Chapter 1 Part II

After returning to my room, I looked a bit into Tenchuusatsu. And when I did so, it turned out to be an extremely deep subject. It seems just before 1980, with the public becoming more aware of its existence, Tenchuusatsu was bathed in attention. However, as its popularity boomed, its credibility also came into question. There was even a case in the news of a famous fortune-teller forced into retirement after he revealed the workings of Tenchuusatsu. I won't go as far as to say fortune-telling itself is pointless, but becoming obsessed over it, or believing too much in it can become a problem.

But on the flip side, one could also say that fortune-telling is just that charming to be able to attract the attention of that many people. It is a dominant topic, and even nowadays, if you approach it from the perspective of a believer, it still holds a considerable amount of accuracy. Now knowing this, I felt a sense of curiosity wash over me. As expected, I cannot just believe to what extent these articles I found on the net explain the truth of the matter.

It should be impossible to see the future or through a person through fortune-telling. That is precisely why I wanted to have my fortune told once, to discern its credibility. So that I could conclude that it is simply an extension of cold reading.

"I wonder if it's limited only to this month" I muttered.

Once I looked into it, it seems once the summer vacation ends, the fortune-teller will leave too and it's still unknown when or if he's coming back. Depending on the circumstances, it might even be that no person related to fortune-telling will visit this school again.

"But even if I say that...".

I don't have anyone to invite. I'm backed into a corner at this point. Horikita will most likely reject me again and I don't have the courage to invite Kushida in the first place.

I'm sure Sakura would be willing to accompany me, but if I bring her to a place full of couples, I may make her feel uncomfortable things. Other than that would be Sudou or Ike or Yamauchi. Those group of boys. But they probably don't want to spend the remaining days of the precious summer vacation going to a fortune-teller with another man.

"...checkmate, huh?" I muttered to myself.

A simple answer came out. In my limited interpersonal relationships, no matter how hard I think it seems impossible. In the first place, I dislike the couples-only sort of fortune-telling. You could almost say it's the same sort of thinking as Ibuki. For those genuinely interested in fortune-telling, it would be a great barrier. And just like that, I stopped my online search.