Things continued in this fashion for a while.
I picked up some rocks around the area and told people they would improve their fortunes, manipulated soul mates into meeting each other, and so on. After several days of excellent business, my purse was bulging with coins. By my estimation, I had made enough to live large for several months here.
Well, well, I must give my thanks to the king who made the counterfeit coins.
Since the prices were so high in this country, I used up a lot of money on room and board, but everyone was happy to pay a much higher rate for my "services" than usual. The actual value of money in this country was lower than in other countries.
"…Yes—I have imbued this HALF-OFF sign with my magic power. If you hang it in front of your shop, bread will be flying off the shelves."
"Really? I'll try it right away."
"Is that so? Well, the fee for the sign and the fee for the consultation come to three gold pieces all together."
"Are you giving me three signs?"
"The price is for one, obviously. Something wrong with your head?"
The coins in my wallet multiplied once again.
I sold my handwritten sign to the woman from the bread shop, who had come to me after hearing rumors about my services, and with that my work was over for the day. A joyful jingling noise was coming from my very heavy wallet.
Well then, time to return to my pitiful lodgings. I stood up, stretched a bit, and collected my belongings.
"You there!"
Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulders from behind, and I turned around in surprise. Standing there was a soldier.
Several soldiers, in fact. There were about ten of them, all dressed alike, and they slowly fanned out to surround me. Each one was holding a spear, and they had guns slung across their backs. They didn't really seem to belong here.
"You're the fortune-teller, right?" the man standing directly in front of me demanded.
"No, you're mistaken."
"Don't lie. We've been watching you interact with customers."
"..."
Sweat broke out on my cheeks.
Crap. Crap, crap, crap.
What do I do? Someone must have made a complaint about me running a scam—but it's not like I really cheated anybody. Ahhh, what do I do now…? I can't run; they've got me surrounded. I could use magic to escape, but I don't want to make enemies of an entire country…
"Come with me," the man in front of me said dispassionately. "The king wants to meet you."
I couldn't believe my ears—but I'm sure that's no surprise.
The circle of men around me brought me through their bland city and arrived at a very bland palace. Save for the ludicrous prices, there was really nothing interesting about this country at all.
On a raised dais where two staircases met in the most spacious room in the palace, a young man sat on an expensive-looking chair between two thrones.
From his seat, the young king looked down at me and spoke. "So you are the traveling fortune-teller, hmm? You're quite young."
"You are quite young yourself, Your Majesty. I thought you would be more advanced in years." The soldiers glared at me coldly, but I hadn't meant to be snarky. I really was expecting someone older.
The king addressed the soldiers. "You can all go. Leave us," he said, brushing them away with his hand. The soldiers withdrew, leaving only the two of us in the spacious chamber, and the king spoke again. "I've heard rumors that you can actually predict the future. Is
that true?"
"Yes, well…it's more accurate to say that I help the future along."
"And do your abilities only work on humans?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm asking if it might work on a broader scale as well." His voice was quite calm. I couldn't get a read on what he was thinking at all.
Does he believe in my abilities? Or does he doubt them? Or did he see through my lies?
I skirted the question. "What kind of future do you want to know about?"
"The future of this country," the young king replied.
"The future of the country… Huh." As I was nodding obediently, I thought, That's it? You didn't need to be a fortune-teller to predict the future of this country. It was simple.
Oh well, I'm not really a fortune-teller anyway.
"Before I answer your question, there is one thing I would like to ask you, Your Majesty."
"What is it?"
"Please tell me your reasons for putting counterfeit money into your country's economy."
He knit his eyebrows and let out a sigh. "That's nonsense."
"What, it's all real money?" I thought of the coins straining my wallet. If all of them are real, I'm outrageously rich! Yay!
"…Yes. I put real, authentic currency into circulation—though it wasn't my idea."
"Did someone tell you to?"
The young king nodded. "There's someone who was very close to the previous king. Since I've only just ascended to the throne, I am entrusting all matters of economic policy to him. His plan was to stimulate our economy by circulating the newly minted currency, but it hasn't been going so well."
"..."
That doesn't seem like the issue here, but…
"After the sudden increase in coinage, word spread that the new money was counterfeit, but that is complete nonsense."
"…Is there no chance that this close adviser has been telling you lies?"
"No chance at all. I secretly summoned several experts to the palace and had them investigate the matter, but the newly minted coins are without a doubt the real thing. The rumor about counterfeit money is false," the young king said, then stood up.
He slowly descended the stairs from the dais and approached me.
"My adviser has really done well for this country. In fact, I think he ought to be king instead of me, though the hereditary nature of our monarchy makes that impossible. In addition to advancing government policies, he is always by my side to advise me. If he
weren't here, I would have lost my crown already, I'm sure."
"..."
Coming to a stop directly in front of me, the king wore a pained expression. "But this time, I'm beginning to wonder. I don't think he is guiding us to future prosperity. I don't want to doubt him, but the current state of our economy is not good. These baseless rumors about false currency are running rampant, and now that prices are
rising, travelers are staying away. Trade isn't going well, either."
After hearing his troubles, I could think of only one thing. He wants me to reassure him. He wanted someone to tell him the future of the country would be peaceful, that the adviser he trusted wasn't lying to him, and put his fears to rest.
He seems like a very straightforward person. No, it's probably more accurate to say that he's honest to the point of tactlessness.
"And that's why I want you to predict the future of this country. Can you do it?" he asked.
Of course, my answer was already decided.
"I can." I nodded, and the young king's eyes sparkled.
"Oh, really?!" He reached for my hand in his enthusiasm, so I pulled my hand in and took a step backward.
"Yes, I never lie," I said. Is this what people are talking about when they say lying is as easy as breathing for some people? "However, before I predict the future of your country, I have some conditions."
"Name them."
I put up my index finger. "First of all, allow me to stay here for one night. Fortune-telling for a whole country is a demanding job. Plus, it's necessary for me to understand the whole country from the palace that stands at its center."
"Okay. Understood. I'll arrange for it at once." The young king nodded enthusiastically.
I put up the next finger. The first condition had just been a freebie. It wouldn't be wrong to say it was a preparatory step to assist in my actual plan. The next condition was the important one.
"And secondly…"