“Let’s take a look at that.”
“Huh?”
“Check it out!”
“Just a moment!”
Iarin grabbed Ella’s hand and dragged her into the roadside fortune teller’s tent.
With a firm grip that Ella couldn’t break no matter how hard she tried, Iarin pulled her in. Moreover, the slippery floor made Ella slide along, helplessly being dragged into the tent.
“Excuse me!”
Ding-dong.
As the curtain was pushed aside, the bell’s sound reverberated through the air. The fortune-teller, who had been doing something on his smartphone, glanced up briefly to take in the two guests before turning off his device and sitting behind the table, welcoming them warmly.
“My, my, welcome!”
Receiving this greeting, Ella was slightly shocked as she stared at the fortune-teller blankly.
A slim figure,
leggy appearance,
and hair tied in a neat ponytail reaching their neck. But above all, his unkempt beard that somewhat resembled a pirate’s.
“I see two lovely girls here. Come, sit down.”
The fortune-teller was male, speaking and acting with an effeminate tone.
He grinned brightly as he seated them across from him, giving Ella a wink that brought her back to her senses.
‘Right… whether homosexual or heterosexual, they’re all the same person. I shouldn’t be shocked or discriminate based on such things.’
Ella had unconsciously assumed that a rough-looking man couldn’t be gay, so the shock she felt made her reflect, deciding to free herself from such prejudices. She glanced briefly at Iarin sitting snugly beside her.
‘Yes… Hmm… I shouldn’t hold prejudices…’
Just a little while ago, she had loudly exclaimed about Iarin being a lesbian.
Yet Iarin seemed entirely unconcerned, naturally sitting so close that Ella wondered if she might have some form of affection deficit, like a puppy sticking close to its owner, endlessly seeking warmth from people. It made her curious about the lives of Korean high school girls.
“This pretty one has such a diverse range of expressions, it’s entertaining. She looks innocent and filled with curiosity. Ah, consider this a compliment, so don’t take it the wrong way.”
The fortune-teller chuckled warmly, finding Ella’s demeanor amusing.
“So, you’ve come for a reading? What kind of fortune would you like? Though I’m not well-versed in Eastern fortune-telling, the readings I give using Trump cards and Tarot are simply amazing!”
“What are Trump card readings?”
He spoke to Iarin’s question with a kindly tone, as if she were adorable.
“Ho ho, since our lovely guest has asked, I must answer. Trump Card fortune-telling uses these cards to see the future through zodiac signs and symbols. It’s a little different from Tarot, which uses mystical and symbolic elements to predict the future.”
“Which one is more accurate?”
“My goodness, obviously both are equally precise! I am a versatile person, you see!”
“Indeed, that’s how you appear!”
“Ah, what a precious girl.”
By now, Iarin and the fortune-teller were conversing as if they had known each other for years, leaving Ella more or less ignored. Seizing the opportunity, she quietly tried to rise from the table.
But just as she did, their eyes met, and the fortune-teller gave her another wink.
“Miss? My dear girl, you should sit still for your fortune-telling.”
Ella, caught off guard by the fortune-teller’s cryptic words, sat back down. Seeing this, Iarin, driven by renewed curiosity, asked another question.
“Why do we need a reading?”
“Umm~ let me explain, though it’s a little lengthy.”
He gave a slight eye smile.
“You see, fortune-tellers like myself see things. Things we’d rather not see—karmic stuff and all. Think of it as a professional malady. Just like how a cleaner notices trash even when they don’t want to, or a chef naturally checks expiration dates without trying.”
“Ah, you mean… something weird like cause and effect?”
“Umm~ not exactly that. Ho ho ho ho.”
The fortune-teller pulled out a deck of Tarot cards and a bundle of Trump cards from his pocket.
“If I may offer some advice—getting your fortune read now would be beneficial.”
“Right now?”
“Goodness, no, this isn’t some sales pitch. It’s out of pure goodwill. I’ll even waive the payment upfront. We can settle it later. How about that?”
Later?
At that word, Ella suddenly raised her head and glared at the fortune-teller.
Although he was wearing a friendly smile, Ella felt something sinister and flared with a murderous aura as if ready to unleash witchcraft.
“Do you think I’m an idiot?!
“My goodness? Why so upset, miss?”
“Are you planning to take something else instead of payment? Later?! How could I pay if you disappear? Essentially, you’re trying to give me a free reading! Ha!”
“Payment for services” refers to the money given in return for fortune-telling services.
On a basic level, it seems like a straightforward deal: you receive a service (the reading) and pay the price (money).
However, there was one cardinal rule in this seemingly simple transaction.
Not paying “payment for services” was a major taboo.
Every form of magic comes at a cost. This applies without exception to divination magic, where anyone seeking a glimpse into the future had to pay. Normally, this cost comes from life-force or lifespan. But if the future revealed by the reading was particularly vital or out of luck, a more extreme price had to be paid.
Still, forms of fortune-telling at the folk magic level, utilizing objects like cards, branches, and coffee, were generally mild in terms of the price incurred.
Should the divination reach the ritual level, lifespans were often paid in years, with extreme cases even resulting in the reader becoming a dried-up mummy right on the spot.
Yet, there was always a way to reduce these costs.
Fortune-tellers used “payment for services” to mitigate the cost they had to bear, distributing the responsibility with the client through the transaction of payments.
In simpler forms of divination, the cost might just be mild fatigue when both parties shared the burden.
This made divination a popular magic that the general public could access.
But even in such accessible forms, there were absolute rules that had to be followed.
The most important: if you heard your fortune, you must provide the payment for services.
“Frau Li! Let’s go!”
Not paying meant willingly shouldering the entire cost of the fortune. No mitigation, no distribution; you take it all on yourself.
Of course, it wasn’t unusual for a fortune-teller to want to give their talents freely to help someone, at the cost to themselves.
But as the saying “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” suggests, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
By hearing their fortunes without paying, a debtor’s right is established for the fortune-teller. Instead of life-force or lifespan, they could take something corresponding to the value of the divination; usually, good fortune. Once good fortune is taken, it could lead to minor misfortune or even life-threatening situations.
That’s why sane individuals never trust fortune-tellers promising free readings.
Never.
Ella left.
“Goodness me! Miss! It’s a misunderstanding!”
Behind her, the fortune-teller’s plaintive cries didn’t stop her as she stormed out, roughly pushing aside the cloth curtain into the cold air outside. Iarin hesitated to follow but turned back to ask the fortune-teller.
“Why did you say that?”
“Oh my, seems there was some misunderstanding…”
He sighed deeply under Iarin’s inquisition.
“By ‘later,’ I meant that if the reading is accurate, only then must you pay the price. Payment doesn’t have to be in person. If I offer a part of my body, that will be enough to locate or pay me later.”
“A part of your body…”
In response, the fortune-teller smiled with an eye-smile.
With a gesture, he pointed toward the exit, seemingly dismissing her, and Iarin, after a brief nod, chased after Ella.
“Hmmm…”
Alone once more in the tent shrouded by silence, the fortune-teller made an odd humming sound, pulling out his smartphone and unlocking it with a fingerprint.
“More each time I look. How handsome and beautiful.”
The app running on the smartphone was a mirror.
Using the front-facing camera, it reflected his face in real-time, a simple app that served as a mirror. Watching his reflection, the fortune-teller smiled continuously, seemingly captivated by his own face, much like someone obsessed with their ideal type—or as a severe narcissism patient might act.
Staring at the mirror app, lost in self-admiration as if Narcissus, the fortune-teller suddenly smirked.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone like me… What do you mean ‘like’! That kid is pretty bad in every way!”
And thus, he began an inner monologue, switching between voices.
Alone but not really alone.
Talking to himself but clearly having a conversation.
The fortune-teller would shift between masculine and feminine tones, even actions, performing an elaborate one-man show.
“Ho ho, what do you mean ‘bad’? You can’t talk to a kid like that!”
“Yeah, that’s true. A witch who doesn’t even understand her own condition must be pretty dim-witted, huh?”
“What are you saying?! Children have potential, potential!”
“Potential? HA ha ha ha ha! I was dealing out drugs by that age!”
“Good gracious, you’re such a curmudgeon, are you aware?”
“CURMUDGEON? Oh, I don’t have many words left I haven’t said!”
“A witch might not know! We can see cause and effect, but that young lady probably knows nothing!”
The reflected fortune-teller on the smartphone chuckled.
“True, I faintly detected a hint of magic from that girl beside her.”
The actual fortune-teller beside him chuckled too.
“What’s it to you if she isn’t involved?”
“True, not our business!”
Ho ho ho!
Haa haa haa!
The tent echoed with the deep, robust laughter of a man and the high-pitched, tinkling laugh of a woman.
*
“Hey, that scamming fortune-teller isn’t gone yet?”
