I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 20

Charles Teddy Bear.

His job is <Fighter>. His real name is Charles McClair, a soldier and war hero who participated in the massive Gate disaster that struck the United States 15 years ago.

With exceptional skills and a background that supported him, he was assigned to rescue the President in the Pentagon overwhelmed by Gates, but…

“I failed.”

I don’t know much about the process of that failure. The game didn’t elaborate on it.

What’s clear is that the horrors of that failure utterly changed the lively personality of a soldier like him, and because of that, he feels indebted to <Hero> Abel Legion, the grandson of the deceased President.

After returning from the disaster, he lost his wife to illness and raised his daughter alone, during which he accepted a proposal to serve as an instructor at the Romance Academy.

Later, when his daughter’s health worsened, he attempted to resign. However, upon seeing Abel Legion so broken, he felt guilty and decided to restore him before retiring.

This led to serious discord between him and Abel Legion.

I write down what I know about Charles Teddy Bear in my notebook.

“Sigh…”

I played this trash game 25 times, mostly doing speedruns that ignored the story, and though I focused on the story and background at the beginning, I struggled to remember it.

After filling a few pages in my notebook, I twisted my sore wrist and leaned back comfortably in my chair.

Whoosh…

“It’s raining.”

Looking out the base’s window, heavy rain was pouring down.

…I liked staring blankly at the rain like this.

At times like these, I could forget about part-time jobs, studying, my parents, and that cultist bastard and just stay quiet.

“…Can I do it?”

Charles Teddy Bear’s daughter, Eileen Teddy Bear.

A girl who loves teddy bears so much that her father has to change his surname. Pure and cheerful, the kind of girl who makes everyone smile.

But she is also… the starting point that reveals what kind of game the Romance Academy is.

“…”

The Romance Academy doesn’t feature villain attacks, monster terror incidents, or sudden gate openings as major disasters.

However, ‘small’ incidents happen frequently.

“Charles Teddy Bear is… the first.”

You could say it’s a character event for Charles Teddy Bear.

If the player succeeds in healing Eileen Teddy Bear, Charles Teddy Bear’s favorability maxes out and he becomes a reliable ally.

But… if they fail, the character Charles Teddy Bear completely disappears from the game.

The Romance Academy was such a game.

It created the most important events for each character, and if those weren’t resolved, that character would disappear forever from the Romance Academy.

Exclusions, dropping out, resignations, expulsions, disappearances, and so on.

It was a game focused more on microscopic, individual issues rather than large-scale events.

“…Why did Jisoo make something like this?”

Namgoong Jisoo is rude, slow, lazy, and always grumbling, but she wasn’t someone who would create a game like this.

If she made something, I assumed it’d be a cliché, lovey-dovey, female-oriented dating sim, so why create something so unnecessarily dark?

‘Will I know if I go back?’

I had only just passed the first day of the entrance ceremony. There was still a long way until the ending.

Yet, even so, I had no thoughts of turning back.

If I couldn’t see the ending, then no one would be able to see this game’s ending.

There were only ten buyers of the game, and I was the only one who had seen the ending even once—it’s absurd, isn’t it?

“…Pfft.”

I think of my younger sister, who complained about the game not selling, left home to escape, but kept coming back to eat.

Right, for my sister’s future too…

“I must ensure she gets sent to the mental hospital.”

As an older brother, it’s my duty to take care of her.

I check my suit and white shirt, always kept clean thanks to the <Cleanliness> skill, and give my hair a quick comb.

“…Let’s go.”

And most importantly, I caress the necklace containing <Observation>.

It’s time to do my duty as a <Fortuneteller>.

*

Eileen Teddy Bear suddenly opened her eyes.

“…Ah.”

And immediately regretted it.

Her throat was dry, her stomach was hungry, her limbs tingled, and a headache rushed in. The cost of waking up briefly was brutal.

The bed instantly soaked with sweat, and amid her groans laced with pain, Eileen hugged the doll at her bedside.

A teddy bear. The toy the girl loved most, now a part of her identity.

“Ugh… sniff…”

Tears trickled down, and her trembling arms clutched the teddy bear tighter.

Is Dad still not here?

With tear-stained eyes, she barely managed to look at the clock, which still pointed to 5 PM.

“Ah… Dad…”

There was still an hour until her dad came home, and that hour felt unbearably harsh to the girl.

“Ugh… ugh….”

So, she prayed as always.

That this pain would vanish, that someone would save her.

Because someone always comes when she prays.

“…Don’t worry.”

“Ah….”

See, just like today, they come to gently stroke her.

Normally, she’d surrender to this warmth and fall asleep, but contrary to usual, Eileen opened her tear-filled eyes and mumbled.

“Who… are you…?”

“…I’m a sinner.”

“A sinner… what does that mean…?”

“Very bad person. A truly bad person.”

“I’m sure you’re not a bad person….”

“No, I am a bad person. So…”

Just sleep well.

“Ah…”

As Eileen closed her tiny eyes, she soon fell into a deep, gentle sleep.

“….”

Whoosh…

In the pitch-black room, only the sound of the rain echoed.

The rain poured down furiously as if to wash everything away.

Gently stroking Eileen, who was writhing in pain and drenched in cold sweat, someone gazed at the innocent girl with a guilty look.

A truly kind and innocent girl.

“Did you know?”

“I hate the rain.”

Whoosh…

Quietly closing his eyes, he muttered as if in prayer.

As if it was the only thing he could do.

“I met this girl on a rainy day. That day, I committed an unforgivable sin.”

“At that time, it wasn’t this bad. I could get up and walk, smile brightly, and speak in a lovely voice.”

“But now, that’s not the case.”

Worried the girl might wake, the one speaking was gently stroking her hair.

“Therefore, you must leave.”

──With the other hand, he raised a mace.

“This is no place for a Fortuneteller.”

“…….”

Crash…

For a brief moment, a flash of lightning lit up the room.

A girl lying on the bed and someone standing protectively over her. And the Fortuneteller looking at them.

Soon, the room fell dark again, and the Fortuneteller was smiling.

“Unexpected visitor, <Saint>.”

“…….”

“I heard you once examined the instructor’s daughter before.”

“I won’t say it twice.”

Fwaaaa!

A pure white light began to emanate from the tips of the Saint’s feet. The light enveloped his legs, body, arms, and head, shimmering brilliantly.

However, that didn’t obscure the figure of the Saint; it only highlighted him, as though the light wrapped around him but wouldn’t stain him.

The Saint, adorned with a halo, glared at the Fortuneteller.

“Leave, Fortuneteller.”

“You speak a lot for an uninvited guest.”

“…….”

“Saint, I am a guest invited by Instructor Teddy Bear. Unless the homeowner orders me out, I will not leave just because you threaten me.”

The Fortuneteller grinned. No matter how you looked at it, it was an unpleasant smile, and the Saint squinted in response.

It would be simple to drive him away with force, but that would surely wake Eileen.

Just as he planned to intimidate him into silence.

“<Fortune Reading>.”

“……!!”

The moment the card appeared in mid-air, the Saint quickly swung his mace. The tarot card that collided with the solid steel mace scattered into the air.

Yet somehow, the Fortuneteller had already grasped one card.

“Major Arcana, number 12, <The Hanged Man> reversed.”

“………….”

“You know about tarot, right, Saint? As someone who strikes down heretics, you must know quite a bit.”

“………useless sacrifices and devotion, indecision.”

“You know that well, so why are you doing this?”

“……A foolish question.”

The Fortuneteller’s sharp retort about tarot didn’t mean anything to the Saint.

“If there are those who suffer, it is only natural they receive the mercy of the Lord.”

“Have you not already failed, Saint?”

“I did not fail. I merely despaired……I’ve heard tales of your skills. Unfortunately, it seems to be true.”

If he weren’t a Fortuneteller, he would have purely rejoiced at such aid.

The Saint swallowed back any further comments as he raised his mace once again.

“Our words have grown long, but this is your final warning. Leave.”

“You are the one who should leave, Saint. Illegal trespassing is a crime, you know.”

“What a ridiculous lesson. What shall you do if the Lord forgives me?”

“…Did He forgive you?”

“Certainly not.”

Fwooo…

“………!”

Before he could even blink.

Even though it was a short distance, the Saint approached the Fortuneteller at nearly teleportation speed, halting his mace right in front of him.

The wind created by the swinging mace stirred the air, and the distorted smile of the Fortuneteller reflected upon the steel mace.

……The card <The Hanged Man> was neatly torn asunder.

“Next is your head.”

“………Goodbye, are you Eileen?”

“…!! Eileen, talking to him──”

Normal skill <My Little Fortune Teller’s Shop>.

“──Will not end well…….”

In a panic, the Saint turned his back. All he could see was a flickering candle and a dark curtain.

In the moment of that sudden change, even the Saint was momentarily taken aback.

“What do you think? Quite mystical, isn’t it?”

“……Fortuneteller.”

“This is my fortune shop where I can forcibly invite individuals nearby. Once you enter, you cannot leave until the reading is complete, so don’t waste your energy.”

“You’ve tricked me.”

“That’s correct. Eileen is sleeping soundly, so don’t worry.”

Crack!

The Saint grabbed the Fortuneteller’s collar, glaring at him.

……The Fortuneteller was no longer smiling.

“You all are the same. Always using the desperation of the earnest to commit fraud.”

“I agree.”

“Right, so brazenly as you do, you…?”

Agreement?

Caught off-guard by an unexpected response, the Saint blinked in confusion, unsure if he heard right.

Watching this bewilderment, the Fortuneteller spoke.

Without a hint of a smile.

“All you can do is read the hearts of the desperate and deceive them. For your own gain, you drain them, skin them, and take everything from them. If they are earnest, you make them suffer; if they are angry, you make them angrier, and when they attempt to regain logic, you confuse them. While blabbering nonsensical things, you assert non-existent destinies, you cultists.”

“………Hmm.”

“That is a Fortuneteller, and that is a harm… and it’s the same for you, Saint.”

“…What?”

“Why do you sneak around?”

The moment the Fortuneteller’s words sunk in, the Saint, who had tightly gripped his mace, stiffened.

Even he couldn’t simply dismiss the Fortuneteller’s words.

“That too, every day since the day after the failed examination.”

“…How?”

“You’re a Fortuneteller, after all. You must have read the tarot.”

“Tarot?”

The Saint scoffed, laughing at himself for having been briefly enchanted by the Fortuneteller before him.

And soon, the Fortuneteller seated in the purple chair laughed too.

“I take it you don’t like tarot.”

“…….”

“Yet your job is <Fortuneteller>. This must be the Lord’s cruel joke or a harsh punishment.”

“…Which do you think it is?”

“I don’t know.”

Raising his mace.

“Naturally, it’s the latter.”

Crack!

He swung it down.

Just that.