Future Diary Survival Game-Chapter 74 : Harsh Winter - 2

Chapter 74: Harsh Winter - 2
After a brief silence, Sienne spoke.
“Spying on hell itself—no matter how many times I hear it, that’s still an unbelievable story. Mr. Berseum, you truly are a great magician.”
“It’s not that impressive. I just happened to find that spell in a magic book I discovered.”
“The fact that you were able to use it at all is amazing.”
“Hmph. Anyway, I could still use the same spell again now. Shall I show you?”
I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head.
“You said you’d have to lie in bed for ten days after using it. Since what the monster looks like doesn’t really matter, it’s fine.”
“Is that so? Well, true enough. It only allows you to glimpse them for barely ten seconds like an illusion—it’s really not worth the cost.”
“Then please think about what else we could do if detection magic doesn’t work. Everyone, too.”
Everyone folded their arms and began thinking.
Sienne said that with her sensory ability, she could probably locate them.
Aina and Benjamin said they could go out and scout to find something.
But I didn’t think any of those were the right answers.
‘Because even the versions of us in the Future Diary must have tried the same things.’
That meant ordinary solutions wouldn’t work.
After pondering for a bit, I finally raised both hands and spoke.
‘Diary Book.’
[As I expected.]
‘I hate to admit defeat, but I’m counting on you.’
[Understood.]
[Using the Search Function: Retrieving methods for locating monsters during the Sixth Quest from the Future Diary.]
[Cost: 100 Points]
[Remaining Points: 613]
Even though I had accumulated a lot of points, it still stung to spend them.
Still, I steeled myself and began reading the Future Diary.
<Today was a rather special day.
Ever since losing all my party members except Sienne during the “Freezing Season” Quest, I hadn’t smiled once.
So the fact that I could smile again—even if it was a dry, brittle smile—was truly something special.
An unexpected guest came to see me.
She was someone who had fought by my side during the Third Quest, “Pop Quiz.”
Diana Mame.
She was a participant who had lost her beloved husband during that quest.
She greeted me warmly and said I’d become much more famous since then, showering me with compliments.
Then she asked if I had any advice that could help with her current quest.
Before answering, I asked her how she had even known where to find me.
She showed me a compass resting on her palm and said:
—It belonged to that weirdo who kept dying and coming back to life during the Freezing Season Quest. I picked it up.
Judging by that, the compass must have been one of Edgar’s first-place rewards.
A very convenient item that shows the target’s location on a map once you set a condition.
If only I had obtained it sooner... The Freezing Season Quest could’ve ended so much more easily.
That thought alone brought tears to my eyes before I knew it.
Diana panicked, not knowing what to do.
I must have looked pitiful, but I couldn’t stop crying for a while.>
…A compass?
‘Wait. Wait a second.’
I suddenly remembered the letters I’d exchanged with Edgar before.
<...However, I’m willing to offer any other payment in exchange.
For instance, how about using one of my prizes as a trade condition?
I have three of them.
One of the three—or even all of them, if you wish—can be yours.
If you’re interested, please let me know in your reply.>
Right. He’d had three first-place prizes.
One was the shoes. Another was the brooch.
And the last one—that must have been the compass.
‘I should’ve asked what the other prize was back then.’
That thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I quickly shook my head.
At the time, making Edgar write the words “Magireta’s Quest” with his own hand had been the top priority.
“Compass…”
As I murmured unintentionally, everyone’s eyes snapped toward me.
Armelia asked,
“What was that just now, Mason?”
“One of Edgar’s first-place rewards was a compass.”
“How do you even… No, never mind. I won’t ask.”
“Thank you. Anyway, I’m guessing it was the first-place reward from the Diet Quest. If its function is what I think…”
It was probably an item that, once given a condition, could locate any desired target.
For example, if the condition were set to “under ten years old,” then the map would show the location information of all the children across the continent.
Then what if the condition were set to “monsters”?
As I explained, everyone’s expressions brightened.
“In the future you saw, Mason—you said you struggled because you didn’t know where the monsters were, right?”
“That’s right. The real problem wasn’t their strength, but the fact that we couldn’t find them.”
“In that case…”
“Yes.”
Feeling impatient, I suddenly sprang to my feet.
“Let’s go to Edgar right now.”
Before the game began, we needed to take his first-place reward from him.
We used a teleportation bead to move to Bucklet Forest.
To be precise, about five hundred meters away from Edgar, who was busy dying and resurrecting.
Aina cracked her neck with a sound unbefitting her age.
“Thinking about it, we should’ve taken it from him last time. Now we have to do this twice.”
“You’re right. But to be fair, things were pretty chaotic back then.”
“I’m not blaming you. I didn’t realize it myself either.”
Then Sienne glanced around for a moment before speaking.
“That way.”
“Huh?”
“I smell blood from over there. A smell I’ve encountered many times on the battlefield.”
“Sorry to stir up bad memories.”
“It’s not your fault, Mr. Mason.”
We carefully moved in the direction Sienne had indicated.
Just like during the First-Come Quest, there were no paths here at all—it was a wild, untrodden area—so it took quite some time.
Since there was no real need to rush, I walked leisurely and spoke.
“I already explained this once, but let’s review our plan to retrieve the compass.”
“Right. When Edgar resurrects and regains his senses, we shouldn’t attack him, correct?”
“Yes. As strong as he is, there’s no need to take unnecessary risks.”
It took Edgar fifteen seconds to die and revive again.
We had to steal the compass during that brief window.
Strictly speaking, I planned to take not only the compass but all of his first-place rewards.
“Aina, you take the shoes.”
“Got it.”
“Mr. Benjamin, you’re in charge of the brooch.”
“Understood.”
“The compass is most likely hidden in his clothes somewhere. I’ll leave that to you, sir—use your magic to…”
“Of course. I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”
Good. That should be enough.
We continued cutting through the forest.
How much time had passed?
Even my ordinary human ears could now hear the sound of a head exploding close by.
Puhk!
“Is it time?”
“Not yet. We’re still a bit too far. Let’s wait for the next… no, the one after the next head burst to rush in.”
“Everyone, be careful.”
“Don’t worry. What we’re doing is basically timed thievery, after all.”
It seemed Edgar had resurrected again.
“Grrrgh… H-how much longer… Aaaagh!”
And then his head exploded again.
We moved closer.
It was when his head was supposed to burst next.
Pushing aside the last bit of brush, I saw him lying on the ground.
And right before my eyes, his shattered head restored itself.
Aina silently mouthed the words:
—Next time.
I started to nod… but then—
‘Wait.’
A good idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
I quickly grabbed the Diary Book and spoke.
[Everyone, step back for a moment.]
[Hm? What’s wrong?]
[I just realized it feels like a waste to come all this way just to snatch his stuff and run.]
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.
But soon they began backing away as I’d asked.
Once we’d put some distance between us, I spoke aloud.
“We made a deal with Magireta last time, didn’t we?”
“That’s right. You said you’d pray that no more letters to God would scatter through the sky. In return, Magireta promised to protect our loved ones.”
“Yes. I don’t think that deal itself was bad… but because of it, we lost our weapon to stop Edgar.”
Benjamin interjected.
“Wasn’t that something you had already considered when you made the deal?”
“That may be true, but that doesn’t mean I want Edgar to stay alive. He’s still a piece of trash who deserves to die.”
“I wholeheartedly agree.”
Benjamin, who held quite a grudge against Edgar, nodded deeply.
Sienne, who was no less resentful, spoke in a cynical tone.
“But that guy still has nearly seventy thousand deaths left to go, doesn’t he?”
“Yes. But the next quest was supposed to last for a month.”
“……”
“It takes around fifteen seconds for him to die and revive each time. So seventy thousand deaths would take a little over twelve days. Edgar’s backlog of deaths will finish before the quest even ends.”
We didn’t even know when the next quest would begin.
Besides, the Freezing Season Quest’s condition had been pure survival.
That meant unless it was a quest that required constant movement or thinking, being too busy dying wouldn’t put him at much of a disadvantage.
“So what are you getting at?”
“I’m thinking maybe we could kill that bastard completely this time.”
“Did you forget that he’s immortal?”
“You’re the one who forgot.”
I drew my dagger.
Then, pricking the tip of my finger and letting a drop of blood well up, I continued.
“My blood is practically poison to that guy.”
“Ah… ha, but still, won’t he just resurrect anyway? Even last time, when we fought at Sienne’s house, you spilled your blood on him and he still revived.”
“That time, only a few drops hit him. Even that amount was enough to kill him once.”
So then—if instead of a few drops, I completely drenched him in my blood?
Back then, my blood had burned through Edgar’s skin, muscles, and bones.
If he were entirely soaked in it, wouldn’t his whole body melt away?
And if that happened, maybe resurrection wouldn’t be so easy.
Berseum spoke in a low, groaning voice.
“So what you mean is…”
“Yes.”
I turned to Aina.
“Draw my blood. Right up to the point before I die.”
The process of drawing blood wasn’t as painful as I’d expected.
Aina attached a needle to a device I’d never seen before and stabbed it into my arm.
Armelia fidgeted nervously and said,
“T-that’s enough. I think that’s plenty.”
“Not even a single drop’s come out yet.”
“Ugh…”
“Why’s Your Highness the one getting nervous? Don’t worry. I’m a pro, and my brother’s here too.”
Benjamin chuckled softly.
“To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be of much help. You’re far better at this than I am now.”
“Oh, come on. You’re the one who knows all the family secrets.”
“Our family’s secrets mostly dealt with studying the human head. When it comes to the rest of the body, you’ve surpassed me.”
In any case, the blood drawn from my arm began filling a bucket.
We had borrowed it after explaining the plan and dropping by Berseum’s house.
Drip, drip—the sound of blood hitting the bucket echoed.
“If you feel dizzy, tell me immediately. The point where blood loss becomes dangerous differs for everyone.”
“I think I’m fine for now.”
Saying that, I lay down on the ground.
I quietly looked up at the sky.
Of course, the thick canopy of leaves blocked most of the view.
How long had it been?
Suddenly, the leaves above me seemed to spin in circles.
At that moment, Aina detached the device.
“That’s it. We cut it close there.”
“I told you to stop earlier.”
“Well, Your Highness said that from the very beginning.”
“Mason, don’t move. I’ll heal you.”
Armelia reached out her hand toward me.
I wondered if the Light of Healing could cure anemia—but surprisingly, it worked well.
The dizziness slowly faded.
Not wanting to make everyone worry too much, I sat up straight and said,
“I’m fine now. Thanks to you.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“Thank you for worrying.”
“Hmph.”
“Let’s see. How much blood did we collect?”
Instead of answering, Benjamin showed me the bucket.
It was of a reasonable size—and filled to the brim with blood.
“Enough to soak him completely.”
“Good. Then let’s pour this over his head.”
“You’re going to do it yourself?”
“That was the plan.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to be the one to do it.”
Benjamin seemed eager to take this chance to avenge himself for last time.
I nodded without hesitation.
Sienne muttered regretfully,
“I actually wanted to do it myself…”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. It’d be bad if the blood we worked so hard to gather got spilled by mistake.”
After finishing all our preparations, we headed back toward Edgar.
Far ahead, we saw him freshly resurrected.
“Grr… ugh…”
Aina, as before, mouthed the words to us.
—Next one.
Just as I nodded—
“…?”
Twitch.
Edgar turned his head sharply and looked directly toward us.
Our eyes met.
A look of shock.
His mouth fell open.
He hurriedly twisted his body away.
Puhk.
And right at that moment, his head exploded.
“Now!”