Future Diary Survival Game-Chapter 48 : Monster Hunt - 1

Chapter 48: Monster Hunt - 1
They were greatly shocked.
But I was not.
‘Ah. Now that I thought about it.’
A line from the Future Diary came to mind.
<That was a memory from just before the final quest.
By then the survivors were about seven people, including myself, Edgar, and Ian.
Then suddenly Sernia drew her sword.
And without any explanation whatsoever, she tried to cut Ian down. To this day I could not fathom the reason.>
Right. She had tried to cut Ian down out of the blue just before the final quest.
It wasn’t because she held a personal grudge against Ian.
She intended to kill all the participants who had survived up to that point.
Ian had merely become the first target.
Aina, who never missed a chance to react to such provocations, replied cynically.
“You think you can kill us? Do you think we’ve survived this long just because we were clever?”
“I can kill you.”
“You can’t even see.”
“Still, I can kill you.”
Sienne’s tone was unbearably calm.
Berseum muttered under his breath.
“Probably. If Ian was ranked fifth in the Empire, Sienne was the foremost knight of the continent in her day. No — not just that; even in the whole of history she was always counted among the top handful.”
“……”
“But why would she deliberately try to kill us?”
“Because you might betray each other at the last moment. Just like my lover’s close friend did.”
“That’s absurd.”
“I think it’s absurd too. But we can’t leave even a shred of doubt.”
Crunch.
Sienne bit her lip.
Blood streamed down.
It was plainly not an ordinary resolve.
“I must survive this quest by any means. This time. This time for sure……”
“……”
“In any case, that is my plan, but still — will you accept me into your party? Until the final quest, I will cooperate with you fully.”
In a way it was a ridiculous question.
Sienne didn’t need to declare that she intended to ‘kill us someday.’
No — she shouldn’t have declared it.
How many people would accept that openly?
She must have known that.
‘But I don’t want to lie,’ she had said.
Good grief. Such a straightforward personality.
I was silent for a moment, then spoke.
“Let’s postpone that discussion for later. I want to change the subject for a moment.”
“Go ahead.”
“You mentioned earlier Ian de Trosse. Sienne, you became famous long after you disappeared, but you must have at least heard the name, right?”
“The Trosse family was a persistent enemy from the Kingdom of Partikal’s point of view. I remember the family’s only son was called a prodigy from his childhood.”
“He is also a participant in this quest.”
Sienne’s expression hardened.
It seemed she had not encountered Edgar or Ian in previous quests.
“That man……”
“Yes. And he had his sights set on our lives. Not only during quests, but even during rest periods like this.”
“Why?”
“A madman named Edgar Tyler was after us. It looked like Ian had become that man’s lackey.”
I briefly explained Edgar.
Sienne listened with her jaw dropped.
“To destroy an entire territory to kill you… A madness comparable to his lover’s friend.”
“Anyway, we came to ask Sienne for help. Fight Ian alongside us.”
“……”
“He obtained the first-place prize called the Brooch in the Fourth Quest. It’s an item that dramatically boosts the wearer’s ability. We have no means to contend with it.”
“……”
“So join us.”
Then Sienne said something unbelievable.
“I should ask you the same.”
“For what?”
“Whether you will accept me into your party.”
The atmosphere shifted in an instant.
Aina started it.
She spoke in a voice that sent chills down my spine.
“You keep saying ‘who are you teaming up with?’ — Who are you taking hands with?”
“Ian de Trosse.”
“He is a descendant of the family that destroyed your kingdom!”
“I don’t care what happened to a kingdom that’s already fallen. I don’t intend to take revenge. My goal is simply to survive this quest to the end……”
To have my wish granted, she had added, almost in a whisper.
We were silent for a moment.
Then Sienne spoke with a slightly apologetic tone.
“I’m sorry. That’s probably not the answer you wanted to hear.”
“……”
“You may curse me, scold me, or damn me. If surviving Magireta’s quest and obtaining a wish is at stake, I will ally with anyone.”
“But you intend to kill all the people you’ve been with right before the final quest. If you ally with Ian, that means you’ll have to fight him someday, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. It may be harder than killing you, but it won’t be impossible.”
No.
She had not seen Ian in person.
By the time Ian had been active, she would already have been in seclusion.
It was hard to imagine how strong Ian had become with a Brooch on him.
‘What’s more……’
<At that time the two fought for their lives, and in the end Ian’s blade cut Sernia’s throat.>
In the Future Diary, Ian had killed Sernia.
She would never be able to defeat Ian.
“This may be sudden, but I can see the future.”
“……?”
“In the future I saw, Sienne’s throat was cut by Ian.”
“That’s a new kind of provocation.”
“How about joining us and attacking Ian now instead?”
“I refuse. Someone of that caliber would be too precious to kill right now.”
As expected, she would not be convinced immediately.
I sighed deeply.
Sienne said, “Sleep here tonight.”
“Huh?”
“You said Ian and Edgar would come looking for you. If you stay here, it will be easier for me to meet them as well.”
“……”
“I apologize for showing you the sight of me weighing both parties. You may refuse.”
We looked at one another for a moment.
We exchanged a lot through facial expressions in that brief time, but ultimately they left the decision to me.
I finally spoke.
“All right. Let’s do that.”
Sienne’s hut was fairly spacious, with a large room where several people could sleep comfortably.
I heard it was a room she had prepared for her sister’s use.
Everyone but Sienne gathered in one place.
Armelia Kerr Dneroum spoke.
“Mason. Is Sienne’s death at Ian’s hand a fixed future?”
“Yes. It might be different if Sienne could be given a Brooch as well.”
“So the Brooch is a transferable item.”
“It seems so. Hmm…… maybe the other first-place prizes are the same.”
Then I had to be even more careful with the Teleportation Bead.
Aina spoke up.
“How are we supposed to convince that stubborn old lady? She’s clearly weighing us against Edgar’s gang.”
“The best way is to show her what we can do. Sienne seems like the type who chooses her party based on ability, not character.”
“Same here. That’s why I’m still staying.”
“Oh, uh. Thanks.”
“No matter how strong Ian is, you’re a hundred times better—you can see the future and you’re sharp as hell. The problem is, how do we prove that to her?”
We folded our arms and began to think.
Then, a thought flashed through my mind.
‘Come to think of it, Diary Book.’
[Yes.]
‘I think I saw an Insight pop up on the administrator page earlier. Can you show me?’
I’d meant to check it before, but finding Sienne had taken priority.
The Diary Book’s pages flipped automatically.
<Rank 22. Bin Phil
Trust: 40 / 100
One-line interview about Mason:
: “He really helped me during the Pop Quiz Quest. He didn’t have to, but he saved me anyway.”
Insight that may help Mason:
: During the Hide-and-Seek Quest, overheard Edgar muttering something strange to himself.>
Bin Phil—the one who had been teamed up with Edgar during the Fourth Quest.
I grasped the Diary Book and spoke to him in my mind.
‘Hello.’
[…….]
‘Hm? Can you not hear me? Hello?’
[Uwaaaah!]
The response was quite intense.
Well, hearing a voice suddenly echo inside your head would make anyone think they’d gone insane.
I calmly said,
‘We were together during the Third Quest…’
[You’re Mason, aren’t you? I recognize your voice! I just don’t understand why it’s echoing in my head!]
‘Please calm down. You already know I have some strange abilities.’
[Ugh… even so.]
‘I wanted to ask you something, that’s all.’
I questioned him in detail about what had happened during the Fourth Quest, Hide-and-Seek.
Apparently, Bin Phil held a great deal of goodwill—and even a sense of debt—toward me.
Once he’d calmed down, he answered my questions sincerely.
‘You said the location for Hide-and-Seek was the Emperor’s Audience Chamber?’
[Yes, definitely.]
‘But we already used the Imperial Audience Chamber before. Well, I suppose Magireta could have made multiple identical places.’
[No, it wasn’t the Empire’s chamber. The clothing of the waxwork-like figures standing around wasn’t Imperial attire.]
‘Then?’
[If my memory’s right… it was the Audience Chamber of the Kingdom of Partikal.]
A grin crept across my lips.
This might really turn into a valuable piece of information.
After that, I kept prying for more details.
Finally, I asked the most important question.
‘As I recall, Edgar muttered something strange to himself. You must’ve overheard it.’
[Heh. You even know about that?]
‘What did he say?’
Bin answered honestly.
When I heard his words, the corner of my mouth twitched.
This was it.
With this, I could definitely persuade Sienne.
A truly excellent insight.
‘I see. Thank you.’
[Oh, it’s nothing. Just help me again next time, heh.]
‘I’m not sure if we’ll be in the same quest next time.’
[You could at least say “don’t worry,” you know…]
After ending the connection, I gathered my thoughts quietly.
And the more I thought, the more my spine tingled.
Not from fear—
But from excitement, from joy, from faint exhilaration.
‘At this moment…’
I had taken one step closer to uncovering Edgar’s true identity.
We spent our time at Sienne’s house, waiting for Edgar to arrive.
Though Sienne hadn’t chosen to side with us yet, our relationship wasn’t hostile either.
She was kinder and more courteous than I’d expected.
Even Aina, who’d glared at her skeptically at first, ended up saying:
“But hey, lady.”
“…Could you please just call me by my name?”
“Oh, right. Sienne-lady.”
“……”
“Would you mind taking off your bandage for a moment?”
Sienne paused, then asked,
“Why?”
“I don’t know what price Magireta took from you, but I want to take a look.”
“Are you a doctor?”
“No. Quite the opposite, actually. But I do know a fair bit about such things.”
Sienne silently unwrapped her bandage.
All our eyes naturally turned toward her.
Aina, who had confidently stepped forward, soon shook her head.
“She took your whole eyeballs. There’s no fixing this.”
Indeed.
Beneath Sienne’s bandage was nothing but an empty hollow.
The sight was so shocking that everyone fell silent.
I did too.
But not out of horror at her wound.
[Oh. It’s here.]
‘What is?’
[A crisis for all of you. A quest has appeared.]
Then the Diary Book displayed the new quests.
<Unexpected Quest: Protect Armelia Kerr Dneroum from “Monster Hunt.”>
<Unexpected Quest: Protect Aina Noel from “Monster Hunt.”>
<Unexpected Quest: Protect Berseum Ferux from “Monster Hunt.”>
<Unexpected Quest: Protect Sienne Katrin from “Monster Hunt.”>
That was what startled me.
A sudden quest—to ensure Sienne’s survival as well.
[Good timing. You’d just seen her real face after she removed the bandage.]
‘You mean she’s one of the potential candidates too?’
[Seems like it.]
‘That’s a pretty half-hearted answer.’
[Well, yeah.]
In any case, this gave us yet another reason to bring Sienne into our party.
Meanwhile, Sienne was retying her bandage as she spoke softly.
“Sometimes I regret it. I should’ve offered something other than my eyes.”
“Come to think of it, why did you put your eyes on the scale? That must’ve been your most precious asset as a knight.”
“Precisely because of that. When dealing with Magireta, if your offering isn’t valuable enough, you’re disqualified immediately—and failure wasn’t an option for me.”
We each offered her our own words of comfort.
A faint smile appeared on Sienne’s face.
After that brief episode, it felt like the wall between her and us had slightly crumbled.
She even cooked for us, and we shared light chatter and jokes.
Sienne slowly began to open up.
But I could tell.
Though she clearly felt some affection for our group, it wouldn’t affect her decision.
‘As expected, I’ll have to go with the plan.’
And then, another day passed—by the time evening arrived, an uninvited guest came knocking.