Today was the last day of the festival, and the day I was supposed to go up on stage to perform the sword dance. It was a truth that I wanted to escape, and I had been trying my hardest to think of something, anything else. Thanks to Yves, however, I ended up thinking about it again. Just thinking about it made me nervous. I'd just forgotten it, too.
I looked at the clock, then back at the sky. The performance was coming up soon. The presentations were happening right after dinner, so there were still a few hours before the performance, but it was 'soon' for me.
"Shushu, you're going up on stage as the representative for the swordsmanship class, right?"
Cory reminded me of this fact once again while the two of us blankly stared at the crimson lights in the sky, munching on snacks.
"...Let's head into the building and look at the club booths. We didn't go yet, right?"
I changed the subject because I wanted to avoid it, and Cory tilted his head at my reaction before smiling to himself.
When we walked further, we could see the second loudest area after Hylli's club.
This club didn't have any particular reason to be loud, but it was still rowdy. When we walked into the building to walk into the chaos, we could see a sign that read, 'Consultation Club'.
A large group of kids looked to be in tears as they ran away from the booth. Unlike the other booths that took place outside, this club seemed to have borrowed a classroom.
The consultation club was doing a fortune teller shop during the festival. Even if it was a 'fortune teller shop', nobody could read the future, so they were basically just listening to people's worries and giving them platitudes.
There was no reason for any kind of chaos to erupt so it was strange to see it, but as soon as we heard the voice of the fortune teller, it became clear.
"Welcome~."
The fortune teller was Swanhaden.
As soon as we entered the club room, the first thing we heard was the bored voice of Swan.
Cory and I completely understood the noise outside. If it was Swanhaden, then of course it was loud.
The inside of the booth was made to look like a confession booth, so Swan couldn't tell right away that the people who had entered were Cory and I.
The other members of the club placed two chairs and put them in front of the black wall as soon as they saw us. There were small holes poked into the wall, and one large hole where someone could put their arm through it.
I wondered why the other club members chose Swan as the fortune teller, but I decided not to worry about it.
The consultation club members said that they thought we would be their last customers. Then, the students who handed us our chairs immediately left to eat dinner.
When we walked closer to the wall, we could see a bored looking Swanhaden with his face on the desk through the small holes. Swan had taken his pen apart and was pressing down on the coil. His silver hair was swept to one side, and we could see his forehead.
"Be it your luck in love, studies, or the future, we can tell you all~."
Swanhaden seemed like he had been in here for a long time. His voice seemed drenched in exhaustion. Seeing how he was yawning as well, it seemed like he was incredibly bored.
"Swan, what are you doing here?"
"…..oh, it's you, Cory."
The first person that Swanhaden discovered was Cory. Cory was standing right in front of the small holes, so Swan couldn't see me.
At Cory's question, Swanhaden shrugged his shoulders.
"Ugh... Why is time passing so slow?"
Swanhaden rubbed his face into his hands and covered his eyes with the sheep sleeping mask on his forehead. In the middle, he mumbled, "How many minutes until Shushu's performance…." He looked like he was about to fall asleep.
Swanhaden doodled on a tarot card as he spoke to Cory with a tired voice.
"Old man, what do you want to know….."
Swan didn't seem like he wanted to do any kind of fortune telling, but he said it anyway.
"My luck, huh... My luck in snacks?"
Cory said after thinking about Swan's words.
At Cory's response, Swanhaden wordlessly slid a card with a skull drawn on it. He just slid it forward without a thought.
"Oh no, there aren't any snacks left."
"Isn't that because you took them all?"
"Maybe."
Swan said, face still resting on the desk.
"Then… Dating?"
When Cory said 'dating', Swan reacted slightly.
Once again, Swan slid forward a skull card.
"You're gonna die alone."
Cory tilted his head at Swan's words, then pondered for a bit longer before speaking again.
"….studying?"
"You're going to fail literature."
"...…"
Cory frowned at Swan's words before shoving a few stick-shaped snacks through the small opening.
"Take that back."
Swan received the snacks from Cory, then took back the skull card and slid forward a card with a man smiling miserably.
"Okay, I'll take back the fail."
Cory let out a sigh of relief as he received possibly the most positive card that Swan had handed to somebody today.
But thinking back, Cory had received an incredibly score in literature last time. It was just a written exam, but his handwriting was such a mess that there were rumors that the professor had just refused to read it.
To make matters worse, apparently his fingers couldn't take the work and his letters became hieroglyphics towards the end. The professor had wanted to give Cory a chance and had requested Cory to read his work out loud, but apparently even he couldn't read his own handwriting towards the end and had received a fail.
"What about fortune?"
The two of them seemed to be having fun, so I just added a question from beside Cory.
As soon as I spoke after being quiet for a while, Swanhaden sat up straight. His hands immediately shifted to remove his sleeping mask before stopping.
"…..I didn't just imagine that, right?"
Swan quietly muttered to himself.
"Shushu is asking for her fortune."
Cory glanced at me after watching Swan's reaction before speaking again.
I could see Swan through the small holes in the wall, but as soon as Cory finished speaking, he disappeared from my sight with a loud clatter. Guessing what happened inside, he probably fell off of his chair as he tried to stand up.
Swan soon reappeared. It looked like he had rummaged through a pile of items from behind the wall before he came back with a bundle of cards.
Swanhaden slid a special glittery tarot card. There was a heart and a thumb drawn on it.
"Earn lots for as long as you breathe."
I took the glittery card that Swan handed me and looked at Cory. When I showed him the bright gold card, Cory showed me the assortment of skull cards that he received earlier. I gave him a thumbs up.
"What about my future?"
I asked for another reading. Without a moment's hesitation, Swanhaden gave me another shimmering card. This card was gold.
"I hope you rule the world."
"What about food?"
"I'll buy as much as you want."
With that, Swan slid forward another positive card. It was a card that depicted a gold-skinned, extremely muscular man. I felt like Swan was just handing out whatever card he felt like giving.
"Then my dating life?"
I suddenly remembered what Swan had said about Cory dying alone. They must've been taken aback when I asked about my dating luck. Cory stared at me with surprise in his eyes.
Unlike the other times when Swanhaden had just handed me a golden card, Swan was quiet.
"....."
"....?"
"....That."
Swan hesitated for a very long time before he spoke.
"....Soon."
Swanhaden fumbled for words when he was about to say something, but soon slid forward another gold card. It was a card with a large heart drawn on it. On it was 'A Prince on a White Steed' and a drawing alongside it.
"Swanhaden, let's live honest lives."
"….."
Cory said, after glancing at the card.
Swan wordlessly slid the card back into his booth. Then, not long after, his arm slid out of the hole again. There was another card in his hand this time.
No, I thought it was a card, but it was a free for use card for festival food.
Swan slapped the food card in front of me, then opened the door of his black booth and nodded towards us.
"We're closed. Let's go eat."
Apparently, the fortune telling robe had been a bit annoying. He threw it onto the pile of cards.
Swanhaden hurriedly walked in front of me, glanced down, then handed me the card he took back earlier.
It was the same golden card with the big heart and the prince on a white steed, but something was different.
The prince in the picture had golden or brown hair earlier, but it looked like he had scratched off the color with a coin–the hair was now white.
When I glanced at the card, then back at Swanhaden, he walked away to avoid my gaze.
I walked around other club booths with Swanhaden and Cory. We had a free food card and it was nice to be able to eat food for free, but Swan was with us. We didn't really need a card.
Whenever Swan walked around, students handed over free food and items. Thanks to that, our hands were full of things to eat. I didn't know what the hell he was doing around campus, but a few underclassmen were calling Swanhaden 'hyungnim'*.
At the request for all performers to head towards the stage, I was forced to part with them in the middle.
Swanhaden and Cory put all of the snacks they had received from the booths in the very front seat of the stage and took their spots.
Hestia lingered near the front of the stage and put her stuff down to save her spot, but as soon as she left, Swan kicked all of her belongings away.
"Shushu. The performances are being rated based on the audience reactions, right?"
About an hour before the presentation, Hazel had called me behind the stage. I was just about to head over when Swanhaden rushed to ask a question. I stopped walking and just nodded.
I had no idea when they got their hands on it, but both Swan and Cory's hands were filled with magic video devices. When I told them that audience reactions would be the basis of the rating, Swanhaden nodded slightly as he rolled his eyes in thought.
"Can we cast some magic effects when you walk out?"
After Swan's question, Cory stared a hole into me and seemed to ask for permission. I tried to tell Cory that it wasn't allowed, but Hazel said that I was late and dragged me over before I could even respond.
Seeing Hestia with her own bundle of stuff, hearing Swan's question about audience reactions, and even Cory's magic effects…..I was very suspicious of them as I headed to the back of the stage.
But the outfit that Hazel had brought over was so shocking that my mind went blank for a moment.
"Whoa, unni. This...…."
Hazel, who had shoved me into the changing room, threw me an outfit before closing the door shut. I held the outfit in my hands as I called for her, but Hazel was gone–probably to get her makeup.
The black and red dress looked flexible, and also had the logo of Hazel's new company embossed on it. The crimson jewels encrusted on the edge of the dress twinkled beautifully as it moved, and the delicate pattern that had been hand-stitched made it look sensual.
The dress was light and airy, and was designed to be comfortable even when wielding the sword. There were some fluttery areas, but it didn't seem to prevent me from moving how I needed to. It almost reminded me an Arabian Nights outfit–there were quite a few areas that were see-through.
"It's incredibly.....flashy...….."
It looked like light was coming from the outfit. Maybe it was an effect of the jewels. It was a design that didn't look like it belonged in this world. Maybe it was because international trade was becoming more widespread–it looked like fashion was becoming more diverse.
Hazel had taken the clothes that I had been wearing. This was the only thing I had to wear, so I put it on. When I stood awkwardly in front of the mirror, I couldn't help but feel an unfamiliar feeling. Man, I'm kind of pretty.
Hazel, who had hurried to exit the changing room, soon returned.
T/N: Hyungnim* is a phrase that's mostly used by mobsters when referring to those above them.