Chapter 51: The Siren’s Song (2)

While Louis and Lucia were enjoying some quality time together…

“Louis!”

“Louis, what’re you doing?”

The twins had sniffed out Louis’s scent and promptly joined them, much to his chagrin. With her audience now tripled, Lucia’s smile widened as they eagerly sat before her.

“What is that?”

“What is it? What is it?”

“Shh, listen.”

Once Louis calmed down the twins, Lucia resumed playing.

And after a moment…

Clap, clap, clap!

Three pairs of small hands enthusiastically applauded her performance. Excitedly, the twins clung to her legs.

“One more time!”

“Play one more!”

Smiling gently, Lucia began another tune.

“Huh?”

Moana passed Lucia’s room and was surprised by the music playing inside. She cautiously opened the door to see three small heads gathered around her sister as she played.

“Oh…” It was such a harmonious scene that Moana felt bittersweet. With a wistful smile, she gently closed the door, discreetly wiping away tears forming in her eyes.

I’m relieved. Lucia…she hasn’t completely lost her love for music.

It had been impossible for Lucia to play after the accident. Although it wasn’t singing, Moana was overjoyed that her sister had started performing again.

As Moana left, Lucia continued playing several more pieces.

The twins eagerly rushed to Lucia’s side.

“Nana, teach me that!”

“Me too, me too!”

Louis beamed at their enthusiasm.

Yes, yes! Good job, my little ones!

If not for them, Louis would have been the one pestering Lucia himself. This was his plan to help Lucia overcome her trauma.

‘If memories of wanting to sing become stronger than those preventing her from singing… she should eventually regain her ability.’

Of course, this approach could be cumbersome and challenging. It might have been easier to manipulate the traumatic memory using lightning attribute holy magic, potentially helping her overcome her trauma more swiftly.

However, doing so would force Lucia to live her life with distorted memories. Despite knowing her for only a couple of days, Louis couldn’t bring himself to commit such an immoral act against this kind-hearted girl who had shown him unconditional kindness. He believed in responding to goodwill with goodwill and hostility with hostility—a rule he lived by.

‘Slowly but surely. I need to help her recall pleasant memories associated with music and singing.’

The goal was to evoke happy memories strong enough to overcome her trauma. The first step involved getting her to start playing music again, which seemed achievable thanks to the twins’ enthusiasm. That is, if not for one interruption:

“Kids, it’s snack time!”

At Moana’s voice, the twins instantly detached from Lucia and sprinted away without even looking back. The mention of snacks quickly overshadowed their interest in her. Despite this, Lucia affectionately watched them run off.

Meanwhile, Louis…

Well, go ahead… It’s my fault for trusting you…

He let out a deep sigh internally. Resigned, he approached Lucia.

“Hey, can you teach me something?”

“Huh? You’re not going for snacks, Louis?”

“Not about snacks… I want to learn how to make beautiful sounds like you.”

“Oh…”

Louis’s earnest words slightly touched Lucia. After pondering for a moment, she opened a drawer and took out a small ukulele. She handed it to Louis with a smile.

“I used this when I was younger… Here, consider it a gift.”

”…Are you giving this to me?”

“Yes.” With a gentle smile, Lucia placed the ukulele in Louis’s hands and stroked his hair affectionately.

“Since it’s late today, let’s start practicing tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay!” Nodding enthusiastically, Louis bounced out of the room.

The smile on Lucia’s face lingered for quite some time.

Little did Louis know that this would lead him to discover another hidden talent.

Ding-dong…

Lucia watched Louis absentmindedly play the harp. His short fingers moved briskly, creating beautiful melodies that seemed to go on forever before finally coming to an end. Despite this, Lucia’s dazed expression remained unchanged.

Louis finished playing and looked at her with a puzzled frown. “Sis?”

Hearing his voice snapped Lucia back to reality.

“Huh? U-um?” She felt flustered and disoriented.

“What should we do next?”

“N-next?” Lucia was caught off guard, feeling quite overwhelmed.

It had only been three days since Louis started learning how to play the harp, yet there was nothing more she could teach him.

Louis had learned how to play scales on the first day and memorized all the chords Lucia knew by the second. Initially, his playing was rough around the edges but quickly improved at an astonishing rate.

“I-I mean…” Flustered, Lucia searched for sheet music with more challenging pieces.

As she watched him, Louis smiled contentedly.

Wow, this dragon buff applies even here?

In his previous life, the only instrument Louis ever played was a recorder, which he mostly used as a weapon against classmates during sword fights rather than as an actual musical tool. Despite this lack of experience, Louis effortlessly mastered the complex balhim thanks to the versatile Dragon’s Blessing.

His memory became exceptional, and his sense of rhythm approached perfection. Additionally, his fingers gained remarkable flexibility, allowing them to bend gracefully.

Louis internally smiled at the dragon’s influence on his abilities.

On the other hand, Lucia watched him with amazement.

This child is a prodigy!

Lucia wasn’t alone; anyone who witnessed Louis’s performance would have thought the same. Even Moana, standing outside the door, was visibly astonished by Louis’s skill.

Despite this, Louis appeared somewhat dissatisfied.

Hmm… This might not be enough.

While Louis gradually rekindled Lucia’s interest in music, it wasn’t strong enough to fully change her mind.

I need something truly shocking and impactful.

The opportunity Louis desired arrived sooner than he expected.

“Hmm…”

Rubbing his eyes, Louis got up and opened the window due to the commotion outside. He was greeted by quite a different scene from yesterday.

“Oh? What’s going on?”

The streets were filled with people waving various flags and decorations.

“Whoa!”

“Wooooah!”

The twins had joined him at the window without him noticing, but their interest quickly waned.

“Luuuuis, I’m hungry…”

“Me too…”

For these twins, hunger trumped curiosity every time. Before they could escalate to whining mode, Louis swiftly popped some elixir drops into their mouths.

Suck, suck.

They eagerly consumed the elixir before dashing off to the dining room. Louis followed closely behind.

Buzz, buzz.

Despite the early hour, the dining area was bustling with activity.

Moana and Lucia were busy attending to customers. Louis approached Pablo, who was having breakfast at one corner of the dining area. The strong smell of alcohol wafted towards him, making his eyebrows twitch.

“You drank again last night, didn’t you?”

“Ha-ha… Th-that Terius wouldn’t let me leave.”

“It’s fine if you drink, but what about your task?”

“No need to worry! I’ve been scouring every elixir shop in Luft Hagenn! Although their quality is somewhat lacking, I managed to gather around twenty so far.”

“Twenty? Hmm… Is that considered many?”

“Even as low-grade as they are, it’s only possible to find this many from shops in Luft Hagenn. Elsewhere, you’d be hard-pressed to locate any.”

“Really? Well then… By the way, despite our past connection, we shouldn’t take too much for free without raising suspicions. If you need money, talk to Fin.”

“Yep! Understood.”

Over the past few days, while Louis and the twins stayed at the inn, Pablo had been frequenting Bunt’s mansion to secure various elixirs. As a result, he attended numerous drinking parties, and today, he was nursing his hangover with red broth back at the inn.

Louis leaned towards Pablo, who had his nose buried in the bowl. “By the way, what’s going on outside? Is there some kind of festival?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? Today marks the start of Luft Hagenn’s Wishing for a Good Catch Festival.”

“Wishing for a Good Catch Festival?”

“Yes. Nowadays, Luft Hagenn is known as the premier trading port, but long ago, it was just a small fishing village where people relied on fishing for their livelihoods. Back then, they held an annual ceremony praying for safety and abundance for the men venturing out to sea. Over time, this evolved into the current festival format.”

“Interesting!”

“We’re lucky to be here at this time. The Wishing for a Good Catch Festival starts tomorrow. It should be quite entertaining as it’s one of the biggest festivals during winter on the continent. Many people from outside flock here just for this event.” Pablo finished his soup and gulped down every last drop before standing up. He subtly checked Louis’ reaction before making his exit.

“I-I’ll go check the black market for any news about the elixir.”

“Sure,” Louis waved him off casually.

Pablo hastily scurried away, worried that Louis might detain him. Checking the black market was likely an excuse, and he probably intended to join another drinking party instead.

And so, yet another day passed by quickly.

The festival preparations, which had begun early in the morning, reached their peak late in the evening.

“Ohhh.”

“Ahhh!”

“Oh?”

In order, Khan, Kani, and Louis exclaimed their amazement. Three little heads were pressed against the window, watching people pass by outside. Moana and Lucia, who had taken a break after finishing some errands, couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.

Moana turned to her friend. “Lucia?”

“Yes?”

“Should we…take these kids out?”

“What? Is that okay?”

“The festival hasn’t officially started yet. Business is always best during the festivities anyway… Plus, it’s been years since we’ve properly enjoyed the event ourselves because we’re always stuck manning our shops.”

“You’re right…”

“And…they look so pitiful.” Moana gestured toward the three small heads following every passerby with keen interest.

Their excitement was cute, but it also tugged at their hearts like puppies eager to go outside.

At the same time, this stirred up anger towards Pablo.

“This old man is always running off somewhere and leaving his kids behind!”

“That’s right!”

“It’s such a rare festival! He should’ve taken them out instead!”

“I think he’s been drinking more lately…”

“Oh boy, I’ll make him some hangover soup tomorrow.”

The sisters bonded over gossiping about Pablo.

Moana untied her apron as she gave instructions. “Lucia, stop accepting customers for now and put up the ‘closed’ sign.”

Louis perked up at Moana’s voice.

Oh-ho!