Lost Narrative Poetry

"Is this a "tower"? "

Yukinoshita's heart trembled. This seemed to represent destruction?

It seems that no matter whether it is upright or reversed, there is no good interpretation of this card. In connection with what this person just said, does it mean that he will experience something very bad next?

"Well, it is indeed a high tower... What's wrong, Yukinoshita-san, are you also interested in tarot cards?"

Xia Ran nodded lightly, put the tarot card back and started shuffling it. Judging from his expression, it seemed as if he just randomly took out one and looked at it, without any special meaning.

However, Yukinoshita did not feel relieved because she knew that if this person wanted to hide something, it was basically impossible to expect him to reveal some clues from his expression.

"I don't have any interest. I just learned some basic information recently. I probably know a few things..."

The girl shook her head and denied such a possibility. She indeed had no interest in these things, at least not before, and even scorned them.

If she were an ordinary high school girl, she would be interested in talking about horoscopes, divination and other things, and even be addicted to them, unable to extricate herself, and firmly believe in those things... However, it is completely impossible for Yukinoshita to be like this. Performance.

Ordinary girls’ minds are filled with romance, destiny, and destiny…

At that time, Yukinoshita only knew science and reason.

She knew very well what the Barnum effect was and knew that it was a psychological phenomenon. Specifically, people often believed that a general and general personality description revealed their own characteristics very accurately.

——Even if this description is very empty, once it is described in a general sentence that applies to almost anyone, most people will think that this sentence portrays themselves in a nuanced and accurate way.

It would be an incredible fantasy if a calm girl like her could be manipulated by the Barnum Effect and become fascinated by these inexplicable things.

Even though she only recently understood it, it was because she was involved in an unconventional incident, witnessed the existence of the mysterious world, and confirmed that someone around her was actually a part of it, so...she tried to understand it. Take a look at those things.

As Tarot cards are one of the symbols of occultism in the minds of most ordinary people, they are naturally one of the items worthy of her special understanding.

It can also be seen from this incident that her request for Xia Ran's study notes yesterday was not a temporary move, but she had already had the idea of ​​​​understanding his world in depth before.

"That's right, but this is normal... In fact, I only know a little bit about it, so I'm probably no different from you."

Xia Ran smiled at the girl, her tone was very gentle, and she said this sincerely——

"I just know the interpretation of some cards and the interpretation of upright and reverse positions. I don't understand anything more in-depth."

"..."

"..."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Yukinoshita said angrily.

"Huh?"

"If you really don't know anything about it, why do you use Tarot cards for divination? Don't you think this is too childish?" The girl looked at him with contempt. This man really opened his mouth and lied. No drafting.

Wait, wait, if that's the case, doesn't it mean that the results of his divination are really bad, and he doesn't really want to tell himself this kind of thing, so he pretends to downplay it like this?

Yukinoshita's expression changed slightly, her eyes fixed on the young man in front of her: "What is the result of the divination?"

"ha?"

"What is the result of the divination?" The girl showed no impatience at all. She just repeated her question again, as if she was determined to get the answer.

"It's okay, neither good nor bad..." Xia Ran thought for a moment and replied.

"real?"

"Really..." The magician looked at the girl in front of him strangely, and then he seemed to understand something, and laughed dumbly, "I just pulled out the tower just now, and the divination was already over before. That card doesn’t mean anything.”

With that said, he pulled out another card from the deck of tarot cards in his hand, and it happened to be the original tower, but this time it was reversed, while the one he drew before was upright.

Xia Ran looked at the tarot cards, then smiled and shook his head——

"Sudden and unpredictable strong changes are unacceptable. No matter how arrogant humans are, they cannot compare with the power of nature. Challenging nature will only attract the wrath of God... Is this the story of the Tower of Babel?"

Having said this, he also glanced at Artoria beside him. The King of Knights seemed to have mentioned this allusion before, but now he had drawn this card again...

But it was just a coincidence. He had already completed the divination before, and now he was just randomly drawing cards to play. Just when he happened to draw the tower, Yukinoshita came to the activity room and happened to see it.

That's right, it's just a coincidence, it's no big deal, and there's nothing to be afraid of...

"The upright position represents adversity, fatal blows, huge changes, playing with fire and self-immolation... But avoidance is not the answer, you must have the courage to challenge it, even though it seems powerful."

The magician looked at the tarot cards in his hand, gathered his thoughts, and said lazily -

"Reversed position represents difficulties, stabilization, arrogance and arrogance will pay the price, and a last stand... So don't blindly resist changes, because that will only lead to greater changes. No matter how you resist, changes will eventually happen."

He wisely chose the career interpretation instead of the emotional interpretation. After all, the latter... How stupid does it take for someone to say that?

"It doesn't sound like a good idea, but it has nothing to do with me..." Xia Ran disagreed very much.

Yukinoshita raised her eyebrows and looked at Saber subconsciously. The legendary young queen nodded slightly, confirming the master's statement - the divination had ended before, and now Not divination.

The girl was somewhat relieved, breathed out gently, and then asked: "Then why do you say you don't know anything about Tarot cards?"

"I really don't understand. It's just that divination generally requires the use of media. Fortune tellers also need to read palms, or measure characters. In ancient times, there was a method of burning turtle shells. As for astrology, six lines, plum blossoms, Don’t talk about Qi Men…”

Xia Ran explained it as a matter of course: "If I could directly predict the future, or use the ancient scrolls, I wouldn't have to go to such trouble... So I still need to use something to help me determine my fortune."

"So you just used tarot cards?"

Yukinoshita didn't know what the Elder Scroll was, so she just asked.

"Yes, it at least provides quite good choices, and each card is given a different meaning and interpretation. The possibilities of combining them can be said to be almost unlimited..."

Xia Ran still looked like he was taking it for granted. He just thought it was easier to use, so he chose it like this. There was no other reason.

After all, at least every card in the Tarot has a determined interpretation. Using it as a medium to substitute the correct divination method will make the interpretation more accurate and much more convenient... If you burn the turtle shell to see the cracks, or look at the residue of the tea leaves, Or try to see through the fog of the future through a crystal ball...

Forget it, this is neither intuitive nor clear. It will definitely be affected by your own subconscious when interpreting it. It cannot be grasped by non-top prophets. Xia Ran feels that he is improvising like this and does not have any talent. Forget it about people.

The medium of tarot cards is more suitable, it is intuitive and clear.

"I understand..." Yukinoshita looked at this person carefully and made sure that he was not hiding anything, then nodded gently, "But is there really no problem? What you just drew is the Tower Card again. Bar?"

"Ah, if you say this, there will be no problem. Although drawing cards directly is actually a divination method that ordinary people can use, because in theory it is the most intuitive reminder and manifestation of fate, and there are no other messy effects. …”

Xia Ran waved his hand, shuffled the cards disapprovingly, and then drew another card——

"But I pulled it out again just to explain it to you. Otherwise, why would it be so accurate? If it was purely random without cheating, there wouldn't be such a coincidence. Look... Huh? "

He was slightly startled and found that what he pulled out was actually the tower again.

"..."

"..."

The activity room suddenly became quiet, and there was a strange feeling, so much so that the setting sun outside the window seemed so dazzling this time.

"Ahem, this is definitely a low-probability event and cannot explain anything! And although this method is the most intuitive in theory and can be used by ordinary people, it is only theoretical and there are still differences in practice..."

Xia Ran coughed and said with a serious face, then quickly shuffled the cards and picked out one again: "Look...it won't be the case this time, right?"

This time he pulled out a "Magician" card. On the table of the card were placed the four elements of the universe, namely the scepter symbolizing fire, the sword symbolizing wind, the pentacle symbolizing earth, and the Holy Grail symbolizing water. .

The magician holds the scepter in his right hand and points to the sky, and his left hand points to the ground. There are roses and lilies under his feet. There is an infinity symbol on his head, and his belt is a snake connected end to end, which is a symbol of eternity.

The interpretation of the cards has many meanings. For example, it represents the transfer of power and the gift of spirit. For example, it represents human motivations and reflects the will of God...

Xia Ran also breathed a sigh of relief subconsciously. This time it was also drawn randomly. If the tower was really drawn, he would feel terrified. Fortunately, there are no such small-probability incidents happening continuously.

He tried to draw another one, this time it was a "Hanged Man" card, which was also not a tower card.

Xia Ran suddenly felt relieved and smiled slightly at the girl: "Look, this method is actually not very reliable. There is no accuracy. Don't worry..."

Yukinoshita glanced at him, stretched out her hand and also drew a card.

——That is a "lover" card.