I Became the Villain’s Childhood Friend Chapter 28

 

No, if this isn’t an escape, then what is an escape!

 

Besides, if I tell that guy to go back, he will say he knows it well. I tried to ignore Rian, who was following behind me.

 

I quickly caught a carriage waiting on the street.

 

The destination had already been decided.

 

Tibern.

 

The only foreign language I could speak was Tibern, and it was a country that didn’t appear in the original story, so it was perfect for me.

 

But there was no way to get to Tibern in one trip. The fastest way was to change carriages at Melstreet, on the outskirts of the capital.

 

As I got into the carriage, I asked the driver to go to Melstreet and looked at Rian. Fortunately, he didn’t get on the carriage.

 

Rian just stared at the carriage moving away from behind.

 

Indeed, Rian would know best that I didn’t want to go to the Academy. When I seriously told Dad that I didn’t want to go to the academy, he was there by my side.

 

As expected, I thought Rian could understand my feelings.

 

I waved Rian’s hand as a sign of gratitude.

 

The carriage arrived at Melstreet. Now all I had to do was change carriages here. But unfortunately, because it was early in the morning, there were no carriages waiting.

 

That meant I had to spend the night here.

 

I checked again to see if the bag of gold coins I had in my chest was still there.

 

Now that I think about it, I think I heard that there is a good fortune teller in Melstreet.

 

Dad didn’t like me going to the fortune teller, so I only knew the location.

 

There’s still time left, and I won’t be coming to the capital for a while unless it’s today, so I’ll take a look at my fortune.

 

It was so late that I was worried that the fortune teller would be closed, but fortunately the door was open. I carefully opened the door to the fortune teller, and there was a young woman sitting inside.

 

She had the same haircut as an expert who ruined her test. Her curly hair looked like a sun drawn simply by a child.

 

The woman who was sitting asked me, who was still standing.

 

“Aren’t you here to see fortunes?”

 

“…That’s right.”

 

“Then come sit here.”

 

Although I always think about it, I don’t know why I get so nervous before seeing my fortune.

 

Divination was something that told the future. But I’m someone who already knows my future.

 

In front of the woman was a box with a hole that could barely fit one hand. She held out the box to me and made it brief.

 

“Take out just one marble from the box.”

 

I paused for a moment to put my hand inside the box. It was because the box felt very suspicious.

 

“…There’s no way there’s something strange in here, right?”

 

Whether it’s a bug sleeping in a box that suddenly bites my hand…

 

“Have you been deceived all your life. Take it out quickly.”

 

At her urging, I put my hesitant hand into the box. Fortunately, there were just a lot of marbles rolling around inside the box.

 

I rummaged through the box and picked up a random bead. The marble I took out was a perfect black marble, not much different from this space.

 

Perhaps it was because of the color, but there was someone whom I immediately got reminded of, but I tried to erase that thought.

 

“Give it to me.”

 

…Is this a fortune teller really with a reputation for being competent?

 

To be honest, the woman who was looking at the beads closely didn’t look very trusting. It was right to say that she was somewhat clumsy.

 

She looked at the marble I took out and immediately asked.

 

“Are you worried about your future?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She touched her chin with her hand and opened her mouth.

 

“I can see the answer just by looking at it.”

 

“…”

 

“You can never run away.”

 

The woman’s eyes looked directly at me. At her words, I glanced at the bag I had unconsciously placed on the floor.

 

Did she say that because I was dressed like I was running away?

 

Did she really read the fortune, or is she just quick-witted?

 

I turned my eyes and asked.

 

“If I don’t run away now, I’m going to die.”

 

Then the woman tilted her head slightly and asked a question.

 

“Do you think you won’t die if you run away?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The woman laughed as if she was dumbfounded by my confident answer. But even for a moment, she smiled brightly.

 

“You never know. If you meet your fate meekly, you might get a surprise gift, right?”

 

…Fate, she says?

 

I paused for a moment at her words, but then she smiled as if nothing had happened.

 

“A gift?”

 

“Yes. That’s what you want the most….”

 

I blinked at her words.

 

The gift I want most is to go home. That’s all.

 

So does this mean that if I calmly meet Danae’s ending, I can return home?

 

Does this woman really know all this?

 

I asked the woman in an urgent voice.

 

“Please tell me in more detail.”

 

“If you understand, what are you asking?”

 

“I didn’t understand.”

 

Then the woman smiled crookedly.

 

“You know the story of the traitor, right?”

 

I nodded her head cautiously.

 

In the Orpedia Empire, the story of the traitor was a fairy tale that almost all the people of the Empire knew.

 

The protagonist struggles to escape the fate that has been set for him, but in the end he can’t defy fate. Moreover, it was a fairy tale about being punished by God in return for going against God’s will.

 

I don’t know why fairy tales without dreams or hopes are told to all the children of the Empire from a young age.

 

Isn’t the moral of the traitor’s story just to shut up and accept your fate?

 

“The price of running away may be the loss of the gift you desire.”

 

The woman opened her mouth as she put the marble I had taken out back into the box. There was a rattling sound inside the box.

 

“…So you’re saying I have to follow my predetermined fate? Even though I clearly know what kind of ending I will face?”

 

“If you happened to change fate without knowing anything about it, there would be no need for a price. But not for you, right?”

 

“…”

 

“If you don’t meet your destiny, you will never get what you want. That is your destiny.”

 

It seemed as if the woman knew what had happened to me.

 

I couldn’t completely believe what the woman said. Because the woman didn’t say anything essential about what happened to me.

 

But I had to break even. Because I couldn’t even find a clue about this world.

 

A voice mixed with desperation and impatience came out randomly.

 

“Actually, I’m from another world. I want to go there again. If you say that, I can only go home if I don’t defy fate?!”

 

I think I started the conversation relatively calmly, yet my voice became increasingly spirited.

 

The woman didn’t even blink at the nonsense that a normal person would call completely crazy.

 

“It’s similar.”

 

It was the first time. Someone who answers what I say seriously.

 

I asked her back in a voice that seemed confused even after I told her.

 

“…Do you believe me?”

 

Then the woman smiled and said.

 

“There are all kinds of people in the world, right? It’s a shame that there is no one like you in this wide world anymore.”

 

“…”

 

“Of course, everything is your choice. You choose your destiny. But keep in mind. If you run away like this, you will never be able to achieve what you want.”

 

…So, what you’re saying is that I should just die gracefully at Reynold’s hands and return to the world I lived in, right?

 

Out of desperation, I let out a laugh without realizing it.

 

I don’t want to die. This much was certain. To die at the hands of Reynold and not someone else?

 

That couldn’t be possible.

 

I never wanted to die, much less see the ending in which Reynold becomes a murderer.

 

Even if I die at the hands of Reynold and return home, what good is that?

 

Dying is easier said than done. There was no doubt that terrible pain would overtake me, and I had no confidence in enduring it. I was afraid of death.

 

Moreover, even if I died obediently by Reynold’s hands as the woman said, there was no guarantee that I would be able to return home.

 

It could just be a pointless death.

 

And I wasn’t the kind of person who was gutsy enough to gamble with my life.

 

It would be better to just run away and find another way to get back home.

 

I pretended like nothing had happened.

 

“Do you see fortunes during the day?”

 

“I open only when there are guests.”

 

“I see.”

 

“And when the night falls, I sell laughter.”

 

The woman grinned and sucked on her pipe.

 

The smoke she was emitting made me feel like I was being strangled. I wanted to quickly get out of this fortune teller.

 

“How can I for it?”

 

“Five gold coins.”

 

The woman opened her mouth, exhaling the smoke. When I consulted about something like this at the temple before, the price they asked for was three gold coins, so it wasn’t that cheap.

 

But I quickly took out the gold coins from my pocket and held it out to the woman.

 

“I hope God’s light shines on you.”

 

When I gave the most common greeting in the Empire, the woman burst into laughter like a child.

 

“You receive a lot of God’s light.”

 

“…Thank you.”

 

That way, I left the fortune telling shop and quickly closed the door.

 

As soon as I left the fortune telling shop, I couldn’t help but wrinkle my face.

 

Standing in front of the fortune teller were Paul and Rian who had come to catch me.

 

Paul cried out to me.

 

“Miss! Have you reached puberty these days? Why on earth are you doing this!”

 

“He, I got him.”

 

Rian shrugged lightly. I walked up to Rian and hit him on the back with my fist until it made a loud sound.

 

Rian hated it, screaming loudly, asking what I was doing.

 

Actually, it was because I got goosebumps.

 

‘What’s this…’

 

It was noon outside, with the sun shining directly overhead. It was definitely dusk when I entered this fortune telling shop.

 

Rian, who seemed to know that he had committed a crime, silently received my punches while screaming, but after a while, he grabbed my wrist as if he could no longer bear it.

 

“Don’t hit me too much!”

 

I mumbled without realizing it while my wrists were being held by him.

 

“…Hey, do you also think I’m crazy when you see me?”

 

Unless I’m crazy, this situation doesn’t make sense.

 

“Do you finally know that?”

 

I seemed to come to my senses a little when I heard Rian’s words open his mouth in a heartless manner.

 

…Right. I can’t be crazy.

 

I shook off Rian’s hand holding my wrist and turned the doorknob of the fortune teller.

 

However, as soon as I came out, the woman must have locked the door and the doorknob didn’t even bother to turn.