Ichinose's mood immediately dropped.
"Ichinose, love isn't everything in life. There's no need to take it so seriously."
Hikigaya said casually, "Life isn't something that can be defined in a few sentences. Believe it if you want, or don't if you don't."
Ichinose turned to look at him with a complicated expression. Hikigaya scratched his cheek and avoided her gaze. Then, in a deliberately nonchalant tone, he added, "At the end of the day, this is just a 'formulaic reading.' No matter who gets their fortune told, it always sounds relevant to them. Just treat it as entertainment. If you really take this kind of thing seriously, I'd have to wonder if you've been brainwashed by some cult."
"That's a great way of putting it."
Surprisingly, the fortune teller wasn't upset about Hikigaya ruining the mood. Instead, she smiled and nodded. "Fortune-telling is actually more about emotional release. Some things are hard to deal with alone. Even when you understand them logically, it feels different emotionally. So in a way, fortune-telling is just a way to make peace with yourself. What do you think, young man?"
Hikigaya was a little surprised. Looks like this fortune teller really knew her stuff.
In modern times, a lot of people explain fortune-telling as just cold reading—an art of observing people and choosing words carefully.
Hikigaya didn't know if this fortune teller was truly skilled, but when it came to reading people and using the right words, he was definitely an expert.
Ichinose's expression seemed to relax a little after hearing that. She then turned to the boy beside her and curiously asked, "Hikigaya-kun, what about you? Do you have anything you want to ask in a fortune-telling session?"
"Me? No, I'm just here because you dragged me along."
Hikigaya shook his head. Back when Komachi was obsessed with horoscopes and fortune-telling, he had looked into it as well. The more he learned, the more he realized that fortune-telling was just like what this fortune-teller had just described—it was essentially a way to vent emotions and relieve stress through an intangible process.
At least for now, he didn't feel like he needed it.
"I see..."
Ichinose looked a little disappointed, but she wasn't the type to push others, so she let it go.
However, the fortune-teller suddenly spoke up. "Since you're already here, why not give it a try? There's no harm in it, right?"
"Hah."
Hikigaya let out a cold laugh. "That's exactly the kind of line salespeople use—'You're already here, so why not?' It's just playing on the sunk cost fallacy. The more reluctant you are to let go, the easier it is to fall into someone else's trap."
"You're quite interesting."
The fortune-teller was briefly stunned but then smiled, suppressing a chuckle. "I understand that you might not be interested in fortune-telling, or maybe you just don't have a good impression of it. But as I said earlier, fortune-telling is a way to release your emotions. Don't you feel like you need to let something out?"
Hikigaya looked at her in silence. Ichinose quietly said, "Hikigaya-kun, why not just give it a try?"
In the end, Hikigaya nodded.
His questions were pretty ordinary. The first one was about his family's health, and the answer he got was that they were in excellent health.
"But... while your family is very healthy, you have a rather serious health issue yourself. And from what I can see, it's quite severe."
"Huh? Then what should he do?"
Before Hikigaya could say anything, Ichinose had already blurted out the question.
"Oh."
Hikigaya simply responded with indifference, not seeming to care about the result at all. Then he immediately moved on. "Second question—love life."
Ichinose froze on the spot, looking nervous for some reason.
"In terms of love..."
The fortune-teller was about to start answering when Hikigaya cut in, "Not my love life—my sister's. I want to know if she's in a relationship."
Ichinose and the fortune-teller: "?"
In the end, the fortune-teller gave a vague answer: "Probably not." This left Hikigaya feeling annoyed.
"Then, my third question... Do you believe in parallel worlds?"
The fortune-teller was visibly caught off guard. But being a professional, she quickly adapted and gave a response—a classic spiel that sounded profound but was actually meaningless.
Hikigaya hadn't expected much in the first place, so he just nodded slightly. However, as he was about to leave, he suddenly realized something he had completely overlooked.
"What?! This costs 3,000 private points per person?!"
Hikigaya stared at the fortune-teller with wide eyes, as if questioning why she wasn't just outright robbing people. But in the end, he still painfully paid the fee, feeling like a complete fool.
The fortune-teller let out a small sigh and looked at Hikigaya with a serious expression. "Young man, I may not be very skilled, but I've met all kinds of people in this field. I can see that there's a shadow in your heart."
"If you keep suppressing things inside, they turn into an obsession. Sometimes, you tell yourself to let go, but in reality, you're just holding on even tighter. Only when you truly let go can you see a different view."
Hikigaya stood frozen, his dark eyes seeming even deeper than before. Ichinose had to call his name several times before he snapped out of it.
With a serious expression, Hikigaya looked at the fortune-teller and gave a small bow, as if apologizing for his earlier rudeness.
Then, he and Ichinose paid and left.
Watching Hikigaya's back as he walked away, the fortune-teller let out a long sigh. "Sigh... The economy is really tough these days. Making money is so damn hard."
"That's it for today?"
As soon as Hikigaya stepped out of the tent, he looked like he had finally completed a mission and was eager to leave.
Ichinose nodded slightly but then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something.
"Is there something else?"
Ichinose shook her head. Hikigaya could tell she had something on her mind, but for some reason, she decided not to say it. Since she didn't want to talk about it, he couldn't be bothered to ask.
After saying goodbye, the two went their separate ways. Ichinose ran into some classmates and left first, leaving Hikigaya alone waiting for the elevator.
Just as the elevator doors opened, a small figure crashed straight into his chin.
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