3
“Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Liliana, a traveling bard!”
There was still a hint of childishness in the way she bowed her head. Her vibrant, curious eyes and her yellow hair matched her fiery personality. Her pigtails, thin cloak, and dancer’s garb were all adorned with decorations made from tree nuts and animal bones. She was short in stature, but her limbs were long, and her skin was tan and healthy. Everything about her exuded wanderer.
“Well, pleased to meet you. I’m Subaru Natsuki, an uproarious, baroque handyman. I am the jack-of-all-chores making waves at that manor you see beyond yonder road.”
“Upper or he us…? Broke handyman…? Er—I mean, hello! Yes, it is very nice to meet you.”
Even with a stranger, Subaru steamrolled the conversation. His social graces were distinctly ungracious. Liliana forced her dubious frown beneath a fake smile, desperately trying not to offend the people who had just introduced themselves as associates of the local lord.
But Liliana’s guard was quickly shattered.
“That song you just sang was really good! Even now, I feel like I might cry…” Overcome with emotion, Emilia grabbed Liliana’s hand and gushed. Her enthusiasm took Liliana aback at first, but she quickly smiled when she realized she was being complimented.
“Ohh, thank you! It is an honor to have such an attentive listener! I am still far from perfect, but hearing such praise is more than enough to— Hweh?!”
Liliana returned Emilia’s enthusiasm with a smile at first…but when the bard got a good look at her admirer, her jaw dropped, and she froze.
Subaru’s party looked at her with surprise as Liliana murmured, her eyes still in a daze, “A-are you a goddess…?”
“Er—pardon?”
“I—I mean—I never seen such a girl as purty as you! My oh my! That hair, that skin—how did ya get ’em like that?! You even human?!”
She bounced in a circle around Emilia, fawning over her beauty. The extreme reaction paralyzed Emilia for a moment, but Subaru couldn’t agree with Liliana’s assessment more. Emilia was a little too oblivious of her otherworldly beauty (though that was part of her charm).
Then Liliana abruptly stopped, grabbed her instrument, and bowed. “The muse has spoken! I present to you my new song—‘Ohhh My Goddess.’”
Liliana took a quiet breath before her feet began stomping a quiet rhythm. Then her delicate fingertips strummed a new melody.
“Deeply bewitching are you, shining like a treasure’s gentle hue, your gaze—a cavern of violet gemstones twinkling through. Your silvery hair, flowing like tears of the moon in pain. Your delicate face, carved by an artisan’s hand unrestrained. Your skin, white like fresh fallen snow, knows not the feel of a trampling boot. Pointed and long, your ears… Your ears… Your ears—?”
“ !”
Liliana’s flowing song abruptly stopped. Subaru watched as her golden eyes filled with doubt, then realization, then shock.
She quickly connected the dots in her own lyrics. “Silvery hair and pointed ears… You…youse the Witch of Jealousy!”
Subaru clamped a hand on Liliana’s mouth. “Okay, cut! That was a nice song, but we have reason to believe it’s violated copyright! Once we conduct a formal investigation, we shall issue a statement, so please forget any interactions you’ve had with our firm and—”
“Subaru.”
Naturally, it was Emilia who put a stop to this desperate attempt at a cover-up. She shot a frown at Subaru, who was currently restraining Liliana with a joint lock.
“I appreciate your concern, Subaru, but you should know it’s wrong to attack a girl like that! Bad Subaru!”
“What am I, a dog…? I mean, don’t be like this, Emilia-tan.”
“It’s okay, Subaru. Trying to hide the truth isn’t the answer.”
Emilia was bold and firm, but the same couldn’t be said for Subaru. Seeing her become the victim of undeserved condemnation made his heart ache.
Emilia was born from the union of an elf and a human—in other words, she was a half-elf. This world was filled with all sorts of people who weren’t human, but some were objects of prejudice—half-elves in particular. Because of this, Emilia experienced a great deal of hardship.
Emilia may have forgiven Liliana, but Subaru couldn’t ignore her words—words that had shackled Emilia for so long. Reluctantly, he released the girl’s wrists and elbows, then freed her shoulders and arms.
“Pfah! My arms! My arms! Please don’t break my moneymakers! I’s just a young maiden with soft silky skin—hands off, chore boy!”
“I was just using everything in my power to protect those important to me—that’s the kind of man I want to be. Also, sorry to inform you, missy, but of all the ‘soft silky skin’ I’ve encountered, yours comes nearly dead last.”
The ratio of beautiful girls was abnormally high in this world, but Liliana’s feminine charms ranked (according to Subaru) somewhere near the bottom. Dead last was Beatrice, second to last was Felt, and Liliana probably took the third-worst prize.
“Humphie! First, you immobilize me, then you wound my delicate heart! Butbutbut!”
Though resentful of Subaru’s criticisms, Liliana danced before Emilia with the insolence of a rat. Emilia’s expression stiffened under the tiny girl’s stare. And then—
“Not only are you beautiful, but you’re also dignified at your core. You made my heart go thwomp!”
“Er, oh. Okay—did I?”
“Yes, milady! I must humbly apologize for my boorish impertinence earlier. If your chore boy hadn’t stopped me, my family would disown me for such outrageous behavior!”
“Oh, I see now. You’re a disaster-bard!”
Subaru was astonished by her impulsively brazen admission of guilt, but Liliana just cheerfully began to strum her instrument.
“I may not look it, but my senses are razor-sharp. If the muse of inspiration flashes before my eyes, then impatience simply eats away at me! Which is why the racial reasons that forbade me to speak openly of Lady Emilia’s beauty and courage compounded into a jumbled soup of crazy!”
“Dang, you’re like a breath of fresh air. Don’t see your type much in this world.”
Liliana’s needless enthusiasm was loud, but oddly enough, it wasn’t unpleasant. Her sincerity and voice were to thank for that. The bard’s beautiful voice tickled hearts and wormed inside her listeners in a way that was surely innate. It dawned on Subaru that performing was indeed her calling.
“Either that, or her calling is selling duvets and water purifiers to old people,” Subaru muttered in awe.
“What—what—what? Just going off vibes here, but I feel like I was just insulted!” Liliana responded dramatically, but Subaru smoothly ignored it.
Now that Subaru was relaxed and no longer actively hostile, Emilia smiled at the freewheeling girl and said, “I appreciate the compliments, but I don’t think I’m that beautiful.”
“Hey! Hey! Just now? A feeling I cannot abide as a woman exploded inside me! The muse has spoken. I present you with my new song—‘Ohhh My Damn Goddess.’”
“Shut up! But, Emilia-tan, I really do think you need to do something about that mentality of yours!”
With Subaru and Liliana both disagreeing wholeheartedly, all Emilia could do was tilt her head down awkwardly, a look of disbelief on her face.
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