I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 224

“……Damn it.”

“There was absolutely nothing left.”

Liu let out a hollow laugh at Namgoong Min’s resolute words.

She chuckled for a moment, then sighed in despair.

And then.

“What happened?”

“The item you’re looking for, wasn’t it the Golden Toad you received from your family?”

“To be precise, it was what I was supposed to receive.”

Crack.

Could it be that an unpleasant memory surfaced? Liu picked up a small stone and crushed it with her grip.

It looked like she wasn’t in a good mood, but there was no rule against it, so…

“Actually, I think you know more about it than I do.”

“………”

“The Golden Toad is probably…”

“……Some bastard dug it up after it was buried under that house. And now, of course, I have no idea where it is.”

Near a park where few people walked.

Liu, sitting cross-legged on any random bench, gazed up at the sky.

Her eyes looked somewhat vacant.

“Hey, have I ever told you an old story?”

“You did say you would tell it one day.”

“Right. Until I turned nine, I didn’t even know I was a <Rich Tycoon>. Maybe because I was in such a rural area? My parents probably thought I was just a strong kid or something.”

It wasn’t even a proper village, just a temporary mining town that was as common as dirt in China.

Liu Yan was born and raised there.

“The first time I realized I was a bit special was back then. Dad used to take his pickaxe every day, and I could see the golden glimmers. The more golden glimmers, the higher the payday, and the less there were, the lower the pay. Even as a kid, I quickly figured out that correlation.”

From that moment on.

Liu advised her father. She told him to dig where he saw more golden glimmers that day.

The simple-minded miner father listened to his beloved daughter’s request.

And it hit the jackpot.

“Dad discovered a gold vein. We were pretty lucky, huh? I didn’t even see it myself, just saw the pickaxe.”

When news spread that gold had suddenly been discovered at the small mine, the town was flooded with outsiders.

The miner, who couldn’t even read well, knew this was an opportunity. A chance for him and his family to live well.

So, the miner did his best to choose the right people to partner up with a company.

“Guaranteed ownership of the gold vein, acquiring 40% of the mined gold price, relocation to the city with housing provided, vehicles provided, and health checks.”

“………That’s.”

“Of course, those are conditions not meant for a miner. They were probably planning to scam from the start.”

In the midst of it all, the company wondered.

Was it a coincidence that the miner discovered the gold vein? What did the miner mean by ‘my daughter’s vision’ in a bragging manner?

While proposing nonsensical terms, what caught the company’s attention was the last condition.

Health checks.

“I realized there that I was a job holder, and that I was a <Rich Tycoon> among those jobs.”

“………”

“Do you know what I thought after I found that out?”

“……What was it?”

“Will I be able to eat rice with meat? That was it. Innocent girl.”

From that point on, the company’s interest shifted away from the miner and the gold vein.

To a young girl possessing the special job of <Rich Tycoon>.

The company immediately exploited the girl and threw her a suitable carrot.

“How much do you think the bastards earned from me? And of that, how much did they give to me and my family like they were doing a favor?”

“………”

“But back then, I thought it was real. We were so poor that I thought even that amount was a lot of money.”

Perhaps it was because they realized the miner and his family were naive and uninformed.

The company outright scammed them, and the money returning to the family was virtually nothing.

And.

“My birthday… the night before my birthday.”

“……”

“There was an accident. A pretty big one.”

Suddenly, the town shook, the ground collapsed.

It was later revealed that the cause was the company’s reckless gold mining.

What was certain was that the company hadn’t even relocated the family up to that point.

Because of that, the miner and his family were also swept into the sinkhole.

“So, they all died.”

“……Liu.”

“In the end, all that was left was the Golden Toad that the family barely managed to save after hoarding that money. My younger sibling secretly showed it to me as my birthday gift. Do you know how excited I was that night?”

“………”

“That could have just been another story. A tragedy of a common mining town. Just like that… my family’s lives could have been summarized in one line.”

Was it good luck, or bad luck?

Liu survived the accident miraculously.

After that, the company took Liu away.

“Do you want to hear a funny story? I thought until then that the company bastards had saved me. I kept bowing my head to them in thanks.”

“………Hmm.”

“But do you know what those bastards said?”

“What did… they say?”

“Thank goodness, you were lucky. You know, those kind of ignorant people just yell for money, using family as an excuse. They thought they had settled it in advance.”

“………”

“What a bunch of idiots. Did they really think that just because I was a kid, I would just go along with it saying ‘heh heh, I understand’?”

The company was arrogant. They believed they could perfectly control the miner, the gold vein, and the <Rich Tycoon>.

Because of that, they acted casually towards Liu as well.

But the company never knew.

Liu Yan’s true worth was not that of a special job, but herself.

“It took just one year.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“How long it took until I took down all those company bastards. I brought in another company as greedy as theirs, made them fight each other, and took my victory all by myself.”

A year, a simple enough duration to say.

But during that time, how many hells did Liu face?

A mere ten-year-old girl, who was innocent and naive, took down two companies.

What did a year mean for her?

“I studied everything I could get my hands on. Thankfully, maybe because of my job, finance was actually pretty easy. The company bastards also threw in all sorts of training, knowing that having me know finance would be way more efficient for them to make money.”

“………”

“Heh, looking back now, they were truly stupid bastards. And I was… that idiot girl who got fooled by those bastards.”

In just a year, Liu managed to drive two companies to ruin, obtaining a considerable amount of assets and then jumped into finance.

The family members who died because of the company’s greed, the guilt stemming from her own ignorance, those who tried to exploit Liu, the people who coveted her money.

Amidst all of that, Liu had to stand solely on her own.

All alone.

“At some point, trust in humanity became a given, and suspicion just became a basic trait. Then around fourteen? I started getting news about being the youngest <Rich Tycoon> and met other kids.”

“The other kids?”

“Nosy, mean girl, Violent Crown Princess, mysterious Crown Prince, boring Hero, and the ever-smiling Saint.”

The gatherings of those with special jobs began from then onward and have continued to this day.

Liu, who had casually spilled her past, looked into Namgoong Min’s eyes instead of the sky.

“So, how do you feel?”

“………What?”

“You’ve been solving the special class kids’ problems one by one from a long time ago. The nosy personality, the mean girl’s strengths and weaknesses, the Violent Crown Princess’s violence, the worry that the smiling Saint carried… well, whatever.”

She, who had spent the most time in this place with me.

With a nonchalant gaze, she pierced my heart.

“I tried to help too, you know? One issue per person, is this a game or what?”

“……Haha, I guess so.”

“I had a feeling I would probably be the last one. Just felt that way.”

“………..”

“Do you know why I was the last one?”

…Why was Liu the last one?

Liu’s character event ended here. Thanks to Liu casually revealing her past and purpose.

Perhaps it was the quickest event to end, and I thought it could have been done earlier, but…

“Just.”

“Just?”

“Just, I wanted to finish by talking to Liu.”

“……….”

“That’s all.”

In the end, it was me who postponed resolving Liu’s past and purpose. I could have cleared it long ago but didn’t until the end.

Why was that?

I hadn’t actually thought about it properly, but now that I look back…

“……The first person I talked to was Liu, right? Do you remember?”

“Oh, are you talking about the entrance exam? Damn, that’s my black history.”

“We can match the items in your pocket again, right?”

“Don’t mess with me, you brat.”

Since Liu was the first relationship I encountered in this world, maybe I wanted to end with her too.

So, I wanted to place Liu as the last in such an important character event.

Why, though?

‘Liu’s character event was… the sum of all the days spent with her so far.’

Not simply resolving some worries or circumstances.

Meeting her, getting closer, becoming friends, speaking to her, even arguing yet walking together.

All those processes could be considered a character event.

So, I wanted to delay Liu’s character event. To clear it would mean, in some sense, completing my relationship with Liu.

‘How absurd.’

It seemed I had walked a long way.

A truly long way.

Rustle.

“……Hey, Fortuneteller brat. Come over here.”

“What’s that…?”

“Ah, damn, just come here.”

Led by Liu’s hand, I was taken to a familiar place.

The Great Lake, which occupies one-tenth of the Romance Academy.

There, Liu forcefully dragged me to the shore.

“Huff… Hot!!”

Splash!

She energetically threw something she held in her other hand.

The four Golden Toads sank with a splash, sending ripples soaring across the Great Lake.

“Hey, do you remember that?”

“How could I not? Wasn’t it the one that was in your artifact pouch when I first met you?”

“That’s right. It’s my regret, my guilt, and my remorse. Just a fake, mimicking the relic that my family left behind and could not reclaim.”

The Golden Toads had already sunk deep within the Great Lake, no longer visible.

But Liu continued to gaze at the lake as if she could still see them.

…With the <Eye for Wealth> still activated.

“I hoped to find the real Golden Toad later, but even after mobilizing everyone, it never surfaced. It was obvious, right? Some unnamed thief or miner must have taken it long ago. It wasn’t even an artifact, just a cheap Golden Toad made of low-quality gold… so finding it was straightforwardly impossible.”

“………”

“Besides, at that time, melting down gold to remake it was all the rage. That cheap Golden Toad probably… melted away.”

“……………”

“After that, I just ignored it and lived on. If I thought about it, it would hurt too much. Then by chance, I heard rumors that all kinds of gemstones meet at the Romance Academy. Since all the prospective <Blacksmiths> gather there.”

“So…”

“Looking back now, it was a stupid choice. Why would I bother coming all the way to the Romance Academy over that low-grade Golden Toad? And even if I did see one, how would I tell it apart? How would I find it?”

“………”

“Back then, my suspicion was at its peak but I still couldn’t give up. Even if just to obtain a scrap of certainty.”

The rippling water of the Great Lake calmed down. The surface regained its tranquility.

Still, Liu’s gaze was unwavering from the depths of the Great Lake.

As if she could see the Golden Toad still submerged there.

“……So, do you regret that decision?”

“No? Are you crazy?”

“What?”

“I met you here.”

One step.

Liu, withdrawing her gaze from the Great Lake, approached me.

“If it weren’t for you, would I have been able to give up on the Golden Toad? Would I have been able to sever that meaningless attachment?”

“………”

“Could I ever have doubted my own judgment? I would have kept digging until I dismantled and dug through the whole floating city saying I hadn’t found it yet. That suspicion of mine would never disappear.”

“Liu.”

“But you told me. More trustable than anyone. And.”

One more step.

Liu, stepping closer to me.

“…the person I love.”

One more step.

She closed the last gap.

“So you better come back and… pay off your debt, damn it.”

“…Before I really chase you to the ends of the world.”

And then, against the backdrop of the Great Lake, the shadows of the two individuals overlapped.