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"So, why are you here?" The Fortune Teller looked at Kisaragi Rin sternly.
Kisaragi Rin gave the Fortune Teller a speechless look, not knowing what she was trying to pull with such a serious expression. He pulled Kato Megumi closer and calmly said, "I'm here with her. Please treat the real customer seriously."
"Ha!"
Only then did the Fortune Teller notice the young girl in front of the shop. She looked at her repeatedly in disbelief and asked Kato Megumi, "Are you sure you're not some kind of ghost or something?"
Kato Megumi: "…"
"I'm very sure I'm a human," Kato Megumi extended her hand for the Fortune Teller to feel its warmth.
The Fortune Teller cautiously extended her fingertip, touching it briefly before pulling away. Confirming that this was indeed a person, she turned away somewhat embarrassed, not daring to look at the two customers.
"It's over. Now I'm even farsighted. As expected, after this job, I should just retire to the countryside."
The Fortune Teller, struck again, had already lost all motivation.
…
After the Fortune Teller got her emotions under control, Kato Megumi stated her need under Kisaragi Rin's curious gaze.
"I want a fortune-telling. Is it possible here?"
"Of course. Crystal ball, Tarot cards, and a pendulum. Which one do you want?"
The Fortune Teller placed each tool in front of Kato Megumi. Kato Megumi thought for a moment and then pointed to the Tarot cards.
Mainly, she felt that both the crystal ball and the pendulum were a bit too abstract; whether good or bad, it depended on what the Fortune Teller said. With Tarot cards, at least she could see the meaning of the card she drew.
"What question do you want to ask?"
The Fortune Teller shuffled the cards and asked Kato Megumi this question.
Kato Megumi glanced at Kisaragi Rin, who was looking at the cards. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Kato Megumi softly said, "The future, I guess. What will my future be like?"
Hearing such a question, the Fortune Teller glanced at Kato Megumi. "I thought girls your age would ask questions about love, studies, and so on."
"There are many ways to do Tarot readings. The future is too broad. Why not just use the simplest method? You cut the deck, and then draw one card to represent your future."
Because too many things had happened today, the Fortune Teller suggested with interest.
"That sounds fine, but there's no difference from me just drawing one at home by myself, is there?"
Kato Megumi took the Tarot cards and, as she said, re-cut the deck herself.
The Fortune Teller wagged her finger. "For fortune-telling, I am merely a witness. This is precisely what is meant by 'your fate is in your own hands.'"
Under Kisaragi Rin's gaze, Kato Megumi finished cutting the cards and then drew one. When they saw the card revealed, all three fell silent.
Death, clad in armor, rode a white horse, displaying his irresistible power.
Some had already fallen, some accepted this cruel reality, some tried to avoid it, and some were making futile resistance.
The Tarot card showed such a scene. Kato Megumi calmly asked, "Is this Death?"
"Hmm… it's the Death card."
The Fortune Teller had a bit of a headache. Although there were no inherently bad cards in Tarot, just different interpretations, it was still a bit awkward for a girl seeking her future to draw the Death card.
"The Death card symbolizes transformation, endings, and new beginnings… In the upright position, it might signify a major transformation about to arrive, rebirth from the ashes in a glimmer of hope, new opportunities and beginnings, inner growth…"
The Fortune Teller briefly explained the meaning of the Death card in the upright position to Kato Megumi, without explaining the reversed position, as the reversed Death card could be described as utterly lifeless.
Kato Megumi showed no expression, looking at the Death riding the white horse. She touched her lips and said, "Sounds pretty good…"
Kisaragi Rin fell into deep thought. If it were an ordinary world, it would be fine, but this was a supernatural world.
"Could the transformation, ending, and new beginning of the Death card refer to Kato Megumi becoming a Player?"
As long as she became a Player, whether it was rebirth from the ashes in a glimmer of hope, or new opportunities and beginnings, it could perfectly align with the symbolism of the Death card.
While he was thinking, Kisaragi Rin's arm was poked by Kato Megumi. She held the Tarot cards and asked, "Kisaragi-san, do you want to try drawing one?"
"…Then I'll try." After a pause, Kisaragi took the Tarot cards. Without re-shuffling, he simply drew one and displayed it in the air.
In the center of the card, a general in armor stood on a chariot pulled by two sphinxes, one black and one white…
Recognizing the name of this card, Kisaragi Rin sighed and asked the inexplicably effective Fortune Teller, "My Chariot card should represent the upright position, not the reversed, right?"
The Chariot card, in the upright position, represents victory, conquest, and plunder, while in the reversed position, it naturally means loss…
In the Fortune Teller's view, the Death and Chariot cards drawn by the two students were quite unsuitable. Thinking of abandoning this sudden idea of a game, the Fortune Teller planned to give Kisaragi and Kato Megumi a serious Tarot reading again.
However, both Kisaragi Rin and Kato Megumi refused. Kato Megumi simply felt that whatever she drew was what it was, with no need to change it, while Kisaragi Rin felt that this Fortune Teller was truly effective.
Wasn't everything since he became a Player about victory, plunder, and conquest?
Although that Fortune Teller was just, as she said, a witness to all of it…
The Fortune Teller named Takeda Mie closed her door and posted a "Shop for Rent" sign on it. After today's events, she only wanted to return to the countryside and retire.
Kisaragi Rin and Kato Megumi bid farewell to the Fortune Teller, bought some snacks on the roadside, and then said goodbye to each other, ending their day's itinerary.
Kato Megumi boarded a train going in a different direction from Kisaragi Rin, holding the Death card the Fortune Teller had given her in her palm.
"Transformation, ending, and new beginning?"
Kato Megumi took out a small mirror from her bag and looked at her reflection.
"Should I get a new hairstyle? Maybe growing it long would make me stand out more…" Kato Megumi thought, looking at her bob cut.
Witnessing Kato Megumi's departure, Kisaragi picked up a spider from the roadside green belt.
"Tonight, enter Kato Megumi's dream and tell her about being a Player."
Procrastination was not his style. Since Kato Megumi might become a Player, he might as well tell her about it in advance.
If he didn't tell her and something unexpected happened to Kato Megumi, Kisaragi's upright Chariot card would turn reversed, and that would be the plot of a female-oriented novel.
The next moment, another spider landed in Kisaragi Rin's hand, and Spider Mother's voice came, "That was just an ordinary spider. I'm here…"
Kisaragi Rin: "…A bit mischievous. Your punishment is to stand guard outside the door tonight."
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