"You're not winning this time!" "Eat my dust, Ishtar! Adios~!" "Get back here!"

None of the afternoon visitors of the bar even bothered to turn and look at the commotion. Two blurs shot past the open windows and doors of Club Cove, rustling some of the cabana style shades with a sudden gust. While the blinds settled, a tinier blur squeaked happily and chased the two running goddesses, but only one of Lex's eyes glanced it. Ishtar and Quetzalcoatl, in their renewed rivalry, had been racing for the past hour, but no one was interested at this point.

At the aquarium bar's stools, Robin merely fiddled with his cup of sake alongside his two current companions. The archer in a green tank top and jeans sat beside Billy, who wasn't actually drinking alcohol. All the battle-clad cowboy usually drank at the bar was root beer, which was a beverage matched by the third member in combat attire; They had just returned from the training grounds after a small spar.

Lex quickly refilled the glass of one of Chaldea's newest members, which rested beside Billy's discarded stetson. The black-haired caster's chocolate skin was adorned with clean white war paint that mirrored his unusual, ethereal irises. In hues of desert browns and complimenting red, his Native American cloak and pants sang proudly of wild west sunsets. As the robot finished pouring, he took a quick sip of his root beer as yet another set of racing blurs passed by the club.

Robin sighed, feeling a small headache growing. While he had originally wanted to drink peacefully in solitude, Geronimo and Billy hardly made for bad company. The racing goddesses was another thing entirely. "I lost count. Sheesh… Are they doing best out of a hundred or something?"

"I don't know… It's my hope they do not make this a daily affair that shatters the peace," Geronimo stated.

"Well, if that's what they be fixin', Green and I could always lay a trap or two," Billy snickered, making his companions chuckle. "Just like ol' times in the fifth singularity."

"Us four had a lot of fun…" Robin mused. It was strange working with a copy of himself, but it turned out quite well; Double the traps was double the entertainment. It gave him a lot of bonding time with these two servants, but it also cracked open the door to his current volunteered occupation.

"Who says there can't be more?" Billy offered as he swung his feet on the stool, causing his spurs to spin and gently clink. "I was thinking of volunteering us as the scouts for a future one."

"Maybe it'll be in the American woods… or maybe it shouldn't be. Geronimo would end the hunt with his trailblazing skills," Robin complimented as he got off his stool. "Ah, but that's about it for me, though. I can't keep the little dragon idol waiting."

"Maybe another time then," Geronimo nodded as Billy waved enthusiastically.

Robin was a rather plain man at his core. He appreciated comfortable silence and calm talks, like those two did, rather than excited and continuous conversation. As much as he enjoyed being drinking buddies with Drake and Fergus, he often felt drained of energy afterwards. It was this simplicity and calmness that ensured his heart and soul savored quiet solitude above all else…

…which was why it was so jarring and unusual he was so completely dedicated as Elizabeth's producer.

¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨

Fragment 55: Music to my Ears

¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨

In the dim room, Robin was in terrible pain. The comfort of the large headphones made no difference against the audio onslaught that they produced, trapping his ears like a torture device. The steady beat and tune of the instruments were practically drowned out by the siren's voice, and they only served to worsen his migraine. He would not lose his hearing to this assault, since a servant would heal something trivial like this, but it only meant the pain would come day after day.

But he chose this, and he will persevere.

~~'Cause I don't really need to wonder at all~~
~~Yeah after all this time, I'm still into you~~

She sang well that time, but it still wasn't enough. No matter what settings or adjustments he made, he couldn't seem to find a sweet spot in the audio. The only times he could make it bearable adjusted her voice to such an extent it didn't even sound like her; Hell, it didn't even sound like the human voice at that point. It was frustrating, but at least she was used to practicing for hours a day so he had plenty of experimentation opportunities.

Exhaling with both aggravation and pain relief, but keeping them visibly hidden behind a calm facade, Robin reached for one of the many switches on the dashboard in front of him. He flicked it on, "Good run, Liz. You got all the lyrics down smoothly that time."

"Yay~! I thought I did well!" she cheered as she smiled through the large glass window at him.

They were in one of Chaldea's newest additions that had been requested by multiple servants. It was almost routine to find themselves in Chaldea's Recording Studio, which was situated along the hallway between Salon de Marie and the entrance to Club Cove. It had been Jeanne and Mozart who led the initial petition for the room, but it had been Robin's inquiry and urgings that led to its creation; No one had argued against a set of rooms that isolated any 'potentially painful sound' to protect bystanders.

Though they were essentially four separate rooms, the Recording Studio consisted of all of them and was built with specific materials. While all had maple vinyl flooring and ocean blue walls, that was where the similarities ended. The main room, which acted as sound control for the other three, had a few of Serenity's landscape paintings hanging above a trio of adjacent couches. The sofas and glass coffee tables sat against the opposite wall from the big electronic control board where Robin sat, which could record, adjust, and transmit anything from the other three rooms.

Connected by three soundproof doors, the other rooms were similar but varied in sized. Sound absorbing foam was plastered in patches on the walls and edges. The smallest one was an isolation room for recording simpler items, and the middle one was larger to act as a radio host section for multiple individuals. By far the largest was the live room, which had a larger access door to fit bulky instruments inside.

As of now, it was only Elizabeth and a microphone at the moment. She swayed back and forth happily on her black heels. Her tail waggled in synchronization with the swing of her ebony tent dress as her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "Is that good enough for the recording tomorrow?"

"It just might be," Robin suggested as he took a sip from his water bottle before placing it back on a tiny shelf beneath the audio board. "We could test another one to find out… Are you feeling up for the next song then?"

"Okay, but I have a question," she stated as she placed a finger to her lips in thought. "When can I try those Japanese and Korean Pop songs I chose with these?"

Robin merely smiled. "You want people to understand your debut, right? Since at least everyone in Chaldea speaks English, that would be your best starting point. I promise afterward we can spread into different languages, but I want you to start your career off with a bang."

They had heard from Gabrielle and a few others that it wasn't uncommon to do cover songs until one hit viral fame; They were recognizable and nailing one was a surefire way to get noticed. Increasing popularity would come after they formed a solid Chaldean fan base and saved humanity. There were also the issues with a historic, spiritual figure becoming a pop star, but he would find a way across that bridge when his idol got to it. Though she looked a little disappointed, she nodded happily anyway. "…Okay! I trust you, producer!"

"Great," Robin responded as he began bracing himself for the next onslaught of her voice. "In that case, how about we move on to that Kelly Clarkson song next?"

"Since U Been Gone, coming right up! Start it whenever, producer!" Elizabeth smiled eagerly.

When she was just letting her optimism flow out so readily, it was difficult to believe she was the younger version of the dreaded count; One also had to ignore the dragon appendages too, of course. Elizabeth just looked like a dreaming girl who wanted her taste of pop stardom. There were more fantastical and wild ideas in Chaldea, sure, but hers was not an easy one to accomplish. Regardless, if it meant keeping her from falling into that dark abyss of her future, he'd help her on this new path.

Though, with every ear destroying song that came through the headphones, he would question his own potential idiocy. He was trying to alter the impossible yet again all for someone else's satisfaction. At the cost of himself, who he regrettably barely understood, he was selfishly helping someone else out with their problem. Even if he did so willingly, he still questioned why, since there would be no discernible reward for the archer. It would only end with more work, scheduling, studying, and management for the idol.

However, consequences and circumstances didn't stop him from helping then, and it wouldn't stop him now.


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ III ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


It was approaching ten at night at Club Cove, and his ears were stilling ringing a bit; Asking Elizabeth to do high note songs was probably a bad idea. He didn't really care at this point, since sooner or later she would have to practice them. Sighing to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck, he took another sip of his sake in silence since the only other patron sat a few stools away. Drinking was always his favorite way to end a day.

…at least until his thoughts always rotated to his biggest personal dilemma…

It was such sad irony that his quiet moments spent drinking, which he savored, often led to him to the fact he still didn't feel complete. "I never thought the usually jovial Robin Hood could look so glum."

"You don't know me that well then…" he chuckled dryly to the only other patron. He turned to the kimono-clad assassin a few chairs down as she casually drank from her bottle of water. Almost glowing in her yellow kimono in the dimmer light, he was always curious why Shiki would occasionally come to the bar just to drink water. However, the silent assassin made for great quiet companionship on the rare occasions they met.

She seemed a little more talkative to him today though, as she stared with a tiny glint of curiosity. "You're usually with Drake and Fergus at this hour."

"They made plans with others. That's fine. I'm used to being alone," he replied quietly as he took another sip of sake. At least the conversation was distracting from the thumping migraine.

"I guess we have that in common," Shiki commented as she stared at her water bottle on the counter.

Robin raised an eyebrow. "You're usually with one of the other Japanese girls when they go drinking, aren't you?"

She remained quiet in response, though he couldn't perceive stepping on anything. Even if it was neither confirmed nor denied, he decided to go with his nihilistic gut and say he was wrong. She certainly never acted like a social person to begin with. Then again, Shiki was one of the few mysteries in Chaldea since she hardly talked about herself, so anything he knew was mostly gossip from Marie; That meant it had to be taken with a grain of salt for her possible excited exaggerations.

"So why are you here if you're not hanging around Shuten, Okita, or one of the others?"

Shiki shrugged. "Probably as good of a reason as you being here alone. I just feel like it."

He couldn't fault her on that, but he still chuckled. "Bars are usually where people go to sulk about their problems."

Slowly turning to face him again, she eyed him with a hint of skepticism. He sighed, feeling he crossed a line, but it was gone with the wind. Shiki tilted her head slightly, "…Is that why you're here then?"

Hell, might be the reason he was here every night. He could truthfully drink anywhere he wanted when it came time, but when alone, he'd always find himself at either the bar depending on which was open and how he felt. His own casual banter had somehow turned on him, and he wondered if it was his subconscious telling him to drink his regrets and frustrations away every night… Here he thought he was coming just for peaceful solitude.

"Maybe, maybe not," he answered vaguely with a slow exhale. "If I was, I'd probably be dead silent or spilling the beans to someone."

"My programming is always prepared to listen and withhold personal information if that is the drink you desire," Lex declared from its floating position.

Shiki and Robin found themselves smirking, but the archer shook his head. "No, that's quite alright… My story is rather boring anyway."

"Robin Hood can't be that boring if it's told to kids as a story," Shiki quipped before taking a sip from her water.

"No… but I'm not exactly Robin Hood anyway," he admitted, making the pseudo-servant turn back to him in slight confusion. Right, she wasn't your typical servant… which meant her information on other heroes was based on what she actually knew.

"Then who were you before the title?" Shiki asked flatly, though her tone was more inquisitive than he's ever heard.

With a small frown, Robin remained quiet. That question struck far harder than a hit from a servant could ever deal, but he always hid it well. After a pause, he answered. "…I don't know."

Shiki blinked. "…You don't know?"

He shook his head slowly, because he couldn't say he did. Robin's understanding of himself was straightforward yet deplorably bare. Most of his limited self-understanding was gained during his tenure in Chaldea, including drinking to past the time in merry bliss. He had to search hard through what glimpses he could from that village, but try as he might, no identity could be grasped. He became just a nameless thief who knew not of himself before he took up the legendary mantle of Robin Hood.

There were some things he remembered from the childhood, but it was a mixed bag. His father was a druid, and he was on good terms with the fairies. The villagers disliked him, so he remained within the forest, usually alone until the fairies wanted to visit for one reason or another. Despite that, he couldn't register any glimpse of who his orphaned self was, only what he chose to became.

It was bothersome considering how well everyone else knew themselves. Whether they boasted of who they were like Nero or Ozymandias, or originally questioned their own possible worth like Joan, at least they had something to hold dear. He was just another in a line that held the mythical title, who dreamed only of a simple, peaceful life among the woods with no regrets or troubles. With that as his only rope, he clung on to what remained of his identity and tried to forge something out of it.

"It's as if I was a blank slate until I decided to become Robin Hood…" he found himself confessing. His immature sense of justice… The self-loathing of his own combat style… Loving peace and solitude… All of his own beliefs and interests felt right, yet baseless; He didn't know if it was the desires of his old identity, or an influential impression pushed on him for becoming one of the many who became the legend.

"Maybe I did know clearly before then. They say a big life event could make one lose sight of who they are…" he chuckled dryly and took a sip of his sake. As Lex hovered over to refill his cup dutifully, he shook his head. "Is it possible something could make a person lose an identity entirely? …Ah, ignore me… I guess the alcohol is talking…"

"…I guess I know what you mean…" It was a ghost of a whisper, but he heard it. Robin turned to the black-haired assassin, spotting the glint of uncertainty before it fled. She turned back to her water bottle, and he stared back at his refilled cup. That was something she had muttered, but evidently didn't want heard. He'd just keep it to himself. After an awkward silence, she spoke up, "I guess you don't have a wish if that's the case?"

"A simple one. Nothing crazy or selfless," he answered truthfully. She nodded her head in understanding as he shrugged. "Just living satisfied one day at a time is enough for me. I guess it's a good thing I have no one to miss or remember, but I've got no one to look forward to seeing again either."

After turning back to Shiki, he saw her staring at her water bottle once more. He couldn't read her face or emotions, though that was usually the case for many. The Japanese girls were usually the ones to coax any emotion out of her. Maybe she was thinking about who she wanted to see again since she was rescued in that singularity and brought to Chaldea. That or she was getting tired of talking and wanted some silence; Maybe Drake and Fergus were rubbing off on him with their talkative drinking spirits.

"Sorry for breaking the silence," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I don't know where that came from honestly…"

"If it helped you get something off your chest…" she shrugged and took a sip of her water. She sounded like her usual self again.

"Right… well, thanks for listening I guess. I promise I won't let the alcohol do the talking next time," the archer swore, which thankfully brought out a small smirk from the assassin.

To his surprise, she tossed a small smile at him. "I hope you maybe you'll find what you're looking for."

"Yeah. Me too," he mumbled as he gently waved his cup before him. 'Easier said than done though...'

The doors to Club Cove opened, making Robin turn around curiously as laughter filled the large room. He spotted Shuten's lilac kimono as she sauntered over to them, but her partner was faster. The blur that was Ibaraki bolted to his side swiftly, making her approach seem like a yellow comet in her own dandelion kimono. Her golden, tiger-like orbs gazed up at him and she asked, "Oh? I wasn't aware you've come to drink with us too."

To the berserker's discontent, Robin turned back to Shiki. "I thought you were drinking here alone?"

Shiki smirked lightly. "You assumed, Robin. I never answered the question."

"How dare you just ignore me!" Ibaraki complained as Shuten giggled on her final approach. "For your heinous actions, I demand tribute! Tribute!"

Robin rolled his eyes and waved over Lex. "Yeah, yeah, nice excuse… Hey Lex, can you get the berserker here a Milky Way? Maybe a Snickers, a Twix, or a Butterfinger if they're out?"

Her eyes sparkled as the robot moved to answer. 'Good. Last thing I need is a bigger headache before I start my late studies… which I should probably stop putting off already…'


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ IV ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


For the fifth day in a row, Robin found himself ascending the steps of the neighboring clay brick structure. King Gil giving Chaldea an entire block for housing purposes was an unfathomable and ridiculous idea. Servants didn't need sleep, and he was the most arrogant and selfish king in existence. However, he did, and it was possibly a bad idea considering it made servants feel too at home. Such was the case for Elizabeth, who found the cloth beds somehow comfortable when they had their own work to do.

He didn't know what was more annoying: Doing the boring and mundane chores for King Gil, or having to wait longer than necessary for Elizabeth to wake up every morning. "Sheesh… That dragon princess sure loves sleeping in…"

At the very least, her extra slumber made it possible for him to gather his thoughts. They had wound up job partners since the other servants close to her were already teamed up. It made sense considering he wound up being the lancer's so-called 'manager' thanks to that memorial essence from the fifth singularity. It was as annoying of a title now as it was then, but she was adamant he should do it.

It was surprising and frustrating he had silently allowed this to go on for so long.

Admittedly, it did forge a strange friendship between them. He found the lancer far more bearable than he had ever expected, but there were some trade-offs. Spending any amount of time from her led to terrible teases and jokes from his two best drinking buddies. That was just a trivial point compared to the real issue though. They were on good terms, and friends didn't lead other people on. He was no knight or chivalrous man like his former master; He didn't want to be, but it was wrong to keep pretending he was 'alright' with being her manager.

She'd likely be down about it for the rest of the day, but he had to be honest. It's been bothering him more and more since it became a fact of life two months ago, but only now did he have the reason to end it. As a friend, he couldn't lie to the lancer any longer. He'd just have to wake her up and break the news early rather than wait much longer; Maybe he could wait a few minutes at most so she wasn't groggy.

Robin walked down the silent hallway, sighing to himself that everyone was much more prompt. He passed by the door to Vlad's room, which meant Elizabeth should be the next one. With a small frown, he stopped before the wooden barrier and lifted his hand to knock. After three swift raps on the door, he waited. Silence answered him, so he repeated the process. He rolled his eyes when there was still no response, but he could definitely feel her presence inside and hear some mumbling.

"Sleeping rather hard today, aren't you…" he grumbled as he casually opened the door, no longer caring what awaited; It wasn't his fault she was sleeping in.

His cape fluttered with the opening draft upon entering the room. Quietly, the irritated archer looked towards the bed of the tiny room. Only a few wicker baskets and clay pots to decorate the one-windowed room, which was the standard for all of them. He could see the dragon horns and vibrant hair of the little lancer peeking out from under the blanket as her tail swayed beside the bed. Shaking his head in annoyance, the archer opened his mouth to-

Sniffling stopped him cold. His mouth slowly closed as he listened intently, confirming it was not his imagination. A few sobs leaked out from the lancer, and the blanket trembled slightly with the concealed servant. It fell to the side, showing clenched eyes with wet streaks across her face. He heard her whisper, "…Why is everyone so mean…"

"…Elizabeth?" he found himself calling out. She didn't budge or answer.

The slumbering lancer, trapped in sleep, trembled further. "No! Go away! I want to be an idol… I don't want to be hated! I'm not like Carmilla!"

His mouth opened to speak, but there were no words. He only listened to her sleeping cries as her nightmare continued. "I don't want to be that me! Stop lying… Stop lying…! My life isn't a mistake! …I'm not a mistake… right…? I can be an idol… I want to be an idol! …That can't be wrong, can it?"

Robin didn't try to rouse her from the nightmare. He found his movement automatic as his feet marched him outside the room. After shutting the door, he leaned against the nearby wall in silence; This was not something he was supposed to be seeing. Elizabeth's private despair was not something she would want known, so he refused to look… but he could still hear her crying and trembling. No, he couldn't let her know he saw this; In case it would change how she acted, he had to pretend he didn't see a thing… but it would bother him.

Finding himself walking back towards the stairs, Robin had to wonder if this is why she was always sleeping in. Was this what it was like for her every night? Her smile seemed so genuine and powerful every day, yet beneath it all lay this lake of misery. That sight put a lot of doubt and questions into his mind, and it frustrated him. He had become so frustrated and selfish in his own annoyed view of her that he was blinded to something right before him… until now.

Suddenly, Robin was second guessing whether he wanted to stop being her manager or not.


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ V ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


'That morning… It's better than something from my past, at least…' It was a callous thought, but it was the preferable to one of his occasional nightmares.

Stirred from his slumber, Robin groaned lightly upon feeling the stiffness in his neck. He was upright and sitting in a chair or couch, but he forgot where in his briefly groggy state. Judging by the softness of the cushions and the warm blanket on him, it was likely the salon; Marie had plenty of 'emergency' blankets stockpiled in case servants or employees fell asleep. Feeling content, he opened his eyes and began stretching out the kinks in his neck.

Robin found himself on one of the many couches facing the large windows. It was early morning as evidenced by the twilight hues of deep blues that barely silhouetted falling snow. If not for the currently dim lights of the salon that mixed with the closest snowflakes, it would have seemed like another trance. Instead, as they silently fell before him, Robin clutched the small blanket and tried to figure out exactly what time it was. How did he manage to fall asleep here like Hector?

Upon looking at the coffee table before him, he saw the many books he had borrowed from the library. Memory refreshed, he shook his head at the scattered variety. A financial book lay open before him, and there was a larger closed one written for basics of management. The most prominent were two books on the history of the music industry and publishing, which had several personal bookmarks poking out of their many pages. The seldom checked out books would definitely be an undeniable cause of why he had fallen asleep.

With a yawn, the archer took the crimson blanket off of himself. He was glad he had the hindsight to dress into white sweatpants with an emerald tank top for added comfort; Then again, it likely only aided in accidentally falling asleep. Staring at his books, the archer folded the blanket properly and placed it beside him. He wiggled his bare feet and began scanning for his- "Your flippy-floppys are beside the coffee table."

As Marie giggled, Robin turned to face the matron of the room. She stood behind his couch with her arms behind the back of her scarlet off-shoulder dress. Rocking back and forth on her feet, Marie happily eyed the archer as he ran a hand through his messy hair, "What time is it?"

"A little past seven in the morning."

He groaned. Today was going to be one of his range days and he was already missing the first rounds. He rubbed his face with one hand as Marie briefly turned around to wave at her room companions entering. She turned back to Robin and giggled. "You've been sleeping here since I came to grab my purse at midnight! I had to put your book on the table and cover you with the blanket! You're so productive~!"

"What can I say? It's definitely not like me," Robin joked, making Marie laugh harder.

It was only a partial truth. Even though he didn't know most of himself prior to taking up the legendary mantle, he understood his likes and dislikes well. His desire was to enjoy a calm, peaceful life, which was a far cry from the path his valorous urges brought him down. How many years had he spent defending that village when he dreamed of only comfort in that forest? He wished for idle bliss, yet he was beyond productive to allow others to live that simple desire he yearned to grasp.

Though he would not regret it, there was always that irritation he never seemed to do what he personally wanted with his free time. Even now, where he lived a carefree life until battle called, he found himself answering obligations once more. However, the irritation always rested with himself; As much as he played it off, he couldn't turn a blind eye to doing what was right in his heart. Regardless if would benefit him, or get him betrayed and killed like his last life, he would do it without care for the consequences.

To be fair, it was different this time.

Seeing Elizabeth's quiet despair was like watching the terrible cries of the villagers suffering under tyrannical rule. She was the younger self of the dreaded Blood Countess, yes, but it was hard to remember that when you saw the small girl crying under her covers. She was also gifted a second chance to get what she wanted, and she wholeheartedly pursued it like he did his carefree lifestyle. The difference was… he had obtained his simple desire months ago whereas she still struggles for any recognition.

Yet, even against the endless complaints and criticism, she still endured and practiced singing daily in her room. He had been blind to her struggles due to his own irritation for being dragged into something he wanted no part of. With their strange friendship, he had just been playing nice for her sake… but that was then. Nearly unwillingly at first, he was compelled to aid and guide her. It was frustrating it soaked into his time, but it would not be as terrible as knowing Elizabeth may fall once more into her pit of past sins because he decided not to do something about it.

Robin was no knight, but he was definitely not a villain either. He had surprised her by declaring he'd definitely ensure she'd succeed as her producer, which she laughed about; He still didn't understand the difference between a manager and producer. The lancer only laughed it off and said he would be her producer then, and that she would be holding him to that vow. At that point, there was no going back, but he found he didn't care anymore… even if the migraines from her singing were almost endless.

Exhaling as his body awakened completely, Robin began gathering the assorted books as Marie helped. She raised the book regarding the music publishing and smiled fondly at him. "What you're doing is really sweet, you know? No one else would go so far for her… 'singing ability' except you."

"Maybe I just want to see the look on Nero's face when she overthrows that empress," Robin joked with a small smirk, making Marie shake her head and giggle.

"Oh, playing it off~! Seriously, Robin... It's such a sweet sight. I've never seen her so happy since you began openly supporting her. No one ever thought you'd do it."

"Neither did I," he admitted as he stood up and stretched. "Yet here I am, borrowing strange books from the library and planning her victory without being able to use my traps."

"Just don't make it a habit of falling asleep in random places," Marie noted as she picked up the blanket and smiled. "The producer's image reflect on the idol too, no~?"

Robin rolled his eyes but smiled. "Right... Thanks for the advice, Marie. If you don't mind me, I have to get changed and blow some steam before the range closes. Elizabeth has a big day ahead of her, but I need to get my own relaxation when I can."

She looked confused at his declaration, but he meant it; Not even Elizabeth knew what he had scheduled.


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ VI ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


Three targets shattered instantly within a fraction of a second from each other. Another one was barely raised before yet another crossbow bolt sundered it from existence. One more traced target crumbled from the fifth shot before a pause broke the sequence. As the sixth and seventh one rose and began moving, a well-timed projectile bore a hole through both.

No one could ever question Robin Hood's effectiveness in the field. Through cunning and devious traps, he could sap an army of its combat power to give his allies much better odds. Key leadership would find themselves systematically taken out no matter how well they concealed their rank. He was a master of precision and guerilla warfare, and he had silently helped turn the tide on many occasions. Despite that, he never openly boasted about it; There was nothing honorable about how he did it.

Chuckling to himself, Robin kept firing bolt after bolt down range from his port. The firing line was rather empty today, though the friendly banter between Arash and Tota further away provided some ambiance for the battle-clad archer. Not even Billy's rapid fire draws from beside him shattered his current concentration; Rather, his focus was already split to begin with, and the gunslinger to his left clearly saw it.

"You're a little off today, Green," Billy observed as the previous nickname fired off his tongue. "A few millimeters away from perfect bulls-eyes."

"I guess you're right, Thunder…" Robin replied with the gunslinger's own name. It was usually at the range and singularities they called themselves by the names the cowboy and his memorial counterpart used. Robin was one of Billy's first friends when he arrived. After all the time spent together in the fifth singularity, it was no surprise Billy the Kid would be the one to notice anything wrong considering how long he fought alongside the other Robin.

"Too bad you can't be more like Arjuna when he's trifled about something," Billy mentioned quietly as he motioned further down the line. Past Arash and Tota, Arjuna was absolutely demolishing targets as they rose. His eyes always occasionally seemed narrower these days, but it was hard to tell. He wondered if it had anything to do with how rather stiff he had become when around the master-in-training. He thought all the Indian servants would all love that overly respectful magus.

Robin shook his head as Arjuna incinerated another wave of targets like they were snowflakes. "I've just got a lot of planning and other annoying thoughts on the mind."

Billy holstered his revolver temporarily before drawing it to place three shots through the same bullet hole. "I reckon you always did your traps and planning before you start shooting."

With a shake of his head, Robin fired another bolt. "Not that sort. Plans for the day ahead. I'm managing two schedules, don't forget."

"Right, right," the gunslinger nodded as he tipped his Stetson to cover his eyes. Without looking, he emptied an entire cylinder into six separate targets perfectly in under a second. He raised his hat and smirked. "You've been doing that for a month now. What makes today so special?"

"That request I put in with Babbage and Edison has finally come in. With any luck, it's exactly what Liz needs."

"Advanced voice lessons with Jeanne?" Billy quipped and he spun his revolver casually in one hand. Robin tossed him a small stink eye, making him laugh. "The kid kids! I know you tried that already… She is Liz's role model after all."

It used to be just jealousy for having Chaldea love her voice. Soon it grew to pure envy for the Holy Maiden's singing ability, which was undoubtedly angelic. The ever kind and compassionate saint even tried giving her vocal lessons, but that didn't exactly work out; Elizabeth's singing problem resided with the fact her voice was laced with uncontrolled prana. It was a subdued version of her dragon's breath leaking out into the air with every note which caused the painful reverberations.

Honestly, no one actually knew what Elizabeth's signing was really like over the pain; Even Nero, who was her idol rival and occasional singing partner… who was admittedly just bad.

Hopefully, it was his secret request that would change that today. True to his word, he was willing to do whatever it took to get Elizabeth her fans and idol status. Although she was managing the cute look even with a tail, wings, and horns, an idol needed a voice that swooned the masses with pleasure and not pain. His method was going to be underhanded, and he was uncertain if Elizabeth was going to appreciate such treachery and deceit; He was just going to do it anyway.

"You'll be out of targets again if you keep that pace up," Robin observed. Billy merely shrugged.

"Good thing my shooting partner has plenty of cows to coral... Mind if I snag a few of yours?"

With a smirk, Robin sent a bolt through two of Billy's targets, making him scoff. The gunslinger casually sent three rounds into Robin's selection as punishment, though both smirked. Suddenly, their makeshift shooting match was off to a running start as they tried to smack down as many targets as they could. Unfortunately, Robin was nowhere near as fast as the quick-shot cowboy, but that suited him fine. His rare competitive side needed a small release every now and then too.


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ VII ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


While Babbage finished the final touches on the secret device, Robin chose to spend the time elsewhere; The Robotics Hanger was too loud to just laze around. Instead, his usual spot in the forest of the Tropicana sector served nicely. It was one of many quaint little spots the casters developed against the resort's carefully designed walls, far from any disturbance. He couldn't even hear the sounds of combat caused by Brynhildr and her two polearm students.

The small hill and cliff blended well with the boundary to make it feel natural, but it wasn't just the seclusion that earned this one high marks. A small waterfall cascaded against the rocks by the tiny pond. It leaked out to form a babbling brook that would end near the waterslides the children loved. With a few lily pads and a fallen palm as a makeshift bench, it was a picturesque cove that mimicked the forests he dwelled best. The palm trees and tropical shrubs were a quiet reminder it wasn't perfect, but he didn't care.

It was perfect enough for him.

Here he could fall back into the glimpses of his past where he raced among the many trees or sat in silent meadows. Though he despaired often as a youth for how lonely he was, at least the fairies and animals provided some company; With their help, loneliness wasn't as painful in later years. Though the forest held some bad memories of solitude, its surrounding presence was still a welcome embrace he always unconsciously sought.

Sitting on the lone trunk, Robin exhaled deeply with a serene smile. He had changed into jade formal pants and a matching vest in preparation for later. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up into perfect cuffs, partially out of foresight not to get them wet or dirty. He raised his clenched hand up and out patiently, listening to the newest sounds of the resort in anticipation. Robin had been sitting there for only twenty minutes, but it was time to see Helena's personal project for himself.

Gentle chirps of birds were the newest sound within the forest, but they weren't just an illusion. He opened his hand to reveal some tiny seeds that glowed with a very feint green aura. Almost immediately, two blue sparrows and a yellow warbler landed on nearby branches. To his delight, one of the chirping sparrows glided from the leafy limb and onto the makeshift bird feeder. It hopped across his arm and towards the seeds before happily munching into them.

"As friendly as she said," Robin hummed to himself as he watched the other two birds join the first; His hand was quite crowded already. "I'll have to get the bigger bag next time."

They were only three of countless automata that have been developed by Helena, which Edison mass produced. With their introduction, the resort felt even more alive, though there were no worries of overpopulation since they couldn't breed. The best part was they were designed to refuel their mana only through crafted bird feed, so a scared Asterios wouldn't have to chase them away from the butterflies. Since Paracelsus' designed food was also mass produced by the American caster, that freed Helena to focus on her next pet project: Underwater life.

That was to be done in-between their work strengthening Chaldea's defenses, of course. He would lend a hand in that too if they ever needed it, but until then, there was only feed to disperse and not traps. Robin chuckled as a Blue Jay flapped onto his arm, eager for food. "You'll have to wait, little guy."

The bird chirped back at him, twitching its head as it looked around. When birds were around, enemies didn't suspect there was danger, so he quickly mastered the art of not scaring them. Between his ambush strategies and all that time he spent in the woods, bird watching had quickly become the lone hobby he could remember. Other wildlife was fun to watch, but there was just something majestic about watching these little things fly about in the air in total freedom. Thankfully Helena made them far less skittish than their real counterparts.

There were a wide variety for him to enjoy here, and his curiosity for what else rested in the canopies grew when the birds finally finished the seeds. As the tiny automata hopped around on the trunk and ground, Robin grabbed his maroon backpack from the other side of the makeshift bench. He opened it and quickly took out a small bag of mixed seed and nuts. With one quick motion, he opened it and spread the seeds out on the grass between him and the small pond.

Results were immediate as he laughed. More of the watching birds, some in different colors and species, had landed to enjoy the feast. "I guess bird watching will be easy here."

His eyebrows rose upon hearing a louder, unusual caw. His eyes widened with curiosity as the large black bird came for a landing, spooking some of the smaller ones into hopping away briefly. He thought it was a crow at first due to its size, but the magnificent beak and white patches sank the thought. It stared at him briefly with its ocean blue eye before carefully plucking some seeds with its large, orange bill. It made the archer reach into his backpack to extract the small guidebook Helena had thoughtfully created.

Flipping through its pages quickly, he identified the bird before him as one of the many rainforest birds; Helena was sure to include appropriate avian species for the resort too. Robin stared between the colorful picture and the apparently famous bird, which was quickly joined by another. "Toco Toucan…"

With sudden realization, he checked his watch. Robin chuckled at his paranoia since only a few minutes had past. He best be careful though; He could lose track of his schedule watching these colorful things. Once more, his worries were replaced by curiosity as a much larger, blue bird landed and eyed the larger nuts. With exceptionally loud caws, he watched the curious bird with yellow highlights easily crack open the hard nut. As he eagerly flipped through the guidebook, any paranoia was lost among chewing beaks.


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ VIII ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


Robin found himself walking to the salon, thankful he didn't get sidetracked by a bunch of macaws and the stunning Greater bird-of-paradise. He just completed installing the special device in the Recording Studio, which was a quick chore, so all that remained was putting it to use. Based on her free time, he had a few hunches where to find the little idol, so he would start with the closest. On his way, he smiled and waved to Fergus as he walked towards him in four-leaf clover print swim trunks and a towel.

"Robin! Drake brought in a haul of new kegs from the singularity, but she's still getting more! You good for a few drinks tonight to celebrate something random?"

"When am I not?" he replied with a smirk as the saber laughed. They high-fived as they passed. "See you tonight. I hope at least one is sake."

The saber laughed. "Maybe? Only she has the manifest! There's Spanish rum at least!"

Publishing studies would be put off until after drinking, but it's not like Elizabeth had an audience to sell CDs and merchandise to… yet. If all went well, she'd get that today, and tonight's drinks would be in celebration. With a calm smile and hands in his pockets, Robin walked the final length of the hallway in optimistic silence. A cleaning robot stared briefly as he meandered into Salon de Marie.

Though Marie and her staff were clustered around the bar, he only gave a brief wave and smile. He turned towards the knitting group's signature lunchtime spot and approached. His search had ended quickly since Elizabeth was spending time with her uncle; He spotted the sitting lancer thanks to her frilly cyan retro dress and wagging tail. The other women in the group were happily knitting while eyeing their male companion as he chatted quietly with an excited Elizabeth. It was Boudica who noticed Robin approaching first.

The rider in a red dress and white throw-over waved to him with a smile. "Good afternoon, Producer Robin!"

"Rather formal today, Master Chef Boudica," he responded in turn as the others looked to him as he swiftly glimpsed their projects. Medea's magenta wrap dress was partially buried under her lengthy work; It appeared to be an white table cover. The uniformed Naomi seemed to be making a larger, crocheted flower identical to the one that always sat in her hair. Boudica's looked to be a small throw over she happily constructed. "You girls having a good day?"

"Yes! Thanks for asking, producer!" Elizabeth answered for them, making the others chuckle. She turned bashfully nervous. "… You're certain my voice will sound good when recorded?"

"I believe that will be the case, yes," he stated at he patted her on her head. "We'll have to work something out for live performances, but for now, recordings will have to do. We'll be sure your first live performance is as perfect as you dream it to be."

As he gently patted Elizabeth on her head, he glanced to the curious work by her robed uncle. Looking regal as always in that black luxury wardrobe, the Prince of Wallachia's hands were moving furiously to finish the small project. It looked like a cap of sorts, but there were some holes in its desi- Vlad smiled and quickly stopped knitting. "Here you go, Elizabeth. Extra early just for you."

The small lancer cheered as Vlad quickly slipped the cap onto her head. Two straps were quickly connected along the sides to secure it to her horns, making it fit snugly on her head. Robin was slowly nodding in realization that it had been upside down when he was finishing it. Formed partially like a baseball cap, the bill had been modelled after a dragon's snout. Coupled with two cartoonish eyes and spine scales that matched her hair, it was actually a fitting accessory; He'd file it under possible merchandise for mass sales when she hit it big.

"Thank you, Uncle Vlad!" Elizabeth cheered as she leaned towards him on her ottoman and kissed his cheek. She hugged him, and he gladly returned the embrace as the rest of his group cooed, though Boudica was the loudest. After breaking apart, Liz looked up at Robin eagerly, and he noticed the cap's cartoonish pupils actually moved like googly eyes. He chuckled as the lancer practically bounced in her seat. "It's time, producer! I can't wait! Let's go!"

"Your enthusiasm is almost contagious," Medea noted with a small smile.

"Mine would be too if someone was recording me sing," Naomi pointed out. Medea and Boudica turned to her with sly smirks, making the employee pout. "…Oh quiet! If I could sing. Happy?"

Boudica giggled as Medea chuckled and changed topics for her friend's sake. "We shouldn't keep the idol waiting any longer."

"Nothing to worry about. The room isn't just going to get up and move," Robin reassured as the lancer jumped from her seat. Regardless, she grabbed his wrist and began tugging him along. He rolled his eyes and waved to the others. "I hope you four enjoy your lunch!"

"Good luck on your recordings!" Naomi offered as Elizabeth waved back to them. "We'd like to hear how it went after!"

Robin nodded while withholding his own amusement and hopes. They were a supportive group for Elizabeth, though their hesitation did appear whenever she asked if someone could listen to her singing. It was only to be expected considering it was a painful experience, but his own willingness to sit through it in her practices had definitely revived her precious hopes. If all went well, there should be no more low points after today, and those four would be among her first fans.


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ IX ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


"Ohhh~! This microphone is cute!" Elizabeth pointed out as she skipped into the live room. Though the stand and audio cord was the same, there was a customized microphone sitting in place of the old one. It was a little thicker and longer than the usual one, but still fit perfectly on the slot. Painted in hot pink and complete with fluffy-looking side wings, it was finished with a golden star at the front. "So this was your gift for me, producer?"

Robin chuckled as he reached inside to close the door behind her. "I thought you'd like it. Good thing is you can take it anywhere you wish. You can thank Babbage and Edison for it."

"But I should thank you too because you requested it!" she chirped, making the archer smile and shrug. "I can't wait to try it out!"

"We could test if you could wait or not," he teased, making her turn to him with a pout as he closed the door. He laughed as he couldn't hear her complaints, but could see her flailing on the other side of the window. He simply sat down, took his time turning the board on, and slowly placed the headphones on properly. After adjusting his own speaker mic to sit before him, he flicked on the transmitter switch to talk to the idol… who was still giving a half-hearted pout.

"Alright, Liz. How about we start with a test run? Feel free to do some scales so I can readjust the board."

"Alright," she responded quietly as he silently prayed this would work. He had done flat adjustments on the board since Jeanne, Mozart, and Tristan had used the room earlier, so all that remained was hopefully fine tuning her voice to the new microphone. The device in question was specialized beyond just aesthetics, and he had secretly helped gather extra materials to properly forge it. Whether or not it was going to work would be answered in the next few seconds as Elizabeth finished her deep breaths. He braced his ears just in case it was-

~~Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do~~

Robin would have felt himself relaxing if he wasn't trying to hide the pure shock from his face.

~~Do, Ti, La, So, Fa, Mi, Re, Do~~

It worked. The microphone was working perfectly. Robin could have been jumping with the relief of success, but he didn't to keep his surprise in line. This was definitely going to be Elizabeth's big day and she didn't realize it yet. To think it was all thanks to overhearing a choice insult too.


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ X ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


The gym had a surprising number of people today, but Fergus was always happy to impress the females. "I'm beatings you in reps, Robin!"

"You're always beating me in reps!" the archer shot back incredulously.

Why was he even having a one-hundred-kilogram speed lifting contest with Fergus anyway? Regardless, he kept his legs firm beneath his black track pants to maintain balance on the bench, but it wasn't necessary. Lifting this weight was a joke and didn't dampen his emerald tank top with a hint of sweat. The only reason Fergus' chiseled abs and well sculpted upper body were glistening with perfection was because he purposefully smeared his drinking water on himself to attract some attention.

Combined with the lifting contest's pumping motion, of course it worked.

The saber in white gym shorts laughed as he casually kept lifting on the bench beside him. Robin kept it up with a small scowl as Fergus waggled his eyebrows at two of the nearby female employees. One of them, who usually slept with Fergus, bit her lip while she sashayed playfully away from him in her own tight workout clothes. Robin rolled his eyes, hoping the barbell would remain the only thing Fergus lifted for now. Although, he admittedly felt great the other one occasionally eyed him with interest too.

The small clock between them buzzed loudly, ending the tiny competition. After racking the bar, Fergus shot to his feet and cheered. "A hundred eighty in a minute!"

"One hundred. Passing grade," Robin declared as he sat up on the bench, making Fergus laugh and pat him on the back.

"I'll be back, Robin. Gonna to say hello to Cassandra and see if she's up for a little game of Twister with Medb and I tonight," the saber commented with a grin and flashed a thumbs up. The archer snickered, making Fergus bellow as he walked off to chase the beauty.

Robin remained sitting, wondering how long he had to slack off while Fergus was- "Two points for us!"

The archer looked to the center of the gymnasium, where Kuro had happily cheered. The tanned Einzbern stood below one of the lowered basketball hoops, holding the ball against her pink sports bra with one hand. Her other wiped some sweat off her palm onto her tiny white gym shorts as her partner came up to her. With matching smirks, Blackbeard high-fived Kuro while letting out a winning cheer. The man in a black t-shirt and white track pants crossed his arms with Kuro as they shot competitive snickers to their opposition.

Anne and Mary matched their stares with smirks of their own. Though a nearby scoreboard showed they were losing by double digits, it was not getting to them. Instead, they both stood with arms akimbo on their matching black booty shorts. Their near-identical loose shirts were tied with a knot at the back and had red lettering that said 'one-half hers'; Anne's was white while Mary's was black.

"Ten minutes on the clock… The game ain't over till the fat lady sings," Mary pointed out as Anne caught the ball and spun it on one finger. "Prepare for our comeback game!"

"Maybe she's singing right now?" Kuro taunted back with a smirk. "Or someone's singing, because our lead isn't going to disappear."

"As long as it's not Nero or Elizabeth," Blackbeard stated bluntly, making the others laugh. "God knows Autotune can't save them… Well? You sailing or what?"

Robin had no idea what that phrase meant, but it sure did catch his attention. He filed it away for later as Anne quickly dribbled across the cour- In a blink, Kuro had swept in with a flirty wink and hand-blown kiss as she stole the ball from under her. The two girls were now chasing the speedy archer again as she made a beeline for the opposing court.

While the female pirates' groans echoed in the gym, Robin started to ponder if the insult actually held some water; He tried quite a lot already... might as well see something new.


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ XI ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


Elizabeth was still doing her scales, but the difference was astounding. Now that his ears weren't crying in pain, he actually found that Elizabeth had some natural talent. It wasn't pristine like Jeanne, but for what she wanted to do it was more than adequate. He was barely making any adjustments to fix anything; He only did it to keep her under the impression today was going only a little better than usual.

Autotune was something they already tried, but its failure still served as the secret basis for this hope. Since the real problem was Elizabeth's voice, which was unintentionally laced with her energy, the answer was rather simple: Make a device that absorbed magical energy but not the sound. It appeared like something easy the casters could make considering mana draining was a common practice, and sure enough it was. The real trick was just encapsulating it into a microphone, but that came with certain materials and some time.

'Why hadn't anyone thought to try this before?'

Not caring about the answer, Robin waved his hand above his head. Elizabeth completed her scales while bouncing on her feet; The enthusiasm was contagious, and he couldn't stop the small smirk from escaping. She smiled eagerly as her eyes twinkled. "Are we going straight to recording?"

"Let's just do one song as a warm up. You can do one of your Japanese ones just as a test."

"Oh~! YES, YES, YES~!" Her eyes sparkled more. "Boa please! I wanna do Boa's Masayume Chasing!"

"As you wish then, future star. I'll switch it in real quick," Robin replied as he searched through the digital song listing. To be honest, he didn't care what song or artist it was since he just wanted to make sure he had everything down perfectly. He kept scrolling on the embedded computer through the many collected songs from the employees before finally stopping at the right one; The other languages were hard to miss since they used the language's characters.

He queued the song, and quickly did a test run to ensure the original vocals would be separated. On the other side of the window, Elizabeth was flipping through her notebook on the music stand to get to the lyrics. If he was as dutiful at ensuring everything was in order, she was just as dedicated in creating the sheet music for herself; That was one thing Mozart was more than willing to teach her personally, rather than vocals.

They both finished at the same time, and Robin nodded to her. She bowed back and smiled as he pressed the start button. The guitar began to play as Elizabeth swayed to get the jitters out of her legs. On the other side, Robin's fingers were slowly adjusting the levels for the track. All those many nights spent learning about music had quickly made him quite the audio engineer, even if his ears were in pain from all the practice. He was more than prepared to subtly adjust as Elizabeth began singing.

~~Yume wo otte mayoikonda~~
~~kokoro no mori no oku~~

Unconsciously, he went about the adjustment with relief and increasing satisfaction. The scales weren't just a fluke; Elizabeth's voice was actually something people could flock to listen to. He continued his minor adjustments on her microphone to make sure her singing was as pristine as it could be, but it also meant he paid attention to the actual lyrics for once.

The tune had sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place where. It suddenly ringed that this was probably sung sometime during Nero and Elizabeth's first little test concert a while back. He wasn't too positive because understanding any lyrics above the dreadful pain was a challenge. At least these days she listened to foreign songs before singing them to get the pronunciation correct; That was one bad habit he wanted to correct immediately. Combined with the special microphone, it actually sounded very pleasing to the ear this time.

As his mind automatically translated the words, he resisted a smile because it was rather fitting. Here was Elizabeth, singing a song about chasing a dream and having cried before obtaining it. The lyrics continued to flow, even as he made almost no adjustments as she and her heart danced and sang. It was almost like she was voicing her soul's hopeful tune of success. It was a victory she had unknowingly already achieved that he would unveil to her later.

However, he found his smile fading slightly at some of the other final lyrics.

~~(Hey! It's unbelievably hard, and I don't know who I really am)~~
~~(Wake up and make up, repeating the pattern everyday its Fading Out)~~

With no more adjustments to make, his mind had occasionally snagged onto some of the words and lines. They said music spoke to the soul, and sometimes lyrics didn't have to be specific to pluck the strings. Some of his chords had been played, whether he wanted it or not, but he was positive Elizabeth didn't do it on purpose. She was smiling, but his own mind sighed in exasperation on a reminder of his vague identity. At least by the time the song ended, he was left satisfied.

But Elizabeth noticed the small hint of disappointment as he smiled; He didn't hide it well enough. "Ah! Was something off?"

To his luck, she guessed it was a personal problem. He chuckled and shook his head. "Nothing. Sorry about that, I was just thinking of something else."

He could bite his tongue at how he failed to find a proper excuse, but he shook it off to keep up the front. "I think we're all set though. Ready to record your first single and join Jeanne in the rankings?"

Her eyes sparkled as she bounced up and down happily. It was time to ensure Jeanne became a fellow singer, and not just someone to look up to. Hopefully it would be seen as a huge compliment for Jeanne who did her best to try and teach Elizabeth. Despite claiming she wasn't saint material, she sure had the patience and grace of one for teaching her warm up scales and finding her best octave; How she did it over the pain was anyone's guess.

"Alright then… let's start at the top and go on down. We will only do a few seconds pause as agreed upon... That still fine, idol?"

She nodded happily as he began scrolling to the first song. At the same time, he flipped a few new switches that had not been turned on before. Elizabeth was unaware, but this was where his real plan was starting. This underhanded move would probably make her outright furious with him, but she put her trust in the producer; Whether right or wrong, he had to do this for her.

The Recording Studio wasn't just capable of isolating its inhabitants from the rest of Chaldea; Its radio room made it obvious. As he carefully ensured everything was clear for her first recording and secret lunchtime special, he mentally apologized to Elizabeth for casting part of her wish aside. He knew she wanted her first live performance to be in front of everyone, and not as a broadcast behind closed doors. She wanted to see the happy looks on their faces in person after so long of being neglected and criticized.

Instead, he was being Chaldea's deceitful and underhanded archer, and ensuring all of Chaldea heard her sing her first recordings live. "Just give me a second, Liz. I'm going to mute myself to make sure I can record some commentary on a separate track just in case I need to leave reminders."


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ XII ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


Loud and lively as ever, Tyler could barely hear anything over Iskandar's loud laughing and Kintoki's table slapping chuckles. Lord El-Melloi II, who wore the same black 'Pro Gamer' shirts the other two did, simply scowled as he took a bite of his apple. Iskandar and Tyler had finished telling Kintoki extra exaggerated details about the sudden dance off a few days ago. It made the caster scowl towards Tyler, though the employee merely shrugged as he loosened his tie.

"What? Brotoki thought it was fun-" Chaldea's intercom system beeped to life, bringing the lively conversation to an end. Curious and confused, the table turned with the rest of the cafeteria towards one of the many speakers while robots continued their tasks unabated.

Good afternoon, Chaldea! Sorry to interrupt your meal.
Today we have a special lunchtime bonus for everyone.
Usually you would eat in silence, but we're doing something different today.
Without further delay, I hope all of you enjoy Elizabeth Bathory's first live broadcast performance!

The atmosphere went from silent to pure pandemonium in less time than it took Cu to finish a thirty-meter dash. Many were panicking, though some remained unusually still but clearly terrified; They were too stunned to move. Tyler was quickly trying to find worthy items to stick in his ears to brace for impact. Iskandar already had his hands against his head as he dove under the table like one of Nobunaga's bigger prank bombs was about to go off.

"What is he thinking!?" "She's going to kill us all!" "This is not the note I wanted my life to end on!" "I hope you die first for that pun!" "Oh god it's starting!"

With hands braced against his ears as the song started, Tyler kept his arms buried against the table.

~~ Can't count the years on one hand that we've been together~~
~~I need the other one to hold you, Make you feel, make you feel better~~

Tyler blinked and slowly retreated from his protective shell. Like many other in the cafeteria, they were staring at each other in a mix of relief and bewilderment. It definitely wasn't the original singer, but many looked hard pressed to believe this was actually Elizabeth. As she kept singing though, the believers grew by the second. Even Iskandar was peeking his head over the table in shock like a fierce artillery bombardment had finally ended.

~~I should be over all the butterflies~~
~~But I'm into you, I'm into you~~

"Wow! Go Elizabeth! She sounds amazing!" someone finally cheered. She was joined by others in the cafeteria as the idol's voice sang through the cafeteria. Employee and servant alike were returning to their meals, but the chatter had shifted to match the upbeat song. Many previous conversations were discarded for the newest revelation. Most were surprised, but there were some who were thoroughly enjoying it; No one looked agitated or disgruntled. As the song reached its end, a good portion of the cafeteria sent a round of applause into the air, even if she couldn't hear them.

There was another round of cheers as she moved on to the second song.


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ XIII ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


Elizabeth's voice continued to sing through the salon with the upbeat tune, but no one was complaining. Mozart sat in complete astonishment with his hands still frozen on the keys of the piano. Sanson might have laughed since his uniformed workmate looked like a perfect statue, but he was just as frozen with surprise. By contrast, the knitting group was surprisingly lively with chatter which found even Vlad in more vivid animation than usual; He was clearly proud of his niece.

Mozart turned towards Marie and Mata Hari, who sat on two adjacent stools enthusiastically singing to Elizabeth's seventh song. "I threw a wish in the well~! Don't ask me I'll never tell~!"

~~I looked at you as it fell, And now you're in my way~~

"Mozart… your foot is…" Sanson muttered in disbelief.

The caster looked down in absolute horror. There was no doubt he was tapping his foot to the beat of a pop song, which could be seen as absolute heresy. He looked around quickly in search of anyone else who might have seen. Upon staring back at Sanson, he saw the usually stoic man was also tapping his foot while he sat on his Ottoman. Staring at each other nervously, the two uniformed employees slowly nodded to each other as their tapping feet ground to an immediate halt, likely by their conscious will.

"I didn't see anything," they both agreed in unison without hesitation.

~~Hey I just met you, And this is crazy~~
~~But here's my number, Summon me maybe~~


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ XIV ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


Robin kept his face calm and collected as Elizabeth finished up her final song. Roughly forty minutes of popular pop songs and she never messed up a single lyric. She did change some lyrics of that one catchy tune, but it was better fitting for the servants. Once he got the legality of this album figured out and studied further, maybe it could be published as a cover album. He could likely find a means to mass produce it through Edison… though likely with some sort of attached, obnoxious credit.

~~'Cause baby you're a firework~~
~~Come on show 'em what your worth~~

As she finished the final repeating lines, and the track ended, Robin cut the live room's feed and returned it to his microphone. "That's all, Chaldea! Thanks for listening to Elizabeth Bathory!"

The lancer tilted her head to the side curiously as Robin started flipping several switches. He flicked the channel between the rooms on and chuckled. "Sorry, Liz. I forgot to flip the switch to talk to you."

"Stupid producer…" Elizabeth reprimanded playfully, though she was still grinning. "Did I do great?"

"You did perfect. Come on out here so you can have a listen for yourself."

After smoothing her skirt, the enthusiastic lancer skipped to the separating door and opened it. In her eagerness to listen to herself, she didn't sense anything was amiss until she saw his growing frown. In truth, the guilt for betraying her had been growing as she continued to sing, and he wanted to cut the feed at one point. Instead, he let it continue, but now he was finally letting it show; He was no knight, but betraying someone who trusted them so innocently was still terrible.

"What's wrong?" she asked with worry.

"…I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I lied to you."

Her tail drooped as she began fiddling with her fingers. "…I sound terrible don't I? It's okay, I already know you've been pretending all this time."

"No, that's not it," he responded firmly with a sigh. He scratched the back of his head and turned the chair to face the curious lancer. "You wanted your first live performance to be in front of everyone… You wanted to see some admiring faces and cheers for you, yet I…"

Both of them stared towards the door as Robin trailed off. There was no doubt both of them could feel the growing number of presences, and it confused them. Robin soon drew the connections as his eyes widened; Why did he think they wouldn't come to say something? Da Vinci had popped in once out of curiosity, but had quickly vanished back into spirit form with a giggle and shrug. He knew she didn't sound bad, otherwise they would have barged in here far earlier, so that meant…

Robin watched as Elizabeth, with a mix of trepidation and hopefulness coloring her eyes, slowly walked towards the double door exit. She reached the door, but didn't turn back to look at him. Her shaking hand reached out for the lock switch, which was currently red. It flickered green as the audible locks disengaged and the doors sparked with life. The windowless barrier quickly shifted open-

"There's the idol!" "Elizabeth! That was beautiful!" "We've got a pop queen of Chaldea now!" "Will you be doing more?"

The stunned idol could only look around at the gathering of almost three dozen employees and servants. Robin's concern vanished as he watched the little lancer cover her mouth with her hands. Her gaze darted all over the place, but she watched it land on Vlad and a cheering Boudica who stood front and center. She shook, and he could already tell she was crying. He sighed in relief as a happy Marie and Mata Hari embraced the rider.

Marie broke her hug to hold her hand. "Beautiful, beautiful! I loved how you sang Call me Maybe~!"

"I think you're on your way to stardom, Elizabeth," Vlad declared with a proud smile.

Elizabeth's tears ran freely down her cheeks, but her smile was blinding. She tossed herself at her uncle, as the crowd cooed and clapped for the lancer. "Uncle Vlad! I d-did it!"

"You really did, Elizabeth. You sounded incredible," he assured as he returned the embrace. He looked up briefly to see Robin had approached the door. They stared at each other briefly, and he merely shrugged with his signature smirk. Content to feel her wrath later, Robin reached for the control button and allowed the doors to close.

He walked back towards the computer after locking the doors. Feeling content and satisfied, but still guilty, he sat down at the control board and began his next task. All of Elizabeth's recordings needed to be archived and listed. Each one would need to be listened to repeatedly to ensure there were no abnormalities or lingering errors he may have missed. Truthfully, Elizabeth should have been here to hear the original so she knew it wasn't grossly manipulated but, well…

She had her new fans to reassure her of that.


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ XV ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


Robin wasn't sure how much time had passed since the group outside the doors left with the idol, but he had been busily working to ensure everything was done in a timely manner. Elizabeth would likely want to hear how she sounded at some point, so it was better to be done sooner rather than later; He might be yelled at later, but he didn't need to be yelled at for this too. Then again, he wasn't sure if she was actually going to yell at him for his underhanded action.

The little lancer did seem very happy about the surprise outcome.

On the other hand, he wasn't surprised about his reward. He was here once more, working selflessly with little gain. Elizabeth hadn't even come back in to say thank you, but to be fair, he did betray part of her dream. It wouldn't bother him, especially since none of the people he saved thanked him at all. He was used to being forgotten, and the only part that hurt was forgetting his own identity.

Besides, it was just Elizabeth being Elizabeth. She was always looking out for herself and her own dreams, first and foremost. Not everyone could act so selflessly; It never yielded proper rewards. His immature self just happened to still wish for it anyway, and could never turn down a plight for someone working hard but remaining helpless to change their own fate. So he had done it once more, knowing full well she the future Blood Counte- No. Future Pop Idol wouldn-

A servant materialized behind him, catching him off guard as he saved the final edited song. He froze in surprise as Elizabeth threw her arms around the seated archer from behind. It was a tight squeeze, but it wasn't uncomfortable. He could even feel the little dragon cap squished against his hair as she gently rocked in place. "Producer! Why didn't you follow us!? I thought you would come to the salon to join Marie's spontaneous party for me!"

He was too stunned to move, but he spoke anyway. "…So you're still calling me producer after betraying you like that."

In one swift motion, she released her embrace, spun the chair around, and slapped him on the cheek. With a small pout, she placed her arms akimbo on her dress and glared lightly at him. "I don't care about your so-called betrayal! Why would you even think I would care about that? It was just a little hopeful bonus on my dream of wanting to be an idol! An idol! You just gave me my dream, stupid, why would I be mad at you!?"

Huh. She did have a point there. Was he that nihilistic that he thought she would be far angrier at ruining her first live performance rather than happy she was gifted her dream? Maybe it was a little too natural he thought like that… She sighed and shook her head. "You're really dumb sometimes."

"…Oh… that's rich coming from you," he found himself firing back instinctively, making her pout again. She tried to slap him once more, but he deflected it. She went for another, but he stopped that too. As the onslaught continued and failed, they both found themselves laughing. Her half-hearted attack stopped, and she was soon grinning like an idiot at him once more. He smiled, "Sorry, Elizabeth. I'll be sure to inform my idol next time like a proper producer."

"Good! Because I don't want any other producer!" Elizabeth proclaimed proudly as she quickly leaned in and captured the archer in another embrace. He slowly returned the hug as he listened to her little sniffles starting. Before long, he felt the first tear on his shoulder, making him gently rub her back. She cried lightly, but maintained control of herself. He could even feel her smiling, "…I don't care how you did it Robin… but thank you… You gave me my dream after I was going to give up in Uruk!"

"You're welcome, Liz."

"Thank you, Robin…" she admitted. "You're my hero!"

It struck him like a rampaging berserker. A thank you was more than enough to make him feel gratified. Even the delay was more than enough to easily forgive after she had so readily overlooked his action. However, it was the title that had come out of left field that rendered his mind free of other thoughts.

It was such a simple thing to say, yet it meant far more to him than anyone, including himself, could have known. He, who had no vivid recollection of who he truly was, had something solid to cling to. So what if it was forged just now in his second life? It was something his pained soul could latch onto and accept. It was the greatest melody to his ears to hear a song he never knew he wanted to savor. Though he often disclaimed himself and felt he was too unworthy of praise, deep down he still wished for some form of acknowledgement. Now he had something.

Robin was never called anything, but now he was her hero.

It was simple and plain, but more than enough. Someone he had saved had finally rewarded him with something priceless, no matter how small, temporary, or seemingly casual. It had meaning, just like the dream he had worked hard to give her. His own selfless actions had finally been granted an answer he now understood his genuine soul needed. Though it wouldn't answer who he had truly been, he at least earned something for who he was now… and that was leaps gained.

Elizabeth finally broke the embrace as she wiped her teary eyes. She smiled as she gazed at the laptop, where all her current tracks were now listed. "…May I listen to my songs?"

With a sudden idea, Robin smirked as he looked back at the custom microphone, which still sat in the other room with her notebook. "…Hey Liz. Before that, how about we record the Masayume Chasing too? Throw it in as a bonus because you sang so perfect on the first try? I think your fans will love it."

She was grinning from ear to ear as she let out one last, happy sniffle. "Okay~! If that's what you think, producer~!"


¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ XVI ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨


"Cheers to Robin Hood, Savior of our Ears!" Fergus declared. The trio clinked glasses.

"Alright, alright, come on now…" the archer rolled his eyes as Drake and Fergus patted him roughly on the back. He couldn't help but smirk between his two drinking companions as they sat at the bar for dinner. He could have been with Elizabeth, but they would meet up again later for desserts. For now, he let her enjoy her newly won praise while sitting with her uncle and other first fans.

Though he didn't change out of his formal attire to match his friends, his casual buddies hardly minded. Fergus had gotten in a workout before coming to dinner but still wore a tight green muscle shirt and matching gym shorts. Drake still wore her red themed battle attire, but it was coupled with an extra big grin for getting such a massive haul of alcohol; It helped the singularity had to do with a lost fleet carrying spices and alcohol from the East Indies.

Mata Hari dutifully refilled Drake's mug as Sanson mirrored for Fergus. Almost immediately, to the brunette assassin's amusement, Drake had downed her entire portion with no hesitation. The pirate patted Robin on the back yet again, "You really did well, Robin! That's quite some admirable dedication to the kid!"

"Maybe he likes her?" Fergus offered, earning one of the most disgusted looks Robin could muster. The other two laughed as Fergus roughly slapped his shoulder. "As if! I know what kind of women you'd like to have a taste of!"

"So does Liz," Robin chuckled after rolling his eyes. "She says once she makes it big, she's going to try and set me up with the perfect fan of hers. That way we can 'cuddle, cuddle more, and exchange endless praise about the best idol' while I continue being her perfect producer."

He looked to his friends as they shared a grin amongst each other. Drake snickered, "Robin... Cuddling?"

The trio's laughter boomed into the salon as Mata Hari finished replacing Drake's mug. She giggled, "Aww, well Little Liz just has your best wishes in mind after what you did for her~!"

"I know, I know… and I appreciate it," Robin replied with a small smile. "I just prefer to choose my own women… though I won't say no if she winds up finding a catch."

Fergus' mug appeared right before his face. Robin chuckled and shook his head, but clinked his sake cup against it to make the saber laugh. "Reel in a keeper!"

Robin was about to sip his sake until he sensed a familiar presence approaching them. He withheld his sigh and turned around with his companions to see Tamamo approaching them; There were definitely mixed feelings about that. The fox and him were on fair terms, but that certainly didn't stop their occasional quips. He remained a bit hopeful since the kimono-clad woman approached with no discernible confrontation. The fox caster in sakura-petal patterned attire smiled, "You three are quite loud today."

"How can you not be with more alcohol?" Drake asked, making Sanson chuckle as he cleaned a glass. "So, you come to join us, Foxy girl?"

She groaned at the teasing nickname, but her smile remained mostly intact. She shook her head and looked to Robin. "No… Just wanted to properly thank Robin for what he did for Liz."

The archer raised an eyebrow. "You're not on good terms with Liz."

This was Chaldean fact. Thanks to a certain timeline of collective memories, both Tamamo and Elizabeth usually avoided each other when possible. Robin had to listen to the lancer's occasional rants about how Tamamo used to act, but at the very least they were neutral if forced to be around each other. It could have been a lot worse, but they could still hold a conversation every now and then; It was just a matter of how long until their attitudes started turning sour.

Tamamo shrugged. "We're not… but she knocked Nero down a few pegs today with your help, and that was amusing to watch. I had to at least congratulate her for that achievement."

"…Fair enough," Robin admitted as the two nodded to each other. "Thanks… and enjoy your dinner."

"You too. Kiyohime and I worked exceptionally hard on the lobsters," Tamamo stated as she gave one last tiny smile and waved. "Don't get too rowdy now."

"Ah, come now! We can't have two impossibilities in one day!" Fergus quickly injected, making those present fall into pleasant laughter.

As Fergus got a refill from Sanson, Robin took a sip of his sake and enjoyed the sudden, comfortable silence. Bars were where people went to complain, but it was also a place to celebrate. Though it was always a party when his two drinking buddies were involved, today felt a little more special. If not in honor of his idol's rising fame, he would dedicate a silent toast to himself for once.

Dedicating his drink to the one who unknowingly helped him find his own closure, Robin took a sip. Maybe he would never find out who he once was… but did that really matter anymore? Who he was now was what mattered most to others, and the past only served as a basis to help forge the future. Suddenly, his concerns of his lost identity had finally been released. Like the birds he loved to watch, he suddenly felt lighter and free, no longer caring who he had been. All that mattered now was seeing how he let himself grow from here.

The flowers in his forest were growing a little livelier this time around; Not a bad start to the first week of May.