Chapter 5
Fortunately, Kin seemed more interested in my divining rod for detecting ley lines than in my cheeky words.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“Otherworldly superstitions always look strange, I guess…”
Meanwhile, Kin whispered something to the man standing beside him, then turned to look at me with a slightly tilted gaze.
I rolled my eyes at that overwhelming stare.
“Um… the path you were taking…?”
“Try it.”
“Pardon?”
“That’s none of your concern. Instead, I intend to observe how you handle things from now on.”
An alarm bell went off in my head.
Emergency! Emergency! Special audit!
“Ah, here… hmm… well.”
I pretended to sense something and shook my head.
Kin asked irritably,
“What have you been muttering to yourself all this time?”
“Oh, I just didn’t feel any malicious energy here. But the ley lines are flowing.”
“Ley lines?”
“Water flowing deep underground. If you sleep or spend extended time above them, it disrupts the balance of your body.”
“A curse?”
“No curse, just slightly bad feng shui.”
I tried to boast my little bit of knowledge to appear competent.
“I need to look like a convincing astrologer!”
That way, even if I fumble once, I could cover it up naturally.
“Captain, she suddenly started doing some… mystical stuff she wasn’t doing earlier… ugh!”
When Riki muttered nonsense, I made sure to poke him in the side.
Kin remained skeptical.
“So you’re telling me we have to wander the entire castle doing this foolishness?”
“Foolish? This actually requires a lot of spiritual energy…”
“Well said.”
“Magic and divine power exist, so there’s no reason spiritual energy shouldn’t.”
I replied brazenly, scanning the area around me.
“Who’s going to take this guy off my hands?”
At the very least, I needed to hand this skeptic off to someone else.
“To pass him off, I need to find someone equally bad…”
I narrowed my eyes, scanning the heads around me.
“High-bounty guy, please appear!!”
Soon, a man with droopy eyes appeared on my radar.
「43,100 Gold」
I knew instantly.
“Found him—the criminal I’m going to catch.”
Without hesitation, I grabbed the man by the chin.
“You have a strong aura. Could I have a word with you for a moment?”
“Wha—what did you say?”
Finally, Kin clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Syner. This woman is a fortune teller brought by Tatis.”
“Fortune teller…?”
“Yes. Tatis said she’s skilled enough to undo ‘that’ on my body.”
Hearing that, I swore I would rip out that Tatis guy’s hair if I ever met him.
He was exactly the type to walk around drinking triple-deuterium water and wearing negative-ion bracelets if born on modern Earth.
“…A renowned scholar, priest, or mage couldn’t solve it, and now a fortune teller can?”
Exactly. That’s what a normal person, like this Syner guy, would think!
I muttered under my breath while sneaking glances at Syner.
“He doesn’t look like a criminal… why is there such a high bounty on him?”
Our eyes met, and a status window appeared.
「Name: Syner (John)
Race: Human
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Hometown: Tan Mining Village
Traits & Titles: Massacrer, Loyal, Interior Guard Captain, Medium, ……」
Massacrer—he probably committed some horrific deeds in the past, and now he works as an interior guard captain.
And…
「…, Traitor」
“…Oh?”
I widened my eyes at the unexpected description.
“A traitor?”
In this context, it probably means he betrayed Kin, the castle captain…
And there was a second descriptor: Loyal—in past tense.
What does “Medium” mean? Some sort of intermediary? My head spun trying to figure it out.
Meanwhile, Kin and Syner continued conversing rather amicably.
It seemed true that Syner had once been loyal. Kin, usually sharp-tongued, was visibly softened.
“Then, take care.”
He even patted Syner on the shoulder! Trusting him enough to be in charge of interior security.
“But a traitor? Doesn’t this guy have any sense?”
Or maybe everyone here is a former criminal, so loyalty doesn’t exist?
I rolled my eyes, debating whether to mention Syner’s betrayal.
“Where are you spacing out? Didn’t you have business with Syner?”
When Kin lightly tapped my shoulder, I finished calculating and spoke.
“Oh, your aura is so pure. You even seem filial. I would pray to the heavens too, but I’ll skip that… Anyway, I have a habit of speaking to people with clear auras.”
Rubbing my palms together with a grin, Kin, Syner, and Riki all showed expressions of disbelief.
“Seems like nonsense, ignore it. Continue what you were doing.”
Kin neatly settled the situation and let Syner go.
Once Syner disappeared around the corridor corner, I whispered to Kin.
“Captain? No, boss…?”
“Call me Kin.”
“Kin, I have something urgent to discuss. Is there somewhere private we can talk?”
Kin glanced at me briefly, then turned sharply and strode away.
“Let’s go to the office. Follow me.”
Bang!
As soon as the door closed, Kin asked.
“So, what secret must be delivered carefully, both heard and seen? Is it about Syner?”
I widened my eyes.
“Oh? How did you know?”
Kin clicked his tongue in disdain.
“Noticing would be strange. He started acting weird the moment we sent Syner away.”
“Oh…”
That’s right. I had been too shocked by the traitor title to think straight.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“You may not believe me, but… I’m somewhat skilled at physiognomy…”
“Is there a problem with Syner?”
“Yes, there is.”
“Explain. Concisely, without dragging it out.”
I stiffened and reported like a soldier.
“Syner is a traitor!”
“Evidence?”
“My intuition?”
“That’s it?”
I looked up at the sky, pretending to get inspiration.
“The stars whispered to me. He’s a traitor, he has defected. He’s both a medium and a traitor…”
I clasped my hands and closed my eyes, but Kin strode forward and grabbed my shoulder. His blue eyes gleamed coldly.
“Medium?”
I answered faithfully.
“Yes. I don’t always fully understand the language of the stars, so I don’t know exactly what ‘medium’ means.”
Classic fortune-teller dodging the unknown.
“…I see.”
But Kin seemed to sense something, washed his face briefly, then stormed out of the office.
“Wait here.”
Alone in the empty office, I muttered with a stunned expression.
“Huh? Huhh? Am I being left all alone here?”
Leaving an outsider in the heart of the castle—does he really think I’m that useless?
“Kinda bruises the ego, huh?”
True, I wasn’t planning to touch Kin’s things, but this felt a bit extreme.
