LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 77
“There’s something awfully wrong with that voice.”
The voice was hoarse and eerily unsettling. It seemed as if the vocal cords had been scraped with sandpaper and skewers.
It was a sound that made one wonder how a human could emit such a noise. The idea of something that wasn’t human mimicking human speech and producing a voice that had climbed from the depths of an abyss seemed all too plausible.
Iserin and Ella, who were listening nearby, flinched at the sound.
However, for Jinseong, this voice was horrifyingly familiar. This was just how his voice had sounded before the rewind.
[ What are you? Who are you? ]
The Great Witch on the other end of the phone seemed taken aback by Jinseong’s voice, replying somewhat flustered. But instead of answering her question, Jinseong continued to speak only his own words.
“Ha ha ha. You’ve got some serious bad luck, don’t you? They say the fate of witches is indeed quite wretched, but yours seems particularly dire.”
[ Who are you to butt in like this? ]
“Truly tragic and pitiable. How could one not only embrace misfortune but carry it in their voice as well? Ha ha ha. Let’s see. You didn’t perform any protective rituals when you could have, and even when you tried later on, it was too much to handle.”
[ What? ]
“Oh dear, you’re a walking disaster in every sense. Witch, you are indeed a witch. Do you think pouring gold into protective charms would actually help? Would a few spoonfuls of bleach turn that pitch-black sea back to its original color?”
As Jinseong kept rambling, the Great Witch on the other end was seething in anger.
[ Who are you?! ———–!!!! ]
The sound was so loud that the vibration rattled the smartphone. But Jinseong continued calmly.
“Now, now, what an idiot you’ve been. Recently, you shelled out a lot of money for a dream catcher made by an Indian shaman, didn’t you? Do you really think capturing nightmares with that would be effective? A net is for catching fish, not for scooping up sludge! Because of your foolishness, an expensive divine object has become trash.”
[ What? ]
“Oh, for goodness’ sake. Why did you buy that Ganesha statue made of ivory? It wasn’t made by a shaman but rather some clueless counterfeit, so it has no effectiveness. Do you really think pretending it’s art would give it value? A nameless forger made it, so displaying it will make you the laughingstock for lacking culture.”
[ You— ]
“Oh dear, you’re really reaching. A terrarium full of four-leaf clovers? A doorknob made from a 500-year-old lucky tree? Horseshoes made from weapons used in a holy war? While they might not be completely useless, they surely pale in comparison to your misfortunes, making them all garbage and a waste of effort. Why on earth would you pay for such rubbish?”
[ You! Did you investigate me? Or did you hear it from that hunk of junk next to you? I don’t know what kind of trick you’re pulling…! ]
The Great Witch was ready to blow her top once again.
If it weren’t for Jinseong’s continuous ramblings, she surely would have exploded.
“Surely, that expensive trash pales in comparison to the rabbit’s foot you were given when you were seven years old.”
At those words, her rage dissipated in an instant, leaving a quiet intake of breath on the other end.
“Do you remember? It was given to you by Hans, who lived next door.”
[ … ]
“Oh, not the youngest, Hans. The one who received neither love nor hatred from the wizard. Not particularly cute but quite popular, and lacking in courage yet caring. Hans, Hans. The one who would become a wizard, the pride of the village.”
Jinseong whispered like a wicked creature.
“I’m sure you remember that.”
A moment of heavy silence followed his statement.
Then, with that silence broken, a voice emerged, heavy with memories stained by darkness, as if the past had reached out to ensnare her.
[ … How do you know that? ]
“Well, how would I know? Heh heh heh. Maybe as Hans hummed to himself. Just like that nice boy who lived in a wealthy household and liked taking care of little kids said. ‘A fairy might have told me.'”
[ You. I’m not in the mood for games. If you don’t speak up soon…. ]
“Oh, I want a person. I want a human. I’d rather have something alive than any treasure in the world.”
Jinseong sang lightly, as if it were a nursery rhyme.
“Today I bake bread, tomorrow I’ll brew beer,”
[ … ]
“And the day after, I’ll snatch a child from the queen.”
In a sinister tone, he teased the Great Witch with his brief song, then chuckled softly and asked.
“Tell me, witch. Do you remember your first love, who, fleeing from terrible oppression, handed you a rabbit’s foot as a promise of a future meeting? Do you recall how he would appear out of the blue when you were spending time alone at the edge of the black forest, secretly offering you food and stroking your soft hair while playing with you?”
[ … Who are you? ]
“Oh, Hans said, as he handed the rabbit’s foot. Though I have no fairies and am fleeing, I know you have a guardian fairy who will surely accompany you. I have no dwarves to grant wishes and am escaping from monsters, but you likely had a kind fairy who made you a pumpkin carriage. And then, he left you with a riddle.”
Jinseong laughed.
“He said that to meet me, you would have to guess the name of the fairy who sang the song while lighting a torch. However, that was a lie; even if you read that fairy tale over and over to find the answer, your first love would never return. Even when you gained wealth and youth later on, you couldn’t find him, and in the end, the poor witch lived alone without a partner for the rest of her life. Ah, what a tragedy. What a tragedy indeed.”
[ You—! Who are you! ——–!!! ]
Again, the smartphone rang loudly.
“Who am I? If I were related to your first love Hans, then there’s no way I would know about your recent state, and if I were related to you, I wouldn’t know Hans either. So how can I possess both of that knowledge? Who am I, then, to know all things that cannot coexist?”
He said this teasingly before abruptly ending the call.
Then, he handed the smartphone to Ella.
As soon as he passed the smartphone to her, it rang as if it were on fire, but he subtly grasped her hand, shaking his head with a smile as if to say not to answer.
Ella couldn’t comprehend what Jinseong had just done or said. Why the Great Witch, with her cynical and hysterical personality, reacted that way. And why Jinseong had stopped answering the phone; she understood none of it.
Because of that, she couldn’t sort through the chaotic mess in her head that was as tumultuous as the witch’s cauldron, and she followed Jinseong’s intent by not answering the call.
Then, after several phone calls went unanswered, and a missed call notification reached five, she was finally able to pick up.
[ Eeeeeell-aaa! Bluejoysight! Beeinterrrr!!! ]
As soon as she answered, the nearly unhinged cry of the Great Witch filled her ears.
[ Why aren’t you answering the phone! No, now that you’ve answered, that’s fine! Who’s next to you? Who is it that snatched the phone from you and said such things to me? ]
“Th-that’s….”
Hearing the Great Witch question about his identity, Jinseong placed a finger on her lips. Then, he whispered, ‘Shh.’
“Th-that’s….”
Jinseong smiled, silently mouthing the words.
J.
S.
H.
“J-j-sorcerer….”
[ Sorcerer? Ha, what sorcerer… No, no way. A fortune teller? Or a contractor? I can’t say, I can’t say. But…! ]
The Great Witch rambled as she mumbled something upon hearing the word ‘sorcerer’.
[ Ella! Switch to that sorcerer! ]
Jinseong nodded, taking the smartphone back from her hand.
Then, in a sinister voice, he spoke again.
“Heh heh heh. Yes, I am merely a humble sorcerer, the one who is connected to the inferior witch you disdain.”
[ How did you come to know that? Did you investigate? ]
“Oh dear, witch. If you think a little, you would understand. Is this something that can be known through investigation? All records of Hans existing under the Nazi regime were erased, and everyone who knew that child was burned to death. How could I investigate this? All means to carry out spirit vision through rune magic have been destroyed, leaving only your memories. How could I know this through investigation?”
[ Th-that… ]
“Oh, witch. Poor child. Yes, I know your past. I know of Hans’ existence, and I know the answer to the riddle he left behind. I also know what you’re currently doing, what you’ll be doing in the near future, and how you’ll die. What should one call such a thing? What should I be called for knowing these things?”
Knowing the past.
Knowing the present.
Knowing the future.
Those who possess even a portion of omniscience.
[ You… No. Are you a prophet? ]
Jinseong chuckled softly at her words.
“I’m just a humble sorcerer.”
* * *
There exists a technique called mind reading.
A skill that reads a person’s heart.
A skill that reads a person’s thoughts.
Before the power of science rose, it was an ability that could only be used by practitioners who had reached the realms of middle school telepathy or ajna chakra—or by contractors who had made contracts with transcendent beings that wielded the power to read minds.
But as science advanced and the human mind and brain were explored, so did the techniques to read people.
Now, mind reading is divided into three categories: the special ability type, the advanced scientific type, and the psychological method type.
What Jinseong used was the psychological method of mind reading.
It was mind reading.
This mind reading can be further divided into two types.
Mind reading based on the Barnum Effect and Confirmation bias, which is cold reading.
Mind reading that gathers information through investigation and utilizes it, which is hot reading.
In the case of cold reading, information is gathered from the other person’s body language, expressions, attire, hair, pupil dilation, and other non-verbal signals, along with auditory signals such as tone, pitch, and stress.
Hot reading, on the other hand, involves gaining information through investigation, making it a criminal method.
Of the two, what Jinseong was using was hot reading.
It was hot reading based on information gathered during Carnivals when he faced the Great Witch before the rewind.
A type of mind reading that could be as prophetic as a real prediction.
Without prior investigation, it is greater than investigation itself.
Jinseong knows the Great Witch’s past.
He roughly knows what she was doing around this time before the rewind.
He knows how the Great Witch will perish before the rewind.
So, is this hot reading simply mind reading, or a prophecy?
“Yes, witch. Great Witch. Are you now ready to listen to the words of this humble sorcerer?”
One thing is certain, though.
Whether he was using hot reading or prophecy doesn’t matter.
In the Great Witch’s mind, Jinseong had already become a prophet.