With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
With great power comes great responsibility. I’d seen that line in a comic book years ago, and it had left quite an impression. Back then I’d simply thought it was a touching quote. Now, though…
Tap.
“Explain yourself, Namgung Min.”
“………”
Aileen hugging me. Liu Yen glaring daggers at both of us. That exact photograph, blown up across the entire front page of the student newspaper, had been slapped onto the table in front of me.
I had gained two enormous powers in the form of Aileen and Liu Yen. And with great power, apparently, came great responsibility.
Damn it.
I really should have done something about that photo back then.
The gaze of Charles Teddybear, seated across from me, was so intense it felt like it might drill straight through my skull.
“I can explain everything, Instructor.”
“Oh? Then why don’t you start by looking at the headline.”
Headline? Let’s see…
Fuck. Who wrote this garbage?
What kind of hack reporter churned out this delusional trash? Just let me find them.
“You can explain this headline too… can’t you?”
A low, rumbling pressure began rolling off Charles Teddybear. I could actually see it. Was that what they called ki? I thought this was a modern fantasy game. Since when did it have martial arts elements?
Still, I really was innocent, so there was no need to panic… probably.
“I can explain everything, so please calm down first.”
“………Huu.”
The oppressive energy rippling around Charles vanished. He let out a long sigh, then took a sip of his black tea.
“For now, this newspaper will not be distributed.”
“You stopped it?”
“Publishing a newspaper with unauthorized photographs violates school regulations. The newspaper club gave up quickly once they realized that.”
Okay, newspaper club. I’ve memorized your faces.
“I heard the story from the Saint.”
“…You mean about Miss Aileen.”
“Yes… Haha. I never imagined that was the reason.”
How could he have known the pain tormenting his daughter since childhood wasn’t an illness at all, but the price of her true class as Saintess? His sigh carried every ounce of regret and exhaustion he had endured over the years.
“At first I resented the Saint greatly. But after listening to him, I understood.”
“It would be best not to reveal the Saintess.”
“Of course. Unless my daughter wishes it herself, I have no desire to throw her into the church’s political scheming.”
What Charles Teddybear wanted was simple: for Aileen Teddybear to live freely and happily. Half his life had been devoted to that single goal. The complicated yet relieved expression on his face showed just how long he had carried that burden.
“The Saint told me Aileen must find her own ‘deity.’”
“…Deity.”
“It’s a chronic affliction for classes like Saintess and Saint, apparently. They must find their own god, depend on that existence, and only then will the pain disappear and they be able to live properly…”
This was news to me.
In every playthrough, Aileen would randomly become entangled with the Saint. I had known she was a Saintess, but the reasons behind her suffering and how it was resolved had always been outside the scope of the game.
Find a god. Depend on them.
Maybe that was why the Saint had become such a fanatic. Saints and Saintesses were classes that fundamentally required the existence of a ‘god’ to function. It made sense they would have to seek one out.
This had to be part of Aileen’s character event.
Of course I have to take responsibility.
I wasn’t just going to watch the ending. I had decided to aim for the perfect one—solving every character’s event so that no one faced tragedy and everyone could be happy.
Since Aileen could only become healthy and whole again by finding her own god, helping her was the natural course of action.
“I’ll help as well.”
“…I keep owing you more and more. That matter last time, and… I heard you persuaded the Saint.”
Ah, so that’s how the Saint had phrased it. If you really wanted to split hairs, I suppose it counted as persuasion. He had originally planned to expose Aileen’s identity, so I felt like I’d only snatched the spoon after the meal was already served.
“Aileen… likes you very much.”
“…I can explain that photograph.”
“No, no. I did lose my mind for a moment when I saw it, but… it is my daughter’s choice.”
“Choice?”
“Haha! Never mind. She’ll tell you herself. It seems she feels quite grateful toward you.”
Grateful? I’d never even spoken to Aileen while she was conscious. I had entered her room, but only saw her sleeping. We didn’t have any real acquaintance…
Ah. Right.
“Instructor Charles? Now that I think about it, why has Aileen’s figure… changed so much?”
“Figure? Ah, she has grown somewhat.”
“That is definitely not ‘somewhat.’”
The Aileen I remembered had been petite like Liu Yen in both height and build. Now she was a glamorous beauty. Personally I found it to my taste, but the growth was clearly abnormal.
“Well. According to the Saint, she has reached her ‘optimal state.’”
“Optimal… state?”
“I believe the words were that she has taken on the ideal appearance for her own god. The Saint was pleased. He said that since Aileen has already changed this much, her deity must be very close.”
Optimal state. So that appearance suited her god’s preferences? What kind of pervert was this? Turning Aileen into such a beauty? When I meet him later I should at least thank the guy.
“How did the academy admission come about?”
“…It was my stubborn insistence. Fortunately the Saint and the counselor cooperated, so it was handled smoothly.”
“Since the Saintess must remain hidden, what class did you disguise her as?”
“Fighter. It seems she inherited my talent; she has more than enough aptitude for combat. She handles a flail with terrifying skill.”
Ah, yes. It really had been a terrifying flail. Still, why a flail of all things? There were plenty of other good weapons…
Well, just like the Saint, a Saintess could easily crush most Fighters, so disguising the class probably hadn’t been difficult.
It looked like everything had worked out.
“…However, there is one thing that concerns me.”
“Concerns you?”
“Yes. It’s a small matter, but…”
Charles Teddybear began pouring himself another cup of tea, his expression faintly puzzled.
“Aileen seems to have… changed somewhat.”
“Changed?”
“Originally Aileen was quite fond of the Saint. When she first met him for her examination, and every time he treated her without my knowledge, I heard they spoke comfortably together.”
“You’re saying that’s no longer the case?”
“Far from it. She glares at him so fiercely that the poor man shrinks back. It almost looks like she hates him.”
Hate. Was there any reason for Aileen to hate the Saint? From the way Charles spoke, it didn’t seem so. Honestly, both the Saint and Aileen were characters I knew almost nothing about from the game, so I was completely in the dark.
“Could it simply be personal preference?”
“It could be viewed that way, but her personality itself seems to have shifted as well.”
She called everyone else ‘unbelievers,’ her personality had grown somewhat aggressive and lively, and although she believed in no god, she prayed toward somewhere every single day.
The changes Charles described were… definitely too suspicious to ignore.
“Could it be because of the Saintess class?”
“I asked the Saint the same question, but he said nothing like that occurred in his case. And the strangest part is…”
“……?”
“Occasionally, my daughter’s personality becomes rather quiet.”
If you measured the time, it was less than thirty minutes a day, but the energetic Aileen would suddenly turn passive and silent.
It was odd, but even normally loud people sometimes grew quiet, didn’t they? It didn’t seem like something to worry excessively about.
“During those times she also stops calling people around her unbelievers. It’s quite strange.”
“…This might be rude to suggest, but.”
“I know what you’re thinking. I considered curses or possession myself, but while her personality has changed, her memories remain completely intact.”
“I see.”
“Above all… I can tell without doubt. That she is my beloved daughter.”
If he was that certain, it was a relief. In some character events a family member would be cursed, their original personality erased and replaced by another. Those stories usually depicted the family sensing something wrong. Since Charles was so confident, there probably wasn’t a problem.
“After hearing everything, it does sound strange. I’m meeting Miss Aileen again tomorrow, so I’ll speak with her then.”
“Tomorrow? Ah, now that you mention it, I heard you asked Aileen for a favor.”
“Yes. I’m sure you already know I received a penalty from the academy.”
“…I did hear something about that.”
Most of the instructors had been present in the conference room that day, but I didn’t recall seeing Charles. He had probably taken leave to care for Aileen at home.
His face hardened as if he hadn’t heard the details, so I explained what had happened: the special nature of my fortune-telling, the penalty, and the decision to open my own shop instead.
“──And that’s the situation.”
“I see. I was prepared to file a formal protest with the academy, but you handled it wisely… You really are an impressive fortune teller.”
“You flatter me.”
“Hm. But what does that fortune teller shop have to do with Aileen?”
“She’s helping me attract customers.”
“Hm?”
If it were simply running a shop, there would have been no need to involve Liu Yen or Aileen. But the counselor had attached several conditions.
“I heard Aileen has many friends.”
“Ah, yes. I’m glad they seem to get along. It’s a relief.”
“Since she’s finally made friends after so long, shouldn’t I make good use of them?”
“……?”
“……Is this the place?”
Manderick, a first-year Fighter student, muttered to himself.
A small building tucked away in a quiet corner of Romance Academy. From the outside it looked like an ownerless structure that was merely being maintained, but… a sign was visible deep inside the first floor.
My Own Little Fortune Teller Shop
“Yes. This is definitely the place Aileen told me about.”
Gulp.
Standing before the rather antique wooden door, Manderick swallowed nervously, took a deep breath, and grasped the handle.
Aileen Teddybear always went around calling him and the other students “unbelievers,” but as Instructor Charles’s daughter she was kind and considerate once you got to know her… and above all, she was incredibly beautiful with an impressive figure. It was only natural she had become the center of the class.
It was embarrassing to admit, but the Fighters tended to be rather simple-minded compared to other departments. So when the girl who led their class with both overwhelming charm and skill strongly recommended this place, it had to be the real deal.
Surely the worries weighing on him could be solved here—
Creak.
The door opened with a sound as old as the building itself.
“──Ah.”
The first impression was darkness. The building was clearly modern, yet the moment he stepped past the door it felt like he had entered an entirely different space.
Straight ahead stood a luxurious-looking red table. The path leading to it was lined with tarot cards, bottles containing mysterious liquids, strange paintings, and bizarre sculptures. Candles too few to properly light the room flickered, carving small islands of light out of the gloom.
And beyond them.
Only then did he notice the person sitting at the red table.
“Welcome.”
Clean white gloves. A red dress shirt beneath a black suit. A slightly worn necklace rested at his throat as he gently shuffled and arranged several tarot cards with practiced ease.
The confident smile that greeted Manderick belonged to the same face he had seen at the entrance ceremony.
“…The fortune teller.”
The one and only Fortune Teller in Romance Academy.
And, at least as far as Manderick knew, the greatest Fortune Teller alive.
“What troubles bring you here today?”
Fortune Teller Namgung Min—one of the academy’s most famous figures—offered him the smile that had become his trademark.