Future Diary Survival Game-Chapter 73 : Harsh Winter - 1

Chapter 73: Harsh Winter - 1
The deal with Magireta ended like that.
I stopped spreading the letters, and she made sure that Edgar would never be able to take any more hostages again.
Now, Sienne’s younger sister, Berseum’s wife and daughter, and Mrs. Meyren would all be safe.
If Edgar ever tried to approach them, Magireta herself would protect them.
It felt like I had obtained the key to the safest vault in the world.
After the deal was done, Magireta spoke.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Magireta pulled her hood back over her head.
“This is the first time.”
“What is?”
“The first person who figured out the hidden rule. The first one who told me to name my own price for a deal. The first who made me take off my hood. The first who made me this angry.”
“……”
“You’re the first for everything, little brother.”
She vanished with a faint sound as she continued,
“It’s a complicated feeling. Truly.”
A brief silence followed.
Then Armelia spoke.
“Let’s make sure we never see that woman again.”
“No, that’s impossible.”
“I know.”
“Then why…”
“I’m just expressing how I feel right now.”
What’s that supposed to mean?
Then Aina leaned back deeply in her chair and said,
“Whew. That was terrifying.”
“Hm?”
“What’s wrong, oppa?”
“It’s just… this is the first time I’ve seen you sound weak in front of anyone besides me.”
“Hehe. It’s fine with our party members. You’ll be like this too soon enough, oppa.”
“Ahem.”
Benjamin wore a mixed expression—somewhere between pleased and disappointed.
Sienne changed the subject.
“Still, isn’t it kind of a waste? Of course, it’s great that my little sister’s safety is guaranteed for life, but… we’ve lost the only way to deal with Edgar for good.”
“We just went back to the beginning, that’s all.”
“That’s exactly what I meant by ‘a waste.’”
“I thought it was best not to provoke Magireta any further. If she suddenly lost her temper, she could’ve destroyed the whole game and everything along with it.”
It wasn’t a joke—if she’d gotten angry, she really could’ve destroyed the world.
Thinking about it that way, I might have saved the world today.
I gathered my thoughts and said,
“There’s no need to wander across the continent anymore. Let’s just return to Deut Territory and rest.”
Everyone nodded.
Especially the Diary Book—it seemed the happiest of all.
[Ahh. Does this mean my self-harm finally ends?]
The hostage quest had been full of twists and turns, but it ended well in the end.
And the very first thing I cared about, now that I finally had some rest time, was of course this.
“Benjamin, give me your hand.”
“My hand?”
“Yes. Well, more precisely your fingers… Anyway, hold still for a moment.”
I looked at the Diary Book.
The string it always insisted on calling the Thread of Connection—and I insisted on calling the bookmark string—fluttered lightly.
As always, I pulled it out, but the Diary Book didn’t even flinch.
‘Guess it doesn’t hurt anymore, huh?’
[After being torn apart over a hundred thousand times, do you think something like this matters anymore? A little bookmark string is nothing.]
‘…….’
[No. It’s the Thread of Connection.]
‘Too late.’
Anyway, I tied the invisible string—something only I could see—around Benjamin’s finger.
He looked at me blankly and asked,
“What are you doing?”
“It’s nothing much. With this, we’ll be able to continue participating in quests together from now on.”
“Wh-what?”
He made a weird noise, totally out of character for someone who usually acted so composed.
Aina giggled and interjected,
“It’s just one of those things.”
“Aina, you actually believe this?”
“We really have kept taking quests together, haven’t we?”
“Haah. Really, you chose a good leader.”
“I’ve always had an eye for talent.”
She lifted her chin proudly.
Now that her older brother had joined the party, she seemed a bit more lively and playful than before.
Of course, that wasn’t a bad thing at all.
In fact, that was how she should act for her age.
Anyway, since we had finished what we basically needed to do, I relaxed my shoulders and said,
“Let’s rest for today. Everyone, you’ve worked really hard.”
The group smiled and nodded in agreement.
That night.
As always, I lay down on the bed and called for the Diary Book.
‘You really worked hard this time.’
[Indeed.]
I couldn’t even tell it to be humble anymore.
I changed the subject.
‘I want to see the last page. I want to know whether Edgar gets eliminated in the next quest or not.’
[Yes. Please wait a moment.]
Soon, the pages began to turn.
[Accessing the final page.]
[Points consumed: 50]
[Remaining points: 713]
<Year 327, January 10th
I survived until the final game.
So I believed this dreadful nightmare had finally come to an end.
……
……
Everything went wrong during the Sixth Quest.
Maybe I had let my guard down, elated after taking care of Edgar.
The quest’s theme was Midwinter.
We had to endure for a month in a mountain so cold that a single breath would freeze your lungs solid.
Magireta surprisingly provided winter gear and various supplies.
So at first, I thought it would be easy.
I was mistaken.
The cold there wasn’t something you could withstand with such flimsy gear.
The only thing that could provide warmth was the purple flame Magireta had given us.
But the flame’s duration kept growing shorter each time it burned.
The fear of the inevitable, all-consuming cold was beyond description.
To somehow extend the flame’s time limit, we began throwing our belongings, clothes, and even strands of hair into it.
But such “fuel” did nothing.
The flame Magireta had handed us was a flame from hell.
Only materials from hell could feed it.
And the creatures scattered throughout the mountain—the monsters—were the only proper fuel for that flame.
We realized that too late and tried to hunt them, but the brutal cold drained our abilities far beyond expectation.
And more difficult than killing the monsters was finding them in the first place.
The blizzard blinded us, again and again turning our hunts into failures.
Barely, we managed to catch one monster and were returning to camp when I noticed how quiet everyone was.
Feeling uneasy, I called out each person’s name one by one.
Everyone answered—except Armelia.
She had frozen to death.
My memory after that is a little hazy.
Like I was possessed, I kept hunting monsters frantically, throwing them into the fire, never resting, constantly searching for more “fuel.”
But just a few hours before the quest was to end, the flame went out.
We had to face the remaining time fighting the cold with our bare bodies.
When I came to, the only one alive beside me was Sienne.
Exhausted and pale, she said this to me:
—I think… I’ll have to cut off my leg.>
I slapped my forehead.
‘The next one won’t be easy either.’
[You’re right.]
‘Don’t sound so casual about it.’
According to the Diary Book, Magireta would provide winter gear, but that would just be a secondary matter.
The real key to the next quest would be how fast we could locate and hunt the monsters that served as fuel.
‘Hmm. By the way, what exactly are those monsters?’
[Would you like to search for it in the Future Diary?]
‘Just tell me yourself.’
[You already know what I’ll say.]
No point in asking further.
I’d discuss this part with the party tomorrow.
I held the Diary Book in my hands and said,
‘I’ll use the secret conversation.’
[With which party member?]
‘No. Not the party members.’
[What?]
‘I’ll use it with everyone registered on the administrator page. I need to tell them that the next quest is Midwinter.’
The Diary Book fell silent for a moment, seemingly surprised.
I continued speaking.
‘Remember last time? You said there must be more than two hundred people I’ve saved, so why are there so few registered on the administrator page?’
[Yes. That was because they were eliminated afterward.]
‘Honestly, this should’ve been done from the start. Of course, unless they’re bound by the bookmark string, I can’t personally protect them, but at the very least, I should’ve told them what the next quest would be.’
[Mason, you’re under no obligation to do that.]
‘If I’m not obligated, then it doesn’t matter whether I tell them or not. So, I’ll do it because I want to.’
[Hehe.]
The Diary Book let out a soft laugh.
It was quite a gentle sound.
The next morning.
Half-asleep, I stumbled out of my room.
Since I’d spent the whole night talking to everyone on the administrator page, I hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
At first, I tried to talk to over 150 participants all at once, but the overwhelming noise nearly made my head explode, so I canceled it.
Then I took my time, speaking to each person individually to explain the next quest.
Their reactions were dramatic.
—Oh, that’s incredible. Truly incredible information.
—Thank you. I don’t even know how to repay this favor.
—Sob… There really are people like you in this world.
—If you ever have time, please come find me. I want to treat you to something.
Thanks to that, everyone’s trust levels rose across the board.
‘Anyway, at least they’ve been given the essential information…’
Now it was time to take care of my own party.
I felt bad for the others, but my companions were far more important to me.
When I went out into the living room, the group greeted me.
“Mason, good morning.”
“You slept in? That’s unusual.”
“A young man shouldn’t be sleeping so much.”
“As people get older, they sleep less. So that’s why I sleep a lot.”
“……”
“Why’s everyone so quiet?”
“It’s just your imagination.”
I greeted each of them one by one and took my seat.
After finishing a simple breakfast and clearing the dishes, Aina asked,
“So, who dies this time? Is it the Princess again?”
Since I’d always foretold the future after each incident, questions like that had become second nature by now.
Armelia blushed and protested.
“I don’t die in every quest, you know.”
“……”
“…I don’t, right?”
“Unfortunately, you do.”
“Sigh.”
“Well, only Sienne and I survive this one, anyway.”
Sienne smiled with a faint, victorious expression.
“I suppose I should apologize, everyone.”
“In exchange, you’ll lose your leg.”
“Uh…”
“Let me explain.”
I gave them a detailed explanation of the upcoming quest—its name and contents.
When I finished, Benjamin spoke up.
He looked as if his head hurt just from listening.
“Is it always like this around here?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, everyone just accepts that these things will happen in the future. Honestly, it’s a bit hard to follow this conversation.”
“There’s no need to force yourself, Sir Benjamin. Mason’s words aren’t something to be understood with your head, but with your heart.”
“I still have no idea what that means, Your Highness.”
Well, he’d get used to it soon enough.
Then Berseum spoke.
“Still, something feels odd.”
“What do you mean?”
“With my magic, creating fire is simple. There shouldn’t be any need to rely solely on the purple flame Magireta gave you for warmth.”
“There must’ve been a rule about that. Something like—only flames she allows can be used.”
“Ah, then that makes sense. So the key is how quickly and how many monsters we can find for fuel.”
He stroked his mustache thoughtfully as he continued.
“I can use detection magic. With that, I should be able to find the monsters’ locations.”
“Well, if that’s true, why didn’t my future self use that method?”
“Hmm… That spell locates things based on body heat. If those monsters have no warmth at all, it’d be difficult to detect them.”
Aina responded to him.
“So, what are those monsters anyway? Does anyone know?”
I thought that was a question no one would be able to answer.
But surprisingly, Berseum replied in a serious tone.
“I’m not sure if they were monsters, but… I’ve seen a very grotesque creature before.”
“What? Where?”
“Didn’t I mention it before? I once used magic to look into another dimension. And then…”
“I saw ‘Hell.’”
We all instinctively shuddered at that moment.