The girl at the front was petite and slender, with skin so fair it seemed to shimmer in the sunlight.
She had a delicate, doll-like face and clear purple eyes like translucent glass, though it was hard to see what lay beneath their surface.
Her long silver-white hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, its ends curling slightly and gleaming like silk in the light.
She wore the standard girls' uniform of Advanced Nurturing, but every detail was impeccably refined. Her slender legs were clad in pristine white thigh-high stockings held up by garters.
Her entire being radiated an air of aloof nobility, utterly at odds with the lively atmosphere around her.
She was none other than Sakayanagi Arisu, a central figure in Class 1-A and the biological daughter of Chairman Sakayanagi Nari.
She had probably heard about the fortune-telling booth that had recently become famous among the first-year students and even attracted the attention of upperclassmen. Finding it rather novel and interesting, she had come to see it for herself, bringing her followers along.
Her glassy purple eyes calmly swept over the bustling booth and the people waiting in line.
At last, they settled on the white-haired boy beneath the tent, sitting on a low stool. Even amid all the noise, he seemed languid and casual, almost as if he didn't belong.
A hint of curiosity flickered deep in her eyes.
Lin Mu sensed her gaze almost the instant it fell on him.
He looked up and met it calmly.
He didn't need to deliberately use his abilities. His extraordinary perception and a brief touch of telepathy were enough to tell him who she was and where she came from.
Sakayanagi Arisu, one of Class A's two leaders, the chairman's daughter. Brilliant, with some apparent physical disability. A young lady who liked to control the situation and enjoyed intellectual games.
(Congenital heart disease.)
He knew that. So what?
He felt nothing, except that she seemed like a bit of a nuisance.
People like her, who were obviously shrewd and came from a special background, usually meant more attention and potential entanglements.
Still, since she'd come to the booth, she was a potential customer—or at least a potential "card."
With a lollipop in his mouth and his cheeks slightly puffed, he lifted his chin and spoke in a lazy voice that still had a hint of salesmanship:
"Want a fortune told? Card reading's a hundred thousand, and the crystal ball's a hundred and fifty thousand."
He pointed at the little blackboard, then added in a strangely enticing tone, "My readings are very accurate.
"I can give you a reliable answer about whatever's troubling you. Even secrets from your most deeply buried past—I can figure them out, clear as day~"
The last note rose slightly, delivered with careless teasing, yet somehow it made one's heart tighten.
Sakayanagi Arisu stopped about a meter from the booth.
Her pale, slender fingertips brushed lightly over the hem of her pleated skirt, the movement as graceful as if she'd rehearsed it a thousand times.
She wore a perfectly measured, utterly faultless smile. Her voice was soft and pleasant, like wind chimes in a breeze, yet her words carried unmistakable distance and composure.
"Sorry, classmate."
She tilted her head slightly, her silver hair swaying with the movement. "I think this sort of nebulous fortune-telling is ultimately just a way for people who feel lost to seek comfort. I don't think I have any need for it."
Kamuro Masumi stood beside her—the purple-haired girl Lin Mu had caught trying to steal alcohol at the convenience store the other day, and whom he'd warned.
She immediately stepped forward, brows knitted, her tone full of haughty disbelief as she chimed in:
"Exactly! Fortune-telling isn't realistic at all! It only happens in novels and manga. How could it possibly be accurate?"
As she spoke, she didn't quite dare meet Lin Mu's eyes. She clearly still remembered the embarrassment of being caught the last time.
Sakayanagi Arisu gently raised a hand, signaling for Kamuro Masumi to calm down.
Her gaze passed over the intricately patterned Tarot Cards and the crystal-clear crystal ball on the table.
At last, it returned to Lin Mu's sharply defined, coolly handsome face, which looked a little unusual with a lollipop in his mouth.
Her smile deepened a little. Her voice remained gentle, but she had the natural bearing of someone accustomed to being in control.
"After all, I've never needed to rely on something like this to confirm my path.
"Every step I take is calculated and under my control."
Lin Mu raised an eyebrow, rolling the lollipop lazily around his mouth with his tongue.
He remained relaxed on his low stool, but his words were delivered with an almost careless sharpness, like a fine needle lightly piercing the surface of her confidence.
"Control?" He gave a soft scoff, his voice quiet but clear.
"You never know what life will bring. There are always undercurrents beneath the surface. What you think you have firmly in hand might one day slip away with a gentle nudge from some unseen variable."
He paused, his gaze seemingly drifting over Sakayanagi Arisu's calm purple eyes. "My fortune-telling might not be good for much else, but helping people see the hidden reefs and unforeseen changes beneath the surface happens to be one of my specialties."
That wasn't entirely a lie. His precognitive ability had indeed glimpsed some complicated entanglements and many unpredictable twists between this young lady and a certain "special person" in the future.
He just couldn't be bothered to examine them closely. For now, he was using them as a sales pitch.
A clear flicker of surprise suddenly appeared in Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes.
She obviously hadn't expected this seemingly lazy and carefree D-class boy, who even came across as a bit of a hedonist, to say something so suggestive, as if it carried a hidden meaning.
The mask of effortless elegance she always wore wavered ever so slightly.
Then her smile deepened, and curiosity practically spilled from her glassy eyes.
She took an elegant half-step forward, and the innate air of nobility around her seemed to press forward with her.
She tilted her head slightly to look at Lin Mu, who was sitting down. Her voice was still gentle, but her words had a force that seemed to strip away appearances.
"Oh? It seems Linmu Fujimiya of Class D is unusually confident in his fortune-telling."
She had called Lin Mu by name with perfect precision, clearly having learned the basics about him through some channel before coming here.
"I just wonder whether this confidence that draws so much attention comes from some genuine talent hidden from the world..."
She let her words linger, her gaze seeming to brush over the tools on the table. "Or is it merely a gimmick you've deliberately created to attract attention?"
The probing intent in her voice was like a fine web spun by a spider, quietly cast over Lin Mu.
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