ACCIDENTAL | lyney [✔︎]

vii.*

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER IV: ACT I
LOTS OF DIALOGUE
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

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[name] was quiet as she watched her "boyfriend's" performance, glancing at the floating fairy and blonde traveler. they were whispering rather loudly. they were sat next to monsieur neuvillette, who occasionally added in his own two mora. the woman suddenly had a bad feeling in her gut, causing her to frown anxiously.

"hey, do you think this is all magic tricks, or does lyney have actual superpowers?" the floating fairy asked.

"let's watch and see," the blonde traveler responded. [name] chuckled quietly at their words, earning their attention. the fairy was about to speak when lyney cut her off.

"the lucky audience member will be generated by this random number selector. it selects numbers entirely at random. even i don't know who will be chosen to participate. now then, let's begin." the ash blond watched with bated breath as the machine rolled. it stopped at the number seven, three. "ah, let me see...row seven, seat three. congratulations! you now have the chance to experience magic firsthand for an entire minute!

"please, come forward. my assistant will take you beside the magic box. i'm sorry, it might be a little cramped inside, but no need to feel nervous. we've carefully arranged everything for you to be as comfortable as possible. you don't need to do anything. but no matter what strange things may happen, don't come out of the box.

"if the magic is interrupted, who knows where you might end up? you might even find yourself in the fortress of meropide."

"oh, okay..."

"alright, before i enter the magic box, there is one more thing i need to ask the audience to do. could you all give me a countdown? like this...sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight...just keep counting down. you can go a little faster or slower if you like. i won't be able to see anything in the pitch-black box, so i'll be relying on your voices to know when time is up. oh, and no tricks now. if you quickly count from sixty in just thirty seconds, then i'll be in a tough spot."

"ooh, paimon kinda wants to count faster after hearing him say that, hehe..."

"i'm sure lyney's prepared."

lyney sighed as the crowd struggled to count together. "no, no, that won't do...i can see it in your eyes, you still can't be trusted! let's practice together. come on, repeat after me. sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight..."

the crowd repeated after him and he grinned. "that's right, perfect! keep it going! alright, i'll see you all on the other side once you've finished counting."

with that, he disappeared into the box. [name] smiled slightly, knowing full well how the trick worked. the fairy next to her was floating happily.

"fifty-four, fifty-three, fifty-two...! why aren't you counting, neuvillette?"

"i'm counting in my head. i think things are exciting enough in here as it is. merely a consequence of my identity and personality. do not worry about me. just enjoy the show."

"oh, alright. you looked so serious that paimon thought you might be feeling uncomfortable or something."

"forty, thirty-nine, thirty-eight!"

"mr. lyney, are you all right in there? is everything ready?"

"yes, i'm fine, i'm fine...i'm just double checking the direction of the magic. it would be a disaster if we get sent to the wrong places, for example, mid-air right above the audience."