Ch.22Chapter 22. Why!? Why in the world!!?!??!!?

Anyway, it was consultation time with the fortune-teller sister I met by chance.

Usually, fortune-tellers encountered on the street are regarded with suspicion, but I already knew she was completely different from those ordinary fortune-tellers.

From our first meeting, she had already grasped my personal details and activities despite never having met me before.

“…Mr. Hyoseong Woo.”

Yes, I thought this was an opportunity to discover her true identity, which I hadn’t known during that previous incident.

Feeling this, I sat down seriously across from her, and soon she quietly began writing on a piece of paper placed in front of her crystal ball.

“Before I read your future that I’ve discerned, I’d like to ask a few questions about what happened before you came here.”

“Ah, yes. Please go ahead.”

“Do you know the name Tachia Pailoi?”

It’s a name I know.

And one she shouldn’t know.

“Yes, I just met with her before coming here.”

“The light armor you’re wearing and your weapon were also made by her, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. Especially the weapon behind me is…”

“An Ego Weapon made of mythril material.”

Before I could finish my answer, she opened her mouth, and soon the contents of the flipped note were revealed to me.

The exact same content she had just mentioned was written on it.

“That’s what you were going to say, right?”

“…Yes, that’s exactly right.”

A technique impossible without knowing another person’s past precisely.

It could be seen as a kind of performance to prove her abilities as a fortune-teller.

But despite having proven her abilities through this, her face as she looked at me was displeased.

“It might be unpleasant, but I dare to offer some advice as your behavior seems precarious…”

Soon she glared at me with half-closed eyes and began to speak in a serious voice.

“For statements like the one you just made, you should be careful with your answers even if the other person mentions the truth.”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s a harsh world. In a situation where you never know what might happen where, if people learn that your weapon has considerable value, many people’s malice will be directed at you.”

Was this earnest advice because she had foreseen such a future?

No, it’s more like she’s cautioning me about an outcome that’s obvious even without prediction.

Indeed, this world is a place where anything could happen anywhere.

“Ah, well, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m already being careful about that part…”

While I was aware that my previous behavior was problematic, I didn’t think I had done anything particularly serious.

That’s because I believed the person in front of me wouldn’t do such things.

“Besides, I like Irie, so I can speak freely like this.”

“…What?”

“Ah, when I say ‘like,’ I don’t mean it that way. It’s more like I had a good first impression?”

Not only her face but her behavior is mature and her atmosphere mysterious.

Such an atmosphere might seem suspicious, but she also shows human qualities by making mistakes in front of others… In this harsh world, wouldn’t she seem like someone you could feel somewhat at ease with?

“And seeing how you give advice like this, you seem like a very kind person…”

“……”

Irie lowered her head silently at my words.

Was it because she found my evaluation of her unpleasant? Or was she embarrassed, taking it as a compliment?

“…while you’re going to do something terrible to me.”

“What? What did you just…”

“I said I’ll start now.”

Ahem, Irie cleared her throat, glossing over her previous muttering.

I was concerned about what she had said earlier, but seeing her serious expression afterward, I finally lost interest in it.

“Then, I’ll now check your future.”

-Woooong.

A waving gesture in front of the crystal ball.

Along with the vibration sound, light began to leak from the crystal ball, illuminating the surroundings.

The same phenomenon I had seen before.

But I couldn’t hear any sound directly.

Had she blocked the noise from her side?

“…Mr. Hyoseong Woo.”

While I was thinking about this, she, who had been looking at the crystal ball, spoke to me in a serious voice.

“After this, you were planning to go to the Adventurer’s Guild and complete the formal adventurer registration process, right?”

“Yes, that’s what I would have done.”

After all, saving money until now and getting equipment today were all for becoming an adventurer.

That sense of purpose had strengthened since I realized I couldn’t even freely stand beside the woman I liked.

“After completing the registration, you would have gone to the bulletin board to look for job postings, and there you would have chosen the quest that seemed most suitable to you. A mission that would be the most stable for someone with little experience, with adequate compensation and opportunities.”

Yes, whatever happens, I need to have strength first.

I believed that to build strength, I needed to gain experience through adventures and pursue wealth and fame…

“Without knowing that such a choice would lead you to death.”

But what came out of her mouth was about the futile and miserable end that awaited me as I pursued this dream.

Despite my hope that the path I boldly chose would lead to a brilliant future.

“…Is it hard to believe?”

“No, I believe it.”

Yes, it was such a realistic outcome.

Until now, I’ve seen countless adventurers die without fulfilling their dreams and goals while working as porters.

In a world where even heroes die like dogs, would having slightly better equipment significantly increase my survival rate?

“In a world like this, it would be strange to survive after walking into danger of my own accord.”

“…You’re quite detached.”

“That’s the only way to keep peace of mind in this world.”

But still, hearing this directly from someone I had come to trust made me feel considerable sadness.

If I knew nothing, I might have at least tried and accepted failure, but now that I know such a future, I realize even the attempt itself is meaningless…

“Then please tell me the future you desire.”

Just as I was thinking of giving up on the path of an adventurer in resignation, Irie tried to extend the current prophecy.

My eyes began to widen as I hadn’t expected this response.

“The future I… desire?”

“Hyoseong. I certainly have the power to read the future.”

A serious expression in front of the crystal ball showing the future.

But unlike the bitterness she had spoken of earlier, there was considerable strength in her eyes.

“And the future becomes fixed the moment it is observed, just as the observed future becomes certain. Unless a variable occurs unexpectedly that affects the movement of the stars, the future read by people like me can be considered ‘certain to happen.'”

Yes, so if I head to the Adventurer’s Guild now and start my first adventure, I will die.

“But Hyoseong. You were thinking of giving up on the path of an adventurer after hearing my prophecy, weren’t you?”

“…What?”

“Yes, you would certainly have given up. To completely block the future where you would die.”

Indeed, as she said, if death is certain, there’s no need to pursue becoming an adventurer.

Even if I choose a different quest than the one I had in mind, the future might not change, so perhaps the correct answer in the current situation is not to pursue that path at all.

“If you can really change the danger of death by doing so, it means that someone who has seen the future can change it.”

By acting that way, the future changes.

The moment I realized this fact that I had been aiming for but overlooking, an exclamation escaped my lips.

“Can the future be changed?”

“It can be changed. The very act of observing the future is essentially interfering with a predetermined future.”

-Woooong.

The crystal ball emitting a brilliant light with the wave of her hand.

In front of that ball, Irie told me the conclusion of her story with the most serious face.

“And fate, which is controlled by human hands, is ultimately influenced by the desires of the person moving through fate… If one can intervene in the observed future, the direction of that change can also lead to results faithful to one’s own desires.”

“So, that means…”

“So I will ask you resolutely here.”

With the most serious face.

The moment she presented the options she could offer because she was seriously considering my future.

“Hyoseong, will you give up on becoming an adventurer to preserve your life? Or will you tell me your wish and move forward ‘risking your life’ toward a possibility that aligns with it?”

A safe and empty life.

A dangerous but opportunity to change a predetermined fate.

When these two choices were uttered by the woman who had read my future, I immediately told her the answer that came to my mind.

“I…”

Despite having time to think.

My honesty that was uttered before such awareness could even arise.

“I want to become an adventurer.”

“Without dying, right?”

“Yes, I want to try as much as I can.”

As soon as that desperation was uttered, light emanated from the crystal ball.

Irie, who had engraved the scene visible in that light in her eyes, smiled contentedly and quietly withdrew her hand to pick up a pen.

“…Take this.”

Finally, she handed me a piece of paper. But unlike what she had given before, it was folded several times.

As if cautioning me not to unfold it right away.

“After completing your registration at the Adventurer’s Guild, please unfold this note and follow exactly what is written here.”

“…Won’t you tell me directly?”

“Coincidentally, accurately changing the future is not an easy task. To reduce even small variables, it’s best to minimize actions that could cause variables until the decisive moment.”

Minimizing variables…

That means following exactly what I was going to do before hearing this prophecy and only taking actions for change at important moments to minimize unexpected variables as much as possible.

If I completely block the possibility of a future that will happen from the beginning, that attempt itself might lead to another dangerous path.

“Hyoseong. Your choice is not something that I, a mere fortune-teller, should interfere with, but know this.”

After giving me the note with the necessary advice, she firmly held my hand holding the note with both of her hands and quietly said.

“I sincerely hope you survive. Truly.”

Her hands are soft and delicate.

Hands that have never experienced direct hardship…

The fact that such hands boldly hold the hands of an insignificant man like me might also mean that her heart is sincere.

“Thank you for the encouraging words.”

“Yes, then if there’s another opportunity…”

The farewell after releasing hands was as short and concise as her resolute voice, but I didn’t feel any regret about it.

If I can escape the future that would almost certainly come by following her advice, my meeting with her cannot be said to be the last.

“I don’t know if things will go well just because I received a prophecy, but well, let’s give it a try!”

Whatever happens, let’s do our best.

With that, I put the note I was holding into my pocket as a charm and vigorously moved toward the Adventurer’s Guild, feeling that the moment I had been waiting for had arrived.

And…

***

“A being that was called the greatest calamity before the world collapsed, it’s understandable that this couldn’t be predicted.”

Yes, because it’s a dragon after all.

Since such a being has changed its mind so unexpectedly, it’s also natural that the god of destruction watching this land from afar couldn’t read its movements.

‘The most certain solution would be to return the weapon, but…’

Despite the risk of such a being rampaging, Irie chose to encourage the man she met to head toward danger.

Even though he might not properly follow her advice, or even if he listens, he might make a mistake and fall into an irreversible situation.

‘But that kind of advice is just covering things up. Even if you know the future, change is a right given to those who act.’

Fate is like a tower.

What will happen in the distant future is based on the past, so to reach a future you want to change, you must build it up step by step from the past.

In such a situation, if you only choose options that avoid danger and just run away, wouldn’t the possibility of changing the future gradually decrease the more you repeat it?

‘Yes. Even if disaster awaits in this future, if we can’t even change one person’s future, we can’t save the world.’

The future doesn’t provide opportunities to those who stand still.

Remembering her father’s teaching that an astrologer should always specify this, she once again put power into her crystal ball.

To see how the future had changed due to her contact with him.

-Woooong.

The crystal ball emitting light with a vibration sound.

The scene revealed at the end was far from the terrible one seen before.

Yes, since the dragon doesn’t rampage because he keeps his promise, everyone in this land, including herself, survives.

So she should feel relieved, but…

-Hehe, Hyoseong~ ♥

“…Eh?”

-I, I can’t hold back anymore. Please make a mess of me~♥

“Eh. Eh?”

Irie exhaled blankly at the scene revealed in the newly modified future.

But what appeared in the crystal ball was clearly reality.

More precisely, a future with a high possibility of being realized soon…

“Why…”

“WHY!? WHY ON EARTH!!?!??!!?”

From Irie’s mouth, who was watching that scene.

Greater shock began to erupt than when she had seen her own death.