The forest, which had returned after a long time, felt remarkably stable.
It felt entirely different from the bustling, busy atmosphere of the city.
Luke dropped his luggage at Yerna’s lodging and gazed at the cello case.
“Now I can play all day long, right?”
-……!?
Luke nodded at Pyris, whose eyes sparkled as if asking, “Really?”
“Of course. I need to prepare for the competition…”
When he asked Emma, she said the competition would be held in the fall.
The time given was quite ample.
Come to think of it, that child, Irsia, said her goal was to win an award at this competition.
‘I want to see the child, but…’
Awards are something I need too, so there’s no helping it.
Luke pondered whether he should apologize later if he won the award.
And soon shook his head.
He had participated in such competitions and events a few times in the past, but he recalled that each time he had won and apologized, the reactions had not been very positive.
‘Why is that? I was just trying to convey my feelings.’
Luke did not realize that an apology from the winner to the loser could be perceived as deception, as he had never once lost in his sincere endeavors.
Aside from the Demon King.
“I guess I should encourage them later.”
———
A mage often becomes absorbed in their own world.
Magic ultimately requires a long period of contemplation to complete one’s unique world.
While Luke no longer needed such contemplative time, it seemed that the experiences accumulated over a long time had not vanished entirely.
He could feel his heart being filled during those moments.
In that sense, the serene atmosphere of this quiet forest pleased Luke immensely.
It felt reminiscent of the time he had secluded himself in the peaceful countryside.
Typically, he would play inside the lodging, but today he wanted to play by himself.
For the past few days, every time he practiced in the lodging, the Forest Keepers had listened as if a concert was taking place, which made him a bit self-conscious of their gazes and expectations.
Even when he carelessly played just for practice, it felt like they were coercing praise with comments like, ‘Wow, you really play well!’ which left him with a strange feeling.
Sometimes he wanted to play without worrying about anyone’s gaze.
Sometimes it felt like he wanted to mumble to himself in a place where no one could hear.
Eventually, Luke received permission to wander a bit away from the lodging.
And he felt it was a good decision.
‘The mana is splendid, and the wind feels nice.’
Occasionally, the trees would sway in the breeze, and the sound of the leaves colliding created a melody; that was nature’s performance.
The forest is quiet, yet strangely, when you focus, it can be noisy.
It seems monotonous, but it is far from that.
A variety of sounds as rich as those of the city sparkle with the forest’s unique colors.
And now, Luke wished to add a bit of color to that tranquility, so he took out his cello, perched himself on a suitable rock, drew his bow, and placed it on the strings.
-…….
Pyris was already looking up at Luke, filled with anticipation.
Seeing that made him think he should start playing right away, so he smiled slightly and nodded.
-giing–.
The cello cried out.
It had a slightly deeper resonance than usual, which surprised him.
Whenever he played, the mana would react.
As if the spirits, embodiments of mana, loved music so dearly.
‘Is it because the location has changed?’
There seemed to be a correlation between the concentration of mana and the atmosphere infused in the music.
Since it was his first time performing in such a mana-rich forest, Luke smiled at the new discovery.
In fact, he decided to pour even more emotion into his performance than usual, disregarding the thought that someone might listen.
‘Speaking of which, how long has it been since I last expressed my emotions?’
Before becoming this body, he had suppressed his emotions for a long time.
He was a great mage, and excessive emotions had always been his enemy.
But now…
The circle ingrained in his heart did not waver under such feelings.
Luke’s circle, which he had contemplated and designed for over a hundred years, was in complete harmony with his will.
But does that mean he could express emotions without the risk of losing control and acting recklessly?
It was worth experimenting.
To what extent could he allow it?
He closed his eyes and poured his feelings into the performance.
Lately, he had felt that expressing his emotions through his music was becoming more natural. Unconsciously humming during his performance had become inevitable.
Music had the power to move emotions.
It was only natural that the performer’s feelings would manifest in some way.
Because of that, mages did not get along well with spirit users.
Emotional spirit users and cold-hearted mages—those two words simply do not mesh well.
Circle magic prevented mages from having emotional exchanges with spirits, and spirits showed little interest in those mages.
But what is the situation now?
Right before him was a spirit flying gracefully, sending him boundless trust, and he felt a deep connection with it.
Every morning, upon waking, he would inquire about seemingly meaningless matters, and when they encountered something new or unfamiliar, they would gaze at each other in surprise.
Pyris and Luke had grown quite close.
And reflecting on that felt astonishing.
He had lived his whole life solely as a ‘mage,’ yet he never anticipated he could express emotions this openly.
As the feelings infused in the music deepened, he sensed his bond with Pyris strengthening.
He finally felt like he understood why the performance of music was referred to as a conversation with spirits.
When the playing ceased, Pyris silently met Luke’s gaze.
“What did you think?”
-……, Luke.
‘It was better than usual, Luke.’
It seemed like that was what she was conveying.
Though he couldn’t know for sure, it felt as if such emotions were transmitted. Was this the bond with a spirit?
‘Not so bad, after all.’
Luke looked up at the sky, feeling the breeze, and smiled.
The wind carried the scent of the spirit—Pyris must have sent it as a gesture of goodwill.
‘Indeed, communication with spirits is not done through words. It is done through emotions.’
It was hard to put into words, but that feeling emerged.
Yes, language is ultimately a wrapping for exchanging knowledge and emotions with others.
Yet people sometimes fall into a misconception.
They believe it is essential to package their emotions in pretty wrapping and focus solely on the packaging.
Filthy emotions and messy intentions wrapped in beautiful packaging.
Dirty conversations that are carefully wrapped in multiple layers to hide malice.
But for spirits, such wrapping holds no meaning.
Their language is not packaged like that of humans.
Spirits reveal their emotions as they are.
Thus, truly pure spirits likely cannot comprehend human language.
For them, there are no ‘words’ to wrap their feelings.
Realizing this suddenly made Luke think of the sorrowful songs that Denis had sung, wondering what kind of emotions had been infused in the music.
What kind of emotions must have been possessed to perform such beautiful tragedies?
This time, Luke decided to imbue such emotions into his music.
The death of cherished ones, his situation of having fallen into this world as an outsider, could easily evoke such feelings, and the emotions he drew up permeated the cello as easily as they had been summoned.
In a state of unconscious knowledge.
It is a state that countless musicians strive to achieve, yet Luke reached it merely by a sort of instinct engraved upon this body.
Like a babbling child growing up to speak fluently, this was not a performance conducted consciously.
-…….
The poignant song of the cello spread through the empty forest.
Longing, nostalgia, and a hint of regret.
He missed Kail, who had left first, and Renie, who had likely lived alone for far too long.
It was poignant. A vague recollection of happiness from that time.
And it was regrettable. He regretted wasting the time they could have spent together in researching immortality.
I stand here, transcending over 5,000 years.
But now, you are no longer here.
I have once again faltered.
Just like when I lost Kail.
The performance halted.
Suddenly, he felt moisture welling in his eyes.
Luke was a bit flustered. This had never happened to him before; was it due to the forest’s mana? Had he infused too many emotions into the performance?
Was it due to these blessed feelings that he sensed his circle misaligning slightly?
“Ugh…”
Quickly, Luke grasped his heart and steadied the circle.
Although it was just a little, the sensation of the circle misaligning from the heart was all too familiar.
He thought he had long forgotten about emotions.
Perhaps he simply hadn’t had the opportunity to express them.
Just then.
“Luke!”
A figure burst forth from the forest.
It was Yerna.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Suddenly your heart… Is it the circle?”
Luke was slightly dazed by her sudden appearance.
“Yerna…? Why are you here…?”
As he looked at Yerna, who was dramatically wiping away his tears with a handkerchief, he muttered helplessly.
“Well, actually, I was worried… I was watching from nearby…”
“…You’ve been listening from the start?”
“Yeah.”
“What….”
It seemed the Forest Keepers were indeed keen, as he hadn’t sensed her presence at all.
In reality, he hadn’t intended to detect anything.
Luke trusted the GPS and abilities of the Forest Keepers; he was busy accumulating the 3rd circle and didn’t wish to waste mana on such things.
“So you heard from the beginning….”
Then that would mean she had also heard the performance infused with emotions from halfway through.
Luke felt incredibly embarrassed, as if the scene of him talking to himself had been displayed for someone else.
He had never once shown such emotions before.
“But why did you cry? Is something wrong?”
Yerna was genuinely worried that Luke, who never cried, had suddenly burst into tears.
Moreover, his ears seemed drooped, indicating he was feeling down.
But Luke shook his head and said.
“It’s just that while playing, emotions suddenly overwhelmed me.”
“You cried just for that…?”
Luke took a few deep breaths and responded composedly.
“I infused too many emotions into the performance.”
Emotions, emotions.
Thinking back, Luke’s performance had drastically changed from the middle, tapping into human emotions.
It was a melody that evoked long-ago sorrowful memories.
However, it wasn’t something forced; it felt like a comforting expression of nostalgia.
Seeing that performance, Yerna realized that Luke had not performed carelessly.
Such a deep performance, one that could immerse even herself; perhaps that was why the music felt so genuine.
I was comforted by that sincerity.
“But usually, you don’t play such gloomy music.”
“Well, gloomy things aren’t fun.”
Luke grinned.
“I only want to share joyful emotions with you.”
Yerna was momentarily overwhelmed by the gaze of Luke that shimmered with tears, pausing her hand that had been stroking his head.
Why did a ten-year-old have such a gaze?
“You must be hungry from crying. Let’s go back! Dayton said he’s making barbecue.”
“Right, let’s go immediately.”
——
And after Luke had left, Pyris lingered a bit longer.
She felt overwhelmed by the performance, as if struck by the deep emotions Luke had concealed for years within that melody.
His profound feelings transmitted directly to her, and from the middle onward, she couldn’t even respond, frozen in place.
Having lost her senses for 2,000 years, Pyris, once a mere mass of mana drifting without self-awareness, began to slightly recognize herself through that performance.
Luke’s emotions had awoken long-buried feelings in Pyris.
‘Luke, you’ve finally told me your story for the first time.’
It was a conversation far deeper than she had anticipated.
Such emotions were truly a rarity.
‘Indeed, Luke is an ‘Ere’.’
Such a conversation could only be possible because he was not just any being. After all, hadn’t he introduced himself as a firefly before?
“I am Ere; come to me, Pyris,” he said.
She wasn’t sure why he insisted on calling himself Luke…
Nevertheless, Pyris decided to stay in the forest a little while longer to gather her thoughts.
It’s not that she found it painful to see Ere enjoying delicious barbecue.
‘I want to interfere with the material plane again…!’
Pyris trembled her body.
