Five minutes later, I found myself sitting on the long and exorbitantly-priced sofa.
On either side of were the twins, and peering from the sidelines were Sophie and Selina.
In front of , across the coffee table, sat Emir.
"Okay, so do you want to tell your birth card like I did with these two, or do you just want to tell your fortune?"
He gestured to the twins and I asked.
"What's the difference?"
"Well, the way I do it is different because of my ability, but basically, a birth card is the card that most accurately represents who 'you' are in essence, and telling your fortune is just divination."
Babbling on excitedly, I gazed at Emir who spoke enthusiastically in a way I had never seen before.
Was it because it was related to the power of cartomancy he was born with?
Perhaps he felt an innate sense of affinity with these kinds of mystical entertainnts.
Whenever the topic was related to his Supernatural Ability to establish an Absolute Contract, he always appeared miserable.
Maybe that was just a natural consequence of being forced to use a power that was forced upon you alongside years of tornt in a human experintation facility.
"I'll just do both, then. What do you do that's different?"
"Ah, that! The way people normally do it is through calculation and nurology, but in reality, that thod can be super inconsistent. It's probably because of my power, but in the end, what I do is much more effective and gives more accurate fortunes."
I asked a aningless question just to pass the ti whilst he shuffled the deck, but apparently, it was a bit of a sensitive topic, seeing his passionate response.
"Anyway, the deck's all shuffled, so we can get started."
"Do I need to do anything?"
Emir briefly paused as he contemplated.
"Hmm... No, it shouldn't be necessary. Not for the birth card, anyway. But, you should tell how many cards you want to put forward. I can do up to three."
I need to choose up to three cards?
"What difference does it make?"
"Just tell ; one, two, or three. The more cards I show you, the more thin-spread the telling will be, so one card shown ans you are only shown one card but the aning is the most prevalent in defining who you are."
Oh.
I think I understand.
"So, if I choose one card, I will get the one card that represents the most, but if I choose more cards, I'll get two or three that don't represent as much individually?"
"Yeah, pretty much. If you choose multiple, then as a collective they will still represent you very accurately, but there might be so room for misinterpretation. That's why I usually like to go with one card."
Right.
I suppose it makes sense.
"Then, I'll do one card."
I briefly wondered if the asurent of Truth would be able to tell my birth card, but so part of doubted it.
He's never been good at telling fortunes, that guy.
If Emir's fortune-telling is a result of his asurent, then it could very well be sothing only he in the entire world could do as accurately as he does it.
So, I trust that he will do it well.
Whatever the outco of today turns out to be, sothing tells it won't be insignificant.
Just as everything else has been recently, I'm sure the results will stick in my mind for a long ti.
Having shuffled the deck, Emir spread the 22 cards in a row on the table.
They were all upside down, so no one knew what each card was.
I stared at the backs of the cards.
"..."
Everyone waited with bated breath as they watched .
Emir, too, simply observed with a zipped mouth.
They waited for to pick a card.
Pick a card.
Pick one card.
It was a simple action.
It was sothing that shouldn't be difficult at all.
But, for so reason.
For so reason, I felt a hint of reluctance.
No, it was more than just a hint.
Having experienced all the fate and future bullshit recently, and the bastards Kiryuuin and Araceli who ca from other tilines, I found myself hesitating to pick a card.
What if the card I pick is the wrong choice?
What if the card I pick screws everything up for ?
If that's the case, wouldn't I be fucking myself over before anything even started?
What card do I pick?
What card is the right choice?
I asked, but there was only one response.
「There is no right choice」
It was the inevitable truth.
No right choice.
That ant that, whatever card I picked here, it didn't matter.
So, what the hell am I hesitating for?
Reaching my hand towards the cards on the table, I grabbed one and flipped it over.
"..."
A woman on a chair.
With a golden crown adorning the crest of her head, she wore a set of red robes.
In her right hand was a double-edged blade.
In her left hand was a pair of balance scales.
A pair of stone pillars stood behind her with a dull cloth filling the gap in between.
Card number XI.
My eyes fell to the bottom of the card.
There, its na stood out in a proud uppercase font.
"Oh. I didn't expect that to co from you, but I guess it makes sense."
Emir spoke to in a lighthearted voice.
"You picked Justice."
Justice.
That was my "birth card".
To be honest, I don't know what I had expected.
Due to my own lack of interest, I'm not even aware of what half of these 'Major Arcana' cards are called.
But, whatever the case.
Justice.
That was perhaps the card I had least expected to see.
"What does it an?"
I asked Emir, but his answer was ambiguous.
"Well, it could an a number of things. For soone like you, I can certainly imagine what it ans without using my power, but I'll do it anyway."
Soone like .
Justice.
"..."
It clicked.
I could already tell what he was about to tell without needing to hear it.
And it definitely wasn't sothing positive.
"Hmm... I see. Yeah, it's about what I expected."
It wasn't a good sign, but there was no choice but to listen.
After all, I had already picked the card.
There was no going back now.
"Cipher."
Shifting his tone to a much more sombre one, Emir called my na.
"Since you were born, you were destined to face judgent."
His words were simple.
It was an easy thing to understand.
But, nevertheless.
That.
What is that?
Are you fucking joking?
Emir shook his head.
"No, it could even be said that your existence was created rely to serve as a recipient of justice."
His face displayed emotions of pity.
As if he thought it was sothing sad.
"To be honest, this card doesn't usually have such a vicious, cruel aning."
"But, I'm one hundred per cent sure."
"This is what it's trying to say about you."
"'You will face judgent'."
"'You will face retribution'."
"Without a doubt."
"To serve as an opposition to justice."
"To serve as an opposition to what is right."
"Justice."
"This is the fate the world has bestowed upon you."
"This is the purpose of your existence."
Not just , but everyone fell silent at Emir's words that sounded cold.
Could fate be such a thing?
Could my existence sum up to rely that?
A tool to showcase such nonsense?
Is that all I was?
"Uh, I'm sorry if I sounded an-spirited or anything. I didn't intend to; I was just trying to relay what I saw in the most accurate way possible..."
Perhaps feeling awkward in the quiet atmosphere, Emir apologised.
It's fine.
I didn't intend to punish him.
It's not his fault the world sees this way.
But, is it right?
Is it fair?
No, of course it isn't.
The world.
Why would it give Truth?
Why would it give the twins?
Why would it give Sophie?
Why would it give Minami, Selina, or even Emir?
All of what I have.
Everything I possess and everything I have otherwise gained or acquired.
Why would it give these things to if I am destined to have them taken away?
Why would it bestow upon the life I have now?
Why?
Is it to teach a lesson?
Teaching a lesson to whom?
Is it to prove the power of justice?
Proving it to whom?
Is it just to tornt ?
For whose entertainnt?
The world.
What kind of bullshit is it getting up to?
There are too many loose ends.
Too many unexplained details.
"Emir."
I called him.
"Y-yes?"
With an expression of indifference, there was no way he could tell what I was thinking, so he must have been reasonably anxious about how I was feeling or what I might do.
But, there was no need to worry.
Because you are not the one I feel indignation towards.
You are not the one who deserves resentnt.
But, at the sa ti.
This unfair treatnt towards .
This fate couldn't possibly be called justice.
And thus.
"Tell my fortune in as detailed a manner as you can."
I would not take this sitting down.
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