Chapter 65: A melody from the heart
"T-The most precious to m-me... What could it be?!" Barbara nervously asked herself.
Just when everyone was enjoying the Windblume Festival, Barbara suddenly received an ominous letter.
The letter states that they hold something that is the most precious thing to her. Naturally, her reaction would be fear and wariness.
Lumine, who was going around Mondstadt helping people with Paimon and Venti, heard her cries and came to help.
Oh, and the Pyro Archon Bennett is also here too.
They are now trying to find out what was stolen from Barbara.
Suddenly, Barbara started making assumptions. "Wait... It can't be... Oh no!"
With those words, she ran off somewhere.
"Barbara... Hey! Wait, slow down!" Paimon shouted, but to no avail. She had already ran off.
"Aha!" Bennett said. "I've got it! The Thousand Winds Temple!"
And just like Barbara, he ran off somewhere else.
"B-Bennett! Hey!" Venti also tried to stop him but it seems like Bennett was too focused on his goal and ran away.
"Let's go catch up with them!" Paimon said.
"Yes!" Both Lumine and Venti replied.
The three of them soon followed Bennett and Barbara out of the cathedral.
"My sister!" Barbara shouted out loud. She fears that the most precious thing stolen from her was... her sister.
"Barbara, slow down!" Following behind her were the three.
The three of them didn't seem to notice Bennett running off into the distance.
"...Calm down." Just then, another voice came.
From the shadows, a figure emerged. It was none other than the peculiar nun, Rosaria.
"R-Rosaria... M-My sister!" Barbara tried to explain.
"Calm down, Jean's fine." Rosaria sighed. "I've seen her with Lisa... She's fine."
"R-Really!? Thank goodness..." Barbara felt relief. She then began to wonder. "But if my sister is not what that letter is referring to... Then what is?"
"Let me see that letter." Rosaria said.
Barbara nodded and gave her the letter she anonymously received.
"I see..." Rosaria nodded. "The picture here seems to be the area near Dawn Winery..."
"Not much of a place to bury someone or something." She silently added.
"Dawn Winery?" The rest of them asked.
"Not much of a place we were thinking of..." Paimon added.
"..." Barbara stayed silent, fearing that something else precious was taken from her.
Rosaria then looked at the worried Barbara. "Barbara, rather than letting your imagination get the better of you, you should stand up and face this problem head-on."
"...You're right, it's just..." Barbara struggled to say something.
"Ehe, it's a little scary right? That's why we're coming with you. What do you say?" Venti said.
"Yeah, that's right!" Paimon nodded.
"That right." Lumine also agreed.
"E-Everyone..." Barbara said as she looked at the people willing to help her. "Thank you very much!"
"Alright, off we go then!" Venti said.
With then agreeing, they then started heading to the flat lands near Dawn Winery.
Just as they were about to leave, Lumine saw someone. 'Huh? Isn't that...'
It was a man wearing a black dress shirt coupled with a long white vest.
Over this, he wears a dark coat and wears black pants. He also wears cuffed, dark brown boots, a pair of black gloves, and a crystal monocle which he has a habit of adjusting.
His dark eyes complimented his hair which made him look rather enigmatic. If one did not know him well, then one would easily mistake him for such a person.
But Lumine instantly recognized him. 'Amon?'
"Traveler, are you not coming?" Venti saw Lumine stop and spoke.
However, Lumine seems to be fixated on Amon— or rather, Igarashi.
She then saw him casually enter the cathedral.
Seeing this, curiosity got over and stopped following Venti. "I'll meet you all there!"
Because she has teleport waypoints, she can easily go to the area they saw in the letter.
Venti already knew this and just nodded with a smile. "Alright!"
Seeing them leave, Lumine went back inside the cathedral.
"Traveler, why did you go back?" Beside her, Paimon asked.
"I saw Amon." Lumine explained.
"Smiley Monocle? What's he doing here?" Paimon curiously asked as she looked around the cathedral hall.
"I don't know but... I just wanted to follow him." Lumine gave a vague answer as she followed Igarashi's silhouette.
"Sheesh, aren't you just being a stalker?" Paimon crossed her arms. "But whatever... Paimon's curious too. What could Smiley Monocle possibly be doing here at the cathedral..."
Lumine heard this and just nodded.
The two of them continued following Igarashi. He went from wandering around the cathedral to clinging to the stairs to the upper floors.
Finally, he stopped at a room and decided to enter it.
"Look, he entered a room! What could he be doing there?" Paimon whispered.
"He's an artist... Maybe he needs artistic inspiration?" Lumine answered.
The two of them are currently stalking Igarashi behind a wall and are peeking at him.
Seeing him enter, Lumine decided to enter. "Let's go."
After saying this, she started running to the room Igarashi entered and opened the door.
*
*
*
A beautiful melody drifted across the room. It was calming and... nostalgia-inducing.
'...Huh?' Lumine got affected by this melody too. She started remembering a distant memory.
Lumine always traveled with her brother. They were inseparable. Hopping from one world to another together.
Yet, five hundred years ago, the two of them got separated. Her precious brother— The one she looked out for and the one that looked out for her— disappeared.
Her family.
He was now... missing.
Her only family that she had known for many, many years has been taken from her.
On the quest of finding him and leaving this world, she had met Paimon— her first friend and guide.
Along the way, she had also met a lot of people— and even an Archon. A drunk one, that is.
Together, she had quelled the calamity of a nation and brought back the dragon that had been led astray.
Yet despite all this, she still hasn't found any clues about her brother.
'This...' Lumine can't explain it but the melody the man wearing a monocle was producing had managed to take effect on her.
A single shed of tear slid down her beautiful face as she blankly looked at the composer and listened intently to the song.
'Such... A calming melody...' She thought as she felt a warm feeling inside of her.
She then sat down and did not disturb Igarashi. Paimon also listened to the song as she floated above Lumine's head.
'I could listen to this forever.' Lumine thought with a gentle smile.
The sun's afternoon rays shined down from the windows, bringing a warm tinge of sunlight into the room.
The other believers sitting in the main hall also listened to the beautiful music and felt a sense of calm and warm feeling as they too remembered a distant memory.
The sisters of the church also listened to the song but did not try to disrupt it as they also enjoyed it.
Sitting Outside, Rosaria also listened to the echoing sounds of the melody and gently tapped her fingers.
Meanwhile, the man who is currently comprising the said melody is rather confused. 'Why is Lumine here...'
'Is it because of the skill?' He thought as he continued pressing the keys in front of him. 'Well, I can't blame her.'
'Yiruma's "River Flows in You" is a music that everyone would like one way or another.' He thought with a smile.
'But of course, I won't be able to compose such a masterpiece without this skill...' He thought as he looked at his status window.
[Name: Igarashi Izanagi]
[Title(s): Mangaka (Buffs: 10% proficiency in arts), Crimson Witch's Obsession (Buff: +40% Pyro DMG)]
STR: B
DEF: B-
STA: A+
INT: A++
[Upgrade points available: 4]
Vision: [--]
Delusion: [--]
Skills:
[??shi?]:??tial
Proficiency: 5%
[Drawing/Sketching]: The ability to illustrate]
Proficiency: Max (+10%) (+30%)
[A Mangaka's will]: Once activated, the stamina and intelligence stats shall be raised by one division (Not to be confused by one level), and last for 4 hours.]
Proficiency: Max (Skill effect Bonus: +30%)
[Tears of a Mangaka]: Sacrifice your sleep in exchange for a temporary boost in stats. Note: The chances of attaining an illness are high after this is used.]
Proficiency: 19%
[Swordsmanship]: Basic swordsmanship with no technique.]
Proficiency: 41% (Skill effect Bonus: +30%)
(New)[Jack-Of-All-Trades]: Can gain an instant intermediate understanding of any object you touch/possess/equip]
Proficiency: Max
Looking at his new skill, a small smile appeared on Igarashi's face. 'This is definitely a good skill... It even raised two of my skill's proficiency by 30%...'
Definitely, it was a skill that was perfect for him that has no martial prowess.
As for why he went to the cathedral to play the piano, one of the reasons is he wanted to test it on instruments. The other reason is he just wants to do it.
A whim, if you will.
He then looked at Lumine who was looking at him play from the corner of his eye and just smiled. 'Seriously...'
'Once I'm done drawing the rest of FullMetal Alchemists, I think it's time to start that...' He thought. 'One of the famous lines in anime history...'
'Another April... Without you.' Igarashi remembered this line from the story he will do next after FMA.
He did not stop playing and continued playing the music he still vividly remembers with his A++ INT stat.
* * *
The room was full of a peaceful ambiance and a calming mood just a moment ago.
Yet...
Why and how did it come to this?
"You're..." Lumine said as she pressed Igarashi against the wall. "Not from this world too, right?"
Scattered not far from them are a few papers with a sketch of a person.
"There's no use in lying." She said with dead-serious eyes.
'How did it come to this...' Igarashi thought.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone