Chương 2: The Inquiries of the "Fortune Teller"

"I sensed uncertainty clouding your path. Allow me to offer guidance," the fortune teller spoke to me with a mysterious and urgent tone in her voice. I looked back at the fortune teller's booth that I had just passed and saw the cloaked figure of a woman. Her eyes were hidden from me, but I could see the wicked smile on her face, which was quite unnerving.

I was stopped in my tracks, having just casually passed by her booth. I hadn't planned to visit her fortune teller booth or cared about any of that fortune-telling nonsense, but for some reason, my body subconsciously stopped me from leaving the alleyway and urged me to get closer to the fortune teller lady.

'What...?' My inner thoughts in confusion as I just realized that my body was acting strange all of a sudden. My body suddenly felt sluggish and stiff, as if a bunch of ropes were tying down each of my limbs. I looked down at my own body with confusion. What happened to my body? I was pretty sure that I was walking just fine before... but my body became like this after I had casually passed by this fortune teller's booth and she called me out.

I looked back at the fortune teller lady and only saw the same wicked smile that she had shown me under the hood of her cloak. Okay... she was starting to creep me out. I quickly looked away and returned my vision forward toward my original destination, which was the path out of this alleyway.

"Sorry, lady. I'm in a hurry right now..." I tried to politely excuse myself from the fortune teller lady and forced my body to move forward, albeit slowly as my body still felt sluggish and stiff. I was still confused as to why my body was acting weird all of a sudden, but I had a feeling that this fortune teller lady was somewhat... no, largely involved in it, so I needed to get out of this alleyway fast.

"Ah~, come on, dear traveler~. Just a quick little chit-chat won't hurt~." She purred at me, trying to entice me to get closer to her, which almost worked as my body stopped again and twitched for a bit as if it was responding to her words.

"Look, lady. I'm not interested in some fortune-telling crap!" I tried to reason with the fortune teller lady as confusion and panic began to creep over me due to my body's sudden strange behavior.

"Oh my~, 'fortune-telling,' you say? Fufufu~." She giggled at the notion of what I just said. Was I wrong? I was pretty sure that you would only find this kind of booth for fortune telling, especially those trying to scam people. Either way... I got to get out of here!

I forced my body to move again, fighting back the "ropes" that were tying my body down. It worked somewhat as I started to move slightly faster. But... she then began to speak to me again.

"Now, now, don't be shy, dear traveler~. Come over here." She purred again to me, beckoning me toward her with a command. Then all of a sudden, my body jerked back as if I were being forcefully pulled back, as if the metaphorical "ropes" that had been holding down my body were being pulled.

"Woah!" I yelped from the sudden force that had pulled my body. My body was pulled back right in front of the "fortune teller" lady's booth. I was then forced to face forward toward it, as well as forced to see the full figure of the lady sitting casually cross-legged behind the booth with her right arm propping her chin in a seductress way. She was wearing a dull gray cloak that hid most of her figure, but the cloak itself hugged her well-endowed figure quite nicely.

The fortune teller lady lifted her head to see me. Most of her upper face was hidden by the hood she was wearing, but I could see her lower face, and... she seemed quite beautiful from the looks of her lower face alone. Weirdly enough, the thought of seeing this beautiful and sexy "fortune teller" lady calmed my nerves a bit... Damnit, my own damn libido was starting to win over my fear.

As I tried to imagine how her full face would look, she showed me the previous wicked smile that took me aback a bit. She giggled at seeing my reaction, as her wicked smile was toned down into a mischievous one, and then began to speak. "Fufufu... you seem to be at a loss right now, traveler," she spoke to me, assuming that I was lost... which was somewhat true as I was indeed trying to find the location of my interviewer. Did I look too obvious?

Sensing her own accuracy, she giggled again. "Fufufu... tell me, traveler, what is your aspiration?" She suddenly asked me out of the blue, which again, surprised me. 'Aspirations'? Was this part of her fortune-telling tidbit? When I looked back at the "fortune teller" lady, she just showed me her mischievous smile again, as if she was waiting for my answer.

Aspiration, huh... was she asking about what kind of job I wanted? Did she know I was going job hunting? Maybe she knew because I was carrying this pile of job application documents in my hand.

I paused a bit, as I began to think. Truth be told... I have never thought about what my aspiration was. I have been too preoccupied with finishing college and after that, searching for jobs to no avail... I have never thought what I want to be in the future...

"Hmm..." I hummed to myself as I tried to think what my aspiration might be, but... nothing really solid crossed my mind. "I honestly don't know..." I answered the "fortune teller" lady's question with a bit of a solemn tone.

"Ah, how sad..." The "fortune teller" lady sympathized with me; her tone was also somber, but... I had a feeling that she was more toward teasing me rather than actually pitying me. "Well then... how about something that you want to have right now?" She continued, asking me another question instead.

I was slightly taken aback by another one of her questions. She was now asking me what I want to have? As in a selfish desire or something? Hmm...

"Well... I just want a job right now," I simply answered her question. Indeed, I was looking for a job. I didn't really have much of a selfish desire other than being able to work and not feeling like a deadbeat.

"Ah, a job you say?" She inquired about what I just said, tilting her head in interest.

"Yeah, just a simple job would be nice right now," I confirmed back to her inquiry.

"Do you have any specific job in mind?" She continued asking another question. Again, I was taken aback by her probing question. I tilted my head slightly to the side, my gaze wandering as I pondered her inquiry.

Again... nothing solid crossed my mind. The job interview that I was about to attend was for the regular old office job that you would find in most urban cities, but... I didn't have much confidence about it. I wasn't sure whether I could actually work in an office cubicle or pass the interview for the job itself... Still, I would at least need to try it before I got cold feet about it.

"Well..." I began while also trying to think of an answer. The "fortune teller" lady now leaned forward, her expression, while only the bottom part of her face was visible, showed keen interest, as if she was eagerly awaiting my response. "Any job is fine right now," I simply answered with a hint of finality.

I firmly decided: I would do any job. I was getting even more desperate with each job application and interview that I had been trying and failing. If this job interview didn't work out, I might as well try my luck with being a burger flipper in a fast-food joint too.

"Hmm... is that so?" She inquired about my answer, but her tone was that of boredom. My answer most likely didn't really satisfy her expectation as she had just lost interest in me, which was a good thing since it looked like she would finally let me off from whatever spell that she had cast on me... I hoped...

'You know what? Maybe I just gotta humor her at least once,' I thought to myself, but...

I would soon come to regret this decision.

"Yeah," I confirmed to her. "Hell, I might even do grunt's work," I jokingly said, as I vaguely remembered those kids in the public park with their 'Hero Vs. Villain' play, in particular, that poor kid who got forced into the villain's grunt role.

Hearing what I just said, the fortune teller suddenly lifted her face and showed me a wicked smile of hers that startled me once again. What's even more terrifying... was that she finally showed her eyes to me that were hidden under her cloak's hood... and they were shining red with an equally wicked intent.

"Oh...! A Grunt, you say?"