Ch.79Fate

# 79. Destiny

“Child.”

“My name is Damus, and this is the 123rd time I’m telling you, Elder.”

“Then I guess this is the 123rd time I’m telling you not to call me Elder?”

“Sigh. So, what brings you here today? Is it about that ‘feeling’ again?”

“Yes.”

“I suppose I’ll have to close shop early for the 123rd time.”

“You hardly have any customers anyway.”

“Ah.”

“I’m joking. I pay you well, don’t I?”

The fortune teller, who prided himself on his divination skills, found that pride chipped away each time this elder suddenly appeared.

It had been chipped away so much that it was practically smooth by now.

“Elder.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not in a position to influence your will, and I merely share what glimpses I see… but truly, I see nothing. It’s not that the results are bad—I simply cannot see anything at all. Do you know how distressing it is for me to tell you this every time?”

“I’m sorry. But you’re the only one worth consulting. You know that.”

“…”

“I’m asking for your help again today.”

“…Very well.”

The fortune teller, looking at the beautiful legendary Ayor before him, now felt more sympathy and regret than admiration. Even knowing that such feelings were terribly disrespectful… he desperately hoped that this time, he would see something, even the tiniest speck.

‘Just don’t let this be the 123rd failure.’

He arranged his divination tools according to the current time and purpose with practiced ease, then burned a strand of hair the Elder had given him in the candlelight.

And then…

“Elder!”

“Goodness! What, why?”

“I saw it! I actually saw something!”

“What? Really? Truly?”

“Yes!”

The Elder was so startled—and even the fortune teller himself, who had been mechanically performing the divination out of habit, was equally shocked.

The person with that “feeling” the Elder had been seeking appeared with remarkable clarity.

“But…”

“But what?”

“I’m not sure if I’m seeing this correctly…”

“Why the sudden doubt? Just tell me! Quickly!”

“It’s a human. A young human male.”

“A young… human… male?”

The Elder was bewildered. The fortune teller sympathized. He was perplexed too.

But the divination was already complete, and he had no power to change its results.

A human in Ayord?

It wasn’t that humans never came to Ayord, but well… considering that the vast majority of that tiny minority of humans came for trade… While Ayors often lived in human cities, the reverse was almost never true.

The fortune teller was about to offer words of comfort to the Elder, who must be terribly disappointed that the result after 123 attempts was something like this.

“Um, Elder. I might have seen incorrectly, so instead of this sudden reading, perhaps later we could set a proper date—”

“No. Damus, I believe in you. So I believe in your divination results. That young human male will definitely come.”

The fortune teller didn’t know whether to be happy that his name was finally used after 123 times, or that his divination skills were being strongly trusted.

So he decided to be happy about both, and prayed for happiness in the future of the legendary Ayor who had endured so much pain and loneliness.

May your wishes come true.

Legendary Ayor, Radaniya.

**

“…I thought I’d never see them again, but I didn’t realize it meant I wouldn’t see them as an Ayor.”

“Meow!”

[It’s only temporary!]

“But how did you recognize her, sir?”

“I can tell at a glance. I’m a fortune teller, and I’ve done so many readings for her that I can see certain things without even needing to perform divination. Plus, those obsidian eyes that seem to pull you in leave no room for doubt.”

“Meow!”

[Ahem.]

The diviner who had introduced himself as Damus was looking at Danya, now transformed into a cat, with complicated eyes.

“Anyone would think you’re completely a cat, Elder.”

“Meow! Meow meow meow!”

[I told you not to call me Elder! You can call me by my name now!]

“…I may be able to tell fortunes, but I don’t possess the skill to understand cat language. Can you translate, perhaps?”

“Ah, yes. She says not to call her Elder, and that you can call her by name now.”

“Indeed, my divination was correct after all. And that means Lady Radaniya has finally been freed from her shackles.”

Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness.

Damus bowed respectfully to Danya. It was a gesture of such extreme reverence and relief that even I, who didn’t know his detailed circumstances, couldn’t help but feel solemn.

In response, Danya raised her front paw and placed it gently on Damus’s head.

‘…Hold it in!’

The atmosphere was solemn, but the fact that the central figure was an adorable cat made it somewhat less dignified. My party members and I desperately tried to hold back our laughter.

“Laugh if you want to. If I were a spectator rather than a participant, I’d find it quite amusing too.”

“N-no, not at all. Ahem.”

“Meow! Meow meow!”

[Did you laugh? Did you laugh?]

We ignored Danya’s protests. Following Damus’s guidance, we huddled together in a cozy space.

“From the fact that Radaniya brought you here, it seems she wants me to read your fortunes…”

“Is there anything specific you need?”

“Just a strand of hair and your birthday. Nothing else particularly necessary.”

A fortune reading from a diviner highly recommended by Danya. And it wasn’t even implemented in the game, so my curiosity was piqued.

It wasn’t dangerous, didn’t require any significant payment, and we had Danya as insurance—nothing to lose, right?

But I wasn’t the only one thinking this way. My previously quiet party members suddenly became very enthusiastic.

“Do you see everything?”

“Love! Wealth! Longevity! Compatibility!”

“I don’t usually believe in these things, but just in case… maybe I’ll ask about my future.”

“I’m most curious about whether we can return or not.”

They were so eager that the fortune teller Damus seemed overwhelmed. I was also taken aback and tried to calm them down.

“Why are you all so enthusiastic about this?”

“Oppa! When else would we get to have our fortunes told in a place like this? Besides… come here, let me whisper something.”

Yuri pulled me to a corner of the tent and whispered.

“He seems very close with Danya. And Danya strongly recommended this place. Plus, think about it. He wasn’t surprised to see us at all. He didn’t treat us like first-time customers. It was more like an ‘as expected’ kind of reaction.”

“That’s true.”

“Maybe he already knew we were coming! He probably did all sorts of predictions for Danya too. Are you honestly not excited about getting your fortune told by someone of that caliber?”

I am… excited. But I told her to calm down a bit. I understood her enthusiasm, but she was getting too worked up.

Instead, Yuri sighed while looking at me.

“What? Did I do something wrong?”

“No. Nothing. Then you’ll go last, oppa?”

“Huh? Why?”

“That’s just how it is!”

I didn’t understand why Yuri was acting this way, but I didn’t really care about the order of fortune telling, so I agreed.

When I returned to my seat, the others were debating the order.

“Even cold water has its hierarchy, so would you like to go first, unni?”

“Oh my. I’m not quite the same water yet.”

“…Forget it if you don’t want to.”

“Pfft. No, thank you. I’ll go first then.”

And so the order was decided by age, with me being the exception. We were told that only the person getting their fortune read could be present, and the rest of us were shooed out of the room.

‘I wonder why Soyu unni stuck her tongue out as she went in.’

**

‘This is fun.’

Some might say I’m not acting my age, but what can I do if I find teasing people and watching their reactions entertaining?

“Pull out a strand of hair, place it here, and tell me your birthday. If you can’t remember the exact date, telling me which season or month you were born in, as accurately as possible, would be helpful.”

Pulling out a strand of hair is no difficult task. But, birthday?

‘They don’t use the Western calendar here…’

I should just say something appropriate. It’s not like everything depends on this anyway.

“Hmm, it would be about 27 years and nine months ago from now.”

“That’s quite a unique way to express your birthday… Don’t you remember the day, just the month?”

“Was it the 15th?”

“Hmm… let’s see.”

I’d never been to a fortune teller back home, and watching the diviner arrange various tools in a complex pattern, burn my hair, half-close his eyes, and mutter something made me feel a bit eerie.

It felt like something was sweeping over me.

I was staring blankly at the fortune teller who had been silently performing the divination as if possessed, when suddenly he glanced at my head and burst into laughter.

“Why…?”

“Well, there’s no need to make this complicated. If you have questions, ask away. I’ll give definite answers for what I clearly see, ambiguous answers for what I vaguely see, and no answer for what I don’t see.”

This fortune teller, at first glance, seems a bit gruff in his speech, but he’s someone with great pride in his abilities.

I should ask what I’m most curious about first.

“Will I be able to return to my homeland?”

“Homeland? Hmm. That’s ambi-guous.”

“What? What do you mean ambiguous?”

Hey, Mr. Fortune Teller! Starting with an answer like that!