I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 54

Two weeks after the Survival exam.

The damages caused during the exam had been repaired, and by the time most of the students had forgotten the remnants of the test and returned to their daily lives, a peculiar rumor began to circulate.

“Hey… did you hear?”

“The Fortune Teller’s Shop? Of course, I’ve heard about it. They say it reveals everything, right?”

Rumors started circulating about a fortune teller’s shop that could predict anything, with each prophecy guaranteed to hit the mark. The story kicked off with a few red-haired, stocky, blonde students and soon began to spread slowly throughout the Academy.

A shop run by a top student who placed third in the Survival exam and was the second-best in the class. Given that they shared classes in the Special Class, the students who found it hard to see him developed a perception of him as a mysterious and competent fortuneteller.

As the buzz grew, it reached a tipping point with one person.

“Hey, Sasaki.”

“Hmm.”

“Is it true that you went to that fortune teller’s shop?”

“…Yeah. I was recommended by my younger sister.”

“What was it like? You were with Namgoong Min during the entrance ceremony, right?”

“I can’t share details, but… their skills are absolutely certain.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. They were able to turn my younger sister’s mood around.”

“…… Huh?”

Sasaki Ito, the representative student from Japan and the strongest Swordsman in the first year, spoke.

While there had been a few students who claimed the fortune teller was skilled, Sasaki Ito’s words carried a weight that couldn’t be dismissed. He was one of the most famous individuals in the Academy.

Thus, a fortune-telling craze began spreading in the Academy!

…or so it seemed.

“So, are you going?”

“Are you crazy? The fee is as outrageous as their skills! They say the fee is an equal exchange.”

“Yeah, right. With Namgoong Min’s skills, what’s the fee?”

Not only had the rumor spread that “Namgoong Min is great,” but it also circulated that “the fee is as large as his skills.” The consensus was that since the fortune-telling and payment are equal exchanges, the fee had to be substantial.

Not every student came from an affluent background. Most of them, despite knowing about the fortune teller, could only hesitate to go.

But…

“Still, I’m going.”

“What!? Where are you going to get the money?”

“I think I can manage to hear at least one piece of advice with the scholarship I received this time. I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Why on earth…?”

“I feel uneasy about the future. I want to hear some advice. Don’t you think that’s worth it?”

Namgoong Min’s fortune teller shop wasn’t untouchable.

Those who could afford the fees. Even if they have to pay, they wanted to receive a reading. Those who wanted advice before making important decisions.

Their stories were all different.

Simple curiosity, anxiety about the future, unrequited love, crucial choices, worries about school.

Slowly, Namgoong Min’s fortune-telling shop was becoming the last bastion for the Academy students.

“Hey, didn’t you say you have worries?”

“…Yeah.”

“You said you were even considering dropping out.”

“That’s true…”

“If that’s the case, why not go to the fortune teller?”

“I want to go, but I don’t have money. You know that, right?”

“What’s the point of being friends? If it’s money, I’ll lend it to you. Go and come back, you jerk.”

“You…!”

It is said that a place where you can ask any secret of the world will provide answers.

It is said that it is a place with the most skilled fortune teller in the world.

It is said that it offers advice to solve any concern.

It is said that, however, it demands a price equal to its abilities.

Thus, warnings circulated to be cautious and to visit thoughtfully.

Asking the fortuneteller about the future and secrets naturally requires a price.

*

“…That’s what they say.”

“How did it come to this…?”

“Isn’t it better than nothing? I’ve heard the fee income has increased as well.”

“That’s true, but…”

With a sigh, I took a sip of my mix coffee.

Although I liked the taste, right now it felt inexplicably bitter.

However, the visitor sitting across from me maintained a cheerful demeanor throughout.

“It seems you have your troubles, comrade.”

“Please stop calling me that awkward title.”

“Aren’t we comrades sharing the same punishment? Should I call you brother instead?”

“Do you want to squeeze in between the tables again?”

“Oh dear, that would indeed be troublesome, so I’ll stop.”

Saint Raphael Martina.

The one who once wielded a mace now sat laughing as an ally.

“By the way, is it acceptable for the Saint to visit the fortune teller’s shop? The Church won’t look kindly at it.”

“On the contrary, I was sent by the Church. They suggested I give it a try to pass the time.”

“…Is that really acceptable?”

“Just because one is from the Church doesn’t mean everyone follows the will of God. I am aware I am a radicalist who fervently believes in the Bible, so do not worry.”

“That’s certainly unique.”

Knowing that one is an extremist fanatic—it’s likely they might be the scariest kind after all.

I forced a laugh and finished my mix coffee.

“So, what’s the purpose of your visit?”

“…There’s a reaction from Sister Ruina.”

“…It took quite a while.”

It had been almost a month since I had crossed blades with the Saint over Eileen’s issue and given false information to Sister Ruina to gauge her reaction. However, despite the Church being far from this floating city, the fact that I only received a reaction now seemed too strange.

The Saint seemed to think the same and nodded.

“There seems to be, unavoidably, a secretive line that takes some time. If they use the Church’s communication network, they’ll have no choice but to find me.”

“What was the reaction?”

“It was a success. You could say I’ve hooked a fish now.”

Nice!

I cheered inwardly.

The Saint’s coup against the Church was the only event I hadn’t played in.

Solving this would provide no help from game knowledge or anything else.

I cautiously began, and thankfully it seems it worked out.

“I’ve apparently ‘lost the right to be the Saint’… Thankfully, it seems Sister Ruina and her backers believe this. The performance I put on has likely made a significant impact.”

“Please continue acting as the Saint. We need to keep this up until they take action.”

“Of course.”

Raphael Martina had lost the right to be the Saint.

This was the false information that I and the Saint leaked to Sister Ruina.

For those who had fallen because of the Saint, this was the best news, and if they revealed it to be true, they could instantly bring the Saint down.

To achieve this, the Saint had to keep acting within the Church and the Academy.

“It was the same during the Survival exam.”

No matter how much you faced the Hero, the Saint wasn’t an opponent one could easily win against.

Even if they were pushed back by sheer strength, the Saint could rise again like a cockroach.

The fact that such a Saint was eliminated by the Hero was also a part of the act.

“I need to make them believe gradually.”

The ultimate goal was to have Sister Ruina’s backers accuse the Saint of heresy.

Those claiming Raphael Martina had lost his right to the title of Saint would cause the performance to unravel and present the true form of the Saint, thus bringing the game to an end.

Under the pretext of exorcising the heretics who doubted the Saint, one could seize control and sweep away the Church in one fell swoop… that was the gist of the plan.

“Still… nothing is happening.”

In truth, despite the elaborate plan, I wasn’t doing much of anything.

I had merely defined the false information for Sister Ruina at the outset.

What followed—the performance of losing power, inducing a religious trial, and purifying the Church post-trial—was all up to the Saint and the followers supporting him.

All I was doing was meeting with the Saint periodically to discuss the progress and add a word or two.

Shouldn’t I be doing something?

I felt a tinge of guilt, but well, I could always think about that later.

Leaning back comfortably in my chair, I left everything to my future self.

The real issue wasn’t that, however.

“By the way, about the rumors… there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“Just give up, comrade.”

“Please just shut up.”

Thinking about the rumors gave me a headache.

What I had certainly asked Huang Jin-woo, Sasaki Kaede, and a guy named Kite was just to promote the fortune teller’s shop to friends.

How did it end up like this?

“…Yesterday, I received ten million won as a fee.”

“Oh, earning ten million in a single day is impressive!”

“That’s for a minimum of ten million won per person.”

“…How many people came?”

“Ten people.”

One hundred million.

That was how much I received just for briefly chatting with those ten people.

Originally, I envisioned the fortune teller’s shop as a place where various characters could visit when they had concerns and become entwined in their character events.

But now it had completely turned into something else.

‘Even if they ask about their parents’ business, what am I supposed to say…?’

More than that, it wasn’t just characters I knew; entirely new characters I had never seen in-game were now coming to visit.

If it was a trivial concern, I planned to deal with it just like I did with Huang Jin-woo using Observation, but when it came to asking about their parents’ business, I had nothing to say.

Moreover, since they already brought ten million as the fee, I couldn’t just brush them off.

Hence, I handled personal issues with game knowledge and Observation while returning fees for things like business or stocks, saying vaguely that I couldn’t see their futures.

Even so, there were those who still handed me fees of twenty million or fifty million, which ended up totaling a hundred million.

“Well, if it’s your fortune-telling, I acknowledge your skills, so it’s reasonable to accept that much.”

“……”

But I couldn’t avoid this forever.

I already knew what the answer to this dilemma was. I turned away from the Saint and glanced briefly at the floating status screen.

<1 Hour and 32 Minutes Left Until Job Quest Appears!>

‘What’s with that notice?’

That sudden status screen that appeared this morning was predicting the upcoming Job Quest.

Like the last quest, Life and Death Decision, if I cleared it, it would surely strengthen the Job Skill.

If so, maybe it could help me resolve the current issues.

‘In the end, the only thing I can do is play the con artist and fake psychic.’

Predicting the future with game knowledge and gathering information with Observation is all I could do.

That alone would surely lead to difficulties in running the fortune teller’s shop in the future.

So even if I didn’t really want to… I’d have no choice but to use the Job Skill, Fortune Telling, or rather, Using Effective Fortune Telling.

As I pondered for a moment, the Saint who finished his mix coffee stood up.

“Comrade, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“…Ah. Saint, good luck ahead.”

“Same to you.”

…That guy has a keen perception. The moment I showed signs of worry, he stood right up.

But didn’t he also sneak away during the last class? And ignored it when I was getting bullied?

Thinking about that made me upset. When we take the test at the Great Lake in ten days, be prepared for an extra humiliation.

“……No one’s coming.”

An hour and a half after the Saint left. No one has arrived.

Well, it’s understandable; it’s almost midnight now, and everyone must be resting for tomorrow’s classes.

Naturally, the fortune teller’s shop would be closed, so no one would come here.

If it weren’t for the status screen, I would have closed the shop long ago and be watching TV at the base.

But I couldn’t disregard the Job Quest…

<20 Seconds Left Until Job Quest Begins!>

…Ah, it’s time’s up.

But why does it start at such a late hour? It’s not the last Survival exam or something.

“5… 4… 3….”

Without thinking, I found myself counting down with the status screen.

I wonder how significant it could be──

Boom!!!

“──Is Namgoong Min here!!”

“………Yes?”

Midnight. A time when common sense suggests no one should come to a fortune teller’s shop.

Yet, a group burst in, forcefully opening the door.

“……President, it’s rude to open the door so roughly.”

“How true, dear senior!”

“You truly are the President! I’m impressed!”

“Hahaha! That was a knight’s entrance!”

“………”

Four faces I often saw while gaming, three boys and one in armor.

That group was undoubtedly the Student Council.

Led by the President and zealous knight, Lily White Rose, among them.

Above all, arriving at the fortune teller’s shop at midnight was an act devoid of common sense.

In the game, the Student Council was often depicted as a group missing a screw or two!

“Namgoong Min, junior! It’s been a while since we saw each other on the mountain; have you been behaving like a knight in the meantime?”

“Ah… yes.”

“A knight doesn’t talk too long! Junior, remember this without fail!”

“Yes.”

Yep, that is definitely Lily White Rose.

Seeing her in private made her more intense than I expected.

“So, what brings you here?”

“If a knight visits a fortune teller, there’s only one thing to do! It’s to see your fortune!”

“Of course, President! Such a knightly declaration!”

“Ha ha ha!”

And beside Lily, that blonde student showering her with flattery… what was his name again? The secretary?

I can’t remember.

“Dearest senior, even now, your elegance shines brightly despite the helmet!”

“I’m still wearing a helmet.”

“Yet it cannot hide your beauty.”

“Haha, is that so? You are indeed knightly!”

I was about to vomit from how mushy the boy was acting, who was the treasurer?

The name slipped my mind again.

“President, the junior seems flustered.”

“Hmm, since the junior still lacks in knightly demeanor, as the ultimate knight, I shall demonstrate chivalry!”

“…… Yes.”

With a sigh, I adjusted my glasses.

A Latin student, Samuel Lipson, who was the vice president, always remembered him for being the one who suffers in the game.

‘Seeing him up close is impressive.’

A knightly weirdo, one who flatters too much, an overly romantic one, and a sensible one.

These four made up the infamous Student Council in the game.

While only Lily and Samuel were properly depicted.

“Namgoong Min, junior! It seems I shall speak knightly to you!”

“Yes, what’s on your mind?”

“Did you know that we will have an election for Student Council President in a week!?”

“I’m aware of that.”

The Student Council President election was the first event where Lily White Rose and the Student Council made their debut.

It took place right before the monumental event of the Great Lake examination, but it lingered in memory for various reasons.

So, why now?

“So I’d like you to help us!”

“Yes, help… huh?”

What?

“I’ve heard the rumors about you, junior. Among the fortunetellers, you are the one closest to true chivalry!”

“………”

“So please, use your skills and tell whether I can continue as Student Council President!!”

“…… President.”

Are you politicians who consult shamans during presidential elections?

…Well, that’s true, isn’t it?

Either way, I cannot accept this request.

It’s beyond my capabilities, and anyway, Lily White Rose would likely succeed in her re-election, so there’s no need to get involved with this crazy Student Council…