LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 180: Clue
Ray pointed at himself and asked, “You mean me?”
“Yes.”
“What do you need from me?”
As he asked, the minstrel hesitated before speaking.
“Earlier, you mentioned my instrument looked similar to a violin, didn’t you?”
Had she heard his muttering?
How sharp was her hearing?
Ray nodded.
“Yes, I did.”
“How did you know to call it a ‘violin’?”
The hooded minstrel gazed at him intently, searching for an answer.
This put Ray in an awkward position.
He couldn’t exactly reveal that he knew the term ‘violin’ from an instrument he had seen in the modern world.
Ray pondered as he looked at her, ‘I’m aware of violins from the modern world. Could she be from there as well…?’
Suspicion crept into his thoughts.
To probe further, Ray decided to fabricate a tale.
“I read about it in a book.”
Upon hearing his answer, the robed minstrel locked eyes with Ray.
After a brief pause, she shook her head.
“That’s a lie.”
Naturally, it was a fabrication.
Ray grasped this instantly.
The minstrel before him was no ordinary human.
She must be an Elf, given her possession of the Elves’ distinctive ‘Eyes of Truth’.
Yet, her ears were those of a human.
‘A Half-Elf?’
It was uncommon, but on rare occasions, a Half-Elf would arise from the union of a human and an elf.
Unable to deceive those truth-revealing eyes, Ray conceded.
He addressed her, “I’ll tell you the truth. But first, you must explain how you acquired that instrument and your knowledge of it.”
“Agreed.”
Princess Celia watched their exchange in silence.
Although she failed to grasp the significance of their dialogue regarding the instrument, the air was laden with gravity.
The minstrel inhaled deeply before responding.
“This instrument is an heirloom from my grandmother. She crafted it herself, and as her descendant, I inherited it. She also taught me how to play when I was young.”
“Hmm.”
There was no room for dispute.
Simply put, the Half-Elf in front of him had learned to play the instrument from someone.
Now, Ray’s suspicions turned to her grandmother.
‘Made it… Creating something similar to a modern violin, even down to the decorations – could it really be a coincidence?’
No, it seemed impossible.
Unless her grandmother, like him, had come from the modern world.
It appeared necessary to have a deeper conversation with this Half-Elf.
“Now it’s your turn. I’ll ask you the same question. Where did you see this instrument, and how do you know about it?”
Ray responded to her question with a prepared answer.
“I saw someone playing it. I asked about the instrument, and they told me it was a violin, so I remembered it.”
Ray had briefly learned to play the violin when he was young.
His teacher had performed for him and taught him the name of the instrument.
There was no falsehood in his story.
Therefore, the Half-Elf nodded in agreement, evidently finding nothing amiss through her Eyes of Truth.
“…I see.”
Was there a story behind it?
She caressed her instrument and smiled wistfully.
“…I’m sorry. I got carried away thinking you might know something about where my grandmother used to be.”
Ray’s mind raced at her words.
A violin that was made, and the place where her grandmother had been.
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like the modern world.
Perhaps her grandmother, like him, had been reborn in this world from the modern era.
Ray cautiously asked, “Can I hear more about your grandmother?”
The Half-Elf readily nodded.
She hadn’t had much interaction living in the mountains, so having someone to talk to was a great comfort to her.
“Of course. Hmm… where should I start? My grandmother was a bit unique when I was young.”
“A unique person indeed,” replied Ray, who could compete for the title of the most unique in the world.
“Yes. She seemed out of place… unique yet incredibly knowledgeable. It was as if she carried knowledge from a world that doesn’t exist here.”
Ray felt a twinge at her words.
“One day, she made something called a bicycle and rode it around. Haha. It was fun to see her enjoying it.”
Upon hearing this, Ray was certain.
His grandmother had definitely been from the modern era.
Violins, bicycles—all things that didn’t exist in this world.
Creating them with the same names couldn’t be mere coincidence.
“She used to tell me she wasn’t from this world. So, I’ve been looking for someone who might know about the world she lived in.”
She looked up at the star-filled night sky and asked, “But… you saw someone playing this instrument, right? Who was it?”
Ray gazed at the sky, muttering as if to himself.
“Who knows? I can’t quite remember their name or where they lived anymore…”
“You’re in a similar situation, aren’t you?”
“It seems somewhat similar.”
As their conversation dwindled, Princess Celia intervened.
She smiled warmly at the minstrel.
“It’s a bit late to say, but that was a wonderful performance.”
“Thank you. I still have much to learn.”
Having played the violin for decades, if not centuries, a great performance was inevitable.
Though a half-elf, her lifespan wasn’t much shorter than an elf’s.
Perhaps just a two-hundred-year difference?
If her playing wasn’t beautiful, it would be the listener’s fault.
As she gathered her instrument and belongings by the fountain, she turned to Ray.
“The fireworks in the sky… they were incredibly beautiful. It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“You might see it again if you’re lucky.”
“Really? Haha. I have a feeling we’ll meet again. Maybe we’ll run into each other someday.”
After saying that, she waved her hand and left the fountain.
Ray had no intention of stopping her.
He had no intention of probing into the story of her grandmother, who might have come from the modern world.
Like her, who lived her life and quietly passed away, he too should live the life he had been given.
There was no need to deliberately uncover reasons for everything.
However, he did feel a strange sense of relief knowing that he was not the only one who had come from the modern world.
Princess Celia chuckled behind her hand.
“Hehe. You look relaxed. Did something good happen?”
“The feeling of loneliness has lessened a bit. Let’s head back now.”
With those words, Ray thought quietly to himself.
‘A bicycle, huh? Not a bad idea.’
The last day of the Selection Ceremony’s preliminaries dawned.
The competition was fiercer than ever.
If one didn’t win here, advancing to the main competition would be impossible.
Ray arrived alone, accompanied by a few knights, to watch the preliminaries.
There was one interesting man he had his eye on.
The large man from before was competing again, wielding a clunky sword.
His opponent was also a beginner aura user.
Both had limited mana and seemed unlikely to use their aura, but it appeared they would have to resort to it soon.
Sure enough, the large man, swinging a hefty bastard sword, infused his aura into a sudden attack.
As the sword arced toward the opponent’s side, the latter, flustered, quickly drew up his aura.
Clang!
The clash of swords created a brief, intense sound.
Watching the exciting scene while chewing on jerky, Ray commented.
“This is more fun than watching experienced fighters duel.”
The higher the skill, the easier it is to predict the opponent’s moves.
Battles among sword masters, who have reached the pinnacle, occur in an instant.
Mana capacity, sword skills, aura quality – these three factors usually determine the outcome, making battles among top fighters less entertaining.
But this duel was different.
Block with a sword, strike with a sword.
They repeated this simple and exhilarating sequence of actions with all their might to determine the winner.
The desperation and tension for victory hung thick in the air.
After about twenty minutes, the outcome remained undecided.
The man gasped for breath, releasing a cry that was part roar, part scream.
“Argh!”
He swung his sword.
Their movements, exhausted to their limits, were so slow that an ordinary person could have dodged them.
But that was the full extent of the strength they had left.
The spectators watched in silent anticipation.
The sword, moving slowly through the air, was just barely blocked by the opponent.
Clang!
“Huff… Huff…”
Both combatants were equally exhausted.
Yet, neither showed any sign of giving up easily.
The match kept everyone on the edge of their seats.
Ray found himself unable to root for either side.
Clang! Clang!
The prolonged duel had dulled the sharpness of their sword tips.
Their hands trembled as they gripped their swords, preventing them from drawing sharp and precise trajectories as they intended.
Yet their eyes remained focused solely on the other’s sword.
The man’s sword flew through the air, swiftly striking at three points.
With all escape routes blocked, his opponent hastily raised his sword.
But his exhausted body couldn’t respond as he needed it to.
Eventually, the sword raised too late was penetrated by the man’s strike.
Even in a duel, being cut by a blade could be fatal.
This was especially true when they were so fatigued that they could barely use their mana.
The man twisted his sword with all the strength he could muster.
Consequently, unable to withstand the force, he too suffered a significant impact.
“Ugh!”
The pain in his shoulder and chest was intense.
At that moment, the referee declared the end of the duel.
“Fourth duel arena! The winner, Ainor! Priests, attend to both fighters immediately!”
“Wow!”
As his declaration ended, a thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd.
Ray watched the scene with a pleased smile, unfolding before him.
He felt that this beginner aura user might make it to the main competition, yet actually witnessing it unfold was remarkable.
For a novice aura user to advance to the main competition was no small feat.
It demanded a do-or-die effort.
The man’s opponent, another beginner aura user who had reached the final preliminary with equal determination, would have received the same applause, regardless of the outcome.
Their performance heightened the excitement of the Selection Ceremony.
Thus, the final day of the Selection Ceremony’s preliminaries drew to a close.