Future Diary Survival Game-Chapter 38 : Hide-and-Seek - 3

Chapter 38: Hide-and-Seek - 3
I spoke about Ian’s ability — that brief, fleeting moment I had managed to grasp.
The ability so terrifying that he could read even the number of rotations of a coin thrown with his back turned.
The ordinary participants all looked doubtful.
However, my party members — especially Aina — opened her mouth in a heavy voice.
“This is... over. We can’t win.”
“Aina.”
“To be honest, I kind of expected this. My father once said something when he was evaluating Ian while he was still alive. If you ever fight that guy, make sure to fight from a distance. Once you step into his boundary, no matter how stealthily you move, he’ll detect you.”
“How on earth is that even possible?”
“Well, that family also has their own kind of secret technique, like ours. I don’t know what it’s formally called, but you can assume his sensory perception has surpassed human limits.”
Thanks to Aina’s confirmation, everyone else began to look paler.
They were starting to feel the truth of my words in their bones.
Berseum spoke.
“As I said earlier, can I not use my magic?”
“You mean that invisibility spell, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… then, try casting it on any one of us first. Aina, you try to find them as a test.”
Aina’s eyes widened.
I continued,
“If you can find them, that means Ian definitely can too.”
“You’re not wrong, but that’s kind of annoying.”
“As long as it’s not too annoying, that’s fine.”
“Ugh, seriously.”
“Anyone willing to volunteer to hide for the test?”
Everyone just looked at one another, saying nothing.
Well, considering magic was still something out of a fairy tale in this world, no one would want to be a live test subject.
Then Armelia spoke up.
“I’ll do it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. To be honest, I want to do it.”
“Sorry?”
“The magic books I read while staying at Be—... Bake’s house left quite an impression. I want to experience it firsthand.”
Berseum nodded.
Then, as before, he began to move his lips.
I couldn’t see the flow of mana, but I could clearly see the Princess’s figure gradually turning faint.
“Ohh.”
“What’s that?”
“So this is real magic, huh? I’ve really been going through a series of unbelievable experiences lately.”
“After seeing Magireta, even magic feels like nothing special now.”
Crack.
At those last words, a vein seemed to pop on Berseum’s forehead.
But he finished his spell with dignity and said,
“The less one knows, the more they talk. How can someone ignorant of the mystery of magic say it’s nothing spec—”
“Your Highness. Please hide for ten minutes starting now.”
“Are you even listening to me?”
“In ten minutes, I’ll have Aina try to find you.”
Armelia didn’t respond.
But I could definitely hear her footsteps fading away.
Even that, I thought, was already wrong.
“Next time, please make it so she doesn’t make any sound either, brother.”
“Hmm, understood. The mystery of magic is—”
“Aina, start the timer. We’ll go after ten minutes.”
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
Ten minutes later—
Aina lightly stretched her shoulders and spoke.
“Then, I’ll be back.”
“How long do you think it’ll take to bring Her Highness back?”
“You’re assuming I’ll find her, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“To be honest, I already have a rough idea of where she hid. It’ll take less than three minutes.”
Aina vanished.
And sure enough, three minutes later, she returned, triumphant, with Armelia in tow.
The Princess spoke in disbelief.
“You’re kidding, right? Behind the curtain? Are you a kid?”
“Ugh.”
“Anyway, that proves it. Grandpa’s magic is completely useless in this game.”
“Ugh.”
“If I could find her that easily, for Ian it’ll be a walk in the park. What do we do, Mason?”
Instead of answering, I looked around.
The Emperor’s Audience Chamber did have quite a few physical places to hide.
But no ordinary spot could fool Ian’s senses.
Then…?
In the next moment, a good idea flashed through my mind.
“Aina, you’re wrong.”
“Huh? About the Princess being childish?”
“No, that part’s true.”
“Wait, you people—”
“I mean about brother’s magic being useless.”
I began to walk.
Everyone started following behind me.
I slowly climbed a step.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed hard behind me.
“M-Mason.”
“Wait, where are you going?”
“That’s the throne— the Emperor’s Throne.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not planning to sit on it.”
I stared straight at the Emperor’s face.
He aged gracefully, I had to admit.
So this was the ruler of the Empire.
Even so, right now he was nothing more than a prop in Magireta’s game.
Then I moved behind the Emperor—
Tap tap.
I knocked lightly on the armor of one of the Imperial Guards standing in line.
“Let’s hide here.”
“W-what?”
“We’ll dismantle this armor, take out the person inside, and we’ll hide inside it.”
There were thirty Imperial Guards in total guarding the Emperor.
Plenty enough for all of us to hide inside.
Everyone’s jaws dropped.
Armelia cautiously asked,
“Is that even allowed? Will that count as hiding?”
“Of course. Hiding means not getting caught, right?”
“……”
“If we go inside the armor and close the helmet visor, from the outside no one could tell whether it’s a knight or a restaurant waiter in there. Wouldn’t that be a perfect hiding spot?”
Berseum thought for a moment, then nodded.
“I see. So you were assuming we’d be found from the start.”
“Yes, brother.”
I looked down at everyone from the throne area.
Seeing the tops of their heads somehow made my heart race.
“With Ian’s sensory ability, no matter where we hide, we’ll be found eventually. But everyone, remember the sixth rule.”
6. When you find a hiding person, you must tap their body with your palm and say ‘Found you.’ Only then will it count as having found them.
Everyone’s faces brightened a little.
I nodded.
“In Rule 6, it says you must touch the opponent’s body. Armor isn’t a body.”
“Then that means—?”
“Yes. Even if Ian finds us, he won’t be able to touch our actual bodies if we’re hidden inside the armor. If we endure for 18 hours like that, the teams will switch between hiding and seeking.”
“……”
“After the switch, it’ll be easier. We’ll only need to find one participant to win. That’s where Aina will come in handy.”
Everyone was almost on the verge of cheering.
But Aina shook her head with a cautious expression.
“Ian will probably just cut the armor clean through with his sword.”
“What?”
“No, not probably—he definitely will. Of course, since these are the Emperor’s personal guards, the armor isn’t ordinary… but if he takes his time, he’ll slice them in half soon enough.”
“Is that so.”
“If he can’t destroy the armor completely but exposes even a little part of the body inside, it’s over. Once any part of us is visible, he can just touch it and say ‘Found you.’ That’ll be enough.”
Aina’s reasoning was sound.
But I had already accounted for that as well.
“That’s why I said earlier that I’d need brother’s magic.”
“Huh?”
“Brother, you can use defensive magic, right?”
At those words, everyone turned their gaze toward Berseum.
He nodded.
“I can. You want me to cast it on the armor?”
“Yes. Make it sturdy enough to block Ian’s attacks.”
“I don’t know how sharp his sword is.”
“It’s probably weaker than Kanesella’s magic.”
In the emergency quest “The Light of Despair,” the Future Diary had told me that Berseum had blocked Kanesella.
Even though that event didn’t actually happen this time because the spell was prevented from activating, it was true that his ability was strong enough to defend against that massive explosion spell.
However, Berseum’s face darkened.
“As I said before, it’s possible if I push myself to the limit. But to that degree, I’d have to stake my life on it.”
Ah.
Now that I thought about it, in the diary, Berseum had been bleeding from his nose after blocking Kanesella.
So overusing magic must take a toll on the body.
“Still, that’s helpful to know. Fine, I’ll cast defensive magic on the armor.”
“Thank you.”
“But there’s something you need to keep in mind.”
“Yes?”
“Ten hours.”
He spread both hands wide.
“With my current strength, I can only maintain the defensive magic for ten hours. And that’s only if I start storing mana right now.”
“I–I see. But the search lasts for eighteen hours.”
“Exactly. In other words, you’ll have to endure eight hours without any protection. I suggest we rely on the armor itself for the first eight hours, then use my defensive magic for the remaining time.”
That was a fair point.
While I was still thinking about it, Aina spoke.
“Then for at least eight hours, we can’t let Ian realize we’re hiding in the armor.”
“Right.”
“Then we’ll have to make as little noise as possible.”
She pointed at the ministers and nobles standing lined up in the audience chamber.
“Those people — their hearts are beating, but they’re not breathing. I don’t know why.”
“……”
“So if someone’s inside a helmet gasping for breath, it’s obviously one of us.”
“Ian can detect breathing inside a helmet?”
“Most likely. So no one’s allowed to breathe.”
That’ll kill us though.
Before I could even reply, Aina rummaged through her bag and pulled out a toolkit.
“If you trust me, I can make it so you’ll breathe extremely slowly and weakly — just enough to stay alive.”
“……”
“Of course, breathing like that for a whole day would destroy your body, but for eight hours, you’ll just feel exhausted. That much should be enough to avoid Ian’s senses. If we’re lucky.”
“You can do that? Your family’s secret arts really are something else.”
“It’s nothing special. Anyway, is everyone okay with that?”
Instead of answering, I turned to the group.
“Anyone got a better plan?”
“……”
“If not, we’re going with this. We have to use every option we’ve got. Don’t forget — we’re up against the fifth-ranked monster in the Empire.”
Everyone nodded with serious expressions.
Once we had their consent, there was no reason to hesitate.
Considering the preparations this plan required, we had to start right away.
“Then let’s begin. Brother, start storing your mana now. Keep it up until twenty minutes before the seekers arrive.”
“Understood.”
“Your Highness, Aina. Do you know how to dismantle armor?”
“I do.”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s get to work.”
And so, the operation began.
We started removing the armor almost like workers taking apart construction panels.
Five people worked together to finally pry open one suit of armor.
Then we pulled out the person inside — the original guard.
“Let’s dress them up and stand them somewhere like mannequins, so it looks as if they’re still attending the meeting.”
“C-couldn’t we just hide them somewhere?”
“If Ian notices something’s off, we’re done for. If he feels even the slightest sense of inconsistency, he’ll realize the armor’s occupants were switched.”
“Understood.”
I continued directing everyone.
“For clothes, we’ll use pieces taken from the other meeting attendees. What we’re wearing doesn’t suit people who belong here.”
“Yes!”
“Make sure the real guards’ faces are hidden as much as possible. If Ian knows what the Imperial Guards look like, we’ll be exposed.”
“Understood.”
“We’ve got six hours, but that’s not much time. Let’s move faster!”
After carefully positioning the guards around the chamber so they wouldn’t be noticed, we pushed each participant one by one into the armor.
When Aina pressed a cotton pad soaked in medicine to their noses, their breathing became faint and slow—
—eventually quiet enough that it couldn’t be heard at all.
After doing the same for the six ordinary participants, Armelia went in next, then Aina.
From the high throne, I looked down to make a final check.
It’s fine. This is perfect.
With twenty minutes to spare, Berseum finished storing his mana.
I helped him put on his armor, then handed him a cotton pad Aina had given me earlier.
Finally, I stepped into the last suit of armor prepared for me.
Clank. Clank.
And just as I lowered the visor—
Vwooom.
“Hooh. So this is…”
Ian’s voice echoed through the hall.
The seeking team had arrived.
I brought the cotton to my nose and thought,
Let’s see what you’ve got, Edgar’s lackey.