SCIAW: Chapter 261/262

Chapter 261: Fate Observation Diary

Back at the hot spring hotel, Ran recounted everything that happened during her visit.

Everyone who heard the story and understood the situation of the two people involved agreed with what Ren said.

The separation between these two was inevitable.

Originally, the two of them were headed for a future where one would die and the other be imprisoned, but now, there was a completely different option.

"The best outcome for them is to clarify everything at this class reunion and then completely cut ties. From now on, they should stay out of each other's lives and pursue their own paths," Sanzenin Nagi offered her view on what she believed to be the ideal resolution.

"Yeah, that's probably the best result. The man clearly has a goal and a plan for the future after giving up. Honestly, after rejecting his proposal, she still interferes in his life... Her mental state is seriously problematic," Kaguya added.

Having read several books on mental illness, Kaguya had a basic understanding of such conditions. It was clear to her that the woman's mental state had seriously deteriorated.

"Repeatedly rejecting the man's proposal might be due to psychological trauma from childhood. But even after he gave up, she continued to disturb the life of his fiancée... That kind of behavior is not something a mentally healthy person would do."

"Her actions are simply inconsistent. Maybe she can no longer control herself when emotionally unstable," Kaguya concluded.

She was quite certain that the woman's retaliation against the man's fiancée was no longer within her control, and that it was a clear manifestation of serious psychological instability.

"Until her mental state is stabilized or at least brought under control, it's best to keep a distance from her."

"If she's capable of harassing the man's fiancée, then anyone who gets too close might be seriously hurt."

Mental illness doesn't follow reason.

Though Kaguya hadn't directly dealt with any psychiatric patients, she had learned from books that mentally ill individuals often perceive the world differently than the rest of us.

It's this distorted perception that causes their behavior to appear so abnormal.

"Ren probably didn't reveal everything just to give both parties some final dignity. If things end here, then nothing more needs to be said."

"Agreed," Sonoko nodded at Kaguya's conclusion.

"If Ren had exposed her identity directly, both of them would likely be driven out of their former social circles. Before things reach a point of no return, if they can both calm down and think clearly, there's still a chance to turn things around."

In this sense, Ren had always been remarkably restrained.

Suddenly, Sonoko looked around.

"Ran, where's Ren?"

"He said he needed time to write today's diary."

"Diary… Do you think he's going to mention our swimsuits today?"

The girls relaxing in the massage area, sipping tea in the massage chairs, suddenly became self-conscious. Especially about the swimsuits Sonoko mentioned—they were, after all, the highlight of the hot spring trip.

To be honest, they were all a little curious.

Suddenly, all their diaries began to vibrate. Instinctively, each of them summoned their diaries and began to read the latest entry.

[Diary]

[My first hot spring trip—how should I put it? From the very start, the location they picked already exceeded the imagination of a normal person like me.]

[This hot spring hotel doesn't even seem to exist on Gaode Maps, and yet its interior setup was far more luxurious than I expected. Maybe I shouldn't feel so intimidated.]

[But now I get how Klein must have felt when he first arrived at Backlund's most dazzling gem. In a way, it's similar to what I'm experiencing as someone who's now seen such wealth.]

[Yeah, I'm probably a lot like Klein—we're both poor and at the bottom of society.]

[Now that I think about it, Sanzenin is pretty special. I remember her usual expenses weren't covered by her family but came from her own earnings in the stock market. That genius girl is truly abnormal.]

[I'm starting to feel like I'm surrounded by a group of Miss Audreys.]

[Once I calmed down, I realized that the most eye-catching part of this hot spring trip wasn't the hotel, but the hot spring itself.]

[Ah... The open-air hot spring, and their swimsuits.]

[Although I'm not sure if it's vulgar to write this, their swimsuits today really were beautiful. Also, just a personal suggestion, but... maybe don't wear them like that in public.]

[Except for one person, I could mostly imagine everyone's swimsuit styles. Hayasaka's case really caught me off guard. The story mentioned she pads, and this part… feels a little off.]

[…Well, thinking about a girl's figure like this might be kind of vulgar too.]

[Better to move on from the hot spring topic, or I'll start having some inappropriate thoughts. Maintain self-control.]

[Another matter of note is Mouri Kogoro's class reunion. On the way there, I sensed that it wasn't going to be a simple get-together. Although my memory of the story is fuzzy, I retained some fragments of particularly dramatic events. Of course, I could always confirm more details through divination.]

[Thankfully, the accuracy of my divination has improved.]

[This time, both the man and the woman in the story had their own problems.]

[The woman's trauma haunted her for life. Even in relationships, her memory caused her mental stress and hypersensitivity.]

[That's why she kept rejecting the man's proposals. He really was devoted—otherwise, their relationship wouldn't have lasted 18 years. But honestly, they're getting old. From 20 to 38 years old—that's a long stretch. Frankly, in a few more years, they might both be out of steam. It's not wrong for them to want to marry.]

[However, what should've been a simple breakup became another trigger for the woman, pushing her mental state to the second stage. She became unstable and manic.]

[Sigh… I can only say, it was fate that brought them to this.]

[Maybe this time, I'll say something that can change their destiny. For me, that would be a meaningful observation. I'm really curious if their tragedy can be avoided.]

(To be continued.)

Chapter 262: Promotion

After finishing his diary entry for the day, Ren sat quietly in his room for about ten minutes before preparing for the lottery draw.

A large spinning wheel appeared, and as it spun, the entire wheel began to rotate rapidly.

The process took a while, but the result was eventually revealed.

[Lord of Mysteries]

[Acquired Sequence 8: Trickmaster]

"The Door came first, which isn't a bad outcome."

The Door Path's power spike is at Sequence 6, which is similar to the situation with the Error Path.

So Ren didn't care much about whether the Door or Error Path came first.

He took out the maple leaf coin for a divination.

"You can proceed with the promotion now."

The maple leaf coin flipped high into the air and landed quickly, with the "letter" side facing up.

After several divinations to confirm the result, Ren picked up the bottle containing the magic potion, uncorked it, and drank it down.

His tongue registered the taste.

"Why is it spicy?"

Ren looked suspiciously at the bottle. There was nothing wrong with the potion itself. After drinking it, he could clearly feel his spirituality expanding.

After careful inspection, there were no signs of abnormalities. Everything felt natural, and even...

"...two-thirds digested."

Although it wasn't like the Clown potion that melted instantly, this digestion rate was still rather fast.

Then, Ren suddenly realized something.

"Does my usual manipulation of tarot cards count as a type of magic trick?"

He thought about how he used Sefirah Castle to draw tarot cards and the River of Everdarkness to change the cards.

"Could it be… disguising these effects using Sefirah is also a form of stage magic? Using two Sefirahs for performance is definitely a bit overkill."

From that perspective, it made sense that the digestion was already two-thirds complete.

That level of digestion could indeed be attributed to the combined influence of the Sefirah and his own unconscious performances.

"Not a bad thing at all."

Snap!

With a snap of his fingers, a blinding white flash filled the room for a brief moment.

"The flash snap… It only works for an instant, but it can cause temporary blindness. The better the eyesight, the worse the impact."

"It's similar to the flash amulet I made, but this is the trickmaster's innate ability. It's not a one-time use, though its effectiveness is still weaker than the amulet."

In summary, it was convenient, though not quite as practical as the flash amulet.

"Well, it is the Trickmaster Path, after all."

This Path's abilities are mostly utility-focused, suitable for performances and tricks, but not very effective in real combat.

However, when paired with a weapon, it could still provide solid support.

The Door Path's offensive capabilities in the early stages are indeed lacking. It's mostly about surviving rather than fighting.

Even so, Ren wasn't disappointed. The Door Path is slow and steady, and its strength builds over time.

In the early stages, it might be the weakest in combat, but once it reaches Sequence 0 and ascends to True God status, it can shatter space itself, dealing devastating spatial damage.

The weaker the early-stage combat ability, the more overwhelming the late-stage abilities become.

This is true of the Door, Error, and Fool Paths.

"The Trickmaster ended up last."

In fact, the Trickmaster's utility is even greater than the Magician's. Charm, eloquence, mental interference, and misleading thought—these are all very practical, especially in conversations, where the Trickmaster Path shines.

In Ren's current role as an observer of others' fates, the Trickmaster's powers are quite relevant.

Ren relaxed and calmed his expanding spirituality.

However, it would still take time to fully master the newly grown spirituality.

It just so happened that he had time to adjust now. Doing a few divinations regarding the situation over there might help him gain better control of this new part of his spirituality.

He made a small adjustment to his state, then sat in the chair and began shuffling his tarot cards.

He slowly drew three cards.

Reversed Tower, Upright Judgment, Upright World.

"Oh~ This is good news."

The Tower is a terrible card whether upright or reversed. It's nearly as bad as the Death card.

The reversed Tower represents forewarnings of separation and romantic crisis, meaning emotional detachment.

Judgment represents openness and good news, while the World represents success and mission completion.

These three cards together form a complete good-news combination.

Especially for the couple who had both love and hate between them, this separation was the best possible outcome.

Previously, the divination for the couple's fate pointed toward death and imprisonment. But now, it had shifted to a straightforward breakup.

This was the biggest shift for a couple whose future had looked grim.

"My words did have an effect."

Ren smiled, put away the tarot cards, shuffled again, and drew three more cards.

Reversed High Priestess, Upright Wheel of Fortune, Upright Judgment.

"The woman's psychological condition is still serious, but it's been relieved somewhat. She even shows signs of recovery from the extreme third stage. It seems that ending the relationship helped her grow, allowing her to realize the severity of her psychological issues."

"As for that gentleman..."

Reversed Temperance, Upright Moon, Reversed World.

"A marriage formed through blind dating isn't a good match, and emotional turbulence remains. Plus, the harassment from before has left lingering effects. These issues have led to incompatibility within the marriage. This unstable post-marriage relationship means their future will be more like putting up with each other than truly living together."

We can't expect too much from the final result. Still, the future that once seemed fixed has now changed.

After getting this answer, Ren didn't put away his tarot cards. Instead, he leaned back into the soft sofa.

"Taking part in a story and trying to change something isn't a bad thing for me."

"Whether it's from the perspective of human nature or for gaining returns through the diary..."

(To be continued.)