Chapter 133: The Queen of Fortune Tellers (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: The Queen of Fortune Tellers (3)
Edenvar, in the 6th District of Vestia.
The neighborhood, once populated mostly by humans, had recently seen an influx of beastkin.
It was all because of a rumor that had lately spread through Vestia.
Someone had nearly gotten their arm torn off by a demonic beast.
Someone else had almost tumbled down a flight of stairs.
Another thought they were in a loving relationship, only to discover their girlfriend was two-timing them.
All these people, who had been on a fast track to a bad ending, were saved by a stroke of heavenly luck. And they all said the same thing.
They had their fortunes told at the booth in front of the cat café.
It was all thanks to the Amazing Mystical Fox Fortune-Telling booth.
A rumor that good fortune would come to anyone who visited this place had spread throughout Vestia.
No one dislikes good luck. People of all ages, genders, and races flocked to the booth to have their fortunes told, and the wealthy upper class came with bundles of cash.
All of them begging for just one reading.
The street was bustling with a massive crowd.
There wasn't even room to stand.
“Is she even telling fortunes today?”
“I don’t know. Is she closed for the day?”
But the fortune teller was nowhere to be found.
And misfortune could strike at any moment.
The people could only stomp their feet in anxiety.
Seira, who had been observing the situation from behind a second-floor curtain, returned to her seat.
There, crouched on the floor, were the two hot potatoes at the center of this incident: the rookie fortune tellers, Rin and Mirabelle. They had taken refuge inside the café to escape the crowds.
Seira crossed her arms and let out a long sigh.
“Miss Rin, I believe Mr. Karami told you not to meddle with fate so carelessly.”
“He did.”
“Then why did you do it? And Miss Mirabelle, why didn’t you stop her?”
Mirabelle tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand.
“Isn’t it a good thing for people to be happy?”
“Rin’s right.”
One was a cliff of solitude.
The other, a canyon of misfortune.
Having lived without knowing what hope was, the two of them understood the sweetness of Karami’s salvation better than anyone.
They had learned that happiness grows when shared.
Just as they had received it.
To be worthy of being his slaves, they had to know how to share that happiness with others.
“Still, you shouldn’t interfere in other people’s lives so recklessly.”
“Seira, in a few days, your shop is going to go bankrupt. You’ll be saddled with debt and thrown out onto the street.”
“…Could you perhaps… twist it just a little?”
““…””
The little ones stared at her knowingly.
“Ah.”
Seira realized she had fallen for Rin’s trick.
But it was too late.
She now understood that she, too, was an adult tainted by capitalism.
Casually ignoring Seira, Rin and Mirabelle began to scheme amongst themselves once more.
“What should we do? I didn’t think this many people would show up.”
“I know, right? Master is just that amazing.”
“Amazing, Mastah…”
What do you mean, ‘Master is amazing’? You two are the ones who did this.
Seira wanted to object, but she had already lost her right to speak. She had no choice but to swallow her words.
“Can’t we just make everyone happy?”
“We can’t do that. There might be bad people mixed in the crowd.”
“If they did something wrong, they should be punished.”
A silver lining, perhaps.
The two of them at least possessed some basic principles.
Of course, a proper solution didn’t readily come to mind.
“Why are there so many people?”
“You can say that again, meow. They’re no different from a bunch of fanatics, meow.”
The cat café was also unable to operate because of the crowd. With nothing else to do, the cat people came upstairs, chatting amongst themselves.
“Eek.”
The cat people flinched when they met Rin’s eyes. After a moment of hesitation, they decided to pretend they hadn’t seen them and tried to head back downstairs.
“What did you just say?”
“Huh?”
It was Mirabelle.
“You just said there were a lot of something. What was it?”
“People?”
“After that.”
“Uh… fanatics?”
“That’s it!”
Eureka!
Wasn’t Mirabelle’s joy in that moment the same as Archimedes’s when he had his epiphany in the bath? Her face was lit with just as much elation.
“Let’s create a new religion!”
“A religion?”
“We’ll create a religion and only bestow grace upon those who worship Master.”
“Ooh!” Rin responded with enthusiasm.
Wasn’t it only natural that Karami, who personally sought out the pitiful to bestow his grace, was far greater than some passive god who merely watched from afar?
An excited Mirabelle continued.
“What should we name the religion?”
“Hmm… How about the Church of the Grim Reaper!”
“The Church of the Grim Reaper! That’s a great name! The doctrine will be to liberate the souls who wander, weary of life! As Master’s closest aides, we’ll spread the teachings far and wide!”
“Ooh!”
They would establish a church, gather followers, and when Karami eventually returned, they would hand over the position of leader to him.
The first people they needed to target were the ones outside, desperately craving happiness.
“Um, you two?”
Seira, sensing that things were taking a strange turn, tried to intervene, but the two slaves were already caught in the rapids of their own momentum.
They couldn’t hear a thing.
They were too busy planning their operation.
*
Time passed, but the fortune teller never appeared.
The fervent heat that had filled the street cooled, and the people began to lose interest.
“It’s no use. The fortune teller isn’t going to show.”
“It was a ridiculous story from the start. Causing good fortune? As if that’s possible unless you’re a god. Hey! Let’s all go home! We’ve all been tricked!”
“Sigh, I knew it. What a waste of time.”
Just as the people began to leave, one by one…
Whoooosh…
The sky began to stain with darkness.
“Wh-what’s happening?”
“Ugh, my head suddenly…”
The citizens of Vestia, who had a collective trauma related to darkness, clutched their heads in pain. And when the sky turned completely black, a new change occurred.
A hazy, indigo light gathered, forming a giant Reaper holding a scythe. Its indigo eyes flashed, illuminating the entire city for a moment.
“It’s-it’s the Reaper!”
“Everyone, run!”
The street descended into chaos.
As countless people tried to move at once, they became a tangled mess. From above, they looked like a heaving pile of trash bobbing on the sea.
They squirmed and struggled, but there was no escape, like a hopelessly congested highway. What in the world was the person at the front doing?
“Hurry up and move!”
“Don’t push!”
“I-I can’t… I can’t breathe…”
Pressed like sandwiches from front and back, they could barely breathe. Just then, someone fell, threatening to trip those behind them in a domino effect.
In that moment, when countless casualties seemed imminent…
Woong.
The people who were about to fall froze in place.
And that wasn’t all.
Even the panicked crowd came to a standstill.
Whoosh- Half the crowd floated gently into the air.
With the newfound space, the suffocating pressure vanished.
“Wh-what is this…?”
A faint, indigo aura gently enveloped the people.
It was warm and brought a sense of calm.
Once the commotion had somewhat subsided, the Reaper’s solemn voice echoed.
—There is no need to fear.
“The Reaper spoke?”
The quieted crowd briefly flared up again like a fire, but the Reaper’s voice rang out once more.
—I am the Reaper. I have manifested in this world to bestow the fortune you so crave. In the darkness of oppression, my scythe shall usher in the dawn.
“The one who grants fortune is the Reaper? Not a fortune teller?”
“The fortune teller must have been a follower of the Reaper!”
Now it all made sense. If it wasn’t some mere fortune teller but someone borrowing the Reaper’s power, then perhaps they could grant fortune with such transcendent ability.
“But… a Reaper is too scary…”
“Isn’t it here to kill us?”
—I understand your fear. But rest assured, what you worry for will not come to pass. I have manifested here only to grant mercy to my followers. I swear upon my divinity that I will bring no harm to those who do not wish for my presence.
For a god to swear an oath on their divinity to mere mortals. There could be no greater promise in the world.
Still, it was hard to trust completely. Even if it was a god, it was the God of Death, and its appearance and aura were simply too frightening.
The people could only glance at each other, unsure of what to do.
“O Reaper!”
Just then, a man bravely stepped forward.
In his arms was a small child who looked as if she had just started to speak. The child’s eyes were covered with a bandage.
“O Reaper! My daughter, tragically, has been blind since birth. I will gladly offer my own soul, so please, grant this poor child the mercy of seeing her mother’s face!”
It was the plea of a father clutching at straws.
The Reaper was moved by the man’s sincerity.
—A father’s desperate heart for his child has reached me. I shall liberate your child’s sight.
The indigo light enveloping the child flashed for an instant. As the light subsided, the bandage covering her eyes unraveled and fell away on its own.
The girl slowly opened her eyelids and blinked. She looked around with a bewildered expression before her gaze met her father’s.
“Papa…?”
“Ah, Anje? Can you… can you see me?”
“Yes, I can see. I can see your face, Papa…”
“Oh, Anje! Oh, thank you, my god…!”
The father and daughter embraced, shedding tears of joy.
A miracle had occurred.
A small grace, permitted by a god, had descended!
They had witnessed a miracle with their own eyes.
It was the perfect temptation for those who had collapsed in the desert of life, thirsting for the oasis of happiness.
In an instant, ordinary citizens were transformed into fanatics ready to offer their souls.
“O great god! I bet my entire fortune on gambling…!”
“Lord Reaper! My guild is going on an expedition! Please ensure our safe return…!”
“That fucking bastard…! No, just get rid of these shackles!”
—Silence.
At the Reaper’s single word, the clamor that seemed like it would never end fell silent. The people waited with bated breath for the Reaper to open its mouth again.
Finally, the Reaper’s jawbone moved slowly.
—If you wish to become my followers, I implore you to join the Church of the Grim Reaper immediately.
“““Joooooin! We’ll join right now!!!”””
On the first day the Reaper appeared in the world.
The Church of the Grim Reaper gained no fewer than two thousand new followers.
Perched on the Reaper’s impossibly high shoulder, Rin and Mirabelle observed the entire situation. They met each other’s eyes and gave a triumphant thumbs-up.
*
At Seira’s house.
The bed on the second floor that Karami used to use was now occupied by Mirabelle and Rin.
Mirabelle had used magic to amplify Karami’s scent and warmth, creating the illusion of sleeping in his arms.
It was the only place where they could feel a trace of Karami. Mirabelle and Rin fought over it almost daily, each insisting it was hers.
Eventually, with Seira’s mediation, they compromised by sharing it.
That night.
The two girls, who had caused a massive incident that threw the city into chaos, went to their room to sleep.
Normally, they would be bickering by now, but tonight it was quiet. Wondering if something was wrong, Seira cracked the door open just a bit to peek inside.
Her eyes widened for a moment, then a faint smile spread across her lips.
“Slime… fritters…”
“Ugh, Mastah… The snail is on Rin’s tail… Rin’s gonna evolve…”
Mirabelle was using Rin’s fluffy tail as a pillow, mumbling into the tip of it in her sleep. Rin groaned and frowned as if having a nightmare.
It was a sight that would bring a motherly smile to anyone’s face.
Looking at them sleeping, they were no different from angels.
The fact that hundreds more hopefuls flocked to the streets the next day to join was another story entirely.
Meanwhile, in the permafrost region of Eisengar.
[New System: Church has been unlocked.]
[Church Name]: Church of the Grim Reaper
[Leader]: Karami
[Followers]: 2,781 (+2,781/week)
“Huh…?”