Chapter 132: The Queen of Fortune Tellers (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 132: The Queen of Fortune Tellers (2)
Rin and Mirabelle walked down the main street of Vestia, their hands clasped tightly together.
It was Mirabelle’s idea, a way to react immediately if Rin tried to pull any stunts. Whenever they went out, she made a point of holding Rin’s hand.
Rin didn’t refuse.
After all, both she and Mirabelle were used to holding their master Karami’s hand whenever they went anywhere. Now, not holding someone’s hand felt empty and strangely unsettling.
As it happened, the two were about the same height, so their hands met at a comfortable level. Their hands were as small as fiddleheads, and their body temperatures were similar. It offered a different kind of stability than holding Karami’s hand.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
“So you’re going to tell fortunes. How are you planning to do it?”
As a witch, Mirabelle knew a thing or two about divination.
There were many ways to tell a fortune.
In the West, there were methods using tarot cards or astrology, which read the positions of celestial bodies. Or one could use a witch’s crystal ball or draw cards inscribed with runes.
In the East, there were Hwatu card readings and Saju Palja, which used the principles of yin and yang, the five elements, and the celestial stems and earthly branches. On top of that, there was physiognomy and palmistry. The methods were endless.
“Rin doesn’t know any of that!”
Besides, Rin hated complicated things.
The young Rin preferred simplicity.
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Rin will see with her eyes!”
Rin didn’t need any tools. Just by looking with her Solar Eye, she could reveal a person’s fate. And having absorbed the power of the Celestial Fox, she could even identify the most likely destinies to unfold.
With no preparations whatsoever, Rin spread a mat on a busy street corner and sat down. She scribbled a few words on a sign Heukbi had given her and hung it around her neck.
-Today’s Fortune, Told by a Gumiho-
1 Silver per reading.
“Rin will read your fortune! Come on, anyone!”
Rin sat cross-legged with her arms folded, shouting triumphantly to gather a crowd.
Mirabelle, who had been staring at her, subtly distanced herself.
I don’t know her.
Time passed.
Unsurprisingly, no one came to have their fortune told.
Hilde and Yuhwa had put up posters and sent people out to minimize the perceived danger of the gumiho, but earning goodwill was another matter entirely.
She wasn’t a plague to be avoided at all costs, but people still wondered, ‘Do I really need to get involved with her?’ They would only glance at her before moving on, showing no interest.
As no one came, Rin’s confidence rapidly shriveled. She sent a pleading look to Mirabelle.
“What do I do? No one’s coming.”
“You didn’t actually think they would, did you?”
“But Mastah said that a pretty girl’s very existence is the best way to attract customers!”
“If the master said so, then the method can’t be wrong…”
Mirabelle was just as clueless about the ways of the world.
How could they draw in customers?
The two began a serious discussion.
“What if we use magic?”
“Rin knows a charm spell!”
With that, they could gather people not just from Vestia, but from all over the world!
Just as the girls were concocting a plan that would have made Karami faint, a shadow fell over Rin’s head.
“Ooh, our first customer? Ack. Seira.”
Rin’s bright expression soured. It wasn’t a customer. It was the gray-maned wolf beastkin, their landlady, Seira.
Her attire was a far cry from the office look she used to wear. She was now dressed in an expensive mink coat, a glossy fur scarf, and sunglasses.
She was the very picture of a rich madam.
“Hello, Ms. Seira.”
Mirabelle bowed her head politely in greeting. Though she spent most of her days with Rin in the Dream Garden, she was still staying at Seira’s house. She didn’t have anywhere else to go, and it allowed her to keep an eye on Rin. Furthermore, Karami was a connection between them. Though the house was in Seira’s name, he was the one who had bought it.
As someone indebted to Karami, Seira was more than willing to take in one of his slaves—especially one who, unlike a certain someone, was so polite.
That certain someone narrowed her eyes, scanning Seira’s outfit from top to bottom.
“This isn’t the Seira Rin knows.”
“You could say this is the look of a successful person.”
Having become the manager of the cat café Karami had left behind, Seira was now rolling in money. She had already opened a second branch.
A life of working late and dealing with malicious complaints?
Goodbye to that.
“What are you two doing here?”
“Rin said she wanted to earn money by telling fortunes.”
“Rin wants to work and earn money, too!”
“But no one is coming.”
“No one’s coming!”
“Why aren’t they coming?”
“Why not?”
“Even if you ask me why…”
This wasn’t a proper stall or even a street stand. The two pretty girls certainly drew attention, but that was it.
It might be different if it were a café in need of pretty waitresses, but people preferred their fortune tellers to be wise old women. Or at least someone who exuded a mystical aura.
A fortune-telling booth run by pretty girls was a mismatch.
“Why don’t you work as waitresses at my café instead? You’d be very popular. You’re not cats, but you can just shapeshift.”
Seira’s scouting offer showed she had a keen eye for Rin’s marketability.
But Rin’s mood instantly plummeted.
The temperature dropped sharply.
Passersby froze in their tracks for a moment.
“Seira, are you telling Rin to sell her body to just anyone, like those female cats?”
“Sell your body? That’s a bit of a leap…”
“Rin’s smiles, her scent, even her breath—they all belong to her master. I won’t give them to anyone else. I won’t forgive you for saying something like that, not even you, Seira.”
Her emotions were so intense that the veneer of her perfect shapeshifting flickered. The deadly aura she emanated was unmistakably that of a gumiho, and Seira swallowed hard.
“I’m sorry. That was thoughtless of me.”
“That’s right. To ask us slaves to please someone other than our master… You made a mistake this time, Ms. Seira.”
“…I apologize.”
“It’s okay, Seira! People make mistakes! Rin understands completely!”
Rin beamed, instantly returning to her cheerful self.
She went back to planning with Mirabelle.
Seira let out a belated sigh of relief. She hadn’t even realized her tail had become damp with a cold sweat.
Watching them crouched on the ground, deep in discussion, was a heartwarming sight… but she had just felt her life was in danger.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Yes. We’re going to cast a spell to make people come here subconsciously.”
“We’ll create an infinite maze that they can’t escape unless they get their fortune told!”
“Absolutely not. You’ll turn the entire country upside down.”
“Ack.”
Seira sighed.
Rin was one thing, but Mirabelle, too? It seemed kids would be kids. And where in the world was their guardian, leaving them on their own?
Of course, Mirabelle had a mother, but in Seira’s eyes, Karami was their guardian.
In his absence, she felt she had to do something. If she left these two alone, she had a feeling a major incident would occur.
“Let’s do this. Come to my café.”
“Seira…”
“It’s not what you’re thinking. As you know, my café is always bustling with customers. We’ll set up a special spot just for you, Rin. It’ll be much better than doing it on the street.”
Rin’s ears perked up at the tempting offer.
“Everything has to be built up from the bottom. Once word of mouth starts to spread, people will flock to you no matter where you set up shop.”
“Ooh.”
“If you’ve made up your mind, let’s pack up and go. And please, get rid of that sign.”
The sight of Rin with a sign hanging from her neck looked like she was begging. In contrast, Seira was dressed in glittering finery, causing passersby to whisper as if they were looking at a wicked stepmother.
“Okay!”
Rin shot to her feet, folded the mat, and tossed the sign aside. To avoid littering, Mirabelle made it vanish with magic.
Rin stretched her arms out energetically.
“Let’s go!”
*
Rin set up a temporary fortune-telling booth outside the cat café.
A purple tent was erected to create a mystical atmosphere. Inside, a table was set up, and Mirabelle and Rin settled in cozily.
“Don’t you have any tools for telling fortunes?”
“Rin doesn’t need anything like that!”
“Even if you don’t, it’s better to have them. It might not seem like much, but people gain trust from the little things.”
“Ooh.”
Rin summoned her fox orb onto the table. Glowing with gold and navy light, the orb created a dreamlike, mystical ambiance.
“Then I’ll also…”
Mirabelle summoned the Reaper, detached its head, and placed it in a corner of the table. When she tapped the top of its skull, a faint navy light seeped out from its empty eyes and mouth.
“What’s with the skull…?”
“That’s my dad.”
“…?”
Something seemed off, but it certainly helped complete the look. To top it off, Seira provided them with black veils to cover their heads. The preparations were complete.
Business officially began.
Just as Seira had predicted, customers visiting the cat café flocked to the fortune-telling booth… well, not exactly flocked, but people were more interested than before.
“What’s this? A fortune-telling booth suddenly appeared? Was this always here?”
A couple peeked into the tent.
Seira hadn’t anticipated this, but fortune-telling booths were places couples often visited to check their romantic compatibility. They were especially popular with women.
Since the cat café was already a staple date spot in Vestia, the two created a perfect synergy.
“I don’t think it was here before… I’m curious. Should we go in?”
“Sure, why not? Let’s check it out.”
The Amazing Mystical Fox Fortune-Telling booth had its first customers.
They were a bird beastkin couple.
“Excuse us, we came to get our love fortune told.”
“You’ve come to the right place!”
“Huh? Your voice sounds kind of young.”
They were about to lose their very first customers.
Rin quickly adjusted her voice.
“I-It’s just your imagination. Ahem. Right. You’ve come for a love fortune?”
“Yes, we just passed our 100-day anniversary. We were curious about what the future holds for us. Will it be smooth sailing from here?”
“Smooth sailing?”
“A love fortune… Let’s see…”
Rin moved her hands back and forth over the orb. It was an unnecessary gesture, but it was all for show.
As her hands waved, her Solar Eye, hidden beneath the veil, checked the couple’s fate.
Despite their connection to a gumiho, the fragments of their fate were simple. This was thanks to Rin learning to control her power.
And the fate Rin saw for the couple was…
Fwaat!
Rin’s Lunar Eye flashed for an instant.
The fox orb glowed in response with a navy light. The couple, who had been watching the orb with fascination, went glassy-eyed.
It was an illusion cast by Rin.
“Wait, emergency.”
“What is it?”
Mirabelle, who was watching from behind with her face also covered by a veil, tilted her head.
“This woman. She has another man.”
“Wow… Our very first customers are something else.”
To encounter a cheating woman right off the bat.
What an unlucky man.
“But that’s not all. She lays an egg from the other man in this man’s nest and runs away. The man raises it with love and care.”
“How could she do something so horrible!”
“But that’s not the end of it, either. She takes the child the man raised and goes to raise it in her lover’s nest. And this man, completely unaware, diligently brings her money.”
“Jeez…”
A bird beastkin couple.
The woman was a Cuckoo beastkin.
The man was a Wild Goose beastkin.
A truly disastrous match.
“Wh-what should we do?”
“I feel so bad for the man.”
“Should we… twist fate a little?”
“Should we?”
This wasn’t using their power for a bad cause.
It was a good deed. Karami would surely praise them for it.
The two exchanged a look and nodded.
“Rin was saved by Mastah, too.”
“We’re sharing the grace we received from the master with those less fortunate.”
Let’s spread the greatness of our master.
The two were perfectly in sync.
Rin twisted the couple’s fate.
She gave the man’s misfortune to the woman and the woman’s good fortune to the man.
Once the work was done, Rin released the illusion.
“Huh? What was that just now?”
“What just happened?”
As the couple looked around in confusion, Rin interjected before they could grow suspicious.
“I will tell you your fortune.”
“Oh, how is it? Our future is a path of flowers, right?”
“A path of flowers?”
“It is poetic justice. If you live a good life, good fortune will find you. If you live a bad life, misfortune will find you. So live well.”
“That’s perfect for us! We’re sure to find good fortune!”
“P-Perfect…”
The couple left.
After that, more customers came.
“Emergency. He’s going to get an incurable disease!”
“An incurable disease is too sad, so maybe just a little…?”
They came one after another.
“Gasp! A demonic beast is going to eat his arm!”
“H-He needs his arm, so just a little…”
And Rin and Mirabelle…
“She’s going to fall down the stairs.”
“Falling hurts, so just a little…?”
…twisted the fate of every customer who came.
When the day drew to a close, Seira returned.
“How was it today? Did it go well?”
“Ah, it was perfect. Rin is truly a virtuous sage.”
“It was a fulfilling day. I think I understand how the master feels when he saves us slaves.”
“…?”
A virtuous sage and salvation from just telling fortunes?
Seira felt a sense of unease, but she had no way of knowing what they had done.
And the next day…
“Is this that fortune-telling place? The one that makes you lucky?”
“It’s true! I was about to get my arm torn off by a Hound Wolf yesterday, but the thing had a cavity and ran off crying!”
“I slipped on the stairs, but my clothes caught on the handrail and saved me. I almost tumbled all the way down!”
A crowd large enough to fill the street had gathered.
It hadn’t even been this crowded when the cat café first became a hit.
Seira looked at Mirabelle and Rin, who were standing side by side.
“What in the world did you two do?”
“A good deed…”
“Rin was just performing an act of kindness…”
The two troublemakers turned their heads, avoiding her gaze.