Chapter 156
Both Bourbon and Scotland wrote down their wishes as requested by Usoppō Saiki and put them in envelopes.
After a while, someone came and collected all the envelopes. The three of them kept an eye on it and saw the person put the collected envelopes into a tray.
"It seems like nothing was done," Scotland said quietly.
Bourbon: "Magic tricks usually involve doing something when we turn our eyes away, but now everyone's watching."
Bo Ye Saiki said, "Bourbon is right. In that case, you'll be in charge of keeping an eye on the envelope. My eyes hurt."
"...How long have you been awake and your eyes already hurt!"
Bourbon was speechless. This guy, Usoppei, was too blatant in his laziness. He would make others do all the troublesome and tiring work, while he would just ask for help. It couldn't be more convenient.
It's best to remain silent in front of Usaku Saiki, so that you won't be targeted by him for every little thing you say.
Despite his deep resentment towards Usui, Bourbon kept a close eye on the situation on the other side of the envelope, trying to spot any suspicious activity.
Unfortunately, the envelope remained untouched until the cult leader appeared.
Amidst the cries of "Please come out, Mother!", the cult leader appeared.
As the owner of the hot spring inn said, the leader was an ordinary-looking old lady, dressed in a traditional kimono, with a calm gaze and gentle expression, the kind of appearance that made her easy to trust.
However, her assistant in a suit had a shrewd look in his eyes, and you could tell he was up to no good.
Bo Yezhai muttered under his breath, "That pyramid scheme is a big problem."
Scotland strongly agreed: "I don't usually judge people by their appearance, but this person really didn't give me a good feeling."
Bourbon also wanted to say something: "I..."
Bo Yezaki interrupted him: "Keep a close eye on that pile of letters, and don't look at other things unless you have to."
Bourbon: "…………"
The assistant, who looked utterly ruthless, spoke up: "Welcome everyone. I see some unfamiliar faces here. You may have doubts or questions you'd like answered. I hope you find peace of mind here... Now, it's time for the cult leader to use his mind-reading abilities to answer your questions."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the assistant picked up the letter from the tray and respectfully presented it to the cult leader with both hands, allowing her to choose one from a pile of blank envelopes.
The cult leader randomly picked out an envelope, then held it in one hand and gently stroked it with the other, as if sensing something.
Almost everyone held their breath, waiting for her to perform a miracle.
The assistant's gaze swept over the participants below, and when he saw Usakabe Saiki, he couldn't help but frown.
Scotland and Bourbon acted well, and the assistant didn't notice anything amiss, but Usui Saiki's amused look was really jarring; he was clearly a troublemaker and the most likely to cause trouble.
The assistant pushed up his glasses, clearly displeased.
Although defeating a skeptic could elevate the leader's prestige and strengthen the cohesion of the followers, it was ultimately a troublesome affair, easily disrupting the hypnotic, fanatical atmosphere. He actually hoped the religion would develop and expand peacefully.
Hopefully, this young man won't cause trouble and will admit defeat when necessary, otherwise he won't be polite.
The cult leader sensed something was wrong and spoke about the first person's problem of the day.
"Mr. Nakata Akechi, is your insomnia very serious?"
After saying that, she opened the envelope to check if she had guessed correctly.
The middle-aged man named Nakata Akechi immediately stood up from his seat, walked to the cult leader, and, though a man doesn't easily shed tears, knelt down quite readily: "Cult Leader! You're right! I've been having terrible insomnia lately. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is my boss yelling at me, 'Why don't you just die?' I only feel a little better when I'm busy, so I use my nights to work overtime..."
"You can't do this," the cult leader said kindly, helping him up. "Even though you work so hard, your boss is scolding you even more harshly, isn't that right?"
This made the man burst into tears: "Master! How did you know?! He's been really hurling insults at me lately, I even wanted to die, but I accidentally messed up and got fired. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had time to come here..."
The assistant chimed in at the opportune moment: "Sigh, the pressure in society is immense these days, and there are so many things to consider. You might need to relax..."
Nakata Akechi said painfully, "How can I relax? I can't relax. I'm already a piece of social trash..."
In some parts of Japanese society, there's a distorted view: if a man comes home early in the evening without socializing, his wife won't be happy. Instead, she'll think he's a failure at work, that no one invites him to drink, and that he must be isolated.
Being fired is also a very shameful thing. Many people, after being fired, will hide it from their families, go out at the same time every day, wander around until midnight, and come home drunk, not daring to let anyone know that they have lost their job, because that would be seen as useless.
In this situation, lower-level office workers live a very stressful life. They dare not take sick leave because it is easy to affect relationships with colleagues and leave a bad impression on their superiors.
There are so many people like Akechi Nakata, and many of them choose religion as a spiritual refuge.
Then the assistant briefly persuaded Nakata Akechi to stay, saying that the interpersonal relationships here are harmonious, everyone helps each other, they provide food and accommodation, there is a cult leader to guide your mind, and the gods will also bless you. As long as you sincerely believe in the gods, that's enough.
That brought tears to Nakata Akechi's eyes. He immediately declared that he couldn't take advantage of the situation for nothing, and that he had received a large severance package when he was fired, which he was willing to donate a portion of to the church.
"His intelligence is clearly affected by insomnia," said Usakabe Saiki.
They're practically throwing money at people!
The other party said they would provide food and lodging, but most people would feel embarrassed and would always donate something. This tactic of retreating to advance is quite effective.
Scotland also said, "It's less about mind reading and more about reasoning. He can't sleep and works overtime, so his mental state gets worse, and he's more likely to make mistakes at work. It's normal that his boss scolds him even more..."
Bourbon: "So, the initial guess that his problem was insomnia was because of his dark circles under his eyes?"
“But it could be something else, like what’s causing his insomnia, or finding a new job. Guessing only insomnia is a bit risky… And how did she know this person was Nakata? We didn’t fill out any registration form when we came in,” Scotland wondered. “Was there someone hired to ask beforehand? But no one asked us…”
Without turning his head, Usoppei added, "There are no cameras around here, and it's not a technological solution."
Bourbon pondered: "Is it possible that we only need to ask one person? You see, didn't she immediately open the envelope and look at it? The envelope she received might not have been Mr. Nakata's; it could have been someone else's."
Scotland immediately followed Bourbon's line of thought: "She knew Mr. Nakata's wish in advance, so it didn't matter whose letter she was holding. The key was to guess Mr. Nakata's wish correctly, open the envelope, see the contents of the letter, and then the next one. What she had to 'guess' was the wish of the person in the envelope that we thought was Mr. Nakata's."
Bourbon laughed: "In that case, Bo Ye's decision to ask us not to sign our names was quite a good test. Let's see how she handles things when she sees us."
Two more people passed by. The cult leader held the envelope, stroked it for a long time, but frowned and never gave an answer.
It's probably one of those three troublemakers.
Bo Yezhai guessed, "It seems she didn't deduce the next letter from the contents of the previous one, otherwise she would have noticed something was wrong when she took it out to check, instead of only changing her expression now."
“Then there must be other methods.” Bourbon wasn’t discouraged. After all, it was just a guess, and there were many possibilities.
The cult leader took a long time this time, and the people who were looking at her expectantly began to hesitate.
The assistant felt this couldn't continue, so she quickly stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
The cult leader replied in a low voice, "It wasn't signed."
assistant:"…………"
He cursed inwardly, convinced that it must have been that restless-looking young man who was behind it all!
So he said directly, "Someone broke the rules and didn't sign their name on the paper, so the leader can't do anything about it..."
"Huh? That's strange." Bo Yezaki raised his voice, "Why is it impossible to do anything if there's no signature? The cult leader's superpower is mind reading, not X-ray vision, right?"
The assistant immediately tried to salvage the situation: "The Master only asked you to write down your names because the thoughts here are too chaotic and he can't match them up. Using superpowers is also very tiring for the Master."
"Hmm, alright." Bo Yezaki reluctantly accepted the explanation. "Then, Master, what is my wish?"
The assistant gave the cult leader a wink.
The cult leader quickly said, "You wish to see the person you want to see."
Silence fell.
After a few seconds, Bourbon slowly raised his hand: "Excuse me, Master, that was my wish."
assistant:"…………"
This guy looked so devout just now, he thought he would definitely sign his name properly, and since only that kid jumped out, he assumed it must be that kid...
Oh no! We've been tricked!!!
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