Why Are You There?
In the damn otome game my little sister made, there were all sorts of sub-quests. Running errands, giving advice, helping others—small things like that. And among them, the largest in scale was the Treasure Hunt quest.
"It was ridiculously long." According to the setting, the academy had hidden artifacts and jewels twenty years ago. It was a chain quest where you found them one by one, receiving riddle-like hints that unlocked new choices when you reached the right locations.
The problem was… there were well over fifty treasures. If you weren't careful, most players couldn't collect them all before seeing the ending.
"I remember thirty-two of them." Even so, I couldn't recall every single one, but I'd written down what I did remember in a notebook just in case. No risk of forgetting.
Now then, what should I do with these treasures? They're all either money or artifacts. Should I wear them all myself or sell them off?
"I don't need them." Unless you had a class like Liu Yen's Great Wealthy or the imperial family that removed skill restrictions, job holders could only equip two general skills at most. Even I was already at my limit with My Own Little Fortune Teller Shop, Observation, and the special case Cleanliness.
"None of the other treasures are useful to me anyway." Aside from Observation, which I'd already dug up in advance, the rest were skills I had no real need for as a Fortune Teller. So once you took out the artifacts, only jewels and money remained.
"Money stopped being an issue a long time ago." With Liu Yen as my reliable source of funds, I no longer had to worry about financial problems. Still, finding and selling them one by one would make money, but there was a far more useful method.
"I'll pass them off as fortunes." Artifacts with skills attached were hard to obtain and expensive—things the academy only scattered around because it was Romance Academy. What if I lied and said they were fortunes, then told people their locations?
"The treasure-hunting craze hasn't died down yet." It had decreased a little after classes started, but plenty of students still wandered around in their spare time looking for treasures. An unintended treasure-hunting boom that began because of me.
……This was an opportunity.
"A chance to spread the rumor of a 'treasure-hunting specialist fortune teller'!" That was why I'd told Manderick, who seemed to have potential, the location of the Gloves of Tears.
"The Gloves of Tears grant the skill Salty Growth, but only to Fighters." And as the name suggested, Salty Growth increased the experience points gained through training. The boost wasn't huge—fitting the "salty" in its name—but…
"In the first place, thinking he has potential is just an illusion." Being at the bottom right now? It only meant Manderick was weaker than the other Fighters at this point in time. In truth, Manderick was a named character among the Fighter students. He would shine during midterms and finals, rising to become one of the strongest first-year Fighters.
Giving such a character an artifact that accelerated his growth meant he would improve rapidly on his own. "And he'll think it's thanks to me." If someone got an artifact through fortune-telling and then grew faster, they would naturally credit the fortune and the artifact—not think, "Actually, I'm just a genius, so I would've gotten this strong anyway."
By properly exploiting that gap in perception, a regular customer would appear just like that.
"Manderick gets stronger, and I get a regular. It's mutual benefit, isn't it?"
"Just as planned." Hiding my true thoughts behind a smile, I looked at the still-excited Manderick. I'd been a little surprised when he suddenly showed up at the fortune-telling shop, but since I'd confirmed he'd obtained the artifact, there was no real problem.
"You're truly amazing, sir! How did you know there was an artifact in that place!?"
"I merely listened to Manderick's concerns and performed a fortune-telling to resolve them."
"As expected of the best fortune teller……!"
Hmm. It seemed like he'd just come to say thank you. But wasn't his reaction a bit over the top? Was it because this was an otome game?
"If you're grateful, I'd appreciate it if you told others about this shop as well."
"Of course! If you ever need anything, please call on me anytime! I will definitely repay this debt……!"
……He really was overacting. Was he actually the acting type or something? Either way, if he spread the word, I'd achieve my goal. Still, there was a limit to what Manderick alone could do. At most, maybe ten people?
I'd have to find a few more artifacts.
While I was feeling slightly put off by his excessive energy, Manderick suddenly lowered his head as if remembering something, then raised his gaze to me.
"Ah, there's something I need to tell you."
"……Yes?"
Something to tell me? A letter, perhaps? From Liu Yen? Or maybe Lane or the princess? But if it were them, there'd be no reason to go through Manderick.
"Um, I'll just say it as is."
"Yes. Go ahead."
"Uh……[Are you enjoying Romance Academy?]"
"[If you're doing well there, that would make me happiest. Because I sent you there with difficulty too.]"
"[Forget this place, and live happily there.]……That's all."
"………?"
Wait. That irritating double meaning……I'd heard it plenty of times before.
"……Huh?"
Hold on. This?
"[Forget this place, and live happily there.]……That's all."
"………That message."
"Yes?"
"Who did you hear that message from?"
……Please. Just don't say that name. Let me think it was just my own embarrassing misunderstanding.
"Uh, actually, I don't really know either."
"What?"
"When I went to the underground of the transmission tower, I suddenly heard someone's voice from behind. When I turned around……there was no one there, and that note with the message was lying on the floor."
"…Can you give me that note?"
"Well, I definitely put it in my pocket, but it disappeared at some point……I'm sorry!"
"No. It's fine……."
……More importantly, wait. Didn't he say he heard a voice?
"The voice."
"Yes?"
"You said you heard a voice. Was it……a woman's voice?"
"Ah, yes. It was."
………Damn it.
"…Thank you. That message was truly important to me."
"Not at all! I will definitely repay this debt as well!"
"Well, it's about time for me to study fortune-telling……."
"Ah! I wasn't being considerate. I'll come again next time!"
"Yes. Take care."
After Manderick left, still maintaining his high energy until the very end, I……
"……Ji-soo."
Thought of my little sister.
"Are you here too?"
……She said she'd "sent me there with difficulty." Come to think of it, how did I even end up inside the game?
"And……."
Before coming here, what had I been doing? Was I at school? At home? Walking down the street? Playing this damn game? Why had I never wondered about these things before?
"……It's like."
I'd been deliberately prevented from thinking about them.
Even though I hadn't heard it directly from her, even though I hadn't received the note myself, even though I'd only heard it secondhand—questions and memories about Namgung Ji-soo seemed to overflow. But among all those questions, there was one that stood out the most.
"Why did you……."
Give the note to someone else instead of me? In the end, it was a message meant for me, so why?
I clutched my head. Thoughts about my little sister—thoughts I'd never once considered or doubted since entering Romance Academy. Even as I was busy thinking them……
"Namgung Min……."
"……Fortune teller bastard."
Even as I heard someone's voice and felt someone's gaze, I couldn't pay attention and simply kept mulling over the same question. That was my limit.
*
Manderick still couldn't believe his current situation. Ever since finding these gloves yesterday, it felt like he'd been dreaming this whole time.
"Hup!"
BOOM!!
"Manderick……820 points."
"Eight hundred and twenty points?"
"How did he get that score……?"
"Same as yesterday's evaluation. He's incredible, isn't he?"
It was a punch-king test given to students as part of class. After Aileen Teddybear set a record of 975 points, most Fighter students scored between 500 and 600. Yet Manderick, who had been dead last in the class just three days ago, had scored 820 points—third place in the class.
"Hmm, Manderick. Truly impressive. Remarkable growth!"
"Thank you, instructor!"
"Your punching form, center of gravity, and power are all flawless. Is this thanks to that artifact, after all?"
"I'm benefiting greatly from it."
The artifact Manderick wore on both hands—the Gloves of Tears. Thanks to Namgung Min's fortune-telling, he'd found it in the underground of the abandoned transmission tower, and after receiving the academy's official approval, it was now his.
"I finally have a skill……!" A person could only have two general skills, but most job holders struggled to fill even those slots. Aside from the extremely rare cases where someone obtained a general skill by chance, skills were usually acquired through artifacts. And those artifacts cost so much that Manderick would have to save for a lifetime just to afford one.
"This is one of those rumored treasures!" Manderick had heard about the treasure-hunting commotion. At the time, he'd dismissed it as nonsense and focused only on training.
"The Gloves of Tears……I only just learned about the treasure hunt that supposedly existed in the past. I wouldn't know until I graduate and become active, but at least while attending the academy, this is the best item."
"It is!"
"Congratulations! Even if it were an artifact brought from outside, there'd be no problem since the academy distributed it. I look forward to your future days!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Alright, everyone gets a ten-minute break until the next class!"
""""Yes, sir!""""
The skill contained in these gloves was called Salty Growth. There couldn't be a better artifact for him, whose skill growth had been stagnant.
"Not only did he find a hidden treasure, but it was an artifact that suited me perfectly……!" As expected, the fortune teller—the teacher—was amazing!
A brief moment of rest before the next class. Thud thud thud!
The moment Manderick returned to his seat, his classmates swarmed toward him as if they'd been waiting.
"Hey! Manderick! What the hell!"
"What happened yesterday during the evaluation!?"
"How did you get that artifact!?"
"I'll answer, so everyone calm down."
Yesterday, wearing the Gloves of Tears, Manderick had gone from dead last to upper-middle in the class during the first evaluation. Even that was an enormous leap, but today he'd placed third even in a proper evaluation! Even Manderick himself couldn't understand it, so the other students were even more confused. Above all, these were the same students who'd worried about Manderick when he was depressed about being last, so while they genuinely congratulated his growth, they were also curious.
"Like the instructor said earlier, my growth is thanks to this artifact."
"Crazy……!!"
"Growth-related artifacts are super expensive, right? How did you buy it?"
"Idiot! Even if you bought it, you couldn't use it inside the academy! So of course……!"
"Treasure hunting, right!? How did you find it!?"
"Obviously I didn't find it alone, did I? I got help!"
Just like Manderick, the high-energy students chimed in one after another. As was typical of combat classes, Fighters in particular were mostly energetic students since they used their bodies the most intensely. In response to Manderick's words, all sorts of answers poured out.
"As expected of Manderick! Your luck is amazing!"
"Hey! If you had money, you should've paid back what you borrowed from me first!"
"Manderick got money? I knew it! Let's have a group dinner today!"
"Manderick's treating!"
"Manderick! Manderick! Manderick!"
"Absolutely not, you bastards!"
There were no outsiders or loners in the class—everyone was on friendly terms. Normally, even with the straightforward nature of Fighters, it would've been difficult for everyone to get along this well. But the experience from the entrance ceremony maze, where they'd all worked together as one to break through a common enemy (the maze walls), was still vivid. No matter how awkward someone was at conversation or how hard they were to approach, bringing up the entrance ceremony made it possible to talk to anyone!
"I didn't buy the information with money. I went to see a famous person at our academy!"
"……A famous person? Don't tell me the Great Wealthy?"
"Or the imperial family? The Saint? The Psychic?"
"They're all Special Class, aren't they?"
"If it's a famous person, of course it'd be someone from Special Class, right?"
"It is someone from Special Class. There's one person we haven't mentioned yet, isn't there?"
"……The fortune teller."
At that answer from somewhere, the students made expressions of realization. The other famous people, the Special Class students, were so high up in society that there was a sense of distance—but……
"Namgung Min!"
"You went to Namgung Min?"
……The fortune teller, Namgung Min, was a slightly different story. After all, he had been the protagonist of the entrance ceremony!
"That's right. Aileen mentioned it, didn't she? She said the artifact was found by getting a fortune told at the shop Namgung Min opened!"
"Does that……even make sense?"
"Finding treasures through fortune-telling?"
"I also got my fortune told, and I was there when Manderick found it, so it's real!"
"Even Leila? That's already two people!"
Manderick's words were validated by Leila, and……
"Oh, I've heard about it. Apparently, the first person to find a treasure was Namgung Min."
"That was real!?"
Combined with the rumors floating around the academy, curiosity about Namgung Min's fortune-telling grew. Murmur murmur.
Though Aileen, the class's central figure, had already mentioned the shop, most students had just treated it as a joke. They acknowledged Namgung Min's leadership, but many felt burdened by the act of getting a fortune told or thought it was meaningless. But today, a beneficiary of the fortune-telling—Manderick—had appeared. And if it was an artifact, especially one related to the trending treasure hunt……
"I'm gonna go! Where's the shop!?"
"Wouldn't Aileen know? Where'd she go?"
"She left early after the punch-king test. Said she was getting treatment from the Saint?"
"Then Manderick! You guide us!"
"Haha, don't worry. I'll take everyone!"
""""Waaaaah!!!!""""
……Of course, anyone would want to go at least once.
Namgung Min had been confident in his plan, but there were two things he'd overlooked.
"Everyone, let's go! Follow me!"
"Let's follow Manderick!"
"He's a god! He's a god!"
First, the person who'd found the artifact happened to be Manderick, a Fighter student who was easily swept up by the atmosphere.
"Huh? Suzuka, you're not going?"
"I don't believe in stuff like fortune-telling. I'll just rest here."
"What are you saying! Everyone! Grab Suzuka!"
"Huh, eh!? Hey! You guys!"
"If we're going, we're all going together! Let's go!!"
"Hey!!!"
Second, this class happened to be one where everyone had become close thanks to the entrance ceremony maze experience.
Manderick's class alone had fifty students. It far exceeded Namgung Min's expectation that even if word spread, it would only reach about ten people. And……
"Let's tell the other classes too!"
"If we're going to claim the artifacts first, of course it should be us Fighters!"
"Hey! Everyone, listen up! They say Namgung Min's treasure-hunting fortune-telling is really accurate!"
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah? Should we go check it out?"
Even that number was growing in real time. There were four Fighter classes total, and with about fifty students per class, nearly two hundred Fighters would swarm the fortune-telling shop……!
"………Huh."
And Leila, who had stayed in her seat watching her rampaging classmates……
"Class……isn't even over yet?"
Since she'd already gotten her fortune told, she and the other students who'd gone with her were able to keep their composure.
"You bastards!!! Where the hell do you think you're all going!!!!"
Of course, they were all caught.