077 – Even a straw sandal has a partner…! #2
They say a tarot fortune teller called “Madame” has recently become quite famous.
She is said to be a very skilled diviner from the ranks of Awakened.
She supposedly provides great insights on when one might meet their destined partner and how to facilitate that meeting.
I’ve heard she possesses a strange “divination power.”
“Whether it’s true or not, who knows.”
Seo Ye-rim, after much trouble, managed to get two consultation tickets and met with “Madame” along with Haildo.
Madame appeared to be quite a capable Awakened, and Seo Ye-rim heard some astonishing news from her.
“She says I will have three children!”
Whether to believe it or not—.
Seo Ye-rim was taken aback at the notion that she would have three children.
In reality, Seo Ye-rim had always wanted to marry and have exactly three children someday.
Two daughters and one son—.
She thought that would be just right.
Soon, Haildo asked.
“How many children will I have?”
“Twelve.”
Twelve.
At that number, Seo Ye-rim’s vision went black.
How much suffering would a wife have to endure to give birth to twelve? It meant carrying children in her womb for a long time during her youth.
“Haildo, you little brat, are you trying to kill me?!”
To give birth to twelve, he would likely need to give up being an S Rank Awakened.
But—.
Upon a moment’s thought, it seemed strange.
“I said I would have three children. But why is Haildo saying twelve? Not three?”
What could this mean?
In the end, unable to hold it in, Seo Ye-rim asked.
“Teacher. I’m supposed to have three, so why is this guy having twelve?”
“Well… Giving birth varies from person to person.”
It was such an obvious statement.
However, Seo Ye-rim had thought that both she and Haildo would have the same number of children, so this revelation hit her hard.
Ultimately, the conclusion that her mind, still racing, came up with was one.
“Lies! This must all be lies!”
The fifth industrial era.
In a world where AI is highly developed, believing in superstitions like fortunes and divinations was, to be honest, quite ridiculous.
“You. It’s all lies, isn’t it?”
Pointing at “Madame” with her hand.
Seeing this, Haildo looked rather flustered.
“Hey. What are you saying in front of someone?”
“Let go! This is all a scam, isn’t it? If you really know everything, then guess what color my underwear is today!”
“……!”
The woman called Madame was greatly taken aback by Seo Ye-rim’s challenge.
She felt like she was facing a troublesome customer.
“See! You don’t know! How can you know how many children someone will have if you don’t even know this? You’re a total fraud! I don’t believe in these things!”
In the end, Seo Ye-rim couldn’t hold back and stood up to leave.
# # #
Fortunes.
Divinations.
I did not believe in such things.
However, I thought it might be fun to see once in a while.
But when Seo Ye-rim heard her fortune, she began to get furious and eventually stormed out uncontrollably.
Quite awkward.
Did I speak too directly, calling it a lie and a scam in front of someone?
Moreover, Seo Ye-rim is one of the most renowned figures in our country.
I worried that this might end up on the 9 o’clock news, which made me nervous for no reason.
However, the tarot teacher with the nickname “Madame” chuckled lightly.
“Such customers are rather common. But to be honest, my condition today isn’t quite right. Hehehe. The mana in my body is disturbed.”
Mana in the body.
It was a familiar and comforting topic for someone like me, an Awakened.
She surely views fortunes through an Awakened’s “skill.”
“Haildo. Since we met like this, I have a request for you.”
A request?
Does she already know my identity?
She knows I command Squirrel Beasts.
“What is the request?”
“This card is a special item made from unique paper that can be obtained from B Rank rifts. It got damaged when Ye-rim got angry earlier.”
I see.
Indeed, the ink appeared to be melted or smudged.
It was likely due to Ye-rim’s rage causing all the mana in the area to go haywire.
Was she upset over the fact that she would have three children?
Was Seo Ye-rim secretly child-free?
“Haildo. If you happen to acquire an ‘Unopened Card Pack’ while dismantling the B Rank rift, please bring it to me. I will compensate you fairly.”
An “Unopened Card Pack.”
I had heard of such items appearing in rifts.
Madame added.
“Haildo. If you wish to meet your destined partner, she may be closer than you think. I see a woman in a white coat. A nurse? A doctor?”
“Are you saying that a nurse or doctor around me is my destined partner?”
“Well, I can’t be certain, but I can tell she’s your benefactor and has been devoted to you in ways you might not even realize.”
“Oh….”
The only woman in a white coat around me was Ari.
Yu Ara.
The thought that she could be my destined partner had never crossed my mind.
Because Ari felt so much like my younger sister, like a naive high school girl.
“Hey! What are you doing? Hurry up!”
Just then, I heard a voice calling me from outside.
It was Seo Ye-rim.
It seemed if I stayed any longer, she might actually cause a scene, and I had no choice but to bow my head to the tarot consultation teacher, “Madame.”
“Um. I’m sorry about today.”
“Not at all. It was nice meeting you.”
With a swift motion, I offered another apology on behalf of Seo Ye-rim and left the shop.
When I stepped outside, Seo Ye-rim, arms crossed, was waiting for me, fuming.
“Why did you take so long? Horoscopes and fortunes are all nonsense. Don’t you know they’re utterly worthless?”
“No—.”
It was you who brought me here today.
But since I feared that responding would turn me into grilled squid, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
Women are naturally capricious, after all.
Growing up with a younger sister, I knew this well.
After that, we had dinner.
Once we returned home smoothly, Inoi was standing in front of the yard, waving her hands.
“The owner of this house says to come over quickly…!”
“I, Illinois, was waiting too…! So what did you do on your date…? Talk to me about it, Illinois…!”
It seemed like the Nymphs enjoyed discussing other people’s romances.
I lightly explained to Inoi and Illinois about what had just happened, and Inoi raised her hand in excitement as if she found it very interesting.
“I, Inoi, have heard about fortunes and horoscopes too…! But one shouldn’t get too absorbed in them…!”
That’s right.
I agreed.
Then Illinois, smirking.
“I, Illinois, once traveled to the prophetic city of Delphi…! I have memories of listening to some very interesting stories there….”
Illinois chuckled softly.
“It was a very entertaining story…!”
It wasn’t anything important, just a funny story she recalled, which amused her. I wondered just how amusing that story was for her to be laughing so hard on her own.
I wanted to hear it too.
“Hey! Illinois! Let’s go home now!”
Just then, Seo Ye-rim called to Illinois from outside.
Just as she was about to say something, Illinois dashed away.
As we stepped into the yard, Seo Ye-rim was starting the car.
“It was fun today.”
I honestly told Seo Ye-rim.
How long had it been since I enjoyed a holiday like this?
Even after leaving the tarot café, Seo Ye-rim, who had been sulking all day, seemed a bit cheerier as she smiled weakly at my words.
“What are you saying? Of course, it should be fun since I went out with you. I deliberately only went to quiet places to avoid the paparazzi. Just know that this isn’t my true ability.”
That was true.
We had indeed stuck to calm and serene spots today.
Just imagine if a photo came out with the headline, “Seo Ye-rim in a relationship with an unidentified male—”
It would surely take a long time to clarify things.
“So, what do you think? I proved that I’m the top candidate for a bride, didn’t I?”
Is that so?
The reason Seo Ye-rim asked me out today was to prove that she was in a much better position than Lee Jin-A.
I was the referee for that, after all.
As I saw it—
While today’s date was certainly enjoyable, if I were to ask whether Seo Ye-rim was indeed the top candidate for a bride—well, I wasn’t sure.
Honestly, I felt anxious when Seo Ye-rim abruptly lost her cool at the tarot café.
I thought we might even end up on the news.
Still, overall, it was a very pleasant date.
Regardless of the reason, I had gone on a date with a famous celebrity today, right?
It was something I would never forget.
“Hey. I’ll give you some milk tea. Take it.”
As a token of gratitude for the great experience, I gifted Seo Ye-rim a bottle of milk tea.
Seo Ye-rim snorted and left the neighborhood without even a simple thank you.
# # #
Seo Ye-rim’s electric car smoothly exited Primal Village.
On the way to her house—
In the back seat, I could hear the crinkling of the paper bag that contained the milk tea.
“I didn’t show any outward signs, but you must have really enjoyed going out with me? Giving me this precious milk tea. Anyway, men are like that—.”
Seo Ye-rim sensed something in the milk tea that Haildo had given her.
“Inoi, don’t you think so?”
Vroom—
Seated next to her, Inoi was already asleep.
“This one always sleeps the moment she gets in the car.”
It was a very quiet ride home.
Seo Ye-rim, reflecting on the day’s events, began to tremble slightly.
“Haildo. He will never forget today. After all, I personally took him out on a date. No way he could forget that. But I wonder if today was too tame of a date—.”
Seo Ye-rim was a celebrity.
She gathered attention wherever she went, so she couldn’t afford to have a loud and extravagant date.
So, she chose a tarot café for that reason.
However, it turned out to be more unpleasant than she had expected.
“I’ll never look at fortunes or tarot again.”
Just as Seo Ye-rim scoffed—
Suddenly, the emergency lights on her car flashed.
“Uh oh. What’s wrong?”
Seo Ye-rim pulled over to the roadside.
Once the car stopped, it wouldn’t start again.
“What the heck? This is so unlucky.”
Even though we had just exited Primal Village, it was still a country road.
Even if we called the insurance for an emergency response, it would take a few minutes—.
Thinking about that, as Seo Ye-rim picked up her phone, she noticed someone standing in front of her.
“Whoa! Who are you? What’s going on?”
“How unfortunate—. That’s something you shouldn’t say lightly. Fortunes and luck can easily change with a careless word. Speaking of which, would you like me to read your fortune?”
It was a woman dressed in a black hood.
All that could be seen in the dark moonlight was her smile, displaying white teeth.
As Seo Ye-rim watched the woman approaching her, she began to feel uncomfortable.
“I don’t believe in luck or fortunes, you know? And if you don’t want to get yourself into trouble, you should leave. Do you even know who I am?”
“I do. The Fire Witch. What an interesting label to assign to a girl like me.”
Swoosh—
The hooded woman pulled a dagger from her pocket.
Seeing this, Seo Ye-rim sighed and snapped her fingers.
“In the end, you’re forcing me to use force. This is self-defense.”
Bang!
But then something surprising happened.
Even though she snapped her fingers, flames did not erupt around Seo Ye-rim’s body.
“What!? What the—.”
Bang!
The woman lunged at Seo Ye-rim.
And with a sharp dagger, she sliced through the hair before disappearing into thin air.
It all happened so suddenly that Seo Ye-rim was too stunned to speak.
“What, what just happened?”
