Chapter 224: Fortune Telling
"Let's do some fortune telling~"
"…"
All five student council members were present.
Fujiwara Chika had put on what looked like a witch's hat—probably borrowed from the drama club—and held up a phone with a fortune-telling app open.
You just had to input your birthdate and gender, and it would generate a result with one click.
"Secretary Fujiwara, you always find new ways to stir things up when you're in the student council."
This girl's thoughts were wild and unrestrained. If she had an idea, she'd act on it without any preparation or backstory.
"Because I saw Kaguya looked a bit troubled, so I thought fortune telling might help solve it!"
Fujiwara smiled while hugging the visibly distressed Kaguya.
"Those apps just use the Barnum effect. If they could solve problems, I'd be shocked."
The Barnum effect refers to people believing vague, general personality descriptions apply specifically to them, even if they're meaningless.
No doubt, just looking at the app's shoddy interface told Rinji it was just a gimmick posing as divination.
He turned his gaze toward the awkward-looking Kaguya.
"Miss Shinomiya, if something's troubling you, just tell us and let everyone have a laugh. Maybe we can help."
"No, I think fortune telling sounds nice…"
"You actually believe in this kind of thing?"
"Not really. I'm just doing it for fun," Kaguya said with a smile.
In truth, she wasn't really troubled by anything.
It was just that September 9th was approaching. While not a particularly special date, it held great significance for Kaguya.
Because that day was Shirogane's birthday.
Thinking about how hard his life had been, it was likely that he never had a proper birthday celebration. So Kaguya figured she would reluctantly help him celebrate it.
However, this brought up a problem.
"What if the president asks how I know his birthday... What should I say? Wouldn't that just make it obvious I've been thinking about celebrating it for him?"
Kaguya was once again tripping over something totally pointless.
Just as she was caught in this dilemma, she suddenly had a clever idea when Fujiwara brought up fortune-telling.
As long as everyone said their birthdays in order, then when Shirogane said his, everyone would naturally realize it was coming up. That way, she could help celebrate his birthday without getting her hands dirty.
"Rinji, want to give it a try?"
"I'll pass. It looks dumb."
"Don't say that~" Fujiwara circled around and clapped her hand on Rinji's shoulder. "Just say your birthdate. Let's see what everyone gets."
"You just find this amusing."
"Exactly~"
"...Fine."
Rinji figured he'd humor her and get it over with.
"February 29th."
"...Rinji, be serious."
"I am being serious."
"It's not a leap year right now," Fujiwara protested. "Rinji is sixteen, right? For someone born on February 29th, they'd have to be born in a leap year. Sixteen years ago wasn't a leap year."
"Tch, your brain works fast when it comes to this stuff."
"So just tell the truth."
"It really is February 29th."
"What year were you born?"
"2032."
"Forget it. Next."
Fujiwara gave up on trying to get the truth out of Rinji and turned to the others.
"My birthday is January 1st," Kaguya said with a smile.
Fujiwara already knew her birth year, so after entering the info into the app, the result popped up right away.
"Kaguya is like alexandrite—a gemstone bearing the name of a king. You're someone with a strong sense of pride. This gemstone changes color depending on the environment, and you too can become either an angel or a devil. If you're willing to let go of your pride, your chances of happiness will be much higher," Fujiwara read aloud from her phone.
"Not bad, this app's kinda interesting."
Rinji couldn't help but laugh at the description.
"From the zombie face back then to the current goofy look... definitely an environmental influence."
"Couldn't you say something nicer?"
"That was nice. I was originally going to say 'die-mother face.'"
"..."
It was true that Kaguya once had an 'ice queen' period where she gave off a very unapproachable vibe. At least now she was more of an 'elegant lady.'
She didn't expect Rinji to ever say anything decent anyway.
"Rinji, interested now? Then hurry up and give me your real birthday."
"I already did." Rinji's face was deadpan.
"Tch~ Rinji, you're no fun."
Seeing he wasn't going to tell the truth, Fujiwara simply input her own birthdate into the app.
"It says I'm like the flame of a candle—melting ice bit by bit, warming others while burning myself. It symbolizes love and self-sacrifice. If I pour out my love without hesitation, my wishes will come true..."
"Secretary Fujiwara, please don't look so enchanted by that fortune. I think even the Barnum effect would struggle to explain this."
Rinji instantly tore it down without mercy.
"Eh!? Are you saying love and self-sacrifice don't describe me?"
"At least I don't see it, Secretary Fujiwara."
"Hmph, that's just because you don't know me well enough. People who know me think I'm exactly like that."
She pulled Kaguya close.
"Right, Kaguya~?"
"Mm. Right."
A very half-hearted answer. Kaguya turned away and looked at Fujiwara with a smile that seemed more like she was staring at a bug.
"Rinji, tell me your real birthday, or we won't be able to celebrate it when the time comes."
"I told you. It's February 29th. I have a birthday once every four years. Next one's in two years."
"Stubborn, aren't you?"
Fujiwara boredly typed in the obviously fake date Rinji gave.
"February 29th, 2032. Oh, here it is. Rinji is a man like a nuclear bomb—his very presence is intimidating. Dangerous, but also gives people a sense of safety... Hahaha, yeah right! Rinji's usual dumb expression doesn't match this at all!"
"Mm-hmm. You're totally right."