I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 122

“Crown Prince… right? Here.”

“…it seems like it…”

Beyond the torn space where the Hero stood, I muttered while walking through a corridor adorned with all sorts of decorations and luxury items.

It looked like a palace could be seen even beyond the windows of the corridor, so it must be correct.

“Is this Crown Princess’s Lucid Dream?”

“That’s what I think… but… I have no memory of this place…”

“I haven’t been to the Royal Palace either, but it looks like that large building over there is the main residence, so… could this be an Annex?”

“…I’ve never been to the Crown Princess Palace…”

“Then it must be that.”

By the way, every decorative item, every painting, is exquisite.

Even if it’s a Lucid Dream, I would imagine it would be hard to create such detailed aspects.

The childhood home I had created myself resembled the overall structure, but the nuances of the furniture and wall stains were different.

‘Yet, if it’s this detailed…’

That means the scenery of this palace left a strong impression on the Crown Princess.

Or perhaps—

“…Wait a minute…”

“Yes?”

“…There’s something ahead…”

“Hmm… over there?”

To me, it just looked like the same corridor?

But when does this corridor end? There isn’t even a single door in sight.

Nothing particularly stands out.

“…What is this…?”

“Hero?”

“What the heck is this?!”

The Hero suddenly gasped and stepped back as if he sensed something menacing in the corridor ahead.

For me, I could only see a corridor without any peculiarities, but trusting my senses here would make me feel like I was committing suicide, so I stuck close to the reliable Hero.

‘…He’s looking at the floor?’

Is there something on the floor?

Just a red carpet, as far as I can see.

…Wait, looking closely, I might see something moving…?

“What are you looking at?”

“Wah!? …Oh? Crown Princess?”

“Yes? Do you know me?”

“Of course.”

As I looked up from the floor, a young Kim Eun-ha was staring at me in her childlike form.

But… why does she look like a little kid?

She seemed to be about five years old, wearing a white dress, and was gazing at me with a naive smile.

“Crown Princess, do you remember what happened?”

“I… umm… I don’t really know. I was just strolling like usual when I found you all.”

“Strolling, you say?”

“Yes! Strolling is fun! This palace is so big I can go anywhere I want! But…”

“But?”

“…I want to go outside too. But Father and Mother won’t let me… I guess I can go out one day when I grow up?”

“Yes, of course.”

When she goes outside, she’ll be swinging violence around everywhere.

Suppressing those words, I replied with a smile, and the young Crown Princess grabbed my hand with her tiny hands.

“Come this way! I’ll introduce you to the palace!”

“Wow, it’s an honor.”

“…Namgoong Min…?”

“Shh, let’s just follow for now.”

The background of the Crown Princess in childhood appeared in the Lucid Dream.

This signifies something significant.

‘It means that the memories of the past are stronger than the Crown Princess’s current mind.’

Kim Eun-ha is a strong person. However, that is a strength obtained through suppressing her own <Desire to Kill>.

Though the Crown Princess may be physically powerful, her mentality is somewhat incomplete.

It was the same during the assassination incident.

‘There’s a reason why the Crown Prince’s close aides chose the method of assassination threats.’

By showing the possibility of assassination, they aim to intimidate the Crown Princess.

Especially effective for Kim Eun-ha, whose mental fortitude isn’t as strong as the Crown Prince’s.

Usually, there wouldn’t be any mental disturbances, but if something arose that could significantly shock her mind, it could lead to a disaster.

And of all places, it happened in a Lucid Dream.

Fortunately, it seems the restrictions of <Desire to Kill> haven’t been lifted; she seems to have been consumed by the memories of her childhood, which left the strongest impression on her.

‘For now, cooperating smoothly is the key.’

Another part of me had said this: dying in a Lucid Dream doesn’t bring about real death, but it can leave mental scars.

If that’s the case, we need to protect the young Crown Princess…

“This way!”

“…Crown Princess? This is a wall──”

“Hey!”

Ka-pow!!!

“……”

“Now there’s a path! Yay!”

“…I see.”

Protecting her? Nah, I should be worrying about myself first.

By the way, could you please not hold my hand so tightly? Your grip is incredibly painful.

“Ah, unknown older brother. What should I call you?”

“Just call me Fortuneteller. The blonde older brother behind me is──”

“──I’m not talking about him.”

“…Huh?”

“Hehe, I like Fortuneteller older brother! Let’s go, older brother!”

“Uh, um?”

Before I could respond, the young Crown Princess pulled my hand with a naive smile.

…The serious expression she showed a moment ago seemed like a joke now, as she flashed me a bright smile.

“….”

With a blank expression, the Hero glared at Namgoong Min.

It was easy for anyone to see… the doubt and hostility radiating from him.

*

And three days passed.

…That’s probably correct. The clock in the corridor said it had already been 72 hours.

“Next, let’s go that way!”

“Yes, understood.”

Whether it had been truly 72 hours or just under ten minutes, I couldn’t tell.

My sense of time was disappearing as I wandered with the young Crown Princess leading the way.

However, I certainly couldn’t have run for 72 hours, so actual time might not have passed that much.

“Next, let’s go to that corridor! And then that one!”

“Let’s take our time and look around.”

“Okay!”

Yet, the sense of discomfort was evident.

This palace is all corridors.

‘There’s no end to the corridors, and whenever there’s a fork, it’s still corridors. Whether breaking down walls or floors or ceilings, it’s still just corridors.’

Already, my sense of time was tangled up; now my spatial perception was becoming dizzying. My head was in turmoil.

If this was deliberate, I’d want to commend them for how disgustingly well-planned it was.

Just running in endless, repeating corridors for an infinite time would be nothing but unpleasant.

However, I didn’t express that discomfort on the outside.

Only a bright smile was shown to the young Kim Eun-ha.

“…Hero, how do you feel?”

“…I notice a sense of discomfort… but… there’s still an exit…”

Thus, I was secretly whispering with the Hero while keeping the young Crown Princess in the dark.

Well, we didn’t really have solid information yet…

“…Older brother?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Why are you talking to that person? Do you not like Eun-ha?”

“No, no, it’s absolutely not that.”

“Then just look at Eun-ha. Only look ahead and see Eun-ha’s back. That’s the only view permitted for you, older brother.”

“…Understood.”

…Again.

Initially, it wasn’t much of a problem, but after the clock showed 24 hours had passed, the Crown Princess began to interfere with our conversation.

Could it be that she’s hesitant to leave this part of the Lucid Dream?

At the 24-hour mark, she’d only shoot glares or puff out her cheeks, but now she was staring at me with dulled eyes.

The grip she had on my hand became torturously painful with her formidable strength.

Still, she didn’t stop running through the corridors.

A sudden instinct came to me.

‘At this rate, we’d just keep running forever.’

If I just keep waiting for something to change, I might very well run around this corridor led by the young Crown Princess until I’m old and gray.

So something needs to change.

Something that would alter this repetitive situation.

“Fortuneteller older brother! Let’s go to that corridor next!”

“Crown Princess, how about we break through a wall this time?”

“Huh? Sure! Eun-ha will break it right away!”

“No, not that wall over there.”

“…Huh?”

“I mean this one.”

And so.

I was pointing to the wall, feeling a sense of encouragement for her as she tilted her head.

The wall that had a window in it.

‘The walls we’ve broken until now were all inner walls, floors, or ceilings.’

Even still, I couldn’t comprehend why it was a corridor with a window, but thinking of understanding something in a dream is foolish.

But this would definitely be a tipping point.

Finally, the Crown Princess stopped running, confirming that.

“…Older brother, can’t we just go this way? They said we can’t go outside…”

“But don’t you want to go outside? Look outside, the sunlight is warm, and the breeze is gentle. Aren’t the flowers in the garden beautiful?”

“…You’re right. Still, I can’t go out. Mother said so.”

“Don’t worry. I know the Empress well. I’ll definitely speak to her about it.”

“Liar.”

Clenching the white dress in agitation, the young Crown Princess suddenly grew serious.

But even if the sudden change occurred, my smile wouldn’t waver.

“How could I not know about Empress Kim Ha-neul? She’s our pride.”

“…You know my mother?”

“Of course. She’s a descendant of the royal family that traces back to the Joseon Dynasty, right? She married the current Emperor and gave birth to you, Crown Princess.”

“But she’s of the Kim family.”

“Well, it was the Empress’s choice. Your child will probably take the Lee surname.”

“Will it really?”

“Of course. How does that sound? Shall we go outside?”

“…Okay!”

Honestly, if it’s the Daehan Empire, the family name should ideally be Lee’s, but alternating between the Kim and Lee families is pretty hilarious. But hey, it’s the game creator’s doing, what can I do?

Still, thanks to that information, I gained the trust of the young Princess. Isn’t that a win-win?

“So, shall I break it?”

“Go for a big kick, Crown Princess!”

“Okay! Got it!!”

The young girl enthusiastically nodded and with her tiny fist clenched. Meanwhile, she still held my hand tightly with her other hand.

As I tried to endure her painful grip while smiling, Kim Eun-ha swung her fist toward the window.

Her small fist met the thick wall without garnering any resistance.

Screeech.

“…Huh?”

“Wow! It’s my room!”

Instead of the roar I expected, a sound of a door opening rang out.

The wall and window didn’t shatter. The moment her fist connected, it merely became a door and opened naturally.

Yet despite this extraordinary phenomenon, the young Princess joyfully led me into the room.

In the middle of the room, filled with all kinds of dolls and furniture, there was a giant bed.

“Fortuneteller older brother! Read me a fairy tale! Let’s play with dolls! I want to play house too!”

“………”

“Fortuneteller… older bro?”

“Ah, sorry. I was just staring at how cute the doll was.”

“Really? This doll is named Hwang-cheol! Park Hwang-cheol!”

“That’s a unique name.”

“I think so too! But that’s the name of the doll!”

Heeheehee.

Responding to the young Crown Princess’s innocent laugh with a smile, I quietly gestured to the Hero.

I snapped my fingers silently, crafting a Morse code.

A Hero who experienced the Gate incident in America would surely recognize that signal.

“………”

S, L, E, E, P.

Sleep. To fall asleep.

Having arrived in the young Crown Princess’s room under the pretense of breaking the window, and since there was a bed in the middle of it, it would signify we need to sleep here.

“………”

The Hero appeared anxious. After all, this meant sleeping in a dream.

A Dream Within a Dream.

Just like the name of this Gate, it could potentially lead us into a dream within a dream.

I only know this theoretically, but a Dream Within a Dream is far more dangerous than a Lucid Dream.

We might not even be able to wake up from physical shocks.

But it was also something necessary.

‘If the true Kim Eun-ha isn’t in this dream…’

If the only one in the wide, infinite corridor is the young Kim Eun-ha.

Then the real Kim Eun-ha is highly likely already caught in a dream within a dream.

More importantly, I had my faith.

‘Riu and Rain will surely find a way to wake me up!’

The world-renowned Rich Tycoon and the versatile Psychic who can find impossible solutions.

With the two of them, they could wake me up, whether in a dream within a dream or not.

Although I unintentionally start to touch upon the hidden depths of the Princess, it’s something that must be done for the sake of the Character Event.

So.

“Crown Princess?”

“──Yes?”

“I’m open to playing a lot, but aren’t you starting to feel drowsy? How about taking a little nap?”

“A nap…?”

“If you nap, you’ll be able to play as much as you want afterward. I will also sleep next to you.”

“…If Fortuneteller older brother sleeps with me….”

The condition for dreaming together in the Gate <Dream Within a Dream> is physical contact.

Embracing the young Princess who opened her arms wide, I laid her down on the bed.

Now if the Hero joins us too──

Greeeeeek──!!

“What, what is that?”

“……No, older brother.”

“Crown Princess?”

“Don’t listen to that sound, we’re just going to sleep together, right? Let’s get lost in our dream.”

“Crown… Princess….”

Not even putting up a resistance, I felt my eyes slowly getting heavy, as if someone were forcibly closing them.

Like an overwhelming wave, I was unable to resist the weight of sleep.

As the Hero, who observed it all, desperately drew his greatsword—

Greeeeeek──!!!

“…Ugh….”

The door that led into this room—

A crack suddenly formed in the door, and it began sucking in the Hero.

Though the gravitational pull was too strong to resist, it seems the force didn’t reach Namgoong Min, who lay just a few steps away on the bed.

…No, that’s not it.

Someone was blocking the crack that was pulling Namgoong Min in.

And who that was couldn’t be more obvious.

“…Crown Princess… what….”

“Goodbye.”

Before the Hero could fully comprehend, he saw.

Kim Eun-ha’s face, smiling sinisterly, appearing much like an adult’s from the very beginning.