Chapter 177

#177 Episode: The Tin Knight and the Tower of Prophecy (4)

“Alright, that’s all for today’s business!”

“Everyone, please head on home!”

As the two girls with blonde and brown hair (in disguise) announced the end of operations, the crowd started to disperse with a hint of disappointment.

The enchanting and mysterious black-haired beauty fortuneteller, Dorothea, slouched back into her chair.

“Ugh, I’m so tired. It’s been way too crowded. Don’t you think it’s time to raise the prices a bit?”

Her tone clearly indicated she was fed up.

After all, she had been working as a fortune teller from morning till night for several days straight, so there was no way she wouldn’t be exhausted.

To console her, Sophia began to massage her shoulders and said,

“Well, we’re not exactly here just to make money, right? Besides, thanks to this, our recognition has skyrocketed!”

“I never thought this would actually work.”

When Sophia first suggested they start fortune-telling, Dorothea didn’t think it was very plausible.

And it was understandable because the ‘Tuberosum’s Chalice’ inside Sophia definitely had its uses, but its power could be wildly inconsistent.

It wasn’t like they could specify a particular moment, like “at this date and time,” to get the info; the amount of information available was just as unpredictable.

Sometimes it would involve borrowing someone’s sight, other times it would sound like a fairy tale, and occasionally it would just be a massive image—each time it was different.

With no stability whatsoever, who would believe Dorothea could predict what someone wanted? To that, Sophia replied that there was no need to predict exactly what they wanted, and that they could still achieve their goals without it.

And as it turned out, she was right.

Dim lighting. A scent that disrupted one’s composure. Alluring clothing that captivated attention.

Dorothea expressed mild dissatisfaction with the third element, but after Sophia assured her that it was better than wearing rags due to the curse, she finally nodded in agreement.

Visitors at Dorothea’s fortune-telling parlor lost their calm in the unique atmosphere and Dorothea’s beauty, making it easy for her to take control of the conversation after delivering a “powerful punch.”

And there were three main methods to prepare that “powerful punch.”

First, she would observe the clients using the Tuberosum’s Chalice; second, she’d examine any objects the clients had; and third, she’d use Dorothea’s necromancy to observe any spirits or residual thoughts around the clients.

If nothing useful came up, she would resort to generic comments like, “You seem unwell,” or “You have some worries,” making it about nine out of ten, or twenty-nine out of thirty chances to spew something believable.

Of course, achieving all of this required a lot of preparation.

The first issue was Sophia’s magical power.

To use the power of the Tuberosum’s Chalice, Sophia needed to channel her magic into Dorothea’s vision, and doing that for extended periods would utterly drain Sophia’s power.

After passing her magic to Sophia and undergoing a process of infusion, they could gather more power than if Sophia generated it herself, but even that wouldn’t meet the demand, forcing Dorothea to deploy a barrier for magical recovery, something she thought she’d never need in her lifetime.

The second factor was that the primary targets of this fortune-telling gig were none other than wizards.

Generally, unless someone was particularly notorious or had a unique story, it was rare to find souls trailing behind them.

Most of the time, only traces remained instead of actual souls. To observe these traces with the Tuberosum’s Chalice, they first needed to activate them using necromancy.

However, if she used necromancy openly against wizards, they would definitely catch onto it, so they needed a cover, which was the Tin Knight posing as a decorative ornament behind Dorothea.

According to him, surrounding the target with lifeforce or aura could muffle their awareness without causing harm, but Dorothea had no clue how that worked.

The two martial artists alongside him were equally puzzled, suggesting it wasn’t any typical knight or warrior technique.

Given that the Tin Knight frequently pulled off some absurd stunts, this was pretty much business as usual.

Dorothea stated, her eyes glowing with red magical power, “But you know, I think my accuracy is improving the more I use this. It’s not perfect, but I feel like I can at least see some of what I’m trying to look at.”

“Isn’t that a feature of the Eight Treasures? Amaryllis’s belt and Hyden’s gloves also change performance based on the user’s abilities.”

“What about the key to Opium? It just unlocks stuff, right? I don’t think it has any growth or anything.”

“Who knows? It might allow you to open things other than just locks!”

[The Tin Knight wonders if he could use a power akin to opening people’s hearts!]

“Now that’s a thought!”

Dorothea lightly dismissed the Tin Knight’s idea, shifting the topic.

“But seriously, how long do we have to keep doing this?”

“Well, Dorothea, you were quite pleased about the useful information coming in from the magical device restoration, right? You said you could apply some of it,” Sophia replied.

“Usually, that would be fine, but now we’ve got a time limit. If that guy says he’s going to do it, he will—no matter how much I beg.”

Watching Dorothea hug herself and tremble made the expressions of the Tin Knight and Sophia become somewhat peculiar.

Normally, Dorothea would boldly charge in, like, “Alright, let’s do this!” but she seemed oddly timid against the East Witch.

At this point, it made one curious about who she really was.

Sophia said, “Well, there’s really no need for you to worry that much. It’s probably going to happen soon.”

***

While Dorothea and the indoor crew were chatting away, outside, the two girls were still busy cleaning up.

“Phew, we made it somehow. Good job, Rapunzel!”

“Ah, yes, you too, Adelheid.”

Adelheid responded with a slightly apologetic tone,

“Honestly, I could’ve managed alone, so you didn’t have to help. After all, you’re a guest here, Rapunzel.”

– Just observe the atmosphere until we move on to the next tower. Stay if you think it’s alright, otherwise, come along. Beyond that, do as you please.

That was the order Dorothea had given to Rapunzel at the start of their operation.

She didn’t force Rapunzel to help; instead, she even contributed a little bit of pocket money, encouraging her to enjoy her freedom.

However, instead of relaxing and sightseeing as suggested, Rapunzel volunteered to help them.

“No, it’s not really a big help. Besides, if I take too much from you, it’ll be uncomfortable in many ways…”

It was sincere, not just politeness.

Dorothea seemed to think that since she had already received some of Rapunzel’s hair, it would cover all that needed to be paid, but for Rapunzel, those locks were just something that grew back on their own even if she left them lying around.

Having neglected the troublesome mane when living alone, she didn’t feel much connected to it as “the price.”

“And besides, working here is actually a great way to learn more about the people of the tower.”

Since Rapunzel and Adelheid’s main task was traffic control outside, they couldn’t eavesdrop on conversations occurring in the deepest parts of the store.

Yet just by observing how people formed lines or shared idle chatter, they could glean quite a bit of information.

For example, the wizards in the tower were divided into five ranks and that these ranks could be identified by the marks on their garments.

Wizards were treated with a mix of fear and respect by common folks, almost like a type of nobility.

The wizards from the Tower of Prophecy were overall quite arrogant, but they also tended to have a somewhat refined demeanor and particularly valued rules.

After the separate queues for wizards and common people were established, they alternated receiving customers. While the common folks seemed to be careful of the wizards’ watchful eyes, the wizards, while looking slightly annoyed, did not express any grievances.

It indicated that they wouldn’t reject a commoner’s willingness to yield but wouldn’t prioritize their own convenience at the expense of the store’s rules.

“When I heard about the origins of the Tower of Prophecy, I thought it was such a stuffy and tedious place, but it’s surprisingly not that way, I’m shocked. “Well, unless they have unreasonable or ridiculous rules, valuing structure and tradition doesn’t seem inherently bad.”

“So, are you thinking of entering the Tower of Prophecy?”

“That’s something I’m still pondering over. Dorothea told me to just take all the tests and then enter the one that seems best, but if the tower says, ‘You’re welcome,’ and I ignore it to go elsewhere, that could become an issue in various ways.”

“Hmmm, that does show a bit of consideration. Young folks can get sensitive in such situations, I bet.”

“Right?”

“But Dorothea’s advice isn’t that misguided either. If a brilliant person is accepted by all four towers but chooses a specific one, how much would the seniors in that chosen tower appreciate them? In exchange for antagonism from those with whom they have little direct relation, they would gain goodwill and high reputation from those they will actually interact with. It’s hardly a losing trade.”

“Hmm. I see that perspective. So then, huh?”

Having said that much, Rapunzel belatedly caught on to a sense of unease.

Who exactly am I talking to?

She rolled her eyes in the direction of Adelheid, but the latter was not looking at her.

Her eyes, glowing green instead of their usual violet due to the drug’s effect, were fixed on a new figure with a hint of bewilderment and wariness.

“Interesting. I came out to see that fortuneteller who’s been causing a stir at the tower, and instead, I found an exceptionally intriguing talent.”

It was a man with black hair.

His long bangs concealed his right eye, while his left eye shone a bright red.

He had been speaking so close, yet his presence had been so faint until Rapunzel recognized him; after that, his aura was overwhelming.

The man spoke.

“I am the Master of the Tower of Prophecy. I wish to meet the owner of this place; will you guide me?”