"Why do you think she's a boy?" Riche said under his breath.
"Why do you think he's a girl?" Emma hissed back.
"Obviously, because she's really cute! ... WHAT?"
"Obviously, because he's really cute! ... WHAT?"
*The f is going on...*
I woke up to the absolute heavenly voices of two siblings yelling at each other.
"Oh crap I think he heard us..." Emma said, whispering directly into Riche's ear.
*Yes. Should I tell them?*
I rub my eyes theatrically to alert them that I truly was awake.
*They can stop their bickering now.*
This did bring up another question, though. What did I look like? Some thought I was a boy, and Riche thought I was a girl.
*Maybe I could ask Ruby...*
"Where is Ruby?" I asked when I noticed she's absent from her seat.
The carriage was moving, and I doubted we'd just left her behind somewhere.
"Ah, she's outside now," Emma said.
"What?"
"She said we're almost there, so she has to be outside."
*...?*
I didn't get it. I looked out the window, and the scenery hadn't changed, but we were going much faster than any person could run, it seemed like.
"She's the head mage," Emma said. "With her presence, everyone will know to let us through without objections."
"Uh huh... So does she like riding the wyrms?"
"Huh?"
"Well, she has to be riding the wyrms, right?"
Assuming she was coming along with us, if she was outside and I couldn't see her, it had to mean she was on one of the wyrms I couldn't see.
*I don't think there's anything wrong with that logic.*
"Haha, you're funny, Emmu! Ruby wouldn't do something as lowly as riding some wyrms. She's obviously flying."
"Huh?"
Wasn't this some bombshell statement?
"Flight magic is really hard, but I can do a little myself," Emma continued proudly. "But my teacher? She can do it really easily!"
*I guess that makes sense. Don't know why I didn't think of it.*
This was a world where magic was commonplace, so it shouldn't be out of the ordinary for somebody to learn flight magic.
*That's minus one thing I can invent for "new" magic...*
This also opened the possibility of what happened last night to many more things... more than I was willing to consider right now.
"I guess I'll just have to wait to ask someone else."
It didn't take long for us to slow down. Those wyrms were pretty dang fast - it took nearly 10 seconds for us to come to a complete stop.
*They are ground wyrms though, so maybe they're heavy?*
Wherever we were passing through, it didn't take them long to figure out who we were.
*I assume "head mage" could be a rather lofty title.*
Through the small window on the side, I couldn't see much, but several things were certain.
We passed through a stone gate, not brick or concrete. There was a large metal sliding door, one that slid up and down to open and close. There seemed to be guards stationed on the sides, wearing medieval-era armor.
*>System Quest: Discover a circular town. Why are all the towns circular? Is there no creativity?*
*Great, another one. System, when does this expire? And can you please let me know when a quest expires immediately after you give it to me...*
*>System Quest: Discover a circular town. Expires in 3 weeks.*
So... hadn't we just entered a town? It must not have been "circular" if the system was giving me such a quest at this time.
*Still, though, a circular town...*
I didn't need much more evidence that our setting was basically the European Middle Ages, with Europe being a continent from my previous world.
*Frustratingly, I can't remember much else...*
Regardless, it was time to start planning for this quest.
*New magic expires first, but if this world's technology is where I expect, it shouldn't be that hard.*
Finding a circular town, on the other hand, required preparation and planning.
"Where are we going, exactly?" I asked.
We were moving awfully slow, but that was obviously because we were in a pretty densely populated area now. Outside the window, people bustled about endlessly through the streets. There was hardly any free space - that's how many people were cooped up here. Many of the intersections weren't perpendicular, and much of the road wasn't much better than dirt.
*Did they build this place to be as confusing as possible?*
Nonetheless, nobody looked confused. Countless tiny shops and stalls lined the streets, yet somehow, nobody seemed concerned with theft, either.
Another strange thing was that most people's clothes were extremely simple, with the majority of it being white rags. Many people, men and women, covered their heads and faces with said rags, as if we were somewhere in the Middle East.
*I didn't feel like it was that hot, so maybe it's for the dust?*
Wherever we were going, I was sure it'd be at least mildly interesting. This place didn't resemble my hometown all that much.
"We're headed to the royal library," Emma said. "Today, it's where everyone who took the Level 1 MAAT will gather. Including me!" Emma crossed her arms and smirked.
"You seem proud of all this magic stuff, but... what's the MAAT?"
Emma's face fell. "Right, I don't know why I'm boasting about magic to someone like you..."
"..."
"*Sigh*, the MAAT is the Mage Association Aptitude Test. Normally, it's completed by students ages 19-20. Which means I'm pretty much taking it 6 years early!"
*She really wants me to understand that she's some prodigy, huh? Hah. If I were in her shoes, I'm sure I'd be doing the exact same thing.*
"That's impressive," I said, showing genuine intrigue.
"Right?"
"But with someone like a 'head mage' as your teacher, you should be a little ahead of everyone else, right?"
"Hey, can't you say my sister is just smart?" Riche, who'd been silent this whole time, butted in. "I don't get all this magic stuff, and she can get it so fast, so she's amazing!"
"Brother..." Emma looked towards her brother with a complicated expression.
"I get it, she is smart. Really," I say, trying to defuse the constantly ticking time bomb of a boy.
"You better mean it."
"I do."