Time to socialize. Kaeya sighed.
While Subaru and Emilia were at the village, Kaeya was peacefully reading a novel in his room.
However, he was now completely bored, his brain hurting from all the input.
I wonder what Subaru is doing right now.
Since Subaru wasn't doing much work recently because of his injuries, he just conversed with Emilia and Puck—or him—most of the time.
.
.
After walking around for a while, Kaeya's ears picked up voices coming from a room nearby.
Walking closer, that was unmistakably Emilia and Subaru!
"...-that hurts!" Subaru said.
Are his injuries opening up or something?
Kaeya wasn't able to hear the whole sentence, so he thought Subaru was hurting because of his injuries.
Putting that aside and deciding to see for himself, he entered the room—only to see Subaru and Emilia sitting on the couch, with a blonde-haired tiny girl sitting near them. She had a weird object with her. Kaeya easily identified it as an instrument; however, he wasn't good enough to recognize what it was called.
A guest? Just fucking great.
Anyone who knew Kaeya even a little bit would be able to tell that meeting new people wasn't something he enjoyed. Though he didn't let most people see that side of him.
And she is a loli at that!
Though even if he was complaining about her being a loli, that was actually good for his current situation. If it was a hot milf lady, he would have internally folded. Then again he was prideful enough to never show that side to others even in a 10000 years.
Okay, it's not the time to think about that. He internally imagined slapping himself with both hands on the cheeks like some cartoon character would.
As he stood near the doorway, the little girl—clearly nervous—turned to look at him. Her eyes widened slightly. Her jaw slowly dropped.
"…U-Uwahh!?"
She let out a tiny squeak and practically flinched backward into the couch like she'd just seen a ghost—except it was clearly amazement, not fear, painted across her face.
"W-Who is that?!" she whispered hoarsely to Subaru, blinking rapidly like she thought Kaeya might disappear if she stared too long.
Subaru smirked, clearly entertained by her reaction. "Oh? Already stunned? That didn't take long. Try not to fall for him too fast, he doesn't have insurance for broken bard hearts."
Kaeya seeing the reaction to his presence, thought confusedly.
Okay, What's with that reaction?! Also don't say it like its a common occurrence or something!
Liliana, cheeks flushing and fingers tightening on her instrument, slowly stood up, still clearly overwhelmed but now trying to gather her wits like a bard preparing for a grand stage performance. She took one step forward, then stopped—eyes glued to Kaeya's face, drinking in every sharp detail.
"I-I… I'm Liliana… I-I'm honored, truly, deeply, transcendently honored to be in the same airspace as you."
"...Thanks?"
Liliana wasn't done. Her eyes sparkled.
"Your eyes—they're like blue fire! And your hair, so perfectly windswept and careless, like a prince of winter who's grown bored of the world! A-And your posture! The lazy elegance of a rogue noble! Wait… your ears—"
Her poetic flood came to a screeching halt. She took a half-step back.
"Those ears… a-are you—?"
Kaeya met her wide gaze with an expressionless blink. "Yeah. Half-elf."
Liliana gawked. She turned slowly toward Emilia.
"You're both…"
Emilia smiled gently, brushing back a lock of silver hair. "Mm. Kaeya's a half-elf too. Bewildering isn't it?"
"He he, that's the second time that exact situation occurred!" Subaru said, clearly enjoying Liliana's predicament. "Also, who even uses the word bewildering these days anyways?"
Liliana didn't respond immediately. She was still mentally rebooting.
"…W-What is this? Some kind of… secret gathering of beautiful half-elves?! A song's not enough, I need to write a trilogy!"
Kaeya gave Subaru a look that said really?, but said nothing.
Liliana twirled in place, instrument hugged tightly to her chest, sparkling with inspiration. "No, no—I need to sit down. Or stand up. I don't know anymore. You're both so… shiny."
Alright, I don't like this situation. Kaeya thought, then turned to Subaru, hoping to shift the attention elsewhere.
"Anyways, what were you talking about before?" he asked while walking over and taking a seat to Emilia's left—now with Emilia sitting between Subaru and Kaeya. He kept a reasonable distance: not too much to look like he was outright uncomfortable, and not too close to actually make himself uncomfortable.
"Changing the subject now, are we?" Subaru grinned mischievously, and it made Kaeya want to punch him and shatter that smug smile—but obviously, he couldn't.
"Anyways," Subaru continued, leaning back a little. "We were just talking about how Liliana's so nervous right now because Ram is telling Roswaal that she's here to meet him. And she's freaking out since Ros-chi is a noble and all that jazz."
This girl? Nervous? Kaeya had a hard time believing that, considering how she'd just acted like she stepped into a fairytale stage. Or… maybe she was just incredibly passionate about her profession. He had met people like that before.
"Though as of now, I have no idea what kind of image Roswaal's getting. For all we know, Ram might be describing her as a giant bard over two meters tall with a hoarse voice, demanding an audience."
Kaeya snorted softly at that, while Liliana gasped in horror, hugging her instrument tighter like someone had just insulted her child.
"W-What!? That would completely ruin my artistic integrity!"
"Exactly what I'm saying," Subaru said with a shrug. "You better prepare for damage control, miss Bard Extraordinaire."
Though now that i think about it, the chances of Ram actually doing something like that weren't below 10%.
"You don't have to worry that much," came a calm voice from the door.
Subaru and Liliana turned just in time to see a familiar face—blue-haired, tray in hand, steam rising from the tea.
"Nee-sama won't include her personal feelings when confirming Roswaal's intentions. She'll be fair," Rem said as she stepped into the room.
The very image of grace, she moved smoothly, adding fresh tea cakes to the table and refilling cups. Her maid outfit still as charming and revealing as ever.
Subaru lifted his cup toward her. "Putting the sweets aside, I thought tea was Ram's job?"
"Nee-sama's always busy," Rem replied, pouring him a refill. "Besides, I want to be the one to prepare Subaru-kun's tea. I put in a lot—my feelings, and other things too."
"Can you just stick to tea leaves and hot water? Please, I'm begging you," Subaru said, visibly flinching.
Rem pouted. "Too bad."
"You're letting her make your drinks after she says that out loud?"
"I'm living dangerously," Subaru shrugged. "It's part of my charm."
Rem kept serving like nothing happened. "Even so, I heard it was just a bard. Why bring her to the mansion?"
"Ahh, well…" Subaru scratched his head. "Emilia-tan got curious. But it's more than that. Somehow, she broke through Emilia's cognitive disruption."
That made Rem pause. "That effect is Roswaal-sama's handiwork. It's not something you just… break through."
"Exactly why I couldn't just let it go," Subaru said, glancing toward Liliana, who was currently melting into the couch after eating a tea cake.
Rem nodded thoughtfully. "I see. So in other words… silence her before she spills anything?"
"No!" Subaru nearly choked. "You completely missed the point!"
Rem just giggled. "Just kidding."
I would have a hard time believing that she wasn't!
Subaru, trying to recover from that comment, pointed at the sweets. "Anyway, the tea cakes helped. Big time."
Sure enough, Liliana, who was earlier buzzing with nerves, was now full-on snoozing on the couch.
"Zzz… Zzz…"
"I don't have the heart to just let you sleep like this!" Subaru snapped.
"Huh! I wasn't sleeping!" Liliana sat up suddenly. "I was pretending to sleep so I could lure out would-be assassins!"
Emilia gasped. "Wait, someone is targeting you?!"
"See! My precious, naive angel believes me!" Liliana said, smirking proudly.
Kaeya internally groaned.
Rem, choosing to ignore the chaos, turned to Liliana. "I heard you're a bard?"
"Yes! Sorry for being a reckless dream chaser, challenging the world with my Lyulyre!" she declared, clutching the instrument like a life raft.
"You just ride the flow, huh?" Subaru muttered.
Rem didn't seem to mind. In fact, she looked impressed. "Do you know many famous stories?"
Liliana's eyes sparkled. "Leave it to me! I've been playing for over ten years. I've made people cry, dance, and spiral into madness with my songs!"
"Wait, ten years?" Subaru blinked. "How old are you?"
"I'm turning 20 this year," she said proudly.
Subaru did a double take. "You're twenty?! With that look?"
"Hey, don't judge!" Liliana snapped. "I'm small but mighty!"
Wait...S-So is she, a legal loli!
"Yeah yeah, just saying… you've got strong legal loli vibes and I don't know how to process that," Subaru muttered.
I agree with him on that one.
Liliana ignored him, turning to Rem with renewed energy. "Anyway, I'll take requests. Since we've got not one, but one lovely pair of half-elves in the room, I have to perform this one. It's basically a crime if I don't."
Subaru's smile twitched, just a bit too sharp. "Ah, two half-elves in one place. That's… pretty rare, huh? Must be some kind of aesthetic balance thing."
Kaeya couldn't help but notice the tone Subaru got there. While Emilia just smiled innocently agreeing to the idea.
Liliana, still riding her own momentum, added, "This song's about a legendary half-elf warrior—no name, just power. They say he fought toe to toe with the Sword Saint herself, back in the day."
Subaru chuckled, but it came out more like a cough. "Hah. Yeah, a legendary half-elf. Sounds pretty niche, don't you think?"
Kaeya didn't say anything, but the corner of his mouth twitched in what might've been amusement.
"I've never heard of it," Emilia said, looking curious.
"Neither have I." Kaeya said.
Liliana, oblivious, strummed her Lyulyre once, eyes half-lidded like she was stepping into a dream. "It's called The Ghost of the Grove. Listen closely. It's not just a song—it's a story carved in blood and moonlight."
Subaru crossed his arms, leaning back with a muttered sigh.
And then she started to play.
.
.
"So, is spreading those songs the reason for your journey?" Rem asked. A few minutes after the story had ended.
"Well… it's one of them," Liliana said, her expression softening. "But I've got a more personal goal too…"
She trailed off, clearly about to say more—but the moment was cut off by a knock on the door.
"――Sorry for interrupting," came a familiar flat tone.
The door opened and Ram stepped in, looking as bored as ever. "Master Roswaal-sama will see the guest now."
She said it politely, but her tone still somehow managed to sound like she was annoyed just by the air existing.