Chapter 341: Rapping Dragons.

Chapter 341: Rapping Dragons.

W-What?! You cant be serious!

Of course I am! Try them on, sis! Despite her reluctance, I pushed some colorful and frilly stage outfits into Neills face as she grew increasingly flustered.

On the other hand, Rita was naturally curious about the outfits, picking them up and using her [Investigate] on them. Oooh, Neill, these are mana thread outfits. Oooh, theyre very well made, and the elemental mana is only about 10%. Its safe to use. They should fit us pretty well.

Hold on, Rita! Dont you dare put that on! Sis, we aint committing to this. I-I That whole idol thing is your shtick! Im trying to get ready for the fight!

Oooh, shut it, you train so much, youre a whole juggernaut already! I patted her shoulder, pointing at her arm muscles. They might seem delicate and dainty like mine, but both were thoroughly trained and hard if she tensed them.

My praises caused Neill to smile and be confident, posing while her yukata was falling off slightly. Heh, well, thats true and all. Once those grimgarians come, Ill bash them up just in time for some experience, so we better keep our party brac

Buuuuut, Tasianna is leaving for a bit, so I need a replacement! I need help, okay!

NO! Arghk, its- its I-I cant sing, alright!

Operation Save Elyonda was underway now, despite how much I didnt like the fact I had to stay behind for it. Tasianna, Shay, and Beth had already made their way through the night sky in the direction Mother predicted the Adhi and the Caedhulens should be after they had performed an extremely elaborate ritual for that weird Water Pantheon god

Melicertha.

Right! Thanks, Manager Mind.

God of Sailors, Fortune of the Sea, and Ports, Melicertha. Like most subordinate gods of Plesia, he was also an SSS rank monster in the past. A leviathan who demanded tribute in the form of food, magic casting, or a huge festival to grant a blessing in accordance with the effort given. This blessing would not only protect you from the terrors of the deep, but also ward off weather hazards.

It was literally a blessing from god as Earths religions would describe it. But, unlike on Earth, Mother assured me this was a real thing. Winds to accelerate ship speed, deterrent from merfiend attacks, or even mercy in case your ship was sunk. Like Bleidla, the dwarves blacksmithing god, Melicertha was one of the few gods who was extremely active concerning mortal affairs.

Teetering on the edge of the rules, Melicertha only brings his influence with these blessings. Every sailor or sea flyer had to give praise to Melicertha as a sign of respect, with the following tribute acting as a chance to receive a protective blessing. It wasnt needed, but in case something bad happened, it was there to help you.

In a certain way, Melicertha was considered one of the kinder gods inside the Water Pantheon.

And Tasianna, Shay, and Beth offered their mana in his name. Gods received power from magic casting too, so they simply sprayed water around until they believed it was satisfactory. There was no obvious sign or a System message if he was happy about it, you just had to guess it. And once they were done, they flew out, aiming for Adhis and the Caedhuls rescue.

In the meantime, Neill, Master, and the saurians rushed out of the city with the knights without alerting the citys citizens. Thankfully, the festival was still ongoing despite it being night and, since the princes struggle to flee the city was confined to the noble district, none of the commoners knew about it. The mood was good, so now it was my job to keep it as such.

And for that, I needed help to turn this festival into a music event.

Please, I need your help, Sis! I pleaded to Neill for help.

With Tasianna gone, my duet with her had to be canceled, but I didnt want to waste the training time. I also needed to fill up time, really, and I thought Rita and Neill could help me with that, so I immediately asked them once I returned to the island. I could have probably brought in other people to help, like the students or my retainers in the subspace, but they were either occupied or I didnt want to risk them for the plan.

Rita wasnt a fighter, but she was good at fleeing and had the ability to control plants. She could do something. Not to mention, Neill was probably stronger than me, so I didnt have to worry about her. Mother well, she wasnt really idol material, sadly. Not cause of her age, but her lazy attitude towards it, as she preferred enjoying me perform than doing it herself.

You know, like a parent who wanted to see their kid succeed to feel proud of them.

As such, I needed Neill! I needed her to become an idol! Or at least, an entertainer.

Hestia, I can mow down some green rats and overgrown musclebrains, but dont expect me to do this with you! I just cant sing, alright? I sound horrendous!

With Sis so against the idea, I really should back off, but I needed help in this matter. With puppy eyes, I looked at Neill and pleaded one more time. Please?

Those eyes wont change my mind, Hestia. Dont think acting like a hatchling would sway me Urgh, here, just give it a listen. Im terrible. Neill finally gave in to give it a try!

Nice! Too easy.

I handed her Tasiannas manatech tablet returned to me for safekeeping while she was away with some lyrics scribbled onto it. Neill reluctantly accepted it and read through them, grimacing and even shook her head once I pushed her to sing them. Playing the music necessary for her to get the beat, I waited in anticipation for her to begin.

Urgh Ooooogh, the moment our eyes met, ooggh, my heart couldnt stop beating

Badump, dump? What? dump, its like you used a skill on me ?

Ahh, but dont you even think Im so easily swayed

Can you prove to me that you can set my heart on fire? What? Uhm, pal ?

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.

Hestia, Rita, say something, Neill demanded with a reddened face.

Rita didnt say anything, at least about the singing; instead, she told Neill she only listened to the lyrics, not the words, as she wanted to write them down. Certainly a useful excuse, since that left me to be the only one to answer.

Well, you know, are you

I instinctively stopped myself from saying Are you even trying? I was forcing her into this, so the least I should be doing was be sensitive with this stuff. No star was born out of nothing.

However, describing Neills singing without insulting her felt hard. I wasnt too much of an elitist when it came to singing but Well, maybe I was. Singing had become so much of a passion that I was a bit of a perfectionist with it.

If I had to describe Neills singing, then I would call it out of beat and very speaking voice. That was why I found it hard to grasp if she was trying her best to sing, or if this really was her voice right now. It felt hollow, without any emotions. It didnt help that she was barely trying to keep up with the beat of the song, singing it without caring for the music. It felt jarring listening to her.

Considering we only had a day until the concert, this was impossible to fix. I needed another plan.

How fast can you speak?

Huh? Where did that come from?

Humor me, please.

Neill scratched her head before shrugging. The change in topic seemed to have calmed her down, as her flustered demeanor disappeared. I took back the tablet before writing down the lyrics I wanted to test her with.

Ill tell you how the lyrics go, and how you should say them. No need to sing, just keep up with the beat, Sis. Though, I still need to be able to understand them. Here we go. Holding my hand close to my mouth, I imitated a microphone with my mouth before inhaling

to beatbox.

Bang dicca bang dicca bang dicca bang dicca bang dicca bang dicca bang. [Now! Slow but with emotions!]

With a grimace, Neill began, Stakin this place to me, the Rap God, Rap God

All me peeps back at the hood fiddlin with the jukebox, jukebox

Wanna hear me brin down the beat on these fools like pros on the xbox, xbox

YES! Educate me, please!

And just like that, Rita and Mother disappeared into the subspace.

Somehow felt betrayed.

In any case, although I hadnt been able to persuade Neill to come rap with me, there was plenty of time for me to do so once we got to the city. Along with Rajah, the three of us joined Jethro on his ship, returning us to the city.

While we were on the boat, Neill approached me with a rather out-of-nowhere question. Got a question; you never mentioned having any siblings in your past life. Did you?

Huh? It was certainly not something I had expected her to be curious about. Up until now, she hadnt really asked much about my past life, seeming like a live-in-the-present person. I was an only child.

Ever felt lonely?

Not really. I had my parents as well as my nanny with me at home. Pretty lively, since we would always play music at home, having our very own personal concerts, I reminisced fondly of my time with Papa and Mama, where I would sing while they played the piano and violin respectively.

Mhmm, I see Okay. And just like that, Neill walked away.

????? What was that?!

Dunno what was going on with Neill right now, maybe the blood got to her head after Mothers headlock. It was clear I had to buy her a drink or two after what Mother did to her. She might have persuaded her for me, but the way Mother did it was too rude!

With that goal in mind, I led Neill to some stalls once we entered the city. Hopping from one place to the other while snacking on food and fruit drinks, the general mood between the city and port was quite similar to the morning time, honestly Always so festive. I kept my ears open, minding any rumors about any invasions or such. It was really hard, even with my superhuman hearing, as there were too many voices for me to clearly distinguish what the people were saying.

Still, from the vibrant laughters, the raucous drunks, and the merry singing, I could feel the majority of the people I walked past just now werent aware of any invasion news. It seemed everybody was able to discreetly leave the city.

[Master! Master! More meat, please!]

Yeah, what he said, Sis! Ahaha, love this festival!

Hey, stop eating so much. I had to spend a ton today! Give me a break!

Sis and Rajah were already enraptured by the crowds and smell of alcohol in the air once again, a staple every time we went to enjoy this festival. Its been almost two weeks now, but I still wasnt bored by all of this. It was fun, and it was even more fun when we did it as a family.

Hey, hey, Sis! There is something new over there! Sis pointed at a new stall on the street, or to be more specific, two stalls in one. On one side, one woman and three men were serving customers ringed pastries while the other side looked like a ring toss game.

Wait, are those donuts?! My eyes widened as I took a pique of what they were selling. Sadly, I was far shorter than Neill and the queue before the stall, so I had to use [Air Walk] to get a look. Wait, arent they?

I grabbed Neills arm and picked up Rajah before slipping through the crowd with them, until we ended up in the back of the stall. Knocking on one of the stalls wooden pillars, a young girl with green hair and lilac highlights turned around, dressed like a poor commoner despite her pristine skin and hair.

Amelia?! I blurted out, while she was surprised to see me here.

Lady Hestia?!

Wh-What are you doing here?! No, wait, shouldnt you be setting up stalls for tomorrow, I mean, why are you in this stall, selling donuts?!

As planned, the Sarlenzia company would continue selling pastries or any other food during my concert, using this chance to not only promote themselves but also cash in as I was doing a no-ticket performance. I knew they would be preparing stalls and such throughout the city, but I didnt expect them to start today and with Amelia manning it as one of the workers!

Amelia, what are you doing! We need more O-Oh! Even more surprising, one of the other workers was a man in his 50s.

Mr. Sarlenzia?! The person was Amelias maternal grandfather, Newt Sarlenzia, president of Sarlenzia company.

Apparently, Amelia persuaded both her father and grandfather for her to come here today as a way to test the waters with their product and get a sense of the mood of the festival. I asked her why exactly she was working, instead of just watching, but she told me she wanted to know what it felt like to make the donuts.

The doughs were all prepared beforehand, as always, before they were placed in frying fat and then dipped into honey or fragassa glazing. Amelia wanted to learn how it felt, so she could hopefully improve its efficiency and safety. Currently the tools were all normal stuff you could use to make donuts at home, but Amelia wanted to modernize it with manatech.

And my granddaughter thought it would be good to experience it properly. Get in the mood, like a proper merchant. Hahaha, I cannot believe how much she has changed. This must really be Lady Ellaines and your influence, Lady Hestia! As her grandfather, I cannot hope to thank you enough for being her friend!

Saori had told me Newt was a pretty grumpy and merchant-like man, always thinking of the next profit and how it could benefit him. He wasnt as cutthroat when discussing business with people, unlike his employees he personally trained, but he was still very meticulous. And this man was not only making donuts right now, but also laughing joyfully about her granddaughters growth.

Grandfather used to man stalls like these before he established his company. I thought he would be helpful, without making it awkward like it would have been if I had brought a normal employee, Amelia explained, waving her hand around, showing off the blisters on her arms.

Hehe, thats pretty admirable for a noble, Neill complimented her, causing Amelia to bow with a nervous giggle. The both of them only met once, but they only introduced themselves when Amelia came over to meet Anasthasia. Then, let me help you guys out. Six donuts! Half-half honey and fragassa glazing!

In a moment! Thank you for the business!

It took a bit for our donuts to come, since there was a whole crowd in front of the stall craving the donuts. From how all of them smiled and ate their pastries with ravenous desire, I could tell the donuts would be a great sell once again.

In addition, Amelia also debuted a festival game with the ring toss stall next to the donut one. I didnt even think of this idea. This was Amelias. Since she was selling donuts, she found it fitting to throw rings at pegs, similar to a magic training game in the academy, where the students trained their [Fluid Cast] by creating rings with their spells to throw onto spears.

Holy, her intuition as a merchant. Damn.

There was a reason why she was the daughter of Duke Greenveil, a duke other nobles call a merchant. With a grandfather like Newt, it was clear she would develop like this once she was free of the social stigma she had on herself cause of her parentage. Half commoner or not, she was nobler than most aristocrats.

After we got our donuts, we left them after expressing our gratitude. I had informed Amelia and Newt about the impending attacks, telling them to be careful. The other three employees were all members of Duke Greenveils knight order, so they had good bodyguards. However, just in case, I would keep an ear out in their direction while I was going around. The moment they shouted, I would fly over.

Hohoho, by Fathers horns! This shit is amazing! Wow! So greasy, but the sugar complements it so perfectly! Damn, I want more!

[Mhmm! Pastries best! Masters recipe best!] Rajah enjoyed his two donuts, although I really didnt know if cats were allowed to eat donuts. Well, he was a monster jaguar, so it probably was okay.

Time to go there, I guess.

After we were done enjoying our donuts, I took out the tablet Master gave me during the training session. It had the names of different locations in the city along with the directions for them. Following them, my ears began to twitch while I was rocking my body up and down to the sound of lutes, flutes, and drums playing in the background.

And then, after just a bit more, singing could be heard.

The wine of victory flows down the streets

Coloring the ground scarlet red as the soldiers march on!

The lungs of men cheering on, shouting their earnest growls of life

Their bodies, broken and tired, but their minds drunk on the alcohol of war!

This was the bard guilds district.

It was time to turn this festival into a musica

Heyeyhey! Fargryneill!

Huh? Yoooo, Ghorush!

The leonid berserker Ghorush appeared out of nowhere.