I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 238

……Thud.

“……Huh?”

What’s that sound?

It wasn’t a big noise, but it was just annoying enough to wake me up.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I glanced at the clock, which showed 2 AM.

‘At this hour?’

The Romance Academy was a bustling floating city, noisy even in the early hours due to students who enjoyed their late-night studies and fun.

But that was only true for the busy areas and close to the academy; out here on the outskirts, students tended to just sleep.

……Thud.

‘Above?’

Well, since this is the semi-basement, it would make sense to hear something from above.

I pulled myself upright, fighting off the remnants of sleep, but my brain felt sluggish.

What was up there again?

‘The fortune teller’s shop on the first floor, Jisoo’s room on the second, and a storage room on the third.’

If there’s a noise, where could it be coming from?

Nodding to myself as I concluded, I muttered, “Namgoong Jisoo, what on earth…?”

What is she doing up so late?

Why is she making such a racket at this hour? She could at least be playing outside instead…

‘Ugh.’

Forget it. Maybe Jisoo has her own reasons.

Or maybe it’s the building structure that causes sound to travel from two floors above. But I didn’t feel like moving out.

Well, it’s quiet again now, and since I have morning class tomorrow, I can try to sleep again—

Bang!!!

“Oppa!!!”

“Whoa, what the heck?!”

Just as I lay down to sleep again, the door swung open with a bang.

Jisoo, my dear younger sister, must have kicked the door open in a fit of energy as she stormed into my room breathlessly.

“I’m coming in for a bit!!”

“You should at least announce yourself before barging in, you crazy girl…”

It was no use; I was already fully awake.

Resigned, I threw on a robe and made my way to the kettle to boil some water.

As the water began to bubble, I filled a cup and tossed in some instant coffee mix.

“Here.”

“……Again with this? Oppa, I’ve never seen you drink anything other than this sludge.”

“What can I do? When I was working labor jobs, this was the go-to. Everyone has their own tastes.”

I brushed off Jisoo’s coffee criticism, knowing she loved to nag about my diet. I understood her worry, but here, I was a job holder; I was a superhuman!

……Well, technically, I was the weakest among them.

But still, I had a body that was beyond normal human standards. I mean, surely drinking a bit more instant coffee wouldn’t cause any issues.

“So, what’s the deal?”

“………….”

“What’s the point of shutting your mouth now? Spill it, you brat. You’ve woken me up so many times at night.”

“Th-That’s ancient history…”

“Oh really? So, is this time any different?”

“……No, not really.”

Despite her bold entrance, Jisoo stammered.

It wasn’t until she took a sip of the instant coffee that she finally spoke up.

“First of all, this was my best effort.”

“Huh?”

Your best effort?

Waking me up at dawn because of floor noise?

Thinking about it, that’s pretty standard sibling behavior.

“What best effort?”

“The Namgoong Min Treaty.”

“……What treaty?”

No way.

Did I hear that right? Is this still a dream?

Am I still in this Dream Within a Dream?

“Firstly, this treaty involves participants under Namgoong Jisoo, which includes a rich girl, a wicked girl, a fist girl, and a split personality girl.”

……Sounds like there’s a lot of conspiracy going on here.

“Secondly, starting the day after this treaty is made, the participants may each stick to Namgoong Min for one day.”

Hmm.

“Thirdly, while one participant is spending time with Namgoong Min, none of the other participants may disturb, bribe, or use others to create incidents, block paths with money or power, shut down internet for date scouting, create noise with a private jet or helicopter, willfully gaslight, isolate within controlled areas, kidnap, or challenge anyone to a duel.”

“………….”

“Fourthly, after all participants have spent a day with him, Namgoong Min will choose the most suitable partner.”

“Wow.”

“That’s it. Any questions?”

Uh, questions…?

“Are you seriously thinking there would be none?”

“……Just so you know, this is my best effort. Alternating days to date you.”

“Dating…”

“Are you really going to pretend you have no romantic feelings now? Everyone confessed during the farewells.”

Yes, everyone did confess.

And I thought something huge would happen when I returned, but it was surprisingly quiet.

But instead of being quiet, they were busy drafting treaties like these…

“I’m going to take turns finding you, starting tomorrow. I’m here as a representative of the gathering.”

“Couldn’t you have told me this in the morning and not at dawn?”

“……Anyway, any questions?”

What a girl?

I want to protest for my right to uninterrupted sleep, but still… let me think from Jisoo’s perspective.

Your younger sister has attracted four guys, but she’s so dense that they argue until one can date her under my supervision?

And she’s the one leading that treaty?

‘Ugh.’

Just imagining it feels gross and terrifying. It makes showing up at dawn seem kind of justified.

Thinking about it, Jisoo must’ve been pissed too; she’s only expressing it like this.

If it were me, I’d kick down Jisoo’s door, tell her off, and leave.

“Jisoo… you’ve been through a lot.”

“W-Why the sudden sympathy?!”

“I’m sorry… it’s just that I…”

“………….”

“Jisoo?”

“Oh, it was nothing!”

What was that? Did she just get flustered because I put my hand on her shoulder?

She hasn’t reacted like that in a while.

“Hey, want to sleep together tonight?”

“W-What?”

“Why are you so surprised? We used to sleep in the same living room when we lived in the semi-basement.”

“Well, that’s true… but…”

“If that’s the case, come here, you brat!”

“Ahh!?”

I flung Jisoo onto the bed and lay down next to her, talking beneath the blanket—oh, this brings back memories.

She turned her face to the wall, seemingly embarrassed.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Well… we’ve been sleeping in separate rooms for three months now…”

“Huh? You can sleep this way or that way. Don’t you remember?”

“When we were little….”

“When bugs used to crawl out in the semi-basement, you’d be so scared and cling to me.”

In that small semi-basement room, we spent over ten years crammed into one room and the bathroom.

We couldn’t afford to move, so we stayed there for a long time.

‘We slept fine all those years.’

So why the sudden awkwardness now?

“Do you remember? No matter how much I covered you with a blanket, you always ended up kicking me off. Then you’d get a cold.”

“That was just my sleeping habit.”

“But we took turns waking up early to make breakfast. And now you ask, did you really mix up salt and sugar back then?”

“I really mixed them up… and you burned all the eggs while frying them.”

“I clearly remember asking you to watch the frying pan for just a second while I went to the bathroom.”

“……Well.”

The memories of living in the semi-basement were so many and so vivid, it was hard to forget, even if I tried.

“We had some epic fights over something, what was it about again?”

“……About cleaning.”

“Oh right.”

“You kept cleaning only when I wasn’t around, and I wanted to help.”

……Yeah.

That was Jisoo.

Never going through the normal teenage angst, even when she was struggling, she always tried to help me.

My truly proud younger sister.

“I’m sorry… Still, we should sleep now. I’m really sleepy….”

“What about the questions?”

“Those can wait until tomorrow… let’s just sleep for now….”

I pulled the blanket up over Jisoo’s shoulders, who was still facing the wall, then closed my eyes as I lay next to her.

“Goodnight.”

“………….”

After a moment of silence, Jisoo murmured.

“……Oppa.”

“What?”

“What if I said I’m no longer your younger sister?”

“That’s a new one.”

“Well, I may look like this but my life experience is many times greater than yours. Right now, I still call you ‘Oppa’, and you still treat me like your younger sister, but isn’t that really correct?”

What’s with her?

Is it late-night sentiment talking?

I mean, I guess it could happen.

“If I’ve lived longer as a hero, wouldn’t that make me a hero?”

“Yeah, and if you say you’re not my younger sister but a hero, then what would you do?”

“Well.”

……Well.

“I could fulfill my wish.”

“Wish?”

“……At least a wish I can’t tell you about.”

“Does that relate to you not being my younger sister?”

“……Yeah.”

Well, okay then.

“Then drop it.”

“……Huh?”

“It doesn’t matter if you want to stop being my sister. If you do, I can just call you ‘Noona’ instead. After all, you’re my only family… surely you wouldn’t deny that?”

“………Well.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry, I think I got a bit carried away since it’s late… goodnight.”

“Yeah.”

So she was aware that she was being sentimental.

While I could hear her breathe softly next to me, I slipped back into sleep, hoping she would finally cover herself properly with the blanket.

*

“…………….”

Once I confirmed that my brother was asleep, Namgoong Jisoo slowly turned her body.

She faced him, her back turned to the wall.

‘………Oppa.’

That silly brother probably didn’t understand the meaning of what she had said. Maybe she should just call him ‘Noona’ instead.

Right now, she was satisfied. Right now, it was okay.

But.

‘I love you…’

Forbidden (禁斷) and shunned, yet alluringly forbidden.

As she quietly gazed at Namgoong Min’s face, Jisoo took his hand from beneath the blankets and kissed his cheek.

Having lived as a hero for decades, she often imagined these moments while trapped in the Gate.

Every time she returned to reality from the Gate, she secretly tried to do this while he was asleep, only to give up in the end.

These affectionate gestures.

‘Oppa.’

For now, this is where it would end.

But on the day the Namgoong Min Treaty concluded, she too would have to make a choice.

Would she continue living as his ‘younger sister,’ hiding her emotions?

Or would she───

*

“Did you hear that? It looks like the hero and Leni are getting along quite well.”

“Oh, was that the new student who came to the fortune teller’s shop?”

“I checked last time; they were casually flirting.”

During lunchtime, after morning classes.

Despite having become the Crown Prince, Kim Sung-il was suspiciously punctual when it came to attending class, thus I sat beside him, happily munching on his lunch.

Sure, there was a free student cafeteria, but what could I do? The royal chef’s cooking was just too good.

As I scarfed down the homemade meal, I was truly in heaven.

‘The Saint is at the church, Abel is having lunch with Leni, and who knows where Lucas is…’

“By the way, Namgoong Min, is something the matter?”

“Huh?”

“It seems you have some worries regarding the future brother-in-law.”

“……….”

I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.

“Normally, a man would be enjoying a harem life with Eun-ha and the rest of four girls, yet here you are, eating with me.”

“………Is it okay for you to say that?”

“Well, Eun-ha’s only possible husband is you. Did you know that when you were gone, all those match-up requests dried up because of the hysteria she threw? If you both fight, I’ll be in trouble.”

“So should I call you a Brother-in-law then.”

“Well, that isn’t a bad idea, but let’s hold off for now.”

For a moment, Kim Sung-il cast a strange smile towards the classroom door.

“Judging by the atmosphere, it doesn’t look like you two fought; has the time finally come?”

“The time?”

“Time for you to be devoured by those angry beasts! To be honest, I never thought Eun-ha’s patience would last this long… but anyway.”

He lightly patted my shoulder, speaking earnestly.

“Hang in there. I’ll cheer you on.”

“……At least please wipe that smirk off your face while you say that.”

“Ha! Sorry about that. Oh, and I have something to tell you.”

“Huh?”

“Kim Woo-sung said he’d be stopping by the Academy.”

Oh, Kim Woo-sung?

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, so enjoy your conversation. Well, as long as you survive their visit!”

“……Your Highness.”

“Just call me Brother-in-law! Hahaha!!!”

Truly.

It was a thoroughly refreshing laugh………

Eun-ha, could you please just give this guy a good whack, like during the farewells?