It was a rest day, and the musician couple, who preferred peace and quiet, had no desire to go out. As usual, they brewed a pot of tea and settled in at home to read, transcribe scores, and maintain their instruments.
They even planned to make do with a few biscuits and some cheese for lunch.
The entire morning passed with the couple barely exchanging a word. The spacious house was so silent that it seemed empty.
The man gently plucked his cello strings twice, listened to the pitch, and adjusted a tuning peg. Once he was satisfied, he carefully rosined the bow before finally saying, "With Lambert gone, the house has become so much quieter."
The mention of their beloved daughter opened the floodgates.
"Indeed." The woman set down the sheet music in her hands and sighed softly. "It's so quiet that the house feels rather lonely. I wonder how she's faring out there on her own."
"From what I've heard, she's doing quite well. Apparently, she's considered something of a prodigy among her peers."
"Who could have predicted it? Neither of us can even dress a fish properly, yet somehow we raised a Hunter..."
Their scattered, idle conversation was interrupted by a frantic peal of the doorbell.
The couple frowned in perfect unison.
"On a rest day? Who could that be?"
"Lady Mary?"
"That ringing is far too jarring. She would never be so discourteous."
"Doesn't it sound a little... like the way Lambert rings?"
The couple exchanged a glance. The man gestured to the cello in his arms to indicate that he was occupied. The woman rolled her eyes and went to answer the door.
As she approached the entrance, she heard a palm slapping against the door and someone shouting, "Mom, open up!" Her steps quickened of their own accord.
Hearing the commotion, the man set his treasured cello on the table and hurried over as well.
When the door opened, there stood their beloved daughter Lambert, whose departure had left "the house so quiet."
"Hey." Lambert waved to her parents. "I was here only two months ago, but I'm back again. This time, I brought... friends."
Only then did the couple notice the rest of the group behind Lambert.
Jill was naturally familiar to them. She was both their neighbor and Lambert's childhood friend, even though Lambert had never particularly enjoyed playing with those "ordinary" girls.
They also recognized Altaïr. Shortly after Lambert graduated from the training camp, he and her instructor had visited the house and promised to look after the rookie Hunter as she found her feet.
In the couple's eyes, Altaïr was almost a mentor to their daughter.
They were meeting Vari and Chia for the first time, but Lambert mentioned both of them in her occasional letters home, so her parents could roughly guess who was who.
Intense training and a high-protein diet had pushed Lambert past 170 centimeters, making her taller than her father.
The builds of the young male Hunters seemed almost absurd to the musician couple. Altaïr stood over 190 centimeters tall, Chia was nearly 190, and even Vari, a Gunner, was just over 180.
With the entire group crowding the doorway, the couple felt as though the daylight itself had dimmed.
"P-Please come in." Lambert's father stammered and hastily stepped aside to clear the doorway.
The group filed in one after another.
At Altaïr's reminder, the Hunters left their weapons in the entryway and removed their battle boots, which had sharp spikes studding the soles.
They could hardly risk scuffing the family's floors...
Once their initial shock passed, Lambert's parents became warm and animated.
They might prefer peace and quiet, but their daughter had returned after a long absence and brought her friends home. Of course they had to be good hosts.
Lambert's father offered, "None of you have eaten lunch yet, have you? Why don't we go to a restaurant? There are several good places nearby that serve delicious pan-fried fish fillets and coffee..."
"No way. Food like that would never fill them up." Lambert seemed far more animated at home than usual. "Let's eat here. Keep it simple and make plenty of it. Hmm... If we count what the three of us used to eat as one portion, then prepare... ten portions!"
"Th-Thirty servings?!" With an ordinary appetite, Lambert's father found the number alarming.
Lambert counted on her fingers. "Right. You two and Jill count as one portion, the two Felynes together count as another, and the four of us split the remaining eight. That should do it."
"Why don't we have a party instead? Can we barbecue in the yard?" Jill, still clinging to Lambert's arm, raised one hand. "I'll ask my mother to help, and the neighbors can join us. Everyone can celebrate Lambert coming home!"
Lambert's parents exchanged a glance.
Unlike Jill's family, who hosted gatherings almost every week, their household rarely did anything of the sort. Still, their daughter was home for a rare visit and had brought so many friends. Perhaps a party would not be so bad.
More importantly, the couple had no idea how to begin preparing the "ten portions" Lambert had described, which amounted to enough food for thirty ordinary people...
Chia eagerly chimed in from the side. "The more the merrier! This is the perfect chance for Lambert to perform that song she sang with the Diva."
"Diva? Song?"
The musician couple turned toward their daughter. As professionals, both were exceptionally sensitive to those words.
"A Diva? Which Diva?"
"Our daughter can sing too?"
Delighting in the chaos to come, Chia continued cheerfully, "Like I said, the Divas! Obviously, I mean both of them. Lambert sang with the Young Diva from Mezeporta. They say the song was so beautiful that it brought thunder crashing from the sky. The Wyverian Diva here in Dundorma thinks highly of Lambert too. She even called her the third Diva, or something like that."
"Are you serious...?" Lambert's father looked utterly unconvinced. He could not help glancing at Altaïr, whom he remembered as a fairly reliable young man.
Altaïr's expression turned complicated, but he nodded. "The circumstances were rather different from what you're imagining... but Lambert truly did sing with the Young Diva from Mezeporta, and their performance was a great success. The Wyverian Diva also called Lambert the third Diva. She even inscribed a blessing on Lambert's Hunting Horn."
Lambert's parents and Jill all turned to look at the Hunting Horn slung across Lambert's back.
Lambert readily held it out for inspection. A line had been written along the body of the Yian Garuga Hunting Horn.
[To the third Diva, Lambert, may you keep to your own path.]
"It really is the Wyverian Diva's handwriting..." Lambert's father murmured in disbelief.
The orchestra to which he and his wife belonged often accompanied the Wyverian Diva's singing. They could not claim to know her well, but they naturally kept examples of her autograph at home.
Jill leaped up with even greater excitement. "Wow! The third Diva! The great Wyverian Diva herself recognized Lamy as the third Diva! I'm going to tell everyone!
"Forget the party! Let's have Lamy give a small concert in that little park where people are always playing music!"
With that, Jill dashed out in a frenzy of excitement.
"Should we arrange orchestral accompaniment for Lambert?" her mother added, her expression tense.
Lambert's father turned away, removed his distinctly artistic monocle, and dabbed at the moist corners of his eyes.
My precious daughter has finally returned to the path of music.
Altaïr's expression stiffened slightly. He seemed to have underestimated how much weight the Wyverian Diva's endorsement carried among Dundorma's music professionals.
He glanced at Lambert again. She did not seem to object.
That was simply Lambert's nature. If anyone wanted to listen, she would sing. Whether the audience enjoyed the performance was none of her concern.
Without changing expression, Vari stepped on Chia's foot.
Chia never passed up a good show, but even he had not expected matters to escalate this far. Now he was starting to panic.
Lambert, giving a public performance... huh?
* * *
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