Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 221
Chapter Title: An Encore Performance
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“…What did I just hear?”
“W-Well, it was a melody I’d never heard before in my life.”
“It sounded just like my little cousin banging away on a toy piano…?”
“H-How rude!”
“The notes… Could there be some hidden meaning to them?”
Ignoring the growing murmur around me, I stood up from my seat.
The princess was still smiling, though it seemed less like composure and more like her face had frozen in place.
Like parched earth cracked wide open, perhaps?
Not my problem, of course, so I ignored it and bowed elegantly.
“Thank you for listening. Next up, representing the Bednicker Family and my esteemed second brother whom I deeply respect, Hector, will grace us with the follow-up piece.”
“……!”
Hector shot me a startled glance, but as soon as eyes turned his way, he masked it with a faint smile.
His quick recovery nearly had me clapping.
Amid the young ladies squealing once more, Hector approached me, grinding his teeth as he muttered under his breath.
“…Y-you, grrrumble.”
“Sorry.”
“…….”
Letting out a sigh subtle enough not to draw notice, Hector took his seat at the piano, his complexion returning to its usual calm by then.
Soon, he began playing with refined poise.
Naturally, far better than a hack like me, though honestly, it wasn’t exactly virtuoso level either.
The skill of someone who’d learned it purely for refinement, maybe?
“Wow…….”
“So impressive.”
“Such splendid technique!”
Yet the nobles praised him with beaming faces, likely for two reasons.
First, my prior performance had greatly lowered their expectations.
Second, Hector at the piano—his posture as he struck the keys made him look every bit the maestro of the century.
Dressed for the banquet as sharply as I was—if not more so—against the hall’s backdrop, he cut quite the figure.
Graciously, the princess’s gaze shifted back to him, her expression growing dreamy once more.
Seizing the moment, I sidled up to Seren.
“…….”
Seren stared blankly at Hector—or more precisely, at the piano he was playing.
A storm of emotions swirled in her eyes, too complex for mere words.
“Should I have called you up instead?”
“…What?”
“The piano. You look like you want to play.”
“Don’t presume.”
A chill stabbed into my spine, her voice as cold as ice.
It was the sharpest I’d ever seen her, unmistakably the face of someone whose reverse scale had been touched.
Of course, I’m a man who’s actually stabbed a dragon’s reverse scale firsthand.
A bit of prickliness like this wouldn’t deter me.
“If personal talk doesn’t suit you, how about something else? Sihyun.”
“No idea what you’re on about.”
“Don’t play dumb. ‘Seren’ already told me everything.”
“Me? When? Sorry, but I’ve been so out of sorts lately, mentally unstable—sometimes I spout nonsense. Bear with me.”
After all this, such a blatant dodge?
I gave her an incredulous look for a moment, but Seren showed no intention of spilling the truth easily.
Of course, I couldn’t just go, “Oh, really?” and accept it.
Somehow, it felt like if I didn’t pry into her secret right here, I’d never uncover what Seren was hiding.
“Hey, let’s be straight. I’m not treating you like some cultist. I don’t think you’re crazy. Hell, I’m inclined to believe you.”
“Believe me?”
Seren let out a hollow chuckle.
She couldn’t bring herself to trust my claim of belief.
I got it, honestly.
Two souls in one body?
Not something folks from this era would swallow easily. Even an open-minded guy like me struggled at first.
‘Still.’
Through my not-so-short life and all its bizarre twists, I’d learned one thing.
Even seemingly impossible tales have their causes and effects.
Seren’s case was no different.
I had to believe there was some reason only I knew her story.
“I know the world you came from.”
“What?”
“More precisely, I’ve heard about it.”
“…From who.”
“My senior brother.”
Seren froze, murmuring my words back.
“Senior brother?”
“Long story. But he’s connected to my blessing—probably from the same world as you.”
“How do you know that?”
“His name was formatted like yours.”
“Funny.”
Her face said otherwise as she spoke.
“Then this’ll be quick. Tell me that senior brother’s name.”
“…Huh?”
Her unexpected demand left me stumped for a second. Spotting my expression, a smirk flitted across Seren’s face.
“Can’t say it, right? Names aren’t just slapped together. They carry ties only long-time natives of that culture grasp—and those vary wildly by era and region.”
I vaguely got what she meant.
Take that mega-hit hero novel, *Chronicles of the Fairy King*, which sold over a million copies in the Empire…
Fairies hated it.
The character names felt tacky.
Naturally, since the author was human.
“No, that’s not it—my senior brother’s name is just unusual. He hated saying it, calling him even more so. Spreading it around feels wrong. Privacy issue?”
“Your tongue’s suddenly loose.”
“…….”
Tsk.
Sigh.
Siiigh……
I racked my brain, but no clever solution emerged.
No helping it.
‘Sorry.’
I silently apologized to my third senior brother, then spoke.
“Fine. I’ll tell you. But don’t spread it anywhere.”
“No one to tell anyway.”
True that.
I nodded and opened my mouth.
“My senior brother’s name is…….”
The instant I uttered it, a fierce change swept over Seren’s face.
“…….”
Shock flashed, then bewilderment.
Soon after.
“…Pfft! Ha, haha! Puhahaha!”
Seren burst into laughter.
First time seeing her roar like that.
Her booming guffaws even pierced the piano music, drawing stray glances—proof of their volume.
I watched her with a bemused expression, apologizing inwardly once more.
‘Really sorry, senior brother.’
* * *
Dragging the still-howling Seren back to the balcony.
After a long fit, she looked at me and said.
“I believe you. You know Earth.”
“Yeah. Thanks ever so much.”
“But what kind of blessing do you have? Can you still talk to that senior brother? Could I meet him too?”
Seren rapid-fired her excited questions.
Usually so listless, cold, lazy—conversing felt like facing a massive wall.
But just mentioning senior brother crumbled it.
Her voice dripped with deep nostalgia. Not an emotion I couldn’t grasp.
I’d yearned for my own world for years after arriving at Spirit Mountain.
Amazed by this new side of her, I replied calmly.
“I’ve already answered plenty. You give, you get. Time for your side, right?”
“That’s… yeah.”
Seren cooled her excitement in an instant.
Sharp as ever—easy to talk to.
I promptly pulled out Laplace’s scripture.
“Recognize this?”
“You……! Where the hell did you—.”
“Stashed in the annex warehouse. Saw letters like what senior brother taught me, so I snatched it. Says [Stra-te-gy-Guide-] or something. That right?”
“…Yeah. You can actually read it.”
“So what’s a [Strategy Guide]?”
“Hmm…… Hard to explain the concept.”
Seren hesitated briefly before continuing.
“…Simply put, a reference compiling the fastest, best, optimal routes to conquer it?”
“Like a tactics manual?”
“Similar, but not quite.”
“I see…… Anyway, I want you to interpret its contents. Language from your home world—should be easy for you?”
“Maybe. Gotta see it first.”
Her lukewarm response puzzled me.
A plausible guess hit me.
“Don’t tell me—this is like that scripture at your family home?”
“Nah. Like I said, gotta check. But probably not.”
“Then what? Why so nonchalant?”
Then Seren dropped a bombshell.
“That’s all you’re curious about?”
“Huh?”
“Nothing else? No other questions?”
“Like?”
“…How I possessed Seren’s body, or you asking my origins outright, or…….”
“Nope.”
I waved it off irritably.
“You must have questions for me too. About senior brother, or the shadow world stuff.”
“Ah.”
Only now recalling I’d used an instrument?
Seren’s expression shifted slightly.
“But that’s not what matters now, right? Trivia can wait for downtime. Right now, I’m dying to know about this book.”
“…Suit yourself.”
Seren smiled wryly and extended her hand.
“Fine. Hand it over.”
“Here.”
I passed the book to her swiftly.
She flipped through rapidly, speaking casually.
“Some memories are fuzzy.”
“Huh?”
I looked at her.
Her blue eyes felt utterly different from earlier—same eyes, yet not.
Deeper, somehow?
Like the difference between ocean surface and abyss.
The dimming lights probably helped—the banquet atmosphere signaling its close.
“Amnesia or something?”
“Not quite. I remember who I am, what I did. But patches are hazy. Regular cafe’s name, close friend’s nickname, daily park view—all blurred.”
“You forgot?”
“Maybe. Feels off, though.”
What was she getting at?
As I studied her face, Seren dove into the main point while reading.
“One thing’s clear: I encountered this world on Earth.”
“Encountered?”
“Yeah. Probably as a game.”
“…Game?”
I tilted my head; she chuckled.
“You’re definitely not from Earth. Your confusion proves it.”
“What’re you saying?”
“Too long to explain. But Earth games aren’t like this world’s chess. Vast, specialized, mind-blowing experiences. Like traveling separate worlds.”
Naturally, third senior brother never mentioned this—tough to grasp.
Anyway, after rifling through, Seren handed the book back with a deflated look.
“Done already?”
“Yeah. Well, only half.”
“Huh?”
“That prophecy book—no, strategy guide—is in a language I don’t know.”
“What?”
I blinked in confusion.
“Hey, I read the cover letters. Confirmed the same inside.”
I might not know the language intimately, but I wouldn’t miss its traits.
Scripts have rules, standards.
Spotting patterns in sequences isn’t hard.
But Seren shook her head.
“You didn’t read to the end, did you?”
“Hm? Oh…….”
Come to think of it, no.
I skimmed early-middle, then breezed past the indecipherable parts.
“Knew it. Look here. Midpoint on, the language changes.”
She opened to the page, and sure enough, the script looked unfamiliar.
“This is…….”
“…It was a foreign game. French company, probably. This guide translates the French original up to midway. Obviously, I don’t know a lick of French.”
Didn’t fully get it, but the conclusion was simple.
“So you can’t read from midway either?”
“Yeah.”
Seren sighed.
“The one at Goodspring manor’s similar. A [Setting Collection]—gave me rough event timelines. Game devs were total otakus; even the chronology’s vague fluff.”
“Hm. Vague fluff…….”
I recalled bits Seren shared at the academy.
- …On the second full moon, the reddest twilight river shall reach the dark heavens. When despair and grief swirl to topple the tree of knowledge, the river of blood dyes the full moon its hue.
Definitely not straightforward..
“So no solution?”
“Can’t learn another world’s language… I was bummed until recently.”
“……?”
“Found a clue.”
“Oh. When?”
“When we were together.”
She drew something from her bosom. Sleek metallic surface—oddly familiar.
“That’s?”
“[Smartphone].”
“Smartphone?”
“Think high-tech magic tool with tons of functions. Runs on electricity. Has built-in translation—might decode the book’s language.”
“Oh?”
I brightened.
“Then power it up.”
“Easier said than done. Delicate device. Mishandle it, and it’s scrap.”
I added I’m hopeless with machines. She continued.
“So I planned to find a craftsman with keen eyes, make him grasp its structure perfectly, then entrust charging. Tough as hell, sure.”
“I see. Then maybe this helps?”
I showed another spoil from the annex warehouse.
“That……!”
Seren jumped.
“[Auxiliary battery]!”
“…Can you stop with the jargon?”
I can’t keep up, seriously.