How to Use the Lord’s Future Diary

Chapter 2

“An expedition, you say?”

“I’m planning to secure funds by hunting high-value monsters in the Monster Mountain Range.”

Inside the conference room of the lord’s mansion.

Here in Johnson Territory, not once had a year been sustained solely through farming.

Every winter, the territory had survived by slaughtering the monsters that raided and selling their byproducts.

If not for pouring every resource into mine development, then around this time, not long after the end of winter, food would not have been a concern.

Spring was, in fact, the wealthiest season for Johnson Territory.

Given the circumstances, to overcome this crisis, there was no choice but to march on an expedition.

After all, this was a territory where money couldn’t be earned except through monster hunting.

“Isn’t a spring expedition far too dangerous?”

Truth be told, spring wasn’t exactly a favorable time to embark on an expedition.

‘Since monsters and magical beasts often entered their breeding season in spring.’

This was when they were at their most ferocious.

Moreover, the soldiers of the territory were already exhausted from fending off monsters all winter long.

Under normal circumstances, an expedition would never have been considered.

“To do so, we’ll have to drain all our relief supplies. If it fails, we’ll be left with absolutely nothing.”

“Supplies can be replenished once we win.”

“Even the stored provisions will have to be mobilized.”

“That can also be replenished.”

“No, what is this? Do you think this is some gambling den where we can just fill it all back up?”

“If we just sit here, we’ll starve to death anyway. Do you have another idea?”

Danger or not, right now there was no alternative.

Once I made them realize that, everyone fell silent.

They were unconsciously acknowledging reality.

“As I mentioned earlier, I plan to sweep up every last supply. Steward, and Peter. Prepare without leaving anything behind.”

“Yes, I’ll prepare as instructed.”

“I’ll handle my side as well.”

As I voiced my stance, the three had no further objections, and the meeting ended.

In the territory, the authority of the lord was absolute.

‘If the lord says so, there’s no choice but to comply.’

As I left the conference room, Steward Harold quietly followed me.

“My lord, a moment, please.”

“What is it?”

Steward Harold.

A veteran who had served in the mansion since my grandfather’s time, and someone who was like an uncle to me.

When my father passed away, he had even entrusted me to Harold, showing just how deep the trust ran.

Though his title was steward, he not only oversaw the mansion but also partially managed the affairs of the entire territory, making him one of the most important figures.

Even I knew—without Steward Harold, Johnson Territory would have collapsed long ago.

No matter how small the territory, could it make sense that only one person, Steward Harold, was handling internal affairs?

In any case, alongside the head maid, he was one of the most trustworthy people in the territory, and Iron was one of the few who even used honorifics with him in private.

That was because, beyond status, he respected him as a person.

“In fact, there’s something you had instructed me to handle some time ago…”

“When was this ‘some time ago’?”

“Regarding the search for the former Lady of the House who disappeared.”

The reason Steward Harold had followed me was to report on the results of Iron’s previous order—to search for his runaway ex-wife.

It seemed Iron had even dispatched knights to track her down.

“Ah, yes. And?”

“The knights returned, but it seems further searching is impossible. She completely erased her tracks and vanished.”

“I see. Understood.”

A wave of exasperation toward Iron washed over me.

Anyone could see that woman had entered the territory with some ulterior motive.

How could you possibly find someone who deliberately vanished into hiding?

Still, there was something suspicious about her as well.

‘It’s obvious she conned Iron, but the reason remains unclear.’

All she had done was waste Johnson Territory’s resources without actually taking anything substantial.

Knight Commander Rudick firmly believed she was behind the assassination attempt, but without evidence, it couldn’t be confirmed.

“What should we do about further searching?”

“For now, let’s leave it be. It feels like nothing but a pointless waste of manpower.”

“Then I’ll proceed accordingly.”

But right now was not the time to squander manpower on such uncertainties.

With life and death hanging in the balance, who cared about an ex-wife?

At present, everything had to be poured into preparing for the expedition.

---

Every resident of Johnson Territory knew just how dangerous an expedition at this time of year was.

Perhaps because of this, the atmosphere within the knight order was tense and sharp.

Sensing that battle was imminent, everyone was bracing themselves.

Since they were all veterans with more than enough combat experience, I chose not to interfere unnecessarily.

“Scrape together whatever supplies you can. In the end, the most important thing is lives. Dying during the expedition would be nothing but a pointless death.”

Naturally, the part I paid most attention to was supplies.

From medicine to antidotes and hemostatics, we gathered every remaining item we could.

Everyone already knew the territory’s condition was dire, so it was obvious what kind of mindset the soldiers and knights had going into this.

‘They’ll throw themselves in recklessly, just to produce results.’

Strictly speaking, this expedition had arisen because of me (Iron), but I couldn’t afford to waste valuable talent here.

In the midst of a hectic inspection of supplies, someone came to see me.

“Is the expedition preparation going smoothly?”

“Even if it isn’t, it has to be.”

It was Peter, the master of the alchemy workshop.

“Well, it’s not like we have any other breakthroughs.”

“Your reaction’s duller than expected. Normally, by now, you’d be launching a sharp-tongued attack.”

“You acted like an idiot, bewitched by a woman. I know it, you know it, even Smith knows it. But do I really need to say it? I don’t intend to poke at someone else’s wound pointlessly.”

“…That actually feels worse, you bastard.”

For reference, Smith was the six-year-old kid living next door to Peter.

Meaning—everyone in the territory knew about Iron’s blunder.

He really was a man with a subtly nasty personality.

No, at this point, maybe not so subtle at all?

‘Peter.’

A chic and cool-headed man, a capable alchemist.

My childhood friend of the same age as Iron, and a year older than Knight Commander Rudick.

He was the master of the alchemy workshop, the territory’s sole source of income.

From my perspective, he was practically a stranger, but I was gradually beginning to feel as though he really was a true friend.

The same went for him, and for Rudick as well.

‘It must be because I transmigrated into Iron and absorbed most of his memories.’

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I couldn’t say. But for now, I decided to accept it naturally.

When survival itself was at stake, what good would worrying about such things do?

‘It’s just me who has to suffer through it.’

Anyway, since the workshop was practically the only financial lifeline of the territory, he was also one of its core figures.

After all, he was the grandson of Elder “Burdo,” once called the “Great Alchemist.”

He had inherited the pre–Great Cataclysm formulas in their entirety and was sustaining our territory with them.

“But what brings such a busy man here?”

This guy was one of the busiest people in the territory.

Cultivating medicinal herbs to make potions.

Developing new seeds capable of adapting to the environment that had changed after the Great Cataclysm.

He was always buried in research, so for him to come all the way to my office, there had to be a reason.

“Busy, of course. I feel like I’ll drop dead from busyness even right now. The potion enhancement is making progress somehow, but the seed issue… that’s really hopeless.”

Clicking his tongue about the most crucial matter—seed improvement—looking grim, Peter emphasized that since this expedition would completely drain the supplies, there had to be results.

“At the very least, a Mountain Troll or an Ogre. If nothing else, even a Mountain Crocodile has to be taken down.”

“Every single one of those is a nasty opponent.”

“Especially the Troll. That’s non-negotiable. Otherwise, you’ll be standing on the battlefield this winter without a single potion.”

“Well, I was planning to bring back at least a Troll, anyway.”

It seemed the workshop’s stockpile of monster byproducts had already run completely dry.

After that long-winded speech, Peter pulled out a potion and handed it to me.

Judging from this, it looked like this was the real reason he had visited my office.

“What’s this?”

“A special potion from the Great Alchemist. A god’s gift born of coincidence upon coincidence.”

“A special potion?”

“The volume is small, so it won’t bring someone back from the brink of death, but it’ll still be more than usable.”

Here, potions were all produced by hand. Because of that, their effects tended to vary.

The interesting thing was—once in a while, a potion would turn out outstandingly effective, what they called a special potion.

Such potions were produced so rarely that they were always treated as priceless.

“Don’t tell me…”

Exactly.

That potion was the last special potion remaining in the entire territory.

“Hate to say this, but if possible, don’t waste it on others. Use it yourself. Talk about ‘the value of life being equal’—all that’s just empty rhetoric. In the territory, the lord always comes first.”

“Well… I’ll try to do that.”

A special potion.

Truly a reassuring thing to carry.

This must have been because of the recent assassination attempt.

But honestly, someone else was more likely to end up using it.

With so many knights weaker than me, could I really say I wouldn’t use this if one of them were on death’s door?

‘I’m sturdy enough as it is. And in a territory this small, every individual talent matters.’

Peter must have known that, too.

“Like hell you’ll do that. I can already see it in your face—you’re planning to…”

“Hey, I took it, and that’s that. How I use it is my decision.”

“Damn it. I should’ve just given it to Rudick instead.”

“Even if you gave it to Rudick, it would’ve ended up back with me anyway. You know that.”

The original owner of this body, Iron, had been the kind of man who never hesitated to use potions on his knights.

“Fine, whatever. Do as you please. Live or die, it’s on you. If the territory collapses, I’ll just move somewhere else. No territory would turn down an alchemist.”

“Hey now, isn’t that a bit harsh?”

Peter spat his curse.

Normally, he wasn’t one to talk like that, so he must have been genuinely annoyed this time.

“Anyway, thanks.”

“Yeah. Come back in one piece.”

It looked like I really needed to be careful with my body.

Getting injured would only be a loss for me in the end.

I hadn’t clawed my way through to this point just to throw my life away.

That would be far too bitter an ending.

I steeled my mind once more, vowing to return alive, no matter what.

---

After Peter left with his tirade, I returned to my office and went over the paperwork again.

The roster of personnel for deployment, the tally of supplies.

After finishing the final inspection before departure and sinking deep into my chair, a sense of comfort came over me—along with a memory of something I had set aside.

‘What was that yesterday?’

Since witnessing the red light in the diary the night before.

That unpleasant experience—whether it was a hallucination or something else—hadn’t repeated.

It had been too vivid to be mere illusion, leaving cold sweat soaking down my back, so I had carefully inspected the diary.

-Isn’t that the diary you’ve been writing in every day, my lord?

-No matter how I look at it, it’s just a diary, sir.

-Did you drink again today?

The diary was nothing unusual.

Just an ordinary diary.

One Iron had used halfway through.

“There’s no way this is some transmigrator’s privilege… right?”

For a moment, I wondered if it might be a perk of transmigration, but dismissed the thought.

If something like that were meant to be given, there’d be no need for such a roundabout method.

They could’ve just provided me a status window upon transmigration.

‘Could it be some kind of diary that reveals the future? But if so, how come Iron still got swindled and assassinated?’

If it were truly something special, he wouldn’t have been tricked or nearly assassinated.

‘A cursed artifact, maybe?’

If it showed horrifying visions without reason, that would be closer to a curse.

Even thinking about it now, that vision was ominous.

“I really can’t make sense of this.”

As I wavered between doubt and belief, focusing back on expedition preparations, another vision came.

This time, it was clearer.