Future Diary Survival Game-Chapter 34 : The Deal - 4

Chapter 34: The Deal - 4
I decided to call it a day for now.
Anyway, according to the Diary Book, there was still quite some time left before the fourth quest began.
In the meantime, I thought I should figure out what I could offer Magireta in return.
That night.
Tossing and turning in bed, I summoned the Diary Book.
‘Come to think of it, I didn’t check the shop function earlier, did I?’
[Correct.]
‘Show me now.’
[Understood.]
Rustle—
The Diary Book opened immediately.
<Always with you. The Doorstep Service Diary Shop.> <You can purchase the following items at very low point prices.>
<Currently, as this is lv.1, only one item is available for sale.>
<1. Stimulant (Exclusive to Armelia): 500 points>
What’s this?
‘Stimulant? What is that?’
[It’s a drug that induces awakening when consumed.]
‘Thanks for the helpful explanation.’
[You’re welcome.]
‘I was being sarcastic. Give me a proper explanation!’
[The only way I can describe it is, “Just try it once.”]
My head hurt.
Normally, when you sell something, shouldn’t there at least be a product description?
Who would buy from a shop like this?
[This shop doesn’t have much business anyway. Mason, you’re the only customer.]
‘You sound oddly proud of that.’
[Thank you.]
‘Phew. Anyway, I can’t afford it with my current points.’
Since the stimulant cost 500 points, I couldn’t buy it yet.
For now, I decided to be content just discovering this strange feature.
After browsing through the Diary Book for a while, I got up.
Maybe because my expectations had crashed, I couldn’t sleep.
Thinking I might get some fresh air, I stepped outside.
But as soon as I reached the first floor, my footsteps stopped.
“……”
I saw Armelia sitting alone at a secluded table, drinking.
Cheap liquor—something she would never even glance at back in the Imperial Palace, let alone drink.
Yet the table was already crowded with empty bottles.
‘Surprisingly, she can hold her liquor.’
I quietly sat across from her.
“Ah.”
“Why are you drinking alone?”
“You should be asleep. Why are you out here?”
Armelia’s face was quite flushed.
It seemed she had started the night intending to drink while thinking calmly, but was now at the point where the alcohol was drinking her.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Same here.”
“Something on your mind?”
“What else could it be? Of course…”
She hesitated, then changed her words.
“Of course, it’s about the next quest.”
“No, it’s not. You’re worrying about what to offer Magireta as compensation, aren’t you?”
“……You truly are a strange man. How do you read me so easily?”
“Your Highness wears her heart on her sleeve.”
At that, Armelia pouted slightly.
To think someone like her could make that kind of face… truly, alcohol was powerful.
“I know. I lack a lot as a member of the royal family.”
“I didn’t say that. You’re not lacking—just… not yet complete.”
“Isn’t that the same thing! You always tease me, you know that?”
Thump, thump.
Armelia slammed the table a few times.
Ah, no.
If I laughed now, she might really get upset.
I put on a solemn expression and apologized.
“My apologies. That was too harsh.”
“Don’t apologize so quickly! Then I have nothing to say back.”
“……”
“Anyway—sigh, you’re right. I’ve been thinking about what to offer Magireta.”
“Earlier, you said making a deal with the demon was—”
“I said that to stop you. At least, I had to prevent you from answering on the spot.”
She picked up the bottle again.
I quickly intercepted it and poured her a refill instead.
Armelia smiled faintly and raised the glass to her lips.
“In the fourth quest, it said I would die, remember?”
“Yes.”
“Then it has to be me who makes the deal with Magireta. Not you.”
“But if you carelessly place something on that demon’s scale, you’ll be eliminated instantly.”
“All the more reason I should do it. Either way, I’m fated to die.”
Clink.
She set the glass down and continued.
“Edgar Tyler said he succeeded in making a deal with Magireta once, didn’t he?”
“Yes. He wagered one of the lives he earned from the Second Quest.”
“Which means, unless one offers something as precious as life itself, the deal won’t be accepted. So—”
Rustle.
Armelia reached into her bosom and pulled something out.
It was a small necklace.
Not one she wore around her neck, but one she carried in her pocket.
I glanced at her.
Her expression was bitter.
“It’s my mother’s keepsake.”
“I see.”
“……”
“Wait—hold on!”
Her mother?
Then that meant it belonged to the Empress… but the Empress was still alive, wasn’t she?
A thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“Your Highness, don’t tell me…”
“Yes. Compared to the other princes, my legitimacy is quite weak. I’m not the daughter of the official Empress.”
“I—I had no idea. That’s not something publicly known.”
“Commoners don’t need to know more than the fact that there’s an Emperor, princes, and princesses. But Aina probably knows.”
She downed her drink in one go.
So much for etiquette.
“You don’t need that face. Even if she wasn’t the official wife, my mother was still of noble birth. Of course, since I’m not the Empress’s daughter, I’m far from the line of succession—twentieth or worse—but I never cared for such things anyway.”
“……”
“When His Majesty and my mother were still close, I had a fairly happy life. At least until I was twelve.”
Now that I thought about it, Aina once said that the Princess, who had utterly defeated Matets in the Tower of Knowledge at age ten, was once called the Imperial Family’s Treasure.
That must have been when the Emperor and Armelia’s mother were still on good terms.
“But my mother… secretly met another man.”
“What?”
“……Or so I was told. I don’t know if it’s true. Either way, His Majesty flew into a rage. My mother was banished almost immediately. Without me.”
“……”
“This necklace was my last birthday gift from her—before that happened.”
For a moment, I couldn’t say a word.
Armelia let out a deep sigh and continued.
“But the problem didn’t end there. Upon further investigation, they discovered that the affair with that man had lasted much longer than expected.”
“When you say longer…”
“It supposedly began even before I was born.”
“……!”
“You understand what that means, don’t you? His Majesty suspects that I may not be his child. Since that day, the Imperial Family’s Treasure became a disgrace. No one looked after me or cared for me—except Cecil.”
I hadn’t meant to, but I ended up hearing something far too heavy.
Armelia must have thought the same, because she gave a small laugh and changed the subject.
“My mother passed away less than half a year after being banished. They said she suffered from a sickness of the heart—but who knows. His Majesty has always been rather jealous by nature.”
“……”
“In any case, that’s why this necklace is more precious to me than my own life. I’m thinking of offering it to Magireta.”
“If it’s second only to your life, that won’t do. Edgar staked his actual life, after all.”
“What a straightforward response.”
“Apologies. That’s just how I am.”
“No, no. Hmm… I’ve talked too much nonsense. I should go to sleep.”
She slowly rose from her seat, swaying slightly as she made her way toward the stairs.
Before I knew it, I had instinctively grabbed her hand.
“……?”
“Ah—my apologies. That was terribly rude of me…”
“It’s fine. Of all the rude things you’ve done to me, this barely counts.”
“You’re surprisingly good with words, Your Highness.”
“And where do you think I learned it?”
I quietly let go of her hand.
Armelia absentmindedly brushed the back of her hand, then asked,
“So, what is it?”
“We should finish our talk. The necklace won’t do.”
“……You think it’s not enough?”
“I’m not sure how fair Magireta’s scale really is. But aside from that—I can’t let you put yourself in danger.”
Armelia’s expression turned curious.
“You’ve been like that from the very beginning. Even during the First Quest, you said you wanted to save me without asking for anything in return.”
That’s because it also extended my lifespan.
I spoke in a firm tone.
“Your Highness granted me the surname Gear. A guide, a pathfinder.”
“Yes.”
“Then, as your guide, allow me to say this: do not offer that necklace to Magireta.”
“……”
“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure to save Your Highness in the Fourth Quest as well.”
The next moment—
My mouth fell open in surprise.
There were tears in the Princess’s eyes.
Startled herself, she quickly turned away.
“T-this is just the alcohol talking.”
“What just happened?”
“…Heh. You really are—”
Her voice carried both laughter and a faint tremor of emotion.
“—incorrigible.”
Even while nearly drunk, she straightened her back and climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Feeling suddenly drained, I sighed.
That’s when—
“You’ve had quite the night.”
“Ah—brother.”
Berseum was sitting at a nearby table, staring straight at me.
Strange. He hadn’t been there just moments ago.
“Where did you come from? For a moment, I thought you were Magireta.”
“You call that a joke?”
“I’m completely serious, a hundred percent.”
“……”
“So, you were watching?”
Berseum nodded, a satisfied smile on his face.
“Yes. You and the Princess seemed to be having an interesting talk. I cast a simple sensory-suppression spell and listened in.”
“And you say that so proudly? What about the Princess’s privacy?”
“I already knew about her circumstances. Before my downfall, I was quite an academic figure in the political world, you see.”
“……”
“Well, that aside… I’ve been thinking about what I should offer Magireta as well.”
I frowned.
“Forget it. Don’t. From my perspective, you’re just as important as the Princess. The same goes for Aina.”
“I can’t understand it. The Princess, Aina, and I—we share no common traits. So why must we, of all participants, be the ones you have to save?”
I didn’t know that myself.
When I stayed silent, Berseum smiled gently.
It was the same kind of warm, affectionate smile he wore when looking at Aina—like a grandfather watching his beloved grandchild.
“I won’t ask further. I’ve decided to follow your lead anyway. You wouldn’t be called Gear for nothing.”
“You flatter me.”
“I didn’t expect the Princess herself would grant you a surname. Do your best.”
“What do you mean, do my best? Do my best at what?”
But Berseum was no longer listening.
He looked up at the ceiling and murmured,
“What a beautiful time this is…”
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Even the party members who had seemed relaxed at first began to show growing signs of unease.
But in truth, I had already decided what I would offer Magireta.
I simply wasn’t sure if it would really work.
Still, it was time to decide.
‘According to the Diary Book…’
The Fourth Quest ended on April 15th.
And it was said to have lasted two days.
That meant it would start on April 13th.
‘Just one week left now.’
There was no more delaying it.
And so, one morning,
I gathered everyone together and spoke.
“I’ll summon Magireta.”
Aina asked cautiously,
“Have you decided what you’ll offer?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t have to offer your own thing. I’ve decided on mine too.”
“What is it?”
“My precious tool case…”
Armelia cut in, sounding exasperated.
“My offering was a necklace, and yours is a tool case?”
“And you’re offering a necklace instead of a tool case?”
“Both of you, calm down. I’ll offer my treasured magic book.”
They were all useless.
Ignoring them, I began to summon Magireta.
“Magire—”
Then, suddenly—
“-ta?”
I found myself in a room with about twenty others.
Armelia was gone. So was Aina. And Berseum too.
Slowly, I began to grasp the situation.
‘It started? The quest?’
[It seems so.]
‘That’s impossible! According to the Future Diary, there’s still a week left until it begins!’
[Don’t you know why?]
No—
Actually, I did.
I ground my teeth.
Then I heard Magireta’s voice.
“Wow, long time no see, everyone. It’s been ages, hasn’t it?”
“Magireta…”
“Mhm, and my little brother’s here too. But why don’t you ever call me big sister?”
“Why did you start the game now?”
At that, Magireta’s smile turned chilling.
“Why not? You’re acting like you knew when the Fourth Quest would start.”
I did know.
And Magireta knew that I knew.
That was why she had been watching me all along.
I could almost read her thoughts.
—The little brother will try to summon me before the next quest begins.
—He’ll offer something on my scale and ask that his party be allowed to stay together for the next quest.
—So let’s start the game before he calls me.
Because—
—That way, it’ll be more fun.