The Fortune-Teller Saintess - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Fortune Teller Saint

 

Chapter 26

 

Chop chop-

 

“That way.”

 

Chop chop chop-

 

“…This way.”

 

Somehow the back of my head felt prickly. But I stubbornly continued forward in the direction the tarot cards indicated.

 

Then I heard a chilling voice from behind.

 

“Holy Lady.”

 

I flinched and asked back without even turning around.

 

“Wh-what?”

 

“What are you doing right now?”

 

“What do you mean what? I’m going to where the merchant is.”

 

I spoke boldly, but honestly I wasn’t confident myself.

 

What I was doing right now was basically manual labor.

 

‘Every time we reach a fork in the road, I’m divining which way to go, so it must be frustrating.’

 

But this was the only method I could use right now.

 

When I deliberately straightened my shoulders, I heard a sigh from behind.

 

“Can we find him within today?”

 

“We have to try.”

 

“What if trying doesn’t work?”

 

“…We’ll have to pray to God.”

 

“Ria.”

 

Robelina threatened me as if telling me not to turn to God only at times like this.

 

I felt dejected but also wronged.

 

‘I’m having a hard time too!’

 

There was something I had realized while reading fortunes for the villagers during recent missionary events.

 

Every time I used the sacred relic, that is, the tarot cards for divination, my divine power was consumed little by little.

 

Moreover, right now I was drawing cards every time we reached a fork, so the divine power consumption was considerable.

 

‘It feels like we’ve come quite far, but is it still far away?’

 

While I was walking relying on the cards, I heard Robelina asking from behind.

 

“But if that merchant isn’t in this village, then the method you’re using now is useless too, isn’t it?”

 

“Don’t worry about that. The merchant is in this village.”

 

“How do you know that, Ria?”

 

“I checked that first.”

 

For reference, the tarot card’s answer then was ‘THE HERMIT’. It meant he was still stuck in this village.

 

So I just needed to keep heading in the direction where the merchant was, but…

 

“Wait.”

 

“Ria? What’s wrong?”

 

Robelina asked in a puzzled voice.

 

Instead of answering, I looked through all the cards I had just drawn. Then I turned around and looked at Nein and Robelina.

 

“I think it’s around here?”

 

“Here?”

 

Nein raised his eyebrows and scanned the surroundings.

 

I could understand Nein’s feelings too.

 

The place we were standing was in the middle of the main road where paths led in all four directions.

 

“Yeah. I think it’s here.”

 

I was equally puzzled, but after drawing cards for each path, none of them showed cards meaning to proceed forward.

 

Then it meant to stop here.

 

‘Is that merchant around here somewhere?’

 

I hurriedly looked around. Befitting a port town where trade was active, there were quite a lot of people on the streets.

 

Tarot cards couldn’t specify individuals. In other words, I would have to investigate all these many people one by one…

 

It was while I was pondering this.

 

Thud-

 

“Ah.”

 

Someone bumped my shoulder and passed by.

 

When I staggered from being caught off guard, Nein grabbed my arm.

 

“Ah, thank…”

 

“Hey.”

 

Nein called out to someone menacingly. It wasn’t a voice directed at me.

 

The man who had bumped into me hesitated at Nein’s call, then whipped around.

 

“Hey? Did you just call me?”

 

“Well, is there anyone else besides you?”

 

“What?”

 

‘We’re screwed.’

 

The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant.

 

I grabbed Nein’s arm and whispered urgently.

 

“Nein, let’s just let him go. I’m fine…”

 

“That brat was the one standing around dazed in a crowded place, yet he’s being so damn annoying.”

 

“Wait, but this bastard?”

 

I tried to let him go nicely, but he’s digging his own grave?

 

Unable to contain my bubbling anger, I said to Nein.

 

“Nein, I won’t stop you, so do whatever you want!”

 

“Nein…?”

 

The man who had hesitated soon shouted with a horrified face.

 

“Don’t tell me you’re Mage Tower Master Nein Opert?!”

 

“So what.”

 

“Eek!”

 

The man who was about to flee stumbled and fell as his feet got tangled. The man who hit his chin on the ground was dragged over by Nein’s magic.

 

I stood in front of the man with Nein and muttered menacingly.

 

“Well then.”

 

“How shall we mess him up?”

 

The trembling man looked up at us and cried out pitifully.

 

“P-please spare me! I was just following orders!”

 

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

 

“Huh?”

 

The man who was blinking tilted his head.

 

“D-didn’t you come because of the Opina pollen…”

 

“How do you know about that…”

 

As I was muttering, I soon realized one fact.

 

No way.

 

“Are you the merchant who sold Opina pollen to Kail?”

 

“Gasp!”

 

It was the correct answer.

 

Like catching a mouse while a cow backs up, we exchanged bewildered glances with each other.

 

“…”

 

And there were those watching Ellia’s group.

 

After silently exchanging hand signals, they soon scattered into the darkness.

 

The one who remained looked back and forth between Ellia and the merchant, eyes gleaming sharply.

 

***

 

“What exactly did I do wrong…?”

 

“Oh my, you do seem to know you did something wrong?”

 

When I sarcastically acted surprised, the merchant hung his head low.

 

“You should have pretended not to know until the end, but you had to spill it there.”

 

“Is that what you’re reflecting on? Should I call Nein over?”

 

When he was mentioned, Nein, who had been searching through the house, turned to look our way.

 

At that, the merchant had a fit.

 

“No, no! I’ve committed a mortal sin! Yes, that’s right!”

 

‘What exactly does this guy Nein usually do?’

 

To have such a presence that criminals confess so readily. It was incredible.

 

Then Robelina, who had been examining the inside of the house, approached us.

 

“Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any other drugs in the house.”

 

“Really?”

 

I tilted my head at the unexpected news.

 

Right now, we had come to the house where the merchant had been hiding and were searching inside. It was because we thought he would have other drugs since he was the culprit of the drug incident.

 

But the result was the opposite. No matter how thoroughly we searched the house, no drugs came out.

 

‘Well, we found the culprit, so Kail’s innocence will be proven, but…’

 

Something felt off.

 

Especially the fact that the drug dealer had brought in only one drug.

 

‘It’s as if someone was specifically targeting one person.’

 

That wasn’t the only suspicious point.

 

The words the merchant had spat at us earlier.

 

‘I just did as I was told!’

 

Who had ordered the merchant to do what?

 

I turned to look at the merchant and narrowed my eyes.

 

“Listen here. What exactly were you scheming?”

 

“Sch-scheming, what do you mean by that…?”

 

The merchant blatantly avoided my gaze.

 

At that, I smiled and pulled out my master key.

 

“Nein?”

 

“Hiiiiek! I’ll confess! I’ll confess everything!”

 

As expected, the master key. The effect was tremendous.

 

When I waved off Nein who was approaching, the merchant began to obediently confess his crimes while crying.

 

“Someone came looking for me. They gave me opina flower powder and said they’d give me big money if I did as told. I-I really didn’t know it was a drug then!”

 

“What did they tell you to do?”

 

At my question, the merchant glanced at Nein.

 

Trembling, he soon confessed the truth.

 

“They told me to slip the opina flower powder into the supply materials going to the Mage Tower…”

 

“What?”

 

Nein frowned. Seeing this, the merchant flinched.

 

I first calmed Nein down, then asked the merchant.

 

“So did you put it in?”

 

“No. I found out later that opina flower powder was a drug and quit. But it was troublesome to dispose of, so I hastily sold it to a passing mage…”

 

“That was Kail.”

 

The merchant nodded.

 

“Since he was a mage, he’d be affiliated with the Mage Tower, so I thought if I handed it over to that young mage, it would count as completing the job…”

 

“And you took payment in the process?”

 

The merchant’s head dropped to a point where it couldn’t go any lower.

 

I sighed and asked the merchant the most important question.

 

“Who was the person who ordered you to do this?”

 

The merchant, who had been answering well all along, shut his mouth at that question.

 

Judging by his pale face, he seemed afraid of the aftermath he’d face if he told the truth.

 

Just as I was about to harden my expression and make a threat, someone approached from behind.

 

“You know what? I repay kindness with kindness.”

 

Speaking unusually calmly, it was none other than Nein.

 

Nein bent his tall frame to meet the merchant’s eyes and smiled brightly.

 

“But I repay grudges with revenge.”

 

“Gasp…!”

 

The merchant’s face turned deathly pale. It was because Nein’s magic power was strangling his throat.

 

Nein made his violet eyes shine coldly as he spoke to the merchant.

 

“Choose. Will you die by my hand now, or go to that bastard and die later?”

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