A LOVE SONG FOR E M T
1
It began one afternoon, during a moment of rest between Subaru’s chores at the mansion.
“Subaru, can you take care of something for me?”
“Nngah?”
At the sudden sound of the bell-like voice in his ear, Subaru turned around with a cookie in his mouth. And standing at the door of the dining hall, calling Subaru, was a beautiful girl dressed in white. Her long silvery hair shone like the moon, her violet eyes sparkling like amethysts—she was a half-elf who possessed an inhuman beauty. Her name was Emilia.
“Oops, are you still working? I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“Mm’nope, I’m on break. I don’t think there’s any national law saying you’re supposed to work with cookies in your mouth.”
Swallowing the rest of the cookie, Subaru smiled at the worried girl. As Emilia sighed in relief, Subaru noticed the unusual object in her arms and raised an eyebrow. It was still fresh in his memory, the musical instrument unique to this world—
“Ah, I see you have a lyulyre. I thought it was busy collecting dust in the storage closet.”
Echoing Subaru’s sentiment was a maid who was also taking her break in the dining hall. She had short blue hair and wore a revealing maid uniform—she was Subaru’s coworker and head of staff at the mansion: Super-Maid Rem.
Rem was a master of all household tasks and handled just about every chore in the mansion—the cookies Subaru was eating were baked by her as well. Currently, she was enjoying a little tea break with Subaru.
“If Liliana forgot to take it with her, I guess that dust-covered lyulyre is hers?” Subaru asked.
“Not even Liliana would forget such an important instrument…I hope,” Emilia replied.
“That pause revealed a glimpse of your distrust for Liliana.”
“Oh, Subaru, don’t make a joke out of it. No, it was Roswaal—that incident with Liliana inspired him to take it out on a whim. He thought somebody could play me a tune to help me clear my mind in between my studies.”
“And I was the first person he thought of? Wow, that’s oddly considerate for Rozchi.”
Subaru slowly took the lyulyre from Emilia and gave it a light strum. A gentle tone filled the room, and Subaru looked right at home with the instrument.
The lyulyre was a wooden instrument that resembled the guitars from Subaru’s world. It was on the smaller side, but once you got the hang of it, it wasn’t all that different.
“Subaru, you can play?” Rem’s eyes widened as she watched Subaru comfortably handle the instrument.
“Yeah, it’s easy. It’s not much different from the six-string we had at home. Liliana also gave me a crash course, so if it’s folk songs you want, I’m your guy.”
Rem tilted her head. “Six strings?”
“Just another name for guitar. Just think of it as an instrument exclusive to my hometown.”
As he answered Rem, Subaru thought back to the colorful girl who had trained hardcore with the instrument—Liliana. Up until only a day ago, the bard had been a guest at Roswaal Manor. As expected of someone who made a living off music, her singing and her strumming were sublime. It was so impressive that not only were the ladies of the mansion enamored, but Subaru had also become her secret fan.
But while her talent for music was genius-tier, her talent for basic human functions left much to be desired. Still, the mess she got herself wrapped up in was finally settled, and normalcy had returned to the mansion.
During the days that followed, Emilia’s interest in and admiration for music did not wane. Every time she had a break, she came to Subaru begging for a tune—she was obsessed.
“So, Subaru, can you play any of the songs Liliana played?”
“I’d rather not—you’ll just compare me to her. Also, playing is one thing, but singing at the same time is next level. It doesn’t help that my voice isn’t amazing.”
“But you are amazing, Subaru,” Rem said. “Considering how useless your house-cleaning techniques are, I couldn’t have possibly imagined your incredible talent for music!”
“Aww, shucks, you didn’t have to—huh? Wait, something sounded a little off. Was that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Hm?”
Rem’s hands were clasped together approvingly, and her face filled with bewilderment over Subaru’s concern about her unintentional snark. It was an adorable sight, but it also confirmed that she had only spoken what she truly believed, which twisted the knife in Subaru’s heart.
Still, two girls expected great music from him. He wanted to put his best foot forward.
“Okay then, the Love Ballad of the Sword Devil—is too hard for me, so let’s go with a 70s folk medley.”
“Aww.”
“Hey, don’t pout. This song is just as popular.”
With a sheepish smirk at his disappointed audience, Subaru began to strum the strings of the lyulyre. Emilia and Rem sat on the sofa and clapped their hands slowly in time with the music.
“Acoustic guitars sound brighter, so please adjust that with your imagination.” With that disclaimer, Subaru flipped through the sheet music in his memory and played the lyulyre.
During his endless after-school hours and endless days of boredom, Subaru Natsuki had despised the idea of being stuck in a rut and spent time learning all sorts of skills. Guitar was one of the things he picked up.
Little did he know that all those wasted hours would bring joy to two beautiful girls—life was full of surprises.
“ ”
Reflecting the events and trends of the time, many 70s folksongs were melancholy love songs. Even without the lyrics, the ephemeral mood was embedded in the music. As the two girls listened to Subaru play, their eyes filled with grief and loneliness. Their rapt expressions tantalized Subaru. Seeing their faces made his heart smolder with pain—
“Secret technique! Teeth-Guitar—ARRRGH!”
“Su-Subaru?! Oh no! How could you do something so foolish?!”
“Subaru?! Ah, how could you be so foolish?!”
“Not in stereo, please…owowowow—ow-ow-ow!”
In an attempt to liven up the somber performance, Subaru’s teeth and gums were utterly savaged by the freshly tightened strings of the lyulyre.
His tooth-picking stunt was an ultra-difficult feat that only top guitarists could accomplish after extensive training. Naturally, this was too much for a third-rate guitarist like Subaru. It was a bloody disaster.
“Please, Subaru, calm down,” Rem said. “Pain, pain, go away, come again some other day!”
“Nononono…no pain? Wow, it’s actually gone! Ahh, man, that hurt. Thanks, Rem.”
Rem had cupped Subaru’s yowling face and cast a healing spell that emitted a faint blue light. Subaru was grateful to feel the pain fade away as the cuts on his gums closed.
Meanwhile, Emilia watched Subaru with her hands on her hips and an angry frown on her face. “Why did you do that? You really scared me. Promise you’ll never do something stupid like that again.”
“Sorry, my bad. It’s just, I know it’s technically my fault, but I didn’t like my song choice. Don’t blame ’70s folk. Blame me for choosing a song that clashed with the mood.”
If he was going to play a song, it might as well be something lighthearted that both girls would enjoy. Folk songs were only for your crush, to bring the two of you closer.
“I’ll play that last song some other time. Be patient, Emilia-tan.”
“Huh? I don’t exactly see what I need to be patient for, but okay. So…is the performance over? Are those all the songs you know, Subaru?”
Subaru was relieved to see that, to his surprise, Emilia looked like she wanted to hear more. Song choice aside, Subaru had piqued Emilia’s interest in his playing. And since Rem didn’t have anything to add, she appeared to feel the same way as Emilia.
Their interest in Subaru’s music—who would have gotten himself worked up regardless of any interest—made him eager to live up to their expectations.
“And yet, the only songs I practiced are 70s folk—the tragedy! Damn, why didn’t I learn anything peppy or cool…”
As Subaru cursed his past self, Rem raised a hand and offered a suggestion. “Having trouble deciding, Subaru? Then why not select a tune from Lady Liliana’s repertoire?” It was a great suggestion, and incredibly funny because of Rem’s inability to hide her adorable ulterior motives.
Surprisingly, Rem was the one most moved by Liliana’s songs. Deeply knowledgeable in the poetry and nursery rhymes of the other lands, she used a helpful suggestion to Subaru as a cover to ask for these songs.
And Subaru was just as enamored with each and every song of Liliana’s. However—
“Sorry, but I’m not talented enough to learn music by ear, nor am I anywhere near as talented as Liliana. Aside from folk songs, I can only play easy stuff… The Flea Waltz is about as far as I go.”
“Subaru, you shouldn’t let fleas waltz into the house…”
“Please don’t look so upset—I’m gonna feel bad! And I didn’t bring any fleas in here. It’s the name of a song! But if anybody does bring fleas in here, I’ll give them an earful later!”
The legendary piano piece’s unfortunate title had doomed it to a tragic end.
As Subaru apologized, Emilia replaced her accusing stare with a disappointed sigh. Then she clapped her hands and smiled, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “All right, Subaru, if you play me one of Liliana’s songs, I’ll forgive you. And I promise I won’t laugh at you if you do a bad job, so no pressure. Okay?”
“Lady Emilia is quite right, Subaru. I don’t care how hard it is, I don’t care how horrible you are, I don’t care how badly you fail—I promise I will not laugh at you, Subaru. So please, relax and fail. Don’t worry. Your Rem will dry all your tears.”
“I’m not gonna cry! Maybe don’t worry over me if it’s gonna be that excessive?!”
With the apparent fear of his imminent crying hanging over his head, a deflated Subaru realized there was no turning back now. The only way around it was learning the music by ear. Many of the songs Liliana played, she had taught him herself. There was no excuse not to at least try.
Even so, Subaru’s musical training was a clumsy solo pursuit. It was the result of hours of staring contests with his father’s guitar and sheet music and a show of defiance aimed at his father, who often listened through the door, smirking like an idiot.
“Seriously, promise you won’t laugh if I suck. And I promise I won’t cry.”
Leaving those words as a shield, Subaru held the lyulyre in playing position again. Then, with a light tilt of his head, he shot Emilia a pretentious wink and said, “By the way, my lady…any requests?”
“Oh, I know the perfect song! You know, the one that goes—”
Elated that Subaru had agreed to play again, Emilia happily clapped her hands together. Then she closed her eyes, searched her memory for the tune, and began to sing—
“La…la…lalala…”
Emilia’s bell-like voice sang a string of notes in a few short breaths. The alluring melody in her beautiful voice made Subaru stop breathing.
Emilia’s voice always held a bewitching quality that captivated and shook Subaru’s soul whenever he heard it. Subaru always assumed that his heart fluttered whenever she talked for personal reasons, but surely her bewitching charm extended to others besides him.
As the sound pierced his eardrums and entered his bloodstream, an unstoppable feeling surged up inside of him, making the very core of his being throb. Her voice was so breathtaking that he found it hard to continue standing in her presence.
“ ”
She had originally started singing to communicate what song she wanted Subaru to play, but once in the song’s bind, Emilia could not stop. Neither Subaru nor Rem were willing to stop her, either. They simply stayed still, listening to her weaving a special sort of magic with her beautiful voice until it was over.
In time, the song came to an end, and Emilia took a deep breath.
“Ah.”
It was then that Emilia realized she had been hypnotized—she had lost herself in the song. Her white cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she looked over at Subaru and Rem in a slight panic.
“S-sorry. When I was singing, I started feeling really good for some reason…”
“Well…no worries, we could tell by watching you,” Subaru said. “You…really love singing, don’t you?”
“I’m not sure…I never really had music in my life before…but yeah. This must be love…”
Her hand to her mouth, Emilia nodded shyly. Under ordinary circumstances, Subaru would try to find some way to get Emilia to breathlessly whisper, “This must be love…” again, but this time, the thought did not cross his mind.
Rem tugging quietly on his sleeve might have had something to do with that.
“Um, Subaru…”
“I know.”
Catching the emotion in her faint blue eyes and the eagerness to speak in her voice, Subaru nodded and gave a short reply of agreement. That was all it took to link their minds. It was an emotion that only those who had heard Emilia’s singing could share.
Action… He needed to figure out what was the right thing to do here. That was the most powerful weapon Subaru had gained from his time living in this mansion. After being at the mercy of a chain of fate, Subaru had learned an important lesson. Your decisions and actions were the only ways you could change a cruel, uncaring world—and so Subaru, once again, rose to the challenge.
As a pink-cheeked Emilia smiled at him, Subaru squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and said, “So, um, Emilia-tan…I’m not sure how I should say this, but…”
“Hm? What is it?”
With her hands on her silvery locks, Emilia gave Subaru a curious look as he struggled to find the words. Her amethyst eyes, which were looking straight at Subaru, contained a trust that wasn’t quite the same as Rem’s. Her feelings strangled his heart, but he suppressed the emotion and bravely took the plunge.
“Emilia-tan…you can’t—”
“—What was that dreadful sound? Did a bird just die? You’re supposed to be on break, Barusu. What ridiculous prank are you playing now?”
The door opened mid-rant, the loud voice shattering Subaru’s bravery to pieces. The one who stepped into the room was a girl with pink hair and light red eyes. She was identical to Rem in every way aside from her hair and eye color and size of her bust—it was Ram.
And with a look of disgust around the room (that Subaru hoped he imagined), Ram looked the stunned trio over one by one. Then, after closing her eyes for five seconds and processing—
“Now, here’s something you don’t hear from me often,” Ram began. “Can we all forget what I just said?”
“Kudos for grasping the situation so fast—but you screwed it all up, Ram!”
As Ram burst in and shook the whole room with the blunt truth, Subaru immediately exploded.
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