Chapter 48: Little Buddy "Fortune Teller"

Holding out his hand, Marcus gently took hold of my little doll hand.

"Hm... I wonder what sort of fortune you’ll tell us. Come on, little buddy. Help us out, won’t you?"

Where did that term "little buddy" even come from?

It made me sound like some sort of pet dog...

It seemed that their initial fear of me had completely dissipated. Now, they were treating me like some sort of convenient little mascot.

In any case, I had no intention of actually using [Augury] to read their fortunes. I already had a plan in mind, and all I needed was to give them a little push in the right direction.

A strange, doll-like male voice suddenly came out of me.

[There is... fire. And... freedom.]

Hearing my words, the members of F-5 exchanged glances, seemingly unsure how to interpret them.

"Fire... and freedom?"

Marcus repeated my words, contemplating their meaning.

"Could it be telling us to burn this entire place down? Surely, it can’t be that simple..."

That’s right.

That’s exactly what I wanted you to do.

According to the principles outlined in [Arcana], there were several ways to deal with a Supernatural Space.

The first was to complete its story.

Some Supernatural Spaces had their own underlying narratives, and those trapped inside were required to follow the events of that story until they reached its conclusion.

Only after completing the entire storyline would they be allowed to leave.

The second method was to fulfill the conditions required to escape, this was arguably the most common way of clearing a Supernatural Space.

Every place had its own rules and requirements, and as long as one managed to satisfy them, they would be granted permission to leave.

For example, the convenience store space required its employees to survive a 64-hour night shift before allowing them to leave.

Meanwhile, the Neverending Staircase required one to find an address somewhere on Earth.

The third method was to override the Supernatural Space with another, more powerful Supernatural Space.

Naturally, this wasn’t something ordinary people could accomplish as it required an existence powerful enough to overwhelm the original space and impose its own rules upon it.

And finally, there was the fourth method.

To outsmart the Supernatural Space itself!

Rather than following its rules, completing its story, or satisfying its conditions, one had to find a way to go against its fundamental purpose, symbolism, or even the very concept upon which its existence was built.

And that was precisely what I intended to do.

For example, take this Supernatural Space, [Opening of the Grand Hotel to Euphoria].

Its entire purpose was to bring forth the being known as [Euphoria].

But what exactly was Euphoria?

In its simplest definition, euphoria referred to an intense feeling of happiness, excitement, and well-being.

It was a state of overwhelming pleasure, the kind that made someone feel as though nothing in the world could possibly be wrong.

And wasn’t that exactly what this hotel was trying to provide?

A comfortable room, delicious food, relaxing baths, personal servants, and an environment where guests could enjoy themselves without worrying about anything.

Everything was designed to make the guests feel happy and content.

The longer they stayed, the more accustomed they became to their surroundings, until the hotel gradually began to feel like home.

And once every room was occupied, those very same guests would become sacrifices to bring [Euphoria] into the world.

In other words, the entire summoning process depended on creating an environment of comfort, happiness, and pleasure before turning its guests into sacrifices.

But what would happen if that environment were suddenly destroyed?

What if, instead of enjoying a peaceful stay at a luxurious hotel, the guests were forced to flee for their lives?

What if the comfortable rooms became burning chambers, the hallways filled with smoke, and the servants could no longer attend to their guests?

A fire!

Something as simple and destructive as a fire could completely undermine the purpose of this Supernatural Space.

After all, how could a hotel continue providing its guests with happiness and comfort when the entire building was burning down?

It was the complete opposite of what [Euphoria] represented.

Of course, I could not guarantee that setting the hotel on fire would immediately destroy the Supernatural Space...

However, if its summoning conditions truly depended on maintaining this environment of comfort and pleasure, then disrupting those conditions might be enough to interfere with the entire process.

And even if it didn’t work, at the very least, we’d have forced the hotel to respond to a situation it wasn’t designed to accommodate.

’I, Moon, have studied countless wikis on [Arcana] and reread every single book at least three times!’

My understanding of this world was not something that could be underestimated!

Now, all I needed was for these people to follow my advice.

Come on, F-5!

Don’t disappoint your little buddy!

Clara was the next to approach, reaching out to hold my hand.

Just like Marcus, she seemed curious about what sort of fortune I could tell. However, before giving her an answer, I first took a quick look at her actual [Augury].

There didn’t seem to be anything unusual about it, so I decided to give her the same fortune as before.

[There is... fire. And... freedom.]

Clara fell silent for a moment before turning to look at Elias and Jonathan.

Judging by their reactions, they seemed to be trying to make sense of my words and determine whether they were actually a clue to escaping this place.

After all, if I kept giving them the same fortune, then perhaps it wasn’t referring to any one of them in particular.

Maybe it was a message meant for the entire team, pointing them towards the very thing they needed to do to gain their freedom.

Elias stepped forward next.

[There is... fire. And... freedom.]

"Hm... Since it’s a fortune telling doll, I wonder which one of us would’ve come up with burning this place down as the solution..."

Marcus interjected, seemingly pondering the idea.

"Well, who’s to say it has to be one of us? It could’ve been someone else who entered this place. Besides, none of us brought a lighter, and we don’t even know where the kitchen is..."

"Ah, right. Thank you, little buddy."

He gave my head another pat, treating me like some sort of dog. I really wanted to transform back into my human form and give this Marcus guy a good scare...

Jonathan was the last to step forward. He reached out and pressed my hand, just as the others had done.

I was already preparing to repeat the same fortune. After all, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the previous two, and I had no reason to change my answer.

However, the moment I glanced at the [Augury] he possessed, the words I was about to say suddenly caught in my throat.

This...

[You are going to die.]