Future Diary Survival Game

Chapter 5: Self-Introduction - 4

Armelia spoke, still not understanding the situation.

“What are you talking about? That man figured out two more jobs. And I told him not to point us out.”

I stayed silent.

Armelia looked back and forth between me and the blacksmith with a confused gaze.

Then the blacksmith opened his mouth.

“Uh, that bald man over there. He’s the restaurant owner.”

“You damn bastard! Mason, you sold my information, didn’t you!”

Mr. Forgotten shouted at me, veins bulging in his eyes.

Magireta waved her hand dismissively.

“Be quiet, please. Anyway, the first one’s correct. Then what’s next?”

Armelia’s lips trembled.

“Don’t do it. You said it’s your child’s birthday tomorrow……”

“The woman over there is the Empire’s princess! And the one next to her is a restaurant worker!”

The blacksmith didn’t seem particularly resourceful.

So how did he manage to discover two more jobs?

The answer was—he didn’t.

What he told us was false information.

And, as expected—

“Both wrong! Goodbye.”

“Huh? Th-that can’t be.”

The blacksmith couldn’t finish his sentence.

Thud.

The ways Magireta had used to eliminate people varied greatly.

The blacksmith died in a relatively mild manner.

He looked down at the hollow space near his heart.

“Something’s… wrong…”

That was his last will.

Armelia clamped her mouth shut to stop a scream from escaping.

I said calmly to her.

“With his skills, there’s no way that man could’ve figured out two more jobs.”

“……”

“At first, he must have tried his best, but soon realized it was impossible. So he changed his approach.”

“……”

“‘What if I give up the princess’s information for free? If I sell it to at least three people including myself, maybe the princess won’t die here. Then maybe the threat against me will just be brushed aside.’ That’s what he must’ve thought.”

Kuh.

Armelia bit her lips roughly.

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye and said,

“Don’t blame yourself too much. Your Highness did everything you could.”

“……”

“For now, let’s focus on surviving.”

Armelia silently nodded.

Then—

“Wait a second! Why did that man die?!”

It was Mr. Forgotten.

Magireta picked her ear with a finger and said,

“What’s that? No, what are you saying? Ah, I keep mixing up formal and casual speech because of my little brother.”

“I don’t know about that woman, but Mason’s job really is restaurant worker. So how could both be wrong?”

“Yeah, I should just stick to casual speech from now on. Politeness doesn’t suit me anyway.”

“Answer me!”

“Damn it.”

She said she’d drop honorifics, not that she’d start swearing.

Magireta glared coldly at Mr. Forgotten.

“You’re kind of unpleasant, you know?”

“Ugh.”

“Do I look nauseated or something?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant……”

“Since you brought it up—Mason, it’s your turn. My little brother’s up next. Now, tell me the jobs you’ve figured out. I’ve just erased your memory of a moment ago.”

I nodded with a tense expression.

Then, first, I pointed to the man who had just become a corpse.

“That man is the blacksmith.”

“Correct.”

Next, I pointed toward the old man from earlier.

“And the person over there is a gardener.”

“Right again.”

“And lastly……”

I pointed straight at Mr. Forgotten—without the slightest hesitation.

And I said quietly, as if spitting out the words.

“That man is the restaurant owner.”

“Correct! You pass.”

“Uwaaaaah! Mason, you bastard!”

Mr. Forgotten tried to lunge at me like a madman.

But soon his body froze stiff, like stone.

Magireta had moved her hand.

“You’ve been noisy for a while now.”

“Ugh.”

“Hey, it’s your turn next. Hurry up and get him eliminated.”

Sweat poured down Mr. Forgotten’s forehead like rain.

With a trembling face, he spoke.

“That man over there is a farmer……”

“Correct.”

“That man is a merchant.”

“Correct.”

“Next one… next one is…”

His eyes, filled with despair, turned toward me.

I didn’t avoid his gaze.

Mr. Forgotten spoke in a trembling voice.

“M-my memory was erased just now. Yeah, my memory about the jobs is gone.”

“……”

“But I still remember that you weren’t a restaurant worker.”

“……”

“Mason, Mason…”

Magireta, unusually, gave him time.

Perhaps his current expression was providing her some entertainment.

“Oh, Mason. Please, I’m begging you. I took you in when you had nowhere to go. We’ve done well together these past three years, haven’t we?”

“……”

“Forget about me, but think about my wife, Meyren. You remember how kind she was to you, don’t you? She cared for you like her own son.”

“……”

“Right, we’re basically family. No, we are family! Please, save me. Don’t let my wife grieve. Please… ughhh.”

Mr. Forgotten pressed his forehead against the ground and rubbed it desperately.

For a moment, I felt my heart waver.

‘Meyren.’

He was right.

Aunt Meyren had truly been kind to me.

Gentle, affectionate, giving love without restraint.

As if I were her own son, now grown and living apart.

The image of her always serving me one and a half portions came to mind.

‘Damn it.’

But this was already beyond my control.

I spoke.

“It’s too late.”

“There’s still time. If you tell me now—”

“No.”

I said firmly.

Why did Magireta set a one-hour time limit?

Because this was the grading time after the test had already ended.

Even if you whispered the right answer now, Magireta wasn’t the kind of examiner who would generously mark it correct.

She had said as expected.

“Didn’t that basic fact bounce off your head? Even if my brother told you his job now, it wouldn’t be reflected.”

“Uuuu.”

“Why don’t you try deducing instead? I’d accept that. You said you’d watched him for three years? What is my brother’s real job?”

Mr. Forgotten foamed at the mouth.

Magireta spread her five fingers wide.

And said like this.

“Five.”

“Waaah. Waaah.”

Aunt Meyren’s face flashed across my mind.

In the end I sighed and said softly.

“Look, Mr. Forgotten. Listen to me. I could write.”

“You’re so kind. Trying to give a hint to the person who was going to kill him.”

Shut up.

I wasn’t doing this for Mr. Forgotten.

“Four.”

“Lately business has been bad and customers have decreased, right? So savings kept getting used up and Aunt sighed deeply. I wanted to help Aunt somehow.”

“……”

“At that time I saw the lord post a short-term recruiting notice across the entire estate and I applied. I went to work once a week. You know I was away every weekend, right?”

“Three.”

“You must’ve seen that notice too. Someone sneered that some people make money so easily. Don’t you remember?”

Mr. Forgotten’s eyes brightened.

“Ah. That must be recorded……”

“One, two, one, zero-zero-zero!”

Suddenly Magireta counted the remaining numbers in an instant.

And.

Thunk!

Mr. Forgotten’s head shot high into the sky.

I just stared blankly at that head.

Plop.

Magireta caught Mr. Forgotten’s head with her own hand.

Then she rolled the skull with a finger raised and said.

“Actually it was a lie. Do you think I’d accept a deduction now?”

Of course.

I’d had a feeling that would happen.

Magireta narrowed her eyes like a crescent moon and asked me.

“Did your brother notice too?”

“Half-noticed. There were no special privileges on the bulletin board that said you could answer after the time limit.”

“Smart. Then why did you work so hard to give hints?”

“Maybe my sister would show mercy. I thought if her heart was as pretty as her face, she might.”

“You’ve never seen my face. You’re cheeky.”

She smiled faintly and watched me quietly.

I must have worn a calm expression.

After three years of dealing with all kinds of restaurant jerks, I’d learned that I was naturally skilled at hiding my true feelings and wearing fake expressions.

But Magireta said this.

“You’re mad. You feel mocked by me.”

“Huh? No. Not really.”

“……Hmph. I’ve thought from the start that you were an interesting kid. Maybe you’re one of the ‘possibilities.’”

Possibility?

What did she mean.

Then Magireta changed the subject.

“Okay. There was a little commotion, but shall we start again? Hmm… next is you. Recite the jobs you found out.”

Magireta pointed at someone as if nothing had happened.

So the grading resumed.

Again someone died, and someone survived.

In the meantime Armelia asked me,

“Mason Gear. Are you okay?”

“……I was a registrar.”

“Hm?”

“The lord wanted copies of the rare books in his study made. I started two months ago, and it was a ‘job’ that would be finished if I worked just one more week.”

Armelia listened to my story without saying anything.

I continued.

“It seems recording things was my vocation. I also kept a diary every single day.”

“……”

“If I survived here, I’d have to revise the diary I wrote today.”

I looked up at Magireta quietly.

Her earlier observation had been precise.

I was very angry now.

Was it because Mr. Forgotten died? No, not that. Thinking of Aunt Meyren hurt my heart, but I wasn’t a saint who would get angry on behalf of the man who sold me out.

It was simply…

‘I hated that witch.’

I found it strange that I could feel that much anger toward a self-proclaimed omnipotent, nonhuman being.

I had endured all sorts of abuses from rude restaurant customers without flinching.

But the feeling I had now was genuine.

I planned to write the last line of today’s diary like this.

Time passed again and everyone’s grading ended.

Armelia had survived, having revealed the jobs of the now-corpse Mr. Forgotten, the blacksmith, and the gardener old man.

On the other hand, those who had trusted Mr. Forgotten and bought information from him all died.

They blamed Mr. Forgotten until their deaths, but there was no one left to hear those complaints.

Fortunately the gardener grandfather who had traded with us survived.

‘He’s really something, that old man.’

He’d managed to learn two jobs himself without anyone discovering his job before our deal — experience shows its worth.

Then Magireta’s voice rang out.

“About a third have been eliminated. This cohort is smarter than I expected. I have high hopes. Everyone, keep it up like this.”

“……”

“Now, I’ll tell you one absolute rule.”

She crossed her legs in midair and continued.

“I’ll send you all back to your original world now. Stay comfortable there until the second game starts. But, needless to say, do not tell others about what happened today.”

“……”

“In speech, writing, expression, or gesture. Not even artistic methods like drawings or mime. The moment anyone attempts to tell someone about today, they’re eliminated on the spot.”

I hesitated a moment and asked.

“If that’s the case, why not just seal our mouths completely? You’re omnipotent — that shouldn’t be beyond you.”

“Heh heh. Nothing’s impossible for me, of course. But doing that would remove their anxiety about ‘accidentally’ blabbing today. Using my power to shut mouths and letting them be cautious themselves are different. I want to see your anxious faces.”

I almost called her a perverted maniac out loud.

My expression must have been sufficiently rotten, because Magireta shrugged and opened her mouth.

“I know, I know. I was a bit harsh today, right? So I’ll give a little compensation. Well, this is a reward for completing the first quest, after all.”

“……”

“Right. Everyone, take it!”

The next moment.

It rained from the sky.

A rain of gold coins.