Bonus Short Stories
The Hero of Roses and the Priestess of Fate
Presently, I was in the Temple of Time.
“So you will be returning to Roses.”
“Right. But you knew that before I even opened my mouth.”
“Well, I am the Priestess of the Goddess of Fate,” said Estelle with a hmph, puffing her flat chest up.
I’d thought it would be proper to give our farewells before we left Cameron, but she’d just seen through me anyway.
“Thank you for your help,” I said with a bow. Honestly, considering all the hassle we’d been through with the ghost ship, it was actually me that had given her the help...but I decided to be the bigger man. Roses was a small country after all—a little kissing up couldn’t hurt!
“Oh...you think I should be thanking you?” Estelle asked accusingly. “That’s certainly something to say.”
“What?”
“It’s written all over your face.”
Nonono! On my face?! Calm Mind should prevent any of that...
“I can see right through you!” she declared, pointing at me.
That’s kinda rich, coming from someone that can’t see my future.
“Th-That’s Noah’s fault, not mine!”
Is she really not reading my mind?! I think she’s got the skill...
“W-Well, regardless, let’s move on. I would rather not leave a debt unpaid. Come on, tell me what you want,” she demanded.
“Hm, I mean, if you participate in the Northern Front—”
Estelle cut me off. “That’s a given since we’re both part of the Six Nation Alliance. Do you have no personal desires?”
“Not really...”
She pouted at me before seeming to come up with an idea. “Right! Then I’ll read your fortune!”
“My fortune...?” What does she mean?
“It’s a divination of your luck,” she explained. “And I’ll tell you now—fortune telling from me costs quite a bit!”
“But, you can see the future, right? So what’s the point?”
“How could you say that?” she asked in disbelief. “When I peer into the future, I only see the path that the next few years will take. However, people want to know about their lives over a longer time-frame, and whether they’ll succeed or fall to tragedy. That’s what I’ll foretell!”
“Couldn’t you just look into the future and tell them?” I asked
Estelle paused for a long moment. “Looking decades into the future is the domain of the gods. You need to be a goddess in heaven to do that.”
“Huh...” I was finding out all sorts of things today.
“Now then, I’ll tell your fortune. Let’s see...” Estelle put her hand on my cheek as she spoke, and it kinda tickled. “As for your future... Oh!” She giggled. “I can see it, ‘I can see time!’”
She seemed...excited. And somehow, that line sounded familiar...
“Now... You’ll marry—”
“Hey! Don’t just foretell that kind of thing out of nowhere!” I hurriedly backed away from her. It felt like anything she said would end up as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“It’s just fortune telling, not precognition, so it hardly matters, does it?”
“I feel like your ‘fortune telling’ is more misses than hits, so I’ll pass.”
“Hmph.” She pouted again. “People see it as an honor, though... Well, fine, I suppose.”
Estelle’s mood seemed to lift as she watched me panic. She was far from the nicest, huh?
“What was that?” she snapped.
“You’re definitely reading my mind now!” I exclaimed.
“Oops.”
There was no point in her hiding it now. Oh well, I should probably head out before I end up thinking something rude.
“It’s rather too late for that.”
“You didn’t need to say it. Goodbye, priestess.”
“Indeed. Take care on the way back to Roses.”
I gave a small nod and left her room.
So...the person I’d marry? She hadn’t said a name, but now I was kind of curious. I was somewhat restless about it for the rest of the day.
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