Huang stood in front of his grill. Never once in his life had he used one, nor did he cook something for so many people, but keeping an eye on the meat, moving it when necessary, eating a small piece of everything, all with a jug of beer in his hand, felt just right. His daughter said that he was going to station himself where he was now, he thought it was a joke but in the end she was right. It didn’t help that everyone came to the grills, one way or another, so he had a chance to talk with almost everyone.

“Man, how come nobody had an idea like this before?” One of the guards Huang worked with asked as he drank beer along with huang.

“Asking someone to come to your house to eat but to bring their own food is an insult as far as I know.” Huang answered absentmindedly but seriously.

“It was just a rhetorical question. We need more of this, well, except the blocking the street part. Our friends can just look as we drink and eat to our hearts' content.” The guard said as he pointed to the guards on the horizon that were making sure that nobody disturbed the party.

“They got a few skewers of meat, they are going to survive.” Huang said, still distracted with something.

“What's wrong, Huang?”

“Mia is just playing, laughing, being…normal. I was starting to believe I would never see that again…” Huang said as he watched Mia play with a few kids. Running around with their dolls and Mia’s magic to help keep everyone clean and out of trouble.

“Let’s not get emotional, shall we? If you start crying, how will that make us look?” Another guard said.

“Who is crying, you scrawny bastard? Here, eat something with some muscle and maybe you get some.” Huang said, entering the banter, as he gave the man a particular thick piece of meat.

“Not everyone can have an arm the width of their head and look good. My wife would kill me if I took your looks.” The man said back. They all laughed after.

—-

“What are your intentions with my daughter?” Count Hidaka, Narissa’s father, asked Mathias. They were currently sitting in Mia's backyard. Narissa was also there, along with her mother as well as Mathias' parents. Mathias himself wasn’t really fearing physical punishment but this strange dread crept on him when the question was asked. If there was one thing he really wished for at this moment it was that Mia wouldn't have opened her mouth and declared that he was in a relationship with Narissa in the first place. They definitely weren’t ready for it to be public.

“To marry her, sir, count, sir.” Mathias said, nervous.

“Dad, stop trying to intimidate him! And you, don’t be afraid of him.” Narissa said.

“Easy for you. I can feel my dad piercing me with his eyes.” Which was true. Mathias dad wasn’t exactly angry but he was annoyed with soon and very visibly. Mathias could also see his two friends not too far away enjoy the show.

“Eyes on me, boy! So you think you are good enough for her?” The count said as he grabbed Mathias by the shoulders.

“So far? Yes.”

“And in the future? Think you will still be good enough?”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“You ask like I have a choice.” Mathias was becoming increasingly nervous and what he was thinking was just being blurted out. He couldn’t really explain how he felt, but the basics were that he was afraid of losing something he quite liked and had a real chance of it happening. He knew better than to think that a noble wouldn’t do what he could to protect his family.

“And you, lady? You are a noble! How long has this been going on? How could you not even say a word to us? You had plenty of marriage proposals aligned for you.”

“But none of those people would understand me! He was there for me when nobody was! I love him!” Narissa declared as she held Mathias’ arm. He could feel his father’s glare intensifying.

“Dear, let’s not get hasty. It is clear she likes the boy.” Narissa’s mother said.

“And they look so good together.” Mathias’ mother added.

“A relationship needs more than love! They are still in the academy. Who knows if they will be able to stay with each other after? They should have talked to us at least so we could see if this could work before we found ourselves in this situation.”

“Count, as much as I share your opinion that we should have had this talk before all of this, now it is as good a time as any. It’s not like they eloped or something, right?” Mathias’ father said.

“...” Mathias and Narissa could only give a very strained smile as a response.

“MATHIAS!” His father shouted.

“Oh, my!” Narissa’s mother almost fainted, having to be held by the count. Mathias’ mother just looked amused.

—-------

“Here, some refreshments.” Lin said as she gave a small group of bards that were providing their services to the party. Mia wasn’t really a fan of the music she heard so far but as background music, it was serviceable, so she didn’t complain.

“Thanks, ma’am. Can’t say we ever performed for something like this.” The old man who was the leader of the group said after drinking the juice. He used a violin as an instrument, one that he was very proud of as he wouldn’t let anyone touch it.

“Thank you. I find the songs you are all playing very nice. I just wish that Mia would enjoy it more.” Lin said as she took the cups back from the bards.

“Is there a problem with our music?” A woman, one of the singers, asked.

“No, not really. It’s just…She said that music sounds so boring. She once said to me that everyone who could play and sing might be technically good but they didn’t have music in their soul.” Lin said in a tone that left no grounds to say that she was offending them.

“What would she like to hear?” The old man asked.

“...It’s kind of hard to describe. It would be better if she showed you.”

“We always appreciate new ways to play.”

Lin quickly called Mia. All the kids playing with her came along.

“Hello. Mom, what do you need me for?” Mia asked Lin after she said hi to the bards.

“Do you remember that music you did on a guitar once? Can you show it to them?” Lin asked. Mia nodded her head in agreement.

One of the bards gave Mia a guitar that she almost couldn’t hold normally. She began to course mana into the instrument and did a guitar solo from a music she barely remembered from her old life. She didn’t know how to actually play the instrument, she was just above average in singing, but she could perform these 30 seconds of guitar solo with her eyes closed even if she was in another body.

With her magic, the guitar sounded like an electric one. Everybody, minus Mia’s family, shook as the sound reverberated. A feeling they couldn’t describe. A sound that spoke to their very soul even if it said nothing at the moment.

“Here. Sorry, this is the only part I know how to do.” Mia said as she gave back the guitar.

“How did you do that? My guitar can’t make those sounds.” The man said, astonished.

“I put lightning on the strings and compressed the air around the guitar so the sound would leave in a different way.” Mia explained like it was the easiest thing in the world. With everyone in the bard group paralyzed, Mia went back to the other kids and continued to play.

“Is your daughter a music genius or something?” The old man asked Lin.

“She is a genius in a lot of areas. Sadly, music is not one of them.”

This was the first time in a good few centuries that someone heard rock.