The love letter fiasco ended in a three-to-one rout, with Hayashi Shuichi utterly defeated.
To Eri Kisaki and the others, Yukiko Fujimine hadn't just done nothing wrong—she'd performed a public service.
Bolstered by her allies, Yukiko grew even bolder, refusing to reveal the girl's name despite Shuichi's prodding.
Left with no choice, Shuichi abandoned his plan to retrieve the letters. He'd only overheard the two girls' voices and didn't know their identities. He couldn't exactly go around asking every girl if they'd received a reply from him, could he?
After school, Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki went off to their own activities. Knowing Yukiko had no club activities today, Shuichi invited her to head back to the izakaya together.
"I've got something to do. You go on ahead!"
Yukiko tossed the words over her shoulder, grabbed her bag, and darted out of the classroom.
Shuichi frowned, puzzled. Then he recalled how, earlier that afternoon, Yukiko and Yuka Takahashi had been huddled together, whispering conspiratorially.
A spark of suspicion flared, and he hurried after her.
At the school entrance, sure enough, Yukiko was already cozying up with Yuka Takahashi.
Shuichi slipped behind a shoe locker, eavesdropping on the two girls.
"Didn't Shuichi say that psychic's a fraud?" Yuka asked, confused. "Why are you so set on checking it out?"
"Exactly because she's a fraud, we can't just let it slide," Yukiko declared righteously. "Who knows how many students she's scammed these past few days? We have to expose her."
"Isn't that… risky?" Yuka fretted. "If things go south, it's just the two of us…"
"What's there to fear? She's just one woman, isn't she?" Yukiko scoffed. "You think the two of us can't handle her?"
"Maybe we should tell Shuichi," Yuka suggested, turning back toward the classroom. "With him there, we'd feel safer."
"No way! Don't tell him!" Yukiko flung her arms out, blocking her friend. "That guy's so full of himself. We're practically the same age, but he talks to me like I'm a kid, with that condescending tone and those looks."
"This time, I'm doing it myself, and let's see what he has to say then!"
"You're competing over that?" Yuka rolled her eyes. "Having a guy treat you like a kid and dote on you is a good thing. My boyfriend, on the other hand? I have to worry about everything, like I'm the one babysitting him."
"But Shuichi trusts Glasses Girl completely, never nagging her," Yukiko huffed. "How am I worse than Glasses Girl that he's so worried about me?"
"Maybe you just don't see it," Yuka shrugged. "Shuichi and Eri are childhood friends. Who knows how much he spoils her in private?"
"Enough of that!" Yukiko's face soured. "Point is, I'm handling this myself today!"
"What's that?" Yuka teased. "Jealous because Shuichi and Eri are childhood friends?"
"If you want him to stop treating you like a kid, why make it so complicated?" she continued. "Find a chance to be alone with him, slip off your clothes, and with your figure, how could he still see you as a kid?"
"What are you blabbering about?!" Yukiko's face flushed crimson. "Try that stunt with your boyfriend first, then come talk to me."
"That guy's a total blockhead," Yuka grumbled. "If I don't take the lead, he wouldn't even know to ask me out. If he hadn't waited three hours outside my house to confess, I'd have dumped him ages ago."
"A blockhead's better than a playboy carrot," Yukiko snorted. "Shuichi's the type who runs into pretty girls wherever he goes. Just yesterday…"
Giggling and chatting, the two girls left the school building, heading toward the gate.
Shuichi watched their retreating figures, tempted to let it go and head back to the izakaya. But after a few steps, he couldn't shake his unease.
"Says she's not a kid, but what adult goes looking for trouble like this?"
Shaking his head, Shuichi quietly trailed after them.
…
Yuka had only heard about the psychic from some classmates and hadn't been to see her herself.
She knew the woman operated in an underpass in Nichome but wasn't sure of the exact spot.
The two girls wandered, asking around and searching.
After nearly an hour, Yukiko and Yuka finally found the psychic.
She was a middle-aged woman in her forties, her hair loose and adorned with all sorts of bizarre trinkets.
Her stall was tucked into a corner of the underpass, a table cluttered with a polished crystal ball streaked with red stains at its base, an ornate, almost gaudy dagger, a stack of tarot cards, and an assortment of odd props.
When Yukiko and Yuka arrived, a crowd of girls was already gathered around the stall.
The two didn't approach immediately, opting to linger and observe.
The girls ahead were getting their fortunes told, eager to know when they'd meet their Prince Charming.
The psychic alternated between tarot cards and the crystal ball, sending each girl off satisfied.
Soon, it was the turn of a younger, frail-looking girl with pale skin, wearing a school uniform similar to Midori Orikasa's, though her skirt was longer.
Standing before the stall, the girl hesitated before whispering, "Ma'am, my stomach's been hurting lately. Do I have to go to the hospital?"
"Stomach pain?" The psychic narrowed her eyes. "Let me check with a reading."
She shuffled the tarot deck and had the girl draw a card.
When the surrounding girls saw the card, they began whispering.
"It's the Death card. Talk about bad luck."
"Out of all the cards, she got that one…"
"Death… does that mean someone's actually going to die?"
…
The murmurs made the girl tremble, her head sinking lower.
"This isn't a fortunate card," the psychic intoned in an eerie voice. "Death signifies endings and rebirth. You've recently encountered a life that ended, but its dark aura hasn't left you—it's been clinging to you."
"Ma'am, I-I just want to know if I need to go to the hospital," the girl stammered. "If I don't, will it get worse?"
"That question can't be answered with tarot cards alone," the psychic said slowly, her voice heavy. "It requires me to expend my mana and lifespan to peer into the future with the crystal ball. Everything in this world has a price…"
(Chapter End)
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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