I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 226

My body relaxes. It’s starting to ache.

My body has already reached its limit. I broke free from the restraints while the psychic and the warlock in the “Dream Within a Dream” were distracted, and now I’m just running away in a daze.

The hideout I used to use was provided by the Principal. I wish I could make it there, but there’s no way I can reach that secret spot in the Principal’s office at the Romance Academy right now.

I stole some random boat that was drifting in the “Dream Within a Dream.” At one point, I ran out of fuel, lowered the lifeboat, and rowed until I was lucky enough to find a passing ship that rescued me.

The people were kind. They said they were on their way to Japan and took me there.

…Have I ever desperately clung to life like this?

Why was I trying so hard to survive?

‘To kill Namgoong Min?’

‘To become the real deal?’

‘To regain my daily life as promised by the voice?’

Then why didn’t I kill him in the “Dream Within a Dream”?

The Principal was right. I ambushed him at the best possible moment during the交流会, but I lost. He didn’t even look flustered; despite being at a disadvantage, he seized a small opportunity and turned the tables. He pierced my ship with his sword.

Is that really the ‘true’ Namgoong Min?

Am I destined to be nothing but a fake? Inferior compared to the real deal?

──Failed product. Failed product. Failed product.

The Principal is babbling, just like that voice.

So, my life, everything I’ve experienced, all the pain and trials…

Were they all just experiments and failures?

“That can’t be……”

It shouldn’t be.

My head is spinning. I’m confused, unable to grasp anything.

I can only stare at the ‘real’ Namgoong Min, who is in perfect condition.

“…Do you know Sasaki Kaede?”

“Of course, I know her.”

“I was able to get here thanks to her.”

Sasaki Kaede and Hwang Jin-woo.

I arrived in Japan, but I had no idea what to do and was aimlessly wandering until I came across those two.

They see me as Namgoong Min. That was both incorrect and correct.

‘Why me……?’

‘Of course, I have to repay her kindness!’

Without another word, they bought me a flight to the Romance Academy. They said they would follow tomorrow since today is Sunday.

In the end…

I relied on what Namgoong Min left behind.

Me, who could leave no trace behind.

And Namgoong Min, who left countless marks in this world.

Then, the real one is──

──I feel like you’re the real deal right now too.

‘You think I’m real too?’

That was what he said in the “Dream Within a Dream.” When I told him I wanted to fight the perfect version of him, he smiled and said it.

Why does that claim of my realness feel so sweet?

Am I really the real deal? Not a failed product?

“You called me the real Namgoong Min.”

“You remember what I said in the “Dream Within a Dream”?”

“I remember. Of course, I remember….”

But that might be something only the ‘real’ could say.

Ironically, that acknowledgment made the gap between us feel even greater.

No matter how much I deny that I’m not him, the distinction between real and fake seems more and more apparent.

…With those complicated thoughts, I pushed aside everything.

I will fight Namgoong Min. And I will win.

If I achieve what I’ve been dreaming of, what the voice whispered to me, the former god… I might find the answer.

“And I remember that I must fight the perfect version of you too.”

“……You.”

“So, if you really care about me….”

Then let me find all the answers right here.

If I can’t find them, then just let me give up everything.

“Fight. With your life on the line, using all your strength.”

“……….”

“That’s what will really benefit me.”

“………Alright.”

I take a slow breath, caressing the card inside my jacket.

I am different from him. Unlike him, who has the cursed body of a <Fortuneteller>, I was born strong even as a fortuneteller.

Now that I realize all of that was just an experiment, at least for now, it was the difference that separated me from him.

Hooah!!

After all, it’s the last chance. I needn’t conserve my strength.

I clutch my weary, battered body and rush towards him from the side.

This ‘card’ I received from the Principal is not just a tool for fortune-telling; it’s also a weapon that can cut through almost everything.

If it’s the guy I’ve been facing so far, a direct attack should be hard for him to dodge.

But Namgoong Min’s eyes are clearly tracking my movements.

Swish!

“Ugh…!?”

He dodges my card with reaction speed that’s on a whole different level from what I’ve seen before, stepping back a pace.

I quickly grab another card in my opposite hand to throw, but he evades that too, barely escaping as he leaps back.

‘How?’

I know what kind of ring he’s wearing. The artifact <Maiden's Breath>. An artifact that enhances physical abilities to the limit but only if you kiss the ring. In other words, if I don’t give him the time to cut his finger off or kiss it, I could quickly subdue him.

That’s why I threw everything I had into the attack. Even when I moved my creaking body to keep throwing cards, he somehow dodged them all.

‘Is it similar to an enhancement from an artifact…?’

He mentioned having said farewell and left to say goodbye. Did he receive some enhancement magic at that time? If not, I couldn’t explain his reactions.

Even in this state, if he uses <Maiden's Breath>, I would surely lose.

‘Quick and decisive…!!’

I can’t fight for long in this condition. I need to finish this as fast as I can.

If I keep throwing cards like this, I won’t be able to inflict any serious wounds on him. I have to find a way to get close to him…?

Thud!

“What?”

…Wait, he’s charging at me?

Did I thoroughly disrupt his attempt to use <Maiden's Breath> while throwing my cards? It looks like he’s willing to go all-in.

Honestly, I don’t get it.

My body is visibly battered, on the brink of collapse. At this rate, if I maintain my distance and just dodge my cards, I should show my vulnerabilities.

Why is he…?

──Fight. With your life on the line, using all your strength.

──That’s what will really benefit me.

Could it be…?

Because of those words? Really?

‘………Ah.’

He’s charging at me. Even while I throw a card at his brow, he gets a scratch on his cheek but barely avoids it before continuing to close in.

If he’s really rushing to give it his all, putting his life on the line…

Naturally.

‘Then I…!’

Swish.

I grip a card in my hand. The silver-edged card hurts its owner as well, but that was actually the point.

With the blood gushing from the deep cut, I splatter it all over him.

“………!!”

The sudden spray of blood hits one eye, catching him off guard. It doesn’t stop him, but causing him to close one eye is enough.

Because that eye is the one he uses for <Observation>.

The bleeding eye closes, and with his vision significantly impaired now…

I make my move.

“Namgoong Min!!!!”

I grasp a card tightly just like before. If I put it between my two fingers, I won’t be able to cut properly and will drop it.

My palm and fingers dig into the card, but even that makes me grip it tighter.

The card is sharp. No matter how skilled someone is, it can pierce through their heart.

‘What’s his plan!?’

Now, there’s less than 2 meters between us. If I throw this card, we will collide head-on.

But he’s coming at me empty-handed. Is he planning to strike me with his fists?

‘If so…’

I’ll do whatever it takes to drive this card into your heart.

The card dug deep into my wound, flowing blood and sharp pain jolts my consciousness awake.

I’m fighting him. I’m fighting with everything I have against the perfect version of him.

In that case, am I satisfied now? Am I happy that I might soon kill him?

‘I…’

Still.

I don’t quite know──

Crash.

──Huh?

My arm, throwing the card, is grabbed by his hand.

It was clear that he intended to grab that arm from the start. One hand catches my wrist, and the other grabs my collar.

He halts his forward momentum and takes a step back.

Bang!!

“Ugh!!!”

He throws me back.

That card still clutched in my grip slices his face, but it’s still just a shallow wound.

On the contrary, I’m slammed to the ground by the force I was trying to use against him.

“……Cough.”

Now, I truly have no strength left to move.

“You… this is….”

“I didn’t mention that I’m a police academy student?”

“……What?”

“In the original world, I was a prospective officer. Honestly, I didn’t often take judo classes, but I can manage this much.”

“…………….”

“Well, I wouldn’t have succeeded without Lucas’s enhancement magic and Rain’s superpower.”

So that was why his physical abilities were better than I expected.

I had no intention of even mentioning how cowardly it was to not fight fair.

I was the one who wanted to fight in perfect condition.

And I wasn’t going to blame him for compensating for his weaknesses.

Just, simply.

“………Again.”

“Huh?”

“Again, I lost.”

I lost. So much that I can’t even make excuses.

Just like I did at the交流会.

I lost again.

“…You’re twitching in your arms and legs.”

“………….”

“You must not have been properly treated since coming out of the “Dream Within a Dream.” Your condition must be at its worst.”

“That’s just an excuse.”

“On the other hand, I’ve eaten well and rested well, and I received enhancements from Lucas and Rain. The difference is too large.”

“………What do you want to say?”

“That it isn’t fair.”

…Not fair?

“So what?”

“………….”

“This fight is what I wanted. I charged at you wanting to kill you, and I lost pitifully. This isn’t some kind of sport.”

I charged at Namgoong Min to kill him. And I lost.

That should have been enough.

I felt I could finally organize these complicated thoughts in my head…

“I was really a fake after all.”

“Hey.”

“The things I said in the “Dream Within a Dream” were wrong. Me, a real one? Well, I didn’t achieve anything I wanted… Can this failed product even be called real?”

The former god, and what the Principal said were right.

I’m just a failed product.

It felt easier to think that way.

So…

“Kill me.”

“…………….”

“Don’t have any petty thoughts. If I had won, I would have killed you. So you should kill me too… Let’s wrap it up nicely.”

Don’t torment me any further.

Just, let’s end this.

“………….”

I can’t even move a finger and am simply lying on the floor, looking up at him.

Ah, I forgot one thing.

“After you kill me, take those cards too.”

“……….?”

“They might be quite useful. Probably.”

With this.

With this, finally, I…

“Fool.”

“……What?”

“What the hell are you saying? Are you really going to die like this?”

“Of course. I lost….”

“Then what about your goal? Returning to a normal life? What about that former god who toyed with you by calling you a failure? Did everything you endured until now amount to just this one moment? “

“………Don’t say anything.”

“Are you really going to run away like that?”

“…Then, what should I do!! My goal was to kill you and prove I’m the real deal! And I failed that attempt miserably! So why should I have a reason to live!!”

“Of course you do.”

“………What?”

“Revenge.”

Thud.

Namgoong Min walks up to me.

Right in front of my broken body.

“Do you know why I entered the police academy?”

“……No.”

“Because I wanted to catch the cultists who drove my parents to death and destroyed many lives. I wanted to catch that bastard myself and put him behind bars.”

“………….”

“My life’s purpose was only two things. My younger sister and revenge. I learned to predict and to smile under that cultist, waiting for the day I could take my revenge. I endured and endured.”

“That…”

“You’re Namgoong Min too. Do you really wish to die like this?”

Swish.

“If you really want to die, say it again. I’ll kill you myself with your cards.”

“……….”

“Choose. Revenge? Or death?”

“…If revenge means…”

“Obvious. That bastard, the former god who said your life was a failed product; Isn’t that right? I’ll say it again. You’re the real Namgoong Min too. And if you’re really Namgoong Min…”

He extends his hand.

That shaking hand, just like mine.

“Trust me once. We’re both fortunetellers after all.”

“………Ha, haha.”

We’re both… fortunetellers?

Why does that sound so funny? Why do I feel like laughing now?

‘Revenge?’

I don’t know. I don’t understand.

Fortuneteller, younger sister, that cultist… it’s all just so complicated in my head.

But.

“Shut it, you fortunetelling bastard.”

“………….”

“I can… stand up on my own.”

I shove his hand away. I somehow manage to move my limbs that barely contain any strength.

I stumble and fall repeatedly, blood pouring from my wound due to the cards.

But still, I rise.

“You have quite the mouth. Is that how you’ve been all along?”

“…What? Kind of.”

“Consider yourself unlucky. If I… if I weren’t ‘Namgoong Min’, you would’ve gotten away with it.”

Namgoong Min.

His name, and my name.

There’s no reason to label it as real or fake.

It’s the name I should be called in this world.

“You made a good point though.”

“What’s that?”

“That voice… the former god. I have to get back at that bastard.”

I still don’t know. Whether I’m real or fake. Whether I’m a failed product or something else. If my life had any meaning or if it was just an experiment.

But he said he went to the police academy for revenge, right?

At the very least, I should do that much if I want to be called ‘Namgoong Min’.

Even if I’m just a fake and a failed product.

“Dammit.”

That’s the ‘me’ I envisioned.