Hikigaya doesn't want to be a force of strength

"Well, student, please stretch out your hands first."

"Do you want to read your palm?"

"Don't talk too much nonsense when fortune-telling. This is common sense."

"..."

This old lady really won't give in at all. She won't even allow me to complain.

Although Hikigaya had a lot of thoughts going on in his mind, he still stretched out his hands on the surface.

After looking at his palm, the fortune teller nodded silently: "Your life line is very long, so you should live a long life. There is no sign of you getting seriously ill at this stage..."

“The evaluation given to me is very average.”

The fortune teller began to make comments that were very common. At least, this was the style of most of the Feng Shui masters that Hikigaya had heard of before.

Of course, Hikigaya himself doesn't believe that palm reading can determine a person's life span. Can palm reading also determine whether you will have a car accident?

It is likely that we only determine whether a person is healthy and long-lived by judging his appearance.

Normally, Hikigaya couldn't stand such boring conversations at all. After chatting for a few sentences, he couldn't help but want to leave.

But for now, in order to have more topics to talk about with Komachi in the future, he had to take this divination seriously and at least write down the fortune teller's words.

After the fortune teller in front of him finished his initial evaluation, he continued to compare Qi Gu's academic performance, financial fortune, love, etc.

Most of them are ambiguous terms, just like the so-called astrology, most of which are descriptions that no one can find wrong with.

Just when Hikigaya thought that this divination would most likely be just this level and nothing special would happen, the fortune teller's eyes suddenly became sharp.

"...Huh? Did I see it wrong? Although your life is generally stable, there is a huge hidden danger in your destiny."

What the hell?

Why did the painting style suddenly change?

Are you starting to lie?

For example, the classic saying of a black forehead is to spend money to ward off disasters...

Due to his family's ancestral education, Hikigaya was extremely familiar with the rhetoric of pyramid schemes. Seeing the fortune teller's sudden topic, he couldn't help but become nervous.

He secretly made up his mind that no matter what package or exorcism ceremony the other party offered, he would never accept it and just turn around and leave!

However, to Hikigaya's surprise, the fortune teller did not sell him any packages, but instead looked at his many signs carefully, as if he was confirming something.

Finally, her eyes cast a sharp gaze from under the brim of her hat, and she slowly spoke: "So that's how it is. You should also be the owner of the fate of the void."

"Hey, isn't this Kong Wang a little too worthless?"

Hikigaya was very suspicious that this was some kind of magical skill, otherwise why would he and Ayanokouji each test one and get all the answers blank.

There are too many unlucky people in this world.

And why is it originally? Could it be that I am no longer in the void now?

As if seeing Hikigaya's confusion, the fortune teller said calmly, "The so-called Void is a fate that only occurs in extreme cases. I can't be sure why both of you are the owners of Void, but I can give a certain explanation for the word 'should have'."

"Oh?"

Hearing the fortune teller's words, Hikigaya and Ayanokouji couldn't help but look over curiously.

Especially the latter, who was told by the fortune teller that his fate was doomed, and was originally a little depressed. However, he did not expect that Hikigaya was even more special than himself, so naturally he wanted to know the other party's situation.

The fortune teller did not keep the secret and said calmly:

"Those who hold the Void will lose all their good luck and will also lose the favor of fate... Starting a business, getting married, relocating, buying and selling, etc. will not get any results, which will eventually make a person lose heart and fall into despair. However, the fate of the Void is not all negative. It will make people constantly frustrated by the power of reality, but it will also strengthen the activities of the mind, and the spiritual will will continue to be improved under the tempering of fate."

"Therefore, people with firm beliefs and great personalities can often achieve great enlightenment and inspiration when they encounter the Void. On the contrary, ordinary people who are usually obsessed with fame, wealth and material desires often lose their spirituality, become physically and mentally unbalanced and suffer from illness when they encounter the Void."

"Young man, although you have the Void, your spirit offsets the negative attributes brought by the Void. If you continue to hold on to a heart of transcendence and indifference to fame and gain, you will be able to continue to enjoy the benefits brought by the Void. But if one day you are influenced by worldly fame and gain and get involved in worldly disputes, you will be attacked by the Void and fall into a vortex of troubles."

The long string of words that suddenly came out of the fortune teller's mouth gave Hikigaya and Ayanokouji some kind of strange inspiration.

The two of them fell into silence for a moment, not saying a word.

After describing the situation, the fortune teller concluded: "What I just said is not only for him, but also for you two young people. After all, as holders of the Void, if you can keep a pure heart and not be tempted by fame, wealth, and beauty from the outside world, you will be able to usher in the right result. However, if you lose your sense of self-righteousness and lose the right direction under the influence of the outside world, you may be buried in the whirlpool and fall into a desperate situation."

"Can you be more specific about the so-called correct direction?"

Ayanokouji seemed to want further guidance.

However, the fortune teller was not a prophet after all. She just gave vague guidance: "Destiny cannot be changed. What can be changed is the spirit you have when facing destiny. People cannot defeat destiny, they can only accept it. So I said, hold a pure heart, this is the only choice."

……

Coming out of the divination room, Hikigaya and Ayanokouji had different moods.

The former seemed to have received some vague revelation, and even felt relaxed instinctively.

The latter felt a certain kind of pressure out of nowhere and was unable to maintain a relaxed state of mind.

But Ayanokouji still behaved like an ordinary person and said calmly: "What do you think? This is my first divination."

"It's just so-so. It feels like some common rhetoric."

"Really? But the fortune teller is said to be a very famous person, with a high accuracy rate. Many celebrities have asked her to tell fortunes."

"Really? At that level, I think I can do it!"

Hikigaya spoke from the bottom of his heart.

He really felt that as long as he thought about it a little, he would be able to imitate the charlatan's rhetoric, and then live a life of food and drink without worries as long as he told lies all day long.

"..."

Seeing Hikigaya's carefree attitude, Ayanokouji inexplicably realized something, but he had no way of confirming what he had realized.

Finally, he could only sigh and slowly said, "From now on, I will no longer look down on it as 'just divination'. That's probably how I feel."

"up to you."

Hikigaya didn't think there was anything to worry about with this divination.

Even the fortune teller's last words were just a repetition of something that had already happened. There was nothing worth paying attention to.

As a high school student whose interest is in observing people, he feels that he can achieve similar insights if he studies it a little more.

The two then went to the elevator floor, only to find it was packed with people.

"Hikigaya, do you want to take the long way back with me?"

Ayanokouji obviously didn't want to squeeze into such a tiring elevator, so he suggested taking a detour to an elevator farther away.

"Didn't the fortune teller tell you not to take a detour?"

"Yeah, but I honestly don't want to squeeze into this elevator."

"Sorry, I'm efficiency-oriented."

Although he said this, Hikigaya actually didn't want to continue staying in the same space with Ayanokouji, so he would rather squeeze into the elevator in front of him.

The two then separated.

After returning to the dormitory, Hikigaya wrote down his thoughts on today's divination on a piece of paper, and looked at his gains with satisfaction, convinced that Komachi would definitely be interested in this kind of thing.

Before he could enjoy the happiness of summer vacation, he was suddenly woken up by a call from the student council president.

"The elevator in the mall is broken, and we need the student union to help fix it."

"why me?"

“Because you have lots of free time.”

"..."

Hikigaya was left speechless by the president's words and had no choice but to head to the shopping mall.

As soon as he arrived at the scene, he found that the staff were opening the closed elevator door and pulling out Ayanokouji, who was sweating profusely and about to faint.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Oh, no, not hurt. Just hot at best."

Ayanokouji drank a sports drink while forcing himself to respond.

Hikigaya who saw this scene inexplicably recalled the fortune teller's words, who said not to let Ayanokouji take a detour, otherwise something bad would happen.

As a result, Ayanokouji was trapped in the elevator.

If this is a coincidence, it would be too magical...

Maybe I should really do what the fortune teller said.

But having a pure heart and being indifferent to fame and fortune, isn't that what you've always done?

It seems like I don't need to change anything.

Volume 2, Grade 1, Second Semester

Chapter 423: New Semester! Sports Festival Begins!

August 31st and September 1st.

These two days are obviously connected, but the huge gap brought about by these two days ranks first in the whole year.

For students, this is the boundary between daily and extraordinary life.

Before the end of the holiday, negative energy accumulates to the highest point, and the world may be tainted by the worst ending.

Humanity is going to be destroyed!

Unfortunately, even if the world is going to end tomorrow, I still have to go to school today.

Hikigaya got up early and walked through the road to school which he hadn't seen for a long time.

The road was as crowded as it was two months ago, and the closer to the school, the louder the noise from the students. Everywhere you looked, you could see groups of students walking leisurely towards the school.

I guess after a summer vacation, everyone has a lot of things to say.

Hikigaya had been in this school for a semester without realizing it, so he knew many faces, but only to the extent of acquaintance.

He met Ichinose and Shiina on the road, but did not take the initiative to talk to them or say hello.

Although he met with the two men privately during the summer vacation and even held a reading club with Shiina, in Hikigaya's eyes, this still could not be considered a real friendship.

There are different senses of distance and ways of getting along on campus and outside the campus. In different social circles, people are destined to maintain a certain distance from each other.

Of course, he made a very clear distinction on this point.

Therefore, after entering the classroom, even when he saw Kushida and Sakura, he did not make any special reaction and remained silent as usual.

They are not that close friends at ordinary times, but they take the initiative to pat each other's shoulders when they meet. They clearly don't know the other person's true skin color, but the first sentence they say is "Are you tanned?" Instead of hanging out with such hypocritical people, it is much more honest not to even look at them.

There were many students in the classroom who were also silent. Hikigaya thought they had the same idea as him, but in fact, as soon as they saw someone they knew, their eyes lit up and they chatted happily with each other.

In Hikigaya's view, the biggest reason why people feel happy when being talked to is that their desire for self-identity is satisfied.

They use this to make sure that the other person recognizes them as a person, accepts their existence in this world, and that they are valuable enough for the other person to come and talk to them, and they feel happy about it.

On the other hand, if we are able to identify ourselves, there is no need for an upstream confirmation process.

This is the Lone Ranger, who truly establishes himself through solitude.

Hikigaya tries to satisfy his need for self-identity on his own, to comfort himself with his lack of interpersonal relationships and the fact that he does not have any friends.

Return to your familiar seat.

While enjoying the solitude of a lone ranger, he silently observed the students in the classroom, trying to analyze the growth and changes of different students after a summer vacation.

Then he discovered with regret that Class D was indeed Class D. Even after such a long time, most people were still the same, without the slightest difference.

The three idiots of Sudo, Yamauchi and Ike are still going crazy in the back.

The girls' circle of relationships around Shinohara and Karuizawa changes.

It is worth mentioning Kushida. Should we say that she has undergone some changes, or no changes at all? Hikigaya surprisingly cannot tell the difference. It is as if she is in a superposition state of change and constancy, caught in some weird state.

As for Ayanokouji, to be honest, Hikigaya didn't want to observe him too much. After all, he had obviously shown interest in him. If he observed him too frequently, it would easily arouse Ayanokouji's vigilance.

"..."