My Boss, the Prophet
"…Why does it look so difficult?"
"It's nothing…."
I sat before the crown prince, who had come to receive my report, staring blankly into space. There hadn't been a spare moment to compose myself—the shock was simply too great.
The Prophet is Mr. Park Geo-seong….
Not an eighteen-year-old Korean high school girl, nor an office worker with no family or friends whose only hobby is reading romance fantasy novels after clocking out, nor even someone who died in a freak accident….
Mr. Park Geo-seong, owner of a startup with fewer than five employees. An X-something-sized business at that!
What on earth is wrong with this world? There's nothing the least bit mysterious about it! It doesn't feel like a romance fantasy at all! Where's the tension?!
From that moment on, the Temple no longer looked majestic or impressive to me. It just looked like a bunch of crazy [censored small-business owners].
So that's how it was….
The fact that the Temple had a strangely black-company vibe suddenly made complete sense. If they'd taken Mr. Park Geo-seong's memoir as scripture, well….
That memoir, after all, was nothing more than an exercise in puffing himself up into some extraordinarily magnificent being while justifying every last one of his shady business practices.
"I take it your work at the Temple was taxing."
"Huh…? Oh, yes…?"
"Ahem. Never mind that."
When I stared up at the crown prince in a daze, he hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"June the third approaches. Every year on that date, the Temple holds a festival. You're aware of it, surely."
"Ah, the Saint… the Great Festival, was it? That's the one?"
"Correct."
The Temple held the Great Festival every year on June third.
It was supposedly a festival with some profound significance originally, but the details escaped me, and these days it had become nothing more than a day of leisure, much like Christmas back in my world. Thanks to which, I got an extra public holiday out of it.
"Various events are held in the Temple's front courtyard in celebration of the Great Festival. I would like you to attend them with me."
"Is there something you need to investigate there?"
"Indeed. I wish to confirm whether anything suspicious is taking place."
"Ah, but there may be people who recognize me from my time as an intern priest."
"Do not worry. Masks are worn at the Great Festival for the sake of amusement."
"Oh, that works out perfectly!"
"I intend to verify whether the Temple might be engaging in any questionable activities under cover of the festivities."
"Yes. I'll do my part to help Lord Rian as well."
"Truly… you loathe the Temple as well…."
"Pardon? Well, yes—I did swear an Oath about it last time, after all."
Why was the crown prince looking at me with such pity in his eyes?
It left me a little uneasy, but I said my piece anyway.
"Then I shall prepare accordingly until that day."
The day of the Great Festival finally arrived. Perhaps because it was our first holiday in ages, the streets were buzzing with excitement. A festive atmosphere hung in the air, and lively music seemed to drift from somewhere.
I was admiring the various green ornaments that symbolized the Great Festival when the crown prince appeared on horseback. With his help, I climbed up into the saddle.
We were all wearing masks adorned with green decorations to match the occasion.
By the time we rode up to the broad plaza in front of the Temple, numerous tents had been pitched there, with a great ornamental centerpiece standing in the middle. People from the surrounding area had already gathered in the plaza and were enjoying the festivities.
Fortunately, quite a few other people were wearing masks besides us, so I figured we wouldn't stand out.
"Oh."
I marveled at my first festival in this world, then dismounted with the crown prince's assistance.
"Oh, right—Lord Rian. Just in case, please call me Audrette from now on."
"As you wish."
The Temple's priests had come out to preside over the festival. From what I'd heard during my time there, it was the lower-ranked priests who ran the festivities.
"Everyone, let us enjoy the will of the Saint Great together!"
Hoping to blend in naturally with the crowd, we drifted toward one of the tents. Inside, they were running a perfectly ordinary game: pop the balloons, win a doll.
"Care to try?"
"…Very well."
Having somehow ended up paying for the privilege, the crown prince took up a bow and aimed at the balloons.
He loosed an arrow at the balloons. Pop—pop—pop—the balloons burst in rapid succession.
…Wait, isn't he popping those suspiciously well?
Perhaps aware of it himself, he deliberately missed the last two or three. Even so, his score was excellent, and he won a doll as a prize.
"…It would feel rather strange to carry this back home. Audrette, would you take it?"
"Oh—yes, of course."
I accepted the doll from him. Something was off about this. In a proper romance fantasy, this kind of moment is supposed to come wrapped in romantic tension….
Regrettably, the doll he handed over wasn't the least bit cute. How should I put it—it had the vibe of a local mascot someone had been forced to make. Mindful of the stares around us, I took it anyway and laughed awkwardly for no particular reason.
"Where to next?"
"Toward where the priests are."
The priests had gathered right where the crowds were thickest. Peering through the press of bodies, I realized they were giving out fortune readings for the day. Since when did the Temple do that sort of thing?
"The Temple is allowed to read fortunes? …Oh, right, of course it is."
"Indeed. The Temple considers money-making endeavors to be virtuous."
Thoroughly capitalist, and thoroughly Korean at that….
Before long, our turn came in the queue. We took our seats in front of one of the priests.
Happily, he was a priest I'd never met before. No chance of him recognizing my voice, then.
"What kind of fortune would you like read? Wealth, romance, career, relocation, business…."
"Business."
"Business, please."
Astonishingly, the crown prince gave the same answer as me at the exact same moment. I shot him a briefly bewildered look. Well, I suppose running a country could be considered a business, in a way.
"Then let us begin with Lord Rian…."
"No. Read Audrette's first. Her business fortune and mine are bound to be intertwined, are they not?"
Ah, he means the growth of my information guild. Touched by his consideration, I gladly asked about my own business prospects.
"I'm a business owner. I'd like my business fortune read."
"Of course. Let us take a look."
Once I drew cards that resembled tarot, the priest began to interpret my business fortune.
"Oho! There is a benefactor at your company. Thanks to this benefactor, your company will grow tremendously in the days ahead."
"Huh? A benefactor? Who could it be?"
For some reason, the crown prince swallowed audibly beside me. And then, it hit me.
"Oh! It's me, isn't it! I'm the benefactor!"
I'm a member of the company too, after all! There's no way a benefactor exists other than me!
I could feel the crown prince and the priest both regarding me with strange looks, but I simply shrugged.
"Seems I'm a benefactor."
"…In any case, your company will grow from here on, and much work will come its way."
"Ooh, lots of work on the horizon. That's good news."
"…Hm."
The crown prince let out a low grunt for some reason, but I listened attentively to the priest's reading. The gist of it was that things would go well from now on.
We were about to thank him and move on when the priest stopped us.
"Will the gentleman not have anything read?"
"Right. Lord Rian, won't you have your business fortune read as well?"
"No, I…."
The crown prince hesitated, then spoke.
"I shall have my romance fortune read."
Oh, has he already met the original novel's female lead? That shouldn't be happening this early in the timeline—unless he's taken an interest?
The moment the crown prince drew his cards, the priest's eyes went wide. He cried out as if he'd witnessed a miracle.
"Oh! A romance is practically upon you this very moment! And it seems that rather than your beloved falling for you first, it is you, sir, who will fall for her first!"
"Just who on earth am I supposed to…?"
"That I cannot say, but the other party's aura is exceedingly strong. She is very likely right above your head as we speak."
Is the original female lead really that powerful an aura? So it truly is a female-lead-centric story from that yellow house, then.