“Ghuhahaha! Tales of battles with food and ale! That is life! Come! Drinks on me for today, to your VICTORY in the arena!” Ghorush slammed the table with his large hand as a jolly street bartender handed him two mugs of ale with a laugh, before serving his intoxicated clientele.
“I hate being drunk.”
“Yuck, sorry, I hate the taste of alcohol.”
“Mreeeew.”
Neill and I completely rejected Ghorush’s offer, while Rajah began scratching his ear from the silence and surprise the leonid expressed at our words. After a couple seconds, he shrugged, saying “More for me” before downing both tankards at the same time. The ale gushed not only into his mouth, but also outside of it, dampening his mane and clothes before it dropped onto the floor, splattering the liquid on my legs.
“Ewwwwww!” I jumped back, disgusted not just by the ale, but the nasty floor water touching my socks and shoes.
“Oi, you damn cat, drink normally! Or are you already drunk to the point you tried to hit on us?” Neill just took a step back, raising her arms in annoyance.
“Ghluuuurp!” Ghorush burped like a hippo, laughing unhinged as he smacked his stomach. “Ghuhahahaha, the both of you are too scrawny for my taste! I like my women with more meat on their arms and legs, also taller! Ha, as if I would try to mate with either of you!”
“Tsk, could’ve left that last part out…” Neill scowled.
… For somebody with that much mana, he sure is a simpleton.
Oh, I am very aware of that, God Yeostar.
Being a dragon but having the form of a small, cute girl was the prime example here.
In any case, I won’t appraise him for privacy reasons. Should I? Is he an enemy in your eyes? I asked him once again.
Good point. Really nothing to do if we don’t have the information. In other words, I should focus on the reason why I came to this area.
While Neill was complaining about Ghorush’s rambunctiousness, I turned my head around to take in the rest of the locale. As if it wasn’t obvious enough with this street bar, the tables placed before it, and the many food stalls around us gave this place a pretty strong street fair vibe, as people wandered from one stall to the next to gather things to eat and drink. Maybe it was more accurate to describe it similar to those food courts in malls, just with a medieval theme.
“Ahhhhh! For our pay!”
““For our pay!””
Dayworkers, adventurers, and farmers were celebrating with each other in this area, raising their mugs up to bang it against each other in a toast. Mead and food bits dropped onto the ground, smearing the grounds with nobody paying attention to the waste they were creating. It wasn’t their problem, after all, and one should savor their evening break, right?
The news really hasn’t gotten far, huh?
“Answer for me, oh mighty knight ♫
Can your sword and armor shine through the night ♫
And all so wonder your call to fight ♫
Jaded by the battle’s fright ♫”
“Oh, scurry forth the skorr away ♫
He’s feasting and nastying our fields ♫
And all we can do is pick up the scythe ♫
And slash it up for winter’s meals ♫”
But what made this area so special, at least interesting enough for Master to recommend it to me, was the fact a bunch of minstrels and bards were gathered here, as if they were in some sorta clique. They created music from nothing, either solo or as they collabed with others, to accompany the non-musicians’ merry food binge.
Whether male or female, or human or beastmen, there didn’t seem to be any kind of prejudices between them. I could see a human woman singing with a male foxian about the transitions of the season and the growth of a tree, while a well-groomed wolfkin man strung his lute, reminiscing about his past and his mother’s soup. At the same, though, a group of bards were playing together in a band-like fashion, reciting tales of old about knights, valor, and Yeostar.
“The blade of yore, flying through ocean floor with might galore ♫
Vicious strikes upon the beast of dread, releasing the dead of their screams unsaid ♫
But a maul of corrupting doom, cursed its challengers with a watery tomb ♫
Alone and tired he fought on, with nothing but zeal and courage to move on ♫
With man’s bravery and elven sorcery, the carnage in flesh was finally brought low ♫”
The bard’s guild.
Of course, you could find singers and minstrels everywhere in the city, and even dancers in the less visited areas. The city was vibrant with people and visitors, and even among all their noise, you could hear people singing tales, giving not only character but also brilliance to the festival.
It was culture and history, all condensed in the voices of these people. You could learn what these people have learned through your own senses. My songs were meant to bring smiles and exhilarate people, but songs didn’t have to pigeonhole themselves only within this spectrum of emotions.
Music was there to touch people’s souls, as my Papa always used to say. It was important for a musician to embrace every sort of genre as a way to help them grow. After all, like rapping and singing, they made good companions despite being different types of vocal expressions. Not to mention that instruments could do the very same thing, elevating the experience like a well-planned out dish with numerous facets of tastes.
Ahhh, I really want to join them~
“Hmm? Daydreaming? Careless gal, with how many pickpockets I’ve seen.” I heard a low, deep voice sounding like Ghorush’s speak next to me.
“Eh, she can take care of herself. Let her have her fun.” While that was clearly Neill’s.
[“Master, if hungry, we can order food!”] While it became clear my companions were watching me when I heard Rajah’s voice.
Turning around, I let out a flustered laugh as my love for music took over my mind for a bit. I could admire them as much as I wanted, but I should probably not start fangirling. A sign for a good singer was their ability to reach notes without any problems and maintain them, but what was more important was to layer your singing with your emotions to enrapture your audience’s attention.
This should work actually.
Sadly, Master couldn’t really write down the location of the guild, as he had only heard how it was in the area. Considering it was a guild, I should be able to request a commission. Money would be pretty tight, but I could probably use the bounty from the poison brothers to pay them off. Before I could execute my plan, though, I had to ask somebody where the guild building was.
“Hey, Neill, what do you think about their singing?” I asked Sis while scanning the area, trying to find somebody who was free and looked like a bard.
“Hmm? I guess, good? Sounds very catchy, you know? Also interesting to hear since some of them seem to be tales about Yeostar,” she answered, pointing at a few of them. “That guy mentioned that Castle Fatalisa raid, the other about Karhalentheel, and so on. Who needs to read books when you have these guys around?”
But, surprisingly, Neill’s answer was more detailed than I thought, prompting me to snap my head around to reply, “Right? Pretty exciting, huh? And they present the story and heroics in a way the people can understand without understanding the details. Just easy and digestible. I guess that is how valorous songs are supposed to be, hmm?”
“Ghuhaha, nothing beats stories about some strong fighters in the past. Gives you confidence and a dream to be like or best them!” Ghorush gave his two cents. “Even more important when you’re going right into a fight! Gotta bring the spirits up. Can’t fight only on bloodthirst alone, I say, gotta have something supporting that drive!”
“But, most importantly, the songs needa keep the audience excited! Can’t earn coins if ya listeners drop dead from boredom!”
“Mgrrrrrr!”
“Woah! Easy, kitty!”
The three of us turned around when Rajah suddenly growled, only to see him threatening some sleazy-looking human from approaching us. He had slick-backed orange hair, glistening probably from using dried fat or wax. He had a lute strapped on his back with a metal flute on his belt, making me believe he was probably a bard.
However, unlike the typical image of a minstrel, he had scaled leather armor on and a helmet hanging loosely on his backpack. A longsword was sheathed on his hip while a wooden shield was equipped on his left arm. The guy looked a bit greasy, but still clean enough to be presentable.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Ahaha, I-I’ll answer, but do you mind wringing ya kitty back? Don’t wanna end up as monsty food, ya get me?” The guy smiled wryly, so I did what he asked and told Rjaha to stand down. “Phew… Thanks, lass! Ahaha… Ahem, well, my lady, glad to meetcha, the name’s Desmond. Bard and minstrel in the area, just to light up a tune just for you two lovely ladies~”
Hmm? He smells weird.
“Uh, yeah, back up a bit, buddy.” Neill held her hand up, stopping him from coming any closer. “Nice meeting you, but I would rather not smell anymore of what you did this evening already.”
“Ha! He was active, huh?” Ghorush scratched his chin and mane. “Well, I ain’t here to ruin my drink with the smell of his gunk and whoever he put it in, so I’mma head out. Glad meeting you two, again! Give me a show on FireDay, yeah? Wanna see the semi-finals between you two explode!”
Gunk? And whoever— Ooooooh. Oh, so that is that smell…
The moment I realized what I was smelling, I instantly frowned at the guy while Ghorush excused himself, leaving us alone with this weird guy in front of us. Getting that reaction from us caused the dude to laugh nervously, understanding what we were talking about.
“Woah there, didn’t come here to make a move on ya… Well, if you two aren’t against it the— ‘Kay, ‘kay! I get it!” He squirmed back after Neill sent out her [Draconic Aura], scaring the guy from speaking any further. “A-Anyways, just to get back on track, the name’s Desmond. Heard you two speak about the music the lads and lasses were playing, so wanna come over to speak with ya. Uhh, can I get your names?”
“Fargryneill.”
“Hestia.”
“Talk about an icy shoulder!” he blurted out in a dramatic way when we gave our names simultaneously. “Jeez… but, hey, I thought I knew ya somewhere, lass. Peeps been speaking about the arena, ya know. Especially me friends over there singing about how some dragonewt lass conquered the famed Castle Fatalisa in some wicked way, yeah? You’re that Hestia, eh?”
I widened my eyes, feeling a bit taken aback about hearing people having already written songs about me. I was supposed to be the one who would do that!
“Songs?”
“Ahaha, yeah! Hol’on, think I can still ‘member. Ahem.” He pulled out his lute and began playing a small tune. “Wings of flames, fury of light, rampaging through bodies with lightning and wind ♫”
Huh? That’s pretty good. I noted how he managed to emphasize the strong points of the strong. Although I wasn’t captured by the song yet, the way he sang it with a mild-mannered voice like a ballad singer was pretty interesting.
“Dazzling and enchanting, calamity afoot with supreme sorcery ♫
Cries ruptured through the air as she sung upon their bodies, ♫
Sitting on her throne of wood with her foes ripped apart by the arcane ♫”
Hold on, what?!
“But by divine intervention, her tyranny ended, by a Hand of Heaven ♫
Sword and flames, clash upon the fields of ruin, captured by the might of Fatalisa ♫
On fellwing she flew, escaping from death with Heaven’s knight ♫
Heralding doom with an angel’s voice, damnation upon all on the Crimson-Scaled’s wake ♫”
…
“Haha, sorry if I butched some of the melodies. Heard it a few days ago, probably didn’t do the original song justice,” the man laughed, looking unsure of himself. “Sooo… good, yeah?”
“It’s accurate. Exactly what I saw,” Neill answered.
“H-Hey!” I stuttered, trying to speak back but I couldn’t. “… True enough, I guess. But it makes me sound more like a villain than, you know, me.”
“Then you shouldn’t have started carving two chairs while you destroyed everybody with your spells flying around randomly! Anybody with an inch of sense would think you’re some destructive force!” Neill commented, making me feel like she was being too harsh.
“Hey! Don’t talk about my chairs! They burned down while I was dueling Larent, okay! Uuuuie, they were so young…” I wiped away a single small tear, in honor of the death of my chairs. They were so simple, but beautiful; sadly, they had to be burned down ‘cause I couldn’t put them in my storage with everybody looking.
“Uhm. ‘scuse me?” I was woken up by the bard’s voice, bringing me back to reality.
“Anyways, can I ask you a question?” He nodded, prompting me to continue. “You’re a bard, right? Do you know where the bard guild is?”
“Oooh, the guild? What do ya need us for?”
“Commission. I need to hire some of you for something special you see, enough bards and minstrels to fill this city with so much music people could actually get tired from it!” I raised my arms to gesture the scale I wanted this to be, leaving out some of the details I was planning like [Aerokinesis] and my scale-dust.
Desmond raised an eyebrow, staring at me with a questioning look. “The whole city? Sooounds like a pipe dreeeeeeaaaaaam! ♫ Sorry, but, uh, ya can’t make the whole city listen to us. We ain’t really loud, ya know, and we can’t go and ruin our voices for that kinda job.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Of course, I know how valuable a singer’s voice is. Ahem…” After his clear vocal provocation, I closed my eyes, ready to challenge it. “Iiiiiiiiii AAAAM SOOOOOO VEEEERRRRRRY ACQUAINTEEEEEEEDD! Proooteeect our VOIIIIIIIICEEEEEEES, sooooooo alwaaaaaays staaaaay hy…dRAAAAAATEEEEEEEED!”
Always stay hydrated.
However, strangely, when I finished this small showing of my opera training — really helps that Father knew opera singers from his career — the noisy surroundings of this place dialed down a bit, to the point I could actually hear my own thoughts without getting distracted by somebody’s cheering or drunk escapade.
Opening my eyes, I noticed Neill shaking her head and Rajah copying her, only to be taken aback by everybody close to the street bar staring at me. They just stopped with whatever they were doing, even ignoring food or ale dropping on their clothes as their attention was solely on me.
Awkward?
“… Uhm, hi?”
“H-Hey, Desmond! That’s the girl I was talking about! Emperor’s blade, that’s some singing!” One of the bards sitting next to the meat skewer stall ran up to the greasy bard, slapping him on the back to wake him up.
“H-Huh?!” Desmond nearly fell over. “Yikes, mate! Ya oughta stop slapping peeps on the back like that! And I already knew that fact. But, Goddess’s breath, that’s some singing, alright. ‘Angel’s voice,’ sure enough, ya could probably pass as a diva of the Empire’s Skywelt Opera by trilling those high notes!”
Skywelt Opera, huh? Haven’t heard of that before.
I wasn’t actually ready to perform as a diva in an opera, even with my classical singer training. It was great to help me develop my vocal cords and my Stamina, but idol and opera songs required different practices to prepare the singer. In a way, I could give a taste of that opera training, but I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up almost banshee-like high notes for too long.
But, that was beside the point really. The important thing was that my singing caught everybody’s attention, but especially the bards around me. Quite a number of them approached us, asking Desmond who I was. He told them they potentially had a job, so they asked me if I would follow them to a quieter place to discuss business.
Neill, Rajah, and I entered a nearby inn with around 21 bards, all covered in outfits looking more like adventurers than your typical wandering troubadour. I could identify archers, shieldmen, alchemists, and even a single water mage in their midst. Then again, for a guild, it probably should be this diverse.
… But the issue was, why was the guild building some random inn?
“There is no bard guild.”
“Huh?” I blurted out the moment I asked him if this was the guild building. “W-Wait, what do you mean by there being no guild?”
“Exactly what I meant, lass. There is n—”
“Hey, hey, hey, Desmond! You donk!” An archer bard, the very same one who identified me before slapped Desmond on the back, interrupting his reply. “Didn't Cha ‘member what I said about the girl? She’s a bloody princess, and a dragon to boot! Emperor’s beard, speak a bit more e-gantly.”
“Hol’ up, what ya saying?! This ‘ere gal is some fire-spewing dragon?! A manablood, too?”
“Ya joking, mate, ya joking! Girl’s got a voice, can’t be serious saying she some terrible, overgrown lizard, eh? Feel like you’ve been drinking while watchin— Yeowch!”
“Clam your trap.” One of the swordsmen knocked one of the bards on the head with his shield, shutting him with a dazing hit.
All of them looked at Neill and me, curious what we had to say to that “accusation.” Neill shrugged, telling everybody she was a dragonewt before pointing at me to continue. She really didn’t want to tell anybody she was a kirin.
I, on the other hand, confirmed it, however, I immediately told everybody I wasn’t here as a princess, but just a potential collaborator, as I needed their help for something. The bards began to feel restless by this information, but Desmond jumped up from his chair to play his lute, singing “Ain’t no time for your whining, the show must go on so start smiling! ♫”
With everybody quiet, Desmond turned back to me before sitting down. “Anyway, as I told you, ma’am, we aren’t a guild.”
“Wheew, you changed your speaking habit,” Neill whistled.
“Comes with the job. Nobles can slice off your head if you aren’t speaking properly.” Neill gestured his head being sliced open, before letting out a quick laugh to brighten up the mood. “But, yeah, bard guild? Good joke. How can a guild function if your members are all travelers? No bard stays in one place all the time, otherwise it’ll get boring. Can’t fund a whole guild in that way.”
“Huh? It is possible though, just look at the two adventuring guilds,” I argued, but Desmond simply shook his hand.
“That’s the point, why do you need a bard guild, when being an adventurer is so much easier? They got all the planning and bureaucracy done, and they’re a continent-wide organization. Since we’re travelers, we also have the guild’s protection against forceful conscription, you know? A niche guild for bards won’t be strong enough to do that for us!”
… That is actually pretty logical.
He continued, “That’s why, we just did the next best thing really. Made an unofficial adventuring company. ‘Bardic Inspirational Music,’ we call us, and that probably spread the guild thing around to you. 21 bards around C and D rank, all adventurers, all working to bring music around while keeping ourselves company and safe during Quests. Haha, it does mean our purse is pretty light, very light, to be honest.”
His eyes began to glisten like gold, prompting Rajah to growl at him to return him back to reality. “Y-Yikes, ahahaha… So, yeah, a job sounds like a good thing. We need money… and if you are a dragon princess as you said, then it could be pretty good for us. But, that job you mentioned, turning this city into a music festival? As I said before, Sounds like a pipe dreeeeeeaaaaaam! ♫ No matter how much we sing, we can’t ‘fill this city with music,’ ma’am.”
True. The city by itself was already super loud even without the music as the normal hustle and bustle would drown out simple singing. Add festival goers and more merchants, and even the finest music cannot defeat the loud background of hundreds of people chatting in unison.
However, what would happen if you gave every single singer a microphone and speakers? All made using wind magic for easy transportation? Probably impossible for now, since I needed Grimnir’s help to actually make something similar to a lavalier microphone and portable stereo without me around.
But for now, [Aerokinesis] just had to do.
Activating the skill, I slightly increased my volume, just loud enough for everybody to hear me over the outside sounds. “Maybe, but an idol’s job is to siiiiiiing, loud and with flare, breaking through the norm! ♫”
“Whew, nice singing.” Desmond gave me an approving nod.
“Yeah, yeah, that! Different, right? I told ya guys it was different!” The archer from before shouted so loud in excitement he silenced anybody else who wanted to give back feedback. “So chilling, but at the same time, it’s so filled with energy! Oooooh, please, please, once more! That opera voice, and now this singing! Aaaaaaaaaaah! Oh Gods!”
The guy fell onto his knees, prostrating before me.
WTF?!
“Oooh, so that’s why he’s been talking about how our singing has gotten old. Sheesh.” One of the female bards, a katzune, gave me a wry smile as she said that. “Know how to make a gal jealous, ma’am. Thought I was good.”
“Same, Minim. But, come on, got a taste. We can do that, too! Ahem!” Another female bard declared while pulling out her harp. “Fee—”
“Wait, stop!” I stopped her, before explaining to her and everybody else about my [Aerokinesis] and how I had a test for them. “I want to play a game with you guys. It’s called ‘shiritori,’ and is directly translated into Common as ‘take the end,’ and it's about saying a word using the last letter of the previous one.”
Of course, there was the English version of Shiritori called “Word Chain.” Since I had to translate either words into Common, I chose the one which came into my mind the quickest. Also, technically, there were more rules to the game, but for now, anything was allowed as long as we followed the “take the end from a word” one.
“Last word?” That same bard, a young human, raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, Desmond sang ‘Sounds like a pipe dreeeeeeaaaaaam! ♫’ which ends with the letter ‘m’ so I started with ‘Maybe, but an idol’s job is to siiiiiiing, loud and with flare, breaking through the norm! ♫’ You see? Rajah, help me out.”
[“Yes, Master!”] My virigress sprang up in joy, swinging his white tail around. [“Master is the best singer, best idol, oh mreow and mreow, Rajah likes! ♫”]
Eeeh, yikes! I felt second-hand cringed hearing Rajah's off-tuned singing, despite it literally being telepathic! Shouldn’t it sound good, at least?!
The same reaction happened to the bards. Instead of questioning the voice in their head, I could hear them mumble how bad Rajah’s singing was. However, I couldn’t tell that to him with how he stared at me with big, round, bubbly eyes! I picked him up, protecting him from everybody’s stares, even Neill’s twitching eyes.
“You did good, Rajah! Practice more!” I shouted, forcing myself to say that.
[“Yes, Master!”]
“Soooo, let me get this straiiiiiiight, 21 voices to impress you so our lives caaaaan… ♫”
“Nudge fooooooorwaaaard ♫”
“Don’t underestimate us, gals! We’ve been in this business for long enough to see what you want! ♫ … Wow! That was loud! Goddess Zephira be thanked, if everything Geddi said was the truth, ya should be a ‘etter mage than me, ma’am.”
“Hiehiehie!” I clapped my hands together so fast it would be impossible for most to see, too engrossed by how the three women of the band sang. They tried to imitate my style, and while not anywhere perfect, they showed off some of their habits and intonations when they sang.
“Wooo, yeah, you’re right. That is some nifty magic there!” Desmond pulled out his lute. “So, you want us to sing with that, eh?”
“Not only that.” I snapped my finger, causing a small spark, before [Aerokinesis] began playing out instruments, composing a new melody for everybody to follow. “I can empower your voices to reach throughout the city, but I need to know you’re up to the job. Do you mind if we play with this? Bit weird, I know, but musicians need to get out of their comfort zone, yeah? Hmm, how about it?”
I played jazz, something medieval troubadours couldn’t possibly know due to a lack of the necessary instrument to perform it. But, at the same time, it was chill and easy to follow, perfect to test them without overwhelming them.
Desmond scoffed sarcastically as I smirked at him, grinning back fearlessly. “Hooo? ‘Ear that, peeps? We can’t let out pride as bards get talked down like that. New and catchy, I get you, ma’am. That is some catchy jingle. Alright, challenge, accepted. Somehow, I get the feeling Gedard’s intuition is right. Think you’ll be a great muse, ma’am.”
“‘Course, ya donk!” the archer prostrating before me shouting. “Ahhh, I can’t believe I get to sing before you, my lady! Oooh, let me start! Ahem, T—”
“Trekking through the daayz! ♫”
I snapped my head around to that raspy voice, only to see Neill averting her face from me, looking slightly red. That singing was the same “speaking voice” Neill showed off before, but due to the short stanza, it was hard to hear it audibly.
“Hiehie…” I couldn't help but smile. I didn’t know why Neill would suddenly sing that, especially after she told me she didn’t want to perform, but I appreciated her trying, once again.
It felt… good to hear a family member trying to sing with me. Guess I did force it on Saori a bit, but that didn’t really work. Neill seemed… Nah, it was better to leave that thought alone.
“Zealous moments we could always experience ♫” Due to Neill’s weird pronunciation from her rushing her line, I had to adapt.
“Each person to themselves ♫” Desmond followed.
“So much to hear, so much to sing foooooooor! ♫” Gedard ended the intro to the song.
And the song continued onwards with each person taking over for a stanza. Weirdly enough, we entirely forgot about the time after we went through all 21 bards, continuing for a second round! Eventually, I had to stop us before we got to the third round. The bards were fully engrossed by it, not wanting to stop as it was fun to them.
I told them I was satisfied with them, and that I needed their ability to adapt on the fly with the lyrics. I didn’t have the time to write or coordinate everything. It was literally impossible right now, especially with 21 people. Tomorrow would be mostly ad lib, so I had them do this test for that reason.
And they passed without any problems.
They told me they were pretty surprised to hear me want them to perform at such a scale on a day’s notice, but they still took on the job as long as they could request free white grace — so healing magic — to fix up their throats if they needed it. I would be spending mana tomorrow like crazy, to the point I wouldn’t be surprised if random monsters were to spawn. So what was a few more spells?
With that agreed upon, they told me they would write some melodies and prepare a bit, as I requested them to keep their music theirs, while I would perform my concert using my style. It would separate us enough to make us feel unique, while not annoying too many people who didn’t like my songs.
“Neill, thanks for coming.” After we were done with the bards, our group started walking home, where I confronted Sis on what she did and how she even participated in the second round! “I know you didn’t want to, but you still did, and that means a lot. You know?”
“… I’m your older sister. I can’t let you have all the fun by yourself.” Neill had a small fluster, still not willing to stare me in the eyes.
“Hiehie,” I pushed her shoulders slightly. “… I’m sorry.”
“Hmm?”
“Sorry for forcing you to rap with me. I know you didn’t want to but I didn’t really notice it after that game. I was quite selfish.”
“Try eccentric.” I felt my heart pierced, seeing the irony as I called Mother weird, too. “But, I guess that is okay. We, you know, aren’t very normal beings. We got some weird habits and so on, and yours is your music. Mine is well—”
“Your appearance and how people look at you?” I guessed, correctly even when Neill let out a sigh. “Renee kinda already gave it away. Even the fact that you’re so focused on fashion and how your body looks… Is that why you don’t like to take that form?”
We were outside, on the streets, we couldn’t exactly say we were dragons, right?
Neill’s eyes closed up a bit, staring at the ground as she answered, “I… I’m a hybrid, don’t forget. I don’t really look ‘normal.’ A bit freakish, you know. I already told you how others made fun of me because of that, not to mention how my mom and I are lesser scalekins compared to father’s other wives and children. Feels like I’m a nobody, if I can’t even get those under me to respect me.”
“And that is why you’re traveling around, participating in tournaments, as you know what you do best and if that can get your praise, then even better. That is your ‘gluttony,’ your need. You want to not only look good, but also important for your mother.” The moment I got the guess correct, all the weird habits I noticed about Neill came to me, flooding me with a wish to be answered.
And that is why I probably hurt her when I mentioned her being stuck in the Envy stage.
“…” Neill stayed silent, but that was enough.
Now it made sense why Neill had such a weird reaction when I mentioned her being stuck with her [Battle Frenzy] training when we fought those grimgarians in that tunnel underneath Renee’s home. Renee was correct with how Neill was self-conscious of her own appearance. Maybe that was the reason why she couldn’t break through her Envy.
Which meant, I really did kinda hit a nerve. Everybody deserved to look how they wanted to, that was why Earth’s plastic surgery and dermatology was so successful. In this case, she made her humanized form look attractive for humans, even boosting it with her interest in fashion. However, from the sound of it, she seemed to hate her normal form ‘cause others ridiculed her for looking ‘freakish.’
In the idol industry, appearances mattered as much as your reputation, your talent, and your ability to do fan service. Maybe even more, considering how rabid extreme “fans” and haters could be if they didn’t like how a girl or dude looked. The eyes ate, too.
Sure, I was blessed with being attractive, but considering how the idol industry expected you to look “divinely,” I probably would have been cajoled into getting some plastic surgery back on Earth, if I had made it as an idol. I couldn’t say I was immune to this. The fact I was always in my moderate form already was proof I was vain.
‘Cause I was targeting humans and beastmen with my concert and work as an idol… But, maybe it was time to shake up this industry standard. That was one goal with my idol life in this world. But, would humans and beastmen accept me as an actual “dragon idol?”
At the very least, I didn’t really care what others would say about my sister’s looks. She was still my family.
“You know, I won’t laugh. We don’t really have a ‘norm’ for our family, yeah? I mean, you told me my five step-mothers are all different! We aren’t a normal family, haha!” I joked, bringing Neill to giggle a bit. “Mother even admitted she was a bit disappointed that I wasn’t a Nordor, you know? That my scales are different to hers. See, even my own mother thinks I’m a bit of a weirdo. So, you don’t have to hide your embarrassment from me. You’re my big sis. My first… and only sibling I know. We only met a few weeks ago, but I can already say that I. Love. You. Hiehie!”
“Pfff! You’re too naive to trust people that quickly, you skink!” Neill grabbed my head with her arm, before rubbing her horn on mine, grinning teasingly. “I could be one of your damn enemies and I might have just fooled you! … Pff, stupid joke.”
“Hiehie. Bad joke, yeah. Please, no backstabs.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, well, as long as our goals don’t differ too much.” Neill admitted with a caring smile. “Just like the tournament. I don’t care if you are family, I will push you aside to win. That’s… how I was raised. That is how our home and neighbors, and so many others raised me. Still, family is important… that is what father always told us.”
“… He doesn’t want the same to happen to us, huh?” I spoke of the civil war where my dragon father had to kill his siblings to take the throne.
“Mhmm. That is why Wendriosa and Kahalameet are idiots. Fighting against each other like that. They should be our older siblings, but they act like whelplings. We all have different goals in life and… dragonkins can be pretty eccentric, as you noticed. Even if they don’t want to involve us or our other siblings, it will happen. Father won’t die anything soon, but the fight for the throne can still be waged.”
Wendriosa and Kahalameet? My oldest sister and brother respectively, if I remember correctly.
“Or, you know, a third faction can be made. One against them, to stop them.” I shrugged. “But, for that, we need to be united ourselves. So, do me a favor to share a bit more about yourself, big sis. I want to see your true form. I swear I won’t laugh, promise~”
“Shiehahaha, you skink, do you really think that’s possible? When you don’t even know how weird our other siblings are? Or are you trying to return to Kargryx, following your mother’s request?” Neill joked around with me, before becoming silent and taking a deep breath. “… Maybe. Maybe during the fight, when I need to. But…”
I grabbed her hands, having noticed they were shaking a bit.
“Just like the concert, you don’t have to. Do it when you’re comfortable, alright? I’ll wait. We both have enough time for that.”
“…” Neill stared at me, flabbergasted at how to answer.
Feeling this was a good time to reveal my own insecurities, I took it. “You know I want to be an idol, yeah? We have to look good for our audience, and, well, I don’t know if the humans can accept me if I show them my dragon form. My friends mentioned how I looked extremely scary to others. I’m worried…”
Sure, I showed my dragon form in Griffonpeak, but when I revealed myself, most of the adventurers and soldiers I wanted to help only felt scared of me. I was a pretty big dragon, after all. Sure, it resolved itself with the king’s help, but I was worried the people here would reject me. I knew I had to let my music do the talking, but it still felt unnerving how I wanted to show-off my dragon form more.
Neill nodded. “… Now you made me really curious. Now I want to see how you actually look, little sis.”
Neill had only seen my minor dragonewt form.
“Haha, see? Back at you, I want to see my ‘real’ sister.”
“Shiehie… You know, technically, you shouldn’t be showing anybody your real form. Technically, not showing anybody you’re a dragon is the correct move! Just saying, I met some dragonslayers before and uuuuurgh! A nightmare, those freaks. Real lunatics!”
“Oh really?” I raised an eyebrow, once again hearing how dangerous dragonslayers were, only to shrug it off. “Well, if those guys come back, then don’t worry! Your little sis will protect you!”
“Oi, don’t get ahead of yourself! If somebody’s gonna do some protecting, it’s gonna be me, you hear? Honestly, I do want to get some revenge on those bastards anyways! … Pff! Hahahaha!”
“Hahahaha!”
It honestly felt like we got closer.
“Mreeeeew!” Our attention suddenly darted down to Rajaha, who was looking at us displeasingly. [“Rajah wants to talk, too! Feel like third party!”]
Oops.
To make up for it, I grabbed the big virigress up and carried him for the rest of the way. On the way, we also noticed Amelia packing up the stall with everybody else, saying they were done for the day and that it was a huge profit for them. I was glad to hear it, and would be awaiting them tomorrow.
Once back in the subspace, I learned Rita quickly gave up on the whole idol thing as she was too enraptured by mother’s storytelling how she witnessed Kramps and her father ascend to godhood. In addition, Rita was running out of energy for the day, as it was nighttime. In other words, Rita couldn’t perform tomorrow.
I tried to train Neill now that my backup plan with Rita failed, only to notice how hard it was to teach Neill to follow the beat properly. I honestly thought she was tone-deaf! Suffice to say, we didn’t manage to get anything spectacular ready. I needed to sleep, after all.
In the end, even Neill wasn’t stage-ready. Needless to say, I kinda blew it expecting a big miracle. Guess Neill was right to call me eccentric with my wishes.
Regardless, I still found the evening not a waste. Sure, the whole day was a rollercoaster of emotions, but so was life. Dangers were coming for us, for Elyonda and its royal family. However, I was ready.
Aurora and my family were ready.
Let us welcome those jerks with songs they will never forget!