A newbie's anime life diary

After sitting down in the empty seat, Xuehui asked in a low voice, "What, are you participating in the second competition again?"

“Of course, this is our dream, and it can also bring attention to the school, isn’t that great?” Nozomi Tojo said as she introduced, “Although I think you all probably already know, let me introduce her anyway. This is my good friend, Eli Ayase.”

"Hello, everyone. Ah, Nozomi, this isn't the time for greetings, we need to get the work done!" Eli Ayase reminded Nozomi Tojo while handing her a menu. "Dear...masters, please take a look and see what you'd like to order."

Hmm... judging from this, it seems she's still not used to working as a maid.

As Yukiteru picked up the menu and looked at it, he heard Nozomi Tojo say again, "Masters, we have a special event today! Would you like to try Maid-chan's fortune telling? It's very accurate~"

My hand gripping the menu tightened instantly. You damned witch, don't even think about stealing my wallet!

Chapter 198 These days, all the shrine maidens are crooked.

Nozomi Tojo is the representative of the shrine maidens in the Tokyo area, a third-year student at Otonokaki Girls' School, the vice president of the student council, a member of the school idol group Muse, and the one who proposed the name Muse.

She is beautiful, has a voluptuous figure, and is very capable. She is also like an older sister in the muse.

However, beneath this seemingly perfect exterior lies a heart that has already gone astray.

Putting aside his habit of groping the breasts of the girls around him, the most important thing is that he picked up the characteristics of greed and swindling from some unknown guy.

Xuehui still clearly remembers how a simple divination that didn't require much effort from her back then swindled her out of 50,000 yuan, even though they claimed it was a 50% discount. It was absolutely outrageous.

From then on, Yukiteru became wary of these seemingly cheerful but actually cunning shrine maidens.

Unfortunately, he was destined to meet another one: Sanae Kochiya, the wind priestess of Moriya Shrine, now a human god. She was perfect in every other way, but she was a huge fan of robot anime, a complete mecha fanatic. Yukiteru had accidentally seen dozens of Blu-ray discs of mecha anime piled up in Sanae's room, along with many models; she was even reportedly preparing to make a life-size replica herself...

Yukiteru had some doubts at first. Collecting various radishes is very expensive. Besides the incense offerings from the shrine, what other sources of income does Sanae have?

Of course, he did. Later, he had Sanae make several amulets, and the three of them cost him 6 million yen, which was like money falling from the sky. But the quality was indeed good, so Yukiteru didn't care.

As for the other source of all evil, the Red and White, Yukiteru simply couldn't be bothered to even look at it.

And so, none of the shrine maidens in Yukiteru's memory were genuine, kind-hearted, or helpful; they were always talking about money, money, money, and carrots, carrots, carrots, and slacking off...

Serious business? Not at all. All I do all day is sweep the floor and that's it.

Therefore, Yukiteru became nervous when he heard Nozomi Tojo say the word "divination".

Under the curious gazes of the other three, she said, "Actually, I'm also a shrine maiden at this shrine in my spare time. Doing different things is one of my hobbies, and I've learned a lot about it. If you're interested, I can do a fortune telling for you. Today happens to be a promotional event for Muse, so it's free!"

"Huh? Do you usually charge a fee?" Eriri looked at the young lady with a warm smile on her face and didn't feel any sense of unfamiliarity. She asked curiously.

Ayase Eli chimed in, "I've also seen Nozomi's fortune telling at the shrine. It seemed to be very cheap, maybe 500 or something."

"500 is a scam. If you want an accurate measurement, the price will be at least 10." Xuehui looked up at Tojo Nozomi and bluntly exposed her.

"10...10?!" Ayase Eli was the first to exclaim, looking at her friend in disbelief. "Really?"

Tojo Nozomi paused for a few seconds before looking at Yukiteru in a somewhat indifferent tone and saying, "Yukiteru-kun, doing business isn't easy, why be like this? I already said it's free this time, so don't take it so seriously, okay?"

"Well, miss, since you said you wanted to do a divination, let's do something accurate. And don't use tarot cards. Let me see your real skills. I heard from Sanae that you are really good at palmistry and astrology."

With his chin resting on one hand, Xuehui said this and then ignored her, starting to talk to Ayase Eli about what they wanted to order. He and Shiyu ordered an omelet rice, a pasta dish, a coffee, and a glass of orange juice.

Although Ayase Eli heard a name from Yukiteru that seemed to be related to her friend and felt curious, her sense of responsibility made her focus on what she was doing first. After noting down what Eriri and Sayuri had ordered, she told Tojo Nozomi and left.

Tojo Nozomi, who remained behind, smiled helplessly and looked at Yukiteru: "Isn't it just that I took 5 yen from you back then? And I didn't make up any numbers, you know. When what I told you happened, you bled, didn't you?"

Huh? Something happened? Bloodshed?

Xuehui was taken aback. He thought back for a moment and realized that what Tojo Nozomi was talking about was the time when he confronted the other girls, which was the day he met Shiwa during the school festival.

It seems she really did bleed; Yukino bit her lip.

"Are you trying to tempt me? Oh well, I'll take your guess as right." Pointing to the seat next to her, a seat reserved for maids during games, Yukiteru invited Tojo Nozomi to sit down. Then, speaking to Eriri and Sayuri opposite her, she said, "You should have already figured it out. The person I mentioned I know is her. Although she's currently a school idol, her main job is still a shrine maiden. Her fortune-telling skills are among the best in Tokyo, if not nationwide. Interested in giving it a try?"

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Before Eriri could speak, Sawamura Sayuri raised her hand first. She loved this kind of fun thing. "Is it okay if I call you Nozomi-chan? What kind of fortune-telling are you good at?"

"I don't care what you call me. As for divination, I'm fine with anything as long as it's not taboo, but I usually do more about career and love." Tojo Nozomi's expression returned to her standard warm smile as she looked at Sayuri and said, "But I think you don't need to, whether it's career or love."

"Oh my, it really is. Of course, it's not for me to do the reading, but for the child next to me. I'll do the reading, of course, I'll read her marriage prospects~" Sawamura Sayuri covered her mouth and smiled, but deep down she felt like she'd been seen through. The other person's words had been loaded with meaning. Others might not have noticed, but someone as shrewd as Sawamura Sayuri understood perfectly, and even went on to think a lot more about it from that one sentence.

"Huh? Me?" Eriri pointed at herself in surprise. It was embarrassing that she had to do a divination about marriage again.

"Why me? Why doesn't Kasumigaoka Utaha count?"

Utaha, who was called upon, leaned back in her chair calmly and said, "Everything is going very well for me right now. Do you think I need a divination? Also, please use honorifics, Sawamura-senpai~"

"Ugh... Fine, I'll do it then!" Eriri exclaimed in despair, then switched places with Sayuri and came to sit next to Nozomi Tojo. "Um, Tojo-senpai, how do we do a fortune telling?"

“Since your mother said she wants to divine your marriage, then let’s do it. And since Yukiteru-kun has said so, I’ll show you my true skills and extend your right hand.” Tojo Nozomi didn’t waste any time and said directly.

"Oh!" Eriri nodded and stretched out her right hand. Although she had been holding a paintbrush for a long time, Eriri's hand was still very fair and tender because Sayuri had strictly required her to take good care of her fingers.

Eriri herself didn't realize it, but Shiwa did. It seemed like Shiwa could tell the mother and daughter's relationship at a glance.

Yukiteru returned the look that Shiwa gave him, saying, "That's normal."

Just as the two were exchanging glances, Nozomi Tojo, who was holding Eriri's hand, exclaimed in surprise, piquing everyone's interest.

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Beware, Hildegard is about to start predicting the future again.

Is Chapter 199 accurate?

Nozomi Tojo's exclamation immediately drew everyone's attention, especially Eriri, who was the one being divined, and she became even more nervous.

However, Yukiteru wasn't too surprised, because after Tojo Nozomi grabbed Eriri's hand, he felt a special aura emanating from her.

'She really is someone born for this line of work, it's a pity she was held back by being a school idol.'

With this thought in mind, Xuehui quietly cast a spell on the people around the shop, telling them not to pay too much attention to the place.

Nozomi Tojo noticed Yukiteru's actions, but didn't say anything. She just looked up at Eriri, who was nervously swallowing, and smiled, "It's a pity. It would be so nice if you were a student at our school."

"Huh? Um, what does this mean?"

As for Tojo Nozomi's sigh, Sawamura Sayuri explained knowingly: "Are you referring to the closure of Otonokizaka High School? But it should be considered that it has overcome the difficulties by now, thanks to the efforts of you girls."

"But we still can't let our guard down. The new students won't be enrolled until next year. There are still about six months left, and this is our last effort. Hopefully, we can get a good result. Ah, I've gotten a bit off-topic. Let me take a closer look."

Finally, Nozomi Tojo stopped rambling and began to focus on observing Eriri's palm.

'Although it seems a bit odd for a Japanese shrine maiden to be seriously reading palms, she really shouldn't be underestimated.' Yukiteru thought to himself, and then he saw Ayase Eli, a red-haired girl, being brought over by two maids carrying two trays.

'Hmm? She wasn't affected at all? Well, that makes sense; this shrine maiden is very protective of those around her.'

After glancing at Ayase Eli and then at the tsundere with stubble standing beside her, Yukiteru turned his gaze back to the person performing the divination.

"Please enjoy your meal, gentlemen."

After the food was served, Ayase Eli didn't leave. Instead, she stood next to Tojo Nozomi. What her friend was doing seemed to be called palm reading? It was the first time she had ever heard of it.

The other girl's attention was focused on Eriri and Sayuri Sawamura, whom she knew.

Sensing the gaze, Eriri raised her head and met the other person's eyes.

"Ah, it's Maki. I'm sorry I haven't greeted you before."

Maki Nishikino shook her head and said, "It's okay, I'm busy anyway. It's been a long time, Eriri, and Sayuri... Sayuri-neechan..."

Seeing Maki blush as she uttered that address, Sayuri nodded with satisfaction: "I've been watching Maki-chan's performance all along. She sings beautifully, and her compositions are fantastic!"

"Ugh..." Upon hearing this, the girl's fair face immediately turned bright red. "I... I'll go help the others!"

Then he ran away.

"Ah, still as shy as ever." Sayuri tilted her head and smiled as she watched Nishikino Maki run away.

"know?"

Sawamura Sayuri nodded and explained to Yukiteru and Utaha, "You should know about Nishikino General Hospital in Tokyo, right? Maki's mother and I are old friends. Eriri was born there. Although we didn't see each other for a while, Eriri and Maki still see each other from time to time after junior high school. They are quite close."

Shiyu, who didn't know much about Muse, was somewhat surprised after hearing this: "Wow~ Miss? I didn't expect you to choose to become an idol, that's amazing."

"That's true. I did consider having Eriri attend Otonokizaka46, but Eriri herself didn't want to go to an all-girls school, so I gave up on the idea. Now that I think about it, if Eriri had gone, our family might have produced an idol!"

"No way! I can't sing, and my dancing is just so-so!"

"Is that so? But I think Eriri has a great foundation, and her voice is good too. She has a lot of potential to become an idol. What do you think, Utaha?" Yukiteru joked after taking a bite of the omelet rice.

"Some people might actually like it if they just follow their idol's lead."

"Who's taking advantage of this?"

Amidst their banter, Tojo Nozomi finally let go of Eriri's hand, and Yukiteru finally understood why her fortune-telling prices were so high—the cost was quite high. If it were astrology, it would probably be even more outrageous.

"Hmm, now it's time to announce the results. Although I said it was a divination about marriage, I won't be too direct~" Tojo Nozomi said, glancing at Ayase Eli beside her, "Is Eli curious? We'll do a divination separately when we get back~~"

"Ew!!! I don't want to." Ayase Eli immediately shook her head. What Tojo Nozomi meant by being alone was definitely not a good thing.

After teasing her friend for a bit, Nozomi Tojo finally began to tell her the results of the divination: "Eri-chan wanted to have her fortune told about her love life. It seems that your path ahead is a bit difficult. Although you may occasionally show your feelings for the other person, it's not something that can be accomplished just by expressing your feelings. More importantly, it depends on the man. Moreover, your competitors are very strong. You've already lost the initiative and must catch up."

These words resonated not only with Eriri, but also with Sayuri, Utaha, and Yukiteru, who all nodded in agreement. In many ways, they truly reflected Eriri's current situation.

However, Sayuri Sawamura was the first to react and asked in her place, "Putting all that aside, has Eriri's true love already appeared?"

"Of course it happened, otherwise how could these results have occurred? But I won't mention the name, since it's Eriri-chan's own little secret, isn't it?" Nozomi Tojo looked at the slightly shy Eriri with a gentle smile, and then said, "It's not good to be too hesitant, you know. Recognize your feelings and move forward, girl."

"Oh, oh! Thank you, Tojo-senpai." Eriri nodded, quite moved, as she looked at Tojo Nozomi encouraging her.

Meanwhile, Yukiteru looked at Tojo Nozomi with some suspicion and asked telepathically, "Are you hiding something, like the final outcome?"

"Didn't I not say this last time when we did a divination? Saying too much during a divination can harm both yourself and others. But I'll just give you a little hint this time: it's a happy ending, the final conclusion."

Tojo Nozomi's words not only failed to clear up Yukiteru's confusion, but also made things more and more chaotic. What exactly did the final ending mean?

No one else knew about their conversation, but Nozomi Tojo's divination had completely captured the hearts of Eriri and the other two, and now they had started playing with tarot cards.

With no other option, Xuehui could only become an observer, watching the rounds of mini-games unfold.

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Hmm~ Let's release it ahead of schedule.