Chapter 81 - The Cursed Diary is Free
In front of him was the cursed diary. Luke quickly closed and locked the door.
Oh God!
He trembled a bit, remembering the experience he had in the asylum.
"Why? Why are you here? I didn't even dare to read your letter."
His scarf ran to the bed.
Luke rubbed his temples, trying to figure out what to do, pacing back and forth, staring at the diary on the chair as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"I know!"
He tried to mentally dismiss the diary... but it didn't work.
"Damn it!"
Makes sense, if this thing has the power to appear whenever it wants, then it will return at its own will as well.
"But why did you show up now? You had all the time in the world to reappear. Why? I wandered alone so many times, almost died many times... why, when everything is peaceful, do you decide to show your claws?"
Grabbing a pillow from the bed, he threw it over the diary.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Dinner will be ready soon," a woman's voice came from the other side of the door.
"Thank you, ma'am."
"May the Mother Goddess bless you."
"You too," Luke replied nervously, thinking about what to do.
"Why don't you take a nap? We'll call you when it's ready."
"Okay, I'll do that."
I'm not going to do shit; there's a damn crazy diary in this room.
His scarf remained quiet on the bed.
"And you? You saw that there was a diary on the chair, right?"
The scarf gave a thumbs-up.
God! I'm asking a scarf if it saw a cursed diary...
Standing there, staring at the chair, he thought about the innocent people around him, thought about Alice and Anna.
"You little shit, why now?"
Taking the pillow off the chair, the diary was still there.
Wait! What if it's just a simple notebook left by the inn?
He stared at the thing in front of him and felt something emanating from it.
No way, it's definitely the crazy diary.
Luke sat on the floor, thinking. There was a risk that as soon as he left the room, the diary would start altering things since it manipulates its surroundings. So, he sat there, watching the thing, trying to come up with a plan or an idea.
"There's only one way..."
With the diary conjured, he knew he couldn't look at its effects on the card, but even if he could... he knew that conjuring that card and looking at what it did could still be dangerous. The only way he discovered to peek at the card's contents was an idea he had on this journey. It would be through the card inventory on the status screen, allowing him to read the card's description without necessarily summoning it into the real world.
"That's what I'll do..."
Just as he was about to press his neck and look at the status...
Knock, knock, knock.
"It's me, Anna. Are you coming to dinner?"
Luke jumped, startled.
It had to be right at this moment; my heart just skipped a beat...
"I'm feeling a bit tired; I think I'll go to bed early," he said, opening the door slightly.
"Alright, Alice is sleeping too. I'll have dinner and then head to bed," Anna replied, walking down the corridor and descending the stairs. Luke closed the door and locked it.
Man, what eerie timing...
Returning to his decision, he noticed the diary had vanished from the chair.
"It's gone! It disappeared!"
Luke frantically searched the room, checking the floor, but the diary was nowhere to be found.
"This can't be…" He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath.
Could it have gone to their room? I can't let that thing roam around… but if I ask and it's not there… they might suspect something. I already mentioned the diary accidentally to Alice. I can't risk it. Alice is too smart and knows too much. If they find out I have something like this… they might… they might what? Cut ties with me?
No! Miss Lua mentioned that the diary's bad influence had been removed, and it transformed into a card in my possession. This thing can only influence its surroundings at most… but now it's free of the bad influence. So why did it reappear now?
Luke stood up.
The scarf started waving frantically.
"I'm not going to sleep, relax. I'll go for a walk… you stay here and look after them, okay?"
Wait, damn it! I forgot this guy is a scarf.
"Can you slip under their door and check if the diary is there? And do it secretly."
The scarf nodded affirmatively.
"Okay, actually, do this: stay in their room and protect them. I'll look for the damned diary out here."
He can sense me when I'm close, so he can update me when I get back.
"If the diary is there or shows up, try to find a way to let me know."
Luke left the room.
For that thing to be wandering around, it must mean something.
Luke quietly descended the stairs, trying not to alert anyone.
"Oh, our guest," the woman at the reception said.
What a dedicated worker.
"I thought you were going to sleep; your friend mentioned you wouldn't be dining."
"I am, I just thought I'd enjoy the place a bit. I really like taking walks before bed."
"Ah, I see. May the Mother Goddess bless you."
"And you too."
At least the diary didn't make the exit disappear…
Luke stepped out into the deserted village.
That thing must have returned to the card or is somewhere around here… but just seeing it triggered all my instincts. Damn it! I don't like this at all.
Walking through the dark and empty village, Luke pondered:
If I were a psychopathic diary, where would I hide? Or why would I appear? It's not out there; it would be too far from my range. Maybe coming out here limits its influence to this open space? No… I think I just wanted to protect those people. Or am I missing something? Why is this thing doing this?
Wandering aimlessly as he distanced himself from the inn, Luke was on edge from the reappearance of his arch-nemesis, the diary.
The bastard managed to make me alert and lose all my sleep...
He thought about reading the card's description, but he didn't want to risk activating the power of a cursed card.
The service was happening as usual in the church at the center of the village. The doors were closed, but he could hear the people inside.
Luke decided to head to the bar, figuring that since he was awake, he might be able to get some information about how to exit the Campaign Map.
When he arrived, the bar had a closed sign, with a note saying they were at the church.
Even the bar owner is religious.
He started to head back to his room.
That diary wouldn't go to the church, right? I wonder what would happen if I took a cursed item into a church; maybe I should even test this crazy idea. Well, I could still sit and watch their service, blend in. It would be an obvious place to find an NPC who could tell me the way out of this hell… with all due respect to the church.
Walking through the dark village, Luke summoned his old friend, the torch.
I almost look like I'm imitating them on their way to church. Thanks, torch.
The church was a large stone building in the center, situated in the middle of the village. Next to the church was a gravedigger working.
Do people who die here turn into skeletons? That would be insane, but that person is burying someone… would it be rude to satisfy my curiosity and ask?
The gravedigger was an old woman.
I guess retirement doesn't exist here…
"Good evening."
The old woman stopped digging and looked at him sternly.
"Sorry to ask, but I see you're digging… has someone died…?"
"Three graves…"
"That's… I know it might be indelicate, but the people who die here don't turn into skeletons, right?"
"No! They join everyone else who's died…"
"That's a relief…"
It would be strange living in a place where people die and turn into skeletons…
"But these graves are for three people who haven't died yet," the old woman said.