I Became a Foreign Worker Loved by Transcendents

Desire.

A primal instinct of all creatures, often the most suppressed by rational beings…

In some ways, it was considered the most disruptive to life.

-Ding-a-ling!

But the jester denied such assertions.

Desire created goals, and the liberation of it imparted value to efforts.

What value was there in a life that only suppressed such desires?

“Come to think of it, you still haven’t paid back the money you took from me last time.”

“And you, you made a mess of the girl I had my eye on right in front of me…!”

“Aaaargh! Damn it all! Why do I have to end up like this?! It’s all your fault!”

“That’s my line! Why do I have to rot in this hellhole with you bums?!”

Even if problems followed, at that moment, none of that needed to be considered.

As their accumulated desires seethed in the filthy alley, the jester fueled the fervor with her performance and erased their rationality.

Abandoning worries, concerns, and conscience.

“Arrgh! Die! You bastards!”

Even the sound of flesh being torn and the lament of losing humanity were all obliterated by a performance that was so intense and addictive.

“Ahaha~!”

As desire sprouted in place of the consumed rationality, a red flower bloomed fully on the stage.

A once-hidden joyful smile began to emerge more prominently on the face of the jester, who was moving as if she were dancing.

“The humble jester sings~”

She said with a brighter smile than ever before.

She illuminated this frenzy, drawing joy that held a light more vivid than moonlight.

“Singing the song of one’s life♬”

Through this heightened spirit, reminiscing about her own memories, she plucked the strings.

“A beggar born from chaos, grasping at the salvation offered. A street thug, drunk on victory, becomes a hero, then a king, whose journey I’ve witnessed and remembered…”

A reflection on a long life, a series of fleeting images, a fairytale written about a hero, a biography of a hero from another’s perspective…

It didn’t matter what it was called.

Naming it was a luxury in a song meant to heighten the merriment of the feast.

“Yet, changing it to a merry song for fear of being swept away by time, it lingers in this world longer than memories, passed from mouth to mouth~”

Even those unaware of the song felt the excitement, sharing its resonance with each other…

Even without awareness, hoping to leave its mark in this world.

“Oh King, I am your jester~ As I sing this song, I also reminisce about the glorious days we spent together…”

-Ding-a-ling, Ding-a-ling♬

“…So even at this moment, I hope that the emptiness you feel, built by those accumulated memories, will be filled, and a smile will once again grace your lips.”

As the lyrics ended, the hands plucking the strings also lost their strength.

The silence that followed contrasted starkly with the previous commotion, which was utterly quiet.

Just one person.

Amid the flesh still oozing fresh blood, only one man regained his senses, looking terrified.

“Ah, aah….”

Was that fear directed at himself?

Or was it for what he had done in this scene?

“…You’re trembling.”

Either way, it was unnecessary.

Thinking so, the jester placed her slender fingers on the strings of the lute she held.

“In a place where you should be enjoying yourself, what are you worrying about?”

“No, don’t…”

“Let it free.”

-Ding-a-ling~

“Please, I beg you…”

“Release it.”

Ring-ring~♬

“Ah, aah!!!”

“If it can’t be undone, and you lack the courage to confront it, then fleeing can also be the right answer…”

Sweet whispers intertwined with the music.

Feeling his mind being engulfed, the man was left with only one thought.

“Eh! Hahaha!”

Yes, this must be a dream.

If not, burying it would suffice.

Doing so would solve everything.

Wow!

The weapon in his hand eventually pierced his own throat, severing the last thread of life.

As the convulsions of the fallen body subsided, the woman, bathed in blood, began to smile more broadly.

“Hehe.”

As if to replace the applause that should have followed the performance.

“Ahahahahahahahaha~”

With her voice gaining strength, she laughed heartily, spreading her arms wide as she gazed at the faces of the sprawled corpses.

The worms had died with their reason buried.

Yet, their faces bore utter delight.

Even in death, having followed their desires without concern, their end was marked by unmistakable joy.

“Right? Why suppress it? No matter the life, its end should be joyful and exhilarating~♬”

Even in this cesspool, at the final moment of reflection on one’s life, all worries and fears were forgotten, and their journey ended…

If the pursuit of happiness was the purpose of life, why was the end met in fulfilling desires considered so sinful?

“To enjoy the moment of liberation to the point of utter devastation like this.”

A bright smile formed again on the lips of the jester as she gazed upon the gruesome remains.

Darker and brighter.

“Such things are really, truly~”

Whispering, she acknowledged that her own feelings, in sympathy with their fate, had reached a climax.

“…How mundane.”

Despite the ecstasy of pleasure, her heart hopelessly plummeted into a deep abyss.

Like the heat of a body that flares up at the climax, only to cool down in an instant.

For, as always, what followed liberation was an empty heart.

-Ding.

Yes, a desire that ended instantly was trivial.

No matter how passionate a once-in-a-lifetime indulgence might be.

If it left nothing behind, what meaning did that act hold?

-Ding-a-ling~

So, she embarked on her journey.

Seeking new audiences at every moment…

Hoping that the intense pleasure that only awakened at life’s final curtain would endlessly continue in her travels.

-Ding, crackle!

Even if that also became a futile memory, at least weaving such tales together like a patchwork…

Hoping someday it would become a tale that pleased the Lord she served.

-Crackle, crack!

Over and over again.

Endlessly echoing that monotonous span of time.

-Bang!!

The lute’s strings violently snapped under her hand from being overused.

She then tossed it aside and slowly raised her gaze to the sky.

Her eyes sharpened in the moonlight that bathed the crimson flowerbeds lining the streets.

“…Why is that?”

Her radiant amber eyes, bathed in the light, began to glow even more intensely.

For the first time in her endless journey of void, she found something that seemed worth her attention.

“Just a fleeting encounter, yet since the moment I caught sight of you, I can’t shake you from my memory.”

For the first time in a journey filled with ephemeral ties and fading encounters…

She found the image of someone whom she thought she should forget remained strikingly clear in her mind.

“Hyo-sung, can you teach me how to fill this endless void within me?”

Indeed, if immersion was defined by its boundlessness, then perhaps this man was the one she had been seeking.

In a life devoted to desire, an endless pursuit offered no satisfaction, only an insatiable longing.

“I wish it were so. I’m weary of this thoughtless laughter.”

She yearned for a well in this world that could perpetually satiate her thirst.

Her whisper was laden with such earnestness.

And then, in a tent on the outskirts of the city…

-Crackle.

Airi, divining her fate before the day’s end, furrowed her brow at the vision in her crystal ball.

‘What is this?’

The future she had foreseen was changing abruptly…

It wasn’t the first occurrence.

Due to a dragon’s caprices within the city, a future where the empire lay in ruins had been revealed.

But the vision now was too chaotic to be merely a shift in the future.

-Crackle, screech.

The crystal ball showed a muddled scene, accompanied by nothing but harsh static.

It was a phenomenon she had never witnessed while divining.

Indeed, it was so unusual that she was certain even other fortune-tellers had not encountered it.

‘Could it be that our ancestor is unable to foresee the future ahead?’

Yes, although her ability was certainly omniscient, even that wasn’t reflected immediately.

Sudden whims of a transcendent being or other variables might arise, necessitating adjustments to the observed future.

The fact that such disruptions in the future lasted this long suggested that something more significant than the whims of a single transcendent being was happening.

The immediate and most likely possibility was not just one but two, or perhaps even more…

‘The whims of multiple transcendent beings have collided.’

Just as this extreme thought took her breath away, the crystal ball cleared again.

The crackling noise faded, and she saw that the scene she had observed before had been restored.

“Ah, it’s back.”

Yes, it was the future she had seen before.

The mysterious lighting and the bed with lace.

And herself, gasping as she embraced a man in her underwear…

“Ahh♥”

…But why?

Why, even after seeing her safe future restored, did she feel so conflicted?

“Uh, ugh. Why won’t this change…?!”

Even after checking several times since their first meeting, the future with him remained unchanged.

And in a way that she, who had always lived frugally and practiced reading the future, could never have imagined…

Of course, if she kept this future in mind and remained wary of him, she could easily avoid such a debased future.

If necessary, she could even seek advice directly from the Goddess of Destruction to find a way to change the future.

Changing the future as she desired would require a great deal of power, but it would be necessary for her purpose.

‘But the reason it’s not easy to hastily change it is likely because my future self hasn’t forgotten the goal.’

If she hadn’t forgotten her mission, it meant she was essentially destined to be a hero who would save this world.

However, scrutinizing that process was not easy for her at the moment.

The future shown in the crystal ball was something that would happen in the distant future, not immediately, and it was harder to understand the more it was disconnected from the present.

‘Yes, time will reveal why I would become entangled with him…’

If the issue was forgetting her mission, she just needed to regain her senses and stay as far away from him as possible.

But if he, currently unremarkable, was destined to save the world in the future, she had to prepare herself even for such a debased future as she had foreseen.

‘I will be tied to that person…’

Woo Hyo-Sung.

A person who had come to mind several times since their first meeting, and whom she had cared about.

And the person who had not denied her words as a fortune-teller had taken them at face value, and had even expressed his gratitude.

‘I don’t dislike it, but… we still don’t know each other well enough…’

Was it because she had seen herself entwined with him several times?

While thinking of his face, Airi felt her face inexplicably grow hot.

‘But still, doing it like I saw in the future is a bit… If we’re going to have a relationship, it should be more simple and gentle…’

Having focused only on practice and her mission, things that were once of little interest now increasingly occupied her mind as the time grew nearer.

And with that, her curiosity also grew.

What could possibly happen in the future that would make her court a man she had never met before so ardently?

-Heeuu, heeuu~

In a voice that trembled with sexual excitement, she now began to take on an exaggerated coquettishness…

‘Wait, this isn’t my voice?’

It was certainly the same future as before, but why was she hearing an unfamiliar voice?

Feeling doubtful, her gaze gradually moved forward.

In the crystal ball, she still saw herself, panting heavily, engrossed in activities with him.

A white-haired woman was also there, exuding flirtatiousness.

‘Hyo-sung, I can’t hold back anymore~ Please do it with me too♡’

“…Eh?”

What in the world?

The unidentified white-haired woman crawled on all fours beneath him, panting with her tongue out…

“…Why is there one more person?”

And why?

If she did nothing, the man destined to be hers…

“Why is Hyo-sung with another woman instead of me…?”

Why did she feel angry seeing Hyo-sung in the future with another woman?