LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 142: Familiar song
Michael looked at Agnes and saw the weird expression on her face.
Do I know her or something? Why is she looking at me like she knows me?
"I apologize for my behavior," Agnes said after realizing she had been staring at his face for a few seconds. "I am Agnes, a female Ogre, and I serve as the attendant of the Montgomery family."
Michael heard that last name before. According to Seberus, they were one of the families that were well-established in the Queens region. He even said that it would do Michael good if he allied with one of them.
He didn't think he would meet them so soon.
"Welcome to our nation," he said to Agnes. "I am Michael Vanderbilt."
The two shook hands, with Michael noting her solid physical strength just from her grip alone.
[Analyzing magic…]
[Magic Theory acquired.]
[Tribulation Skin Hardening]
— ★★★
— Physical Arts
— Earth and Fire element
— This magic allows the user to achieve an enhanced defense. Due to the combination of Earth and Fire mana, this spell gets stronger the more damage the user incurs.
Michael was glad that he was widening the selection of Physical Arts in his repertoire. But if he wanted to synthesize spells, then he needed a lot more—a library's worth more.
Aren't the Montgomerys a diplomatic family famous for their connections? Maybe I can ask them where I could learn a lot of Physical Art spells in the Queens region, Michael thought to himself.
"Are you liking our nation so far?" he asked her. It was important to know how his nation fared compared to the other territories in the Queens region if he wanted to compete there.
Agnes looked around the streets, observing the lights and festivities all around. "I am a knight who knows nothing but fighting, but I am sure that everything you have shown me here will blow away everyone in the Queens region," she said truthfully.
Michael nodded, proud at what he and his allies had achieved this past year.
"By the way, what brings you here?" he asked her.
Agnes opened her mouth to say something, when all of a sudden, the speakers posted all over the streets suddenly emitted a crackling sound.
…cccrrkkk…
Someone was on stage. Someone other than a Rebornian was about to perform a song,
This was part of the events in the music festival. Since this whole thing was intended to find and nurture musical talents from all over the Kings region, Michael invited anyone and everyone who had the musical talent to show off their skills on the stage.
If they showed any promise, then they would immediately be recruited into the nation as an official citizen, meaning they would have the privilege of awakening their talent or evolving their bloodline.
This time, it seemed that the new singer was a guitarist as a single strum sounded out through the speakers.
Michael was going to ignore it but then, the guitarist began to play a serene melody on the stage, something completely different from what he and the others had been hearing the whole night.
He whipped his head towards the stage.
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Those chord progressions, those melodies, those heart-wrenching plucking of the strings…it was something familiar to him—something he hadn't heard ever since he had reincarnated into this world.
As the instrumental intro continued to play, parts of Michael's memory began resurfacing. These weren't memories of the young genius son of the Vanderbilt family. It was the memories of the old jaded Michael who stayed in his room all day with his head stuck on the computer screen.
This was the song that saved him from feeling depressed, from feeling listless, and from feeling as if nothing mattered in the world.
He thought he would never get to hear this song again.
What's going on, ChatJK3? Did you teach this song to one of the musicians?
[They have not learned this song from the system.] ChatJK3 answered.
"Boss? What's wrong?" the Dragonborns realized that there was something wrong with Michael. He wasn't acting as the easygoing leader that they had met.
He looked emotional…he looked pained.
Michael ignored everybody and slowly made his way to the stage. His steps quickened as the song progressed nearing the end of its intro.
"...I am with you, through the moon…"
The angelic voice of a woman spread all over the nation, catching the attention of everyone listening.
They all turned towards the singer on stage, wondering what kind of language she was singing. It sounded alien to them.
But even though they couldn't understand her, and her voice didn't have the same effects as the Rebornian musicians that sang before her, there was an intangible quality in her voice that urged them to listen more.
"What is she singing?"
"I don't know…but it sounds beautiful."
"Who is that girl?"
Michael was the only one who understood.
That was English.
Those were the exact lyrics of his favorite song. With the same cadence, the same tone, and the same emotionality that captured the hearts of millions of people back in his previous life.
And that voice. Even though it sounded a little bit younger than what he was familiar with, it was still the same voice that had people shouting and cheering for in any concert she performed.
This was no mere coincidence. There was something strange going on here.
".... Star-crossed lovers, that's all that matters…"
Michael's steps got faster and faster until he was fully sprinting towards the center stage.
"In all our lives, you were the one…"
With everyone crowding the stage, Michael couldn't see anything.
Solidified wind suddenly manifested beneath his soles, allowing him to traverse the air.
As he got closer and closer, he saw the black-haired girl in the middle of the stage. The spotlight shone down on her, making her look ethereal under the night—just like how he saw her back in his previous world.
Michael stopped in the air, staring eye-to-eye with Yuna.
The only thing he could think about was…
She reincarnated.
And as Yuna looked at the boy floating in front of her, she knew. He was the one the goddess was talking about.
He's the reincarnator…