Chapter 28: A melody by the stream
Erik sat down on the large rock beside Felyn, took off his shoes, and let both feet slip into the water.
The cool stream immediately surrounded his feet, making him breathe out in comfort.
Felyn heard the sound of water and tilted her head toward him.
"What are you doing?"
"Soaking my feet."
Erik stirred the surface gently with his foot, sending a school of small fish that had been swimming nearby scattering to both sides.
"Pretty comfortable. Want to try?"
Felyn hesitated for a few seconds, then also took off her shoes. Erik lightly supported her ankle, helping both feet slowly lower into the stream.
The moment the cold water touched her skin, Felyn immediately pulled back a little.
"Cold."
"You’ll get used to it after soaking for a bit."
"You just said that exact line when you were washing my feet."
"And was I wrong?"
Felyn pressed her lips together, but the corner of her mouth curved up faintly.
After a while, she gradually relaxed both legs.
The two of them sat side by side on the large rock, feet dangling beneath the surface. The stream was so clear that Erik could see the rounded pebbles below, and a few small silver fish would occasionally swim close before instantly scattering whenever Felyn unconsciously swung her feet.
A light breeze blew through the forest.
The canopy overhead let out a rustling sound. Sunlight slipped through gaps in the leaves and fell onto the water’s surface in shimmering spots that continuously shifted with the current.
In the distance, birdsong rang out now and then.
Felyn sat very still.
She listened to the water.
Listened to the leaves.
Listened to the birds in branches she couldn’t see.
And listened to Erik’s breathing right beside her.
Before, the forest had held these same sounds too.
But whenever they fell silent, Felyn was left alone.
Right now the quiet was completely different.
As long as the hand resting beside her happened to brush against Erik’s, she knew the other person was still sitting there.
Felyn tilted her head slightly.
After a moment of hesitation, she slowly shifted closer.
Their shoulders touched.
Erik turned to look.
Felyn immediately tensed, the fingers resting on the rock tightening a little.
But she didn’t pull away.
A few seconds later, as if she had finally gathered enough courage, Felyn gently tilted her head and leaned it against Erik’s shoulder.
Her body was still a bit stiff.
Her head had barely touched his shoulder, and she didn’t even dare rest its full weight.
Erik looked at her, but in the end said nothing.
He only adjusted his posture slightly so Felyn could lean more comfortably.
Realizing he hadn’t pushed her away, Felyn’s shoulders gradually relaxed.
The weight on Erik’s shoulder also increased a little.
Blonde hair brushed against his neck, and the white flower he had tucked in earlier was still there beside her ear, swaying gently in the breeze.
Felyn folded both hands in her lap.
The corner of her mouth slowly curved up.
Neither of them spoke.
Yet she felt very comfortable.
Erik had no intention of breaking that quiet either.
He looked at the water before them.
The rays of sunlight reflecting off the stream’s surface continuously shifted with the current. A yellow leaf fell from above, spun a few times, then landed on the water and slowly drifted downstream.
The scene before his eyes made Erik unconsciously think of something from his past life.
A melody.
He was slightly dazed for a moment.
’Suzume?’
Erik hadn’t thought of that name in a very long time.
Before crossing over to this world, there had been a period when he’d listened to that melody many times. By now the lyrics had been almost entirely forgotten, but the melody itself still lingered fairly clearly in his memory.
He unconsciously hummed a passage.
No words.
Just a simple melody that Erik softly hummed from memory.
Felyn, who had been resting her head on his shoulder, stirred slightly.
She listened in silence until Erik stopped, then asked in a quiet voice: "What song was that?"
Erik faltered a little.
Of course he couldn’t say it was a song from Earth.
He thought for a few seconds, then answered: "A song from a place very far away."
Felyn tilted her head slightly against his shoulder.
"Very far?"
"Mm. So far that I can’t go back now."
Felyn heard the very small change in his voice and didn’t ask any more.
After a while, she said: "The melody is beautiful."
"You like it?"
"Mm."
Erik turned to look at Felyn.
When she spoke, her voice was still a bit hoarse from so many years of very little conversation. However, the tail end of her notes carried a rather distinctive resonance.
A thought suddenly struck him.
"Felyn."
"Mm?"
"Try humming along with me."
Felyn immediately lifted her head off his shoulder.
"Me?"
"Just humming."
"I’ve never sung before."
"Then all the better. No bad habits to fix."
Felyn let out a soft laugh.
"Does anyone teach singing the way you do?"
"I’m not exactly a teacher either."
Erik hummed the melody once more, slower this time.
Felyn tilted her head slightly, listening intently.
Then she tried to imitate it.
The first note was a bit low.
Erik immediately shook his head.
"A little higher."
Felyn tried again.
"Like this?"
"Right. Draw the next part out a bit longer."
Felyn breathed in and followed along.
The second time was already much better.
By the third, Erik suddenly sat up straight.
He looked at Felyn with a slightly strange expression.
’That voice...’
When speaking, Felyn’s voice was still a little hoarse.
But when she sustained a note, that hoarseness almost disappeared, replaced by a timbre that was very clear without being thin, carrying a natural vibrato that made the sound exceptionally pleasant to hear.
Erik immediately felt a tinge of regret.
’If properly trained, using a voice like this just for talking would be far too much of a waste.’
He corrected a few more spots.
Felyn learned faster than he’d expected.
After just a few tries, she had nearly memorized the entire short melody.
"Try it from the beginning."
Felyn grew a bit nervous.
"Just me?"
"Mm."
"You won’t hum along?"
Erik smiled.
"I want to listen."
That made Felyn go silent at once.
Both cheeks grew a little warm.
After a while, she finally drew in a deep breath.
A light breeze blew across the surface of the stream, making her blonde hair sway gently. The white flower Erik had tucked in still sat beside her ear, trembling softly with each strand of hair.
Felyn parted her lips.
The first notes rang out.
Erik, who had been looking at the water, immediately turned.
The singing wasn’t loud.
Felyn didn’t yet know how to breathe properly or control her volume.
But the quality of her voice was too distinctive.
A clear sound rose beside the stream, carrying the faintest trace of huskiness at the end of each phrase. The melody blended into the rippling of the water, threading between the rustle of leaves and the birdsong drifting from the canopy far away.
After the first few tentative phrases, Felyn gradually relaxed.
Her chest rose gently with each breath, and the fingers resting on the rock slowly loosened.
She couldn’t see the crystal-clear stream in front of her or the rays of sunlight falling onto the water. She couldn’t see Erik sitting beside her, his gaze still focused on her.
But Felyn could feel all of it.
The wind blowing through her hair.
The cool water flowing around her feet.
Birdsong rising from far away.
And the warmth of the man sitting right beside her.
As she hummed toward the end, Felyn slowly leaned over again, resting her head on Erik’s shoulder.
This time she was no longer tense.
Erik didn’t move either.
He simply let her lean.
The stream rippling below, the birdsong among the treetops, along with Felyn’s soft humming all blended together, creating a very simple piece of music that was nevertheless hard for any listener to walk away from.
Erik looked at the water before them.
For some reason he couldn’t explain, just a short melody made him feel as though he had been sitting in this spot for a very long time.
Perhaps it was only a few minutes.
Yet it also felt like many, many years.
Felyn kept on humming.
The singing occasionally drifted slightly off rhythm, and her breathing technique wasn’t yet polished, but Erik didn’t correct her anymore.
He felt it was already enough as it was.
When the last note slowly dissolved into the sound of the water, the forest returned to silence.
Felyn still rested on his shoulder.
A long while later, she finally asked in a small voice:
"Was it terrible?"
Erik came back to himself.
"No."
He tilted his head slightly to look at her.
"It was very beautiful."
Felyn immediately looked up.
"Really?"
"Really."
The smile on her face slowly appeared.
Erik thought for a moment, then said: "After we get out, if you’d like, I’ll find someone to teach you to sing."
Felyn instantly turned her head toward him.
"Learn to sing?"
"Mm."
Erik looked at the water before them, and a few thoughts had already begun forming in his mind.
This world had an entertainment industry.
Naturally, it also had music.
But he still carried the memories of another world.
If the chance came later, the melodies stored in those memories didn’t have to remain locked inside his head forever.
What’s more, with Felyn’s voice...
Erik narrowed his eyes slightly.
’Seems very worth trying.’
Felyn had no idea how far ahead he was already thinking.
She had only heard one thing.
After we get out.
Again, after we get out.
Erik had mentioned her future a great many times today.
Treating her feet.
Finding a way to deal with the curse.
And now wanting to find someone to teach her to sing.
Each thing was very small.
But they all shared one point in common.
In the future Erik was talking about, she was there.
Felyn lowered her head.
After a while, she gently leaned her head against his shoulder once more.
This time far more naturally than before.
"Erik."
"Mm?"
"Can I sit like this a little longer?"
Erik looked at the route to the eighth floor still displayed on his glasses.
Then he turned it off.
"Sure."
Just one simple word, and the smile on Felyn’s lips grew even gentler.
The two of them continued sitting by the stream.
Neither was in a hurry to stand.
Felyn occasionally hummed the melody she had just learned. Her singing blended with the rippling water and the distant birdsong, creating a gentle sound that drifted through the forest.
Erik didn’t say anything.
He only listened in silence.
...
Outside the Trial Space, the chat had also been quiet for nearly a minute.
At last, a message slowly appeared.
[Madam Ravia: ...She sings that beautifully?]
[Madam Lilith: In all the records I’ve read, Felyn never once performed in public.]
[Madam Ysera: Perhaps even she herself didn’t know.]
After a while, the Sleepless Madam finally sent one more line.
[The Sleepless Madam: I suddenly get the feeling that Erik isn’t only leading her out of the forest.]
No one immediately replied.
Meira looked at Felyn resting her head on Erik’s shoulder on the screen, then looked at the smile that occasionally appeared on her face.
She understood what the other woman meant.
Felyn had lived for far too long with the belief that she was nothing more than a blind, Rank F Succubus.
But from the moment Erik appeared, he had been continuously pulling her back to try the things she had long assumed she could no longer do.
Crossing a stream.
Having a flower tucked into her hair.
Leaning against someone’s shoulder.
And now, singing.
Perhaps Erik himself hadn’t realized it yet.
But he was making each part of Felyn that had fallen asleep begin to come alive again.
On the screen, Felyn softly hummed once more.
Her head still rested on Erik’s shoulder.
The white flower trembled gently in the wind.
The crystal-clear water slowly flowed past beneath their feet.
And in the forest where Felyn had lived alone for fifty years, for the first time the silence no longer made her feel lonely.