I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 3

[Welcome to the Entrance Exam!]

“Damn it all.”

I muttered, keeping a good distance from the bustling crowd at the school gate.

I definitely needed to enter that place, but with so many people around and my mind feeling like it had taken damage, I hesitated.

Mostly, there were things I had to do.

[Please choose your name and appearance!]

In the game, my name and appearance were already set, but it seemed like this entrance exam only began once I stepped through the gate.

…Name and appearance. Character creation is one of the most crucial parts in any game.

But that was just in the game.

“Just the way it is.”

[Do you want to set your name and appearance as is?]

“Sure.”

Honestly, it was ridiculous to get seriously involved in picking a new name and look for something like this.

Names and appearances were just elements to satisfy the player; they didn’t affect gameplay at all.

My name and look were fine as they were—why would I bother changing anything?

[Player ‘Namgoong Min’ has been set!]

[You will navigate the Romance Academy! Here’s a small gift that I hope will be a great help!]

In <Romance Academy>, once character creation was complete, you received basic items according to your job and gender.

Sure, they only had weak stats for starting the game, but it was still better than having nothing.

I picked up the pair of white gloves that appeared before my eyes.

[ <White Gloves for Beginner Fortunetellers>
Always keep your hands clean before fortune-telling!

* When worn, accuracy of ‘Tarot Card’ predictions increases by +1%!
* Wearing activates the general skill ‘Cleanliness’! (This skill does not occupy a skill slot.)]

“Well…that’s something.”

The performance where the prediction accuracy of tarot cards only increases by 1% was annoying, to say the least.

At least the general skill ‘Cleanliness’ was decent.

And since it didn’t occupy a skill slot, there was nothing to lose.

After putting on the perfectly fitting white gloves, a status window popped up in front of me.

[ General Skill: <Cleanliness>
Everyone prefers a clean person!
For the sake of your health, let’s live a clean life!
* A slight correction is added to the first impression favorability of all characters!
* Always maintains a clean state throughout your body!]

Just a perfectly ordinary general skill.

Average, but compared to other general skills, it was so underwhelming that it would quickly become useless early on.

Honestly, how would a gamer even know if they were clean all over just because the game said so?

Still, with the white gloves, I looked a bit more presentable.

‘So this is the basic outfit of a fortuneteller.’

A deep red shirt with a decorated white tie, all wrapped in a black suit.

With the white gloves on, I did look a bit professional.

“Nothing more to do.”

Though there was still plenty of time remaining on the status window, I had no idea how to make good use of it right now.

The entrance exam in <Romance Academy> served as a tutorial, the very foundation of explaining gameplay mechanics.

Of course, activities outside the academy and various events would only open up after clearing the entrance exam, so I couldn’t do anything.

…Suddenly, as I looked around, all I saw was a peaceful everyday scene.

A child walking hand in hand with their parents, a hawker energetically calling out, people loitering at the entrance, passersby laughing and crying about who knows what.

Even the fact that I was breathing and walking and felt every sensation was real.

No matter how I looked at it, it was real life. Even with that status window hovering in front of me, if I sat down, I would have believed I was reborn into a fantasy.

“….”

Thinking like that, various worries crashed over me like a tidal wave.

I was about to graduate, and I had to earn enough credits. There was a police recruitment exam in the fall, too. In just a few weeks, I needed to hold my parents’ memorial service.

I had to keep investigating that cultist fortuneteller jerk too. Plus, I still needed to send living expenses to my younger sister, who said game developers were like this and only lived off instant noodles.

‘…Jisoo, did you really do this?’

Namgoong Jisoo. Always whining, full of complaints, and often running away from home to cause a big fuss.

Yet she was still my only remaining blood relative, secretly working part-time to buy me a birthday gift, and always trying to make me laugh whenever I was stressed in college.

My little sister.

Sure, she often tried to hit me and we’ve fought seriously more times than I can count, but I still believed in her.

At least Jisoo was not the type to throw her big brother into a crazy game like this out of nowhere.

…I hoped.

“I’ll have to wait and see when I get back.”

I had no idea why she tossed me into this, but I was the only user who had cleared <Romance Academy> 25 times, after all.

I was convinced I would see the ending and then hunt her down for it.

“Just know, if you hear me cursing you a little, forgive me.”

After all, it was your fault for putting me here in the first place.

With a bitter smile, I took my first steps toward the gate.

It was time to clear the tutorial.

*

“Silence, silence!!!”

Bang!!

A muscular man shouted as he confirmed the last person qualified to take the entrance exam crossed through the gate.

As he stomped his feet with the shout, the iron gate of the Romance Academy began to close slowly.

“Only those taking the entrance exam can come this way! No one else can enter!!”

“Son! Make sure you pass! I’m counting on you!!”

“Honey! I’ll wait until you contact me!”

“Don’t worry! I will definitely come back having passed!”

“Mom! Huuaaaaaah!!”

“…What a mess.”

Seeing people pouring tears and affection across the iron bars as if they would never see each other again was just absurd.

Well, it wasn’t surprising considering the game’s premise—the emotional investment they showed made sense.

After all, this was an aerial city.

If you weren’t an enrolled student, you’d be kicked down to the ground, and tickets to come up to this aerial city must have been sold out. If they didn’t meet here, it would be months before they met again.

Just like how many of my comrades cried and sulked after not being able to see each other during the one month in army training.

From my perspective, it was a meaningless setup since I had no one coming to see me, nor anyone I planned to visit.

‘…Wait, what did I do before coming here?’

It couldn’t be that I just popped into existence from thin air, right?

Could there be some kind of setting involved?

Or was I possessed? Did the original owner of this body still exist?

Lost in thought, I walked along the garden path lined with hundreds of people, and soon the muscular man who had led the crowd halted and turned around.

“Greetings to the candidates eligible for the glorious Romance Academy’s entrance exam! I am Charles Teddy Bear, the admissions officer for the illustrious Romance Academy.”

“W-wait, is the Teddy Bear really here?!”

“What an honor… to see a war hero, indeed!”

“Truly, this is the Romance Academy!”

‘How can someone’s name be Teddy Bear?’

The mixed reactions from the crowd—initial disbelief followed by admiration—were soon directed towards this intimidating man.

Charles Teddy Bear. A surname that didn’t fit his rugged appearance at all… but he had changed his name for a reason.

It was a heartwarming story of a father who, for the sake of his sick daughter who adored teddy bears, changed both their names. However, that backstory would only be revealed in the late game, making it impossible to concentrate every time I heard that silly last name. Seriously, how could one be addressed as Teddy Bear with that face?

But he should never be underestimated. True to his setting as a war hero, Teddy Bear was someone even combat class players would find tough to beat.

‘Fortunetellers would have an even harder time.’

“Do you see the building behind me? Do you know what it is?”

“…Yes, it’s the entrance exam hall of the glorious Romance Academy.”

“Correct. Although it’s smaller compared to the main building, it boasts the best facilities in the world.”

Is that small?

Disregarding that glorious Romance Academy, the exam hall was about as big as a typical sports stadium.

‘In the game, it was just a building, but seeing it in real life is overwhelming.’

The Romance Academy, deemed the best educational institution in the world and an aerial city, encompassed the entirety of this floating city.

In other words, inside the gates is the Romance Academy, and outside is also the Romance Academy.

However, outside the gates, only the family of the students or major sponsors could stay; only those directly related to the Romance Academy could enter through the gates.

‘This aerial city is probably as big as several Yeouidos combined.’

I didn’t particularly want to know, but I recalled my younger sister babbling about all sorts of trivia regarding the Romance Academy at times.

Given how large this aerial city was, a building of that size could indeed be considered small.

After a little while, as the participants’ murmurs began to quiet down, Teddy Bear spoke up again.

“The entrance exam starts the moment you set foot in the exam hall. Each of you will take an appropriate test based on the occupation you submitted. So brace yourselves!”

“Yes!”

Participants, regardless of gender, answered in unison, while I remained lost in thought.

Most occupations at the Romance Academy were ones held by other students as well. Whether ‘Battle Wizard’ or ‘Rich Tycoon’, none of them were exclusive to the protagonist, so naturally, the entrance exam would have similar occupations competing against one another.

‘There are exceptions, though.’

However, special occupations like ‘Royalty’ or ‘Traitor’ could only be held by specific characters. If a player chose that, they would have a unique test.

But would a fortuneteller even fall under those ‘special occupations’?

“I doubt it.”

Special occupations had a distinctiveness and uniqueness about them right from their names. How many people would have titles like ‘Royalty’ or ‘Saint’?

On the other hand, a fortuneteller would likely be tripping over each other just stepping outside the gate.

My doubt revolved around whether I would encounter any fellow fortuneteller taking the exam.

If I ended up taking it alone, there would be no help or advice.

I had no idea what kind of test this fortuneteller would face, either.

“First, I will select those who will take special tests.”

“How many will show up?”

“Without a doubt, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess are certain candidates. There might be others too….”

“The Saint is here as well, isn’t he?”

“Indeed, this year’s lineup is quite fierce.”

“Silence! Those being called should step forward.

‘Royalty’, Prince Kim Sung-il.

‘Royalty’, Princess Kim Eun-ha.

‘Rich Tycoon’, Liu Yan.

‘Warlock’, Lucas Arthur.

‘Psychic’, Rain Arthur.

‘Hero’, Abel Legion.

‘Saint’, Raphael Martina.

‘Fortuneteller’, Namgoong Min. That’s all!”

“…Huh?”

Even after hearing that name for the 25th time, the rising sensation of cringing surged through me at the very end of that roll call.

Wasn’t there something oddly out of place at the end of the list?

“Why is the weird one stuck at the back?”

“Isn’t there something after the Saint? Huh?”

I wasn’t the only one noticing this, as a wave of commotion rippled through the crowd as 7 men and women stepped forward.

Two royals from the Unified Daehan Empire, the wealthiest tycoon known for their incredible luck, the siblings from Europe’s most prestigious magical family, the American chosen to save the world with their blonde hair, and the boy blessed by God in Catholicism.

I remembered every character description filled with special occupations that appeared in each run of the game.

Honestly, anyone who bought <Romance Academy> would have been filtered out long before this point. With those petals fluttering on-screen as they called out their ridiculous titles, many players were smart enough to just quit the game right there.

I had seriously considered refunding it myself.

“‘Fortuneteller’ Namgoong Min, isn’t here yet?”

“…Here I am.”

…There was no escaping reality forever.

As I pushed through the crowd, countless gazes were focused on me alongside those already called.

Yeah. I wasn’t just entering this ridiculous flower-petal-strewn dating game as a protagonist, was I?

In a way, it was an entirely predictable outcome. A protagonist with what seems like an insignificantly useless job gets selected among an elite group and is scorned, but then earns recognition in the end. Stories like that are undoubtedly popular as novels.

So I had to brace myself.

They were the main characters of this game, and I needed to integrate with them if I wanted to see the ending.

Remember, it’s easy to be scorned, but it’s never easy to earn recognition from there.

“Hello, I’m Fortuneteller Namgoong Min.”

“……….”

“………….”

“…Ha.”

No one reacted to my polite greeting. They were the upper echelons of society, having mingled since childhood due to their bestowed professions. Being a nuisance among them was simply uncomfortable.

However, I couldn’t let that break my spirit.

I had to act composed. Speak smoothly while trying not to show any signs of panic.

I had done this before, hadn’t I? Reviving those old memories.

“If there’s anything on your mind or troubling you—”

A fortuneteller must be a mysterious being.

One who isn’t frivolous, too talkative, but cautious in their actions and should act discreetly.

But that rule only applied to being a ‘Fortuneteller’; my story as a ‘Student’ didn’t have to adhere to that.

Attending <Romance Academy> meant I couldn’t keep up that mysterious concept all the time. If I faced difficult situations, I’d gasp, and if I failed, I’d make a silly face the same as any ordinary person. Most importantly, if I maintained that air and slipped up, it could be the end.

So what should I aim for?

“—Please feel free to speak to me anytime.”

I should become a friendly yet competent fortuneteller, one who knows their place yet keeps boundaries clear.

That’s the fortuneteller I must become.

“Nice to meet you all.”

And I would certainly become that fortuneteller.