NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Fortune-Telling
There were no particular restrictions on academy students going out.
So, most of the students would leave the campus as soon as the weekend arrived.
However, Ruby, a serious homebody, was an exception.
She would spend half her weekend lying on the bed, and since I was her maid staying by her side, outings were never a consideration.
“This way, Amber.”
Coral tugged at my sleeve with an excited expression.
Thanks to her, I could finally enjoy some fresh air after a long time.
“Where should we go first?”
“Let’s start with the place you’ve thought of, Coral. That would be easier for me too.”
I had entrusted Coral with planning the entire outing itinerary.
Honestly, I wasn’t familiar with the surroundings, and today’s purpose was to make her happy.
She led me past the fountain square and the luxurious restaurant district into a dark alley.
Even though it was daytime, the narrow alley was unusually devoid of sunlight, making me a bit uneasy.
“Coral, are you sure we’re heading the right way?”
“Yep. There’s a fortune-teller here who’s said to be incredibly accurate.”
“A fortune-teller…?”
“There’s a huge buzz about how accurate they are. I’ve always wanted to check it out.”
It was surprising that someone like her, who could see ghosts, would be interested in fortune-telling.
Wouldn’t talking to the dead answer most of her questions?
Then again, ghosts probably don’t know about future events.
The place she brought me to was in front of a purple tent adorned with religious trinkets hanging everywhere.
A suspicious sign outside the tent read, "High accuracy. No refunds."
I whispered to Coral.
“Is this really trustworthy, Coral?”
“Of course. Among the fortune-telling shops in this area, this one is said to have the highest accuracy.”
“How did you find that out?”
“Ghosts are pretty free, so they often visit places like this. If a customer has their fortune told, the ghosts follow them around to check if the predictions come true. They told me all about it.”
So, if I get my fortune told here, a ghost might follow me around afterward.
This made me even more reluctant to go inside.
But Coral looked so eager that I couldn’t refuse and ended up following her in.
The inside was dimly lit, with only a few candles flickering in the dark space.
It reminded me of the tarot or fortune-telling shops I had seen before my reincarnation.
The heavy atmosphere made me shiver as I sat down, and an old woman coughed as she emerged from the back.
“Who’s getting their fortune told? Both of you?”
“Yes.”
Coral nodded in response to her question, and the old woman sat across from us.
Her milky-white eye, likely blind, made me feel even more tense as I gazed into it.
The old woman took out a deck of cards and began shuffling them on the table.
I had expected something fantastical, but it turned out to be an ordinary card reading.
After gathering the cards back into a single deck, she spread out three cards on the table.
“Choose just one from these.”
The old woman gestured toward Coral.
“Hmm…”
Coral carefully examined the three cards and decisively flipped one over.
The card depicted a four-legged beast gazing at the moon.
It looked like a wolf, but its body seemed unusually small.
As we stared at the picture in confusion, the old woman picked up the card and explained.
“This is a stray dog. This beast symbolizes you.”
Coral looked puzzled upon hearing that she was represented by a stray dog.
“A stray dog?”
“It’s said that dogs have been linked to the afterlife since ancient times. Are you, by any chance, spiritually sensitive?”
“Yes, that’s correct…!”
Coral looked at me in amazement at the old woman’s accurate observation.
“Wow. This is giving me chills, Amber…”
It seemed the claim of high accuracy was indeed true.
The old woman, her hand trembling, tapped the moon drawn in the sky on the card and continued.
“And this… is likely your goal.”
“My goal?”
“Yes. Whatever it is, it’s the thing you long for the most.”
“…Will I be able to achieve it?”
“It’s not impossible. But it’s far away.”
“…”
Coral’s expression turned slightly somber at the mention of distance.
“Being born a stray dog and chasing the moon requires immense patience and effort. Whether you’re content to merely watch or continue pursuing it is up to you…”
“I see.”
After giving Coral an enigmatic piece of advice, the old woman gathered the cards and shuffled them again.
She seemed to have her own method for choosing cards as she quickly spread out three new ones on the table.
While I was distracted by her deft card handling, Coral turned to me.
“Amber, it’s your turn now.”
“Oh, okay.”
I wasn’t the type to believe in fortune-telling.
Even before I reincarnated, I had no religion and didn’t believe in the afterlife.
But Coral, who could genuinely see ghosts, sat right next to me.
At least in this world, the rules were vastly different from the ones I was used to.
Thinking I might as well give it a try, I flipped over the card in the middle.
“...Huh?”
A surprised reaction escaped my lips instinctively.
“There’s nothing on the card…”
I pointed at the blank card, and the old woman picked it up, frowning as she murmured.
“How strange… This is truly peculiar…”
“Why? Is it bad?”
The old woman, who had been staring at the card with a serious expression for a while, finally spoke with a troubled look.
“There are usually two reasons for drawing a blank card. One is that my fortune-telling went wrong…”
She paused for a moment before looking at me and continuing.
“…or the person is already dead and has left this world.”
‘She’s saying I’m a dead person?’
That’s absurd.
I’m clearly alive and well here.
“Otherwise, there’s one other very rare possibility…”
“What is it?”
The old woman held up two wrinkled fingers toward me.
“When a single person has two destinies. Normally, that’s impossible, but sometimes people get caught up in the mischief of causality.”
The mention of having two destinies felt strangely plausible, so I found myself focusing intently on her words.
The old woman shuffled the blank card back into the deck and spoke again while mixing the cards.
“Do you want to try again? I can’t guarantee that another blank card won’t show up…”
“Yes, I’ll try again.”
I couldn’t bear the idea of my destiny being likened to a blank card.
The old woman once again arranged three cards on the table, just like before, and I prayed that this time it wouldn’t be another blank one as I flipped over the leftmost card.
‘Phew…’
Fortunately, it wasn’t a blank card this time.
When I fully turned the card over, the image hidden on its underside was revealed.
It depicted a fruit lying on the ground, with a black hand reaching out toward it.
“A fruit…?”
The old woman pointed her finger at me and spoke.
“This is the forbidden fruit, also known as the Fruit of Knowledge.”
“Then what about the hand reaching toward it?”
The ominous black hand gave me an uneasy feeling.
“Something is coming… something is approaching you very soon…”
Her chilling explanation made me instinctively wrap my arms around my shoulders.
“What is it? Is it something bad?”
“That, I don’t know for sure. I’m just a fortune-teller, not a prophet.”
“….”
What an irresponsible statement.
‘She might as well have said nothing! Now I feel unsettled…!’
As an overwhelming sense of unease crept over me, I grabbed Coral’s wrist and stood up from my seat.
“You’re leaving already, Amber?”
“Yeah, sitting here for too long made me hungry…”
“Really? Then let’s grab something to eat.”
After quickly settling the bill with Coral, I practically fled the fortune-telling tent.
Just as we were stepping out of the shop, the fortune-teller’s ominous words echoed in my mind.
“Something is coming… something…!”
“How strange…”
Two girls peeked out cautiously between the alleys near the fountain square.
Wearing black hats and sunglasses pulled low, they darted suspicious glances around.
“I’m sure I saw those two head this way…”
The girl with red eyes darted her gaze under her sunglasses, searching for someone.
Beside her, a silver-haired girl scratched her head and asked.
“Ruby, is this really necessary?”
“Huh? You’re the one who insisted on coming along, Amethyst.”
“Well, that’s true, but… isn’t this basically stalking?”
“….”
Ruby fell silent for a moment at Amethyst’s comment before shaking her head confidently.
“This is the duty of a master to ensure the safety of her maid. Don’t you agree?”
“…Well, you have a point.”
Amethyst shrugged and began searching with Ruby for their targets.
Eventually, she pointed toward something and spoke.
“Should we ask at that tent over there? They might have seen them pass by.”
“Let’s give it a try…”
Ruby poked her head into the purple tent filled with suspicious decorations and met eyes with the old woman.
“…Are you here for a fortune?”
“No, I’m looking for someone. Have you seen a girl with pink twin-tails?”
The old woman scratched her face thoughtfully at Ruby’s question and then replied.
“Pink hair? One of my customers earlier had pink hair.”
“Did she mention where she was going?”
“She said she was going to grab a meal…”
Ruby’s eyes lit up at the word “meal.”
“Thank you. We’ll be on our way.”
Without hesitation, Ruby dashed off in a hurry.
The old woman watched her disappear with a puzzled expression.
‘…Today has been full of peculiar visitors.’
One customer drew a blank card despite appearing perfectly normal, and now another came looking for someone so abruptly…
‘Hmm…!?’
Recalling the description of Ruby, the woman slapped her knee in realization.
The black-haired girl frantically searching for someone.
Black… black…?
‘Ah, that girl was the Black Hand…!’
Feeling proud that her fortune-telling had proven accurate once again, the old woman smiled faintly.
67
Fanart Contribution
The other day, Apo, who had sent me Amber fanart (illustration), drew Ruby and sent it my way!
She looks so mature and composed. Hnnng…