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A girl… or perhaps a woman with the color of straw.

I locked eyes with her and felt overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

Around us, everything was suddenly filled with golden light. The sunlight reflected off the droplets and leaves, painting the fields yellow. It seemed as if golden liquid waves were rolling.

The dark forest brightened instantly. The sunlight couldn’t penetrate the lush leaves, yet she stood there as if she shone brighter than the sun itself.

“Finally.”

“…?”

“I never thought it would take this long. Fate or coincidence, they’re truly cruel things.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, my mind is clear and clean… there are no strange sensations in my body… and even my eyes are perfectly fine? Someone did cast an illusion on me, though.”

“Uh, um…”

Snap.

She snapped her fingers. I felt something fly away from my eyes.

Just like taking off lenses I’d worn for ages, the discomfort vanished, leaving only a refreshing sensation.

“Good. This color suits you after all.”

“No, I just want to talk…”

“Oh, I’m sorry for not introducing myself earlier. My name is… what was it again? I forgot. Unless someone else calls my name, I tend to forget it easily. Maybe I should’ve left a friend behind?”

You’re ignoring me from start to finish…

I momentarily lost focus due to her mysterious and overwhelming presence, but her human-like demeanor eased my guard a bit.

I don’t really know what she is, but she seems not to want to harm me… I think that’s okay.

What worries me more is Skylar. The kid is sharp-tongued in both appearance and speech, yet oddly kind, and they seem quite concerned about me.

Alright. Let’s definitely talk.

“I don’t know who you are.”

“Has time really passed that much? It certainly has.”

“I have companions. I want to go back. Please send me back.”

Honestly, I didn’t think a single sentence like this would make her grant my request.

There must be some reason she called me here. Seeing how the status screen’s ‘judgment’ didn’t show up… does that mean I can’t resist with my stats?

If her intention was to kill me, she would have had plenty of time to do so. There was no need to chat with me for so long.

In other words, she wants something from me.

So, what does she want?

“I guess I’ll have to find that out now.”

In this space, my mind seems to be functioning quite well. I feel no murkiness, like being surrounded by fog. In this space, I existed entirely as myself.

I have no idea what’s happening, but… it’s ultimately a good thing.

“I can’t let you go. Once you enter this space, you have to find your own way back.”

“Huh?”

“Because that’s how I requested it to be made.”

“I… don’t really understand what you mean.”

“Didn’t you come here knowing about my instrument? Wait a moment, something’s off. I was pretty sure I asked a reliable friend to keep to the contract.”

“An instrument? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Ugh… where did it all go wrong?”

She had been chattering about something only she knew… it was starting to get annoying.

If time outside flows the same as in this place, Skylar would have noticed I was gone by now.

Looking at the brat’s personality, they don’t seem like the type to leave me behind. They absolutely despise putting others in danger because of them.

I decided I wouldn’t become a burden, so I followed her anyway.

“I wish she would just cut to the chase and send me back…”

“As I said earlier, you have to find your own way back.”

“Right now…”

“I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. I’m just a bard who lived during the age of myths. A wandering minstrel.”

“…And?”

“I was looking for someone worthy to inherit my instrument. My life is drawing to a close, and I was a little rushed at that time.”

“…”

“So I decided. I asked the strongest wizard I know to bestow a blessing upon the forest. Along with the rumors about my instrument.”

“But I’ve never heard any rumors about an instrument.”

“That guy’s always had a knack for being uncharismatic. Seems the rumors didn’t spread well. Or perhaps it’s been so long that the rumors about a mere instrument faded away.”

“Rumors? Now that you mention it, there were some.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a legend that says a famous bard asked a wizard who was a friend to cast a curse on the forest—”

Having listened to my tale, she closed her mouth for a moment.

I interpreted her expression as ‘serious,’ and I worried that I might have unwittingly touched on a nerve.

But it seemed to be an unnecessary worry.

She started laughing.

Very loudly.

After a while, her laughter finally stopped. Whatever was so funny, her face still held a faint smile.

“It feels nice that people still sing about me.”

“…”

“Anyway, I locked myself in this forest to find someone worthy of my instrument. You called it a curse, but it’s actually a blessing.”

“What kind of blessing?”

“The blessing laid upon me and this forest is to remain here forever and sing until a suitable human appears.”

“That sounds more like a curse.”

“Given your condition, you’ll soon find that out for yourself. If I were to say it in advance… the difference between a curse and a blessing is nearly negligible.”

“I don’t quite get it.”

“Anyway! I can finally give you my instrument and disappear!”

“No, um, I don’t really understand…”

“Huh? What don’t you understand?”

She tilted her head as if genuinely confused.

To be honest… I had so many questions.

‘First of all, why hasn’t a suitable human appeared in all these years?’

“Because that’s just a characteristic of the bard profession.”

“Could you stop reading my thoughts?”

“How am I supposed to stop hearing them?”

“Ugh… By the way, you said that it’s because of the bard profession?”

“Basically, a bard is someone who is smart, desires money, and is cowardly by nature. To enter this forest, one must first lose their fear, be foolish enough to be enchanted by song, and have a greater interest in the instrument than money… it’s quite a tricky condition, isn’t it?”

“Well, I came here for the money.”

“To enter this space, the desire for something other than money has to be greater.”

…That makes sense, I think.

Money was merely a means, not the goal.

Complete a request. Gather money. Buy items. Remove penalties. Survive. Stay alive. Live… and go back.

Yes. I want to return alive.

That’s my goal.

“My answer is… I want to survive.”

“With what?”

“As a bard…”

“You want attention, huh? That’s quite a sight. I like it!”

“Huh?”

“It’s okay. No need to be shy! A person with the bard profession won’t change, no matter how the times flow. They won’t be money-driven, they won’t fear, and even if they become dull-witted… the essence remains the same.”

“…”

“Bards, after all, are just attention-seekers!”

She said that and disappeared.

Like waking from a long dream, I awoke in the dark forest.

…Narcolepsy? Was it just a dream? An illusion?

“It felt like narcolepsy kicked in…”

A certainty that dispelled my momentary doubt was… the new lute resting in my arms as if it was something precious.

The lute I had strapped to my back had disappeared.

No, perhaps it’s that the lute I wore changed into a new shape.

I’m not sure.

“—Selina!”

“Ah…”

“Where on earth have you been?! You didn’t follow the song, did you? I warned you about that.”

“No, I’m sorry. I just dosed off for a moment…”

“Ha…”

Skylar sighed and looked at me.

I simply replied with a smile.

It was time to go home.

The sound of the song no longer reached my ears.

But it hadn’t vanished.

The melody was merely swirling at my fingertips.

“Let’s go back.”

“But we didn’t accomplish anything! Let’s split the request fee 80:20! If you have a conscience!”

“Ugh…”

I had no words left.