I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 24

“……What an unexpected meeting.”

In a dark basement lit only by a few torches.

In that damp and heavy air, the Saint twirled a mace in her hands.

At first glance, she appeared relaxed, but.

‘She’s flustered.’

To Namgoong Min, who activated <Observation>, it looked different.

Her feet fidgeted continuously, and although she seemed to smile, the corners of her mouth were tense. The mace, being spun in one hand, faltered sporadically before it resumed movement.

These subtle signs would normally be hard to catch, but when combined, it’s not difficult to deduce the emotions.

‘Stay calm.’

Regain your composure.

If you get caught up in the Saint’s pace, it’s guaranteed failure… or not…

“……Ah.”

“………? Are you a fellow sinner?”

Behind the Saint.

A Sister, bound to a chair with blood dripping from her head, bowed her head.

…She resembled someone in Namgoong Min’s memories.

Although he couldn’t see her face, only her hair, the image of her lifeless, disheveled black hair mingling with blood struck him hard.

“………Mom.”

“Fellow sinner?”

“……Saint, what troubles you?”

“That you obviously… think.”

Unconsciously about to respond, the Saint suddenly noticed an oddity.

All this time, Namgoong Min was acting. Regardless of that mysterious skill, he was projecting calmness, mystique, and omniscience.

The Saint, while not knowing everything perfectly, vaguely sensed the truth.

…But now it was different.

“Is it because I came here? Or perhaps because you assaulted the Sister in the alley? Or is it because you’re lying under the pretense of a pilgrimage?”

“……Ha, haha.”

Namgoong Min laughed. It was a sorrowful smile, both the same as always and different.

He was genuinely laughing.

Noticing the change, the Saint gripped the mace tightly.

Crack.

With an iron will strong enough to slightly deform the solid steel mace.

Despite the imminent threat of violence, the fortuneteller smiled.

Calmness and a smile.

As if knowing everything, as if penetrating through your entire being.

An uneasy fortuneteller is an amateur, but at this moment, he was anything but an amateur.

“…Fellow sinner. I will advise you one last time.”

“Speak.”

“Go back. If you do, I will tell you everything later.”

It was a significant concession from the Saint.

She didn’t ask him to pretend this scene away, nor did she tell him to keep quiet.

It was simply an outrageous offer to let him leave this place in exchange for full disclosure of her secrets.

This too, was an offer made possible by the Saint regarding the fortuneteller as a fellow sinner.

“I refuse.”

“……I regret that.”

Swish!

Before the Saint could respond, Namgoong Min scattered the tarot cards he had created with his job skill.

In that brief moment as the cards floated in the air and then fell to the floor.

“I won’t kill you…!”

Whoosh!

The Saint dove directly into the pile of cards without allowing even that moment’s hesitation to pass.

With a light swing of the mace, she brushed away the obstructing cards, and.

<My Own Little Fortune Teller's Shop>.

“……!!”

In an instant, the Saint was enveloped by darkness like a curtain.

Momentarily thrown off, the Saint quickly turned her glare toward Namgoong Min.

Ultimately, there was only one target to glare at.

“Namgoong Min!!”

Clang! Crunch!

Swiftly deflecting a candlestick thrown by the fortuneteller, she shattered the table and chairs that had been used as shields in a single motion.

Though the <Saint> is not a class that fights directly like a <Swordsman> or <Fighter>, as a special class, she possesses physical ability surpassing most combat classes, making this scene possible.

In a matter of seconds, the Saint crushed the fortuneteller’s resistance and charged toward Namgoong Min behind the splintering table.

And the moment she was about to pass through the shattered table.

<Cleanliness>.

“What!?”

The split table magically returned to its original shape. The <Cleanliness> skill cleans up broken or scattered items to restore them to their original position.

While the two-piece table returning to its form was nothing special.

If the Saint was caught in between, the implications changed entirely.

Crackle!

“Ugh!”

Caught off guard, she couldn’t respond to the sudden surprise attack. Feeling the pain of being squeezed by the merging tables, she swung her mace to smash the table—

Bang!

“Cough!”

Before she could even break it, she felt a shock hit the back of her head and let out a final cry.

Though the last one was also a surprise attack, the impact this time was even greater.

For a moment, her vision spun, and she felt dizzy. Surrounded by pain beyond her expectations, her body stiffened momentarily.

In the meantime, the tables were pressing in, trying to return to their original state, squeezing the Saint.

“Fortuneteller!!”

How could this be?

The Saint remembered Namgoong Min from when she saw him at Eileen’s place. He couldn’t even react to her slightest movements back then.

But how was he reacting now, as he was genuinely charging at her?

With pain at the back of her head and the pressure between the tables, the Saint managed to lift her head.

“……Ah.”

She met the gaze of Namgoong Min, with blood streaming from his right eye.

Holding the candlestick he threw earlier, he smiled with blood tears while looking down at her.

His right pupil was constricted like a dot, continuously spilling bright red blood.

“What do you think, Saint?”

“………….”

“You underestimated me too easily.”

True to that statement, the Saint had been negligent.

The <Fortuneteller> is a non-combat class, and during their first encounter, she had easily seized her advantage, making a fatal error.

But this moment was different.

The <Saint> was a bit fatigued from capturing the Sister, and she hadn’t anticipated running into Namgoong Min, thus charging in recklessly.

In contrast, the <Fortuneteller> came prepared to face the Saint with a new skill, <Observation>.

“Well, you know too, don’t you? This is just a temporary advantage.”

“……Fortuneteller.”

“I’m not the only one with skills. You also have skills, don’t you?”

Indeed. Namgoong Min wasn’t the only one with unknown skills.

The Saint, too, had skills to turn the tides of the situation, but…

“<Self-Healing>, <Holy Radiance>.”

“………!!”

“One is of no real significance, and the other one has such a huge side-effect if used, doesn’t it?”

…What?

Now the Saint no longer hid her shock behind a smile.

Enduring the pain, she merely glared at the fortuneteller with wide, unflinching eyes.

“Oh, is that the expression of disbelief?”

“……….”

“But you already know my answer, don’t you?”

“…Is it a fortune?”

“Isn’t that what it is?”

A fortune? That he deduced it from a fortune?

The Saint recalled how he preached about her past, predicted future occurrences, and even saw through Liu Yan’s pocket and the maze.

If it were a fortune, that could be somewhat comprehensible. After all, that’s what fortunes were supposed to do.

But fortunes are abstract, right?

Could one really pinpoint the exact skills I possess with that? The church keeps those strictly confidential.

“That’s not… a fortune.”

“So what will you do now?”

“……Eh?”

“I’m asking what you’ll do with the knowledge, be it a fortune or not.”

Drop. Drop.

Blood tears fell from Namgoong Min’s eyes, landing right in front of the Saint.

Despite continuously bleeding from his eyes, he seemed like he felt no pain whatsoever.

If not… he couldn’t maintain a smile so naturally.

“Oh, right. How about giving it a shot?”

“A shot, you say?”

“Yes. It’s very simple.”

Swish.

The fortuneteller drew a handful of tarot cards from his pocket and displayed them before the Saint.

The Saint, still wedged between the table, groaned in pain but couldn’t take her eyes off the cards.

“Mix these well, and I will present you with one that you desire.”

“……And then?”

“I’ll guess which one it is. What do you think?”

“Ha.”

Isn’t that simply a trick or a magic show?

Furthermore, the pain at the back of her head was dying down.

If she could just have a little more conversation…

“If we just continue talking a little longer…”

“What?”

“Do you think you’ll be able to do anything?”

Bang!

“Cough!”

The fortuneteller slammed the candlestick down onto the Saint.

Being a job-holder, a mere shock wouldn’t shatter her head or kill her.

It’s just that pain and shock would inevitably continue.

“By observing your expression right now, I can tell everything. What you’re thinking, what words you will use.”

“……….”

“So, it’s a simple test. Choose three cards… if I don’t get them right even once…”

Singing-like, as if falling asleep, he muttered slowly.

The fortuneteller continued to smile.

“I’ll be on your side.”

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t intend to flip the church upside down, do you? My fortune should be quite appealing to you.”

“……….”

At this point.

She no longer asked how he knew her true intentions or how he figured out her previously unspoken goals.

The Saint merely nodded.

“Alright! Very well.”

Swish!

“……Is this the card?”

“That’s correct.”

Right, let’s think positively.

There are 78 tarot cards in total, and the odds of picking one correctly are obviously 1 in 78.

Moreover, the card was chosen by the Saint herself, and there were no sleight-of-hand tricks involved.

So it must clearly be.

“Major Arcana 12, <The Hanged Man>.”

“……Huh, how?”

Surely.

It must be a coincidence.

“If you don’t trust me, here comes the second.”

Swish!

“……With that.”

Picking a card.

“Major Arcana 12, <The Hanged Man>.”

Once again, a perfect guess.

“Two in a row…?”

“Not impossible, is it?”

What are the odds that drawing a card twice in succession would result in the same card from a set of 78?

Naturally, suspicion of manipulation rose.

“Saint, I didn’t choose it, you did, did you not? Moreover, from an entirely different position. Did you see me switch out any cards?”

“……No.”

But there was no evidence. It was true that Namgoong Min shuffled the cards randomly, without interference, and that the Saint selected the cards herself.

The smiling fortuneteller now aimed to shuffle the cards one last time.

“The third. It’s already the last one.”

“Don’t shuffle the cards.”

“Excuse me?”

“The top card.”

That was the Saint’s final struggle.

At least she was certain <The Hanged Man> was not on top. She distinctly saw it being shuffled into the middle.

In a way, this increased her odds from 1 in 78 to 1 in 77.

Yet the Saint believed there was something with the <The Hanged Man>.

Otherwise, it would not have shown up twice.

“Major Arcana 12, <The Hanged Man>.”

“……Huh?”

Thus.

There’s no way it could show up thrice?

“Under that is <The Hanged Man>. There’s also <The Hanged Man> below that. And below that again is also <The Hanged Man>.”

“Wh…what!!”

All tarot cards were <The Hanged Man>.

In that moment, the Saint’s eyes widened as the reality of being conned washed over her.

She had been fully invested in the card picking, while for Namgoong Min, it was merely a game.

“This is a scam!!”

Thus, the Saint shouted loudly, filled with anger and injustice.

Then, she decided to risk the side effects and activate her <Holy Radiance> skill—

“And so?”

“What?”

“When we first met, did I not say something?”

──All I know to do is read the desperate hearts of others and swindle.

“Those cultists, barking about nonexistent destinies.”

“……….”

“I merely fulfilled my role as a fortuneteller. A scam, is what it is.”

“………….”

Drip.

The blood that had been flowing from Namgoong Min’s eyes stopped.

Staring down at the Saint, who had ceased her observations while splashing in the pool of blood she created herself, he found her at a loss for words.

“Worried about Eileen?”

“……….”

“Is it because she’s a Saintess? That she needs to walk the same ‘pilgrimage’ path as you receive recognition in the church? And perhaps that she could die in silence along the way?”

“………….”

“That might be true, but there’s a more fundamental reason.”

Saintess.

In fact, both the Saint and the Saintess are the same job, differing only in gender. Their job skills and aptitudes are identical.

However, historically, <Saint> and <Saintess> had never been solitary roles.

They were deeply intertwined with the church.

…In terms of shaking the established church’s authority.

“What happens if a Saintess appears while the Saint is still alive?”

“……….”

“Supporters rallying around the Saintess. If she were to pass the pilgrimage path without dying, what then? It creates another power that reigns above the Pope, according to the doctrine.”

“………….”

“If that happens, the church will fracture, and chaos will ensue. Humans are the kind to only feel secure when they’ve wiped out their enemies, so there will be battles until only one faction remains: the Saint faction, the Saintess faction, and the established Pope faction.”

“……….”

“That’s not what you want, is it, Saint?”

The Saint desires a perfectly purged church. Not a corrupt clergy fixated on power, but a church that worships God freely and purely.

Yet, paradoxically, achieving that requires absolute power.

The kind of absolute power that resolves all issues concerning the church and allows him to reform it as he wishes.

Because of that, his character in the game was one of deep conflict and anguish.

He felt the need for power but was hesitant to pursue it.

“Eileen is a Saintess. If I let the church know, the power dynamics within will be significantly disrupted, and I will be affected too. Most importantly, she could die on the pilgrimage.”

“……But if you leave it as it is.”

“She will continue to suffer unless she finds her God.”

“So… there is a way…?”

“There is.”

Namgoong Min crouched down to match the Saint’s gaze.

His uninjured left eye and his right pupil, which had contracted unusually.

That strange mismatch made the Saint unintentionally swallow her saliva.

“I will help you.”

“……How will you do that?”

“That’s not something the Saint needs to concern herself with. You just need to follow my words.”

“Are you asking me to trust you?”

“Have you not observed my strange fortunes? I know everything, predict everything, and can accomplish anything with my fortunes.”

“………Fortune.”

“So just believe and leave it to me.”

“…….”

She opened her mouth but couldn’t bring herself to speak.

She wanted to move, but in the end, she did nothing.

The Saint was tormented and conflicted.

Although she genuinely wanted to help Eileen, she couldn’t shake the sense of burden she felt towards her.

That is why she told herself she was a sinner.

The Saint…

“Well done.”

…Nodded.