Part 5

"Next person please". It was already afternoon when I heard that small voice come from inside the temporarily set up facility.

"I've kept you waiting". In the end it seemed each group took around 15 minutes each and I ended up having to stand in the queue for quite a long time. It was around when I had started to no longer care about the fortune-teller inside, that the voice from the room behind the curtain where the fortune-teller was.

And when I entered, inside was a scenery I would often see on the television. The dark lighting inside was only about 30 lux. And added to that, there was a thick book, a hammer and a crystal ball that could also be used to throw whose purpose I didn't know.

The old fortune-teller woman inside had a hood on her and as such I couldn't see her expression. The atmosphere of this place alone is first-grade. It seems the crystal ball is s.h.i.+ning even now as though it is reflecting Ibuki's and my future. And before the fortune-teller, there were two round seats with no backrests placed. I suppose that's where we are supposed to sit. And when the two of us sat down, the fortune-teller simply laughed briefly and her right hand moved.

"First of all, pay up" the fortune-teller told us.

And having said that, she pulls out a card reader from beneath and table and places it on the table in front of us. From the breathtaking atmosphere that almost gave off the feeling of a fortune-telling museum, artifacts of modern civilization appearing like that and gave off an incongruous feeling.

Of course, I didn't think it would be free of charge, but I was still suddenly pulled back to reality.

"What are you going to divine for us?". Before she took out her student card, Ibuki first asked that question.

"Your studies, work, love affairs and anything you like" the fortune-teller replied while laughing creepily with a grin. It certainly gave off a powerful feeling to the surrounding area, but more than a fortune-teller it looked to me as though she were a witch.

But the price list placed on the table really is a mismatch.

It seems the prices are separated into different categories. The things the fortune-teller said just now seems to be included in the "basic plan". And in there, it is divided further into more sets. And one of them also includes Tenchuusatsu. And among others there are courses that would let you see up to the very end of your lifespan. And since the fortune-telling has a pair requirement, there are also many courses that focus on romance.

This is just my spontaneous thought, but if the fortune-telling divines a bad compatibility between partners, I wonder what those partners would do then. It's just that for any course, over 5000 points are required. It's rather expensive.

"Even so...it's expensive". For a Cla.s.s D student struggling with the matter of points each and every day, this seems to be a severe expense. But even if I say that, it would be a waste to go back without having the chance to investigate Tenchuusatsu. There was always the option of simply listening to Ibuki's fortune-telling results and then going back but if I do that, I would have no way of reliably telling its accuracy. I thought just in case as I checked my point balance on my phone. On the screen, my private points were displayed. The balance I currently had was roughly 6000 points so it seems like I can barely afford it.

"I'll just have the basic plan" Ibuki said unexpectedly. Even though she had professed her like of fortune-telling, she doesn't seem to intend on getting the full course.

"What'll you do?" she asks me.

"I'll have the same plan as Ibuki".

At this point it just feels like I'm ordering a meal at a diner, but I said that and held up my student card. The sound of a used card played from the reader and a certain balance was deducted from my card.

"Then let's start from the lady here, what's your name?" the fortune-teller asked.

"Ibuki. Ibuki Mio".

She answered briefly like that.

"My fortune-teller lets me see the face, hands and hearts of my customer. And during the middle of it, I might see something you'd rather keep private. Are you fine with that?" the fortune-teller asks.

"Do as you wish" Ibuki promptly replied.

Ibuki answered that she would not be upset by that, whether or not she believes that aside. From under her hood, I could see not only the wrinkled skin of the fortune-teller but also her sharp gaze. And then, instructing Ibuki to put out both her hands, she begins to speak of the results of her fortune-telling slowly.

"Starting with palm reading, you will live a long life. I cannot see you suffering any major illnesses as of now..." she spoke.

It seems a story that one usually hears is the opener. I personally don't understand how one can divine that from the lines on one's palm. Feeling it was pointless, I felt my prejudice wanting to deny fortune-telling.

Perhaps the fortune-teller is using the statistics of their own experiences to divine this? If it were me, I would simply use the good health of many of the customers to, from the color of their face and such, give my answers. And continuing on, the fortune-teller spoke of studies, financial luck and love affairs with unexpected answers.

While one would normally be angry at the seemingly phony words of the fortune-teller, Ibuki continued to listen to them with a satisfied feeling. There were not many bad predictions, mostly predictions of a bright future for her.

Sometimes warnings are given to her, but it seems there's no particular risk to her life and wellbeing.

"Thank you very much" Ibuki said.

Having finished the fortune-telling session, Ibuki bowed her head. It seems my turn, where I would be able to understand fortune-telling better, is about to come now.

The fortune-teller follows the same procedure she used during her session with Ibuki.

The answers for my session were mostly the same as the ones during Ibuki's. Even though the circ.u.mstances may diverge, bottom line is that the predictions were mostly of good things to come. However I was warned to be careful of calamity at times. That sort of knowledge was told to me.

"...I see. It seems you have had quite the rough childhood" the fortune-teller told me. But even if you say something like that, most children experience things they consider tough at least once or twice in their childhood. More so if that child is a boy. If possible, I would have liked her to answer more definitively.

More importantly, it's a bigger mystery why the fortune-teller who is supposed to speak of the future is speaking of the past instead. But Ibuki beside me, without interrupting or yawning, listens intently to the fortune-telling. Perhaps fortune-telling is supposed to be something like this. Or perhaps as a necessary ritual, we're going back to the past. Ahh, so fortune-telling really is like this. At this stage, I simply thought that.

Because humans are easy creatures, once 'good fortune' has been predicted for them, they would lock that in their memories and even if good fortune, unrelated to the fortune-telling, occurs, they would bring that memory out and interpret that as "Ahh. So the fortune-telling of that time was talking about this".

But in reality it would be different, because in life, it is inevitable that everyone would experience both good fortune and misfortune as well as happiness and misery.

"This is...".

Once again, the fortune-teller who seemed to be in the middle of some ritual, stopped her hands.

"You are the possessor of a fateful Tenchuusatsu" she told me.

"Uwa...seriously?". The one surprised by that result was not me but rather Ibuki and the fortune-teller herself. Tenchuusatsu was a word even I was not aware of until yesterday, so even if another word were added on top of that, it would only cause me further confusion.

"If I have to put it simply, from the moment you were born, you have been leading an unlucky existence" the fortune-teller explained to me.

"That is again an amazing thing...". Whether or not this is pure coincidence, it was once again accurate. It's just, the fortune-telling was still ambiguous in regards to this matter. Because if one looks at themselves pessimistically, there's no shortage of people who would look back and think of their lives as being unlucky. But if it's the unusual Tenchuusatsu, it would be a risk for the fortune-teller to say that as well.

"By the way, is that fateful Tenchuusatsu going to continue from here on out too?" I asked.

"Just a while ago, I said that girl over there also had an unlucky life but that is different".

"That girl...".

"Fateful Tenchuusatsu is indeed uncommon. But that doesn't mean it curses your entire life to be misfortunate. Indeed the flow itself is bad, you will be unable to receive blessing of a family or parents. But that's only up to your personality. What you will do from now on is something you yourself must decide" the fortune-teller told me.

From the sharp expression she had earlier, now in the fortune-teller's eyes I could see benevolence.

"There's no need to feel pessimistic and there's no need to act like the protagonist of a comedy too" she told me.

I've heard quite a lot of interesting stories today, but after all it's just fortune-telling.

It's not something that causes you to look with bloodshot eyes or tilt your ears to hear better. When I tried to get up from my seat, I was again called by the fortune-teller.

"One more prediction for you. Go back straight instead of taking any detours. If you take a detour unnecessarily, you may be stuck for a long time. But even if you get stuck do not panic. Stay calm and if you cooperate, you should be able to overcome that too" the fortune-teller told me.

She left behind such words of prophecy.