A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

“You’re in such a hurry,” Bray said to Virginia.

"Yes, they were in a hurry." Virginia covered her mouth and couldn't help but laugh.

That guy was scared away by Bray. Eorz's performance hadn't started yet, but most of the seats were already occupied.

Upon entering the venue, Bray immediately noticed that the lighting was dim and warm, giving the entire venue a yellowish hue.

Although many people say it has a lot of charm and atmosphere, Bray still doesn't like dark environments; staying in them for too long gives him a headache.

However, as Bray entered the venue and pondered the lighting, everyone around him turned their attention to him.

There's no way around it, Bray is probably the only guy carrying two swords.

Putting aside the longsword, the size of the broadsword alone is enough to draw attention.

Bray's attire would only be considered normal by the Adventurers' Guild.

This is a place for listening to music, but unfortunately, Bray doesn't look like someone who comes here to listen to music at all.

Perhaps... they look like country bumpkins visiting the city?

“Mr. Bray.” Virginia looked at Bray with some concern.

She was a little worried that Bray might feel uncomfortable being watched by so many eyes.

“Hmm? Mr. Bray?” Virginia called out to Bray, and when he didn’t respond, she called out again softly.

"What's wrong?" Bray only then heard Virginia calling him.

Bray was so impressed by the size of the venue that he lost focus for a moment.

This venue is huge! It's even bigger than where Bray used to watch plays.

Bray always felt a little uneasy in places like this.

Don't worry, Bray wasn't uneasy because of everyone's stares; he was just a little nervous because it was his first time seeing the world.

If you break something, will you have to pay for it? This is one of the reasons why Bray is so anxious.

"N-nothing." Virginia glanced at Bray, as if her worries were unnecessary.

Virginia glanced at it once, then glanced at it several more times, until she started to blush.

"Um..." Virginia covered her face and made shy sounds under Bray's bewildered gaze.

"I thought my romantic tendencies would subside over time, but I was too naive." Blanche, who had been silent until now, sat next to her princess and began to mutter to herself.

The thought that there was a woman in the house of this dead fish made Blanche's stomach ache.

Why would someone as outstanding as my princess fall for this deadbeat? And now we're in a love triangle!?

"Snap—" A loud sound rang out, and the lights in the hall went out one by one.

Finally, all the spotlights above focused on the stage.

It seems that while Virginia and Brehus were still lost in their own thoughts, the prelude to the performance had already been given, and the actual performance was about to begin.

At the same time, Bray narrowed his right eye slightly, focusing his attention.

He remembered Latis saying it was the sixth song.

If anything seemed amiss during the sixth song, Bray would promptly sabotage it.

Anyway, Eric had been informed beforehand, and he would handle the rest, so Bray wouldn't get into any trouble.

With Eric's assurance, Bray was able to do whatever he wanted with peace of mind.

He's not obligated to pay for the damaged stage, right?

Well, let's just say we'll start by cleaving the stage in two.

"Ding—" The piano music suddenly began, ending Bray's fantasy.

Along with the piano music appeared Eorz's figure.

Eors walked gracefully out from behind the stage curtain.

She slowly walked up to the loudspeaker and began to sing along with the accompaniment.

Before the song even started, some people in the audience were already surprised.

"Aeolus smiled?" A fat man keenly noticed Aeolus's smile.

He was the critic who previously said that Eordórzej was just a playing machine.

"I heard that her singing is different now than before."

"I'm all ears," the obese man said casually, simply tilting his head back.

"You have no idea how much effort Eors put in." Tiggia, who was also sitting in the audience, interjected with dissatisfaction after hearing this conversation.

Today, Tiggia is eagerly anticipating Eorz's performance; she cannot bear to see Eorz being talked about behind his back.

Eorse kept striving to make people enjoy her singing even more.

How could Tiggia allow this effort to be so easily dismissed?

However, the obese man was not angered by Tiggia's remark.

“It seems you know Eors.” The obese man glanced at Tiggia sideways.

"Then let me tell you something: she's not the only one working hard in this world, and her efforts aren't the only ones that count. Others' efforts are also efforts."

"It's just that her hard work paid off better than others." After saying this, the obese man put a finger to his lips, signaling Tiggia to stop arguing.

"Hmph." Tigia couldn't think of anything to refute his words, so she could only snort and turn her head away.

She then turned her attention to the stage.

She didn't come here to argue with anyone, but to thoroughly memorize Eors's performance.

---

As Eorz stood on the stage, a surge of inexplicable excitement welled up within him.

Why are the lights that chased her so bright today?

Eors has stood on the stage more than once, and has been the focus of spotlights more than once.

However, why is the light so different today?

The light at this moment shines even brighter, and it makes Eors yearn for it even more.

She wanted to stand under this light and sing her heart out.

Now she can sing her heart out, and she will make those who were disappointed in her in the past fall in love with her singing.

Eorz held the megaphone, his expression as if he were gently caressing a lover.

Her exquisite features and graceful figure were so alluring.

But none of these can compare to her singing voice.

All three of these qualities are concentrated in one person, which can only be described as exceptionally advantageous.

Everyone in the audience remained silent, not daring to make a sound, for fear of disturbing the songstress's performance.

When Eorz felt the lights were dazzling, didn't the audience below also feel that Eorz was dazzling?

Why is this girl so dazzling? Why is her voice so moving?

Even those who had previously criticized Eors were captivated by the girl's singing.

The girl's singing now seems to have lost some of its precision compared to before.

But there's something even more important—a soul.

The girl's high notes were so high, yet not at all harsh; her low notes were so gentle, as tender as a breeze.

"This really is..."

"That sounds really nice."

"The voice of a goddess! This is the voice of a goddess!"

As people marveled at the song, it switched seamlessly, changing so naturally.

As song after song played, Eorz's performance changed venues several times, and the girl's outfit changed several times as well.

But the audience was completely oblivious, each one immersed in the heavenly sound.

Then... finally, the sixth song arrived. One note after another lingered in the listeners' ears.

But when Eorz reached the climax of the song, the piano music suddenly stopped.

It happened as suddenly as when the piano music started.

Why did the piano music suddenly stop? The reason is simple: the pianist simply forgot to play.

The singing made the pianist forget his own duties.

Not only the pianist, but even the audience members looked dazed.

How long can a song last?

Some symphonies can last up to 80 minutes, while a typical song can be finished in 3 to 4 minutes.

The song that Eorz performed was only 5 minutes long.

From the moment Eorz began to speak until all the listeners were stunned, only a minute had passed.

Standing backstage, Bud Bush looked dazed, as if he were lost in a dream.

Budsh knew what kind of impact the song would have, so he put on earplugs beforehand.

But Budsh really underestimated the score.

Although Budsh couldn't hear Eols's singing, the melody echoed in his mind.

What a beautiful melody it was that made Budsh unconsciously abandon all thought.

He was immersed in the illusory joy brought by the song, a joy that came from nowhere.

It was simply a feeling of happiness, without any trigger.

Like Bud Bush, Latis was also lurking in the venue early on.

Latis, sitting behind Tiggia, covered his forehead.

The feeling of pleasure was irresistible; Latis's expression gradually became numb, and he even forgot to remind Bray to take action.

---

Bray crossed his arms and watched Eors, who was singing passionately on stage, with a blank expression.

Bray was certainly aware of the oddities of the people around him.

It wasn't obvious at first, but by the time the song reached its first climax, even someone as oblivious as Bray knew how wrong things were.

Virginia, standing beside him, now had a flushed face and dazed eyes.

Blanche was in the same situation; if even the cold, aloof maid was like this, one can only imagine how the other listeners felt.

Many people think that the "heart" refers only to willpower.

Unfortunately, willpower is only one aspect of the "heart".

Willpower is included, courage is included, and even self-affirmation is included.

But Bray's "heart" is very high, so high that it surprised a certain goddess.

As for what impact this powerful attribute will have—

That is, Bray feels perfectly normal now, so normal that he even wants to sing along with Eors.

He stood up from his seat, though he didn't know who else was normal besides himself.

But now... I should be able to draw my sword, right?

The longsword was drawn in an instant; the drawing and the swing were executed in one fluid motion.

"Clang—" The sound of the sword being drawn was not obvious, at least not enough to drown out Eors's singing.

But the next moment, a wind blade slashed from the location of the mine all the way to the stage.

The wind blades whistled past, making a sharp sound as they cut through the air, and then the audience stands and the stage were ripped with deep, straight trenches.

The ditch was not wide and did not injure anyone in the audience.