In London, June was gradually heating up as the temperatures rose.
On the southern bank of the Thames, Cheltenham College Junior School.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, after finishing their day's lessons, the students walked out of the school gates in groups amidst bursts of laughter and chatter.
Not far from the school gate, under the shade of the trees.
"Miss Winnie, based on the divination results, there's a high probability that you won't find the love you expect before graduation," Ino glanced at the numbers thrown by the dice on the ground and said apologetically.
Upon hearing this answer, the young girl's youthful face was filled with disappointment.
"Not able to find it... Well then! Thank you for the divination, Mr. Swinburne."
Perhaps such a result seemed to be within her expectations. With good upbringing, she didn't engage in meaningless entanglements. After paying a pound, she turned and walked away.
As the girl gradually walked away, Ino, who had just looked apologetic, now displayed a maturity that didn't match his age.
"Sigh, young ones..."
Skillfully collecting the banknotes left by the girl, he then carefully picked up the dice that had fallen on the ground.
After doing all this, Ino continued to sit on his little stool, waiting for the next client to arrive.
...
Some say that the main theme of graduation season in June is usually about farewells and sadness, but perhaps that only applies to the vast majority...
After all, in a big world, there are always one or two exceptions.
"Finally, it's over..."
As the final bell rang, Hermione quickly packed up her belongings and left the classroom without looking back.
Throughout the process, she didn't show any hint of nostalgia.
Compared to the melancholy farewells of others, graduation for her was more like a liberation, finally allowing her to distance herself from those who seemed foolish but were actually not intelligent classmates.
Walking out of the classroom, Hermione followed the familiar path, not glancing around, as if nothing around her could disturb her.
This scene, amidst the noisy environment, seemed exceptionally unique.
Fortunately, this situation didn't last long.
The moment Hermione walked out of the school gate, it was as if she had been released from bondage. Her eyes no longer looked straight ahead, but subconsciously glanced towards the shade of the trees opposite.
Sure enough, in the familiar place, she saw a familiar figure again, and a smile unconsciously appeared on Hermione's lips.
But just looking from afar... She noticed the other person's smiling face and an athletic-looking girl talking to them intimately.
The intimate scene made Hermione's smile, which had just appeared, dissipate like snow under the sun, disappearing in an instant.
"Clearly loves reading so much, yet still deceiving people everywhere..."
The current scene made Hermione bite her lip in displeasure, feeling somewhat indignant.
...
The whole thing started two years ago.
At that time, including Cheltenham College Junior School, among four or five other primary schools nearby, there was often a boy who claimed to be a fortune teller showing up at the end of the school day once or twice a week.
He wandered among these schools, always staying not far from the school gates, using a dice to predict fortunes for people and earning the meager pocket money of the students.
Although many people praised the accuracy of his divinations, Hermione still believed it was just luck, or rather, statistical probability...
Although she had never been divined.
However, using a dice to predict the future recklessly, in her opinion, was simply ignorant. Perhaps only true fools would choose to believe in it.
"It's just relying on good looks to deceive those infatuated girls..."
Although she said that, Hermione still didn't move her feet. Instead, she stood still and watched for a moment before leaving contentedly.
...
Afternoon sunlight filtered through the treetops.
Ino sat on his little stool, with dappled light shining on his cheeks, making his amber-colored pupils appear even more crystal clear.
Just gazing into those eyes made it easy to forget all worries. The bright eyes always revealed innocence... That feeling was like that of a newborn baby, pure and clean.
His pitch-black short hair lazily spread out, reflecting a glossy sheen under the sunlight.
For a long time.
Ino glanced at the gradually closing school gate, feeling that there would be no more customers, so he got up to pack his belongings.
When we say belongings, it's just an old faded folding stool and a linen tablecloth that had been washed to a yellowish hue.
Ignoring the curious glances around him, he casually packed all the items into the canvas bag on his shoulder and leisurely turned to leave.
As his steps moved, the makeshift wind chime made of shells tied to the canvas bag produced a crisp tinkling sound.
...
Half an hour later.
Ino returned to his residence with two bags of food, a natural bridge under the Thames.
"Three months... counting the days, it's almost time for the next journey."
Sitting under the bridge, Ino played with the dice in his hand while secretly calculating the time.
Seriously speaking, he wasn't from this world. More accurately, he was a transmigrator from a distant eastern land, inexplicably becoming an abandoned infant in England.
But after spending ten years in an orphanage, he also acquired his own "cheat."
Ino vividly remembered that two years ago, on the day after his 10th birthday, he mysteriously entered another world.
Since then, he could go to that magical place every once in a while.
The reason why he called it magical was because different legends, fairy tales, and folk stories were always unfolding there.
Ino saw his "cheat" more like an alternative travel agency, or a life experience museum.
After all, he always traveled through that world as a pure bystander. There were no tasks, no plots, and certainly no so-called systems.
And the time of entry was always uncertain.
Sometimes it would be every one or two weeks, sometimes several months... The duration of his stay inside also varied, from as short as one or two weeks to as long as half a year.
In short, it was all about going with the flow.
What was even more unpredictable was the way he entered the fantasy world. Honestly, this was what gave him the most headaches.
Remembering a bizarre incident, on the way to the bathroom, the next moment after pushing open the door, he walked into a vast, unmarked jungle...
Of course, even though everything was full of randomness, Ino was also well aware that relying on this miracle could at least make his future quite comfortable.
Because all the fairy tales, legends, and folk stories, although universally considered unreasonable and illogical, couldn't deny their power.
...
Two years of travel, countless attempts and explorations.
Ino also figured out some simple rules, and now he could even strive for some benefits in the fantasy world.
For example, the dice he often used for divination.
Of course, it was also because of possessing the ability to embark on this wonderful journey that he had to spend years mingling in various libraries in London, spending his days recharging.
It's worth mentioning that, after experiencing the fantastic journey for the first time, he chose to leave the orphanage where he had lived for ten years after careful consideration.
After all, a journey would last from several weeks to almost half a year... If he came back a few more times, it would be hard not to be noticed.
Especially for a semi-adolescent boy, it was a period of rapid physical development, and a few months or almost half a year would bring about too many changes.
If someone with a keen eye noticed, apart from being dissected, there was no second possibility for a powerless orphan.
However, fate always plays just the right jokes.
The two worlds were like independent spaces that never intersected. Because no matter how long he spent in the fantasy world, the real world was just an instant.
The most tangible result was that while he accumulated years of life experience in the fantasy world, he remained an 11-year-old boy in reality.
Although this was the case, Ino didn't regret his decision. Compared to the constraints of the orphanage, he enjoyed the freedom of his current life.
When he ran out of money, he went to nearby primary schools to set up stalls and tell fortunes for the students. In his spare time, he went to bookstores to read books and pass the time. Life was quite comfortable.
...