Black Consumer
"Namgung Min, sir. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Aileen."
Nothing was fine. I gently rubbed my still-throbbing thigh and forced a smile.
'Thank god for the superhuman setting. Seriously.'
Even if a Job Holder had a non-combat class, they were still a superhuman capable of shrugging off a knife without issue. No matter how traditional the torture device, the jukuri had only left me in pain. Though the torturers themselves were superhumans too, so it had hurt like hell.
'At least the rod was just wood. That's a relief...'
The wooden rod had snapped under the combined strength of the princess and Liu, ending the punishment. The two of them had looked quite refreshed afterward. No matter how I thought about it, it had been a fair competition—what exactly was the problem?
Still, when I asked Aileen for her opinion, she insisted it was entirely their fault. There was nothing I could do about that. I'd even broken a sweat trying to stop her from immediately rushing off to get revenge on the princess and Liu.
"Ah, the time... Well then, Namgung Min, sir. I'll take my leave first."
"Yes. See you tomorrow."
"...Yes!"
Her smile was so beautiful that I still couldn't get used to it no matter how many times I saw it. To think I'd be having such warm conversations with a beauty who perfectly matched my tastes. Maybe I really should thank Ji-soo for sending me here?
Snapping out of my pointless thoughts, I realized Aileen had already left the fortune-telling shop.
"It's pretty quiet today..."
Class had ended early, and there was still plenty of time before I needed to sleep. It was five in the afternoon—the hour when a fortune teller became incredibly idle. I truly had nothing to do.
'Not many customers either.'
About six or seven people visited regularly every day, but most of them were Fighter students. Even among them, only one or two actually came for fortune-telling. The rest were there to exchange information about the Secret Room.
'The treasures are starting to run out too.'
It had been several weeks since I'd started giving promising students hints about artifact locations. The treasures—which hadn't been that numerous to begin with—were dwindling one by one. I'd originally hoped the word-of-mouth effect during this process would help, but it seemed the Fighter students were monopolizing the information. An unexpected variable I hadn't accounted for.
'Did things get too close after the entrance ceremony?'
Students naturally gathered by class and formed their own groups. Since classes were even divided that way, it was a tendency easily seen in the game as well. But even considering that, their bond was so tight that not a single piece of information had leaked. It was quite a troublesome situation.
'At this rate, customers will only decrease, and eventually I'll have to close the shop.'
The shop had only been permitted thanks to my deal with the vice principal. If I really closed it, I had no idea what kind of penalties the academy would impose on my fortune-telling(?). I wanted to keep the shop running as long as possible...
'I need some kind of trigger.'
Not just quiet word-of-mouth, but a big event that would cause a massive stir. But something like that wasn't going to fall from the sky just because I wanted it...
BANG!
"What the hell is this gloomy place?"
"No kidding. Since it's a fortune teller's, I guess the place takes after its owner."
"R-right."
"...Oh?"
Three students kicked the door open without knocking. A red-haired male student wearing sunglasses who practically screamed I'm a delinquent. A blonde female student with heavy makeup who kept giggling. And behind them, a large male student with a fierce expression, arms crossed. A trio that looked like trouble no matter who saw them swaggered up to me.
"Hey, are you that fortune teller bastard?"
"Yes, I am."
"Look at him using polite speech! What a concept-obsessed freak!"
"It's because I'm in front of customers."
"Bullshit. From what I heard, you're going around saying your fortunes are super accurate, right?"
What? How did they know? Had they figured out that all my fortunes were actually lies? Impressive observation...
"Hey! Kaite! Isn't this guy scared of you right now!?"
"U-um."
"A wimpy bastard like this is nothing but a single punch to Kaite. Isn't that obvious?"
"Um, are you here for a fortune?"
"Why else would we come? Want me to beat you until you start crying?"
The redhead grinned and clenched and unclenched his fist. The blonde sneered at me. The big guy maintained the exact same posture. After observing them briefly, I reached a conclusion.
'This is all an act.'
First, the redhead. He was spitting curses and acting like he'd swing a punch at any moment, but if you looked closely, he kept grinding his teeth. Grinding teeth in a situation that was neither disadvantageous nor anger-inducing was a sign of anxiety. Then the blonde. She looked like she was mocking me, but she was also carefully studying my face. If she were truly laughing at me, there'd be no reason for her gaze to shift around. It was closer to observing my reaction. As for the big guy... he was just a terrible actor. Why are you stuttering?
"Hey, I'll specially let you off easy, so just quietly tell my fortune, got it?"
"Of course."
On top of those cheap-sounding lines, the threats were so blatantly artificial they looked staged. It was clear. One hundred percent acting.
'Then who sent them?'
There were actually quite a few reasons to send actors like this after me. I'd drawn aggro, so naturally I'd attracted plenty of hate as well.
'There are many suspects.'
Being the first fortune teller admitted to the academy. The special treatment of being placed in the Special Class despite having a non-special class. The envy of seeming close to people like Liu and the princess. And above all, students who simply disliked the ambiguous concept of 'fortune-telling' itself. If anything, it felt like this kind of harassment had come rather late. If this had been a normal academy game, a delinquent character #1 would've shown up long ago to act superior only to get completely humiliated. Thank goodness it was a female-oriented dating sim—yeah, right.
Anyway, I couldn't guess who was backing these actors. And well...
"What? Why are you grinning like a creep?"
"It's nothing. I just thought of something amusing."
"You think this is a joke, you bastard?"
...There was no real need to find out who was behind them. Rather, this was an opportunity. A trigger. I'd just come up with a delicious way to use these guys.
"Ha, hey. Just because we're answering you nicely, you think you can get cocky—"
But why were they so immersed in their delinquent acting? It wasn't even method acting. I figured I needed to seize the initiative first, so I activated Observation and scanned the redhead from head to toe.
"Hwang Jin-woo, you've changed your shoes recently, haven't you?"
"...!!"
Through Observation, my right pupil contracted, revealing various details. For example, the redhead's initials engraved on the side of his sunglasses. Or how all his other clothes were wrinkled or somewhat dirty, yet only his shoes were unusually clean. Things normally invisible became information that piled up. Learning about you is child's play.
"How... did you...?"
"You know what my class is, don't you?"
"......"
"Please, take a seat. You two behind him as well."
There were several chairs prepared across from me. Whether shocked by my fortune-telling(?) or not, the now-quiet redhead, blonde, and big guy obediently sat down. Wow, these guys are starting to grow on me.
"Hwang Jin-woo, you said you came for a fortune earlier, right?"
"Y-yeah, you bastard. Let's see that bullshit fortune of yours."
"Very well. Then would you please draw one card first?"
"What?"
Great Fortune Telling
The upgraded version of my original class skill Fortune Telling could even create up to two different designs of tarot cards...!
...Damn it.
Anyway, I casually caught the tarot card that appeared in mid-air, shuffled it lightly, and spread the cards across the table.
"...Just one card?"
"Of course."
"Fine, I'll play along."
For some reason, the redhead seemed to have regained his confidence and returned to his arrogant attitude. Their method was obvious.
'They'll just insist the fortune was wrong.'
It was the simplest yet most troublesome method. No matter what truth I spoke, if the person hearing it claimed it was a lie, that was the end. Knowing this well, they were naturally confident.
Flick.
"The card you've drawn is... Major Arcana Number 1, The Magician."
"What about it?"
"It simply means that you, Hwang Jin-woo, have a magic-type class."
"Th...at's..."
"Is that incorrect?"
"N-no. It's correct..."
So what should I do? The answer was simple. Just present an undeniable truth. So you're a mage, right? I even know your name—do you think I'll lie?
"Moreover, we can see many things from this card."
"L-like what?"
"The Magician signifies versatility and excellent eloquence. Hwang Jin-woo, you possess outstanding abilities, don't you?"
"Uh... yeah, I guess."
"As expected, you're impressive."
"H-ha, haha."
They say praise can make even a whale dance. If the fortune says you're talented and amazing, would you call that a lie?
"And furthermore... Oh. Looking at your palm, both your life line and wealth line are long. Your future looks very promising."
"I-is that so?"
"Of course. In all my time as a fortune teller, I've rarely seen someone born with such fortune."
"Haha! You sure know how to talk!"
When you mix in vague compliments like this and butter them up, most people lose their senses. Of course, I couldn't just keep praising them, so the timing was right.
"However..."
"H-however?"
"There's just one regrettable thing."
"What is it?"
A regretful expression, a slightly shaking head, a carefully exhaled sigh. Just as the redhead was acting like a delinquent, I began acting out pity.
"Hwang Jin-woo, your life must be difficult."
"Wh... No, that's not true. I heard you were supposed to be good, but you're just a total quack!"
"There's no need to hide it. You even had instant noodles for dinner yesterday, didn't you?"
"............"
The truly convenient Observation had even revealed that the red stain on his shirt was instant noodle broth. Moreover, if he had come here to act like a delinquent—supposedly looking intimidating—yet couldn't even do laundry and wore the same clothes, his circumstances were obvious. The newly bought shoes weren't some luxury brand common at Romance Academy but rather cheap, mass-produced goods. Still, they must have been precious to someone in his situation.
"You've even been doing dirty work lately."
"H-how did you..."
"You drew a card, didn't you? A fortune teller sees many things."
"That's..."
If someone with a magic-type class had hands full of calluses, the answer was obvious. Plus, one of the wounds on his hand hadn't even healed yet. It meant he'd been doing rough work at least until yesterday or this morning. These were facts I could learn just by carefully Observing him without any fortune-telling involved, but to the redhead, it was a situation where a fortune teller he'd never met before knew everything about his life.
In this situation, there was only one thing the redhead could say.
"N... No. You're wrong, you bastard." Denial.
"H-haha! If you knew how well I'm living, you wouldn't be saying that!" Bluff.
"You're just lying, you con artist bastard!" Denial.
These were things I'd seen often in the past. Because I'd seen this scene so frequently, my response was equally familiar.
"Hwang Jin-woo."
"You damn medicine-selling quack! Charlatan! Fraud! Piece of shit!"
"Hwang Jin-woo."
"All you do is spout lies whenever you open your mouth!"
"Hwang Jin-woo."
"Y-you, you...!!"
"Hwang Jin-woo. I know."
"............"
"That you're struggling with tight finances. That you eat instant noodles every day. That you do dirty work after classes end."
"......"
"And even that your grades have been dropping recently."
"............!!"
From what I'd learned so far, this redhead was actually quite a diligent guy. Despite his poor circumstances, he worked alongside his studies to earn money, barely managing to get by. The fact that he came all the way to the academy and worked this hard despite being a Job Holder who could receive good treatment elsewhere was proof that he had enough ambition to use a Romance Academy diploma to climb even higher. Instead of choosing an easy but ambiguous position, he'd chosen the difficult path that could lead to a higher station.
And someone like that was doing a half-assed delinquent act?
The picture was clear.
"Hwang Jin-woo, it must have been hard."
"............"
"Would you give me the chance to read your fortune regarding wealth?"
"...Yeah."
The now-silent redhead nodded. Shuffle shuffle. I gathered the scattered tarot cards on the table, shuffled them moderately, and randomly drew one. It didn't matter what card it was. The interpretation was already decided anyway.
"This is... The Hermit?"
"Hwang Jin-woo, it's not that you lack fortune in wealth. It's simply hidden for now."
"Hidden...?"
"The Hermit card symbolizes exactly that. And usually, when wealth fortune is hidden like this... it tends to be that much more powerful."
It was a lie, as always. If Strength had come out, I would've said his wealth fortune would become powerful. If Wheel of Fortune had appeared, I would've said wealth was fated to roll his way soon. In any case, the conclusion was that good fortune in wealth would come to the redhead soon. That was what mattered.
"Hidden... wealth fortune..."
"Well, that concludes today's reading. I'm sorry to the two behind you, but please come back tomorrow."
"W-wait a second."
"Don't worry. I'll always be here waiting for you all."
Well then, goodbye.
At my polite request for them to leave, the redhead who had been staring at me blankly finally stood up. Since he'd already been swept up in my pace, causing more trouble would be difficult, and he'd probably want to organize his complicated thoughts anyway.
"J-Jin-woo."
"Jin-woo."
"...Let's go."
They'd probably think they could just come back tomorrow. Even though I'd stopped them today, they could just pressure and threaten me more strongly tomorrow. So they likely thought it was fine to leave for today.
"Hey, fortune teller bastard."
"Yes."
"If you keep spouting that kind of shitty nonsense... you might really die."
"I'll keep that in mind."
The empty threat was part of the act too. In the end, the redhead, the blonde, and the big guy left the fortune-telling shop. For intentional black consumers, it was a rather anticlimactic ending.
"Tomorrow, huh."
Well. I wonder if you'll feel the same way tomorrow?