Free Web NovelChapter 166: 166 Fantasy Moon_1
Silvertown, lower city district, Sunset Boulevard.
Aiden walked along the road, leaning on a cane and looking around.
Having not left the prison for some time, there was an inexplicable sense of relief strolling down such an open street.
This was the old city district, known for its black market, where those familiar with the right contacts could purchase all manner of illegal merchandise; Magic Potion, enchanted items, Dark Magic Scrolls, firearms and ammunition. Yet on the surface, it remained just a bustling commercial street with clothing, leather, pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, books, general goods... Everything one could need. And at both ends of the street were clusters of restaurants and taverns.
But Aiden was not in the mood for a leisurely stroll; his purpose for coming out was to visit that mysterious fortune-teller.
Divine and arcane information, the Harvest Mother Cult’s intelligence, and the relationship with Melifilia... He had too many things he wanted to investigate. Since Melifilia had assured him that meeting the person in question was safe, Aiden decided to go see them first.
He made his way directly to Autumn Leaves Alley, as Melifilia had previously instructed, and found the designated shop.
"A jewelry store?" Aiden surveyed the small shop’s sign with surprise.
The address given by Melifilia led to a jewelry store called "Phantom Moon."
Words like jewelry processing and purchasing were written on the standing sign outside the store... Not a single word about fortune-telling. It seemed that its primary business was selling jewelry, not offering fortune-telling services.
This was the complete opposite of what Aiden knew about fortune-telling shops, which would typically flaunt fortune-telling services and then sell supposedly luck-altering, low-cost trinkets at slightly higher prices to customers.
In Aiden’s previous world, those gem and jewelry shops sometimes claimed miraculous benefits such as improving luck or health. But as a firm atheist, Aiden did not believe a word of it—if such objects really brought good fortune, the owners of the gem stores would probably get rich just by buying lottery tickets.
In this world, even a small jewelry shop like this required a certain level of capital, which did not align with the low-cost operation of so-called fortune-telling. If one had the wealth to open a jewelry shop, they generally would not bother with the kind of business that belongs at street stalls.
But Melifilia probably wouldn’t resort to such a petty trick on him. After double-checking the address, Aiden entered the shop.
"Welcome." Accompanied by the sound of the doorbell, the shop assistant behind the counter stood up and greeted him warmly.
Aiden took a closer look; the person was a wheat-skinned girl around fifteen or sixteen, who hardly looked like the owner of the place.
As Aiden watched her, the girl also sized him up and down.
Then, the warmth on her face faded away like a receding tide.
"If you’re just browsing, please feel free to look around."
The girl spoke casually, then sat back down in her chair and resumed flipping through the magazine she had been reading before, showing no further intention to engage with Aiden.
Hey hey, isn’t this attitude a bit too blunt? Am I dressed that shabbily? Aiden thought to himself.
"Miss, are you a shop assistant here?" Aiden asked.
"Yes," the girl answered nonchalantly, continuing to flip through her magazine, "I’m working part-time, minding the store."
"Then your boss—"
"Is out. She’s not here often," the girl interrupted Aiden rudely without waiting for him to finish his question.
Aiden suddenly felt this brat was quite in need of education.
However, he had no intention of wasting time arguing with her; he had come to visit the fortune-teller.
From the sounds of it, the rarely seen shop owner was likely the fortune-teller Melifilia had mentioned. The jewelry store was probably just a cover... freewebnovel.cσ๓
"Actually... I came for her to tell my fortune," Aiden tried asking. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
"Fortune-telling?" The girl finally looked at him squarely, "Did you... make an appointment beforehand?"
"Appointment?" Aiden was taken aback.
"The boss only does fortune-telling three times a day, and this week’s slots are already full, so you need to make an appointment. Also, it’s a pound for one session, and you must pay half as a deposit for booking," the girl said with a slight frown, "You don’t know this?"
How could I know about these troublesome rules? And is fortune-telling business really so booming here? Aiden was utterly astonished.
So many clients, they can’t all be pursuing divinity by seeking this fortune-teller, right...?
It seems the fortune-teller did take commissions from normal clients, and... must have some real skill. Otherwise, with such high fees, the shop would have been smashed up already if the predictions weren’t accurate.
"If you want a fortune-telling session, pay the deposit first, then leave your question, name, and contact information," the girl said as she pulled out a pen and notebook, "When your appointment time comes, return to the shop, and I will take you to her."
"Can I meet her first?" Aiden asked, "When will she come back?"
He was not going to find the fortune-teller the way the girl suggested, not only was it bothersome... but it was also expensive, outrageously so.
"Nope, can’t do!" The girl rejected firmly, "The boss specifically said she won’t meet non-appointment customers. If you keep insisting, I’ll have to kick you out!"
He couldn’t even get an audience... Aiden felt a bit perplexed for a moment.
"Then tell her this message for me, ’I’m here to deliver the second gift from the white oak treehouse,’" Aiden said.
This was the code Melifilia had taught him to use to connect with the fortune-teller.
Since he couldn’t meet the fortune-teller, he could only have this girl pass on the message for him.
The girl obviously froze for a second when she heard his words, then her eyes sharply changed.
Aiden didn’t miss the change in her expression—he saw that she recognized the code.
Suddenly realizing something, just as he was about to speak, the girl stood up on her initiative, went around the counter, straight to the door, hung an "Out of Business" sign outside, and locked the door.
"You should’ve said that earlier. We’ve gone in such a big circle for nothing," said the girl in a mature tone that differed entirely from before, addressing Aiden, "I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Let’s talk in detail in the room inside."
"So it turns out, you are the fortune-teller?" Aiden confirmed while looking into her eyes.
"Yes, that’s me. You can call me Melissa," the girl — the fortune-teller Melissa — revealed a slight smile, "Welcome, Aiden Galahad, the lamb guided here by the wisdom of my mistress, the Goddess."
