I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 198

How long has it been since I walked?

Puff. Whoosh.

Have I been walking for a long time? Or just a little?

Puff. Hoo.

Everything is a rainbow of colors, making it impossible to tell where is where. Has the black something gotten closer? Or is it still the same?

Whoosh.

“………….”

I stopped.

Walking, walking, and then I just stopped dead.

But the principal’s mocking laughter never reached my ears.

“………Ah.”

Before I knew it, the black something had grown larger in my sight.

I must have been almost there.

But I stopped right in front of it, so that troublesome personality of hers would surely have attacked me.

Why?

“……Damn.”

“………You…?”

“Principal… Is this enough?”

“……Yeah, seems like you all have fun together.”

The voice that came from behind was familiar.

A voice that felt infinitely like mine, yet in some ways felt different.

It was another version of me.

I reflexively tried to turn around, but… I couldn’t because of the five friends I was carrying.

‘Damn, if I get ambushed here…!’

My limbs trembled from the pain caused by the principal’s earlier mischief.

If I were to take my friends hostage in this situation…!

“……What are you doing?”

“What…?”

“You said at that time. Let’s keep this between you and me. You don’t care about the ones behind you.”

With those words, the other me clicked his tongue harshly and freed Lucas and Kim Sung-il.

Then he carefully set them down on the ground, glaring at me with eyes that seemed to say, “What now?”

“Put them down too.”

“………Is it okay to leave them here?”

“Damn, it’s fine just put them down. Don’t you know what kind of personality the principal has? Whether it’s you or me, he won’t lay a finger on those guys.”

“……Alright.”

Following the other me, I laid Liu, Rain, and Eun-ha next to Lucas and Kim Sung-il.

Even as my hands and feet trembled from being pierced like needles, I somehow managed to drop them without letting them fall hard.

The other me, looking at that scene… seemed to grit his teeth in displeasure.

“Principal… What is the meaning of this?”

“Failures always have too much to say.”

“It has to be a lot this time, right? Why did you bring Namgoong Min in such a state? This was supposed to be… our promise to each other!”

“………Tch.”

Kids these days.

Muttering useless words, the principal looked down at both me and the other me with a scornful gaze.

With that oppressive voice, he said:

“Don’t you know that’s my consideration? As always, those fortuneteller scum.”

“……Consideration?”

“At the交流会, you held the artifact I gave you and had the perfect opportunity but lost to him. With a blade through your gut, you would have died if it weren’t for me. Isn’t that right?”

“………….”

“But what does it mean to fight the same here? You’d lose again, and actually die. Even for me, that would be somewhat problematic, so I was being nice.”

“……So that’s the reason for bringing Namgoong Min in that state?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You could say I made it easier for you to kill Namgoong Min, so you should be grateful and shed some tears for me. Tsk tsk. You see, that’s why you shouldn’t give anything to those scum…”

Shaking his head, the principal flew towards the black something that had drawn closer.

With the look he gave the other me just before taking off… it seemed like he was just telling me to handle it myself.

At least, it was bad news for me…

“……That damn woman… considering it? She’s talking nonsense.”

“………?”

…What?

“What? Weren’t you planning to kill me? You said you’d come back and kill me at the交流会.”

“……Yeah, that hasn’t changed. My resolve to kill you to get my life back is unaltered.”

“Yeah. I’ve already riled up the former god at the church, haven’t I? If you really killed me, I think that guy would be really happy.”

“That doesn’t matter to me.”

What?

“What?”

“You heard how the principal calls me, right? A failure. I despise that title. So killing you would prove I’m the real deal.”

“……And?”

“Look at you now. You’re tired, in pain, and struggling just to stand. What would I gain from breaking you down like this… killing you in your current state? You see, I can’t accept that at all.”

“………….”

“I lost to you at the交流会. Pathetically, overwhelmingly, completely… lost. Both of us were at our best then, and yet I lost.”

And after that loss.

The ‘real’ Namgoong Min spared him. Despite the threat of returning to kill him, it ended with a declaration to settle things solely between the two of them.

…Back then.

A little, just a little.

I realized why I was a fake and he was the real deal.

“I… can’t become like you. I can’t spare you in that situation, and there’s no way I’d make that choice.”

“……….”

“So at the very least, at least… you need to come back to fight me at your best. And then I will proudly kill you. I will surpass you, and become the real deal.”

“……Really.”

“But you’re in shambles right now. You brought me here in this state and you call it consideration? You truly are a damn frustration.”

Namgoong Min and Namgoong Min.

The ‘Namgoong Min’ born as an experiment to recreate the brother of the usurper and the Namgoong Min labeled as a failure.

Surely, he was nothing but a man full of inferiority complex toward Namgoong Min, looking to kill him.

Yet through repeated meetings and conversations… perhaps he realized something.

He had genuinely become ‘another Namgoong Min.’

“……From my perspective, you seem real enough right now.”

“………What?”

“It’s true I hate to acknowledge it, but the influence of some cultist has been very significant in shaping who I am. In that light, it seems I haven’t really found my true self yet.”

Just like during the stock incident, when I reflected on myself.

I still don’t truly understand my own feelings or thoughts.

Perhaps it’s because I didn’t grow solely on my own, but rather, grew like a fragment of that cultist.

But what about the other me in front of me?

“But you’re thinking for yourself. The first place we met was in this Dream Within a Dream, wasn’t it? Back then, you were merely that—spewing unidirectional hatred and murderous intent toward me… but now you’ve established your own standards and are moving forward.”

“………….”

You want to kill the version of me at my best? Would doing that yield any benefits?

In the end, the other me only needed to kill me in some form. That was the promise made with the former god, and during our initial encounter in the lucid dream, he had tried to summon monsters to kill me mentally.

Yet imposing a condition that brings no benefits, in fact, only harms the situation…

Was the will and acknowledgment of ‘Namgoong Min’ himself.

“I never thought you were simply a fake, but… you’ve truly turned into another real version of me now.”

“……….”

“You wanted to be recognized as real, right? It might still be premature if we’re talking about that former god, but at least as far as I see it, you’re another form of real. After all, our growth environments are completely different; who can define who is real and who is fake?”

“……Damn, don’t use complicated words.”

“Sorry. Oh, that apology had a double meaning.”

“What…?”

Swish.

Having talked to the other me to some extent… the pain has lessened a bit.

Though still shaking, I could somehow rise.

“You said you want to fight the best version of me, right? I don’t think that’s possible.”

“………….”

“Let’s fight now.”

How does the other me perceive the current me?

‘An idiot? Or perhaps a fool?’

The other me wanted to fight me at my best. That meant he was not intending to fight me right now.

I wasn’t sure if I could safely exit this Dream Within a Dream, but… at least it indicated he wouldn’t kill me right now.

‘Maybe, just like I did at the交流会, you’re considering giving me a chance to survive.’

I’m Namgoong Min, but I’m not the other Namgoong Min, so I can’t know that feeling.

Surely, I would seem like a fool for kicking away the opportunity to be spared.

“Why on earth…?”

“As you had your reasons to try to spare me, I too must fight you for my own reasons.”

“……I can’t understand.”

“That’s because you’re not me, and I’m not you.”

“…………!”

“It’s natural for two different people to not understand each other.”

From that statement, perhaps he realized something.

With a face showing displeasure, incomprehension, and acknowledgment, ‘Namgoong Min’ stood up alongside me.

‘How long can I hold out?’

Winning was obviously impossible; I’d have to struggle as much as I could.

Somehow, I must buy as much time as possible.

I must do so—

“……….”

“What are you looking at? Your buddies?”

“Just… a little. I was watching one smart dude.”

—To Lucas, so I could buy time for him.

*

This is a lucid dream.

Did I realize that fact quickly, or was it too late when I did?

A boy slipped past Lucas, regaining consciousness.

…The one cast out of the Arthur Family under the name of ‘education,’ who grew up on the streets.

The childhood version of Lucas Arthur was there.

‘…It doesn’t matter.’

After all, he knows his own childhood fears better than anyone else.

Though it has faded quite a bit now, this was the era when Lucas developed a meritocratic personality.

That day’s memories remain vivid. So vivid that there was no need to see them.

Lucas floated into the sky.

‘This is a lucid dream. So what I can do… is all confined to my memories.’

Inside the lucid dream, he is omnipotent, but that too stems only from his memories and common sense.

Just like how he couldn’t go to the time of the Daehan Empire or Romance Academy because he didn’t know what they were like.

Even if he were forcibly taken there, it would be a distorted image that mixed the present memories and common sense, far removed from reality.

Therefore.

Naturally—he shouldn’t be able to visit the Arthur Mansion of this era.

The Arthur Mansion prior to his return at fifteen after being cast out from the Arthurs was completely unknown.

‘…I see it.’

The Arthur Mansion, he sees.

So clear and vivid, yet somewhat different from his memories.

‘The Arthur Mansion of that time’ is visible.

The implication of that is singular.

‘So the lucid dream is connected.’

Who could be connected, hmm? It’s obvious.

If someone in this era can dream of the Arthur Mansion, it must surely be…

‘Rain…’

His younger sister… whoever was suffering more than anyone during this time.

Instinctively, he felt averse.

As the brother who could do nothing for her during the times when Rain was suffering the most.

As a family member who couldn’t even reconcile if he weren’t Namgoong Min.

He hesitated to go see the childhood Rain.

‘However, I must go save Namgoong Min.’

The last memory was that everyone’s crowns had shattered due to the surprise attack from the principal.

But he recalls that amidst it all, Namgoong Min’s crown somehow held firm.

He couldn’t defend against an ambush. However, if he woke up from this dream, it would be a different story.

He distinctly remembered the magic the principal used.

‘Let’s go.’

I don’t know how much time has passed. I must hurry and get Rain out of this dream.

Since my younger sister, who has grown her superpowers to the point of shattering the entrance to the Gate and facing the whole army of monsters alone, would definitely be a great help—

‘………Huh?’

—the Arthur Mansion didn’t look very different from his memories.

He saw the familiar front gate. The familiar garden. The familiar servant.

And then he saw the familiar father.

Inside the lucid dream, Hector Arthur was harshly scolding Rain as he whipped her.

Though it had no iron tip, it was undoubtedly torturous, regardless of being a job holder.

Crack! With every lash marking his young sister’s body, Rain held back her tears somehow, even as she quivered.

—It’s the natural order for the strong to dominate the weak. Even now, I am stronger than you, which is why I can wield my whip against you.

The one responsible for instilling Rain’s sense of strong-weak dynamics.

Hector’s cruel punishment and education did not last long.

Proving this was a lucid dream, the loud, shouting Hector suddenly vanished.

His office had transformed into a bedroom.

That didn’t matter. Despite instinctively tightening his grip from Hector’s education, he just had to wake his sleeping sister and find a way out of the dream.

But there were two people in that bedroom.

“Mom… it hurts so much…”

“It’s okay, Rain. You can surely endure it.”

“Yeah…”

“Mom believes in you.”

Tears welled in Rain’s eyes as she drifted off to sleep, alongside a woman who smiled tenderly.

Lucas knew who she was. He couldn’t help but know.

Yet.

‘…………Principal?’

Rain’s mother, who had mysteriously vanished when she awoke, was the one.

The one who, under Hector’s orders, had erased even the photos and paintings, and now she couldn’t even remember her face.

It’s been over ten years, yet still, Rain sought her loving mother.

Her face was.

…The principal’s face.