บท 24: Moonlight
'If human beings can be multi-racial, I suppose why not for them as well.' Arthur thought back to the words Miss S. said before she left to see if he could find any clarification. Then something stuck out at him. Miss S. did mention studying the Siren's Song for years before she could master it. Perhaps she had mastered the siren's voice to such a degree of perfection and expertise that she had adopted the voice's identity as her own?
It seemed plausible to Arthur and it would mean that Miss S' original identity wasn't a siren. If that was the case, what could it be?
Arthur thought about it and couldn't land on a concrete answer. He would need to find out more information before he came to any conclusion. There was another update to Miss S' profile page that caught Arthur's attention. It was the affection level. This was not there before and now it had one heart.
While he was surprised that the Book of Thoth could gauge and even put into numbers one's feeling towards him, he was not that taken aback by the increase in affection level. After he had completed Miss S' assignment, it was understandable that her approval of him had increased. However, the young man had some issue with the term 'affection level', it made him feel like this was some kind of otome dating game... then again who was to say it is not...
With no new information he could gather from Miss S' profile page, Arthur moved to the page for his Ability and Magic. He did not gain any new power and the number of voices in the Whispering had dropped from 5 to 4 after Arthur removed the voices of his parents and added the Siren's Song.
Like what Miss S. said, there was an appended explanation that was added to the Siren's Song.
Ability Description: The siren's mellifluous song allows you to take control of the mind of the opposite sex by meddling with their psyche. Currently, you can control one individual for as long as 5 minutes.
Warning: Non-native sirens may only use this power only once per day because the vocal chords cannot support the strain introduced by usage of the power. Testing the limits might cause permanent damage to the vocal chords.
Essentially, Arthur had gained the power of mind control, albeit one with minor limitations. It only worked on girls and he could only use it once per day. The book did not specify when would the power's usability refresh but based on the fact that it was tied to the Midnight Emporium, Arthur guessed it would be midnight.
Overall, Arthur was satisfied with the result of his first petition taken from the Midnight Emporium. He had met many an interesting character and his horizon was slowly broadened. If this was just an appetizer, Arthur decided that he wanted more, he was now ready for the main course. It was time for Arthur to take on the second petition!
Arthur turned back to the page for the Available Petitions and he made the decision to take Petition No. 3. He chose to believe Miss S and avoid Mr. M at least he met a dryad on his journey.
After accepting the petition from the Book of Thoth, Arthur turned his attention to the front door. He expected it to open any time soon and the client would walk in. That was what happened with Miss S.
He waited and waited. Arthur crossed his legs because they were getting quite sore, and then he waited some more. He wondered if the book did not understand his command or some accident had happened to the client on its way to the Midnight Emporium.
Then a possibility hit Arthur. It was preposterous to assume so but what if the client wasn't fit enough to open the door?
After all, based on the paw print in the Book of Thoth, Arthur speculated the client was a small-sized animal. In that case, the client would not have been tall enough to reach the doorknob. In Arthur's mind, the image of a small creature trying to jump up to reach the doorknob surfaced.
However, Arthur's client was supposed to be a mythical creature. It might be a small animal but it was still stuff of legends and myths. It wouldn't be stumped by a door now, would it?
With a nugget of worry lodged in his heart, Arthur moved out from behind the counter and strode to the front door. He told himself, he was being overly worried but he needed to make sure there wasn't a poor creature stuck outside the front door of the Midnight Emporium.
Arthur pulled the door open and there was nothing there, no people, no animal, no client. However, he did notice something weird.
The world outside was surprisingly bright. If he was not mistaken, it was still late night and dawn had not arrived. Arthur did not think he spent so much time inside the Midnight Emporium. Furthermore, something was also off about this brightness.
Arthur did not feel like it was yet morning because the world had no yet awakened. The brightness was not the ray of the sun that would rouse the world. There was no heat to the light, Arthur did not feel like he was touched or warmed by the sun. If anything, he felt cold.
In that case, where did the brightness come from? Arthur lifted his head and what he saw made his jaw drop. It was the largest moon Arthur had seen in his life. It was as if the moon was trying to hurtle towards Earth.
Arthur's first instinct was to run. As he turned back into the Midnight Emporium, the brightness of the moon intensified. It glowed violently, covering the world in pure whiteness. Arthur closed his eyes out of habit, it was to shield his eyes from the glare. However, he did not feel any discomfort in his eyes. The moonlight was bright but not intense.
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