Clôture of Yellow: The Daughter Of Evil

CHAPTER 2, SECTION 1-THE TWINS' CRUSHES; SCENE 3

♦ Allen ~In the Country of Elphegort, "Capital Aceid, Center District"~

Elphegort was a huge country as it was. Searching for one woman whose identity I didn't even know was patently absurd in the first place. And on top of that, her being a woman was just something I had guessed on my own based on the name "Michaela" and the way that Gumillia talked about her; so really I couldn't even be strictly sure of her gender.

The sole thing I knew was the feature that she had green hair, but, from what I could see, from one end to the other the people living in this country were all green haired. So what in the world was I supposed to do?

Generally-

Augh, it was hopeless. I felt sick. I was at my limit. I asked the coachman if we could stop for a little bit, and got off the carriage.

The coachman had given me some medicine, worried about my condition, so I drank that. According to him, there was a lot of people who would get physically ill from the carriage shaking, so he would keep that medicine on hand. At his recommendation, I decided to walk a little ways into town to lighten my mood. Though I was still pretty miserable at having done so...

There were even more people in Aceid's center district than there were in the southern one we'd just passed through. But these people didn't seem to be there to buy anything. A crowd had gathered in the large square placed in the center of town.

What's this?

Intrigued, I headed for the throng of people.

"~~♪"

As I drew closer I came to hear a beautiful singing voice coming through from further inside the crowd. There was a single girl singing there.

People were listening attentively to her singing. There were even those weeping among them.

Listening to her, I somehow began to feel something gentle inside.

My mother had sung to me a lullaby when I was a baby...Nowadays I couldn't clearly remember what it had been. But listening to this girl's song, I felt as though I could remember somewhat those forgotten memories of my childhood, my mother's kind smile...things like that.

She looked to be about my age-or perhaps a little bit older? From the look of her she wasn't the aristocratic type. Just an ordinary, average person.

But...she was very beautiful. In both voice and appearance.

Noble wives and ladies would visit the palace. Sometimes I would admire their brilliant and high class beauty. Then there were the maids who worked alongside me. Sometimes I would be cheered by their lively and wholesome looks. But this girl's beauty looked different from all of them. It wasn't just an exterior thing-How could I put it? ...It felt like it both held a kind of warmth that wrapped up my whole being, but also a delicateness that would break apart if I were to touch it.

It's said there is magic in song. There are legends of fishermen who would be swayed by a beautiful voice they heard from the reef and end up shipwrecked.

A beautiful singing voice could lead one's heart astray.

Perhaps in that moment I too had fallen under a witch's spell.

Before I knew it, my nausea had completely gone away.

"...Hm?"

Someone was pulling on my sleeve. When I looked down, a girl of about five years old was looking up at my face.

"Hey Mister. What's that shining?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"In your bag."