What is this melody? Am I being cursed by the devil right now?
Faust's face twisted at the sound. He had long left Maria's house and was heading to Corehold to meet Klint, but a murmur he heard on the way stuck to his ears like a curse.
♪♪Babbarab barararab daram daram darararram....♪♪
It was a light melody, like one hummed while working or dancing, but the problem wasn't the tune—it was the one who hummed it.
He wondered who could be singing the melody… and at that moment, an idea came to him that narrowed down the possibilities.
Can a human being even sing this bad?
Faust remembered he was still inside the barrier's borders, so unless someone forced their way in, it had to be one of the brothers.
One might think this made the whole situation seem safer and better, but realizing that someone with such a terrible voice was actually one of The Brothers was painful for him. The voice cracked so much while murmuring that Faust couldn't even tell who it belonged to.
The badness of the voice could be explained this way. People called him the perfect hunter—The Apex Predator. In daylight or the darkness of night, no shape or sound, nothing could escape him, and nothing ever had—but despite all those nicknames and praises, he had not the slightest idea whose voice this was. Not the slightest idea.
What a shame.
He knew very well that none of his men had voices that good, but there was levels to this....—and this? With every second he heard it, Faust's pulse quickened. His blood was about to boil.
I know our guys ain't got the best voices, but this? I can't be overreacting. Every human being would react the same as me.
It was scratching at his ears...
But maybe he really was overreacting, or maybe he was just extra pissed off like usual but, he had every right—because starting the day like this felt like some kind of punishment to him. A punishment he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.
Faust soon reached the source of the voice. He was about to call out, though... he was a bit slow.
A cheerful voice rose through the forest. Unlike Faust, despite its volume, it didn't disturb any birds or other creatures around. It was a pure sound.
"Ah! Faust?! Is that you!?"
He was right there, among the trees and flowers—his bright, shoulder-length blonde hair, gray but shining eyes, and the smile he wore most of the time, though not always, on his face.
[Lieben Fânir]
[Sovereignty: ???]
[Age: 18]
[Height: 6'0"]
Faust loved Lieben. He loved all of The Brothers… but in his current irritable state, he wasn't in any condition to care about or just consider staying calm due to his energetic personality Lieben.
Faust tried to calm himself down while answering Lieben in a fed-up tone.
"Heh. Yeah, it's me."
But Lieben was way more cheerful than usual. Faust's deadpan voice didn't faze him at all.
"Today we're hating life as usual, huh? What do you say? Ahahahah...."
"Yeah."
Despite being angry, Faust was clear-headed enough to feel bad deep down.
He just wanted to get out of there quickly without lashing out at anyone… but how could he do it without ruining Lieben's cheerful mood?
I've led wars. I've made countless plans… but I can't find a way to get away from Lieben without looking strange or angry!
Right then, Faust forced himself to push through and speak, even if he didn't want to... but he hadn't factored in one thing...
"I guess what got you singing so beautifully on this fine day is the beauty of life itself, right? <3"
But he hadn't factored in one thing...
He was bright red, but not from embarrassment—he had pushed himself harder than he ever had in battles just to say those few words. Holding his breath, his eyes felt like they might pop out.
I hate my life and all this coincidences.
"Ummm....Uh— You okay, Faust?"
Despite his long patience, Faust eventually succumbed to anger. Leaning on one leg, he turned around and began smashing the surrounding trees, one by one, with a single punch.
Crack!
"Fuck this shit!"
Crack!
"Fuck this job!"
Crack!
"Fuck these coincidences too!"
Crack!
"Screw the nightmare! Screw the debt! Enough already, god—DAMMIT!
CRACK!....
He had thrown that punch with more strength compared to the others while thinking he was holding back, but over twenty trees had fallen after that strike.
As a result, after a brief outburst lasting only seconds, there didn't seem to be much place left for Lieben to murmur any more of his bad songs or melodies...
Yet somehow Faust seemed like he still had it in him. Lieben called out to Faust before he made the entire woods a mess.
Despite the chaos and destruction around him, Lieben found nothing to be angry about. He was calm. Calmer than the trees that had fallen.
He called out to Faust, slowly and relaxed.
"Faust."
Faust turned his head and answered harshly unlike Lieben's attitude
"What!? The fuck you want, boy!?"
Lieben put his hand over Faust's shoulder without saying a word. His expression was...not in shock, yet it was questioning.
He looked at Faust. Noticing his clothes were dusty, he bent slightly and brushed the dust off his shoes and pants. Slowly, he stood back up. While Faust still hadn't even realized what he had done, he calmly grabbed both sides of his collar with his hands and shook it...
"You got dust all over your clothes, Faust."
"..?.."
Lieben let out a heavy breath
"Come on, Faust. I don't get what you're trying to do—but I can say it doesn't suit you for sure. You look absolutely miserable to be honest."
Pathetic? He really had called him, pathetic. Fasut was shocked—his entire personality, decisions, and achievements stemmed from his anger… yet even a young man like Lieben, about three years his junior, could see that Faust should have controlled himself—not because he had to, but because of the image he was meant to protect.
Instead of getting angry, Faust understood Lieben's intent in an instant: he wanted nothing but good, and he already knew Lieben wouldn't insult him personally.
Faust felt just a little bit of shame but never enough to say some things out loud, his pride wouldn't let him. Things were different in the inside...
I know he's right. But will I say it? No. Yet— you gained my respect once again Lieben. Once again.
Faust's sudden cough broke the serious atmosphere.
Cough-Cough!...Cough-Cough!...
After coughing, he removed his hand from his mouth and shook his collar.
Finally, he managed to think of a way to get away: he would use his meeting with Klint as an excuse.
"Fine, just shut it already! Anyway, I gotta find Klint, we got business to do in Winter City."
Lieben looked actually confused and asked...
"Why would you be looking for Klint? You're going on the mission with me."
He thought Lieben was just trying to be a little too hard to be the funny guy...
Faust let out a small laugh, though he definitely didn't find it funny.
He looked into his eyes and pointed at him with his finger…
"Funny joke. Anyway, I got stuff to do—do you know where Klint is or not?"
He realized it because, while speaking, he had also been paying attention to Lieben…he clearly didn't seemed to be joking...
"Klint said he didn't want the mission anymore and handed it off to me."
Faust went silent as he heard those word coming out of Lieben's mouth
"....."
We are astronomically fucked...