After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

"You seem quite restless, as if you're dissatisfied. It looks like you think the current environment isn't right for you,"

As soon as Kagura Hikaru had taken his seat, the old lady at the divination stand started chattering away like some switch-flipping shrine maiden machine, her tone firm and babbling as if she were foreseeing the future with one eye open: "To change your situation, the most important thing is not to give up on the opportunity before you!"

It was all ambiguous nonsense, the sort of spiel fortune tellers typically use, stuff that could 'come true' for anyone.

But at that moment, Kagura Hikaru's heart was inexplicably full of faith.

Even though he was the one who could actually see the future.

"Opportunity?" he asked.

"The opportunity has always been right before your eyes. You must seize it and take action. Otherwise, your current troubles will continue,"

"That—"

"That will be a thousand yen, please."

The divination-crone held out her hand for money.

Kagura Hikaru: "..."

Unlike psychologists, fortune tellers never provide solutions. They just pinpoint the customer's worries and then exploit them.

Kagura Hikaru understood this clearly, but he still held onto a sliver of hope because he genuinely felt that the shrine maiden before him had an extraordinary aura.

Unfortunately, in the end, it proved to be nothing more than a desperate grasp at straws.

How could an ordinary person know his true troubles? Up to this moment, only Komori Ai had seen through his ability.

Kagura Hikaru sighed at his own foolishness and dutifully handed over the money.

As he counted the bills, out of curiosity, he sneakily peeked into the fortune teller's mind and was met with the bizarre thought of her considering buying a smaller bra size due to reduced breast size.

But the skill he acquired was unexpectedly... extraordinary.

[You have gained through insight into thoughts: Clairvoyance +1]

[Clairvoyance lv1 (Not upgradable)]

For a couple of lines that cost him a thousand yen, Kagura Hikaru had intended to peek into the fortune teller's mind as a petty revenge, but he never expected to gain a completely new and unseen skill from a randomly encountered person.

'Clairvoyance' means... Yin-Yang Eyes? Eyes that can see demons and ghosts?

Kagura Hikaru couldn't help but widen his eyes, overwhelmed by astonishment.

Up until now, the skills he acquired were of the common variety, professional techniques, the most outrageous being something like a 'Bedroom Technique'.

But what was this magical thing he had just acquired?

And it was at maximum level from the start, no doubt indicating that this skill was completely different from the others!

Kagura Hikaru's gaze flickered as he realized something very important.

Since he started using this ability that masks as mind-reading to 'copy-paste' professional experiences, he could only gain skills that others possessed, and could not have knowledge beyond the person's understanding.

For example, a university graduate who majored in agriculture couldn't possibly know how to manufacture a fighter jet, so if Kagura Hikaru used mind-reading on him, he wouldn't copy any skills or experience related to aircraft manufacturing.

Therefore, by the same logic, this so-called 'Clairvoyance' skill must be a power that the aged fortune teller herself possessed, which allowed him to copy it.

Strange, Kagura Hikaru was aware of the magical elements in this world. After all, he had a 'hypnosis-genre protagonist' flitting about before his own eyes every day; he had come to accept the existence of supernatural powers long ago. An old lady with Yin-Yang Eyes was rare but not impossible.

However, it wasn't as if Kagura Hikaru had never used mind-reading on Komori Ai, and at the time, he did not copy her 'Lie' ability, so why did he copy someone else's supernatural power today?

What's the difference?

Kagura Hikaru furrowed his brows, his thoughts wandering here and there, which naturally caused his hands to stop moving, his fingers fidgeted on a banknote but didn't pull it out.

But when he came to his senses, he didn't hear any urging from the old fortune teller in front of him, which made him feel embarrassed.

Having sat there waiting for a while to see him not taking out any money, they might think he was planning on skipping out on the bill.

Indeed, as a young man in the prime of life, if he decided to run, the old person in front of him, even if they turned into a spider with eight legs, wouldn't be able to catch up.

Kagura Hikaru hurriedly handed over a thousand yen note to the other party, then took a deep look at the shrine maiden before standing up to leave.

With what had happened, his desire to go over the bridge to watch the festival had faded, so he simply decided to go back the way he had come.

But before returning, he activated "Clairvoyance" one last time to take a look at the fortune-telling stall with the red light glowing.

After all, "a good opportunity lies right before you"—perhaps it was literally "right before you"?

However, unfortunately, simply put, he saw nothing.

On the way back, he tried repeatedly, to no avail.

Secluded spots, bustling spots, filthy spots, clean spots, areas with good public order, areas with bad public order, he roughly made a circuit.

Not a ghostly shadow in sight. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

Kagura Hikaru could only give up helplessly.

This so-called Clairvoyance, he believed it had some effect, but it didn't seem to work as he had expected.

After he got home, discussing it with Komori Ai yielded no results, and Kagura Hikaru soon forgot about the incident.

........

Death always arrives when least expected.

Just as people cannot perceive the coming of winter—by the time you notice, the cold wind has already reached your doorstep.

The last leaf of autumn fell, and with it a message came: Kagura Hikaru's grandfather had passed away.

It happened on the third day after his mother's marriage.

Upon hearing this news, he had to move out of the Kiryu Family home and rush with his father and stepmother to the countryside in Wakayama Prefecture to attend the funeral.

The town where his late grandfather and still living grandmother resided was sparsely populated, the daily life there calm and peaceful, with the nearby Hiura Shrine being the only place of note.

The town had appeared in a cute-themed anime as the primary filming location, an anime called "Non Non Biyori."

Kagura Hikaru's old family home was near the very Hiura Shrine scenic area just mentioned.

To be honest, it truly was a rural place; stepping outside, one could see farmland right away, located near the mountains, and even though the roads were neatly paved, there was little in the way of modern infrastructure. The population in the town was scarce, with mostly elderly and children staying there, and the crisis of the declining birthrate was especially severe in this place.

Unlike Tokyo, the job opportunities here couldn't satisfy the young people.

Every summer vacation, Kagura Hikaru would return to this beloved hometown—not of course to escape the heat, as the temperatures weren't much better than in Tokyo, but the clear waters and serene mountains were a rare treat. He loved the peaceful life here, and it was the best place to consider for retirement in the future.

However, he really wished he wasn't returning under these circumstances.

As Kagura Hikaru stepped out of his father's sedan and onto the land of Wakayama, he took a deep breath.

He inhaled the distinct air of the rural mountains, reminiscent of the clarity after rain, which ran counter to the decay that lingered in his mind, those heart-thumping malice.

Not long ago, he had seen a prophecy.

And just like the prophecy indicated, here in this very countryside, a second tragic death was about to unfold.