“Even if you can’t handle the instrument well, as long as you can handle the instrument of ‘voice’ well, it doesn’t matter at all.”
That was Luke’s idea.
“Now then, Helena, let’s sing.”
Thus began Luke’s somewhat reckless suggestion.
“To sing… here, right now?”
Helena muttered in disbelief, looking around.
The situation was indeed quite chaotic, and she hadn’t had the opportunity to sing properly until now…
“In the forest? With nothing here?”
That’s because where Luke had brought Helena to sing was a forest near Luke’s house.
All that surrounded them were trees with most of their leaves fallen and grass that had an indecisive hue between green and brown, with no setup whatsoever for singing.
The only thing they had was the cello Luke had brought along.
But Luke tilted his head as if he didn’t see that as any problem.
“Huh? As long as it’s not causing any trouble, does it matter where you sing?”
Of course, no matter how good the song or the performance, it would be nothing more than noise pollution to those who didn’t want it.
But conversely, if it didn’t disturb anyone, didn’t it matter where one performed and sang?
“I think the forest is actually more suitable since it’s a place favored by spirits.”
Moreover, if they were singing to measure the affinity for spirits, it would make sense to do so in the woods where there were more of them.
Although Aires couldn’t directly summon any spirits right now since it was a time without fireflies, one never knows.
“Don’t be too nervous; just have confidence and sing any song. Your voice is quite lovely, after all.”
That was true.
Helena’s voice was among the clearest and cleanest among the academy kids, with a very cute tone.
Voice, after all, was a natural talent, so one could definitely say Helena had talent in that area.
But Helena still shook her head and cried out with a trembling voice.
“I-I really appreciate the compliment… but this is just so sudden! I-I’ve never done anything like singing before!”
Indeed.
Helena, who was not very familiar with the act of singing, was completely at a loss because of Luke’s words.
Being able to handle an instrument somewhat was simply something learned as a form of culture, and not out of any passion for music. Helena also wasn’t one to particularly enjoy music, and naturally, she didn’t have any favorite songs she liked to listen to on a regular basis.
Even if she did sing, it would only be nursery rhymes, which were definitely not songs she would sing in front of Shirud or spirits.
If she had to sing something like “Daddy Orc, Mommy Orc, Baby Orc,” it would be far better to sing nothing at all.
“…?”
At that moment, Shirud, who made eye contact with Helena, wore a puzzled expression, and Helena quickly turned her gaze to Luke.
“C-can I just not do it? I really have no interest in being a spirit mage…”
“…”
Luke stroked his chin at Helena’s consistent reaction.
“Hmmm, this is a bit troublesome.”
Why on earth was she so shy?
It was only natural for Luke to think that if someone suggested he sing because they doubted his qualifications as a spirit mage, he would have immediately sung some random song without any hesitation.
Singing is not an embarrassing act, right?
“Hmm…”
Even if she seemed to have talent, the way she was acting led Luke to believe there was something Helena hadn’t caught onto.
While pondering the reason, Luke soon grasped the clue.
“Hmmm, thinking about it…”
It was somewhat akin to a group psychology; humans tend to shy away from actions that deviate from the norms of what is generally accepted in a group.
This is because, fundamentally, humans fear being ‘first’.
Being the ‘first’ means there’s no one to learn from and you must navigate all the information yourself.
This is, of course, a precarious thing, and when faced with an unexpected problem, it’s only natural to fail.
It is only natural to fear the possibility of failure if one is human.
“Indeed…”
Therefore, Luke thought.
If being ‘first’ was a burden, then it would suffice to just lighten that load a little.
Luke sat on a nearby stump, grasped the cello, and said, “Then, I’ll go first.”
“Uh? You can sing too?”
——–
After Luke’s song ended, Helena was completely overwhelmed.
“…”
The expression ‘lost for words’ was probably the most fitting.
That reaction was shared by Shirud, who had listened to the song alongside her.
‘What can’t this guy do?’
Luke’s proficiency in playing was already known to Helena from the past, but hearing that he could sing was news to her.
No, if he was going to play the cello, why could he sing so well?
Was humming harmonies not enough?
The song that Luke claimed was his original composition lay somewhere between classical vocal music and ballad, with a clear and graceful voice that felt confident yet gentle, delicate yet straightforward, showcasing something that went beyond perfection.
Moreover, the classic atmosphere of the piece matched Luke’s personality quite well, making it an incredibly harmonious performance and song.
If someone were to grade it, everyone would undoubtedly give it a perfect score of 100 out of 100.
If this song wasn’t 100 points, then what would be?
Although the lyrics were unfamiliar and hard to understand, the emotions contained within the song resonated so deeply that she almost shed tears without realizing it.
Just moments before, she had claimed she wasn’t someone who easily cried.
“Um… Can I record that song and take it home to listen to?”
Shirud asked with a dazed expression, and Luke shook his head in response.
“Of course not.”
“Why?”
Shirud looked quite disappointed by Luke’s refusal.
“Well…”
The first reason was, of course, that if it were recorded, the subtle spirit-like quality present in the voice and vibrations of the strings would be filtered out, resulting in a performance devoid of any soul from a human perspective.
The second reason was that the thought of someone listening to her voice somewhere unseen when recording gave him quite the chill.
In the past, there had been no technology to intricately store another person’s voice for playback without any cost at any time, so one’s voice was as good as a projection of oneself.
However, if it were recorded, her voice could be heard elsewhere.
With just a ‘simple action’.
Thus, if the voice got recorded and taken away, Luke felt as if he were being sold off.
That too, very easily with a simple action.
‘Doesn’t that feel like being sold off like some cheap, common slave?’
For a great mage like himself, that was quite embarrassing.
So, Luke confidently stated, “Because it’s shameful.”
“…”
Shirud felt a strange emotion at Luke’s contradicting words and actions, stating proudly that it was shameful.
What on earth was going on in Luke’s head?
Would there ever come a day when he could completely understand Luke?
Shirud was skeptical.
While Helena was still in a daze, Luke smiled and said, “Anyway, Helena.”
“Uh. Yes?”
“How about it, are you a bit less tense now? It’s your turn.”
“N-no, not at all…”
Helena thought Luke could have considered how it felt to sing after that performance.
“Really, do I have to do it?”
Then Luke pointed to Shirud sitting next to him and asked, “Isn’t Shirud here looking forward to it? Are you really not going to do anything?”
“…”
Seeing Shirud’s encouraging gesture of raising a fist, Helena let out a deep sigh.
Regardless of the circumstances, she didn’t want to disappoint Shirud.
‘Seriously, I’ll just do it reluctantly…’
Having come this far without doing it would indeed be meaningless.
——-
In the end, the song Helena reluctantly sang was quite different in genre from Luke’s; it was closer to pop music, specifically a dance song.
Excluding the nursery rhymes she was too embarrassed to sing, the songs she had heard while going around were of that nature.
However, the problem was that the songs Helena chose happened to be the typical “great to listen to, but too difficult for me to sing” type.
So, while it was quite a challenge to project her voice for singing, fortunately, despite it being her first time singing, she managed to finish without any noticeable pitch issues.
In that regard, it was clear that Helena had some talent.
However, even though she finished singing without incident, it was still embarrassing.
In any case, having overcome her embarrassment and somehow managing to finish her song, Helena was now listening to the admiration of Pyris and Shirud.
“Wow, you were amazing too! That song was really fun!”
“Yeah, you sang really well!”
While Pyris generally liked any song as long as it wasn’t filled with hostile feelings towards her, Shirud’s praise was sincere.
Of course, comparing Helena to Luke would be quite impolite, but even taking that into account, Helena was quite accurate with her pitches, making it very pleasant to listen to.
Thus, Shirud expressed his honest feelings.
“Your singing voice was really cute.”
At Shirud’s words, Helena was taken aback, barely managing to regain her composure, and muttered, “Me, cute…!”
To hide her breakdown of expression, Helena deliberately crossed her arms and declared with a huff.
“Hmph. That’s only natural! Did you get that now?”
And watching that, Luke burst into laughter.
“Hahaha…”
‘The lyrics of songs these days are quite shocking…’
Or perhaps, was he simply being too conservative?
Luke pondered for a moment.
