LRAB Chapter 15 Antique Books and the Police
Chapter 15 Antique Books and the Police
"Based on these two cards, my divination results indicate that your current situation is not good, but the future outcome may not be so bad."
"What you need to do now is relax, don't take it to heart, and just let things take their course."
What's the difference between saying this and not saying anything? Or is it because the outcome wasn't good, so they don't want to tell me? After all, there's a "demon" involved... Lorne's expression was rather unpleasant.
"Um, may I ask you a question?"
"Of course, I can answer any question related to divination. I'm also the occult teacher here," Hainasen said confidently.
Have you ever heard of palmistry or face reading?
"Palmistry? Face reading?" Hainasen was puzzled; he had never heard of these two terms before.
"It's also a form of divination, mainly using the lines on a person's hands or the shape of their facial features to predict their future," Lorne explained.
After thinking for a moment, Hainas shook his head and said, "No, I've been a fortune teller for so many years and I've never heard of this kind of divination method."
"Where did you hear that from?" he asked curiously.
"I saw it by chance in an old book," Lorne said, making up a reason on the spot.
"That might be one of those unofficial occult books. In the past, some people would write legends and customs from other countries into books as occult knowledge, but those are all unofficial occult knowledge."
"well…"
"Okay, thank you." Lorne thanked him, took out 4 sulphurs and handed them to him before quickly leaving the room.
Watching Lorne's retreating figure, Haynes Vancent frowned and muttered to himself:
Something's not right, something's very wrong.
……
Lorne did not leave the club immediately. Instead, he greeted the receptionist and drank a cup of tea from the club.
He felt he had lost out badly today; the divination results were confusing and he had wasted 4 sulphs.
Looking at the empty cup in his hand, Lorne decided...
"I'd like another one."
……
Before leaving, he spent a few sous at the club to buy a tarot deck and a blue crystal pendulum, intending to try divination himself when he returned to the hotel.
"I don't have any premonition about fate, and I shouldn't be in danger for the time being." Although the divination made him a little uneasy, Lorne did not receive a direct warning from fate like before, and he believed that his situation was not that bad.
As he was leaving, he asked the receptionist if there were any places worth visiting nearby.
I unexpectedly learned that there was a place called Diagon Alley in the latter half of this street, which is a flea market.
The name "Diagon Alley" initially startled Lorne; it sounded too much like Harry Potter.
"Could it be some time traveler's twisted sense of humor?" Lorne wondered.
However, he couldn't say for sure, since the entire Kingdom of Rune was permeated with a British flavor, so it wasn't impossible for alleys to have the same name.
Lorne recalled the duke who had once ruled the Tingen region from his memories and couldn't help but wonder, "Could there really be time travelers?"
With that thought in mind, Lorne walked step by step toward Diagon Alley.
Since it's a flea market, there's a chance to find a bargain.
He planned to rely on his "monster's" high intuition to see if he could find some treasures.
……
The entire market stretches along the street, with stalls and tarpaulin sheds everywhere displaying secondhand goods, and piles of secondhand items under the tarpaulin sheds.
The stall owner, wearing a denim apron, is wiping his silver forks with old newspapers.
The air was filled with the musty smell of old leather and the burnt aroma of the corner coffee cart.
An elderly woman was wiping silver-plated teaware with a soft cloth. In front of a stall, an elderly man with white hair was trying on a camel-colored felt hat.
In addition, there are some scattered street vendors selling their wares.
"This... is so ordinary."
Diagon Alley didn't have the magical feel that Lorne had imagined; it just looked like an ordinary flea market.
Lorne activated his spiritual vision, searching for objects that showed signs of spiritual activity.
In theory, having a spiritual quality and being valuable are equivalent.
"What's this?" Something caught Lorne's eye.
He squatted down in front of a rusty tin stall, and his fingertips touched a strange book with a black cover. The fat stall owner, wearing a leather hat, immediately jumped up from his stool, knocking over a stack of newspapers at his feet.
"This gentleman has a good eye! This is an antique book that has been passed down from the Quaternary period."
Lorne twirled the curled edge of the book's pages, revealing a gap in the gold paint on the cover that was peeling off in the sunlight. "Boss, putting aside whether this book is an antique or not, look! The spine is coming unglued."
"Young man, antique books always have some signs of age, right?" The fat boss's beard trembled with each spittle.
"How about 50 pounds if you want it?"
The fat boss sized up Lorne, noticing his fair complexion and wealthy appearance, and decided to squeeze him for a good profit.
Actually, he bought the book from two flustered people in another city, and it cost him less than 10 pounds.
"Hey! You're ripping me off. I bet it's only 5 pounds at most."
Unlike some rich young masters who never haggle over prices, Lorne didn't just throw in a dragon-slaying sword.
That's how you bargain: cut your price hard at first, then you'll have room to negotiate later.
"Impossible, that's too little." The fat boss shook his head repeatedly; he would never do business at a loss.
While negotiating with the shopkeeper, Lorne kept glancing at the ancient book out of the corner of his eye. From his spiritual perspective, the book was emitting a faint spiritual aura, causing even the surrounding air to ripple slightly.
"This book is so old, yet it has a spiritual response; it must be very valuable." Lorne made up his mind to get the book.
But he didn't seem very excited. Instead, he calmly negotiated the price with the fat boss, occasionally pointing out a few flaws in the books.
"20 pounds, that's the lowest price." The fat shopkeeper suddenly pulled out a dusty old book and a yellowed parchment from the bottom of the box. "These two are also old things. You can take them all for 20 pounds."
"10 pounds." Lorne offered another 50% cut.
"Impossible!" the fat boss refused decisively.
"Whether these items are antiques is debatable, but even if they're this broken, they're not worth much money."
"And not all old things can be called antiques."
"How about we compromise and settle for 15 pounds?" Lorne coaxed.
……
"I can pay in cash." Lorne pulled out another 15-pound note and waved it in front of the fat boss.
"Uh..." The fat boss looked at the banknotes right in front of him, then at the items that hadn't sold for several days, and nodded.
"You win."
……
Zotland Street
Lorne, carrying a bunch of stuff, eventually wandered into this neighborhood.
"It's six o'clock, let's just find a restaurant." After glancing at his pocket watch, Lorne headed straight for a restaurant on the side of the road.
"What?!"
No sooner had Lorne ordered his food than he saw several men dressed as police officers walk in.
!!!
Upon seeing this, Lorne immediately tensed up. The guide to transmigration had stated that the official authorities of this world were extremely hostile to transmigrators.
He quickly picked up the menu and pretended to be ordering food.
While covering his face with the menu, he secretly peeked out to observe the situation over there.
"Just a meal?" Lorne breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the police officers ordering food.
"But that young policeman is too casual; he didn't even button up his uniform. It seems this is the general level of police work in this world."
"Ah, the threat of fear; ah, the blessing of the night, the crimson moonlight; ah, goddess..."
What?! Why are they reciting poetry? Are all the police in this world this abstract? And this poem is so awful... Lorne lowered his head and rubbed his forehead.