Master fortune-teller Lorne

"Pervert!" A young lady swiftly pulled her hand away, then ran off screaming.

"Hey!

I told you I was reading your palm! How am I supposed to do that without looking at your hand?"

Lorne, who had nearly been slapped, called after her, feeling rather speechless.

Today, he had followed the instructions on the note from the ingenious plan box and set up a roadside stall to tell fortunes.

He had originally planned to go straight to the Divination Club, but then he remembered Hanass, who had previously performed a divination for him, saying that palmistry was not legitimate mysticism. He abandoned the idea.

These Chinese fortune-telling methods apparently were not widely accepted in this distinctly Western world.

But using divination methods like Tarot Cards or a Pendulum would not qualify as the unique method specified on the note.

With no other choice, he found a street corner, took a wooden sign, and set up a stall on the ground, effectively cosplaying a fortune-teller.

At first, he had actually attracted one or two people, but once Lorne began reading their palms, touching their hands and leaning closer to examine them, the atmosphere changed completely.

The men called him a freak, and the women called him a pervert.

Seriously, I feel like some kind of weirdo. It's not like I'm a pervert like Yoshikage Kira... After another setback, Lorne felt rather dejected.

"Half the day's gone, and I haven't made a single sale. Sigh." Thinking of the looks those people had given him, Lorne let out a long sigh inwardly.

Come to think of it, sitting on the ground and fiddling with strange divination methods really did make him look like a weirdo.

Lorne suddenly froze.

A weirdo... a monster... the "Monster" Potion!

Could it be...

Lorne recalled what had happened every time he felt something unusual in his body.

Every time, it only happened when I felt I was different from everyone else, or when other people thought I was.

Could it be... He seemed to have discovered something extraordinary.

Why wasn't this mentioned in the information the Eye of Wisdom sold me? Surely this isn't particularly valuable information?

"Excuse me, are you performing divinations?" An ethereal yet warm female voice reached him.

"Ah, yes." Lorne snapped out of his daze and looked up at the newcomer.

Shaking off his thoughts, he opened his eyes wide and took a proper look at her.

She wore a black hooded outfit, with blue eyeshadow and blush. A silver chain bearing a white crystal pendant was wrapped around her exposed wrist.

Both her makeup and her clothes look very old-fashioned. That was Lorne's first impression of her.

On closer inspection, though, she was quite young. She probably was not even thirty... Lorne was a little unsure.

Should I call her miss or ma'am?

She should be older than me, right?

And that silver chain has a mystical feel to it. Could she be in the same line of work?

"Hello... ma'am." After some consideration, Lorne decided on "ma'am."

"Would you like a divination?"

She nodded, then asked, "What kind of divination is the palmistry mentioned on your sign? I know a little about divination myself, but I've never heard of this method."

So she's something of a fellow practitioner.

"Of course. This is my exclusive... ahem, I mean, this is a method passed down through my family."

"We're the only ones in the world who use it."

"One of a kind. Interesting!" She looked intrigued, as though she had found something entertaining.

"So how much do you charge? Don't tell me it's free."

"Of course not. Wouldn't that make me seem suspicious?" Lorne laughed lightly and continued.

"Just one penny."

"It's very cheap. Think of it as..."

"No problem." Before Lorne could finish, she handed him a coin.

So decisive. Looks like she isn't short of money. Did I set the price too low... Lorne reached out and accepted the coin.

Seeing that she clearly had money to spare, he felt he had lost out badly. Still, he did not let it show and kept smiling.

"As the sign says, my divination method is called palmistry."

"As the name suggests, it predicts the future by examining the lines on your palm." Lorne introduced his method with a perfectly straight face.

"Please hold your hand out in front of me."

"Interesting." Without saying anything more, she did as instructed.

Having learned his lesson from being mistaken for a pervert, Lorne did not reach out to touch the lady's hand. Instead, he frowned slightly and gradually focused his eyes.

"Let me see." Lorne concentrated on examining the hand before him.

"Your career line is good. It means you have a great deal of talent in your field, ma'am. Calling you a genius wouldn't even be an exaggeration."

"Oh, that's quite accurate. I am indeed. Anything else?" She readily accepted the result and asked Lorne to continue.

Hey! Aren't you showing off a little, ma'am... The corner of Lorne's mouth twitched.

"Your love line is a little tangled at the beginning. That suggests you used to be rather promis... ahem, I mean, you once had quite an eventful love life, miss."

Lorne watched her expression. He had little confidence in his own amateur skills, and it would be troublesome if he said the wrong thing and upset her.

"Hmm... is that so? Yes, once..." She no longer seemed as composed as she had at first. Instead, she lowered her head, lost in thought.

After a pause of several dozen seconds, she continued, "Go on. Surely that isn't all there is to your divination?"

"Of course not." Seeing that she had raised no objections, Lorne continued:

"Although your love line is rather tangled at first, it gradually comes together later."

"You've probably already met the person you truly love, haven't you?"

The lady said nothing, merely nodding slightly and murmuring an acknowledgment.

"Yes."

"Then there's no mistake. That person is your true love."

"True love?"

"Yes, that's right. Your true love," Lorne said with absolute certainty.

In truth, fortune-telling was thirty percent mysticism and seventy percent psychology. That was exactly what Lorne was doing now.

He studied the lady's expression, his mind working rapidly.

She used to be so uninhibited, yet now she dresses so plainly and old-fashioned. The man she loves must be very conservative...

"The man you love is probably very conservative."

"Yes, he is." She did not deny it.

"You're usually the one taking the initiative, while he remains rather obtuse, right?"

"That's right. I've hinted at it so many times, but he just..."

"That explains it." Lorne interrupted her and began offering his own views.

"I can see that the love line on your palm is broken and incomplete. Your love will struggle to bear fruit!"

"Really?" Anxiety appeared on the lady's face.

"If things continue like this, there is absolutely no chance of you two getting together."

"And look, your life line is very short and intertwined with your love line." Lorne pointed to a rather long crease on her palm.

"If things go badly, death may separate you."

"Our work can indeed put us in very dangerous situations." She lowered her head, seemingly recalling something unpleasant.

"Of course, it's not as though there's no way to avert this."

"Really?"

"Of course. I can see that fate has brought us together. All you need to do is give me ten pou... ahem!"

That was close! I nearly got carried away with the act!

"What I mean is, you need to take the initiative, ma'am."

Without waiting for her to speak, Lorne continued:

"You may have dropped plenty of hints to the man you love, but you've never actually told him outright."

"So to other people, the two of you seem to be flirting at most. And it's precisely your lack of resolve that will lead to the tragedy ahead."

Seeing that his words had moved her, Lorne pressed his advantage. "That's why you need to take the initiative."

"Your past relationships may have left you feeling a little insecure, but believe me, he absolutely won't care about that."

"As long as you make the first move, he's bound to fall for you."

"You two will definitely end up together." His tone was firm and decisive.

After listening to Lorne's divination, the lady remained silent, a complicated expression on her face.

An unsettling silence fell over them.

Did I say something wrong... Lorne studied her expression.

About a minute passed.

"Thank you. Your divination was very interesting." She rose and smiled again, then left with light steps.

Watching her receding figure, Lorne breathed a sigh of relief.

"I finally managed to bluff my way through." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. In truth, with his half-baked fortune-telling skills, a brief look was already his limit.

But seeing how interested she was, he had felt too embarrassed to admit he knew nothing more.

Almost everything he had just said had been made up on the spot as he watched her expression.

Fortunately, he had not given himself away.

"How clever of me! That should count as a successful reading. I've completed the task on the note too, right?"

"Hey, you over there! You're not allowed to set up a stall here!" A patrol officer came over from the other side of the street.

"Oh my god, a policeman! Time to run."

Without hesitation, Lorne gathered up the things on the ground and fled without looking back.

Thanks to the extraordinary physique granted by "Monster," he soon managed to lose the policeman.

Nearby, Daly Simone, who had already reached the street corner, watched everything thoughtfully.

"That fortune-teller... is he a Beyonder?"

"And Dunn..."

She lowered her head, seemingly having made up her mind.