*You're back again, System? You didn't have to tell me what to do. I was getting to it. Anyway... Imagine magic...? That does seem familiar.*
For some reason, I felt like I'd done this before. But at the same time, it felt new and interesting.
*Maybe it's just deja-vu?*
Anyway, I held up my hand with my palm facing towards me. I curled up my last three fingers, essentially pointing a finger gun to the sky.
*This is a lighter. And...*
I pulled the trigger on my finger gun.
A spark.
I pulled the trigger again...
... and a tiny flame sprung to life.
Riche snorted and turned away. "See, you knew magic all along! Emma, you were wrong this time!"
I extinguished the flame with my other hand and stared back at the twins. Riche was aimlessly spinning his knife around.
*Hey, he's actually pretty good at that.*
Emma, on the other hand, stared at me as if I were a ghost. If my eyes weren't mistaken, a single bead of sweat dripped from her forehead.
*Looks like it's her turn to get scared now.*
Suddenly, the carriage curtain doors opened, and a lady with green hair and green eyes stepped inside.
*Wow, that looks crazy.*
Not only did she not look like most humans I was familiar with, "opened" was the complete wrong word to describe the carriage door. Instead, it looked as if something was resurfacing from the ocean, and the surrounding walls rippled as she passed through.
I moved over to the window side to give her as much space as possible to rest, and she took it without a moment's hesitation. She sat down, let out a deep sigh, and aggressively leaned against the wall.
"Ah, Ruby!" Emma frantically said. "How was it?"
"I'm sooooo done. I'm about to pass out. Good night!"
*... What? Just like that?*
Ruby was fast asleep.
*A medic... magic... I think I can gather what happened.*
To confirm my suspicions, I asked Emma. "She's already asleep? How?"
Emma reluctantly turned towards me. "She... She's functionally out of mana."
*Figures.*
"H- Hey," Emma stammered. "Who are you?"
*Oh my god, this crap again... Seriously, even I still don't know the answer! Who am I? Hey, System, why don't you tell me?*
*>System Message: You're the MC.*
"MC...????"
"Huh... Emmu Sshi?"
"What, no, that's-"
"That's remarkably similar to mine. Is this fate...?"
"... You know what, yeah. Just call me Emm."
"Silence! Know your place!" Riche suddenly burst out in an overly dramatic fashion. "Emm is Emma! How dare you take this from her! Pick a different name!"
"..."
*I really don't want to.*
"Brother, it's fine. He's telling the truth."
"There we go again... Emma. I think your lie detection magic has finally gone haywire. You should trust me when it comes to these things!"
Emma gave Riche a sidelong glance.
Suddenly, Riche covered his mouth as quickly as he could. "Crap... I shouldn't have talked about your magic... I'm finished if Father-"
*SLAP*
A sound so crisp that it pleased the ear. Neither Riche nor I could believe what just happened. A red mark slowly surfaced on Riche's cheek.
"Sleep," Emma said, placing her palm on her brother's forehead.
Riche's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed onto the seat like a rag doll.
"Are you crazy?" I asked.
"No," Emma promptly responded. "What's crazy here is you."
"No," I countered. "I was actually lying. I knew what magic was this whole time."
"That's a lie."
"..."
How could I respond? Emma saw right through me.
"Please don't hurt anyone."
I was baffled. What kind of request even was this?
"What are you talking about?" I rightfully asked. "I saved your lives."
"Yes, I suppose that is true," Emma said. "I don't know why I said that. It's just..."
"... Go on?"
"How much do you really know about magic?"
"I don't know," I honestly responded. "I just know what you told me. Magic converts will to reality."
"Hmm... Yeah..."
Emma just looked into my eyes. Now that I saw them in more detail, did she have heterochromia? Her eyes were an unusual color, gray, but one eye was definitely lighter gray than the other.
*Okay, what's going on here?*
"Emma," I said.
She jolted. "Y- Yes?"
"I don't know who I am. I don't know where I came from. I don't know why I'm here. And everything you've told me has only made things less clear."
"Is that so...?"
*She sounds... sad?*
"I don't need your pity. I just need your answers for a couple of questions."
"I'm curious to know what someone like you will even ask, but..." Emma yawned. "Today was rather eventful. As you can see, we're all tired. Let's continue this tomorrow, shall we?"
I'm not sure if it was my imagination, but her tone was completely erratic throughout our conversation.
"By the way," she added. "There's a lever here. The seat reclines," she said, pulling a small lever under the seat.
Conveniently, it stretched out into a makeshift bed.
"Good night."
*I guess this really is a fancy carriage.*
There was probably no way a commoner could afford such a luxury.
I looked for the lever in a similar spot, found it, and pulled.
Now, I had my very own bed as well. As for Riche and Ruby... Well... I hoped they didn't get any pains tomorrow morning.
None of the significant questions I had were answered, but at least I learned *something* today. Hopefully, tomorrow, I could clear up some more things.
"... Good night."