The dimly lit tent was filled with incense smoke, and in a chair across the table sat a beautiful woman wrapped in a blue veil. This woman was none other than Vongole Bianco Samejima, the owner of the fortune-telling house rumored to boast a 100% accuracy rate.

The visitor to the house, which was in fact only a tent, was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties. Though she was not wearing much makeup, her looks suggested that she works at night.

However, perhaps not wanting people to know that she had turned to a shady fortune teller, she wore a cap pulled low over her head to hide her eyes.

Asaka, dressed as Vongole Bianco Samejima, addressed the puzzled customer.

「Welcome. I am Vongole Bianco Samejima.」

「Yes… well, you seem a lot more mature than you do in the video… Are you not a different person?」

「It’s the angle. Don’t worry about it.」

『That’s a stretch, Asaka-san!』

A man’s voice suddenly came from nowhere, and the female customer looked around the tent. However, the only people there were the fortune teller, and the customer herself, and between them was a small table with a black tablecloth covering it.

「Oh lost fry, what’s wrong?」

「Umm. Just now, I heard a man’s voice……」

「It was a spirit. Don’t worry about it. Fuh!」

『……Guooa…… It hurtsh, Azaka-zan……! I give up…… I give up……！』

A terrifying voice echoed through the tent. The woman was shocked by the sound of a man writhing in agony as if he was being strangled.

However, since the fortune telling is 100% accurate, it wouldn’t be surprising if one or two spirits were present. She doubts that the spirit would be put in a leg choke under the table right now, though.

「Let’s continue, please take a seat.」

『Guhoh…… You’ll continue!?』

「Of course. It is possible that she is a collaborator of the mysterious being organization disguised as a regular customer.」

Asaka briefly exchanged a few words with Retto, who was hiding under the table in a hushed voice, and then urged the guest to sit down with her hand.

The woman steeled herself and sat down in the chair offered to her. And while she could sense something fishy going on, she began confiding her mundane worries.

「Umm… Vongole Bianco Samejima-sensei. I came to Tokyo from my parents’ house in Nagano two years ago. Umm, I haven’t met anyone or anything… Will I be alone forever?」

「Lost fry, have you heard of dating apps?」

『That’s too blunt, Asaka-san! At least try and act like you’re fortune-telling!』

「……I guess that can’t be helped. So, I guess it’s time to tell your fortune.」

The woman nodded vigorously with her hands clenched. She, too, had likely come to this suspicious fortune-telling house with resolve of her own.

Asaka held her hand over the glass ball, remembering the video she saw of her younger sister, also known as Vongole Bianco Samejima.

「Fukahirepicchi, Samepicchi……」

『That’s really a bit unreasonable, Asaka-san; you’ve done fortune telling before, haven’t you?』

「Listen, Kurenai-san. The main purpose of fortune telling is to reduce psychological stress by combining the Barnum effect and the placebo effect. All you have to do is say something that makes them feel good.」

Of course, a cheap glass ball will not reflect anything, no matter how much you try to talk with it. However, it was Asaka’s sincere desire to help a lost woman, not as a public safety official, but as a fake fortune teller.

「Kyabiapichipichi, hirepichichi」

『……Asaka-san, did you make some rearrangements?』

「It’s the same as the original」

『It’s not! It’s as different as a penguin and a penguin modoki[i] now! You can’t fool me!』

Asaka silently put her thighs together. Along with a creaking sound like something being crushed, the spirit’s demonic groan of “Guoooo…!” filled the tent.

「I saw. You have a dog right?」

「A dog? If it’s a cat, I do have one.」

「Then a cat is fine.」

『That’s a bit too careless, Asaka-san! They didn’t even throw javelins like that in the ancient Greek Olympics!』

Asaka continued speaking, ignoring the retort that came from under the table.

「The cat in your house」

「Oh, no. I have a cat at my parents’ house in Nagano.」

「Are you living alone now?」

「Yes, pets are not allowed in my apartment.」

A long silence flowed inside the tent. Even Retto was left speechless.

「……Let’s say you are keeping a cat for now.」

『Asaka-san, it’s too careless to shift to hypothetical situations now! It’s as crazy as insisting that a rugby ball is a dinosaur egg and putting it on display in a museum!』

「Ummm… sensei. Haven’t the spirits been making a lot of noise for a while now? And it seems like I’m hearing some kind of voice coming from under the table…」

「Don’t look. If you do, your destined one will explode and die.」

『I feel so sorry for this complete stranger who is destined to be with her! Gueeee!!』

Retto struggled under the table as Asaka’s thighs pressed against his skull like a vice. Asaka finally began to use not only her legs, but both of her hands to hold Retto down.

In reality, having a young man hiding under a table is not a very good situation. If the customers were to find out, it could lead to a police incident.

Asaka continued her fortune-telling in an effort to distract the customer as much as possible.

「You will soon meet your destiny」

「Eh, is that true?! What is he like?! How about his face?!」

She took the bait like carp that had been thrown into a pond. Feeling confident about her fortune-telling, Asaka adjusted her glasses with a smug look on her face and continued speaking.

「He has a face.」

『Of course there will be!　I realized that Asaka-san is not suited for fortune-telling!』

「Is he handsome? Who does he look like?」

「I don’t know much about celebrities so…」

「Then animals! If you were to compare him to an animal, what would it be?」

Asaka had been smoothly continuing her fortune-telling, but suddenly she was at a loss for words.

Being a completely skill-based person, she has never judged a man by his looks to begin with. And as a result, an image of a good-looking man’s face did not immediately spring to Asaka’s mind.

After pondering for a while, Asaka muttered her prophecy.

「……Scallops」

『That animal has no face! Asaka-san, why did you choose that of all things!?』

「Um… can I go home now? I’ll leave the money here…」

Perhaps fed up with the inept fortune-telling, the female customer stood up with a troubled smile. None of her worries were resolved, but it was clear that both of them would be happier if she left the room as quickly as possible.

「Wait a minute, oh lost fry.」

『Asaka-san, let’s not do this anymore! You’re putting the customer in trouble!』

Asaka stubbornly continued telling fortunes, but Retto stepped in to stop her. If this were a boxing match, it would be like throwing in a bunch of towels.

But Asaka was still ready to fight, and threw a few words at the female customer.

「I forgot to tell you why I thought you had a dog.」

Asaka, who has a naturally poker face, narrowed her eyes and glared at the customer.

「I can see a cute tail.」

The client woman put her hands on her hips in surprise.

「Lies, nyan! I thought I hid it properly, nyan! ……Haah!?」

In shock, the woman’s cap fell off her head, revealing a pair of cat-like ears.

The woman was not a customer, but a mysterious being who had returned to the scene of the crime.

「Secured.」

The moment Asaka muttered that, Retto jumped out from under the table and pinned the female customer down in blinding speed. The woman, who was clearly not human, tried to resist, but with her arms tied behind her back and handcuffed with mysterious being handcuffs, there was nothing she could do.

「Fugyaaaaaah! If we talk, you’ll understand, nyan! Please just spare my life, nyan!」

「Be quiet, you mysterious being! But Asaka-san is amazing, how did you know this person was a mysterious being!?」

Asaka slowly got up from her chair, giving a cold stare to the mysterious being lying on the floor.

「It was the smell. The reason for burning so much incense in the small tent was to hide the distinctive animal smell. But it couldn’t hide the stench of the Worthless Mysterious being.」

「That’s amazing, Asaka-san, you have a great nose!」

「I was just kidding. I just recognize her face.」

Asaka said this without moving an eyebrow and crouched down beside Nyanzo, grabbing her by the hair and making her look up. Her eyes, reminiscent of cold blue flames, looked down at the poor mysterious being who had been given the right of life and death.

「I- I- I apologize, nyan, I will give the money back, nyan, so please let me go, nyan! I part of the young generation, nyan, as you can see, nyan!」

「The Nekomata mysterious being Nyanzo. She was a former member of the mysterious being organization “The Alliance of Beasts” that was destroyed five years ago. She is undoubtedly a wanted mysterious being who has been committing fraud and extortion since then.」

「Oh, I remember now, nyanzo! You, could it be, nyan…!」

Asaka gagged Nyanzo’s mouth as she began to say something. The captured Nekomata mysterious being could no longer even scream, and could only thrash about.

However, her face was dyed blue with fear, incomparable to how she had begged for her life earlier.

「Um, Asaka-san. Was she trying to say something just now?」

「Let’s leave the containment of the mysterious being to someone else and continue our inspection.」

Asaka pulled out a communicator from her pocket and called for backup, then cracked her knuckles and put her gloves back on.

「Kurenai-san, if the mysterious being has returned to the scene, there must be something important left behind here that we must take the risk to retrieve.」

「Asaka-san……」

「Don’t think about anything else, just focus on your work.」

Retto couldn’t go any further. There was an ice wall that rejected all others.

---

[i] https://www.fukuoka-now.com/en/news/new-variety-of-penguin-fossil-found-in-nagasaki/