4. Accidentally Played Porn at Work with the Earphones Unplugged

And so began my fortune-telling consultation—something I'd stumbled into without any real idea how.

Once inside the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tent, I found myself watching the fortune-teller as she placed a crystal ball on the table and busied herself with preparations.

Even wrapped head-to-toe in a hooded cloak, she couldn't hide the distinct aura that radiated from the glimpses of her face peeking through...

"Fufu, I realize I've been rather late with my introduction."

Just as I was staring at her, lost in thought, she finished her preparations and sat down across from me, offering a faint smile as she spoke.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Woo Hyosung. I am a wanderer drifting through this chaotic world, an astrologer who follows the movements of the stars... My name is Airi Heven."

"Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you, Miss Airi."

Airi Heven.

A name just as lovely as her face.

Her voice, too, had an alluring elegance, like jade marbles rolling across a silver tray.

"Though, if you stare so intently, it does make me a bit self-conscious..."

Maybe I'd been staring a bit too much and it rubbed her the wrong way?

Snapping back to my senses a moment too late, I immediately bowed my head to apologize to Airi.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I sort of spaced out staring at you without realizing it."

"Could it be that you still don't trust me?"

"No, that's not it..."

Trust? That had been settled ages ago, the moment she started rattling off my personal information like a shopping list.

If anything, knowing she could dig up that much about me, I was more afraid of what would happen if I tried to run.

So the plan was to play along for now—saving any escape attempts for when I felt an actual chill of danger.

"It's just... I was thinking you're incredibly beautiful, that's all."

But all that aside, what I'd just said came from a completely honest place.

A mature, attractive woman who was willing to consult with me without a hint of hesitation? Wasn't she practically the spitting image of my ideal type, the kind I'd dreamed of before coming to this world?

"...Beautiful? You're referring to me?"

"Ah, yes. I mean it."

Sure, I was a man, but I was also a functioning member of society who'd interacted with the opposite sex.

I was self-aware enough to know that even a compliment like this could come off as rude, so naturally I couldn't help but feel anxious about how she'd take it.

"Hmm. I'm not quite sure how to take that."

See? Even now, wasn't there a distinct sulkiness settling over her face as she listened to me?

"As it happens, I've never lived my life with that kind of self-awareness... so I'm afraid I can't offer much of a response on that front."

"Ah, right. I'm sorry."

She was phrasing it considerately enough, but I'd been through this song and dance enough times to know what was happening.

She was probably interpreting what I'd said as some kind of roundabout confession, politely deflecting it, and now looking at me with a bit of disdain.

Of course, I hadn't said it expecting anything like that, but still... well, at least it was a relief that this rejection didn't sting too badly.

The damn women I'd met before would've cussed me out to my face. But this one? She acted like it didn't matter at all, completely focused on the crystal ball in front of her.

"Now then, let's end the chatter here. I'll begin the divination. Please place your hand on this crystal ball."

"Ah, yes. Like this?"

"Yes, just like that..."

I placed my hand on the crystal ball as instructed, and she laid both of her hands over mine, beginning to channel power into it.

Wow. I never thought the day would come when I'd hold hands with a woman who wasn't my mom.

"Please hold still. I'm currently imprinting your existence onto this crystal ball."

"Yes, okay!"

I suppressed the reflex to yank my hand away out of sheer embarrassment, holding it steady while she kept her gaze locked on our hands and channeled her power.

Her half-lidded eyes showed not even a flicker of displeasure.

"Good, just like that—slow and quiet... Breathe out and focus."

"...Like this?"

"Yes, well done. With this, the preparations to view your future are complete."

-Bzzzt.

A faint light shimmered from the crystal ball.

Along with it, the palm print that had formed where I'd placed my hand began to vanish, as if being absorbed into the depths of the crystal.

This was a world where magic was real, but the light was so mystifying that a strange, wondrous sense of the unfamiliar washed over me in that moment.

Soon, she smiled with satisfaction and began moving her palm across the surface of the crystal ball.

"From this point on, all movements of the stars I observe will revolve around you."

"...Movements of the stars?"

"Everything in this world operates according to a predetermined fate... Astrology is the art of reading that fate—past, present, and future—by observing the movements of stars that exist beyond this planet."

Reading the future by observing the movements of stars, huh.

Well, this was a fantasy world, and she'd already laid my entire personal history bare, so I had no choice but to believe it. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that it sounded utterly preposterous.

Analyzing the future by reading the movements of stars.

If that were true, didn't that essentially mean NASA back in my original world was nothing more than a massive fortune-telling cult?

No wonder all the world's geniuses flocked there. I'd always thought that was strange—now I knew why.

"Your worries, too, ultimately stem from anxiety about the future. If you can confirm what that future holds, the unease you're feeling now should certainly be soothed to some degree."

But the woman before me was boldly claiming she could single-handedly achieve what NASA could only dream of.

The unwavering smile she wore as she faced me exuded absolute confidence in her own abilities.

Right. What I was about to see really would be my future unfolding before me.

"But, if fate is truly predetermined, wouldn't the moment I see the future lock it in place no matter what I do?"

"Fufu, even if that were the case, you needn't worry. The future can change depending on how you carry forward the present after seeing it. Conversely, if you're satisfied with that future, you can simply stay true to the present."

In other words, the very act of divination became a variable that could alter the predetermined future.

Well, it made sense. If it couldn't even offer that much change, there'd be no point in divination to begin with.

Maybe this was an absurdly good opportunity for a nobody Foreign Worker like me—and a free one at that.

Just as I was feeling the tension of that realization, Airi focused her power into the glowing crystal ball and spoke to me with unwavering confidence.

"Now then, Hyosung. Clasp your hands together before this crystal ball and earnestly wish for the future you want to see."

"If there is a tomorrow meant for you, that future shall surely reveal itself before us through this crystal ball."

"The future I want to see..."

As if entranced by her words, I clasped my hands together, even closed my eyes, and quietly thought to myself.

The future I most wanted to see.

The first thing that came to mind when I heard those words ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was, of course, whether I could still find any romance in this godforsaken world.

To shed this Foreign Worker status and travel anywhere without hesitation, just like the Heroes—to feel my heart burn with passion once again, the way it had in my previous life...

"What I want to see..."

But even though I'd taken that as a given, the moment I closed my eyes, what surfaced was none other than Airi's face.

It was as if the sensation of her touch from when she'd placed her hands over mine still lingered.

Sure, I'd resolved to give up on romance in pursuit of adventure, but... if I could somehow catch both rabbits, I'd love to have a girlfriend too.

And if such an opportunity really did come my way, a faint wish arose that my partner could be someone like Airi...

-Ahh~♥

Just as I was dreaming of such a future, a voice drifted in from somewhere.

My eyes, which had been staring entranced at the light emanating from the crystal ball, snapped wide open and began moving toward the source of the sound.

-Ah, aah~ G-good~ More, touch me moreee~♡

Actually, I didn't even need to look elsewhere.

The sound was coming from none other than the crystal ball I was staring at.

The coquettish moans echoing from within it sounded eerily similar to the voice of Airi, who was also staring at that same crystal ball.

-Fufu, is this spot good? Do you like it when I do it from behind like this?

And what followed was a voice I'd heard somewhere before too.

Yeah. It was my voice...

-Ah, nooo~ I-I don't know anything about thisss~♡

-Fufu, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your mouth says that, but down here, you're awfully honest. Want me to go harder?

-G-good, yesss~ Harder, do it harderrr~♡

"...Um."

A situation that made absolutely no sense.

I turned my gaze to where Airi was sitting, quietly staring at the crystal ball with a blank expression on her face.

While I could only hear the sounds, Airi was staring at the crystal ball with frozen eyes, as if she could actually see something inside it.

But even with just the sounds, there was more than enough to guess what she was looking at.

Namely, a man with my voice and a woman with her voice getting very... acquainted on a bed.

"Um... what exactly is this sound...?"

"N-no!"

A scream burst out in that instant.

She shot up from her seat and began sputtering in flustered panic at the crystal ball, which was still glowing brightly.

"This has to be some kind of mistake! There's no way this could be the future..."

Yep.

The moment that mysterious, composed atmosphere she'd maintained all this time shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Hhk!"

Realizing this a beat too late—and noticing my eyes on her—she froze in place.

Breath caught in her throat as if she'd shown something that should never have been seen, her whole body trembling.

-Aaaahn~ So goooood~♡

And through it all, moans that were presumably hers continued to leak from the crystal ball.

"C-cough. Pardon me!"

She swiftly snatched up the glass orb and hurled it outside the tent, then immediately grabbed my clothes and started dragging me out.

"W-wait? Um, Miss Airi. Hold on..."

"It seems the stars are rather tired today—their movements are quite poor. There's no way precognition could work properly under such conditions!"

"Huh? The stars feel fatigue?"

"When you've mastered astrology, you can sense such things! As such, doing business today seems difficult, so I'll be taking my leave here!"

"No, wait—"

"Shop's closed for the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠day!"

-Shhhk!

And just like that, Miss Airi threw me out, sealed the tent shut, and killed the lights.

With no sign of it reopening and only silence beyond, I rested my chin in my hand and voiced the thought I couldn't shake.

"What the hell was that just now?"

Did she accidentally play porn and her earphones came unplugged or something?

****

"Hahh, hahh."

After chasing Hyosung out of the tent like that.

Left alone inside, Airi gazed at the scene unfolding within the crystal ball in her hands, her entire body trembling.

"Th-this is absurd."

Yes, it was a truly absurd sight.

He had only heard the sounds, but to her—the caster—the "fragment of the future" visible within the crystal ball was as clear as day.

-Fufu, just a little touching and this spot's completely soaked, huh? I've always thought this, but an astrologer's... astrology really is something else.

-N-nooo~ Astrology doesn't mean that... Aaahn~♡

"M-me, in such a vulgar display... Why on earth?"

The apostle descended from the cosmos, the prophet—or rather, the ancient god of destruction, Angolmoa.

Airi Heven, the last successor of that demigod bloodline which inherited his blood, could not contain her shock at the fact that she herself was entangled in the future of the person whose fortune she had read.

"No, more importantly... That transmigrator is the fated partner meant to carry on my clan's bloodline?"

The scene unfolding before her.

It was all the more shocking because it matched the content of the prophecy passed down before her clan's annihilation.