Shade had only intended to chat with Miss Sylvia for a few moments before returning to the banquet. After all, Mr. Bernhardt was still waiting for him, and he also wanted to learn more local information from the "local bats."
But once they began discussing their respective incomes, the topic seemed impossible to stop. Though Miss Sylvia was an elegant lady of high society, she, like Shade, was troubled by the lack of a stable income she could openly speak of.
As Ring Arcanists, they often received large unexpected sums of money, but both preferred a small yet very steady weekly income.
During their conversation, Miss Sylvia once again confirmed that Shade had come to the city for the "Goddess in the Lake." The young Great Witch therefore offered to perform a divination for him. She was not a Witch skilled at divination, but she did possess some ability in that area.
She still used the Tarot Cards Shade was relatively familiar with, but Miss Sylvia's process required Shade to randomly write down three two-digit numbers. She would average the three numbers, discard the decimal, and count down from the top of the deck to the card represented by that number.
She then took that card along with the four cards above and below it, nine cards in total, and calculated them according to today's date and the current time, leaving only three cards in the end. Shade had to randomly choose one of those final three himself. This complicated but interesting method of divination fascinated him, so he curiously chose the middle card.
Miss Sylvia turned the card over. It showed a red-nosed clown holding a red paper box wrapped in ribbon. Shade blinked as he looked at the Clown's hat, feeling a surge of complicated emotions.
"Tarot Card—Unexpected