Chapter 771: Unfamiliarity

[Hurricroak, you ready to go back now?]

[Yeah...yeah. I think I’m ready to go.]

[Okay...]

...

’It...it can’t be...,’ Draigo thought to himself as his eyes focused on a particular young woman in the crowd, one who was watching him while leaning against the bar.

A strange, nostalgic feeling overcame Draigo as he finally noticed the woman that was listening to him from a quiet corner.

It reminded him of better days when a certain partner of his would listen in on him practicing by his lonesome.

She had always thought herself to be sneaky, a master spy as it were, but...he noticed she was listening at some point.

’But that was then and this now, so who the heck is she?’

He had never met this woman in his life, hell, the woman in question looked young enough to be his hypothetical daughter.

For some inexplicable reason, every fiber of his being was telling him that he knew who this girl was. Or to be more precise, she was someone he loved a long time ago...and still loved to this day.

Of course, he couldn’t accept this feeling outright.

’The hair’s the wrong color and style, that’s not her.’

’The eyes are different, hers weren’t that shade of yellow, that’s not her.’

’Those clothes are way too different, she’d never wear something like that.’

’She looks way too young, that can’t be her...but she’s the same age when she...what the hell are you thinking now?!’

Draigo ran through over a dozen or so excuses in his mind, trying to find any justifiable reason to say with absolute certainty that the mysterious young woman that was only a mere ten to fifteen feet away from him, wasn’t anyone he knew.

And yet...as much as his head wanted to say, "it wasn’t her", his heart wanted to say, "yes it was."

The only way for Draigo to be certain on the identity of this woman would be to talk to her, to stare into her eyes and see if there was even a glimmer of familiarity between the two of them.

But alas, he was running out of time in that regard.

’I have to-wait, where’s she going?’

Normally, when a bard plays for a crowd, he does about five to six songs with a couple of breaks in-between. The more songs the crowd hears, the more likely they were to spend money on food and drink.

However,it appeared that this mysterious woman didn’t want to linger any longer than when she had to.

Soon after Draigo’s initial song was finished, he noticed that the mysterious woman had left the tavern with a pair of warriors with rather distinctive features that also felt strangely familiar to Draigo.

From the way they were moving together, it appeared they had come to pick her up in the same manner bodyguards would come to pick up their charges from their latest bounts of shenanigans.

A sense of urgency came over Draigo in this instance, for he felt that unless he went and confronted her at this moment, he wouldn’t be able to do so again for long time.

Or, to be more accurate, he wouldn’t be able to do so again in this lifetime.

"Apologies, everybody, but I’ll need to take a slightly longer break than usual in preparation for the next song," Draigo hastily announced to the crowd mere moments before stepping off the stage and running like a possessed mad man out the door.

"Huh?"

"Where’s he going?"

"Why’d he look like he just saw a ghost?"

A majority of the crowd was rather perplexed at the sudden action of the old bard, even more so at the fact that he was surprisingly spry for someone at his age.

However, there were also a surprising amount of people in the crowd with sharp enough eyes to notice why he left in a rush.

"That girl who just came in and left...do you think she knew him?"

"Maybe she’s an old fan of his or perhaps an estranged daughter? I’d say lover, but she looked way too young for something like that."

"Eh. Looks can be rather deceiving. Remember that girl that our friend,Robert, was dating? She may not have looked it, but she was three times older than him."

"Godsdamn, seriously?"

"Yup. He was actually kind of into that, too."

"Huh..."

This sharp eyed crowd also included a certain tavern owner, who was watching this whole affair unfold from above.

"Do I believe in the idea of reincarnation...well, perhaps I should now, given that miraculous encounter of yours..."

A part of her wanted to dock Draigo’s pay for the evening, given his abandoning of the stage, but...she had the feeling that he wasn’t going to need anymore bad news in a couple of moments.

’Then again...perhaps he’ll finally get that bit of closure that’s been haunting him for so long.’

________________________________________

Harriet, Frederick and Nicole had left the Siren’s Cove in collective silence. The trio didn’t even attempt to start a telepathic conversation due to the former’s emotional state.

However...this silence didn’t last long.

"Hey! Wait a moment, please!"

[Huh?]

[Oh...]

[I was afraid of this finally happening...]

The trio had only stepped a few feet outside of the tavern, ready to head back to their lord’s side, before they were stopped by the sudden appearance of Draigo the bard.

The trio had mixed feelings about the man, given their collective history with him, but the one with the most mixed feelings about him was none other than Harriet herself.

After all,they were connected in more ways than one.

"Bah...ha...ha...damn...I need to start exercising again..."

[Unhealthy...]

An awkward silence fell over the group as the old bard used this opportunity to catch his breath. Despite having the technical powers of an Aether Grandmaster, old age and lack of active training had the tendency to wear a person down.

While the bard was recovering though, the kaijin were determining their next course of action.

[Hey...Hurricroak, I know this moment is probably more your thing than ours, but did you want us to-]

"No, it’s fine," Harriet said aloud so that Draigo could hear as well. "You two go on ahead, I’ll catch up later."

"As...you...wish."

"Whatever you say."

Taking the hint that this was a private moment, Nicole and Frederick proceeded to walk ahead like it was their intended direction this whole time.

It didn’t take much longer after they had left for Draigo to finally catch his breath, leading to...well...

A moment that was both a long time coming and one that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

...

"Ha...ha...phew. Been a long time since I had to rush through a crowd like that. Reminds me of my old touring days."

"I’m sorry, what?"

"Apologies for the ramblings, I just...need to confirm something."

Once his breathing had settled, Draigo could finally get a good look at this mysterious young woman and determine whether or not he actually knew her.

And now he could say for certain...he still didn’t know.

The young woman had a face that looked almost exactly as Wyvara’s face did a long time ago, but at the same time, the features were different enough that she could very well he a complete stranger to him.

He wanted to ask if she knew him, or if perhaps she knew a woman named Wyvara, but once he saw the look of discomfort forming on her face...he decided not to.

Instead, he simply said the following.

"I’m...sorry for calling out to you like this. I just thought you were someone I...forget it. I hope you can catch up to your friends."

"Oh...sorry to disappoint you," the woman responded in a voice that was huskier than her looks suggested.

With nothing else left to say, the old man and the young woman turned to go their separate ways.

But as they did, Draigo heard a voice he would never forget in a million lifetimes, say this.

"I hope you find whoever it is your looking for."

"Wait, Wyva-!"

Before he could turn around and realize what had happened though, the girl was gone.

A tinge of regret began to resonate in Draigo’s heart at this moment, but at the same time...it was filled with a hope he hadn’t felt in years.

’That girl...it was her! I know it was, but how? Why? Who could do such...wait...that dealmaker...could he be the reason? Then...I need to find him! But where do I...wait...’

As Draigo tried to rack his brain on how to get started on an investigation, he turned his eyes back to the tavern he just left.

A smile formed in his face as he remembered the other thing taverns were good for.

After all, alcohol ain’t the only thing that flows from such places.

________________________________________

[...and that’s everything, milord. Did you want to follow up on this report with Hurricroak?]

’No...not for the time being...she can tell me about it herself once she’s ready.’

[As...you...wish...]

’For now, let’s just head back to the hotel. Hopefully the caravan back we’ll be as peaceful as the caravan here was.’

...

∆Huh...why do I get the feeling this won’t be the last time we see that old bard?∆

=Because life tends to be the greatest of dramas.=

∆Agreed.