Future Diary Survival Game-Chapter 52 : Diet - 1

Chapter 52: Diet - 1
Edgar couldn’t say anything back.
Magireta continued speaking.
“You must already know. That the interval between my games keeps getting shorter.”
“Yes. At first, the cycle used to be around seventy years, but the last game was only twenty-seven years ago.”
“Why do you think it’s shortening?”
“Well…”
“I’m getting increasingly bored with this game. And you’re accelerating it.”
Magireta spoke coldly.
“By joining the game with knowledge of so many hidden rules, you’ve thrown the balance completely off.”
That was why Magireta found the game even less entertaining.
Because of one overwhelmingly advantaged participant.
“The game was already starting to bore me, and then someone like you appeared—a destroyer of balance. Do you understand what that means?”
“I’m not sure.”
“If I no longer find any enjoyment from the game, I’ll flip the entire board over and end it. Even Mason’s group seems to have sensed that.”
“……”
“To put it simply for you—there will never be another game again.”
Edgar’s face changed at those words.
That couldn’t happen.
He couldn’t live without Magireta’s game.
Just as he had told Mason, he was deeply, deeply addicted to it.
“That can’t happen! Please, isn’t there any way?”
“If you don’t want that, then restrain yourself.”
“How am I supposed to—?”
“Well, for starters, stop casually putting your life on the scale every time you make a deal.”
Life was the most precious thing a human could stake.
If one wagered that, most demands would have to be granted—whether one wanted to or not. That was the rule.
Since Edgar had infinite lives, he could, if he wished, “use” Magireta’s authority ten times a day.
To exaggerate a little, Edgar was practically the same as Magireta herself.
“……”
Edgar was dispirited at the thought that there might be no more games.
He answered in a subdued voice.
“Alright. I’ll restrain myself.”
“How much restraint are we talking about?”
“…One time per quest?”
“Even requests that interfere with the game through my omnipotence are off-limits. Well, technically, they always were.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
Seeing the obedient Edgar, Magireta gave a short, dry laugh.
Was her game really that good to him?
Well, that kind of dedication was worth at least some recognition.
Then Edgar asked,
“Are they still at that house?”
“No. They’ve gone back to their original territory. Thanks to your little death, even the shoes returned to normal. Just as I explained before, you won’t be able to block their teleportation beads for a month.”
“……”
“So, what will you do now?”
The sudden question made Edgar tilt his head.
“Excuse me? Do what?”
“You staked your life to save Ian last time. Are you going to do the same again?”
“…No. I just promised to restrain myself.”
“So, you’re going to just let Ian die? He’s turned into quite the loyal servant, you know.”
Edgar let out a short laugh.
“I’ve seen plenty of loyal dogs like him. Honestly, watching him get completely crushed by Sienne just killed whatever interest I had left.”
“Interest you had? From the way you hid the brooch’s backlash, it looked like you treated him as a disposable card from the start.”
“Well… let’s leave it at that. Anyway, I won’t be asking for anything until the next quest begins.”
“You should’ve done that from the beginning.”
Magireta smiled faintly and nodded.
Then Edgar spoke again.
“By the way, what is Mason exactly?”
“I heard he’s a restaurant worker.”
“Don’t joke with me. My immortal body burned from his blood.”
“……”
“The immortality I have comes from your omnipotence. Which means his blood surpassed even your power.”
Edgar said it seriously, but Magireta looked merely indifferent.
“That’s great, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“It means he’s an exceptional being—even beyond what I know.”
“……”
“Can’t you imagine how much fun it’ll be to see what he’ll do?”
Edgar didn’t agree.
And Magireta didn’t need his agreement.
“You possess forbidden advantages—superior information and infinite lives. All of that lies within what I ‘know.’”
“……”
“Mason is different. He has something that even I don’t know. That’s what makes watching him so enjoyable.”
“I feel a bit jealous now.”
“Do you? Well, beauty comes with exhaustion, you know.”
“Enough already. I’m going to rest, so please go.”
Magireta shrugged and spoke.
“You’re not cute when you sulk.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Hehe. Alright then, I’ll be off. Try to get by somehow.”
Magireta disappeared.
Edgar blankly looked up at the sky.
Fun. Fun, huh.
She wasn’t wrong. Mason was fun.
By all rights, he should be someone to be thankful for.
So why did he feel like a thorn stuck in his throat?
After thinking for a while, Edgar found the answer.
‘He’s certainly fun…’
But he might also make it so that I can never join the game again.
It wasn’t death itself that Edgar feared.
It was the fact that dying meant he could never again participate in the game.
Mason had made his immortal body burn—just from a few drops of blood.
He hated that.
Someone who could take away my fun forever.
Dangerous.
He had to be dealt with after all.
But Ian was dead, and Edgar couldn’t face Mason head-on, terrified of his blood.
For a moment, he wondered if it had been a mistake to let Ian die.
But he soon shook his head.
Ian’s level of skill wouldn’t have been much help anyway.
He needed to find a real expert.
Someone skilled enough to toy with that group.
A face suddenly floated into Edgar’s mind.
Someone he had kept an eye on since the First Quest.
He had ruled the person out before, thinking they wouldn’t be easy to handle, but now wasn’t the time to be picky.
He rubbed his palms together.
We returned to Berseum’s house with Sienne.
Somehow, this place was starting to feel like our hideout.
Sienne looked around the small home.
“It’s small, but cozy.”
“Um, you really can’t see anything, right?”
“I’ve lived with my eyes closed for so long that I’ve developed a knack for sensing my surroundings.”
“That’s not something you can just call a ‘knack,’ you know.”
Saying that, we each took a seat.
Berseum brought out tea.
Sienne took a sip, savoring the taste, before speaking.
“For someone with such a notorious reputation in the Empire, your tea is surprisingly warm.”
“Hmm. Well, I boiled it.”
“…That’s not quite what I meant.”
“Anyway, thank you again. Your joining us is a great help.”
Before coming here, Sienne had formally asked to join our party.
It was something I should have asked her first, so of course I accepted immediately.
Then she left a short letter for her younger sister and came with us right away.
Sienne smiled faintly as she fiddled with her collar.
“It’s only natural, since I received such a precious gift.”
A brooch hung from her clothes—the prize for winning the Fourth Quest.
It was the brooch I had lent her.
When she joined us, I decided to give her full ownership of it—as a joining gift.
I wasn’t much of a physical fighter anyway.
Then Aina murmured,
“The brooch Ian was wearing must’ve been retrieved by Edgar, right? It wasn’t on the body no matter how much we searched.”
“Probably. He managed to grab it in that brief moment. Ian blocked Sienne’s sword with his whole body, after all. He must’ve acted then.”
In that short time—while his body was melting—he still managed to make that decision.
“I watched for a while, but Ian’s body wasn’t retrieved. Did Edgar just abandon it?”
“No one knows. Since his life is infinite, he could always ask Magireta to retrieve and resurrect him.”
That’s what I said, but I actually agreed with Aina.
He probably took the brooch because he planned to discard Ian.
Well, maybe it wasn’t Edgar’s decision—perhaps Magireta refused.
An endless chain of trades made possible by infinite lives.
Would Magireta really keep granting Edgar those enormous benefits to the point of breaking her own board?
I figured she would put on the brakes at some point.
Maybe that moment was now—and that was why Ian’s body hadn’t been retrieved.
Still, it’s not like she sealed his deals completely. I should assume he can still trade once per quest.
Then Armelia spoke up.
“Mason. There’s something I wish to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“Hmm. Well… what exactly did you do to me?”
“Pardon?”
“The power that revived my dying companions—including myself. I never thought I possessed such an ability. It must have been your doing.”
I wouldn’t go so far as to call it an ‘achievement,’ but still.
After thinking for a moment, I nodded honestly.
Armelia’s expression brightened a little.
“I knew it. If it’s your influence, then I can rest easy.”
“Uh… th-thank you.”
“Could you explain it to me? How I gained this ability and how I should handle it going forward.”
I had no idea, so explaining it was difficult.
I fumbled through the bits of information I’d heard from the Diary Book.
“Um, it’s called The Light of Healing. You can heal others, but you probably can’t regenerate a completely lost organ yet—like Sienne’s eyes.”
“‘Yet,’ meaning it might be possible someday. And?”
“As you experienced earlier, you’ll get drowsy from the side effects after healing. You should avoid using it in urgent situations.”
“I see. What else?”
“That’s… about it?”
Sienne covered her mouth and laughed.
Then, with a teasing tone, she spoke.
“From what I observed…”
“You really can’t see anything, right?”
“From what I felt, Mason gave Lady Armelia some kind of liquid medicine. But since she was unconscious, he had to use a special method.”
That was all she said, yet Aina and Berseum immediately understood.
Berseum stroked his mustache, muttering, “Ah, youth.”
Aina’s eyes sparkled.
“Details! Give us details!”
“……”
“Forget that. Just show us. Reenact it!”
“Be quiet.”
Only Armelia tilted her head, puzzled.
Honestly, if she thought for even a moment, she could figure it out.
Maybe her thoughts just hadn’t reached that point.
Feeling awkward, I quickly changed the subject.
“More importantly, Miss Sienne—ah, is it alright if I keep calling you that? You’re quite the celebrity.”
“That’s fine.”
“Good. Then please, hold out your hand.”
Sienne looked puzzled but extended her hand.
I spoke to the Diary Book.
‘Lend me a bookmark string.’
[This is the Thread of Connection.]
‘Yeah, the bookmark string. Since we’re in the same party now, we should tie it quickly.’
[Sigh.]
The Diary Book dangled the thread as if telling me to hurry.
When I pulled it out, its whole body quivered.
I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry.
Anyway, I tied the thread around Sienne’s finger.
“…? What are you doing?”
“This will allow us to keep participating in quests together.”
“That’s possible?”
“You must’ve noticed there’s something special about me. Just think of it as part of that.”
Sienne turned to the others.
They only smiled in response.
Soon she shook her head with a small sigh.
“Understood. Since everyone trusts you this much, I will too.”
“Thank you. And I’d appreciate it if you’d trust me as well, Lady Sienne.”
“I do.”
“I mean, enough not to pull your sword before the final quest.”
Sienne delayed her answer for a moment.
Then, slowly, she opened her mouth.