Seeing Echidna's tsundere, "I hate it but I'll do it anyway" attitude, Hayashi Maki's lips curved slightly.
Now that she had a body again, the witch seemed to be regaining a sliver of humanity—and that was a good thing for him.
Even if he called himself a demon, deep down he still held onto a human line he wouldn't cross.
And after Echidna died, her soul spent so long having tea parties with those… let's say "not exactly normal" witches that she was bound to have been influenced.
A witch who'd completely lost her humanity was not someone Hayashi Maki wanted at his side. He trusted his contract power, sure—but he wasn't about to get arrogant.
Right now, because Emilia's magic had surged out of control, the entire Roswaal mansion—and the nearby village—had been swallowed in snow.
Hayashi Maki didn't want to move at all. He just wanted to sit by the fireplace with the girls, warming up.
Every so often, his hand would drift to Echidna's thigh. Echidna only shot him a look, rolling her eyes, and didn't bother stopping him.
They'd already made a contract. In theory, if he did push things further, she couldn't really claim it was "out of bounds."
Aqua was huddled close to Ram too, trembling.
"Seriously, Aqua—don't you have buff spells?" Hayashi Maki couldn't help pointing out. "If you just cast them, we won't be cold."
"Oh! Right—I do!" Aqua blinked like the idea had never occurred to her, then hurriedly put status magic on herself and everyone around them.
Instantly, the chill eased.
Even with everyone crowding around the fire, the mansion still had to run. Rem was the diligent type, so she naturally took it upon herself to go out and buy supplies.
But when Rem returned with ingredients, she had a small girl slung over her shoulder.
Under everyone's curious stares, Rem set the girl down on the sofa. She was unconscious from the cold—blonde, tan-skinned, and dressed far too lightly for the weather.
"Hayashi Maki-sama," Rem said, bowing. "I found this child collapsed near the entrance. She'd lost consciousness, so I brought her inside. I'm sorry for acting on my own."
Hayashi Maki smiled, ruffling Rem's hair gently.
"No need to apologize. You did the right thing. And you've brought back someone pretty remarkable."
As he spoke, he crouched beside the girl and checked her condition, focusing on getting her warm and stable.
Ram watched him with a faintly sour expression.
"So… you know her, Hayashi Maki-sama?"
"Yeah. More or less." Hayashi Maki nodded. "Her name's Liliana. In Pristella, people call her a songstress. She's famous."
In this world, there were wandering bards—people who wrote poems and songs, traveled from place to place, and lived off performances and tips.
For Liliana to be called a "songstress" meant she'd reached the top tier. Her voice could truly move people.
That's why Kiritaka—heir to the Muse Company—was so captivated by her.
Bards couldn't stay in one place forever. If they stopped traveling, they'd lose the spark to create and sink into stagnation.
To write new songs, they needed new stories—new encounters. Spreading local legends and famous heroes' tales across the world was part of what bards existed for.
"A songstress…" Ram repeated quietly.
After Hayashi Maki finished explaining, the warmth and treatment took effect, and soon Liliana stirred.
Not long after, Liliana slowly opened her eyes.
Confused, she rubbed at them. "Ugh… where am I?"
"This is Roswaal's mansion," Hayashi Maki said with an easy smile. "Rem found you outside and brought you in."
He introduced Rem as well.
Liliana Masquerade immediately stood—wobbly but determined—and bowed deeply.
"Thank you so much, Rem-san. If you hadn't saved me, I might've frozen to death."
Then her face lit up as if she'd remembered herself.
"Ah—excuse me! I'm Liliana Masquerade, a traveling bard. Since you've helped me, please—let me sing for you, as thanks!"
She took out the instrument strapped to her back, began to play, and sang with heartfelt emotion.
Her voice was breathtaking. The moment the melody filled the room, everyone fell silent, drawn in.
Music didn't need a shared language—beautiful music always found a way to resonate.
When the song ended, it felt like the room exhaled all at once.
Even Echidna regarded the tan-skinned little bard with interest. She could sense the strange persuasive quality in Liliana's voice—the way it painted scenes in your mind and pulled you into them.
It was a rare talent.
Hayashi Maki started clapping first. Emilia and the others followed, applauding sincerely.
Liliana beamed. "Thank you… for listening."
"Your singing is incredible," Emilia said warmly. "But why were you near here in the first place? What happened?"
Liliana scratched her head shyly.
"I'm a bard, you see… and when I heard the story—about the hero who defeated the White Whale and punished the Witch Cult's Sin Archbishops—my creative soul just… exploded!"
She looked almost starry-eyed.
"So I rushed here because I wanted to hear the hero's story firsthand. I want to write a song just for him—and sing it across the world!"
The girls exchanged complicated looks.
Hayashi Maki, however, just smiled, amused.
"So you came looking for me." His eyes curved. "Perfect timing. I've got time tonight—Liliana, if you'd like, we can talk properly. You can ask whatever you want."
Liliana's eyes went wide.
"So you're the hero?!" she blurted, practically glowing. "You're… so handsome…!"