Chapter 52: The Siren's Song (3)

Although Louis’ eyes were gazing out the window, his attention was fully focused on the sisters’ conversation.

“You’re really going?”

“Yeah. We’ll be busy with the festival starting tomorrow, so let’s have some fun today.”

“Okay!”

Lucia swiftly removed her apron, indicating she had been eager to explore the festivities herself.

Louis couldn’t help but grin at this.

‘Something…feels quite promising.’

He had a hunch that something delightful was about to happen.

“Let’s go, everyone!” Moana called enthusiastically.

“Yes!” Louis responded cheerfully, hoping his intuition would prove correct.

Moments later…

“Caww!”

“Candy, candy!”

The excited twins took Moana’s hands, and Lucia grabbed Louis as they exited the inn together.

Louis eagerly agreed, excited to attend his first festival since being reincarnated.

With Louis holding hands with one of the beautiful sisters on each side, they set off together.

This is incredible.

As advertised, the streets were bustling for the continent’s most famous winter festival. Vendors and various attractions lined the roads, matching the crowd density.

And this is just day one?

The climax of the festivities was said to be on the fifth day during the Winter Solstice celebration. If it was already like this now, Louis couldn’t imagine what it would be like then.

The group fully immersed themselves in enjoying the festival alongside the lovely sisters. As time passed, the twins’ hands clutched multiple candy skewers.

“Hmm?” Something caught Louis’s attention.

In the central square of Luft Hagenn stood a stage.

Louis asked Moana, “What’s that?”

“Oh, they’re doing it again this year. It’s called ‘Night of Talents’.”

“What is it about?”

“Well, it’s just…a competition where people perform music or sing for cash prizes. Our Lucia won first place here when she was young, didn’t she?”

“Ah, you and your stories…”

“Hm?” Louis perked up as Lucia blushed with embarrassment.

So that’s true, huh?

Seeing Louis’s interest, Moana and Lucia found seats near the stage. They assumed his recent piano lessons indicated an affinity for instruments, so they decided to introduce him to the Night of Talents event.

As soon as Louis’s group settled down, many spectators began gathering around the stage - individuals, families, and couples staking out their spots. The Night of Performing Arts was indeed a popular event in Luft Hagenn, drawing quite a crowd.

With the area buzzing with excitement, an emcee took the stage to officially announce the start of the Night of Performing Arts. Soon after, several musicians and singers went up one by one to perform.

One, two, three…

After the fifth act finished, Louis curiously turned to Lucia.

“They’re… Why do they sound so bad?”

“What? Ahaha, it’s just the preliminaries… But yeah, probably. The final round will be held in a few days, and that should be worth watching.”

“Hmm…” Louis nodded thoughtfully.

As Lucia predicted, some performers were decent enough, but none satisfied Louis’s discerning ears. He finally realized two things: First, Lucia truly was an exceptional musician, and second, despite having practiced for only a few days, he already surpassed these competitors.

The preliminary rounds continued on for quite some time. Occasionally, there would be light applause from the audience, but no thunderous cheers erupted.

Hmm, seems like most people are here to eat and drink with music as background noise.

Indeed, most of the audience seemed more interested in eating and drinking with their companions than paying attention to the stage.

Suddenly, amidst the continuous background music, there was silence.

“Is anyone else interested in participating?” The host on stage called out while scanning the crowd.

At that moment, Louis noticed Lucia’s faint gaze fixed on the stage, reminding him of something Moana had mentioned earlier.

‘Didn’t Moana say Lucia won first place here before?’

Louis’s eyes lit up.

‘That’s it!’

His positive intuition hadn’t been wrong. It must have been guiding him towards this very moment. Confidently, Louis grabbed Lucia’s hand.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“Sis, let’s go over there.”

“Where?”

Without further explanation, Louis simply tugged on Lucia’s hand. Surprised by his unexpected strength for such a young child, Lucia was pulled along as she uttered, “Oh!”

Moana watched their interaction with wide-eyed curiosity.

In no time, Louis had led Lucia onto the stage unexpectedly.

“Huh?” The host, who was about to wrap up the event, looked startled at the sudden appearance of the two newcomers.

“Oh? Lucia?” The host immediately recognized her. Until a few years ago, nobody could claim ignorance of Lucia from the Siren Shelter. Indeed, among the audience watching the stage, some murmured upon recognizing Lucia.

“Isn’t that Lucia from the sirens?”

“Huh? It really is her!”

“What’s she doing here? I thought Lucia stopped singing?”

“I heard the same… After the accident, they said she couldn’t sing anymore.”

Lucia’s face paled as she overheard the murmurs.

“L-Louis…”

Flustered, Lucia tried to shake off Louis’s hand and leave the stage.

Just then…

“Sir, could you lend me your bow?” Louis approached a musician standing below the stage and boldly asked for his violin bow. Caught off guard by Louis’s audacity, the musician reluctantly handed it over.

Louis returned with the borrowed bow and offered it to Lucia.

“Louis?”

“You should play, Sis.”

“But…”

“I’ve heard that there’s no one better at playing than you here, Sis.”

Lucia assumed Louis was unaware of her circumstances, which explained his innocent comment. She couldn’t be angry with him for not knowing. With a soft sigh, Lucia accepted the barbiton. Although it wasn’t hers, it felt familiar to hold.

“Phew…”

Lucia scanned the audience watching from below the stage. As slight anxiety crept into her thoughts, she heard Louis’ voice.

“When you play, I’ll sing along.”

“Sing…?” Lucia raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

Louis responded with a bright smile. “Yes!”

As their eyes met, the host’s voice echoed from beneath the stage.

“Aren’t you ready yet?”

“Oh… I’m sorry.” Lucia slightly bowed her head to apologize.

She was feeling disoriented after being dragged onto the stage unexpectedly. The host and audience exchanged puzzled looks at the delay, while Louis urged her on with his eyes.

“Phew…” Lucia took a deep breath, resigned herself to the situation, and positioned her violin. She then gently plucked one of its strings.

Ding!

The clear sound echoed throughout the stage.

After checking the instrument’s tuning, Lucia asked:

“What song shall we play?”

For once, she decided to indulge this adorable mischief-maker.

Louis looked troubled.

Right… What should I sing?

He had blurted out that he would perform when Lucia tried to flee but hadn’t given any thought to what song he’d choose.

He simply blurted out whatever came to mind without any hesitation. Besides, his only stage experience had been from school talent shows during his previous life as a human child.

Louis nervously scratched his cheek.

Well, it’s just another stage.

Despite numerous eyes watching him, Louis strangely felt no jitters.

I mean, this is like a school talent show, right?

Perhaps becoming a dragon also strengthened his nerves. Louis appeared remarkably calm for the situation.

Anyway, what should I sing?

Louis looked up at Lucia and asked, “Can I sing anything?”

“Anything? Hmm… Just start singing, and I’ll accompany you accordingly.”

“Okay!” Louis nodded confidently.

Initially, he didn’t know many songs, with only a handful of lyrics memorized.

He decided on a song and stepped slightly forward.

I’ll just wing it.

Many eyes were drawn to the bright and adorable child standing at center stage.

“Is that kid singing?”

“Not Lucia?”

“It seems so.”

“Who is he? He’s really cute!”

Initially, there was surprise that Louis, not Lucia, had come forward. However, everyone quickly became captivated by Louis’s charming appearance. That was all; no one seemed particularly interested in what song Louis would perform.

“Sigh…” Onstage, Louis took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly.

Soon, the first notes flowed from his small lips:

[“Of course, I’m serious… Absolutely.”]

His voice was clear and deep. Though slender, it had a peculiar heaviness to it—a strangely contradictory tone.

“Though I may live five hundred years—”

Louis chose “Five Hundred Years,” a traditional folk song from Gangwon Province. Despite his delicate timbre, the opening line resonated deeply with everyone present.

“…?!”

The audience stared at Louis, surprised. Even Lucia appeared taken aback.

Unfazed by their reactions, Louis continued singing, captivated by his own voice.

Wow! Whoa! Singing is so effortless now? My voice sounds amazing!

Louis poured his emotions into each line as he became immersed in his song. Who better than Louis to lament about life’s hardships?

From his previous existence to this current one, his limited lifespan and emotional turmoil were encapsulated within his lyrics. The impromptu verses Louis added blended seamlessly with the original melody.

“I want to live my life for once, but it seems that’s not allowed—”

As Louis continued singing, Lucia snapped out of her daze and began accompanying him on the guitar. Despite hearing the song for the first time, she skillfully provided backing music.

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

The clear, deep sound of the bass strings resonated slowly.

“This lifetime, I just want to live like everyone else—”

Despite his delicate voice, Louis’s lyrics resonated with hundreds of years’ worth of suffering and sorrow from both this life and his previous one. Initially puzzled by the song choice, the audience quickly became immersed in their performance.

“Oh dear… How can such sadness come through a child’s voice?”

“Huh, it sounds like he’s singing as if he’s on his deathbed…”

“It brings tears to my eyes…”

More people clutched at their hearts or shed tears due to Louis’s singing.

After repeating the chorus several times…

“I want just ten thousand years to live well—no more, no less!”

Louis finished the song. Silence immediately enveloped the stage area. There were no cheers; only sniffles echoed throughout the venue.

…Was it that bad?

Louis awkwardly scratched the back of his head when the audience, who had at least clapped half-heartedly for previous performers, showed no reaction to him whatsoever.

Did I mess up somehow?

Just as he was starting to doubt himself…

Whistle!

He heard a whistle from somewhere in the crowd.

“That was awesome!”

“Hey kid! Got any other songs?”

“One more song!”

Suddenly, thunderous applause and cheers erupted all around Louis, leaving him bewildered. He looked around with disbelief before getting swept away by the cheering crowd.

“Heh-heh.” His lips curled into a grin.

Ha-ha-ha-ha.

Louis couldn’t stop chuckling, his face beaming.

I guess…I’m meant to perform on stage!