Chapter 49 The Bard: A "Child" with a Wicked Temperament. ...
As the bard finished speaking, the wind and waves suddenly calmed down.
Easter adjusted his posture slightly, but as luck would have it, being "weak and powerless," he couldn't do anything.
"System, I remember you could project before?" he said with great interest, as if he were about to watch a show.
The system was at a loss for words. Why was its host becoming increasingly strange? It kept its complaints to itself and projected them onto the screen.
Easton looked at the image on the screen and raised an eyebrow; the sight was truly astonishing.
The two people in the picture are standing in mid-air above the sea. One of them is wearing a simple white robe and has a dignified appearance, but the sorrow and pain on his face at this moment dissipates the dignified appearance.
What surprised East was another person, no more than 1.65 meters tall, with a frail and thin figure shrouded in a black robe, holding a small white-gold harp in his hands, the darkness incongruous with this holy color.
The two were easy to identify; the one in black robes was definitely the bard, but this…
East clearly remembered that Areper had said the bard was twenty-six years old, but judging from his physique, it would be more believable if he were sixteen.
“Oh~ I see,” the bard said, lightly strumming his harp. “Are you afraid he’ll find out… your little secret?” His voice was light and lively, and the harp played light and lively music as well. But the drawn-out tone and the deliberate pauses clearly revealed his wicked sense of humor, like the innocent malice of a child.
The bard's fingertips swept across the harp. "Let me see who's here. It can't be such a coincidence... Sure enough, there's no such coincidence." He was extremely disappointed. He stopped playing the harp. The harp he was holding dissolved and transformed into an exceptionally exquisite and gorgeous magic wand.
He rested the tip of his wand against his chin, and beneath the hood was a face clad in an ornate half-mask, obscuring his features. However, from the exposed lower half, one could discern that he was a handsome man.
He asked listlessly, "Mermaid, why are you here? I went all the way to the polar ice caps, but I couldn't find you." He emphasized the word "went all the way."
When Ist discovered this "child," he realized that this strong man, who was eager to become a bard, had a bit of a performative personality about him.
The term "child" is used naturally because the bard's actions, tone of voice, and physical appearance are nothing like those of a mature adult.
"Forget about the bard, as a paladin, why would you fight someone without any consideration?" Pearl ignored the bard's self-amusement and addressed Seraph, her tone and expression not pleasant.
Pearl was anything but happy. Just think about who he had lost! He felt like dying. On land, the survival rate was somewhat higher, but in the ocean, especially for a human who couldn't swim, the outcome was predictable. He could only hope for Felix's special abilities.
“Little mermaid, you’re in a bit of a temper today~ Let me guess…” The bard’s unusually red lips curled up, “Did you lose the person you were walking with in the ‘market’?”
“Bard, I don’t want to fight you,” Pearl said in a deep voice.
“If you want me to do something, be nice to me and make me happy, then everything will be fine,” the bard said, thoroughly enjoying the suffering and helplessness of others. “But I’m quite puzzled, shouldn’t you be able to find someone in the sea? Unless that person is very special.”
East hid even more tightly. Wait a minute! If you're going to fight, fight properly. Why are you dragging him into this? How embarrassing would it be if he were discovered now!
It turns out that the more you try to prevent something from happening, the more likely it is to happen.
When Easter was pulled from the sea, his face was blank. Good heavens! What did he ever do to deserve this? He was just an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.
“Oh my gosh~ Look who this is? I thought it was someone hiding down there.” The bard circled around Ister. “What a coincidence, don’t you think, Your Majesty King Felix?”
East didn't see any connection whatsoever. "I'm just an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire," he said, pointing to the shore not far away. "It's so close, don't make things difficult for me!"
The bard ran his hand through Balaist's hair, making it float even higher, and with his arm around the man's shoulder, whispered, "You're the one I've been looking for!"
“Bard,” Pearl called out, his wand already in hand.
Seraph, who should have been the main character, stood awkwardly to the side, feeling out of place. His emotions, which had been fluctuating wildly, suddenly broke down. "Perhaps I really should report this," he thought.
The bard glanced at her, having already lost interest in this intriguing "toy." "Whatever," he said, then smiled at Pearl. "Mermaid, I'm very interested in your private stories, very much so~" His tone was playfully upturned, not deliberately affected, but natural and pure, yet subtly eerie.
East's body was tense. Apart from Areper, he had never been so close to anyone else. But seeing the bard's efforts to put his arm around him, he couldn't help but laugh. He knew his laughter was inappropriate, but he just couldn't hold it in. "Bard, are you a very good storyteller?"
“Yes, want to hear it? You’ll have to trade your story for it~” The bard turned to look at Ister, “What are you laughing at? It’s quite a sight.”
East tentatively took two steps to the side, and the bard casually withdrew his hand.
Easter found himself still not back in the sea. "I can roughly guess what you want to know. What I'm more curious about is how you found out?"
"Listen," the bard uttered only this one word.
All three people present turned their gazes to the bard and expressed their doubts at the opportune moment.
"How can you be so stupid?" the bard said disapprovingly. "Listen."
The sounds of wind, waves, and birdsong were all that could be heard.
"You're all so clumsy~" the bard said regretfully.
“Bard, I’m not going to waste my breath on you. I’m leaving with my men.” Pearl had no time to waste any more and went to Ister’s side.
"That won't do~ I've given him my answer, but he hasn't given me the story I want yet. Here at the bard's place, it's all about an equal exchange." Black array patterns appeared beneath the bard's feet.
“Didn’t you already know?” Easter asked.
"I'd rather hear the person involved tell the story again, otherwise how can I embellish it for my performance?" The bard pouted, as if he wasn't the one being unreasonable.
Easter lowered his eyes and said gently, "It's too hot. This isn't a suitable environment for storytelling."
“You’re right, let’s go to your manor,” the bard said matter-of-factly. “By the way, what are you still doing here?” He turned to look at Seraph.
Seraphin, "..." Surely not everyone has forgotten that he was the one who was involved from the beginning.
“Aripor isn’t exactly a saint either; he’s not exactly a paragon of justice.” The bard finished speaking and chuckled, a laugh that was both eerie and comical.
When East looked at the bards, he saw some of his former students, whom he collectively called "chuunibyou teenagers."
Seraph suppressed the urge to attack again and nodded to It and Pearl, "I apologize, this is an apology to you both."
Easter declined, saying, "No, it didn't affect me much."
Pearl and the bard both looked at Ist, as if they were looking at some rare treasure.
Pearl's thoughts were even more profound. Easter almost died, and this was considered to have had little impact? It seems that Areplatin used quite a bit of a mind-altering drug.
The bard chuckled, "You'd better thank your captain for that."
Seraph looked bewildered, and both East and Pearl tensed up for a moment.
"Don't worry, such a perfect story deserves a bigger stage, and I won't let it be wasted," the bard said with a grin.
Serafin had some doubts in his mind, but thinking that he had important business to attend to and that he wouldn't get any more answers, he left quickly.
Easter felt as if he had truly come back to life as he stepped firmly onto the ground.
They landed near East's manor, where colorful little fire people were coming and going. They quickly noticed the three of them and gathered around. When they realized it was East, they started chattering.
"Your Majesty, is there a special mission?"
"Your Majesty, what's wrong? Do you need help?"
"Your Majesty, why are the mermaids here again? Have they run into some trouble?"
"Has another new NPC appeared?"
...
"Your Majesty, is this your friend? He's quite eccentric." It was a little fire-man hovering around the bard.
The bard had very special eyes, dark as a thick abyss, and the little fire spirit happened to look up and see them. Startled, it hurriedly took several steps back and fell to the ground with a thud.
East stepped forward and helped the little fireman up. "Are you alright?" he asked with concern.
"It's nothing, it's nothing." The little fireman hurriedly waved his hands, embarrassed and wanting to find a crack in the ground to hide in.
Ister had the system issue a few daily tasks and cleared out the little fire people who were gathered around.
The bard curiously grabbed a small fire-man and kneaded it.
"Ahhh... Let me go, let me go, you pervert."
Issey looked closely and recognized a familiar little fireman, with black and white vertical stripes, like a husky.
“Bards, they are wise, please release him.”
The bard reluctantly let go. "They feel even better than those orcish ones. How about you give me two?"
"Waaaah... I'm dirty, I'm dirty," the husky whined sadly.
East didn't know what expression to make. "They are intelligent," he repeated.
“Oh, I understand,” the bard said in a mysterious and ethereal tone, but his voice was so out of place that it only made people laugh.
East couldn't laugh. The bard was mysterious and frightening, and he was truly afraid that he might say something astonishing.
“Bard, you only look and sound like a child. Don’t actually think of yourself as one,” Pearl warned.
"I can't grow up, what can I do? I really want to grow up too." The bard seemed very distressed.
"Go inside first, don't block the entrance," Easter said. The players would be crowding around again soon. As for the bard, well, he's not exactly a genius; you can't believe he ever tells the truth.
"Thank you for the invitation." The bard skipped and hopped into the manor, acting more like a child than a child himself.
“He’s been like this ever since he appeared ten years ago,” Pearl said. “His personality, his way of doing things, and so on have not changed.”
Easter: "Thanks for the reminder."
The bard skipped and hopped to the tower. “This will be a good stage for storytelling. Let’s go up there,” he said, without asking any questions.
“Okay,” Easter said, not wanting to fuss over such a small matter, “but I need to change my clothes first.”
“No problem, no problem. It’s only right to take the ‘performance’ seriously.” The bard jumped up and down two or three steps at a time and quickly disappeared into the stairwell.
“I’ll go up first.” Pearl said, stepping onto the steps. He was going to keep an eye on the bard so that he could stop him if he caused trouble again.
Easter turned and dragged his heavy steps back to his room, shaking off a lot of salt particles from his body. He went into the bathroom and took a quick shower.
Esther came out of the bathroom, his hair still wet, and spread out on the bed in a starfish position. He was exhausted. Unfortunately, he still had to deal with people who were either real or fake children. He struggled to get up, his face full of reluctance.
Easter grabbed a few clothes and put them on, then shuffled out the door. A few little firemen were waiting outside. He instinctively smiled. "Did something happen?"
“That’s what we should be asking you, Your Majesty,” said Meme.
Seeing East's condition, no one could honestly say he was alright.
East stopped pretending and the smile on his lips faded. "Something happened, and it's my fault for neglecting my exercise. But don't worry, it's not life-threatening."
"Really?" Matsukami Yuki's cool voice was incredibly refreshing.
Easter nodded without batting an eye, "Of course it's true. I need to go and entertain the guests. You all go and do your own things."
"Little one, don't you need to come with us?" Yunmu asked, blinking her beady eyes.
“Not this time.” East instinctively didn’t want the little firemen to appear in front of the bard.
The fire-bringers made way, "It seems that 'boy' is special."
East gave Matsushita Yuki a look that roughly meant: You don't have to be so perceptive.
...
Exhausted, East climbed to the top of the tower, where the two people sat on opposite sides, undisturbed by each other.
The bard's magic wand transformed into a small harp once more, and he plucked the strings with the wind, the music melodious and clear, crisp and melodious, drawing people into the world depicted by the music.
Easter relaxed and lay lazily on the soft couch, feeling drowsy.
"I didn't come here to play a lullaby." The music stopped, and the bard's disgruntled voice rang out.
Easter lazily lifted his eyelids. "But I'm really tired. I almost drowned. You should understand that I'm someone who just survived a close call."
"You're still alive, aren't you?" the bard said dismissively. "With all that stuff on you, you could drown ten or eight more times and still not die."
Easter perked up and leaned back on the soft couch. "If I repeat what you already know, it won't change much. Why insist that I tell it again?"
“Details, a story without details is like a person without bones who can’t support their flesh,” the bard reached out the window, letting the wind brush his fingers. “Your story is too special,” he met East’s gaze with his dark eyes. “Too special.”
Easter rubbed his temples and chuckled softly, "The details you want to hear, you don't mean the things about me and him in bed, do you?"
The special atmosphere created by the bard shattered completely after Ist spoke.
The bard stormed up to Ister in a fit of rage, shouting, "You dare to play me for a fool!"
East's expression was calm. "I'm telling the truth. You should be able to calculate how long I've known him. How could I possibly have so many details?"
The bard shook his head and stepped back. "Impossible, impossible..." He stopped and stepped forward again, staring intently at Ister. "Is that what I heard? There must be some unknown connection between you two."
East remained unmoved. "Then I don't know. To be honest, my first meeting with him was an accident, and our second meeting was quite natural."
"Details, forget about the bedroom stuff, focus on unexpected encounters and romantic reunions, go for this." The bard retreated to his seat.
Pearl silently put away his magic wand; it seemed the king was more capable than he had imagined.
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Author's Note: The Bard, a bard who is obsessed with stories.
Why does this feel like something out of a tabloid paparazzi movie? [Very inexperienced dog]
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