Chapter 37
This Fortune Teller Does It For Free (3)
『 Translator – Divinity 』
With great power comes great responsibility, or so they say.
It was a line I saw in a comic a long time ago, but it was quite impressive.
Back then, I thought it was just a moving quote, but…
Thud.
“Explain yourself, Namgung Min.”
“……….”
Eileen hugging me, and Liu Yan glaring at Eileen and me.
The student newspaper with a huge picture of that scene was thrown onto the table.
I gained the great powers that were Eileen and Liu, and I had to take responsibility for it…
‘Damn it.’
I should have done something about that picture back then.
The gaze of Instructor Charles Teddybear, sitting across from me, was so sharp it felt like it could pierce through me…!
“I can explain everything, Instructor.”
“Really? Then take a look at the title.”
…The title?
Let’s see, [Love quarrel in broad daylight in the middle of the academy… Who will the Fortune Teller choose?]
‘Damn it, who wrote this?’
Which shitty reporter wrote this delusional article?
Just you wait till I get my hands on you.
“You can explain this title too… right?”
Crackle crackle—
What’s this? An oppressive aura is emanating from Instructor Teddybear? I can see it!
Is that what they call Qi? Wasn’t this game modern fantasy? Are there also elements of martial arts?
Anyway, I’m truly innocent, so there’s no need to worry… probably.
“I can explain everything, so please calm down.”
“…Huu.”
The energy swirling around Instructor Charles disappeared.
Charles Teddybear, who sighed at my immediate answer, took a sip of his black tea.
“First of all, this article won’t be published.”
“Did you stop it?”
“Publishing an article with unauthorized photos violates the school rules. The newspaper club gave up quickly.”
Okay, newspaper club.
I’ll remember you guys.
“I heard from the Saint.”
“…About Miss Eileen?”
“Yes… Haha, to think it was for that reason… I never imagined.”
How could he have known that the pain that had tormented his daughter since childhood wasn’t an illness, but because of the <Saintess> job?
His sigh contained all the hardship and lament he had endured.
“At first, I resented the Saint a lot, but after hearing his words, I understood.”
“<Saintess> is something you shouldn’t reveal.”
“Of course. Even if my daughter wants it, I don’t want to send her into the Church’s power struggle.”
All Charles Teddybear wanted was for Eileen Teddybear to live freely and happily.
That’s what he had devoted half his life to, and that’s what he had been striving for all these days.
He had a complicated yet relieved expression on his face.
“The Saint said that Eileen has to find her own ‘God’.”
“…God.”
“It seems like it’s a chronic problem for jobs called Saintess and Saint. They have to find their own God and rely on that being for their pain to disappear and to be able to live…”
This… I didn’t know either.
Although I knew that Eileen was a <Saintess> whenever she was randomly involved with the <Saint> in each playthrough, why it caused her pain and how it was resolved later was beyond the scope of the game.
‘Find God and rely on it.’
Perhaps, that’s why the Saint was a fanatic who only sought God.
Maybe jobs like Saint and Saintess, the holy people, fundamentally needed the existence of ‘God’ to be established, so they had to find God.
This could be considered Eileen’s ‘character event’.
‘Naturally, I have to take responsibility for it.’
I wasn’t just aiming for any ending, I had decided to see the perfect ending.
An ending where all the characters’ events were resolved, and no one met an unfortunate end, but everyone was happy.
Eileen had to find her own God to become healthy and whole again, so it was only natural to help her with that.
“I will also help.”
“…I’m only indebted to you. That fortune-telling last time, and… I heard you persuaded the Saint.”
Ah, did the Saint say that?
Was it really persuasion? Originally, the Saint was going to reveal that Eileen was a Saintess, so I feel like I just reaped the benefits.
“Eileen, she likes you a lot.”
“…Th-that picture, I can explain.”
“No, no. I did lose my temper when I saw that, but… that’s my daughter’s choice.”
“Choice?”
“Haha! No, she’ll tell you herself. It seems like she’s quite grateful to you.”
Grateful.
But I’ve never even had a conversation with Eileen when she was awake.
I did enter her room, but I only saw her sleeping, and we don’t really know each other…
Ah, right.
“Instructor Charles? Come to think of it, Miss Eileen’s physique… how did she become like that?”
“Physique? Ah, she did grow a bit.”
“It’s definitely not just a bit.”
The Eileen I remember was a small girl, similar to Liu, in height and other aspects.
But now she’s a glamorous beauty. It’s my type, so I personally like it, but no matter how you look at it, it’s strange growth.
“Well. I heard from the Saint that she’s reached her ‘optimal state’.”
“Optimal… state?”
“He said something about becoming a form suitable for her own God. The Saint was pleased. Seeing how Eileen has already changed like this, he said her God must be nearby.”
Optimal state. So that appearance is her God’s preference?
Isn’t that God a complete pervert? Making Eileen into such a beauty? I should thank him when I meet him later.
“How did she get into the academy?”
“…It was my insistence. Fortunately, the Saint and the vice-principal cooperated, so it was handled smoothly.”
“Since <Saintess> has to be kept hidden, what job is she disguised as?”
“<Martial Artist>. She seems to have inherited my talent and has a sufficient aptitude for martial arts. She even handles the flail amazingly.”
Ah, right. It was an amazing flail.
But why a flail? Aren’t there many other good weapons?
…Well, like the <Saint>, the <Saintess> would probably overwhelm most <Martial Artists>, so it wouldn’t be difficult to disguise her job.
It seems like everything was resolved well.
“…But, there’s one thing that worries me.”
“A worry?”
“Yes. It’s a minor issue, but…”
Charles Teddybear started pouring another cup of black tea with a puzzled expression.
“Eileen seems to have… changed a bit.”
“Changed?”
“Eileen originally liked the Saint quite a bit. It was like that when she first met and was examined by the Saint, and I heard they talked a lot whenever the Saint treated Eileen without my knowledge.”
“Are you saying it’s not like that now?”
“Indeed. She was giving him all sorts of glares and making him shrink back. It was as if she loathed him.”
Loathe.
Was there a reason for Eileen to loathe the Saint? From what Instructor Charles is saying, it doesn’t seem like there is.
Honestly, I don’t know anything about the Saint or Eileen since they’re characters I barely know in the game.
“Isn’t it just personal preference?”
“It could be, but her personality seems to have changed a bit too.”
Calling everyone except him an unbeliever, her personality becoming somewhat toxic and energetic, and praying to someone every day despite not having a God she believed in.
The changes in Eileen that Charles Teddybear described… were certainly unsettling.
“Could it be because of the <Saintess> job?”
“I asked the Saint about that, but he said it didn’t happen in his case. And more importantly, the strange thing is…”
“…?”
“Sometimes, although rarely, my daughter’s personality becomes somewhat quiet.”
It was less than 30 minutes a day, but the energetic Eileen would suddenly become passive and quiet.
It was strange, but didn’t even normally noisy people suddenly become quiet sometimes? Thinking about that, it didn’t seem like something to worry about.
“She doesn’t call people around her unbelievers then either. It’s strange.”
“…This might be rude, but…”
“I know what you’re trying to say. I also considered curses or possessions, but even if her personality changes a bit, things like her memories remain the same.”
“Is that so?”
“More than anything… I can tell for sure. That Eileen is my beloved daughter.”
Then that’s a relief.
In some character events, family members were cursed, their original personalities disappearing and replaced by someone else’s.
Since it was depicted as other family members feeling a sense of discomfort, there shouldn’t be a problem if Charles Teddybear was this certain.
“It does sound strange after hearing all that. I’m meeting Miss Eileen again tomorrow, so I’ll try talking to her.”
“Tomorrow? Ah, come to think of it, I heard you asked Eileen for something.”
“Yes. You know that I was penalized by the academy, Instructor Charles.”
“…I heard about that.”
I remember most of the academy instructors were present at the conference room then, but Charles Teddybear wasn’t there.
He must have taken a leave of absence to take care of Eileen at home.
I explained to Charles Teddybear, who was frowning as if he hadn’t heard the details, about the characteristics (?) of my fortune-telling that I mentioned at the conference room and how I decided to open a fortune-telling shop instead of accepting the penalty.
“—That’s what happened.”
“I see. I was planning to formally protest to the academy, but you resolved it wisely… You’re quite the amazing Fortune Teller.”
“You flatter me.”
“Hmm, but what does that fortune-telling shop have to do with Eileen?”
“Marketing.”
“Hmm?”
If I were simply going to run a fortune-telling shop, there would be no reason to get help from Liu and Eileen, but…
There were a few conditions the vice-principal had mentioned.
“I heard Miss Eileen has many friends.”
“Ah, um. Yes. I’m glad she seems to be getting along well with them.”
“Since they’re such good friends, shouldn’t we make good use of them?”
“…?”
***
“…Is this the place?”
Manderick, a freshman in the <Martial Artist> class, muttered to himself.
A small building located in a remote corner of Romance Academy.
It looked like an ordinary, unattended building, but… he seemed to have found the right place, as he saw a sign deep inside the first floor.
“[My Little Fortune Teller’s Shop]”, that’s right. This is definitely the place Eileen told me about.
Gulp.
Manderick, standing in front of the antique-looking wooden door, unconsciously gulped and took a deep breath before grabbing the doorknob.
Eileen Teddybear, who always called him and his classmates unbelievers, was actually kind and considerate, being the daughter of Instructor Charles… and above all, she was incredibly beautiful and had large breasts, so it was only natural for her to be the center of their class.
Although it was embarrassing to admit, those in the <Martial Artist> class were a bit simple-minded compared to others.
Anyway, this was the fortune-telling shop that she, who led the <Martial Artist> class with her deadly physique and outstanding skills, strongly recommended.
This place would surely be able to solve his worries too—
Creak.
An old sound, as old as the antique-looking door, echoed through the building.
“—Ah.”
His first impression was that it was dark.
It was clearly a modern building, but the space beyond the door felt different, as if it were another world.
What he saw in front of him was a red table that looked expensive at first glance.
On the way there, he saw various cards, bottles filled with unknown liquids, strange paintings, and unknown sculptures.
Candles, insufficient to illuminate the entire room, flickered, creating a dim space.
And beyond that,
He finally saw a person sitting at the red table.
“Welcome.”
He wore clean white gloves, a red dress shirt, and a black suit.
An old-looking necklace hung around his neck, and he gently shuffled and arranged various tarot cards on the table.
A confident smile welcomed Manderick, a face he had already seen at the entrance ceremony.
“…Fortune Teller.”
The only <Fortune Teller> in Romance Academy, and
At least as far as Manderick knew, the most skilled <Fortune Teller>.
“What troubles you?”
<Fortune Teller> Namgung Min.
One of the most famous people in the academy, smiled his signature smile.