I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 110

I’m tired.

It was only when dusk fell that I finally arrived at the cozy and comfortable base, throwing myself onto the bed.

Those persistent pests! They chased me around for a full three hours until I was worn out, and only then did they manage to extract a promise from me to read love fortunes for them before they finally left.

It was because they mentioned love fortunes that the fleeing crown prince flinched.

He’s still traumatized from being rejected.

Thanks to that, I had to run and hold my breath long enough that I thought I’d have to force myself to walk for a while.

My legs are shaking…

“Ah.”

Late at night, lying alone in my space, I let all my body relax.

Fatigue hits me along with the flood of thoughts.

“…….”

A lot has happened over the past few days, but the most shocking thing was Liu Yan’s confession.

Honestly… I wasn’t completely oblivious to Liu having feelings for me.

‘After all, she even slipped something in my food and we’ve been on trips together just the two of us…’

No matter how much I lacked a girlfriend or even friends, I still had the slightest inkling.

However, considering my utterly disastrous confession to Rain and the gaming world’s standard for female characters’ favorability being locked in a predefined stereotype…

When the protagonist is male, even if I cleared all the character events for Liu or Rain and completed every single event perfectly, it still ends with “You’re such a good friend,” right?

After repeating that over twenty times, I guess it unintentionally shaped my perception.

Having seen the stark differences between the game version of “Romance Academy” and the reality version enough already.

“…….”

Wait, but I really thought Rain liked me too. With the way she acted so friendly, isn’t it hard to misinterpret that?

Even though I realized Liu was being kind to me after getting rejected there, I still couldn’t bring myself to ask her.

I guess it’s just Liu, easily making her confession clear.

But…

“She must have been considering me…”

After confessing, Liu smiled brightly as if she knew I would turn her down anyway.

Honestly, from the perspective of a lifelong single, if a girl like Liu confessed to me, I should be grateful and accept it.

But…

To meet Jisoo, I had to avoid dating anyone, be it Liu or anyone else.

Otherwise, I’d inevitably infuse my sentiments into events and various matters. The path to a ‘perfect ending’ would become significantly more difficult.

What’s more, dating would be one thing, but in comparison to my one and only family, it just felt… wrong.

I only felt sorry for Liu.

Confessing knowing she’d be rejected, being outright rejected—that’s not something I could ever bring myself to do.

Once all this is over, then maybe—

“……Let’s at least think after everything is done. Don’t jump the gun.”

Overthinking it would only make me more conscious of Liu, so I put those thoughts aside and recalled the crown prince’s words.

Wang Fei said Kim Ha-neul and the Emperor were backing her.

‘Kim Ha-neul is definitely a puppet.’

The Emperor, the Emperor…

… surely there’s quite a gap between the emperor I know and the one here.

‘The Emperor I knew…’

Put the nation before family, always cold and logical. That’s about it.

The Emperor didn’t have much presence in the game either.

He only briefly appeared in the character events of Kim Eun-ha and Kim Sung-il, with no real involvement.

Unlike how Rain and Hector were tied together through character events, Eun-ha’s issues with her inner ‘Desire to Kill’ were the main problem, while Sung-il’s event was merely about resolving a crush.

Connecting with the royal family through Eun-ha, while initially having no apparent flaws, Sung-il felt like a case of a lifelong lone wolf getting solved.

Of course, as Eun-ha’s character event underwent its transformation, Sung-il’s character event would invariably change too.

‘A future-seeing Emperor, huh.’

Even so, contrasting with Hector, who had the same personality throughout the game, this one seemed entirely different.

… This Chuseok was bound to be a very tough holiday.

“……..Character Event.”

Right, character event.

After a brief struggle to ignore a certain part of my vision, I finally came to accept it.

Not Kim Eun-ha’s character event that had already been released, nor Kim Sung-il’s character event that hadn’t been released yet…

But Liu Yan’s character event.

[Character Event: <The Start of Doubt> – Liu Yan

Having gained Liu Yan’s favor, you have already overcome a massive wave. Gaining a wealthy tycoon’s favor is no small feat,

However, her doubts will remain unchanged. The feelings, moods, or impressions she harbors towards others are met with equal suspicion.

Most likely, the tycoon will never fully shake off her doubts about you until the day she leaves this world.

Even if you find someone to love or gain another family member, the suspicion that this is the first time you truly trust someone will remain, lingering on.

Liu Yan has her reasons for holding onto this, which surpasses simple thoughts and borders on a disorder.

Take a look at her past.

After that, the choice is yours.

Event Goal: Learn about Liu Yan’s past (final objective)

Remaining Time: None

Achievement Reward: Achieve maximum favorability with Liu Yan, Gain access to Liu Yan’s exclusive shop, Obtain general skill <My Money is Your Money>]

“Hah…”

The more I look at it, the more it makes me sigh.

It’s not just the difficulty itself.

<Warning!!: This character event has a very high chance of ending in a 'Bad Ending' if handled improperly! Proceed with caution!>

That warning phrase is the real problem.

‘To begin with, Liu’s character event was notoriously difficult.’

Liu’s character event doesn’t involve anyone else.

Just Liu and the player.

So if the difficulty of that character event is high… it’s naturally due to Liu herself.

‘The past is Liu’s Achilles’ heel.’

The childhood of the world-renowned tycoon, Liu Yan, is treated like a taboo.

A space no one can approach, a domain no one must mention.

In the game, just asking about her past would reset any favorability I’d built up.

At least after receiving this character event, I could finally be in a position to ask about her past.

‘Sincerely, at this rate, clearing is impossible.’

In the original game, failing an event led directly to a bad ending, and only Liu’s character event had that lot.

Choosing the wrong option would plummet the favorability to zero, garner tremendous suspicion from Liu, and result in a ‘dispose of’ bad ending.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the save load feature, I would have given up a long time ago… and I seriously protested against Jisoo too.

‘Each time, Liu just replied, “That’s just how she is, what can I do?.”‘

What do you mean, that’s just how she is?! Quit defending her damn character!

Well, anyway.

If Liu’s past has changed from what I know, there’s a significant possibility her past has also shifted alongside other characters’ events and backgrounds.

And unlike a game with a save load feature, this is a harsh reality.

If I’m not thoroughly prepared, I’ll be heading straight to the underworld.

‘For now, I’ll hold off.’

It’d be smarter to proceed once I gather more information on Liu.

For now, following Liu around and asking her various questions would be the best course of action.

‘…Huh? Then I might end up looking like I’m dating Liu──’

Ah.

—Damn it.

Stop being so conscious of Liu, you virgin brain!

Liu is a friend! A close friend! We just hang out like we did in the first semester!

‘No, but still, shouldn’t I care to some extent?’

She just confessed she likes me; I can’t ignore her by hanging out with other girls.

Do I need to stick with Liu at all times? Should I perhaps reduce my meetings with Rain or the Crown Princess or the Saint?

But it’s not like we’re dating, right? Let’s stop thinking about someone as ‘someone’ please.

‘Why does overthinking make me come back to this?’

Is this what being a lifelong single is like? Is it because I’ve never dated anyone?

It’s driving me insane…

And so, it took me over two hours to doze off.

*

Shuffling.

“……?”

After class, during a brief break.

As usual, while sitting next to me, Liu turned to glance at Namgoong Min, who was strangely frozen, before breaking into a playful smile.

Positioned beside me but seemingly trying to distance herself, Liu poked Namgoong Min at the waist with her finger.

Thump.

“Whoah!?”

“Hehe, this kid’s funny. Why are you so scared?”

“N-no, I’m not!”

“Sure you are.”

Watching Namgoong Min’s intense reaction, Liu recalled the sensation of her finger poking his waist.

‘More toned than I expected.’

Is he trying to manage despite being weak? Not bad.

Honestly, being muscular feels reliable, and if he’s chubby, he just seems cute, so it doesn’t matter that much.

From Liu’s perspective, as long as she hasn’t invaded Namgoong Min’s privacy by secretly photographing him in the shower or anything—she’s maintaining a boundary, which is a valuable piece of information.

Though that in itself is a big win…

“Uh, why are you staring at me like that?”

‘As expected.’

“Nothing at all.”

The best part about this situation is it finally feels like this oblivious fortuneteller is starting to pay her some notice.

If he only ever saw her as a ‘friend,’ now he certainly considers her something more than that, but less than a lover.

Uncharacteristic anxious gestures and glancing over repeatedly.

And his clear conscious attitude toward her.

Even though it was Liu who confessed and got turned down, the roles seemed to have reversed.

And that was precisely what she had been aiming for, so it was working perfectly.

‘You’re never getting away from me now.’

Liu knows Namgoong Min well. Even if he never explicitly states it, she’s chosen to not pay any attention to that anymore.

Just getting to know this person named Namgoong Min, no matter how it happens, felt genuinely happy and delightful.

And what Liu is sure of is.

This fortuneteller has a heart of gold.

‘You couldn’t possibly ignore a girl you confessed your feelings to and got rejected by.’

Even someone who typically wouldn’t be trifled with would be quite perturbed in this case, but for Namgoong Min, it’ll be even stronger.

If Liu’s around, he’d never hesitate to speak with other girls.

In the end, this kind-hearted guy is always considerate.

So as long as Liu doesn’t distance herself from him, at the very least he’ll be mindful of her feelings when it comes to romantic interests.

And from now on, she won’t distance herself from him, which feels like a foolproof plan.

“Hey, you dropped your pencil.”

“Uh, ah! Did I?”

“Pick it up quickly.”

As Liu spoke, Namgoong Min bent down under the desk towards the floor.

At the same instant, Liu smiled as she subtly lifted her skirt hem.

Not too much, just enough for her thighs to be visible.

Naturally, if Namgoong Min merely turned his head a little, the view would be perfectly clear.

“………….”

“What’s up? Can’t find it?”

Liu couldn’t see Namgoong Min’s expression from her position hiding under the desk. But she could predict it pretty well since he wasn’t looking for a pencil that never really fell.

Perhaps he’d mistake her for some kind of loose woman, but what does it matter?

The one who confessed was Liu, and even if she seems loose, it’s directed just at this fortuneteller.

It was amusing to steal a glance at Namgoong Min’s flustered state.

‘Everyone’s watching, though.’

Even more delightful was the array of eyes watching them.

The Hero and Saint, appearing as if they were shedding blood tears.

The Crown Prince and Lucas, still in shock, unable to adapt to the situation.

The Crown Princess shooting them a rather perplexed look.

And…

“…………….”

With hollow eyes and a cracked pencil in his grip, Rain.

The varied expressions amplified her amusement, and Liu couldn’t help but chuckle.

It was a pure joy she had long since forgotten.

*

“………….”

“There’s something odd, Your Majesty.”

“…………….”

“…Your Majesty?”

“………….”

“Your Majesty, if there’s something troubling you—”

“──Be quiet, I am deep in thought.”

“Indeed, Minister.”

“This is the Emperor’s court. Even if unofficial, remain silent until His Majesty concludes his thoughts.”

“…Yes.”

“…………….”

“………….”

“……………….”

“………Ah, I see.”

“Your Majesty?”

“Your Majesty, have you finished pondering?”

“Yes… I’ve finished.”

“In that case….”

“On the first day of Chuseok, a fortuneteller will arrive, accompanied by the Crown Prince.”

“Yes.”

“Capture and kill him. No need to think about the cleanup; just drag him away and kill him. You can use any means necessary, but ensure to take him to the Royal Palace’s underground first to kill him.”

“Understood.”

“Understood.”

“Very well… Dismissed.”

Thud, thud, thud.

Creak.

Bang.

“………Fortuneteller.”

—You should wish to blame me.