Chapter 549 – The Merfolk Song Recital

When the Merfolk’s Tears were nearly finished, a female merfolk with a silver-blue tail broke through the water’s surface beside a small reef near the starshine giant shell where the bar was located.

Her hair was entwined with luminescent sea fireflies, and her adornments were entirely different from those of the other merfolk servers.

“Look, Senior Sister! The merfolk song recital is about to start,” Dora said. “That reef over there is the stage.”

“It’s Serena!” Rose said. “It’s over for us…”

“Good thing I came prepared!” Lena pulled four handkerchiefs of different colors from her Spatial Card and handed one each to Mo Lan, Rose, and Dora.

“What’s this for…?” Mo Lan was somewhat puzzled.

“Senior Sister, Serena’s singing has an incredibly powerful tear-jerking effect. Handkerchiefs are essential listening equipment,” Dora explained.

No sooner had she finished speaking than the merfolk on the reef parted her pink lips slightly, and a mournful melody flowed like water into the ears of everyone present:

“The tides stole away my name,

Moonlight stitches my tattered fins,

On the shore, who is gathering—

The scattered words I drowned in

…”

The moment the song began, all conversation within the starshine giant shells fell silent. Everyone was irresistibly drawn to the singing.

Mo Lan was no exception.

Beyond the beautiful voice and moving melody, she also detected something in Serena’s song—a sensation that fell somewhere between a mage’s Psychic Magic and a witch’s Psychic Magic.

It wasn’t Psychic Magic, yet like Psychic Magic, it could stir memories and tug at the heartstrings.

She instinctively deployed her Mind Ward and psychic defenses to resist the influence.

She also recalled the two signature magics of the merfolk: Ocean Magic and Voice Magic.

Legend had it that merfolk Voice Magic also possessed a certain ability to influence the mind and thoughts.

When Serena sang, she must have been employing this very magic.

Mo Lan looked at the people around her.

Rose, Dora, and Lena already had tears welling in their eyes.

Among the other patrons, some were wiping away tears while others were already sobbing openly.

The merfolk servers had also surfaced from the sea, small pearls dropping from their eyes, which they calmly caught in their hands.

Even Aquina, busy behind the bar, had pressed a handkerchief to her face—though her Culinary Magic remained perfectly stable.

Mo Lan was the only person in the entire venue completely unaffected.

Serena, mid-song: “…”

She silently increased the magical energy in her singing.

The listeners cried even harder.

Mo Lan noticed Serena staring straight at her, eyes filled with a look of grievance. Belatedly, she realized she had become the one emotionally tone-deaf member of the audience.

But as someone well-versed in both Psychic Magic traditions, she understood all too well the consequences of letting one’s mental guard down.

She could clearly feel that the moment she relaxed her defenses even slightly, sorrowful memories would surge through her mind like a tidal wave, dragging her emotions along with them.

She carried the collective civilizational memories of all humanity on Earth. There were far too many sorrowful memories among them—if they all rushed in at once, she was afraid she’d cry herself to death right here today.

Moreover, she didn’t know enough about merfolk Voice Magic. She wasn’t sure whether their ability to specifically evoke a person’s memories could also read those memories simultaneously.

Memories were the most private thing a person possessed, and Mo Lan had no intention of exposing hers. So no matter how plaintive Serena’s expression grew, no matter how earnestly she sang, Mo Lan kept her mind and memories locked down like an iron fortress.

While everyone else was enjoying the music, Mo Lan was engaged in a magical standoff. The aggrieved Serena grew increasingly irritable, and her song took on a tinge of her frustration:

“…

In the end, I became

That merfolk in your story,

Who never made it ashore.”

All songs must end. When the final note faded, Serena didn’t even bother to savor the sight of her audience’s tear-streaked, emotionally devastated faces as she usually did. Instead, she dove impatiently into the sea.

Her tail slapped the surface in irritation, sending water splashing high into the air.

The starshine giant shell where Mo Lan and her companions sat happened to be the closest one to the reef stage. The splash surged directly toward them, but ultimately failed to reach their table—it was blocked by the magical barrier that rose from the starshine giant shell.

Rose rubbed her reddened eyes and wiped away her tears. “A good cry feels so cathartic! But Serena’s singing today—why did it get more and more agitated toward the end? I was actually starting to feel angry.”

“That was a bit strange. Maybe she’s working on a new song…” Lena trailed off mid-sentence when she noticed the still-dry handkerchief in Mo Lan’s hand. She stared at her face in astonishment. “Moira, you didn’t cry?”

“What?” Dora and Rose turned to look at her in surprise as well.

“Serena infused Voice Magic into her singing. I used Psychic Magic to resist it,” Mo Lan said. “Strip away the Voice Magic, and her song is simply pleasant to listen to—not enough to bring anyone to tears.”

Rose, Dora, and Lena: “…”

Senior Sister truly has a heart of iron!

“Merfolk Voice Magic is quite powerful, that’s true. But the merfolk who perform at Lady Aquina’s all sing songs that are beneficial—they heal the spirit and ease the mind. Many people come here specifically for the merfolk’s singing, ordering a cup of Merfolk’s Tears and listening quietly!” Rose couldn’t help but say.

“Exactly! Serena’s songs feel heartbreaking while you’re listening, but afterward, all your worries are swept clean away and you feel remarkably refreshed,” Dora added.

“I understand. Lady Aquina’s Psychic Magic level must be quite high as well,” Mo Lan observed.

Though Aquina had appeared affected by the merfolk’s song just now, it was clearly intentional—her Culinary Magic hadn’t been impacted in the slightest.

“Still, I’m not comfortable letting someone else intrude on my mind and tamper with my memories,” Mo Lan said.

If she wanted to regulate her emotions, she could do so with her own Psychic Magic. There was no need to lower her mental defenses and let someone else’s magic influence her.

“Will there be more songs later?” Mo Lan asked.

If so, she’d keep her Mind Ward active—no sense wasting Mana by dropping and reactivating it.

“No,” Rose said. “There’s only one merfolk performance of one song each day.”

“Then I can relax and enjoy the food,” Mo Lan said.

She was far more interested in the dishes on the table.

“Let me try that Runaway Ice Cream you mentioned first!” Mo Lan placed her hand on the cloche in front of her.

On the table, only the drinks were served in visible glasses. The desserts, entrees, and appetizers were all covered with insulated cloches—you had to read the labels on top to know what was inside.

The label on the cloche before her read “Runaway Ice Cream.”

“Wait!” Rose hastily stopped her. She rummaged through the utensil rack and pulled out several shell-shaped spoons, pressing one into Mo Lan’s hand first before distributing the rest among the group. “Hold onto this first!”

“They don’t actually run away, do they?” Mo Lan said, eyeing their battle-ready posture.

Rose nodded. “You have to scoop them with these shell spoons! Otherwise, they’ll rapidly melt into rainbow syrup!”