I Became a Fortune Teller in the Game My Little Sister Made – Chapter 95

Group project.

It’s truly a devilish phrase that made me dread my college life.

In group projects, not everyone participating is strange. Most are normal people who keep promises and do what they need to, whether enthusiastically or moderately.

It’s just that there are a couple of slippery eels among them.

As a great sage once said, “Whenever five people gather, there will always be one trash.”

And that’s…

“First, we need to go to the cockpit!”

“No way! We have to check the cargo hold first! They said something strange is happening!”

“You’re all wrong. The right answer is to stay put.”

“Um, should we consider an emergency exit right now…?”

…It seemed the reality was no different from the gaming reality.

After the captain’s warning about something unusual, the third-year students sitting at the back of the plane were having an endless loop of such conversations.

Wait, isn’t this just a simple disagreement? Is it not a rather productive discussion at this point?

If we keep discussing it, we might easily find an answer──

“Freshmen, shut up! What do you know, you less experienced brats!”

“Ha, is that something the bottom of the third-year class should say?”

“It only applies to theory classes! I ranked 10th in practicals!”

“Proving yourself to be strong but ignorant, I see.”

“You fat piece of trash!”

“What about you? With your bleached blonde hair and tanned skin! It’s not natural brown and you forced that tan on yourself!”

“What pathetic losers.”

“You’re the one endlessly staring at your phone!”

“How many friends do you have in your phone? More than in real life?”

“…Damn idiots.”

Okay, scratch that. There are three slippery eels.

The short male student who had made a comment shrank back from the backlash of the blonde-tanning critique, while three third-years began bickering.

If there’s just one eel, we could simply ignore him or leave him off the list, but what do we do when not a single normal participant is present?

Even if I step in, since they’re all third-years, they’ll likely just shout over me like before.

But watching them, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated that they couldn’t even start due to conflicting opinions.

However, I wasn’t too worried.

“Say one more word, and I’ll tear your mouth apart.”

“What with? Your phone? That would only get you wrecked by that pig!”

“Keep calling him pig, and I’ll make you cry like after that Rich Tycoon beat you.”

“Everyone quiet.”

“………”

“……………”

“……….”

“Let’s head to the cockpit first, follow me.”

“….Yes.”

Well, it’s assured that the leader is decisive.

No matter how much those three fight, if Kim Ha-neul is the leader, it should be fine.

Even if the slippery eels muddied the waters, they just remain eels.

Then what about us?

“Senior, we will follow.”

“….You too?”

“We want to be of some help to you!”

“Um, okay.”

What else is there to do but latch onto the ride without charge.

As I approached Kim Ha-neul warmly, she looked at me and Liu alternately for a moment, then nodded.

Done. Now, we just let them handle it.

It’s not particularly difficult, so they should manage it quickly.

“Liwu, shall we go?”

“………..Yeah.”

“And you, fellow classmate.”

“Uh, okay!”

Following Liu, who seemed unsatisfied, and the still-crouched male student, we trailed behind the third-years.

I trust you, seniors!

*

‘So frustrating.’

From the moment we arrived at that small airport, Liu was in a bad mood. She was overflowing with annoyance.

Where was the picture of just the two of us returning to the Academy on a private jet? Instead, here she was surrounded by these morons.

If Namgoong Min wasn’t beside her, she would have exploded a long time ago.

‘I don’t like any of it.’

The pathetic son of the airline president, the third-years who seemed to have a mental age much younger than their actual age, and even Kim Ha-neul, who pretended to be noble because she was royalty, all disgusted her.

In fact, it seemed like no one would have been pleasing right now.

Namgoong Min is her possession, a precious object to be kept in a display case…

…a friend she barely acknowledges, no less.

What could possibly interrupt such a valuable time with the one friend she actually acknowledges?

Even if a Crown Prince or Crown Princess were present, she would likely say something rude.

‘Well, I guess I understand what that fortuneteller thinks…’

Though she wasn’t fond of it, if she left it to that Kim Ha-neul, it would probably resolve itself.

Personally, all of them, including Kim Ha-neul, those third-year idiots, and that pathetic boy, made her suspicious.

But since Namgoong Min suggested it, she didn’t want to have any doubts about anything related to him.

…That said, she also had someone monitoring them, taking note of each and every movement.

This wasn’t about suspicion; it was merely checking on a friend, so it was no problem.

“Um, Your Highness? But why are you going to the cockpit…?”

“….Naturally, this is a trial for the Academy. There’s no way anything seriously wrong has happened with the plane.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“If that were the case, we would have been told to evacuate over the intercom, or told to move, right?”

While answering the stupid question from the blonde tanner, she kept glancing this way.

Ah, is it because of the title “Crown Princess”? Among the third-years, there’s only Kim Ha-neul, who’s royalty, but there’s a real princess here.

If she wanted, she could find an excuse to scold them endlessly.

“….Liu? Why are you looking at me all of a sudden?”

“Nothing.”

“……?”

She was managing to hold herself back because of this idiot next to her. How many times does she have to hold back?

Instead, she gripped Namgoong Min’s wrist tightly…oh, did I grab too hard? He flinched in pain.

For a moment, Namgoong Min’s surprised reaction turned to a smile as he shook his wrist that I was holding.

…Ha, you excessively kind fool.

No wonder that wicked Psychic girl is involved with him…

“But why are we going to the cockpit?”

“They said on the broadcast there was something wrong with the plane. But the plane is operating normally right now. Nothing burst, either.”

“Then we should go to the cargo hold──”

“──I’m not done speaking yet?”

“…I’m sorry.”

The blonde tanner, who had been blabbering about the cargo hold, shut up while the fat, dumb-looking girl secretly laughed at her.

These three lackeys seem to follow Kim Ha-neul, but they don’t seem to get along.

I might want to keep track of them, just in case they come in handy.

“Anyway, as long as everything is fine now, if anything happens during the flight, it doesn’t matter if we’re all profession holders, it’s dangerous. So first, we need to go to the cockpit and confirm things.”

“Are we asking if it’s safe?”

“This is basically a trial, after all. If the cockpit is off-limits, they’ll stop us; if it isn’t, they’ll let us through. If it’s not allowed, we can go to the cargo hold later.”

“Of course, Your Highness is right. We hadn’t even considered that.”

“You sure are different from this muscle-brained tanner.”

“….Hey, we’re heading to the cargo hold anyway, so my comment wasn’t incorrect.”

“Before that, we’re going to the cockpit, right? It’s me who got hit.”

“This girl…….”

…Ugh, no matter how I look at it, it’s strange.

Those three fools, Kim Ha-neul, and the rest are incredibly clueless.

Even if those idiot third-years seem brainless, isn’t it surprising that a royal leading the largest faction of third-years is so dull?

Or is it because her rival is that madman of a knight, Lily White Rose, that Kim Ha-neul’s capabilities are this predictable?

From what I’ve seen, it looks like they can’t properly manage their juniors, judging by how openly they’re bickering in front of the faction leader.

‘But then again, they listen when it comes to her.’

A worthless dog fighting in front of its master still listens to the master’s command, I suppose.

At the very least, I have two possibilities in mind.

‘They could have hidden ulterior motives but are hiding them from us.’

Or their loyalty to Kim Ha-neul is just higher than any loyalty to the faction.

On that aspect, Liu seems to look overly foolish for Kim Ha-neul.

If she couldn’t even manage those three, how could she have gathered half of the third-years into the faction?

It was as if I could see the farce of the so-called “largest faction of the third-years”.

Or perhaps, it might all just be an act to fool us.

‘In fact, this would be mainly the realm of that fortuneteller…’

Liu may have basic intelligence, but it certainly isn’t political.

She’s more inclined towards handling money and business rather than understanding this psychology or faction battles, where she’s merely a cut above ordinary.

So I glanced at this political expert, but she only maintained a serene smile.

As I pondered the intentions of Kim Ha-neul and those fools, we quickly reached the cockpit.

Kim Ha-neul, leading the way, knocked on the cockpit door.

Knock. Knock.

“Is someone inside?”

Knock. Knock.

“Captain? Co-pilot?”

Clunk. Clunk.

“The door’s locked…Looks like the cockpit is off-limits for real.”

Kim Ha-neul concluded roughly and turned around, standing with her back to the cockpit.

Then she opened her mouth.

“Then let’s go to the cargo hold. That seems to be the key place.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right!? This phone girl, I was right, wasn’t I!?”

“The person who decided to check the cockpit first was the Crown Princess.”

“Stop making excuses for the Crown Princess!”

“Let’s stop fighting and get moving.”

“…Yes.”

“Yes.”

Kim Ha-neul intervened in the two dimwits bickering once again and started off towards the cargo hold…

…Wait, are we seriously just going straight to the cargo hold?

Is she out of her mind?

Tap.

“….Namgoong Min?”

“Let’s just follow for now.”

“……Yeah.”

*

The scene that followed was astonishing.

Though we arrived at the cargo hold, they were baffled to find it empty, searching through the bathroom and crew room, even inspecting each and every plane seat?

The more they searched, the harder it was to hold back curses, but thanks to Namgoong Min, who always noticed when I was about to lose it by either stroking my head or holding my wrist, I could keep my cool.

In the end, we didn’t do anything, so I managed to hold back for now.

“What the heck…?”

“………..”

“……………”

“………….”

Ultimately, after wasting a lot of time without gaining anything, the third-year idiots sighed.

…But I did gain something.

‘Kim Ha-neul and those idiots are all martial artists. Kim Ha-neul seems to have some brains, but the other three are absolutely brainless.’

Did that fool with the phone just jabber about being theory last in class to that blonde fool earlier?

I can guarantee that the pig fool and the phone idiot are on par in their theory scores.

Despite that, they’re fast in their feet and movements, very typical of combat classes.

No matter how high-class a professional holder may be, if they’re that dumb, they’ll end up dying after just doing grunt work at the gate.

…Well, I guess it’s not really my concern.

But if I keep relying on those fools, I’d sooner die without leaving this plane.

Letting go of Namgoong Min’s wrist, which still maintained a smile, I rose sharply.

“Hey, fortuneteller. I can’t tolerate this anymore. Should I take charge?”

“Oh? Are you going to do it, Liu? You could leave it to me.”

“I was going to do that, but seeing this mess, I need to step in myself to feel better.”

“Then I leave it to you.”

“W-Wait! Leave what to…?”

“Haha, classmate, let’s just chat for now. It won’t take long.”

“…Yes?”

Step. Step.

“……Huh? Rich Tycoon…junior?”

“Get out of the way.”

“What? Aah!?”

I pushed aside the phone-idiot who was foolishly blocking my way and walked on ahead.

The startled idiots screamed something, but I let it flow through one ear and out the other as I approached the cockpit door.

“Junior! What on earth is…!”

“Wait a moment. What are you trying to do right now?”

Well, Namgoong Min might have managed it too if I had left it to him.

But I prefer to relieve my stress by hitting rather than just watching someone solve it.

I blew a breath into the Maiden’s Breath and clenched my fist.

“Please—”

BOOM!!

…I struck.

The door, solidly constructed, could not withstand the fist of a profession holder enhanced by an artifact and flew off.

After carelessly cleared the half-broken door and stepped into the cockpit…

“Wh-What on earth are you doing…!”

“There’s no one…inside.”

“What’s going on…?”

Just as she said, inside the cockpit, neither the captain nor the co-pilot was present. Only the control panel was there operating on autopilot.

So where did that captain, who made the earlier announcement, go?

Where indeed.

“Do you see any parachutes there?”

“…Looks like they ran away right after they made the broadcast.”

“Junior, so what’s your point? In the end, this is still out of the trial scope──”

“Are you really this clueless? Does it still feel like a trial to you?”

“Wh-What…?”

Ha, I can’t take it anymore; this is genuinely maddening.

Those seniors are really good at messing things up.

“This damn Academy announces trials, whenever they say there’s one. But where in the broadcasts did they mention trial? They just told us to move!”

“Ah, even so, declaring it like that…”

“Sure, it could be a trial. I might have just misjudged it. But we scoured the cargo hold, crew room, seats, even the bathroom, what strange thing did we find?”

“………..”

“And most importantly, if it were a trial, captains and co-pilots would not just go missing. Is there anyone here who can fly the plane? Even if we head to the Academy on automatic, we can’t land it, and we’d all die. No matter how much of a profession holder we are, if the plane crashes, we die.”

I was genuinely fearing for my neck for not having entered the cockpit sooner.

Not to mention, they didn’t even answer from inside?

If they had denied me entry, I could have understood, but because of some brain-dead excuse claiming the door was locked, they just turned around?

Now I’m feeling a bit clearer-headed.

“Then why did the captain and co-pilot vanish?”

“I guess it’s obvious, they had no parachutes, so they ran away—”

“You idiot. There’s only one entrance to the cockpit, so where could they have gone? Would they have smashed a window to escape?”

“………..”

“If they packed parachutes and ran, they would’ve had to exit through this door, so someone would have seen them. They didn’t see? Even if they had opened the door to jump, they’d have had to know full well.”

Which means, the captain and co-pilot vanished without a trace.

By someone else’s hand, no less.

“And if they didn’t leave with parachutes, then what happened to them?”

“If, then…”

“Then it logically stands to reason that someone else has interfered. And that same person who made the captain and co-pilot vanish.”

With my arms crossed and a face portraying my irritation, I glared at the panicking third-years.

“Namgoong Min and I didn’t stand up during the flight, so we’re excluding ourselves.”

“Why are we excluding ourselves?!”

“Are you really this stupid? If we moved from the back to the front, you guys would have definitely seen us. Namgoong and I just sat during the flight. Hey, loser.”

“Uh, w-what? Are you talking about me?”

“Yes you. You were seated nearby. Did you see us get up?”

“N-No!”

“Then that excludes you guys.”

“………”

While it may seem like they could think we three colluded, what motive would I, a mere Rich Tycoon, have to do such a thing?

In any case, we’re now down to four.

“That loser didn’t see movement, so exclude him, and now only the seniors are left?”

“Uh…uh…”

“Although you probably all know this by now, tell me, has anyone here gotten up to move for any reason, be it to the bathroom or any other place?”

At those words, the third-years exchanged furtive glances.

Soon enough, one of them raised their hand.

“…….”

“………..”

“…………..”

“………………”

“Ha, how absurd.”

The fat fool, the phone idiot, the blonde fool, and even Kim Ha-neul raised their hands while avoiding eye contact.

…Just as Namgoong Min had said previously about group projects.

“Shit.”

It feels like it’s all just as he said.

This is a tragedy.

A tragedy that urges the audience to intervene directly on stage!