Future Diary Survival Game-Chapter 56 : Addiction - 1

Chapter 56: Addiction - 1
I added one last remark.
“Don’t forget. If any party member tries to eat the bread carelessly, stop them—together.”
“Mm.”
“Of course, the symptoms shouldn’t be that severe, so stop them gently. Don’t go cutting tendons or anything just to keep them from moving. We have a rather violent friend among us.”
“Hey, are you talking about me?”
“Of course.”
“I kinda want to cut you right now.”
Aina grumbled and rummaged through her luggage.
Then she soaked some kind of drug into a cotton ball and handed it to us.
“I measured the dose so you’ll wake up exactly at 8 p.m. tomorrow. Once you’re up, come straight to Mason’s room.”
“Why go that far?”
“To minimize energy consumption.”
That made sense.
Sienne nodded in admiration.
“To put someone to sleep so precisely... that’s impressive. As expected of the Noel Family…”
“I hate it when people mention my family. About as much as you hate being called ‘ma’am,’ Sienne.”
“W–Was it that bad? I’m terribly sorry.”
“Egh. Sienne, that bad, huh?”
Anyway, we decided to maintain this method from now on.
Except when gathering for meals, we’d all use Aina’s drug and sleep through the rest.
Aina said inhaling it too often wasn’t good for the body—but we had Armelia, didn’t we?
Even if our bodies were slightly damaged, she could restore them once the quest ended.
I went back to my room and brought the cotton to my nose.
Then I fell asleep—or rather, fainted.
When I came to, the outside was already dim.
‘Already evening? A whole day’s gone by?’
It felt like not even a second had passed.
After a moment, the others entered my room, looking refreshed.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. Even though it’s evening now.”
“Dinner?”
“…Well, I guess we should.”
Judging by my stomach, I really hadn’t eaten for a full day.
We all went down to the first floor together.
It was still quiet.
No sign of anyone showing addiction symptoms yet.
Each of us picked up a piece of bread and returned to my room.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed audibly.
“It—It wasn’t me.”
“I didn’t say anything, Your Highness.”
“Ugh… I’m not usually this greedy with food.”
“It’s fine. Honestly, I’m starving too.”
Even though Aina’s drug had minimized our energy consumption, our empty stomachs kept growling relentlessly.
Taking a deep breath, I spoke.
“Then, as we agreed, I’ll eat first.”
Everyone nodded.
I brought the bread to my mouth.
Crunch.
‘Gasp!’
For a moment, I almost blacked out.
How could I even describe this taste?
No—this couldn’t be described.
No, it shouldn’t be described.
Trying to put this flavor into human language would be an insult to Magireta, who made it… right?
‘Huh? What did I just think?’
When I came to, the bread in my hand was already gone.
“Did I just finish it?”
“Yeah. You devoured it like lightning.”
“That was the happiest smile I’ve ever seen on your face.”
“Good to see, really. Young people should eat well and grow strong.”
“I think his growth period’s long over, though.”
I touched my face in disbelief.
Armelia asked cautiously.
“Are you all right?”
“Ah, yes. Hmm… I really hate to say this about Magireta’s bread, but… it was divine.”
“H-Hooh. Any signs of addiction?”
“Hold on. Just to be sure, I’ll answer after ten minutes.”
I said that and observed myself carefully.
‘Do I… still want to eat more bread?’
…
No. Not really.
It was incredibly delicious, yes—but not to the point I’d die without it.
Just a slight itchiness, as Magireta had mentioned.
Ten minutes later.
“I’m fine. I do keep thinking about it, but I can manage.”
“In that case…”
“I think it’s safe to eat now. If you’re uneasy, wait until tomorrow.”
“No. Honestly, I’m really starving.”
Armelia picked up her bread.
As soon as she took a bite, her expression changed.
Was that what they meant by eyes sparkling?
Her usual dining manner was graceful, befitting a princess, but now she looked like she was devouring it.
After finishing, Armelia exclaimed.
“This taste…”
“How would you describe it?”
“I can’t. I really can’t describe it.”
She slumped back in her chair in satisfaction.
Another ten minutes passed.
After confirming that both Armelia and I were fine, Aina ate her bread.
Ten minutes later, Berseum did.
Ten minutes after that, Sienne.
And so, after nearly an hour, the meal was complete.
Everyone expressed their amazement at the taste before we began discussing seriously.
“Seems fine, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. Though it’s not as filling as I expected.”
“It’s bearable. We can just sleep through the rest of the time.”
Everyone looked positive.
I spoke firmly.
“If anyone feels an itch or craving too strong to resist, come to my room. Don’t go downstairs—come straight here.”
“Got it.”
“Then, let’s get to sleep. Aina.”
Aina handed out the cotton again.
The next meeting would be two days later at 8 p.m.
We exchanged goodnights and went back to our rooms.
I held the cotton to my nose and fell into a deep sleep.
Time passed like that.
Even by the second meal, everything was fine.
The third as well. The fourth too.
But before the fifth meal—something went wrong.
It was the ninth day since the game began.
Damp.
Cold sweat drenched my body.
Sunlight tickled the corners of my eyes.
In the end, I couldn’t bear it anymore and shot up from bed.
“Ughk!”
A groan escaped my lips before I realized it.
A trembling anxiety coursed through my whole body.
I tried desperately to stay calm.
‘Why did I wake up? Why am I even awake right now?’
I was supposed to wake up at exactly 8 p.m.
There was no way Aina had made a mistake in adjusting the dosage.
Yet the sunlight streaming through the window told me it was morning.
Did we have our last meal yesterday? Or two days ago?
Holding down my trembling body, I struggled to keep my reason intact.
That was when—
Bang, bang.
The sound wasn’t so much a knock as it was a plea.
And before I could even answer, the door burst open.
“Your Highness?”
“M-Mason.”
Beads of cold sweat trickled down her forehead just like mine.
I instantly understood.
‘Ten minutes.’
Ten minutes after I had woken up, Armelia came to find me.
That meant ten minutes later, Aina would come. Then ten minutes after that, Berseum. And another ten minutes later, Sienne.
I asked cautiously.
“…Are you hungry?”
“Of course I am. But it has nothing to do with hunger.”
“……”
“Even if my stomach were completely full right now…”
Her voice trembled, nearly breaking into a sob.
“I want that bread so badly.”
The others came to my room one by one, spaced ten minutes apart.
Their faces were pale as ash, and their bodies trembled miserably like those of true addicts.
“Wh-Why did we get addicted?”
Aina’s voice shook as she asked the question.
Right now, all of our minds were filled with nothing but bread.
There wasn’t even a sliver of space for another thought, so none of us could answer easily.
Then, impressively, Sienne forced out a reply through labored breath.
“It must be one of two things. Either your vision of the future was wrong, Mason…”
“That’s impossible.”
“…Or Magireta lied.”
“Lied?”
“She clearly said she wouldn’t interfere once the game began. But look at what’s happening now.”
In the Diary Book, Magireta had said that eating one piece of bread every two days would be fine.
I followed that rule.
Yet we still got addicted.
‘So either the Magireta in the Diary Book lied…’
Or the current Magireta did.
Which one was lying?
Was there even any point in pondering that right now?
Even as that thought passed my mind, my brain began to spin rapidly.
If I wanted to resist this overwhelming addiction, I needed to focus on something—anything.
Then suddenly—
“Ah!”
“Wh-What’s wrong?”
“Magireta didn’t lie.”
Neither the Magireta from the Diary Book…
Nor the Magireta in the present.
“What do you mean? We’re clearly…”
“She only said she wouldn’t interfere after the game started. But what if she interfered before it began?”
“…!”
“For example, during the second ‘First-Come’ quest, I was assigned to the cliff area. The distance was so tight that I couldn’t be sure I’d make it in time.”
But in the Diary Book, I wasn’t assigned to the cliff.
The route there didn’t require the risky journey through the swamp; I could have arrived comfortably within the time limit.
Come to think of it, it was the same with the fourth quest.
‘In the Diary Book, it clearly said the game would begin a week later…’
[But in reality, it started a week earlier. To stop you from having enough time to plan with your party, Mason.]
‘Diary Book.’
[As I told you before, Magireta can’t change the main framework or rules of a quest. But there are plenty of other things she can modify within her authority.]
That was true.
I bit my lip.
“Magireta knows that I can see the future. So she must have thought—”
“……”
“‘This Mason guy probably knows that the safe limit is one every two days.’”
So Magireta must have thought—
If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be more interesting to change the rule to one every three or four days?
Everyone’s complexion turned deathly pale.
Sienne spoke.
“Then why are the symptoms only showing up now? It’s already been nine days since the game began.”
“She might have enjoyed watching us relax. Honestly, I did let my guard down. We ate four times without any symptoms, after all.”
“Ggh.”
“You all know that witch enjoys dragging hopeful people into despair. Remember the Appointment Ticket for Supervisor?”
“Right. She pretended to be dead until you pointed it out, Mason. I get it now.”
Exactly.
Magireta must have deliberately delayed the onset of the addiction.
She had made her move before the game even started.
She waited—until we were fully at ease and unsuspecting.
We walked right into her trap.
Grit.
I clenched my teeth.
Then Armelia took Aina’s hand.
“W-What are you doing?”
“I want to see if my Light of Healing ability can cure the addiction.”
“……”
“Well?”
“I just want to eat more now.”
Everyone swallowed in silence.
So even that miraculous ability couldn’t surpass Magireta’s omnipotence.
[It’s only because she’s still inexperienced. One day, that might change.]
‘If it’s not right now, we’re in trouble.’
[I see.]
The Diary Book answered casually.
Then, before my eyes, it suddenly turned into Magireta’s bread.
The bread floated gently in midair.
Was I actually losing my mind?
“For now… let’s just endure today.”
“Mason?”
“No addiction lasts forever. It always peaks dramatically, then fades gradually.”
“……”
“If the craving persisted for four weeks straight without eating bread, then no human could survive this game. Magireta wouldn’t set something that nonsensical.”
That demon was cruel, but she always left a loophole—a possible way to win.
She wasn’t the type to throw down an impossible mission just to watch people suffer.
Her missions could be cleared through calm reasoning and steadfast endurance.
And she found it far more amusing to laugh at fools who failed despite that.
“That makes sense. But even if the symptoms fade, we’ll have to eat bread again eventually. We can’t starve through the rest of the game.”
“……”
“We don’t even know whether Magireta changed the rule to one every three days, or four.”
“That’s…”
That was when it suddenly hit me—
Rule number three.
3. Any participant who eats food brought from the outside world will be disqualified.
Wait a second.
Could it be…?