Chapter 768: An Old Love Song…
∆Ya know, my lord…seeing that collar…∆
‘Don’t say it.’
∆…I can’t help but think…∆
‘Pathos, I swear to whatever divinity exists in this world or the next…’
∆..that you’re really not beating those bot-∆
‘I WILL STRANGLE YOU LIKE A CHICKEN!’
∆JOKES ON YOU, I’M INTO THAT!∆
‘AAAAAGGGHHH!’
…
[Does…does the manager realize he is incredibly easy to tease?,] Screamira asked the others.
[Don’t know.]
[Maybe…?]
[I am fairly certain he’s just playing along at this point.]
[Nah, the director is surprisingly dense at times.]
[Well I for one think that the maestro is…hold on…what’s that sound?]
[Hurricroak?]
[Is something wrong?]
[It sounds so…familiar….I have to go!]
[Wait, what?!]
[Hurricroak, wait!]
________________________________________
“Huh? What the-whoa!”
Just as Zhen Liu was about to mentally settle down after yelling at Pathos, Hurricroak started to act up instead.
The ring necklace that was Hurricroak’s disguise/carry form began to tug at Zhen Liu’s neck, in a manner suggesting that she needed to leave right this instance or needed his attention.
For some reason though, she wasn’t mentally communicating what was wrong or even telling Zhen Liu why she was acting up. Either way, if Zhen Liue wanted to address Hurricroak and her issues, he was going to need someplace significantly less crowded.
“Xiao Liu? What’s going on?”
“Nothing much, just…need to go take care of some things.”
“Things? What things?”
“Wait…puppet things?”
“Puppet things.”
“Ah…go handle your puppets, we can pick out your collar later.”
“I’m…just gonna ignore that…”
As quick as a rabbit with it’s tail on fire, Zhen Liu left the girls to do their shopping while he went to go and find somewhere that was dark and secluded.
After all, it was a really bad idea to just suddenly manifest a bunch of monstrous warriors out of thin air in the middle of a busy street. Granted, this was a world where cultivation was a thing so such a sight wasn’t unheard of, but those sights were usually associated with elite sects that had the resources to do so.
If some random young master from the frontier pulled off a trick like that, way too many people would be gunning for his, and his family’s heads.
‘Where, where, there!’
Regardless of these fatalistic thoughts though, Zhen Liu did eventually find someplace secluded enough to summon Hurricroak without any worries.
“Alright, Hurricroak. Come on out here so you can tell me what’s got you all-”
“Thanks for summoning me, maestro, but I gotta go because I’m hearing something incredibly familiar, bye!”
*NYOOM!*
“What the-hey!”
The moment Hurricroak’s freshly manifested feet hit the ground, the frog woman kaijin proceeded to dash into the streets like she was running from the law. Thankfully, Hurricroak remembered to put on her human disguise moments before any pedestrians could see her true form, allowing her to blend into the crowds without much suspicion.
Now, under normal circumstances, this act of disguising and blending in would normally not be an issue to Zhen Liu, since he could telepathically communicate with the kaijin anyways via his literal soul bond with them.
Unfortunately, this situations didn’t qualify normal circumstances.
‘Hurricroak, what the hell are you-wait…what the fuck?’
The moment Zhen Liu tried to reach out to Hurricroak via their literal soul bond, he ended up hearing nothing but literal static.
A part him wanted to pin the blame for this unusual situation on Logos and Pathos, since they were the reason why he couldn’t communicate with the kaijin while they were all onboard the S.S. Nimona.
However, this situation was more or less similar to one a while back that occurred after Hurricroak got injured fighting a gigantic dragon blooded otter.
Hurricroak had wanted to be alone after failing to put up a fight against the blasted thing, so much so she actively muted her connections to not only Zhen Liu, but to her fellow kaijin.
As such, when this strange muting effect came into play once more, several of the kaijin got ready to move and go after Hurricroak.
Namely, Nepherage and Frosttusk.
[We got this, milord!]
[We’ll…make…sure…she…is…okay…]
‘Huh? Oh, yeah! You two, go!’
Just like how Hurricroak hit the ground running the moment she manifested, Frosttusk and Nepherage did the same as soon as he took off and tossed their earring and bracelet forms, respectively.
Zhen Liu stood and watched as a warrior woman with blackish red hair and an old yet muscular man with a trunk like beard, proceeded to bolt out of his hiding spot and after their popstaresque counterpart.
‘You guys keep me posted on her status, alright?’
[Of course, milord.]
[Yes…minn…jarl…]
‘Good.’
…
‘Wait a minute, why didn’t you three volunteer to go after her?’
[I’m still new here and I’m fairly certain that this is a moment that requires being rather close to her,] Screamira explained. [It sounds to me that Hurricroak is going through something.]
[Just like last time with Razorstella, I have no desire to get involved in whatever emotional drama all that is,] Spring Brawler stared. [I am not mature enough to handle such things not knowledgeable enough to fake it.]
[This is her moment, not mine.]
‘Huh…’
_____________Meanwhile…_______________
“So…why did you want us to come to this tavern on the other side of town? I mean the food is pretty good, but not worth the entire walk here,” a young woman with auburn hair asked her dining partner.
“Because, my darling,” the man with dark hair and blue eyes replied, “there is a musician here that has a quality to him that I just can’t put into words exactly. And I think you’ll enjoy his sound as much as I did when I first heard him.”
“Really? We came here for music?”
“Really.”
“What makes him so different from any other bard?”
“I just said, you’ll know it when you hear it.”
“Hmmm.”
By the canals of Pearl Tusk Harbor was a decent sized tavern that was known as the Siren’s Cove.
The food here was decent, with the special being fresh clams cooked in salted cider, while the drinks were reasonably hard for their price point.
The owner of this establishment, a Mrs.Carolina Faithsong, was also quite the looker herself, if one were into older women that is.
But as of late, there was one thing that had been attracting more and more people as the days rolled by, and that was the presence of an old bard with a strangely hopeful air around him.
…
“Looks like it’s gonna be another packed house tonight.”
“Yup…”
“I think I see some new regulars mixed into the crowd…ah! I knew that young man had someone he was sweet on. Looks like they could use a free mug of beer, don’t you?”
“I think I do…”
“Alright, enough. Draigo, you mind telling me why you always hang around here before the start of every show? Who are you looking for?”
“That…I’m not sure exactly,” the old bard replied while taking a sip of apple juice.
Like any good tavern worth it’s salt, the Siren’s Cove had an upper level where patrons could dine and discuss things in relative peace and quiet.
In this instance though, it allowed Mrs.Faithsong and Draigo to have a semi-private discussion about the latter’s habits. Namely, why he kept staring down at the crowds before the start of every show.
Draigo had started performing at the Siren’s Cove for a couple weeks now, initially being a roaming act that followed the normal life of a bard.
However, the first time he ever performed at the Siren’s Cove, Mrs.Faithsong knew that she had to have him perform regularly at her place, regardless of the price.
Ever since then, in exchange for room, board and bread, Draigo had been regularly performing at the Siren’s Cove at least once every other evening.
His performances had done wonders for the establishment, attracting more and more customers as days went on and subsequently filling his pockets more and more.
However, Draigo never seemed satisfied about this situation.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy about being paid and fed, it was just that…he always looked as if he waiting for someone to come or something to happen and that he was just…waiting.
With her curiosity at its peak though, Mrs.Faithsong figured she might as well ask.
“What do you mean you’re not exactly sure? Is this the part where you tell me you have an estranged child that you’ve been looking to patch things up with for the better part of a decade and a half?”
“Hah! No,” Draigo replied with a shake of his head. “I’ve only ever loved one person in this lifetime and she…well…”
“Ah…my apologies.”
“No, it’s fine…it’s just…let me ask something in return, do you believe in reincarnation? The idea that when someone dies, they can come back as a different person or thing?”
“Reincarnation? Like what those shaven monks preach?”
“Yeah, that.”
“Can’t really say.”
“Well…let’s just say the reason why I keep staring out here…is because I’m looking for proof of that.”
“Ah…”
