Free Divination

After watching the show, Lorne followed the crowd out of the large performance tent.

"Sir, would you like a divination?"

Lorne turned at the voice and saw someone in a black robe standing in front of a low tent. Judging by her figure, she was a woman.

She wore a grayish-white mask and stood alone, concealed in the darkness, looking rather eerie.

"No, thanks." Seeing her strange attire, Lorne had no intention of talking to her. He quickened his pace, ready to leave.

"Why not give it a try? My divinations really are accurate," the woman called after Lorne when he refused.

"Accurate?" Lorne grew a little interested.

"How much?"

"You're my first customer today, so it's free," the woman replied with a soft laugh, her tone warm and friendly.

"Free." Lorne mulled over the word.

To be fair, if she had charged him, he would not have thought much of it.

But the word "free," combined with the woman's strange attire, gave him pause.

"No strings attached? Just a divination?" he asked, still a little uneasy.

After all, Roselle... ahem, as the saying went, free things were the most expensive.

"That's right!" The woman nodded.

"My Tarot Divination is very accurate." Her voice brimmed with confidence.

I can do divination with Tarot Cards myself... Lorne studied her for a moment before asking, "Do you know the Dream Divination Method?"

Dream Divination... the woman repeated silently.

"It seems you're not entirely unfamiliar with divination, sir!"

"Yes, I'm something of an occult enthusiast myself." Lorne nodded, confirming her guess.

Compared with the well-known practice of divination with Tarot Cards, Dream Divination was far less widely known. Those familiar with it generally had a basic understanding of mysticism.

One reason Lorne had asked was to test her abilities. If she did not even know about Dream Divination, she certainly was not a competent Fortune Teller.

The other reason was that Lorne wanted to use divination to establish the origins of the notebook in his satchel. Unfortunately, he did not know how to perform Dream Divination himself.

If the woman before him really was a skilled Fortune Teller, perhaps she could help him discover just what this "Antigonus" was.

"Rest assured, sir. As a qualified Seer, I'm also quite adept at Dream Divination."

Hearing her confident tone, Lorne nodded, but then something suddenly occurred to him.

In her last sentence, she had called herself a Seer rather than a Fortune Teller. That reminded Lorne of the potion formulas that had appeared in the notebook earlier. The Sequence 9 potion among them was named Seer.

Could she be... Lorne raised his head and studied her with an almost imperceptible glance.

He had intended to activate Spirit Vision and examine her aura directly. But when he considered that she might also be a Beyonder and could notice, he abandoned the idea.

A misunderstanding would be troublesome, after all. Knowing how convenient divination could be, Lorne understood that having an enemy skilled in it would be an enormous headache.

"If you'd like a divination, follow me inside." The woman beckoned to Lorne.

Lorne followed her, bending low to enter the squat tent.

The tent was unusually dark. Only a little candlelight filtered through, dimly illuminating a table and two chairs beside it.

"What would you like to divine?" She sat in one of the chairs and gestured for Lorne to take a seat.

"Well, I'm also a history enthusiast. Some time ago, I happened to acquire an ancient book, but because of its age, I haven't been able to decipher its contents. I'd like to know its origins and history." Offering this half-truth, Lorne sat down and leaned back in his chair.

"An ancient book?" The woman sounded puzzled.

"Did you bring it with you?"

"Of course not. Who carries a book around with them?" Lorne lied without batting an eye.

The notebook was, in fact, right there in his satchel.

"Without the actual object, the divination may not be very accurate." She spoke a little more slowly, her earlier confidence gone.

"That's fine. I just wanted to give it a try." Lorne did not have particularly high expectations for a free divination.

"All right, then. I'll try." The woman nodded, agreeing to his request.

She then asked Lorne a few questions, such as the color of the ancient book's cover and when and where he had purchased it.

"Should I step outside?" Lorne recalled his earlier experience at the Divination Club. When the Fortune Teller named Hanass had performed Dream Divination, he had asked Lorne to leave so he could spend a little time alone.

"No need. Just stay quiet." The woman declined Lorne's suggestion, then bent forward and buried her head in her arms.

She's starting the divination just like that... Lorne was a little surprised by her actions.

Time ticked by.

Seeing that the woman still showed no response, Lorne's expression shifted uncertainly.

Could she have divined that the notebook is on me...?

If she really was a Seer, a notebook containing the formulas for the subsequent Seer potions would surely be a powerful temptation.

By now, Lorne was beginning to regret his decision. Asking a possible Seer to divine an item connected to the Seer Pathway did not seem sensible, no matter how he looked at it.

He made up his mind that if the woman showed even the slightest sign that something was wrong, he would turn and run.

Another five minutes or so passed.

This is taking way too long. Last time I had Dream Divination done at the Divination Club, I only waited outside for two minutes, though it did fail in the end.

He wanted to ask, but remembering her request for silence, he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. He merely watched her with a slight frown.

Another ten minutes or so passed.

Nearly twenty minutes had elapsed since she began the divination, yet she still showed no response.

Growing anxious, Lorne asked aloud, "Ma'am, how did the divination turn out?"

"If it failed, you don't need to force yourself. Just tell me."

When she failed to respond, Lorne grew puzzled.

Dream Divination, Dream Divination... surely she hasn't actually fallen asleep?

"Ma'am? Ma'am?"

"Wake up!" He reached out and gave the Fortune Teller a push.

Lorne's push seemed to upset her balance entirely. Her body swayed, and she fell straight off the chair.

"Ow... that hurts. What's going on?"

"And who are you?" She looked at Lorne blankly.

"I... I'm the person who came to you for a divination."

"You forgot already?" Watching her behavior, Lorne was speechless. She looked exactly like someone still groggy from sleep.

"Really? I think I do remember something like that."

"Do you still want a divination?"

"No... no, thanks." Seeing how unreliable she was, Lorne abandoned the idea and turned to leave the tent.

What he had not anticipated, however, was that someone with sticky fingers had already noticed him.

"How did it go today? Is your potion digestion progressing smoothly?" the Magician asked his teammate.

"..."

Seeing that her expression was off, the Magician's face changed, and he asked with concern, "Did something happen?"

"I..." The Fortune Teller hesitated before saying, "I think I had a rather extraordinary dream."