Chapter 156
Bourbon and Scotland both wrote their wishes according to Usuha Izuki's requirements and put them in envelopes.
After a while, someone came to collect all the envelopes. The three watched the whole time, seeing that person put all the collected envelopes on a tray.
"Doesn't seem like any tricks were pulled." Scotland said quietly.
Bourbon: "With magic tricks, they usually do something when we look away. Right now everyone's watching."
Usuha Izuki said: "Bourbon's right. In that case, you're responsible for keeping an eye on the envelopes over there—my eyes hurt."
"...How long have you been awake that your eyes already hurt!"
Bourbon was really fed up. Usuha Izuki was way too blatant about slacking off—any troublesome or tiring work, he made others do while he just moved his mouth. Really couldn't be more convenient.
In front of Usuha Izuki, it was best to be mute, so you wouldn't get targeted by Usuha Izuki for casually saying anything.
Despite having deep grievances against Usuha Izuki, Bourbon still paid attention to the envelope situation the whole time, trying to spot any sleight of hand.
Unfortunately, until the Cult Leader appeared, no one had touched the envelopes.
Amid everyone shouting "Please come out, Mother," the Cult Leader appeared.
As the hot spring inn proprietress had said, the Cult Leader was an ordinary-looking little old lady wearing a traditional kimono, with calm eyes and gentle expression—the kind of face that easily inspired trust.
But her assistant in a suit beside her had shrewd gleaming eyes that just looked like he wanted to scam you.
Usuha Izuki muttered quietly: "That pyramid schemer is very problematic."
This time Scotland quite agreed: "I generally don't judge by appearance, but this person really doesn't give me a good feeling."
Bourbon also wanted to comment: "I..."
Usuha Izuki interrupted him: "Keep watching those letters properly, don't look at other places unnecessarily."
Bourbon: "..........."
The black-hearted-looking assistant spoke: "Welcome everyone. I see some unfamiliar faces—you may have doubts or questions seeking answers. I hope you can find peace of mind here... Now is the time for the Cult Leader to use mind reading to answer everyone's questions."
Under everyone's gaze, the assistant picked up letters from the tray, respectfully displaying them to the Cult Leader with both hands, letting her choose from a pile of blank-faced envelopes.
The Cult Leader casually drew one out, then held the envelope in one hand while gently stroking it with the other, as if sensing something.
Almost everyone held their breath, waiting for her to reveal a miracle.
The assistant's gaze swept over the participants below. When he saw Usuha Izuki, he couldn't help frowning.
Scotland and Bourbon acted well—the assistant didn't notice anything. But Usuha Izuki's spectator-like expression was really glaring, obviously a troublemaker most likely to cause disturbance.
The assistant pushed his glasses unhappily.
Though exposing one doubter could raise the Cult Leader's prestige another level and strengthen believers' cohesion, it was still troublesome and easily broke that hypnotic, fanatical atmosphere. He actually hoped this religion would develop and expand steadily.
He hoped this young man wouldn't make trouble unreasonably—he should admit defeat when he should, or else don't blame him for being rude.
The Cult Leader finished sensing and stated the first person's trouble.
"Nakata Akira-san, is your insomnia very serious?"
After speaking, she opened the envelope to confirm whether she'd guessed correctly.
The middle-aged man called Nakata Akira immediately stood up from his seat, walked to the Cult Leader, and—men don't cry easily, but he knelt quite smoothly: "Cult Leader! You're right! I really have been having terrible insomnia lately. Every time I close my eyes, I hear my boss cursing me to go die. Only when I'm busy can I feel a bit better, so I use nights for overtime..."
"You can't go on like this." The Cult Leader gently supported him. "Though you work so hard, your boss scolds you even more harshly, right?"
This made the man break down completely: "Cult Leader! How do you know?! He really has been scolding me terribly lately. I even wanted to die, but then I accidentally caused big trouble and got fired directly. Otherwise I wouldn't have time to come here..."
The assistant timely interjected: "Sigh, society has too much pressure now, with many things to consider. You probably need to relax your mind..."
Nakata Akira said painfully: "How can I relax my mind? I can't relax. I'm already social garbage..."
Japanese society is distorted in some ways. If a man comes home early at night without social engagements, his wife won't be happy—she'll think he's very unsuccessful at work, that no one invites him to drink, that he must be ostracized.
Being fired is also very shameful. Many people, after being fired, still hide it from their families, going out on schedule each day, wandering until midnight and coming home drunk, not daring to let anyone know they're unemployed because they'd be treated like trash.
In such situations, bottom-tier salarymen live very depressed lives. They don't dare take sick leave even when ill, as it easily affects colleague relationships and leaves bad impressions on supervisors.
There were really too many people like Nakata Akira, and many of them would choose religion as spiritual sustenance.
Then the assistant persuaded Nakata Akira to stay with just a few words, saying the interpersonal relationships here were harmonious, everyone helped each other, they provided food and lodging, plus the Cult Leader would counsel his spirit, and the gods would bless him—as long as he sincerely believed in the gods, that was enough.
He spoke so convincingly that Nakata Akira, tears in his eyes, immediately said he couldn't freeload. When fired, he'd received a large severance payment and was willing to donate part of it to the cult.
Usuha Izuki couldn't help saying: "His insomnia is obviously affecting his intelligence."
Rushing to give people money!!
The other side saying they provided food and lodging, but ordinary people would feel embarrassed, so they'd donate something anyway. This advance-to-retreat strategy was quite good.
Scotland also said: "Rather than mind reading, it's more like deduction. He can't sleep so he works overtime, then his mental state gets worse, so he makes more mistakes at work. It's normal for his boss to scold him more harshly..."
Bourbon: "So initially guessing his trouble was insomnia was because his dark circles were too heavy?"
"But it could have been other troubles, like what caused his insomnia, or finding a new job. Directly guessing insomnia was a bit risky... And how did she know this person was Nakata? When we came in, we didn't fill out any registry, did we?" Scotland was puzzled. "Were there plants who asked in advance? But no one asked us..."
Usuha Izuki added without turning his head: "There are no cameras around here, and it's not through technological means either."
Bourbon pondered: "Is it possible that she only needs to find out about one person? Look, didn't she immediately open the envelope to check afterward? The envelope she held might not have been Nakata-san's, but someone else's."
Scotland immediately followed Bourbon's reasoning: "She knew Nakata-san's wish in advance, so whose letter she held didn't matter. The key was that after correctly guessing Nakata-san's wish and opening the envelope, she saw the contents of this letter. Then for the next person, what she needs to 'guess' is the wish of the person in the envelope we thought was Nakata-san's."
Bourbon smiled: "In that case, Usuha having us not sign our names was quite the right test. Let's see how she handles it when it comes to us."
After two more people, the Cult Leader held an envelope, stroking it for a long time, but frowned and never stated an answer.
It was probably one of their three troublemakers.
Usuha Izuki guessed: "Seems like it's not based on the previous letter's contents to predict the next one. Otherwise she would have noticed something wrong when she took it out to confirm, not waiting until now to change expression."
"Then it's some other method." Bourbon wasn't discouraged either—it was just guessing anyway, with many possibilities.
The Cult Leader took quite a long time this round. The people who'd been watching her expectantly began to look uncertain.
The assistant felt they couldn't continue like this, so he quickly stepped forward and quietly asked: "What's wrong?"
The Cult Leader also replied quietly: "No signature."