Chapter 26 – Episode 26 Constellation ~ Re: Birthday ~

Signs.

It is a constellation that divides the zodiac into 30 degrees and interprets the path of the sun through ancient images.

And the cause of death for magical girls.

The reason he died. The beginning of everything. Death associated with the body part to which the heartstone was given.

Coincidentally, Signs and Death have the same pronunciation.

And the magic girl’s cause of death corresponds to each body part of the constellations and signs.

If everything about magical girls leads to fate, then this would not be a mere coincidence.

“Can I take a look at the constellation chart for each body part?”

“… “Of course.”

For Umi, a series of tables prepared by Suah are presented.

The contents are as follows.

Aries: Head, face, ears

Taurus: Neck

Gemini: Arms, hands, shoulders

Cancer: Chest, stomach

Leo: Heart, spine, spine

Virgo: stomach, intestines

Libra: Navel, kidneys, bladder, urinary system

Scorpio: genitals, anus

Sagittarius: thighs, buttocks, muscles

Capricorn: Knees

Aquarius: Legs, Ankles, Circulation

Pisces: Feet

“…”

Umi gets goosebumps without even realizing it.

If my previous self, who didn’t have the fate of a magical girl and didn’t know anything, saw this sign, I wouldn’t have thought anything…

The current self has been reborn as a magical girl.

The moment you think about the table above in connection with the cause of death of a magical girl, only extremely terrible imaginations fill your mind.

“If I think about it, this list is about the death knell for becoming a magical girl…”

“… Mr. Ara’s reasoning was similar.”

Suah also agrees with Umi’s thoughts.

“So, does that mean more magical girls of that constellation may appear in the future?” .”

“… I think there is ample possibility. However, it cannot be said exactly that the signs of the corresponding constellation indicate the cause of death due to defects in the relevant area…

Right now, Woomi’s constellation’s signs and defective cause of death are not exactly the same.”

Umi nodded her head as if Sua’s point was reasonable.

Although the body parts are in similar positions – according to the table, as a magic girl in the womb, I am better suited to Scorpio than to Libra.

Her own birthday leans towards [Libra] Rather than [Scorpio]. How should I interpret this?

Umi tilted her head.

“If it matches this well, I think we’re close to the answer… “It feels like the answer is vaguely wrong.”

“Ara has also come up with several hypotheses, but she seems to be in the position that she still lacks the clues necessary for reasoning… Of course, I am not happy that the number of magical girls continues to increase while I am looking for clues to the mystery.”

There is one more magical girl.

It means that someone else will meet a terrible death.

A story that is never pleasant.

“Well, anyway, to what extent does this resolve Umi’s curiosity? ?”

“Yes… It’s a pity that her birthday has changed…”

Changing the birthday that commemorates her own birth can be likened to changing the foundation of a person. Although the shell is the same, it feels strange as if you have suddenly become a different person.

However, if we can find out the direction of the answer to the question of what a magical girl is due to the changed birthday, that alone is a sufficient harvest.

“In our astrology, a change in birthday also means a change in a person’s destiny. … Congratulations on being reborn, Umi.”

The study of astrology is premised on the extreme fatalism that “Everything is predestined.” The map of life has already been drawn and we just follow the path. It is fatalism, which states that what events you will experience in life are already determined at the time of birth. Therefore, it goes without saying how important [Birthday] Is in astrology.

The expression that when your birthday changes, your fate changes also come from this meaning. The fate of a magical girl, not the fate of an ordinary human.

The reconstruction of a world where birthdays change is also the reconstruction of fate.

“… Well, that’s all I’m going to tell you. While you’re here, I’ll check your birthday fortune and even treat you to coffee. I don’t have any money, so the only thing I can get is mixed coffee from the bank… Is it okay?”

“Yes, it’s okay… “Why are you randomly picking up mixed coffee from the bank?”

Ignoring Woomi’s tackle, Suah stands up. As he gets up, the astrology tools on the table shake around and a pile of cards spills out onto the floor.

“Oh!”

Just as Su-a’s already messy astrology house is about to become even more chaotic, Su-a’s mascot appears in the air and snatches the card.

“Nice catch. Boyfriend♡”

Sua’s mascot picks up a card with nimble hands and creates a hand shape. As a mascot, it doesn’t speak, but it seems to express everything with hand movements.

“That’s great.”

For a moment, Umi felt very envious of that mascot. It seems hundreds of millions of times more useful than its own mascot.

“… “What was the mascot’s name?”

“Your boyfriend? “Carpe diem.”

… I was quite concerned about why he kept calling the mascot my boyfriend, but I decided not to ask.

The person who drove her to death was none other than the woman who was her [Her boyfriend]. Although I, too, have met a miserable death, the shock would be no less than that of someone who has faced the death of someone they loved.

Carpe Diem gathered the bunch of cards he had picked up and placed them on Suah’s astrology table. Umi glances at the card.

“Uh? “Can you see fortunes with something like that?”

“Ah… For now…”

As Su-ah goes to get the mixed coffee, her words become slurred. It wasn’t like ordinary tarot cards, but it looked like a children’s card game that boys played with when they were young.

The left arm of the sealed one… ? Left leg… ? The condition of the card was shabby and did not look good. I’m sure it’s not a deck made with cards I picked up but couldn’t buy because I didn’t have money…

“But something like that is usually done by two people.”

“… What is it? That statement… ? It’s like there’s no way I could have someone to play that card game with… “It sounds like it doesn’t exist.”

Something makes Su-ah angry and breaks into tears. She ended up touching a bad spot. Umi picks up her slip of the tongue.

“No… “I said it because it was amazing to see fortunes with something like that.”

“…”

Sua mixed lightly boiled water and gave Umi a cup of hot mixed coffee.

“Thank you. “I will drink well.”

“… It’s okay. “If only I could get a reward, this level of service would be nothing.”

… I just hope you don’t try to get lucky with mixed coffee. Especially if you get it for free from somewhere else.

Umi took a sip of her hot coffee and looked at her.

“… “Is it that the points don’t match up well?”

“Well… I think there are many reasons why people don’t come here… My skills are good, but combined with the fact that it’s not close to the subway station, etc…”

As her words go further, they get smaller and smaller. Umi thinks to herself that the guests are leaving simply because this fortune-teller doesn’t seem to be trustworthy.

“… But it’s a bit weird to go without seeing anything… “Can I take a look at the crystal ball dot in front of him right now?”

Umi pointed to the palm-sized bead that had caught her attention earlier. Tarot or palmistry… I’m not interested in the same things, but the visually attractive crystal ball was much more occult, so I was intrigued.

“To… Then I will turn off all the lights.”

Su-ah says that and somehow creates an atmosphere of fortune-telling. She turned off the switch in the room and closed the curtains, blocking any beam of light from entering the dark, quiet room.

She created a soft darkroom atmosphere, leaving only a single beam of light piercing straight through the crystal ball.

Hmm, Umi thinks. It creates a dreamy atmosphere and clouds people’s consciousness.

The ‘Forer effect’ refers to a phenomenon in which the more ambiguous a word is, the more the listener discovers themselves in the word. The atmosphere of the place has a significant influence on how much this level of ambiguity is accepted.

To put it another way, it is the ‘Barnum effect’. The results obtained from fortune-tellers or psychological tests are only the personality or psychological characteristics that people generally have.

In other words, it is just an ambiguous statement that is applied comprehensively. However, people who want to believe this end up considering it as their own characteristic.

Umi, who heard criticism of pseudoscience in her liberal arts class, knows some tricks of astrology. Perhaps that’s why she stays away from such superstitions.

Aiming for the Forer effect through universal words means that you have to say the right things no matter who the other person is. If Sua cannot do that, it is because he is attempting prophecy or fortune-telling that has a very narrow scope of universality.

Let alone whether you really have magical powers.

“… Then let’s begin. Are you mentally prepared?”

“… Yes.”

Do you need to prepare your mind? Umi answered, looking down at the crystal ball that was softly lit.

“Crystal Gazing!”

Su-ah’s hand gently caresses the crystal ball. The strange patterns inside the eyes change and create a mysterious atmosphere. Every time the position of her hand changes, the mysterious refraction of light received by the crystal ball changes.

‘… Pretty…’

Unlike Su-ah’s hard work, Woo-mi’s reaction was truly simple.

“Ah… I see it… Woomi’s future… !”

Su-ah, who was caressing her crystal ball, closes her eyes and mutters. Even though she doesn’t believe it, Umi somehow takes notice of her words.

“Between the crotches… It’s like a dog…”

“…”

Umi’s face hardens.

“Even though there are people… Naked… Wow, that’s ugly…”

“Wait wait wait! What do you see?”

What will my future self do in a post-uterine state? This kind of future is unacceptable.

“Ah… I saw the most important thing…”

Su-ah says that and gently opens her eyes.

“… My boyfriend…”

“… ?”

That was the moment Su-ah spoke.

A small light entering a dark room.

The crystal, which looked like a large convex lens, was collecting the sun’s rays and pointing it toward Umi’s chest.

The light that passes through the highly transparent crystal ball is collected and begins to generate heat.

“Wow?”

Umi is taken aback by the slight heat rising in her chest. A small puff of smoke rose, and a fire suddenly started burning her fabric.

“… Wealth … Fire!!!”

“Carpe Diem!”

At Sua’s shout, Carpe Diem flies violently towards Umi.

Umi’s precious spring outfit. The breast area where the fire started to burn is torn off with a strong grip along with the bra.

Patter.

The intense heat disappears and Umi’s small and precious bare chest is exposed to the surrounding air.

“~~~~!!”

There was a risk that if the fire grew, it could lead to burns, but was it really necessary to rip off the top? ?

Umi looked at Sua in shame, covering her protruding and trembling nipples with both hands. She also lowered her head as if she was very embarrassed.

“Sorry… ! Actually, ever since I became a magical girl, every time I read a fortune, I feel like a curse-like phenomenon is following me… !”

Was it because of that…

“… Has this also happened when you read fortunes for other people? .”

Umi sighs. A crystal ball being ignited by sunlight would not have happened in such a short period of time. It is not a perfect convex lens like a magnifying glass…

This is probably-.

A sexy event that is Umi’s destiny as a magical girl.

It seems to be a situation created by the combination of Su-ah’s [Fate that follows a curse when looking at her fortune].

Still… Umi looked at the torn part of her top in vain.

“I have class in the afternoon…”

Sniff. Her plump nipples flutter.

“Sorry… I’ll even lend you some of my own clothes…”

Su-ah says that and goes inside in a huff. … It looks like they’ll probably even take out old clothes that look like they came from a clothing collection box.

Indeed, what was presented to Umi was a kinky top that only children would wear. It’s a design that you won’t wear even if you give it to them. In a desperate mood, Umi accepts the clothes, which are a last resort.

As I change my torn clothes, the rough lining lightly brushes my nipples without a bra, which makes me feel strange. I don’t think anyone in the classroom will notice that my nipples are erect…

“…”

Woo-mi vaguely understands why Su-a has no guests.

The future of this point is coming to her.

The near future-.

It was two days later.