn’t turn into ?”
“Just what I said. I couldn’t read your mories, nor could I take on your form. It was my first ti experiencing that, and it really threw off.”
“……”
“So I decided to play the long ga instead. I figured I’d transform into one of your companions and observe you.”
I ground my teeth.
Benjamin asked,
“Where is the real Her Highness?”
“Don’t worry. She’s alive. I’ll keep her that way, too.”
“That’s reassuring, but also unexpected. For you, keeping the ‘real one’ alive would only be a risk.”
“If the real one dies, I can only maintain her form for up to a week. So I usually prefer to keep the originals alive.”
Ah, right. That detail had been recorded in the Encyclopedia.
‘Which ans…’
Since Diana was already dead, that ant she had never intended to stay in Diana’s form for long.
She had probably approached us first disguised as Diana to observe our group.
Then, after identifying the most suitable target for transformation, she must’ve retreated.
After that… at so point, she must’ve covered herself in mud and taken on Her Highness’s form—brazenly joining our party.
“The healing power you ntioned, Mason? That I can’t imitate. But Her Highness had Perfect Recall, didn’t she?”
“……”
“That seems to be her personal ability. I was able to replicate it perfectly.”
“……!”
“That Perfect Recall will be quite useful to . So don’t worry, I plan to keep Her Highness alive.”
I inhaled through my nose to steady my mind.
Then I spoke slowly.
“Why did a monster like you suggest drawing my blood first? Isn’t that poison to your kind? Asking to make a weapon that could kill yourself—it’s strange.”
“……”
“So there must be another reason you need my blood.”
For the first ti, tension flashed across the Doppelgänger’s face.
I fell silent for a mont, thinking.
It didn’t take long to reach the answer.
“Did Magireta tell you to collect so of my blood?”
“……!”
“Of course. She’d be curious about the substance that nullified her omnipotence. She probably wanted to study it.”
“……”
“The best outco would be uncovering my secret. If that wasn’t possible, or if you risked exposing yourself, she probably ordered you to at least bring back my blood. Am I wrong?”
The Doppelgänger stayed silent for a while.
I thought she wouldn’t respond—but unexpectedly, she replied.
“You’re a dangerous one. Your mind works too fast.”
“There wasn’t much to figure out. What use would my blood be to you? It’d be deadly poison instead.”
“……”
“If you went out of your way to collect such poison, it must’ve been under Magireta’s orders.”
The real question was—why did she leave that task to a subordinate?
If Magireta had wanted, it would’ve been easy for her to take my blood herself.
‘Did she think it might be dangerous?’
After a brief thought, I decided to focus on the more urgent matter.
“So, where is the real Her Highness?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“That’s fine. Because I have this.”
“……What?”
I held up the Compass.
Then I set the search target to Arlia and brought up the display.
The Doppelgänger seed to recall from Arlia’s mories what this item was—her face twisted in frustration.
I checked the map briefly.
‘Two red dots.’
One was at the house we were currently in.
As expected, the Compass recognized the Doppelgänger as the transford target.
And the other red dot was…
“About thirty kiloters west, in the mountains—there’s a cave. Her Highness is inside.”
“Let’s go there at once.”
“Yes. Of course. But first,”
I said coldly,
“We can’t just leave this thing behind.”
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