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Jinseong, having received his payment, looked at Agnes with a bright smile.

Agnes, whose dissatisfied expression had vanished, now gazed at him with a strangely expectant look. Of course, that “expectation” didn’t necessarily lean towards the positive.

‘That expectation carries an intent to gauge, and gauging stems from distrust. Depending on the outcome, it could lead to a positive view or reinforce deeper distrust.’

Jinseong smiled at Agnes’s familiar gaze.

Those eyes.

That look.

It was something familiar, something he couldn’t help but grow accustomed to.

The mixed feelings of expectation and distrust towards the Shaman’s divination.

Those two emotions intertwined in her expression.

It was the kind of look he often encountered when people sought fortunes.

People came to shamans for divination with a sense of anticipation.

Yet, hidden beneath that expectation was invariably a lurking distrust.

Having come to seek answers about the future, their minds would still be busy proving the very divination they sought was untrustworthy.

It was a conflict between instinct and reason, a clash of instincts, and a battle of reason against reason.

It was akin to a fervent prayer to an idol, hoping for one’s wishes to be fulfilled.

It was a mindset of enjoying a magic show while keenly scrutinizing for the trick behind it.

Those eyes were just like that, very much familiar and undeniably so.

“I have received my fee quite well.”

There were myriad reasons behind those multifaceted gazes.

Some people distrusted the “fortune-telling” for religious reasons.

Others felt a simple repulsion toward superstitions.

There were those who idolized science and adamantly declared divination was nonsense.

Some rejected divination outright, considering it an antithesis to rational thought.

There were also examples of apprehension that turned into fear and loathing towards the shaman, seen as a freak.

Some, having experienced no accuracy in the fortune-telling offered merely for fun, grew distrusting of the practice altogether.

And some believed that if fate isn’t predetermined, divination couldn’t possibly predict the future.

There were even those with grand delusions thinking of themselves as extraordinary beings, convinced that mere fortunes could not reveal the future to them.

Diverse.

Indeed.

If there are ten people, there can be ten reasons.

Those countless reasons turn into distrust, and that distrust morphs into aggression, often materialized as sharp words directed at the diviner.

Silencing such people.

Transforming the mixed gaze of expectation and distrust into one filled solely with expectation and faith.

That, in essence, is the power of magic, and the strength of divination that allows for a fleeting glimpse into the future.

“The fee for my crude fortune-telling is more than fair. Having received this amount, let me now… let me vaguely foresee the future with my humble skills.”

Jinseong smiled as he slowly turned his head, as if trying to take in all the “guests” in the room.

Agnes.

Odilia.

Anastasia.

Ella.

After taking in the faces of the four, Jinseong pulled out a stack of cards from his pocket.

He gently laid them on the table, placed his hand over them, and spread the cards out.

“Wow! You look just like a casino dealer!”

With what seemed like a trivial gesture, the cards fanned out in a semi-circle.

Anastasia’s eyes sparkled with admiration at the sight.

Jinseong watched with delight as Anastasia exclaimed like a child, then turned his gaze toward Agnes.

Agnes observed Jinseong’s adept card spread with an interest that suggested intrigue.

‘Intrigued.’

Yes, she was definitely watching with interest.

This was an incredibly important element.

Divination entails deciphering the hidden meanings behind vague symbols and articulating them into sentences. Hence, it could potentially lead to a jumbled array of sentences filled with ambiguous and abstract terms.

Moreover, considering that humans tend to hear only what they want to hear and see what they wish to see… failing to show interest could easily spiral into problems.

There were cases where people grasped bits they wished to hear and misinterpreted the divination completely, or closed themselves off after focusing on a few words or phrases.

Some believed they were being attacked and hurled insults or fists at the one doing the reading, while others simply brushed it off as nonsense.

Thinking of such possibilities…

Divination involves both the one delivering the fortune and the one receiving it.

It could be regarded as a sort of conversation that requires both parties to be fully engaged.

Thus, Jinseong did not immediately proceed to read the fortune.

Instead, noticing Agnes’s intriguing gaze, he slowly began to speak.

To capture her interest.

To ensure she focused on what he was saying and the divination itself.

“However, before we delve into the fortune, I would like to share a fun story.”

Jinseong began to speak slowly.

As if he were savoring the moment, he started with a topic other than divination.

“A fun story?”

“Yes. A fun… hmm. Perhaps rather than being entertaining… well, it may not be fun, but it could pique your interest.”

“What does that mean…?”

It was like handing a child a toy only to snatch it back, yet paradoxically, this very action of Jinseong only served to amplify the anticipation surrounding the fortune.

“A while ago, Frau Laich asked me… yes. She posed a question to me.”

“Yes? Yes…”

“Could you repeat what question you asked me?”

“Um… you asked if something was happening in Tanzania.”

“I’ll first respond to that question.”

Since it was something he could explain even without doing a reading.

Jinseong added that as he began to speak slowly.

“Frau Laich, are you well-versed in Africa?”

“I have traveled there, but… I wouldn’t say I know it well.”

“Oh my. How modest.”

“Well… I think saying I know it well might be a stretch. Someone who has lived there forever might also find it hard to claim to know an entire continent.”

“Hahaha. That’s quite true. Even scholars who have spent a lifetime researching a specific field struggle to say they ‘know’ it comprehensively; how could anyone claim to know an entire continent? Your words are accurate, Frau Laich.”

What Jinseong first threw out was a question about their knowledge of Africa.

However, instead of simply asking if she knew, Jinseong specifically used the phrase “well-versed.”

To gauge Agnes’s disposition.

To observe her reaction to this question.

As intended, Agnes diligently responded.

In response to the inquiry about being well-versed, she pointed out the question’s flaw, and as the topic shifted to Africa, she surprisingly displayed a unique aggression different from before.

‘Hmm. “The extremely foolish claim to be wise indeed”—the ignorant often mistake their knowledge and consider themselves wiser than others, while those with genuine wisdom exhibit humility.’

A little knowledge can lead one to think they know a lot, while those with vast knowledge tend to think themselves less informed.

This inability to view one’s abilities objectively breeds a kind of firm conviction.

This phenomenon is famously known as the Dunning–Kruger effect.

‘Now, I asked a question specifically about Africa, yet she displayed humility, suggesting she had visited often or stayed for a while, and her aggressive demeanor indicated she had probably faced unpleasant experiences that had stained her impressions. Her aggression naturally showed but also seemed to contain a moment where she subtly moved her arm to cover her chest, indicating she might not wish to discuss it further.’

In that brief moment, Jinseong observed Agnes.

‘Moreover, when mentioning her travels, I noticed her gaze moved upwards to the left… as a right-handed person, this suggests she was recalling the past. The slight twist of her body away hints at a reluctance to voice her past. Additionally, her phrase “even someone who has lived there forever” instead of directly referring to Africa indicates she was instinctively avoiding conjuring a clear image of Africa, suggesting an unconscious inclination to shy away from it. This shows she likely has some unpleasant memories tied to Africa, and the emphasis on “forever” hints that these uncomfortable memories involve a local who might have traumatized her.’

The results of his observation spoke.

Agnes harbored negative feelings regarding Africa.

She likely had numerous unpleasant experiences there.

And those experiences were…

‘And while they appear adverse, her physical reactions are subdued. If she had been physically harmed, she should have instinctively reacted by stroking the wound or flinching. However, such reactions are absent… It seems she might have had an experience where she could have been robbed or confronted by a thief based on her momentary tension in the hand holding her wallet. Also, her gaze momentarily shifted towards Ella and Anastasia… so that’s it.’

It must connect to the incident of saving Ella in Africa and the experiences that followed.

Through a brief inquiry, Jinseong was able to extract quite a bit of information from Agnes and reached his conclusion.

“Then shall we reframe the question?”

It seemed appropriate to speak freely about the “threatening things” that exist in Africa.

“Do you know how dangerous Africa can be?”

 

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