"That one's carrying some kind of ominous seed. Best follow along, or you'll regret it, yes?"
"Eh?"
With
The exchange above was what Lady Priscilla blurted out as she watched them leave. It came so suddenly that even Lady
Let us, while savoring this faint sense of out-of-place-ness, float along and observe how this unfolds.
Clashing gazes! Sparks flying!
Narrow but stern and beautiful crimson eyes meeting with languidly relaxed, faintly hued violet-blue eyes.
Lady Priscilla folded her arms with a delicate flare of her shapely nose at Lady Emilia's stare. Her chest — her chest was rather emphasized.
Watching those monstrous assets practically bounce with violence, I discreetly touched my own chest. Flat. I stared at my hand.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It doesn't mean anything special. It means exactly what I said. You ought to be able to see that much with your own eyes. Did you ask out of some misguided notion of caring? If so, how naive."
"————"
"Even between master and servant, there are always secrets... If that's what you're thinking, how laughable. Servants need only be limbs without a head. Allow that, and the head — the master — will act contrary to intent. Your relationship right now is exactly that, isn't it?"
Her razor-sharp tongue lashed out in a barrage, and Lady Emilia wore a deeply contemplative expression. That worried look entwined with her silver hair swaying in the breeze, creating an ineffable poignancy... Honestly, nuzzling into it or rubbing cheeks would feel absolutely wonderful.
"Hehehehe..."
While I was at it, Lady Emilia seemed to have collected her thoughts. She nodded to Lady Priscilla and said, "I understand."
"Fine, I'll do that. I think... I feel the same. Our views on master and servant are a bit different, though."
"For you to question my judgment is the height of presumption. Besides, both dense and dull are equally noxious. There's no time for debate. Be gone — quickly."
"Thank you. I'll catch up right away... Sorry to leave you behind, Liliana!"
"Hehehe, hyah!?"
I'd been letting the conversation wash over me when Lady Emilia sent me an apologetic wink. I didn't know what hit me, but I thrust my fist at her with determination.
"Rest assured, Lady Emilia! This 'Songstress' Liliana will believe in your and Lord Subaru's safe return, and I shall defend this park from any hardship or foe!"
The burst of energy made me blurt out "Songstress," but calling myself that is embarrassing! Good grief, it's even more embarrassing than I thought!
"I have no idea what you're saying, but please do. Priscilla — if you bully Liliana, I won't forgive you."
"Don't call my name so familiarly. I've conveyed my intent. Now disappear, and go frolic with that fool."
"Geez, really..."
They didn't exactly get along. Without a shred of courtesy, Lady Priscilla left. Lady Emilia ran off, glancing back at me with worry until the very end.
Oh, farewell, Lady Emilia. There was so much more I wanted to talk about. And honestly, just being able to admire her from every angle would have been enough.
"I've had an idea. Listen — I want to gaze up at you from below."
"Fool. If you have time for such shoddy improvisation, pursue the supreme melody. Your talent far surpasses the common rabble, but even the gifted are given equal measure of finite time. Thus, one second holds vastly different worth between you and them. Wasting it idly is a privilege of wealth — but to do so unconsciously is no different from throwing it in a ditch."
"I'm not sure if that was a tremendous compliment or a stern rebuke, but my mood is skydiving through wild ups and downs and it's chaos!"
Was I praised? Scolded? When clever people speak, every word is bewildering, extraordinary, and beyond comprehension.
I'm a traveling minstrel who's rarely felt ashamed, but I have no education, no family estate, and no grave! A life of having nothing — that's my ambition! My path of song!
"A peculiarity incomprehensible to others — if you see a different world, I suppose that can't be helped. Still, ignorance is nothing to boast of. It concerns the rightness of the song you worship."
"N-no! That's not the case at all!"
"Oh?"
"Kyah!?"
The instant I reflexively retorted, Lady Priscilla's voice dropped to an alarming low. Her narrowed eyes — beautiful yet terrifying. But this is where I, Liliana, refuse to bend!
"P-please stop, Lady Priscilla... I'm not trying to go against you or anything..."
"Cease such undignified behavior befitting of lesser talent. If your value diminishes, it would be an insult to me, who acknowledged your voice. Permission granted — speak your mind as you will."
The palms-together peace offering doesn't work!
Not only that, but Lady Priscilla said something complicated again. Umm, am I even allowed to say it?
"S-so, Lady Priscilla, you said that without education, one's singing would suffer, but..."
"That is correct."
"But I think that whether one is educated or not has nothing to do with the essence of song."
"Oh? Why do you think that?"
"Because there are no conditions for having your heart moved by a song."
Songs have power.
I'm not so vain as to think my own voice carries that much power. I'm still green — I believe in the height of my goal and the trueness of my aim, but I'm still far along that road.
My voice is immature, my playing is immature, but the heart I pour in has been fully ripe since childhood.
"To enjoy song, education is not a prerequisite. To grieve through song, only a heart is needed. Even to feel rage through song — one can do that with nothing but oneself."
Lulubelle — even in this small body, I play well enough.
No complicated words are needed. The desire to learn is noble, but if one can't enjoy song simply because one lacks the opportunity to learn — that's not the path a minstrel chooses.
A minstrel lives by song. And if song resonates without choosing its listener, then a minstrel need not choose their audience either.
"I pour my heart into song, but I don't intend to pack all manner of complicated behind-the-scenes baggage into it. What remains in the listener's heart belongs to the listener — song is simply there to be enjoyed. It stays in the heart, and now and then, one unconsciously hums it. ...If that happens through my song, it's worth devoting my life to."
"Hmm."
"Hah!"
I was deep in high-minded minstrel mode, but my opponent was a Royal Selection candidate with the force to annihilate every bird in the sky!
Among them, Lady Priscilla was rumored to have the most difficult personality. Just because we'd sung and danced together a little, I'd let the distance close too much and gotten ahead of myself!
"Well, that's been my feeling lately... just as an example, of course. Yes, an example. Hehe, it's fine if you just let it slide..."
"Very well. You... no, you truly are remarkable."
"Huh?"
My feet, ready to bolt after being told my head was on the chopping block, were firmly caught by Lady Priscilla's words.
Wait — did Lady Priscilla just smile? Not some bold, confident smirk, but something... almost cute?
"The uncouth one was me. You should proceed on your own path. Should anything arise, rely on me. You are worth investing in, I believe."
"E-even more?!"
I don't know why, but the praise exceeded my wildest expectations!
My eyes went dot-dot at the unexpected turn of events. Lady Priscilla, in high spirits, sat herself on the edge of the park fountain. Boldly crossing her legs — long legs! I mean, no, that's not what I meant.
"Did I... survive?"
"If the world were to end, I could be the one to survive and place you at the very end of the dead."
"You'd survive even if the world ended! I've got an idea, listen — 'Absolutely Despairing Woman'!"
"A song dedicated to me — it must be something truly noble, yes?"
"...Stop it, play the classic 'Record of the Dragon-Slaying Hero' instead!"
Even in high spirits, there was something terrifying about how she could smile and dismiss you so cleanly.
Before Lady Priscilla with the fountain behind her, I was desperate as a maiden forced into ill-fitting shoes. I strummed Lulubelle and dove into a song I'd practiced and sung through countless times.
The sensation of extreme concentration where the world falls away — I call it the 'Songstress Domain,' and I wanted to dive in!
Come on, dive in! Forget your worries and nerves!
Hooray, burning with worldly desire!!
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "Stop playing."
"Buh-heheh, it's too good to stop — wait, yes?"
I'd been worried about having too much desire to enter the 'Songstress Domain,' but I'd been playing without any trouble at all.
I was singing merrily away when Lady Priscilla rose with a stern expression. Hmm? Did I do something wrong while singing?
"Lady Priscilla?"
"Don't you sense it? The city is buzzing strangely. ...While I was amusing myself with boredom, it seems someone's been up to no good."
"Huh..."
Lady Priscilla's words didn't quite sink in.
In other words, what?
"There are shadows of disaster looming over Pristella. At this rate... that fool's intuition may not be unrelated after all. What an irritating turn of events."
Fool — that must mean Lord Subaru. Something about his intuition — that probably connects to how he left with Beatrice, and how Lady Emilia chased after them...
Subaru = "Loli-user" Beatrice = "Loli" Emilia = "Magical Girl of Extraordinary Skill"
"No way! Something's happened in Pristella!?"
"As expected, when it comes to matters beyond song, your mind works at glacial speed. Unlike me, who excels in all things, those who are outstanding in only one area are always so difficult to deal with. I do find it to my taste, though."
Lady Priscilla closed her eyes and tapped her head with the fan she'd produced at some point, as though nursing a headache.
I have plenty to say about Lady Priscilla's words, but now is not the time.
"The people in the park have disappeared, now that you mention it..."
"That's because your performance was such an unsightly display."
I'd like them to at least forgive me for lying in the grass playing Lulubelle with my teeth...
"Ahem. Besides, if an accident or incident occurs, the Magic Tool at City Hall should immediately broadcast across the entire city. Kiritaka-san is always keeping watch, and this morning I also..."
"That exaggerated voice-delivery device? Your attempt to broadcast your song across the city is certainly interesting, but... I wonder about it."
"?"
In addition to the daily city broadcasts, the Water Gate City Pristella had a heightened awareness of evacuation thanks to the Great Water Gate. Shelters scattered throughout the city were surely well-known to all residents.
And yet— "Huh... what's this?"
My chest ached with a strange, inexplicable sensation.
Strange. I have no dramatic old wounds in my chest or anything like that. If not, then this feeling must be— "Don't come."
My smile contorted, and just as I let out a bewildered "Huh?", Lady Priscilla suddenly looked up at the sky.
The city broadcast blared moments later.
"So that's the story, you miserable pieces of garbage — please, please, die miserably and pathetically and rot like the refuse you are, kya-hahahaha! Your broadcaster today is the
The shrill voice cut off with a snap, and silence returned. The sound of wind, the sound of water spilling from the fountain. It was all so natural it made what had just happened feel like a dream.
"What an appallingly insolent mouth."
Ah, it wasn't a dream. Apparently it wasn't a dream.
Because the voice of Lady Priscilla, who should have been right beside me, was terrifying. How terrifying? My sharp survival instincts were screaming "Don't look back at that face!" before I could even consider checking.
"Um, so, Lady Priscilla... that was maybe just an event, or perhaps a bit of mischief, right? That's the kind of possibility I'm thinking—"
"Wishful thinking and speculation are fundamentally different things. Who would use such a grim name as the 'Witch Cult' for a mere malicious joke? And moreover, they're claiming to be an Archbishop of Sin. You ought to know they're a pack of madmen who spare no thought for timing, location, or method."
"Guhhh..."
"And this city has a fool who killed one of their members. Naturally, they'd throw themselves at it with reckless abandon. How many people there are like you, so optimistic they won't realize what they've lost until it's too late — I can't say."
Lady Priscilla's words were as difficult as ever, but this time she'd broken them down so even I could understand.
And the result was that the situation clicked into place in my head, complete and without gaps.
An assault by the Witch Cult, led by an Archbishop of Sin — that much was certain. And it felt very much like City Hall had been seized.
If that were the case...
"Wh-what happened to Kiritaka-san?"
"Who? I don't know the name. If he's an important city official stationed at City Hall, his safety cannot be guaranteed. It seems I can no longer afford to sit here listening to song and babbling brooks."
Lady Priscilla said this and strode off, fan in hand. Wait — that direction is completely opposite from where the shelters are!
"W-wait! Aren't you heading to the shelters!? In emergencies, doing something different from the standard plan makes things complicated!"
"Hiding in a shelter and lowering your head just means waiting for the situation to pass like the flow of water. This problem is different. If we don't act, it won't be resolved."
"To — to go fight the Archbishop of Sin!?"
A Royal Selection candidate charging into City Hall— I naturally wanted to see it, but throwing her into a battle she couldn't win would only lead to tragedy.
More fundamentally, was Lady Priscilla — for all her confidence — even someone who could fight?
When I asked this with all that doubt in my voice, Lady Priscilla turned, covered her mouth with her fan, tilted her head, and said: "No, first I need to recover Shult. I don't care what becomes of Al, and that idiot can do whatever. But Shult's adorability is irreplaceable. If I don't go pick him up myself, there's no telling where he'll end up crying."
"Eh? Eh?"
"About that boy. He's probably wandering the bar district following my instructions from this morning. I'll head over and pick him up. Honestly, such a troublesome one."
Grumbling all the way, Lady Priscilla walked without hesitation toward the park exit. I stood there, understanding the situation perfectly yet completely unable to match her judgment, gawking in bewilderment.
Then Lady Priscilla turned around.
"I'm not saying you need to come with me, but stray too far from me and you'll fall outside the range of my 'Sun Ring.' If you don't want to be trampled by a panicked mob, the wise choice would be to follow me."
That's terrifying! What does that even mean?!
"Lady Priscilla? What happens once we find this person you're looking for?! Hey, Lady Priscilla!"
I chased after her silently marching figure in a panic, and we strode boldly through the city, passing by people fleeing toward the shelters.
Her back was so powerful that I almost thought — maybe the Witch Cult's Archbishop of Sin isn't something to be so afraid of after all...
— I was about to learn just how wrong that assumption was.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Following Lady Priscilla's lead, we made our way through the city.
Strangely, Lady Priscilla didn't seem to know the exact destination, yet whenever we reached a junction of waterways or streets, she chose a path without the slightest hesitation.
And it always turned out to be correct — making it pointless for me, who was supposed to be guiding her!
"This is your first time in Pristella, Lady Priscilla? You walk so smoothly — quite a surprise."
"No, it's my first time. Given its resemblance to my name, and being a picturesque city of water, I'd thought I ought to visit at least once. I didn't expect the opportunity to arise like this."
"I see — what a shame. This city is actually much more soothing and beautiful than this; it's not really meant for such brisk walking."
The Water Gate City Pristella was, of course, a sightseeing destination with standout attractions, but as someone who'd been staying long-term in decidedly un-minstrel fashion, I could tell you: it's a city best enjoyed by strolling through!
The Muse Trading Company, rooted in Pristella, had apparently been working toward that goal especially since Kiritaka-san's era.
Well, Kiritaka-san gave me fewer complicated tasks and more praise, so I can't really complain... but is Kiritaka-san safe?
"That aside, we're not running into anyone! In a city where walking brings you to people, peeking at the waterways shows you water dragons, and singing brings you face to face with Kiritaka-san — what an abnormal situation!"
The Witch Cult had said nothing at all since that first broadcast. And on top of not running into any people or water dragons, the only sounds were wind and flowing water.
Quiet. But it felt like more than just quietness. This silence was missing something — the quietness that should be there.
"Stop bustling about. There — that's the right way. Do as I say."
"Huh? Don't you want to go down that street? If so, crossing the waterway at that bridge would be a shortcut. Honestly, Lady Priscilla, you're so scatterbrained—"
"Oh—"
"Hyah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I spoke without thinking!"
I thought we'd grown closer and showed her a shorter route, but that backfired! And that "oh" is terrifying! The eyes of a beast... no! The eyes of a hunter who hunts beasts!
"Do as I say. You won't be harmed."
"Heheh, from here on, I'm in absolute obedience to you, Lady Priscilla!"
Following Lady Priscilla's directions, we continued making odd detours as we went. All the while, we still didn't run into a single person. I was starting to lose patience!
"Shall I sing as we walk, to lighten the mood?"
"You said song chooses neither place nor listener. But even if song doesn't choose its audience, the audience can choose whether to listen to the song."
"Hm?"
"Rest your throat a while. Either way, the chance to sing will come soon enough."
"Huh."
Lady Priscilla said this with an expression that saw right through everything.
Her cryptic way of speaking was suffocating for someone like me, whose forte is straightforward candor, but I kept my mouth shut and stayed quiet.
Just as our eerily desolate city tour was about to continue— "It's here."
Lady Priscilla stopped and looked at one of the shelters scattered across the city — this one was the meeting hall in the Second District, I believe?
If City Hall at the center of the city was where the whole city deliberated, then the meeting halls of each numbered district were where opinions for that section were consolidated.
Kiritaka-san was the leader of the Third District meeting hall and had influence over the city's central operations, or so I'd heard.
"Oh, you're going to such a solid location! Honestly, I was a little nervous about where we'd end up!"
"Hurry along. Inside with you, nervous nelly."
A meeting hall would probably have some important person or other inside. And as a gathering point for the district's residents, the human warmth I'd been missing would be restored— "You bastard, don't mess with me! I'll kill you!!"
That fantasy was obliterated by the very first greeting of rage.
That blood-chilling roar carried genuine killing intent — not idle threats, but real, unfeigned malice.
Unlike the casual bluster of rude men, this was genuine fury — I was a minstrel and a woman, and when wandering the world, not every path is safe. I'd faced dangerous situations more than once... and this 'anger' matched those.
It wasn't directed at me, so it merely matched rather than overwhelmed — but it was rage accompanied by violence and killing intent.
"L-lady Priscilla...? What is this...?"
Involuntarily, I nearly crumpled and grabbed onto Lady Priscilla for support. But she deftly dodged my arm and surveyed the meeting hall with an utterly bored expression.
On my knees, I stared in disbelief at the same scene Lady Priscilla was watching.
— The pandemonium.
Inside the meeting hall, people who'd been shoved together were hurling insults at each other, crying out in furious hatred, and grabbing at one another.
The crowd numbered fifty... no, a hundred? Two hundred?
In any case, a massive number of people were shoving their neighbors without restraint, men and women of all ages thrashing about together.
The insults... the shouts dripped with hostility and malice, the violence of their actions carried ill will and killing intent. Many were bleeding on the ground, and at the edge of the hall, small children sat hugging their heads in terror.
What... was this?
"Indeed... with this many rabble mixed together, finding just Shult will be a chore."
Leaving me stunned into silence, Lady Priscilla surveyed the pandemonium without so much as changing expression.
"...I mean, this is a completely insane situation, isn't it? How can you be so calm?"
"Something like this must be happening all over the city. You, with your dull senses, probably didn't notice. — I was avoiding the troublesome routes."
"Avoiding...?!"
As I said it, I finally understood.
The reason Lady Priscilla had deliberately taken roundabout routes — it was because she was avoiding streets where people were fighting!
I alone had been oblivious, cheerfully chattering about how peaceful the city looked —!
"All this fighting and shoving... is it connected to the Witch Cult?"
"If it were just mutual fear and anxiety, I'd write it off as the limit of the common rabble — but that's not it. Someone... no, there's someone who's cast a foolish power over this entire city. This is the result."
Lady Priscilla's words were missing the crucial details.
But some things were clear. The people clashing here had no intention of doing this — they were being made to.
"W-why am I unharmed? I don't have any special ability to resist that power— Could I have awakened it in this very moment...!?"
"That would be the radiance of my 'Sun Ring.' Though perhaps even without it you might have resisted... but never mind that. More importantly—"
Lady Priscilla narrowed her eyes, gazing at the warring crowds. The same look as when she'd said "Oh" — in other words, her scary eyes. If she had that look, her next words would surely be terrifying too.
My prediction was spot on.
"With this much noise, finding anyone is a pipe dream. Let me intimidate them into silence, then."
"...Eh?"
With that, Lady Priscilla made an exaggerated gesture and 'drew a sword from thin air.' No, that wasn't quite right.
More precisely — light became a sword?
"Bask in the radiance of my Sun Sword—"
The sword Lady Priscilla held was a magnificent crimson blade — from its ornate hilt to its gleaming body, a true scarlet treasure. In her hand it shone like the sun itself, flooding the entire meeting hall with light... blinding! Blindingly bright! It wasn't just illumination — a sun had been born, and my eyes were burning! Gyahhh—!
Looking directly from so close, both my eyes took massive damage!
I rolled away to distance myself, intending to voice my complaints to Lady Priscilla — and then I noticed.
The meeting hall had gone silent. The eyes of everyone who'd been fighting were now fixed on Lady Priscilla. Well, of course — when someone that brilliant appears in the flesh, even combatants will pause.
And among those who had stopped their hands and voices— "Lady Priscillaaaa—!!"
Sobbing, a boy from the edge of the wall ran over and threw himself at Lady Priscilla, his cute face flushed red. Lady Priscilla caught him face-on and gently stroked his distinctive pink hair.
"To make me go through this much trouble — you're the only one capable of it. Do you grasp what an outrageous thing you've done, Shult?"
"I-I... I thought it was all over... but... Lady Priscilla... Lady Priscilla...!"
"You won't listen, hm? Well, children cry — so I won't fault you for it."
She patted the boy's head gently, and I was stunned.
Well, Lady Priscilla had come all this way to find the boy, so I'd assumed she cared for him — but actually seeing it was completely jarring. After our tense journey, the contrast was enough to twist your neck.
But just because they'd made such a scene didn't mean things were settled — naturally, a reunion before a crowd drew everyone's attention!
And the mob's pointed rage, just moments ago, now turned toward the resplendent Lady Priscilla. Also, I just noticed — that flashy sword was nowhere to be seen.
"Lady Priscilla, where did you leave that sword from just now?"
"It's terribly inefficient. When I'm not using it, I return it to sunlight. Hm..."
Answering my question, Lady Priscilla surveyed those staring at her. As always, her eyes were as calm as a still lake — or rather, as cold and detached as ice.
"Why are you staring at me so rudely, you boors? Admiring my beauty is natural, but know your place, the occasion, and your own standing. First — kneel. That's the proper etiquette."
"Why must you provoke them like that—!?"
Still holding young Shult to her chest, Lady Priscilla made a cruel face, pointed at the ground, and ordered everyone present to kneel. Naturally, people who were already more irate than usual exploded with fury and charged.
A rumbling like thunder shook the hall, and I scrambled backward on my seat. But Lady Priscilla stood her ground. No — just a little.
"You woman! Don't you think you can—"
"You're first, I believe. — Do try to fly spectacularly."
A large man lunged at Lady Priscilla in fury — the instant his hand reached for her, she sidestepped it effortlessly and pushed his thick chest back.
Immediately after, the man — who must have weighed twice what I did — was sent flying like a leaf. Truly, with no exaggeration, effortlessly.
"—!?"
The man's body plowed into the people charging behind him, creating a domino disaster. Pushed back, knocked down, they tumbled over like a row of standing boards toppled in a game.
The initial surge was broken, and its momentum died. Those who weren't at the front saw Lady Priscilla's power and shrank back.
"As you can see, if I'm so inclined, I could cut down every last one of you. It would be tedious, though. If you'd like to have a go at me, form an orderly line. Today of all days, I might just spare the time to grant that wish."
"————"
Standing there with that imperious declaration, Lady Priscilla glared at everyone around her.
Well, when you put it that way, no one's going to charge. Their earlier fury had... well, the anger was still there. They just weren't quite mad enough to choose Lady Priscilla as its target.
"He doesn't seem to be here. If so, I have no further business in this place. I've found my retainer safe and sound. As for you lot — once I'm gone, by all means, carry on."
"Eh!?"
Lady Priscilla said this and led Shult by the hand, still sniffling, toward the exit of the meeting hall. She was really heading out — was this actually the kind of situation where you just left? Was that really okay?
"Um, what about these people — just leaving them like this..."
"If I leave, the fighting will resume... and in the end, it could very well end in a massacre. But I have no reason whatsoever to stop that, do I?"
"That's..."
She might be right. She probably was. But was that really enough?
Throwing the situation away like that was just too cruel.
"L-lady Priscilla, you're a Royal Selection candidate..."
"There are things I can and cannot do. There's no question I hold a noble position, but to use that as a reason to force my way through — that would be a different matter."
"Guh...!"
She'd anticipated my objection and shut me down before I could even get a word in!
But, but, but — when you know that leaving will restart the fighting, could you really walk away like that?
I couldn't— "Or perhaps, you'll do it yourself?"
"...Eh?"
As I faltered, Lady Priscilla whispered in a low voice.
How should I put it — it was, undeniably, a rather seductive proposal.
"You told me, didn't you? That song needs no qualifications. That its essence is choosing neither place nor listener. Then, using that very essence — won't you try to save them?"
"............"
"You're under my 'Sun Ring.' And I told you this as well — rely on me, should anything arise. It's a card I'm playing early, but... that has its own charm. If it means I get to hear your song, I'll gladly stop here."
Provocatively, Lady Priscilla crossed her arms. Was it a habit? She lifted her chest.
The valley of those monstrously bountiful assets. I touched my own chest. Flat. I stared at my hand.
On my palm, a thin sheen of sweat had gathered.
"Could I... actually do it?"
"Even if you did, what would change? — If that's what you're thinking, then doing it would be entirely pointless."
If you believe song has no power, then perhaps so.
Perhaps so, perhaps so — but it's not so, is it?!
I took Lulubelle from my back and gripped it firmly in both hands.
People who weren't my audience yet were watching — people whose bellies brimmed with bottled fury. What a thing! They were going to watch me sing!
— When someone's about to start singing merrily, the last thing you want is people fighting!
"Shult, wait a moment. Something interesting is about to happen."
"Y-yes, it is."
Lady Priscilla and Shult stood behind me as I readied Lulubelle.
What kind of expression were they making? Forget it — damn it all — I don't need to see to know!
I am Liliana! The minstrel who crosses the world with nothing but a Lulubelle, who will one day sing of heroes!
If I back down here, both womanhood and life are ruined!
"I've got an idea! Listen — 'The Water Gate City, Shimmering on the Surface'!"
Come to your senses first, then go mad with enthusiasm for me!
If you've got time to fight, that's infinitely more worthwhile!