A Love Song for EMT

1

—It all began one afternoon after Subaru had finished doing his chores around the mansion.

“—Hey, Subaru, is it alright if I ask you to do a little favor for me?”

“Hmmha?”

Suddenly hearing the voice of someone that sounded like a silver bell, Subaru turned around, a pastry still in his mouth. The one who had called out to him from the entrance of the dining room was a beautiful girl dressed in white.

A half-elf with long silver hair that seems to sparkle like the light of the moon, amethyst eyes that look like precious jewels, and possesses beauty that no human can match—Emilia is her name.

“Oh, are you perhaps still working?” she asked. “I’m not getting in your way, am I?”

“Nah, I’m just relaxing at the moment,” Subaru replied. “I don’t think any countries exist where eating snacks while on the job is considered proper etiquette.”

After swallowing the half-eaten pastry whole, Subaru grinned at the concerned-looking girl. As Emilia breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his reply, he raised his eyebrows in surprise due to the unusual object in her arms.

That’s one of the musical instruments of this world that feels rather familiar to me: a—

“It’s a lyulyre. I thought that thing was gathering dust in the mansion’s storeroom.” Supplementing Subaru’s response was a girl in a maid uniform also taking a break in that very room.

It was a girl with short blue hair, adorned in a somewhat revealing custom-made maid’s outfit—the super maid, Rem—Subaru’s colleague, and the mansion’s head maid.

Rem, a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to housekeeping, handled all the work around the mansion. She was also the one who had made the pastries Subaru was eating, and they were currently enjoying some tea together during their break.

“I don’t think Liliana forgot it, so, is that the lyulyre that was covered in dust in the storeroom?” Subaru asked.

“Even Liliana wouldn’t forget her precious instrument… I think,” Emilia replied.

“I can see how much trust you have in Liliana based on how discreet your reply was.”

“Don’t start fooling around. —It’s because of Liliana that Roswaal cleaned this on a whim. He said you should play a song for a change of pace since I’ve been focused on my studies.”

“So he nominated me to do it, huh. That’s pretty thoughtful for a guy like Rosy.”

Subaru took the lyulyre being timidly presented to him and lightly plucked the strings. A light sound was produced in the room.

I see. It seems like it has been maintained well.

A lyulyre is a stringed instrument made of wood and is kinda like a guitar from my world. It’s a bit on the small side, but if you can grasp how to play it, the scales aren’t all that different.

“Subaru, can you play a lyulyre?” asked Rem, her eyes wide at the sight of Subaru checking how the instrument sounded as if he was familiar with it.

“Yeah, I can do it since the basics aren’t different from the AG I had at home,” he replied. “Liliana gave me a bit of training, so I can play most of the folk songs from where I’m from.”

“AG…?”

“It’s an acronym for acoustic guitar. Well, you can think of it as a folk instrument from my country.”

He recalled the dark-skinned girl who had vigorously trained him while looking at Rem, who was tilting her head.

Liliana—she is a songstress who was, until recently, treated as a guest here. As she made a living out of singing, her voice and performance skills were amazing.

Not to mention that the women in the mansion had become her fans, even Subaru had secretly become a fan of hers.

However, in contrast to her prodigious talent, her personality was questionable, and she was severely lacking in the humanity department. Anyway, the situation surrounding Liliana was settled, and the mansion had returned to normalcy. A few days had passed since then, but it seemed like the longing and curiosity for music was still going strong inside Emilia. She must have been crazy about it since she had gone to ask Subaru to play a song for her during his break.

“So, Subaru,” Emilia began. “Can you play the songs that Miss Liliana sang?”

“I would like to avoid that since I’ll be compared to her if I play the same songs,” he replied. “I can play them, but I would be hard-pressed to play them and tell the tales at the same time. Mainly because of my singing voice.”

“But you are amazing, Subaru,” Rem commented. “I can’t even imagine what other amazing skills you have that are of no use in the mansion!”

“Nah, it isn’t that much of a big deal… Wait? Something about your words didn’t really click with me. I wasn’t being praised, right?”

“—?” Rem, who was holding her hands in a praising pose, looked confused by her unintentional scathing criticism. She looked cute, but that made it seem like she was speaking her mind, which stabbed Subaru in the chest.

But these two girls have placed their hope in me. I want to look cool in front of them.

“Alright then, the Sword Demon’s Love Song…is a bit hard, so I’ll go with a folk medley from the 70’s.”

“Eeeeh.”

“Don’t be disappointed. It’s also a masterpiece,” he assured them.

He smiled wryly at the dissatisfied voice and tapped on the lyulyre to create a rhythm. Emilia and Rem sat on the sofa together and began to clap lightly along with the music.

“It sounds more upbeat than an AG, so please use your imagination to make up for it.”

As Subaru said his introductory remarks, he flipped the music sheet in his memory and plucked the strings of the lyulyre.

After he had started skipping school, Natsuki Subaru hated doing nothing, so he spent his time learning various skills. —Practicing the guitar was one of those things.

You never really know what life has in store for you since wasting all that time back then ended up making two beautiful girls happy.

“───”

Folk songs from the 70’s are often rather sad songs, reflecting the conditions and trends of the time. Even if it lacked vocals, the sad theme of the song was expressed in the instrumental.

I could see shades of loneliness and melancholy appear in the eyes and expressions of the girls listening to the song.

Their reaction frustrated Subaru as he played the tune. It made his heart ache looking at their faces, so— “Secret Technique: Teeth Guitar! …Ow-ow-ow!”

“Subaru! Oh no! What a stupid thing to do!” Emilia exclaimed.

“Subaru!? Aah, why did you do something so stupid!?” Rem seconded.

“You guys don’t have to say it together…ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!”

He damaged his lips and gums during his performance due to the strength of the recently tightened strings in an attempt to lighten up the sorrowful melody.

Teeth Guitar was a magical skill that used your teeth to play the guitar and was a super-technique that only the best guitarists have mastered. Obviously, it wasn’t something a third-rate guitarist like Subaru could do. He bled and created a big mess.

“Alright, calm down, Subaru. Pain, pain go away,” Rem chanted.

“Ouch, ouch, it hurts…not anymore! It’s healed! Aah, that was painful, thank you.”

Rem cast a healing spell with a pale light by holding her hand over the writhing Subaru’s face. As the pain faded away, the wounds caused by his mouth getting torn up by the strings closed up, which he was grateful for.

Emilia looked at it with an angry face, her hands on her hips. “I was wondering what you were going to do, and you surprised me sooo much. Jeez, don’t make me worry by doing something weird like that.”

“Sorry, sorry. I thought the song choice wasn’t good even though I was the one who chose it. It isn’t that 70’s folk songs are bad, it’s that I made a mistake by choosing a song that didn’t fit the mood.”

If I’m going to play something, then a song that can entertain the audience and make them feel comfortable is best. Folk songs should be used when I intend to shorten the distance between me and the girl I have feelings for.

“So, I’ll save the song I just played for another time,” Subaru said. “Wait for me, Emilia-tan.”

“—? I don’t understand what I should be waiting for,” Emilia replied, “but alright… And is your performance over now? Is that all you can play?”

Subaru felt relieved since Emilia wanted him to play more, even though she didn’t state it clearly.

It seemed like Subaru’s performance had met Emilia’s expectations, regardless of the song choice. Rem also seemed to agree with Emilia since she didn’t interrupt the conversation. As for him, he got excited when people expected something of him. He even got excited when people didn’t expect anything of him. However, he really wanted to meet the expectations of those two as much as possible.

“But I’ve only practiced folk songs from the 70’s, damn it! Why didn’t I practice more hip-hop music back then…”

“Are you troubled, Subaru? If that’s the case, then I think you should try playing one of Miss Liliana’s songs,” Rem suggested with a raised hand as Subaru was cursing his past actions.

It was really amusing since Rem’s cute scheme could be seen behind her offer. Surprisingly, she was the one who was the most interested in Liliana’s songs. Rem, who had a deep knowledge of poetry and traditional songs, probably wanted to make Subaru sing while making it seem like a proposal.

I was enchanted by all of Liliana’s songs, but… “I’m not good enough to copy other people’s songs just by listening, nor do I have good enough skills compared to Liliana. Other than folk songs… I guess I can play ‘I Stepped on a Cat’ (The Flea Waltz)?”

“Subaru, you need to apologize properly for that…” Emilia chided.

“Don’t look sad, it’ll make me sulk! It was by mistake! It wasn’t on purpose, and it is a masterpiece with a title like that! I’ll lecture the person who stepped on the cat later!”

This traditional piano song was often disparaged due to its title. Emilia gave him an accusing look, then heaved a sigh of grief as he kept apologizing.

After that, she clapped her hands and mischievously relaxed her lips. “Well, if you play Liliana’s song, then I’ll let it go. I won’t laugh at you even if it’s bad. So please don’t be nervous, alright?”

“It’s as Lady Emilia said. No matter how bad it is, no matter how awful it is, no matter how many times you fail, Rem won’t laugh at you, Subaru. Please fail without any worry. It’s fine. Rem will comfort you while you cry out loud.”

“You guys don’t have to worry that much. I won’t cry, alright!?”

They started worrying about Subaru crying in case he made a mistake, and now there was no going back.

I guess I can’t get out of playing the songs that I have memorized by listening. I’ve learned some of the songs Liliana played from her, too, so there’s no reason why I can’t play them.

But even so, Subaru’s performance skills were poor, and he was self-taught. He started learning it by staring at his father’s guitar and some sheet music, then he continued practicing so he wouldn’t lose to his father’s annoying stares, who would stand on the other side of the sliding door with a grin on his face.

“Even if it’s really bad, don’t laugh at me. I won’t cry, either,” he said in his defense as he picked the lyulyre up again. After that, he lightly tilted his head and winked at Emilia with a slightly swanky gesture. “By the way, do you have any requests…any songs you want me to play, milady?”

“Oh, if that’s the case, then I would like that song! That—”

Emilia merrily clasped her hands together as Subaru got ready to play something for them. She then closed her eyes and slightly cleared her throat, as if she was recalling something. “La, la, la la la—”

With the voice that sounded like a silver bell, what sprang forth from Emilia’s lips was a song, carried by her short breaths. Subaru and Rem gasped unconsciously at the enchanting sound her beautiful voice created. Her enchanting voice had the ability to capture the hearts and shake the souls of those who heard it. It was for personal reasons that Subaru’s heart throbbed every time she spoke to him, but the magic of her beautiful voice could surely be felt by people other than him. It travelled through his eardrums and into his bloodstream, and his soul was moved by the unbearable emotions that welled up from within. He didn’t even feel worthy enough to listen to her singing voice at such a close proximity to her.

“───”

She had started singing in order to convey the song, but Emilia got so excited that she couldn’t stop. Neither Subaru nor Rem had any means to stop her. They simply continued to listen to the magic, the song being sung by her beautiful voice in silence until the end. Eventually, the song came to an end and Emilia exhaled deeply, “—Aaa,” and then for the first time realized that she had been absorbed in her singing, losing control of herself.

Her white cheeks turned beet-red in embarrassment, and she hastily looked at Subaru and Rem in a panic. “So…Sorry. I just felt reaaally good while singing…”

“...I could see that, so no worries,” Subaru assured her. “So you like to sing?”

“I don’t know. Singing isn’t something I’m familiar with… But yeah. I suppose I like it.” Emilia put her hand on her mouth and nodded somewhat sheepishly.

‘I suppose I like it.’ Subaru would normally have to cook up a scheme to get her to say the words she’d spoken under her breath, but now that he’d heard them, he didn’t think he’d do that this time. And it was not unrelated to Rem, who was gently pulling on his sleeve next to him.

“Subaru…” she said.

“I know,” he replied.

Rem directed her light blue eyes at him as if wanting to say something. Subaru saw through the emotions in her eyes and nodded. Her calling his name, and him nodding—that’s all they had to do to communicate.

—No, it was only natural for people who had heard Emilia’s elegant voice to experience such emotions.

Things need to be acted upon. That was the greatest lesson Subaru had learned in this mansion. After stumbling through multiple loops, he understood it intuitively. Making a choice and acting upon it was the only way to make this unreasonable world change—so he challenged fate once more.

Subaru closed his eyes once after looking at Emilia, whose cheeks were still red. “Hey Emilia-tan… I don’t really know what to say, but.”

“? —Yes?”

Emilia tilted her head while putting her hand against her silver hair, looking at Subaru as he chose his words. The trust in the amethyst eyes looking at him was different from the trust Rem had for him. That emotion made his chest tighten, but he suppressed his sentiments and made up his mind. “Emilia-tan, you are…”

“—What was that sound? It sounded like a bird’s dying screech. What kind of a silly game are you playing during your break, Barusu?” said someone in an arrogant tone after opening the door in the middle of Subaru’s sentence, shattering his resolve.

It was a girl with pink colored hair and rose-pink eyes who had stepped into the room—Ram—who looked identical to Rem apart from the color of her eyes and hair, and her bust size. She gave a somewhat grumpy look around the room and looked at the three of them one-by-one as they stood there. After that, she started thoughtfully reflecting and spoke exactly five seconds later— “Can we just pretend Ram never said that? It feels rather strange to ask that of you, but that’s what she thinks.”

“It’s amazing how you grasped the situation so quickly, but you ruined everything, Sister!”

Subaru’s scream exploded at Ram, who had suddenly jumped into the frame and brilliantly conveyed the point he was going to convey.

2

—Emilia, who has the voice of an angel, is unbelievably tone deaf.

That’s all it was if you put it into words, but Subaru was struck by a shock that went beyond that. Has there been a tragedy of this magnitude in recent years?

A pretty voice and tone-deafness; it wasn’t only Subaru that had been shocked by that reality. Rem also couldn’t hide her disappointment and grief at the reality she was facing. Emilia’s devastating singing ability was shocking for her, too. Who could have guessed that Emilia’s beautiful bell-like voice could turn into a cacophony of such caliber?

“God, what has this child done to be treated this way?” Subaru lamented. “How cruel can you be…!?”

“Please, don’t say it like that!” Emilia exclaimed in embarrassment. “I don’t want this anymore! It’s embarrassing; I’m sooo embarrassed!”

Emilia, her ears that were slightly longer than a human’s red to the tip, hid her face in the sofa. Ram had taken her time to come complain about Emilia’s haphazard singing. Emilia was confused about what she had said at first, but now she clearly understood what she meant after hearing Subaru’s poor excuses and explanation that had been meant to make her feel better. As a result of her understanding the situation, she sunk into the sofa with a sullen face.

“I-I think in the first place, you guys are exaggerating things. It’s true that I have never had the chance to sing before and that I haven’t learned how to sing, but…it is weird that it’s that bad. You all are trying to tease me and make a laughingstock out of me, aren’t you? I won’t be fooled that easily,” said Emilia, talking quickly as she hugged her knees. She was like a child trying to turn their face away from a reality they didn’t want to accept, trying to deny what was.

Subaru looked her in the eye and started speaking to her sincerely, as if he was trying to make her accept things. “I understand your feelings, that it is hard to believe and that you want to doubt things. But it isn’t like that. Have I ever lied to you… Well, to be honest, I have lied to you a couple of times. I have done mean things a lot, just to see you turn red due to being teased.”

“Is that so!?” Emilia exclaimed. “I didn’t know that! Since when have I been teased? Hey, when?”

“It isn’t the time to talk about such things!” he retorted. “Don’t look away from the issue!”

“Alright… It doesn’t feel like something isn’t adding up…”

Subaru had accidentally had a slip of the tongue, but he somehow managed to divert Emilia’s attention with the momentum. And Emilia, who got fooled by it, looked disgruntled. But he waved his hands, as if he was pushing her dissatisfaction away.

“It’s true this time. I swear there’s not a single lie in it.”

“Subaru…”

With a sincere voice and serious tone, and with honest words, Subaru conveyed what needed to be conveyed: “—You are a victim of God’s mischief.”

“Why are you being so mean!?”

“It’s because I can’t believe such a horrible thing! Why are you tone-deaf, Emilia-tan!? You are extremely cute and have a beautiful voice, but nobody will be happy if you sing like that! If someone is to blame, then it’s God that needs to be blamed! Or your parents are to blame for neglecting you until you ended up this way!”

“Whaaa…”

Emilia looked worn out after hearing Subaru put emphasis on how tone-deaf she was. To her, it seemed somewhat like someone else’s issue despite him being passionate about it. It was probably because she wasn’t aware of her own tone-deafness.

Tone-deaf people who aren’t self-aware—and sensory deafness is a type of tone-deafness that’s the hardest to fix. Unlike motor deafness, which is a throat problem, it is extremely difficult to fix since the patient isn’t self-aware. In other words, in order to defeat this difficult enemy, the cooperation of the family is essential.

“Puck, come here!” Subaru snapped his fingers and summoned the person responsible for this problem by calling out his name.

He didn’t have the authority to summon Puck, who was a spirit, but Emilia, who was his contractor, lost to Subaru’s spirit and called out to the green crystal that shone on her chest. And then… “I got summoned and came out meow, meow, meowww.”

Particles of pale light flew out from the gemstone, which then took on the form of a small cat spirit.

The spirit appeared with an air of innocence about him, firing off a line of dialogue—Puck landed on Emilia’s shoulder, took his long tail into his hands, and then groomed himself.

“What’s up?” Puck asked. “Is there something you wanted me to do? I had plans to take a day off today.”

“What’s up with talking like a busy businessman?” Subaru wondered. “And weren’t you listening to the conversation outside from inside the stone?”

“I told you right, that I was taking a day off today. So I was having a nice sleep.”

“You really are spending your day off like a working dad…”

It’s true that working hours are from 9am to 5pm, so I can’t help but think the cute cat is an office worker.

Leaving aside how the kitten spent his day off, Subaru explained the situation till now with a mix of light gestures. Eventually, after Puck finished listening to his story, he nodded and looked at Emilia. “I see. —Subaru is putting it like that, but are you really tone-deaf, Lia?”

“I don’t…feel like I am… I think that Subaru is exaggerating things a little. I’m singing properly. I’m not messing around.”

“It would have been…better…way better…if you were messing around!” Subaru shouted.

Subaru knelt down after looking at Emilia’s sulky face and repeatedly hit the floor. Puck looked at both their faces and then rubbed his pink nose. “I’ll have to listen to it first to be sure. Lia, if you would.”

“...Alright, but I won’t like it if you laugh at me.”

“I would never do such a thing,” Puck assured her. “Even if the entire world laughs at you, I won’t.”

“You sound unnecessarily super cool,” Subaru commented.

Puck’s overly passionate reply made Emilia close her eyes with a sigh. She then hummed to get into a rhythm and tried to find a good place to start, but the thing is, her humming was already out of rhythm. Regardless, the song began. After getting over how bad her singing was earlier, her voice had more range this time around, so she was in good condition, and it seemed like she was aware of that, so her face radiated happiness after she finished singing.

“How was it?” Emilia asked Puck confidently, looking like she’d had fun.

Puck rubbed his face after he listened to her. “Yeah, let’s see. I really did feel confident in the way I raised you till now. I truly believed from the bottom of my heart that you grew up to be the cutest and smartest and the best child in the entire world.”

“Oh…is that so? That’s…embarrassing…”

Having gotten praised a lot out of the blue, Emilia laughed sheepishly in a ticklish way, but after he had finished praising her, Puck added, “But I’ve never regretted not raising you properly more than I did today...”

“—What?”

“I’m sorry, Lia. —I couldn’t be the best father in the entire world for the cutest girl out there. That’s the only thing I regret.”

The moment he said that, Puck rolled off Emilia’s shoulder as if he’d run out of energy. As the spirit started falling off her thin shoulder, Subaru caught him by quickly extending his hand.

Puck looked up at Subaru with a weak movement of his neck while resting on his palm. “I’m sorry, Subaru… All of this is due to my lack of ability…”

“It’s enough! It’s alright, Puck. It isn’t like, it isn’t like it’s anyone’s fault. Since, since you are regretting it so much! Our feelings are the same, isn’t that right?”

“Ha-ha… I feel saved with just those words alone… I kinda feel really sleepy now.”

The light faded from Puck’s round, black eyes, and his body lost strength. The outline of the spirit’s body became blurred, and then began to scatter, turning into particles. Subaru screamed desperately, wanting to stop him from disappearing. “No, no! Puck! Puck!”

“Thank…you…for everything…”

Subaru wailed as the spirit began to vanish in his palm—and after she witnessed the tragedy between the boy and the kitten, Emilia said, “I don’t want to deal with this anymore! You two are idiots! Idiots! Um, idiots!”

Emilia ran out of the dining room all upset after being teased.

““—We overdid it.””

Regretting what they had just done, Puck and Subaru looked at each other, then rushed after Emilia, who had run off somewhere.

3

“There are three main causes of tone-deafness,” Subaru explained. “Not being able to catch the sound, not being able to produce the sound, and not being able to grasp the rhythm. If we can eliminate these problems one-by-one, then we can theoretically eradicate any sort of tone-deafness. In short, Emilia-tan’s tone-deafness is a flaw that can be fixed!” Subaru emphasized with a lifted fist as Puck pulled off a textbook marketing response to enhance his message.

“Meow-did you say—!?”

The theory that Subaru had just proposed was something he had seen on TV before.

I don’t know how reliable it is, but it should be better than doing the tone-deafness treatment without anything to go on.

If the main causes of tone-deafness are pitch, throat, and rhythm, then the solution could naturally be narrowed down.

“First, let’s find out what’s behind Emilia-tan’s issue in a simple way. Based on what I could deduce after listening to her singing, there are two reasons behind her tone-deafness: pitch and rhythm. Leaving rhythm aside, she can produce sounds and has a cute face.”

“Subaru, Subaru, you are getting off track,” Rem informed him.

“Damn, that wasn’t it. No, I mean she does have a cute face, but the point it that she can produce sounds. So, there are two problems that need to be overcome: pitch and rhythm. Now, repeat after me!”

“Pitch and rhythm!” Puck repeated after Subaru. Both were eager to solve the tone-deafness issue.

But, next to those two… “Hmph.” …was Emilia, who sat on the floor holding her knees, sulking. She wasn’t keen about what Subaru and Puck were talking about at all.

Everything had been going well until Emilia had run off and they had to catch her, but when she was brought back, she just sulked a lot. Even so, her ears were twitching, and she was listening to their conversation, which was really honest and cute of her.

“Since Emilia-tan enjoyed Liliana’s songs, it means she can tell whether the singing is good or bad. Her being ok when it comes to other people’s singing but not good when it comes to her singing is probably because her brain is unconsciously complementing hers. Let’s fix that.”

“It’s easier said than done. How are you going to fix it?” Puck asked.

“Usually, making her listen to a proper song hundreds of times or making her hum till she gets the tune are the ways to fix it, but… Making her aware of her tone-deafness is fairly easy. For starters…”

In response to Puck’s question, Subaru prepared to enter the first step of Emilia’s Tone-Deafness Correction Plan. However, the moment he was about to bring out his weapon… “—She has been listening to you quietly for a while, but how can you do as you please here?”

A terribly sullen voice interrupted him, and Subaru shook his head in dismay. He turned towards the person who had spoiled his enthusiasm and sighed at her smug face.

“Jeez… Everyone is being positive about it, so don’t do anything to spoil it. You need to learn how to read emotions and not just books. Read the atmosphere, would ya?”

“When it’s coming from none other than you, it only infuriates Betty. Leaving that aside, Betty doesn’t really understand why you are doing that in her Forbidden Library.”

The girl sitting at the back of the room on a step ladder clicked her tongue as she closed the book with a loud bang. The girl had luxurious-looking vertical rolls and was wearing a fluttery dress, looking as pretty as a doll. She was Beatrice, the librarian of this library, and also a resident of this mansion. As could be seen, Subaru and Beatrice were like cats and dogs—he wanted to be on good terms with her, but since she was a girl that was fun to tease, he couldn’t help but provoke her, which was something that troubled him.

“Well it can’t be helped, can it? This mansion doesn’t have a soundproof music room, and what are we going to do if we do it in another room and Emilia’s singing leaks out? If word gets out that Emilia-tan is tone-deaf, then the royal selection would be the least of our worries.”

“Is my singing that bad?”

Even Emilia couldn’t stay indifferent when she heard that it would be bad for her standing in the royal selection. Beatrice gave her a cold look when Subaru pointed that problem out.

“What the future holds for that girl is none of Betty’s concern. And that is not a good enough answer as to why you are making such a ruckus in this private library, I suppose.”

“Beako, you know what I’m talking about, right? Her voice would leak out from a normal room, but I don’t have to worry about it in the Forbidden Library since this room is spatially cut off from the outside world. It won’t bother anyone no matter how much she practices here!”

“Betty is saying that it is extremely bothersome!” Beatrice jumped down from the stepladder, grabbed at the hem of her dress, and shouted at him with a red face.

Her anger was justified, and she had a good point. But it was also true that the Forbidden Library was needed for Emilia’s singing lesson. Therefore, Subaru used his trump card against her.

“Betty… Are we really that much of a nuisance? Do you want us to leave…?” Puck moistened his round eyes, held his tail, and called out to Beatrice while looking up. The cunning appeal of the kitten was perfectly coordinated with Subaru even though they hadn’t planned it together.

Beatrice suddenly lost the momentum from before and looked daunted. “Bu-Bubby, there’s not a single thing wrong with you, I suppose! But the Forbidden Library is…”

“Yeah, I know this room is important to you, but it’s true that we need your help with this, Betty. So please, help me out.”

“Bubby…”

Beatrice looked up to Puck as an older brother, and his appeal tugged on her heart strings. She was also a girl who couldn’t refuse requests to begin with. Their victory had been assured from the beginning.

“It’s a win,” Subaru muttered.

“I… It can’t be helped, I suppose. It’s alright. Betty can’t deny it if it’s Bubby’s request.”

Beatrice accepted the request without a hitch, not noticing Subaru’s muttering with an evil look on his face.

It makes me worry that she might get conned by a bad dude in the future.

However, the conditions had now been met. After Subaru and Puck nodded at each other, Puck flew into Subaru’s palm, giving him a dynamic high-five with the use of his entire body.

And thus, this was how Emilia’s lesson began in the Forbidden Library with the permission of its caretaker…

“It may be a hard and painful path, but let’s not falter and give it our best!” Subaru exclaimed.

“Hip hip hooray!” Puck cheered.

“Not even once have I said that I want my tone-deafness to be fixed…” Emilia complained. “No no, I may be a bit bad at singing, but I have never asked for it to be fixed…”

Everyone had responded differently, but they were all getting excited for it, completely ignoring the victim of the entire affair.

4

“Alright then, I feel like starting the lesson officially… Emilia-tan, how long are you planning to sulk? It’s a really important topic, you know?”

“But you guys are overexaggerating it when I’m just a little amateurish at singing. Subaru, Puck, I don’t like either of you.”

“You don’t hear people say amateurish in this day and age. And how stubborn are you?”

“I don’t know.”

It was also due to her being teased during the conversation before that Emilia, who was the victim in this, lacked seriousness. It wasn’t only about the tone-deafness, such problems required the person facing them to have a will to fix them. So, first she needed to face herself seriously.

“You are usually straightforward, so why are you so stubborn about your singing?” Subaru asked.

“It’s because it’s embarrassing,” Emilia replied. “It’s embarrassing that I’m unaware of my tone-deafness while you and Liliana are good at singing… I don’t want to believe something like that.”

“Oh my, your resistance is adorable. But it would be troublesome if it’s like that…”

Emilia looked away, her cheeks red. Her will to resist was gradually weakening. But Subaru thought that it lacked a decisive blow, so he cracked his neck.

“—In order to help people who are tone-deaf, the best way is to make them listen to their own singing. It would be a piece of cake if I could record it, but sadly we don’t have such a convenient tool here.”

So I’ll give up on using the inventions of science and rely on more primitive means.

“Is that a…bucket?” said Emilia, widening her eyes as she looked at the object in Subaru’s hands. Her surprised eyes were looking at a metal bucket. There was no mistaking it.

“It’s our guest, Mr. Bucket. This guest lecturer will teach Emilia-tan about her tone-deafness. I have washed it properly, so there won’t be an issue, hygiene-wise. So, you can be rest assured.”

“How can Mr. Bucket be used? Can I go inside?” Puck wondered.

“Enough with the showing off that you are a cat by wanting to go into narrow spaces, for now. Its usage is easy—it simply needs to be put on Emilia-tan’s head, then she can sing.”

“—What?” Emilia asked in confusion.

“Ah-ha-ha, I suppose.”

Subaru’s declaration startled Emilia, and Beatrice couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Um… Sorry, I guess I didn’t hear that properly,” Emilia said. “What am I going to do with that bucket?”

“You need to wear it,” Subaru replied. “Wear it and sing. You are going to be a bucket-style heroine.”

“Subaru, you idiot! I was sooo close to taking you seriously!”

Emilia was about to dash out of there after seeing Subaru offering her the bucket with a smile, but he quickly caught her arm. “Wait, wait a minute! You got me wrong, I’m not kidding! If you sing while wearing this, then the sound will reflect back at you! I’m not lying!”

“It’s what you get for lying all the time, I suppose. You’re like the falo-herder boy in Hoshin of the Wilderness, in fact.”

“I can hear you saying something similar to The Boy Who Cried Wolf, you annoying loli! Stay shut for a bit!”

After silencing Beatrice, who had interrupted him, Subaru began explaining himself to Emilia, who was looking at him with suspicion.

It might be the first time she’s given me such a stern look since the first day I got summoned to this world when I called Emilia the Witch’s name that she was using as an alias.

A single bucket had brought such a catastrophe. In any case, Subaru desperately tried to convey his sincerity. “If you listen to your own voice, then you’ll understand the level of your singing! I’m not lying. Just pretend you’ve been tricked and sing, and then you’ll understand!”

“Pretend that I have been tricked!? So you are planning on tricking me! I won’t be tricked anymore!”

“You have become so paranoid. I wonder whose fault it is…”

“You made me eat the failed mayonnaise yesterday after telling me to pretend I had been tricked! I remember how angry I was back then, which makes me even angrier now!”

“Shit, it was my fault! Yesterday’s me, you idiot! But I’m a different man today! I’m doing this for you!”

It looked as if Subaru was trying to drag her down a dangerous road, but he still vigorously tried to lead her down it. And the good-natured Emilia gave in.

Emilia looked at the bucket had been given to her and timidly held it above her head—and asked, “You won’t laugh, right?”

“I won’t, I won’t laugh, I won’t laugh at all.”

“Really, really?”

“I won’t laugh at you no matter who laughs at you.”

“Is that a line fit for situations like this?” Puck asked from above his shoulder, but Subaru ignored him. To make Emilia put the bucket on, he wouldn’t hesitate to use any sort of cool line.

Possibly having been encouraged by his powerful words, Emilia put the bucket on with a determined expression. It fit snugly, and the simple bucket hid her face.

—It’s the sudden emergence of a bucket-style heroine.

“What is this feeling?” Subaru wondered. “I knew it beforehand, but it hurts me to see Emilia-tan like this.”

“Don’t worry, Lia,” Puck said. “You are still the prettiest girl in the world even with that bucket on your head.”

Subaru and Puck were overcome with feelings of guilt, but Puck loved Emilia no matter what she looked like. Subaru felt like he’d lost to him when it came to his affection for her, but even with a bucket covering her head, he just knew she wasn’t happy with all the praise.

“Ah-ha-ha, I suppose.” Beatrice laughed with her face hidden behind the book she lifted, but her laughter was clearly audible.

While being exposed to such a crowd, Emilia courageously turned her bucket-covered face towards Subaru. “So, do I need to sing like this? It’s reaaally tight. Woah, it’s loud.”

“Not many people get to hear their own voice. Sing a song like that. Just sing a song to enjoy your singing voice. If you want me to, I can play something to go along with it.”

Subaru volunteered to back her up with his lyulyre, but Emilia shook her head with the bucket on.

It’s a surreal sight, but Emilia probably has a gallant face under the bucket.

“It’s alright, I’ll do it alone first.”

“Is that so? You can tell me if you get anxious. I’ll do my best to help you out.”

I wonder how much of a help a third-rate guitarist could be when it comes to Emilia’s tone-deafness.

Emilia pulled her chin in after hearing Subaru’s words. And then…

“La, la, la la la—”

Emilia started singing after creating a rhythm with a hum without Subaru’s support. It was coming from behind the bucket, so it was muffled, but the song had no significant changes. In short, she was still tone-deaf, but if it was going according to the plan, then she could hear her singing, too.

“It’s horrible,” said Puck.

“Yeah, it’s horrible,” Subaru agreed.

“It’s really horrible,” Beatrice also agreed.

Puck sighed in grief, Subaru tearfully agreed, and on top of that, Beatrice, who had demonstrated her generosity for Liliana’s music, frowned in displeasure. Musicality was something that was out of Emilia’s reach, and it wasn’t right to blame her for it, but…

“—Ah.”

“Oh?”

The singing stopped suddenly in front of Subaru and the others, who were listening to her pitiful song.

After ending her song on a rough note, she took the bucket off in front of the three of them, who were befuddled by her actions. What first emerged was the silver hair that had been contained within the bucket, which was then followed by Emilia herself.

And then… “Please leave me alone for a bit,” Emilia said, and then the girl who had finally realized that she was tone-deaf left the Forbidden Library all on her lonesome.

“—No, you can’t just walk away! You’ve been running away all day!”

Subaru chased after Emilia in a great rush as soon as he came back to his senses.

5

“We’ll do the lesson so that Emilia-tan can look at her bad side and learn to be a better girl! First, you need to overcome the inability to hit the right notes! Ok!?”

“O…Ok.”

Emilia had once run away, but after she was brought back with a teary face, she became obedient to Subaru’s instructions. It seemed like her realizing that she was tone-deaf had left quite an impact on her. She didn’t look so good, but it looked like she was determined to practice.

“The method to overcome pitch tone-deafness is to listen to one song over and over again and memorize the right tune. It’s best to fix it while wearing the bucket from before. It’s also good if you keep humming all the time.”

“But how would I know what the right tune is? Liliana isn’t here anymore…”

“Well, it isn’t like Liliana is the only one who can sing with the right pitch. Well, even Beako can do it. Hey, sing a bit.”

“Huh? Why does Betty need to do such a thing?” Beatrice protested, not happy about being asked to sing on such short notice.

“Hey, hey.” Subaru shrugged his shoulders. “The venue for the lesson is here, anyway, so it’ll end faster if you help out. If it doesn’t end fast, then we’ll have to visit here again and again.”

“Argh… But even so, Betty doesn’t want to be bossed around by you.”

“Alright, alright, so it’s that, right? You’re the kinda lady who likes to critique others, but can’t do anything on her own, right? Ok, sure. You can head to the corner there and continue with your reading, then.”

“Who’s all talk!? Stop talking nonsense! Alright, Betty will do it, I suppose!”

Beatrice fell for Subaru’s provocation, hook, line, and sinker. He became worried by how easy she was to control, but for now, her gullible nature was a strong ally.

The gullible girl started taking rigorous steps and firmly pointed her finger at Emilia. “I’ll teach you since you can’t do it,” she said. “—I’ll teach you the quintessence of music!”

“That’s going a bit too far,” Subaru commented.

“Ye-Yes, Teacher. I got it. Please teach me well…and I’ll do my best.”

“Excellent!”

Beatrice’s declaration, along with a high evaluation of herself, won Emilia over since she was feeling threatened by her tone-deafness.

I want to work as a team at this pace to fix Emilia’s tone-deafness.

“In order to develop a good sense of rhythm, I recommend that you make your own rhythm by moving your body while singing. It’s fine if you just clap and step, so let’s do it along with a melody.” Subaru explained while clapping.

“Alright, Lia. Let’s clap together. Come on, meown-two, meown-two.”

“Meo-meown-two, meown-two…” Subaru mimicked him to encourage Emilia.

Upon seeing Puck clapping soundlessly with his little paws, she hurriedly followed his lead. “Meown-two…waaa!”

“There now, Betty will start singing, I suppose. She’ll discipline you until you become capable of doing it,” said Beatrice cruelly, putting the bucket on Emilia’s head while clapping.

Now there was a girl with the bucket on her head, a little girl who was giving the girl a sharp look, and a kitten merrily flying around them—an unusual sight to be sure, for someone who wasn’t aware of what was going on.

“This is unreal. It’s as if I am having a nightmare… If this were an actual dream, I’d check myself into a hospital pronto once I woke up.”

Anyway, this lesson should improve Emilia’s tone-deafness, at least theoretically. The two girls and kitten seem to be focusing on it, so I’ll go solve the other problem.

“Sorry, I have to go hunt a pheasant.”

“What do you mean by hunting a pheasant?” Beatrice asked. “I can’t understand you at all, I suppose.”

“I have to go to the restroom. Don’t make me say it, it’s embarrassing.”

Subaru left the room, leaving Emilia and the others behind, after making Beatrice feel dejected. He thought that Emilia’s expression turned anxious as he was leaving the room, but he didn’t see it since she was wearing a bucket.

Her Door Crossing activated when he exited the Forbidden Library. It was a form of teleportation that could be connected to any door in the mansion, and the exit this time was set right next to Roswaal’s office.

“Nice work, ya damn loli.”

She knew Subaru wanted to go to the “bathroom” as an excuse to do something else and thus was being considerate.

After making a snarky comment, Subaru knocked on the door of the office.

“Rosy, it’s me. Can I bother you?”

“—Sure. It was about the time I wanted to hear your storryyy,”

Subaru entered the office room boldly with the permission of the owner of the room. Sitting on an ebony desk in the large office was the freak in a clown’s attire, the owner of the mansion—Roswaal L. Mathers.

Roswaal, who was also Subaru’s employer, looked at him with his heterochromatic eyes.

“Wellll, it seems you’ve started something raaather amusing by dragging Lady Emilia into something.”

“It isn’t like I dragged her into anything, it’s like she dragged herself into it, but you know what, I have a lot of things to say, so please just spare me this once.”

“You want me to let go of you dragging her into trivial matters when the royal selection is nearing?”

Roswaal had hit him where it hurts yet held expressions of amusement all the while. He seemed to be waiting with open arms to see what kind of counterargument Subaru would make.

He is a master with bad taste, Subaru sighed.

“It may seem like a waste of time, but it’s always important to take a break, right? I’m sure we’ve all sensed that she’s been working too hard lately and bottling up her stress.”

On the first day Subaru got summoned, there was the insignia theft incident in the royal capital, and that was followed by all the hubbub in the mansion about the witchbeast problem, which was then followed by the incident with Liliana the other day. Emilia was there during all those incidents, but she wasn’t able to confront the root of the problems and solve them herself.

It was due to her position not allowing her to approach dangers on her own, but even so, she might have felt powerless. I think the reaction to that is linked to her recent overcrowded schedule.

Emilia doesn’t hesitate to push herself for the sake of others. The fact that such a person has relied on me during her short break might be a sign of trust, and if that’s the case, then it makes me happy.

“You miiight want to try a bit harder if you want to convince me.”

“She’ll learn abdominal breathing while learning how to sing. It will make her voice clearer, and that will give her an edge when making speeches! If her tone-deafness gets cured, then her confidence will increase, and her expressions will get brighter! And as the beauty of her singing becomes known to the world, Emilia-tan will become both a queen and a diva, putting her in a double bind—!”

“Aah, alright, alright. I understand, I undeeerstand. I’ll allow a bit of a break.”

Roswaal raised a while flag at Subaru’s continuous barrage of convincing sales pitches. It wasn’t because he was struck by his persuasion, but rather due to his own consideration for Emilia’s recent attitude.

“I don’t know how much of it was under your control, but weren’t you the one who gave her the lyulyre in the first place? Hasn’t everything been going according to your plan, then?”

“My status complicates a lot of things. And there’s also Lady Emilia’s personality. It wouuuld be good if she rests if I tell her to rest without any twists. Do you think she would listen to me?”

“I don’t think so. She’ll nod and work even more in places you can’t see.”

It’s probably because of such a dazzling appearance that it makes me want to support her. Regardless of Roswaal’s intentions, he too is in a position to support Emilia. Even if we differ in our feelings for her, I’m sure he can understand my intentions.

“Anywaaay, is Lady Emilia’s singing…that horrible?”

“It’s horrible. She has a beautiful voice, so it is a miracle in a bad way.”

“You must be joking. Aren’t you exaaaggerating things?”

“It’s as if someone took a luxurious ingredient that everyone envies and cooked it on a griddle until it turned pitch black.”

“That’s such a waste.”

“Yeah, a waste.”

That’s the only cruel truth that couldn’t be hidden by compassion.

“Alright then” Subaru raised his hand after they nodded to each other in understanding. “I’ll return to the Forbidden Library now. I left telling them that I was going to the toilet, so if I take too long, they might suspect that I was going for the big one.”

“Well, about that. I think it’s alreaaady too late for that since a significant amount of time has passed. Anyway, do help Lady Emilia out.”

“Sure. I’ll Emilia-tanize Emilia a bit more.”

“Oh myyy… Ha-ha-ha, you are goood with words.”

Roswaal laughed out loud at Subaru’s way of wording things. Their mutual understanding now renewed, Subaru left the room all proud after getting the permission he’d negotiated for.

“Alright then, I have to return, but…has Beako changed the position of the room?”

For starters, he opened up the door of the room next to the office that had been connected to the Forbidden Library before. Under normal circumstances, the location of the Forbidden Library would have been changed, and what lied beyond that door would be the reference room full of stacks of paper, but… “Oh, lucky I was able to enter just like that.”

Luckily, the Door Crossing hadn’t been changed, and Subaru was able to enter the Forbidden Library without a hitch.

“I’m back. Sorry, the restroom was packed and had a long queue…”

Subaru entered the Forbidden Library while making a sloppy excuse and looked at Emilia, Beatrice, and Puck, who were standing in the back. They were right where he’d left them…

“Nooo! Not that! Please, not thaaat!” Emilia screamed.

“I can’t take this anymore, I suppose! You are taking music lightly! I’m going to make you sing outside with that bucket on your head, I suppose! What you’re lacking is the sense of danger!”

“Betty, listen to me,” Puck began. “I’ll feel sorry for her if you do things she doesn’t like. Stop it. She’s cute even if she’s tone-deaf.”

“You spoil her too much, I suppose! That’s the reason why this girl is so arrogant!”

Beatrice, who had rolled up her sleeves and gotten fired up, pulled on Emilia’s waist with all her might while she still had the bucket on. As the bucket-faced girl clung to the bookshelf, Puck clapped while twirling around them.

“───”

I wonder how much carnage they’ve caused in the nearly ten minutes I’ve been gone. I can guess what might have happened, and if it’s as I have predicted, then all I can do is sigh.

Anyway… “It’s a fun activity that we started to relieve Emilia-tan of her stress, but is it really working? I wonder if I got my priorities wrong when it comes to this.”

Subaru, somewhat worried that the promise he had made with Roswaal might go to waste, immediately joined up with the three of them in the middle of their noisy lesson.

6

“Well, Emilia-tan, do you think the training had any effect?” Subaru asked. “Do you think you can do it a bit?”

“Leave it to me,” Emilia replied. “Puck and Beatrice trained me rigorously. I am a new person now… Well, it might be a bit much to say I’m a new person, but I have gotten better.”

“Woah, the confidence grew and then shrunk!”

Emilia, whose face made it look as if she had broken out of her shell after overcoming the hard training, puffed her chest at Subaru’s query. At her feet was the bucket that had been her comrade-in-arms. Its shiny surface looked as if it was watching over its student, who was going to show the results of their training.

“But can practicing like that really cure tone-deafness?”

“If that kind of training was all it took to cure her nightmarish tone-deafness, then it would be easy peasy.”

“Hey, you two outsiders! Don’t make her lose motivation by saying unnecessary things! We’ll see some results soon!” said Subaru, silencing the two of them, who were whispering behind Emilia’s back as she did her vocal exercises.

But Emilia, who was concentrating in the middle of the Forbidden Library, didn’t notice and signaled Subaru with her eyes. “...Mm, mm, mm! Good! Alright, Subaru, please do it.”

“You can leave it to me, Emilia-tan. And don’t cry, no matter what happens.”

“You there, you’re the one who trusts her the least, in fact,” Beatrice spat.

On Emilia’s signal, Subaru got the lyulyre in position, holding it gently in his hands. He plucked the strings, creating a light rhythm. What ended up being played softly was an excerpt from a piece called the Sword Demon’s Love Song.

In all honesty, it’s frightening to play it when I compare my skills with Liliana’s, but… “It would be disgraceful if I stayed in my comfort zone while Emilia-tan is giving it her all.”

If Emilia disgraced herself, then Subaru could share in her disgrace by playing poorly. All he was thinking about was how to cover her is she messed up. Her tone-deafness was that extreme.

And that’s why my expectations for her during the moment when she’s showing the results of her training is…

“—La, la, la la la.”

“───”

Emilia began singing, and from her lips spun a voice that sounded like a bell. —At that moment, Subaru, who had been prepared for a catastrophe, gasped, and Puck and Beatrice widened their eyes in awe.

This was because she’d perfectly grasped how the beginning of the song was supposed to go, and the pitch and flow were also perfect.

“───”

Emilia closed her eyes and moved her shoulders as her heart pleased, surrendering herself to the song. She followed the rhythm just like she’d practiced, perfectly grasping the notes she’d learned, and sang the song just like she’d been taught.

—It was the enchanting singing of an angel that captivated all, sung with a voice that sounded like a silver bell.

Emilia had said that she had never been taught how to sing. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the singing of the girl who didn’t even know the basics had been painful to hear.

However, Emilia, who was honest and pure of heart, practiced earnestly in order to overcome her tone-deafness. She was able to absorb things like a sponge—

“───”

Subaru, who was about to lose himself in the song, hastily concentrated on his own performance. Her singing was magical, and his performance did not match well with it. Even so, in order to not be left behind, he desperately plucked the strings to stay in sync with her.

“—. Thank you very much,” Emilia said with a bow.

Subaru eventually got back to his senses after putting his full concentration into his performance. Her song now over, Emilia looked up, waiting anxiously for everyone’s evaluation of it. Emilia, who wasn’t even aware of her own tone-deafness, probably had no idea what it had sounded like.

“Wa…was it still bad? I think so, since if it could be fixed that easily, none of you would look so troubled…” She took them being unable to move due to sheer shock in a bad way.

Subaru shook his head, banished his surprise, and ran towards Emilia. “No, no, no! Emilia-tan, it was amazing! What in the world happened to that dying bird screech from before!?”

“What do you mean by dying screech!?” said Emilia in surprise, tilting her head as Subaru made various expressions, not expecting such an evaluation “Was it cured at least a little…by any chance?”

“It isn’t just a little. It was perfect, perfecto! That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!” Subaru casually sung Emilia’s praises.

“Yeah, yeah, it was really good, Lia,” Puck chimed in, following Subaru’s example. “I’d expect nothing less from my most pretty Lia.”

Emilia widened her eyes at the words of the kitten that had landed on her shoulder as well as Subaru’s. Her face looked like she still couldn’t believe it.

“It’s as Bubby said, I suppose. It wasn’t that bad.”

“Beatrice…”

“But don’t get too full of yourself. You still need practice. It’s still not as good as that songstress, who is only capable of singing.”

Beatrice praised Emilia’s singing while at the same time praising and dissing Liliana. Upon hearing her words, Emilia put her hand on her mouth, her face making it seem like she’d begun to accept what was happening.

“I’m happy. I’m not tone-deaf anymore. I have overcome tone-deafness.”

“Yeah! It feels like we accomplished something huge!” Subaru exclaimed. “Even if all we did was cure some tone-deafness!”

“Hey now, I’m not tone-deaf anymore. I am ex tone-deaf. You need to say things honestly.” Emilia teared up, creating an emotional mood, and Subaru and Puck nodded at her.

Emilia then let out an intense sigh, prompting Beatrice to sigh at them deeply, as if she’d had enough. “Anyway, Betty thinks we are done here. She’s going to have to ask you to leave the Forbidden Library, I suppose.”

“Ooh, sorry about that,” Subaru said. “But we couldn’t have done it without you, you know. Thanks for the help.”

“Betty did it for Bubby, albeit unwillingly, I suppose. Besides, Betty thinks that some parts of the song still need refinement. The fun-fun-fun-fuuun-fun part at the beginning, specifically.”

Beatrice, who was eager to chase them out of the Forbidden Library, seemed to leave them a parting give in the form of pointing out an issue with Emilia’s song. It was at the moment she started humming that the Forbidden Library’s air froze.

Subaru, Emilia, and Puck turned towards her with stiffened expressions.

“...Wha-What is this about? Why are you making those faces?”

“Beako? What was that? Is it the beginning of the Sword Demon’s Love Song by any chance?”

“What else does it sound like? That’s exactly what it is,” said Beatrice unapologetically, without a shred of doubt.

Subaru understood it after looking at her attitude while she puffed her thin chest. Then he looked behind him at Emilia and said, “Emilia-tan.”

“Yes, you don’t need to say a thing, Subaru. I know what you mean,” Emilia replied, nodding at Subaru’s call.

Their hearts had become one at that moment. Emilia gently lifted something up from the floor in silence, then walked towards Beatrice.

“What is that supposed to be?” she asked Emilia, who was approaching her.

However, it wasn’t Emilia, but Subaru, who answered. “Isn’t it obvious—you are going to be the second bucket-style heroine as of this moment,” Subaru said emphatically, pointing to the bucket in Emilia’s hand.

—The little girl, who had arrogantly said something about the quintessence of music, was just as tone-deaf as the angel.

“So, you are also unconsciously tone-deaf! What the hell is up with this mansion! And why do you guys have such pretty voices for tone-deaf people? It totally ruins everything! What kind of evil deeds did you do in your past lives!?”

“How on earth could Betty be tone-deaf? That’s a ridiculous accusation! That’s a tremendously absurd accusation, in fact! You’re just trying to make Betty go through hell as payback because you’re into that girl, I suppose!”

“Beatrice, it’s alright. I was able to get better properly because of Mr. Bucket. You’ll get better if you wear it and sing. Go ahead, put it on. Put…oh, it might be cute!”

“Shaaa, I suppose! Gaaaah, I suppose! Not in a million years, in fact!”

The three of them ran around in a flurry, having a little fight over whether she was going to wear the bucket or not. Puck washed his face with a dampened paw, laughing and floating above them.

“Hmmm, the quintessence of music…we won’t be able to enjoy the sound of it anytime soon, will we?” Puck said snobbishly, summing up the day that had begun with a lyulyre.

END