Without the need to worry about the effects of the Siren magic anymore, I enjoyed Delmare’s singing in its entirety and it was indeed as beautiful as the other Sirens said it was.
Her song did not have any lyrics in them but instead, she was singing a tune that was similar to the sounds of nature. I figured that this was a song that she made up herself and it was inspired by her everyday life on this island.
Compared to the first time we heard her sing, this was definitely way more beautiful, which I suppose was what the Siren magic was for.
The song reached its conclusion where she sang a high note before slowly letting it fade out, mimicking the sound of wind blowing through the caves.
She held her pose for a moment before opening her eyes slowly, her body relaxing as she sucked in a breath.
I couldn’t help but start clapping, “That was so beautiful, Delmare! I can’t believe you’re self taught!”
Delmare blinked as though waking up from a dream while I felt Allure shudder behind me.
“Eh? Oh… Oh my? I actually forgot that you were still here, Aster,” Allure admitted while pushing herself towards the pool.
I giggled, “I don’t blame you, I can see that your praise for her singing was definitely not an exaggeration.
Delmare blinked at me, “Aster? Did you… Are you ok?”
“Of course I am~ I really enjoyed your singing too~ I can see the connection with the caves and the waters within your song~ I’m guessing this place inspired this piece?”
She let out a gasp of surprise before diving into the water to resurface right beside me, her expression one of ecstasy.
“You could tell?! My sisters always said my singing was beautiful but they could never tell what inspired my songs or what they are about! I thought it was just that I always failed to convey it through my voice so I kept trying harder and harder but it never seemed to work! Could Aster really tell?!”
Allure raised her hand, “Before that… Could I ask how you managed to resist her music, Aster? I was watching you quite closely at the start and it looked like you were affected like the men before you. They also started to have a far off look in their eyes before they would start running towards Delmare maniacally without a care. Then I saw you snap out of it on your own…”
I smiled at her, “Oh~ I just went ahead to identify the magic that would have affected my mind and blocked it from affecting me~”
“You can do that?”
I shrugged, “It seems like it.”
Honestly, I think my boon [Machine Learning] helped me adapt to it, I’m just surprised that it came into effect so quickly and on what I suppose was my second try.
Maybe it’s because I already had some experience in it somehow? I don’t really know how that works but I’m definitely not complaining.
Delmare clasped her hands together, “The outside world is amazing… To think such a thing is possible… That means there are others out there who can listen to my song as well! But please tell me how you were able to understand my song so easily, Aster!”
I tilted my head, “Eh? I think it’s quite obvious isn’t it? There’s parts of your song that have the feeling of being free but restricted, of being at home but also alone and of being loved but also shunned.”
I could see Delmare’s face brightening up even more with each word I said and she looked at Allure excitedly, “What about you, sister? Did I finally manage to do it?!”
Allure gave her a wry smile and shook her head, making me distracted momentarily by her chest shaking from side to side.
“Your singing is as beautiful as always sister, but I’m afraid I did not get the same insight that Aster did.”
“Oh… Maybe because Aster came from outside so you are more well learned?” Delmare suggested.
I tapped my chin thoughtfully, “Maybe… Or I guess it’s because I’m a creative person myself. I’m a writer, you see, and I sometimes need to research the different feelings that certain sounds might make a person feel so I’m more aware of such things.”
She gasped, “You’re a writer?! What books have you written?! We have so many books here that drift in from the sea! Many of them have lost pages so we’re never able to get them fully intact but everything we could read in them is really interesting! Maybe we have some of your books too!”
I shook my head, “Sadly, I have not published my writing here yet… Although I intend to write one after I travelled around the world and record down all the interesting things I see on my journey~”
“Oh! Oh!! That’s also similar to my dream! I wish to travel the World and experience it to create more songs and sing for everyone!”
“Eeeehhh!! What a coincidence! That’s a great dream!” I exclaimed.
She then looked at me with anticipation, “Is that why you are here as well? To get more materials for your writing?”
I nodded, “You could say that~ I’ve not officially set out on my journey yet, but I most certainly would be recording all this down~”
“That is so sweet~” Delmare gushed, her eyes sparkling in the light. “Is there anything you would like to know?”
Chance!!
“I would very much like to know how you make your cookies! They tasted really, really good!”
“Eh? It’s really simple actually. I have a garden which I use to grow sugar plants to make my own sugar while the salt is taken from the sea. I would heat up the sugar and then add the sweet juices by squeezing this white flower~”
She reached towards the kitchen counter and pulled out a fragrant smelling flower.
Oh!! That smells like vanilla! Although that doesn’t look like the vanilla flower from my old world. I guess it’s something similar here but you can just get the extract by squeezing the flower?
And the sugar plant… Are they sugar beets or something? I never really paid much attention to the flora and fauna of this world yet so maybe the plant is literally called Sugar Plant? Then again, Delmare’s knowledge on this is also quite limited too.
But that means her cookies were caramel cookies! Ahhh! I can’t believe I wasn’t able to tell it from the start! But this is great! I know how to make these now!!
After getting her to agree to let me see her garden later, we decided to go back to the others to let them know we were safe.
I had to dress myself in my clothes which would ironically get wet again and I’ll have to dry myself once more when I get there. At least I have a change of clothes and dry towels in my Pack of Folding~
We came back to the cavern and Odeta immediately rushed forward to pull me up from the water.
“Welcome back sister Aster!”
Emilia also came up to me and asked, “So how did it go? Did Lady Aster also lose your mind and have to be smacked to your senses?”
Delmare spoke up before I could, “She didn’t! She managed to block out the magic in my voice to stay unaffected!”
Emilia blinked at her before turning to me, “You… Blocked out her magic? Did you prevent yourself from hearing altogether?”
I shook my head while pulling stuff out of my Pack of Folding to look for my towels and clothes, “Nope~ I learned how to use my own mana to protect my own mind from being affected~ But I could still hear her singing just fine~”
The pink haired Siren clasped her hands together, “That means there must be other people out there who can do it as well! I can’t wait to share this joy with everyone else! Do you think there’s a place that I can start?”
Ephyra gasped, “Does that mean we’re really leaving the island to explore the world?! Oh! Oh! IWhat do I do?! I’ve dreamt of this for so long but I never actually thought we would actually do it!”
The other Sirens also started chatting excitedly at the prospect before Emilia cleared her throat, “Ahem… Hold on… Lady Aster… You really managed to block out the magic affecting your mind and still hear her singing clearly?”
I had a bad premonition but I nodded my head at her question.
She clutched her head with her hands, “First the Shadow Summons… Then now this? Eheh… Ehehe… Ehehehehe…”
I gulped, “Are you also saying that this shouldn’t be possible as well?”𝔬𝔳𝔩xt.𝚌𝑂𝑚
The Nekomata whirled around, “Of course not! I’ve been sailing these seas all these years and the only defence anyone has is to stuff our ears with cotton when dealing with Sirens! There’s no such thing as blocking out their magic with your own mana! What are you… Ah… That’s right… Lady Aster is from the Nilm Family after all… Maybe it’s just a family thing… But seriously… What you did was absolutely impossible for anyone else, Lady Aster.”
Oh…
I turned to look at Delmare whose face was frozen in shock, I could already see her dream of travelling around the World and singing to everyone crumble into pieces.
Umm… Maybe other Off Worlders could learn this as well? I… I don’t know…
Well damn…