A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 218

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“What are you talking about? If we’d made a different choice, where would that bastard have ended up?”
“….”
“Where?”
“Reinstatement alone wasn’t enough to reset two lives.”
“Then what else was wagered?”
Exile, perhaps?
“….”
Habel clamped his mouth shut at Camilla’s question, turning his gaze away as if unwilling to say more on the matter.
‘Again, again.’
Whether it was Dorman or this one, neither ever gave a straight answer about anything. Not that I’m particularly curious anyway!
“So that man’s reinstatement is completely off the table?”
“Yes.”
“Meaning he continues living like that?”
Camilla’s gaze shifted to Dorman as she watched Habel glumly sucking on his straw.
Seeing him greeting customers with that perpetual beaming smile, she couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.
The Reaper before her looked absolutely miserable….
‘Well, it’s not so bad.’
What if he’d said he was being reinstated and leaving? This irritating feeling wouldn’t have been entirely relieved, somehow. How could I even explain it?
‘Have I really grown fond of him in the meantime?’
The fact that he remained by my side in that state wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
“By the way, what happened to that guy?”
“That guy?”
“John Carter.”
The Church Leader of the Eba Cult who’d been dragged away by the Reapers. I still hadn’t properly heard what became of his soul.
“Layer 999. He was sent to the Lowest Layer.”
“The Lowest Layer?”
Wait, wait! Hold on! 999 layers?
“How many layers are there?”
“Many? There aren’t that many. We’re running out of capacity, so we’re planning an expansion soon… I’m spouting nonsense. Anyway, the Lowest Layer administrator was absolutely delighted. Said it’s the first human to arrive in 800 years.”
“What kind of place is that?”
“That place is….”
“…?”
Was it her imagination? Habel’s already pallid complexion seemed to grow even more ashen?
‘Huh?’
Did you just shudder?
“That place is… that place is… that place is…!”
“…Alright. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Seeing Habel unable to form proper words, Camilla quickly changed the subject. He didn’t need to answer—let’s just drop it.
“So that guy stays trapped there?”
That’s what I’m most curious about right now.
“Among those sent to Hell, if there’s any possibility of redemption, we sometimes grant them reincarnation.”
“What? Then… could that bastard also…?”
“But the Lowest Layer is different. For eternity, his soul will suffer there—torn and shattered without end.”
“Really?”
So that monster would never return to this world again?
“You can trust that.”
“That’s a relief, honestly.”
To be frank, his soul was so peculiar that I remained uneasy even after the Reapers dragged him away.
I’d worried he might escape somehow and resurface in this world.
“He kept spouting incomprehensible things, though.”
“What kind of things?”
‘Why, why! Why won’t you answer me! Please grant me power again as you did before! I beg you! Don’t abandon me!’
“…What nonsense is that? He really said such things?”
“He kept saying it the entire time he was being dragged away.”
“Unbelievable.”
What? Does the Eba god actually exist? Was he receiving some kind of revelation?
“No such god exists.”
As if reading Camilla’s thoughts, Habel shook his head firmly.
“Then who was that bastard searching for?”
“Who knows.”
“Ugh.”
How irritating! How infuriating!
Why did that wretch continue to grate on my nerves even after death and being dragged away? He truly was incorrigible.
“So, what was that human originally?”
“John Carter?”
“Yes.”
John Carter. The soul that had emerged from Attendant Bell’s body back then was truly pathetic.
A skeletal frame, his height far smaller than that of an ordinary adult man.
It was hard to believe this was the same human who had toyed with countless lives for so long—his appearance was far too diminished and ordinary.
“He didn’t seem to be a nobleman.”
Spirits retain the clothing they wore at death. Though it was only for a brief moment, John Carter’s attire was certainly not of high quality.
‘If anything, it was worse than that of a common commoner.’
The garments were so worn and tattered from long use that they were practically falling apart.
Of course, one cannot discern everything about a person from clothing alone, but there is a certain aura that speaks volumes.
Skin deeply tanned by the sun, rough hands that had never known care.
“He was an herb gatherer.”
“An herb gatherer?”
“Originally, he was destined to die falling from a cliff while gathering herbs.”
“But?”
“His corpse was discovered far earlier than his original fate. By then, his soul had already fled.”
While it was rare for souls to live longer or die earlier than their originally allotted lifespan, it wasn’t unheard of entirely.
For this reason, all the Reapers assumed that soul fell into such a category and paid it no particular mind.
Wandering spirits drifting through the nine heavens were hardly few in number, and they simply recorded the name as missing in the Registry of Fates, assuming it would be discovered soon enough.
“But that individual….”
One of the spirits the Reapers had overlooked moved from place to place, gradually expanding their influence, and eventually rose to become the Church Leader of a pseudo-religious organization called the Eba Cult.
Had I known things would spiral this far out of control, I would never have let it happen.
“How did someone so ordinary gain such power?”
“The details elude even me.”
It seemed there were limits to the information granted to ordinary Reapers, and Habel knew nothing more beyond this.
Besides, what good would learning more about him serve? He was already imprisoned in Hell.
“Take this.”
“Huh?”
Moments later, Habel placed something on the table. Camilla’s expression grew peculiar upon seeing it.
What he had given her was far too unexpected an object.
“A flowerpot?”
And not just any flowerpot—it contained a single unopened bud, not two or three, but just one delicate flower waiting to bloom.
“It’s a token of gratitude for what you did before.”
“Gratitude?”
It seemed to be in thanks for handling John Carter, whom the Reapers had been unable to locate for so long.
Camilla picked up the flowerpot and examined it with newfound curiosity.
This was genuinely unexpected. That emotionally troubled creature Habel was actually giving flowers as a gift.
“What kind of flower is it?”
With the bud still closed, there was no way to tell what variety it was.
Since I had never taken particular interest in flowers, I couldn’t discern the species from the leaves alone.
“The Flower of Death.”
“…What kind of flower?”
“The Flower of Death.”
Thud.
“Hey, why did you drop it? Be careful.”
“…What did you just say?”
“How many times must I repeat myself? It’s the Flower of Death.”
“….”
Did people in this world not understand the meaning of gratitude gifts?
The Hersel Patriarch had also thanked me for finding Shinsu and given me seeds from his own corpse—a victim of poisoning—and now this creature does what?
‘The Flower of Death?’
The name alone is far too ominous!
“It grows only in the Garden of Gods.”
“So what? Does someone die the moment this flower blooms?”
Is it me? Is it me, you bastard?
“The opposite.”
“Oppose it?”
“It prevents death.”
“What do you mean by that?”
So if I have the flower, I won’t die?
“When the budded flower blooms, a small fruit will fall from within it. Eat that fruit, and you will not perish.”
“Seriously?”
Camilla carefully picked up the flowerpot she’d carelessly set down on the table.
“You should have explained that from the start. So in other words….”
If I eat the fruit from this flower, I gain eternal life? This is truly an object that grants endless existence!
“However, humans cannot use it.”
“What?”
Camilla’s eyes, which had been gleaming with excitement, narrowed slightly. Humans cannot use it? What kind of nonsense was that?
“You’re saying people can’t eat it?”
“That’s correct.”
“What happens if they eat it anyway?”
Wouldn’t my lifespan extend even a little?
“You’d simply be eating a bitter fruit.”
“….”
Are you joking with me right now? Seriously?
“Then what’s the point?”
I can’t even use it! Why are you giving me something like this!
“There are many strange things around you. I thought it might be useful someday.”
“Strange things around me? What do you—”
[Ah, so this is that legendary Flower of Death I’ve only heard rumors about.]
A small white dragon circling the shop—Aislah, the Spirit King of Winter—fluttered over and gently perched on Camilla’s shoulder.
One of the strange beings that had attached itself to me was right here nearby.
[Spirits desperately desire this flower too.]
“Spirits do? Why?”
[Spirits aren’t eternal beings either. Though we exist for far longer than humans, we too must eventually face our end.]
“I see.”
[But this flower that blooms in the Garden of Gods cannot be easily obtained by just anyone. It’s an object that could even disrupt the natural order of the world.]
Aislah cast a look of surprise toward Habel, seemingly amazed at how a mere Reaper had managed to acquire this flower.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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