GDTEA Chapter 81

The Stars Are Speaking

Sharti sat alone in the middle of a dimly lit tent, rolling her eyes this way and that.

The tent that had been temporarily erected to quarantine mana poisoning patients was exuding a completely different atmosphere overnight.

Sharti stared blankly at the large crystal sphere placed on the table.

‘I was on my way to Grandmother Vireta.’

She had left her lodgings intending to show the purple poisonous herb to Vireta and also convey her intention to leave the village soon.

[Oh my~]

That’s when she encountered an old person walking precariously without even a cane.

[When you can’t see ahead, how can you walk properly~]

An elderly person who was clearly older than Ashu’s grandfather was groping through empty air with unsteady steps, eyes closed.

Naturally, Sharti couldn’t pass by an old person who seemed to need help.

“Um, hello. If you’re having difficulty, may I support you?”

Since she couldn’t have a written conversation with a blind elderly person, Sharti spoke in as small a voice as possible.

[Oh my~ Thank you~]

Though one might expect surprise at the sudden presence of another person, the elder readily accepted Sharti’s support.

Whether it was due to their years of living or perhaps hard of hearing, they showed no sign of being bothered by Sharti’s voice.

[I’m a fortune teller~ I read the stars~]

The elder even completed an unasked-for self-introduction, explaining they were a fortune teller hired by the sacred and great Tower Master for the mages who only lived in the Magic Tower.

In a natural flow of conversation, Sharti also revealed to the elder that she was a doctor.

[Oh my~ Young lady~ A doctor~?]

The exaggerated speech pattern was a bit peculiar, but it didn’t particularly bother her.

[Oh my~ That’s good, that’s good~ You chose a job that’s perfect for you~]

Rather, she paid more attention to the elder’s warm words as they affectionately held Sharti’s hand.

[Young lady, the stars tell me~ You can’t pass by people who need help~ You take good care of unfortunate people~ Am I right?]

With the pinpoint insight befitting a fortune teller, the elder accurately saw through Sharti’s disposition.

Listening with fascination, Sharti was led by the elder’s hand into the tent that had been used as a quarantine facility.

[Oh my~ I’m so grateful~ Come in and rest for a while~]

It wasn’t forceful persuasion, so Sharti couldn’t refuse.

She was also concerned about leaving the blind elder alone in the large tent.

‘Come to think of it, this is my first time at a fortune teller’s.’

Sharti looked around inside the tent.

Perhaps to create an atmosphere befitting a fortune teller’s place, blackout fabric had been layered on the inside of the tent, making the interior overall dark.

The only source of light was a single crystal sphere placed on the table.

‘That’s an unusually shaped crystal sphere.’

Inside the crystal sphere, the size of a child’s head, uniquely shaped constellations were each emitting light.

‘Able to read the stars?’

Being able to see the future or fate could also be said to be having heaven’s eyes, couldn’t it?

For some reason, her heart was pounding.

“Oh my~ I was wandering around not knowing where the tent was, and you brought this old person all the way here~ I wonder if I’ve stolen your time, young lady.”

The elder, who had brought a glass of water and dried persimmons, sat across from Sharti.

Taking her eyes off the crystal sphere, Sharti glanced at the glass of water and dried persimmons the elder offered.

“Not at all. I’m not busy.”

“Still, I’m really grateful~ I want to do something for you~ Young lady~ Should I read your fortune~?”

“Pardon?”

The elder grinned as they placed their hand on the crystal sphere.

“It’s nothing much~ More like the flow of the stars~ It seems like you have something on your mind~”

“……You can tell that too?”

“So you do have worries~?”

The elder was relaxed, as if they could see right through Sharti’s inner thoughts.

“You’ve had a lot on your mind lately, haven’t you~?”

At the subtle question, Sharti reflexively thought of Ren. Even now, she was so concerned that all her nerves were focused on him.

Hit right on the mark, Sharti fiddled with her innocent ear and rolled her eyes.

“……A lot has happened.”

The hidden secrets of the village, the mana poisoning, the Krofl Mercenary Group, the Magic Tower……. The excuses grew longer and eventually trailed off.

The elder shook their head.

“Oh my~ Not that kind of thing~ Come now~ Look here~”

Sharti turned her gaze to the crystal sphere following the elder’s gesture.

“The stars say~ There’s someone the young lady has on her mind~”

“……!”

“Your eyes keep going to them~ And then your heart goes too~ Oh my~ Don’t be embarrassed, tell me~”

“Th, that’s…….”

Flustered by the atmosphere turning into something like romance counseling, Sharti blinked. Her heart was pounding for no reason.

Sharti had no immunity to discussing matters of the opposite sex with anyone other than Virena.

“Why~ Does that person not treat you well~?”

“No!”

Sharti squeezed her eyes shut.

Surprised by her own reflexive denial, her cheeks burned.

“……He treats me well. He’s a good person.”

“Then what is the young lady hesitating about~?”

Without looking at Sharti, the elder asked in passing while examining the constellations in the crystal sphere.

“It’s okay~ Tell me~ When you’re hesitating about something, it’s because you’re not confident in your decision~ I’ll listen to your story~”

The elder adjusted the level of questioning appropriately so that Sharti could open up without feeling pressured.

Sharti hesitated at the elder’s clever hit-and-run conversational style.

Even so, lately she had been overwhelmed with accumulated worries, her mind was complicated.

‘There’s no way the conversation here would leak out.’

There were plenty of people who would listen to Sharti’s story. She had always received advice on her worries from Vireta.

However, what Sharti needed now was someone who could listen objectively.

Sharti took a deep breath.

“Lately, only good things have been happening.”

She began with a small voice, as if whispering.

“I’m meeting good people, good changes are happening, I’m being treated well. I’d say nothing but good things beyond what I deserve keep coming.”

Sharti fidgeted with her hands. The more carefully she revealed her inner thoughts one by one, the more her heart trembled. It felt ticklish, as if she had become a girl on the street.

“And at the start of it all is a man.”

At first, he was just a patient. A patient she had to care for. That was all.

When she gave him the name ‘Ren,’ Sharti’s stopped clock hands began to turn.

“I know I should be wary and careful of that person, but I keep letting my guard down, and I’ve been exposing more and more. Unlike the anxious beginning, before I knew it, I was trusting that person.”

Sharti slowly and carefully shared, however briefly, the feelings she had received from Ren.

The vain hope she had mentioned to Virena, the feelings she had awkwardly glossed over in front of Vireta—strangely, they all flowed out smoothly before the elder.

“Because he’s someone who will leave someday, even while being conscious of not giving my heart, my heart helplessly flowed toward that person.”

So she acknowledged it. Let it flow as it will. That it’s a heart that can’t help but waver.

But even so, until the very last moment, Sharti had erected a wall. To protect her own heart that she had hidden all this time from getting hurt, from being disappointed.

“I know my place well, so I thought I could stop on my own.”

It was arrogant. So much so that her resolution was meaningless—she was busy floundering and being swept away by an unfamiliar attraction.

It was an emotion she had never felt before, a heart she had never received. It wasn’t something she could control at will.

“That person keeps pulling me along when I’m standing still.”

A bitter smile spread across Sharti’s lips.

Ren makes her realize. That ‘Sha’ is a precious person.

And he made her realize for herself. That ‘Sharti’ is an ordinary person.

“By my side, he holds my hand; behind me, he pushes my back; in front of me, he always protects me.”

The closer she got to Ren, the more his face came to mind at all times, and she heard his voice. Ren’s existence, which had become familiar, had been imprinted in her mind and heart before she knew it.

“While spending time together, before I knew it, I was smiling more, thinking more, and gaining confidence. ……So I became anxious and worried.”

The more happiness she felt, the more she became afraid of the unhappiness that would come someday.

It wasn’t a matter of trusting Ren or not. The decision to hold someone in her heart was never easy for Sharti.

“I’m already overwhelmed with just my own secret, I don’t know if I can hold that person’s unrevealed secrets too…….”

“You’re exactly alike.”

“Pardon?”

Sharti quickly raised her head at the elder’s murmur.

The elder, who had been resting their chin on their arms placed on the crystal sphere, chuckled.

That face somehow looked familiar.

“There’s no need to ask the stars. Not for something like this.”

“What…….”

“You already like that man, so what are you hesitating about?”

At the sharp and pointed observation, Sharti was at a loss for words.

“Is the young lady spending time on useless worries right now?”

Even though the elder’s eyes were closed because they couldn’t see, it felt like their sharp gaze could be felt.

The elder turned their gaze away from the frozen Sharti and straightened their posture.

“Young lady~ Time is gold~ You have to use it well~ Or you’ll regret it later~?”

The elder, returning to their original speech pattern, wiped the crystal sphere with their sleeve.

The light of the crystal sphere moved following the elder’s gesture.

“Young lady, you have a strong sense of responsibility~ But the problem is you try to take responsibility for even useless things~”

“…….”

“Why worry in advance about things that haven’t happened, about unhappiness that hasn’t come, needlessly creating your own suffering~?”

Sharti bit her lips tightly.

“……That person doesn’t remember the past. The person I know is only a part, and I can’t confess that I li-like them based on just that part.”

“Young lady, don’t be mistaken.”

As the elder covered the entire crystal sphere with their sleeve, the darkness lurking in the tent instantly took over their vision.

“What’s only a part to you might be everything to that person. That worry of yours only looks like making excuses because you don’t want to get hurt.”

Sharti gasped at the criticism piercing through the darkness.

“You avoid happiness because you’re afraid of unhappiness? Saying you’ll refuse present happiness because you’re afraid of unhappiness that might come someday—what kind of spoiled talk is that? No, what kind of selfish talk is that?”

Following the exasperated tone, there was an illusion that the elder’s voice had become younger.

“Young lady~ If you only think of yourself like that, no one will remain by your side for life~ Because you’re not the only one who gets hurt~”

Before Sharti could sense something was strange, the elder quickly returned to their original speech pattern and removed their sleeve, dispelling the darkness with the light of the crystal sphere.

Sharti frowned at the light of the crystal sphere, bright enough to hurt her eyes.

“Young lady~ Live in the present~ Why are you clinging to the past and only looking at the future~”

“…….”

“Right now, that man by your side is only holding onto you, only looking at you~”

Frustration seeped through at the end of the words.

Sharti couldn’t even swallow the rebuttal that suddenly welled up from deep in her heart, mumbled, and squeezed her eyes shut.

“That person might have had someone they loved.”

“…….”

For the first time, the elder seemed flustered and couldn’t rebut.

The area under the elder’s eyes, which had been frozen for a moment, trembled.

“……Lo-love? That man, a-a fiancée, relationship with a woman? That’s what you were anxious about? You were worried about… something like that? About ‘that man’?”

And soon the elder burst into explosive laughter, their mouth splitting wide.