Let's Try It One More Time!
A few days later, on Saturday, auditions for opera singers were in full swing in the reception room of my mansion.
"With a light and easy heart~ No, that's too plain too! Woo woo, we need a chance~"
The opera singers took turns singing one after another. The fourth one wrapped up her song with powerful vocals, then bowed deeply toward me.
"We heard you well. You'll get the results by next week."
"Yes, Count! Just give me the chance, I'll do great! I'll be waiting for the good news!"
Cache, who was judging the auditions with me, spoke to the singer. But instead of replying to Cache, she shouted confidently at me before heading out of the reception room.
Before she could even leave, though, the memories of the fourth interviewee—and all the previous ones—scattered like dust in the wind.
Because the next one was the person I'd been waiting for. The opera singer with a voice that could stir human emotions.
"Alright, there she is. Bring in the next interviewee."
"Yes, Director."
Cache trotted over and opened the reception room door. In came a woman in a dress so voluminous it must have made walking a chore. Her light sky-blue hair cascaded like waves, and her porcelain skin suited her so perfectly she could star in a plastic surgery ad right then and there.
Shy type, huh?
Her beauty was overshadowed by how bashful she was—her micro-expressions gave it away.
As she entered and our eyes met, she froze like a malfunctioning machine, her tense face creaking as she started her greeting.
"H-Hello. I'm... Ahh!"
Thud!
Before she could finish introducing herself, the last interviewee tripped, her dress catching on a decorative piece at the entrance.
"Your foot...?"
I should have asked if she was okay, but I was too stunned to follow through. Sprawled on the floor, her ankle was exposed—and instead of a shoe, it had a bird's talon.
"That's... not human. A harpy?"
"More like a siren, Director."
"Siren?"
"Yes. Both harpies and sirens are half-human, half-bird, but sirens are about human-sized, while harpies are bulkier."
As the fifth interviewee hurriedly covered her ankle and stood, Cache had sidled up beside me and nodded.
"Harpies have feathers covering their entire lower body, and their arms are fused with wings. Sirens just have wings on their backs. So with clothes covering the wings and ankles like this, you can't tell them apart from humans at all."
"A siren, huh..."
Her exceptional vocal power and technique paired with an absurdly low fee made the revelation even more intriguing.
"Interviewee, come forward and introduce yourself properly."
"S-Sorry. I'm sorry."
The siren woman hiked up her skirt hem at my call, shuffled over to the chair where I sat, and bowed deeply.
"I-I'm Daproni. I work as a server on the first floor of the adventurer guild in the Frederik Dungeon Zone. I'm twenty-five."
Working at the adventurer guild... Probably sold into slavery.
Back when I first arrived in this world, in September of the year 561 by the Ailene calendar, I'd bought the wolf boy Ravi from slave traders in the Frederik central square. They visited every few months after that.
Human trafficking was legal here. The rough-talking guild master shelled out big money every time, buying female slaves regardless of race.
I'd heard about it from patients at Cache's shop or my clinic, and sometimes spotted new slaves adapting when I ate at the guild.
"We saw your name and age on the resume you sent... But why hide that you're a siren?"
"Th-That..."
Daproni clamped her mouth shut, some circumstance holding her back from answering.
Cache leaned in close and whispered in my ear.
"Sirens live near seas, rivers, valleys. They say they lure sailors passing by on ships. Sometimes eat them, too."
"N-No! That's harpies, not us!"
Daproni had overheard Cache's murmur and trembled, fists clenched tight.
"N-Not just me—no sirens eat humans. We just love singing. Sailors passing by get so entranced they mishandle the rudder, crash into reefs or cliffs, and wreck. That's all!"
"Hmm, is that so?"
"R-Really! We sirens even rescue those sailors sometimes!"
"If you're so innocent, why hide it? You could've just said so."
"Th-That's..."
She unclenched her fists and fidgeted with her fingers.
"Sirens get so many misunderstandings like that."
She hung her head like a criminal.
"That's why I left the sea for the West Continent, human lands. I want more people to know me, to know sirens are just people who love singing. That we're different from harpies."
I'd activated micro-expressions the moment Daproni entered. Everything she said rang true.
Even if she was a siren from slavery, a performer who'd sung for the imperial court shouldn't be stuck in this backwater. Her low fee was still a mystery.
But what I wanted now was her full talent. No need for a pressure interview.
"Okay, we'll hear the details later if needed. For now, sing the prepared song."
"Whew... Yes. H-Here goes."
Daproni took deep breaths to steady herself, then a clear, pure melody flowed from her lips.
"You said you'd come to me as a black cat..."
A soft, murmuring melody with poetic lyrics. A shiver like an electric shock ran through me.
I swallowed hard without realizing. Glancing aside, Cache gripped her hands, eyes misty, entranced by the voice.
"...But the one who came to me was a white cat~ A winter's sorrow~ A pure white caaat..."
The song ended. Her beauty faded next to the way it soaked the heart. My hands were clapping on their own. Cache's too.
Clap clap clap clap clap—
"Oh my, oh my gosh! She's a siren alright! It was amazing! Director! We have to hire her! Please, her!"
"Calm down, Cache."
Cache, always sharp sober, had her judgment clouded by the song. Music and chicken—the only legal drugs in existence, as they say. Music's power is immense.
But having heard every trick back home—three-octave highs, vibrato, half-breath technique—I didn't tear up like her.
Not that Daproni's song was bad. Micro-expressions had picked up subtle anxiety throughout.
"We heard you well, Daproni."
"Th-Thank you."
Post-song, she reverted to shy girl mode, shrinking back.
"Can I ask for one more song?"
"O-One more?"
She was definitely hiding something. Not just shyness—desperation to conceal. Reading her shifting emotions, I pressed.
"This was great, but for the Gold Territory promo event, I'd like something brighter, more upbeat. Like the powerful one you sent via crystal orb."
"Ah, th-that one—"
"I'd love to hear that one. Start whenever you're ready."
Daproni shot Cache a pleading look. But Cache, smitten by the sweet tone, was eager for an encore—eyes spinning.
Even without that, I'm the decider. Daproni had to prove herself here to dispel my doubts.
"Not starting?"
"N-No... Right now."
At my second prod, she placed a hand on her chest, closed her eyes, patted to calm her racing heart. Deep breath in and out, then she began the flashy tuxedo song from the crystal orb, slow and steady.
"On streets without you, I have nowhere to go~ Running and running and running..."
Another shiver down my spine. Anyone hearing her once would get why sailors wrecked—her clear, beautiful tone was that enchanting.
Her expression changed once she started singing. Was I overthinking?
Micro-expressions are accurate but not perfect. They glitch on beasts like Res or criminals like Ollie and Jeff with scary faces.
Blaming the glitch, I closed my eyes to enjoy. Then came the highlight—the explosive high note like a missile launch.
"The day darkness falls and it comes. That day too, I wait for yoooouuuk!"
"Hm?"
"Eh?"
A startled yelp like a deer bounding out. I opened my eyes in shock; Cache gaped, disbelieving.
"Khup, um. S-Sorry! I'll do it again."
Daproni looked most flustered, clearing her throat frantically, restarting from the top.
The problem part returned.
"The day darkness falls and it comes. That day too, I wait for yooo—urk!"
"...?"
"No way..."
I was speechless; Cache let out a soft wail of despair. Daproni started sniffling.
"Again! O-One more time, please!"
She tried over and over, cracking at the same spot every time. She couldn't hit the high note.