Chapter 54: Recognizing The Lullaby, Golden Conductor
After lunch, I excused myself and headed to my room.
I pretended to lie down for a nap, but the moment the door was shut, I activated Shadow Assimilation and slipped into the floor.
A second later, I was part of the shadows.
Security in the mansion wasn’t tight inside the rooms.
The guards patrolled the hallways and outer perimeter, but no one was going to be checking if I was asleep.
That gave me a perfect window.
I moved through the shadows, phasing from one surface to another, and finally entered my parents’ room.
’They might talk about our house relocation.’
’I need to know why we are going to Daelthorn’s estate.’
I planned to eavesdrop on my parents by hiding in the shadows. I was not worried dad would catch me.
Shadow Class abilities used mental energy, and I was confident no one could detect me unless the person was a Psychic, or a high-rank Exorcist.
"Is it okay to go back, honey?" Mom’s voice came first.
Their voices were faint—muffled—but I could still hear them.
Yuna was flying near the shadow I was hiding in. She was listening closely too.
"Yes. My elder sister has arranged everything. She used the attempted assassination by Frank to push for our return, and claimed my sword, Yorohan, might be stolen — if we stayed outside the estate — by whoever orchestrated the attack and enticed Frank to attack us.
"As for the current one, we had to ignore it, since there was no direct attempt at my life, and whatever happened could be said to be the negligence of the Exorcist Union branch’s head," dad said.
"Didn’t you say that someone from the Elder Council was involved in that attack?" Mom’s tone was puzzled.
"I did. But we didn’t reveal what we knew to the elders."
Dad sighed.
"The Elder Council was furious when the elder sister made her appeal. They initially refused her request to let us return for our own protection."
He became silent for a moment, before he added,
"What changed their minds was the Ruyi Bang replica that was left behind on the scene the night Frank died."
"Ruyi Bang?" Mom was surprised.
"Yes," Dad said. "From what we know, the Monkey King disciple might’ve intervened to protect our family. And since Frank attacked us (civilians), the Elders didn’t want to risk drawing the Monkey King’s wrath. Not unless the House Head returns from Wageah."
The two became silent for a moment.
"...But do you really think it was him who helped us?" Mom asked softly.
"I don’t know," Dad said. "But the Ruyi Bang replica had the exact composition that is only known by the Monkey King. The replica was perfect. It was enough to scare the Elders into backing off.
"And he met Nisha in the Cursed Spirit’s domain.
"Normally, we would think he was bluffing, but he was using space magic. It’s so complex that our world cannot produce a single mage who can use it. If there is someone who can use it, it would be only Monkey King or his disciple."
Mom placed a hand on his.
"I just don’t understand why he would help us."
Dad’s voice turned quiet. "Neither do I."
I stayed still, watching as Mom leaned in and gently held his face.
"I’ll support you, no matter what."
I immediately turned away.
’Nope. I’m not watching this anymore.’
Just as I was about to leave, Dad said something else.
"I don’t know if going back is the right choice. If we do, our son will never have a normal childhood. While other kids go to kindergarten and make friends, he’ll be forced to train with his cousins and compete for superiority."
His voice sounded heavy.
"The traditions of Daelthorn are strict. And because he’s my son, he’ll be targeted. He might even be... bullied."
"He’s strong," Mom said with a firm voice. "And we’ll be there to help him."
She made dad look her in the eye.
There was fierce determination in her gaze.
"If you are worried about him so much, you should train him. That way, he will be strong enough that no one will dare bully him, nor look down on him."
Dad smiled, seeing her attitude.
"You’re right. I’ll give him the Awakening Pill tonight and begin teaching him basic self-defense. The other children have been trained since birth, and been given herbs and other resources. I’ll need to train him seriously."
Since he had been cut off from the Exorcist world, he hadn’t been able to give similar resources to me.
I could hear the guilt in his voice.
He blamed himself for all of this.
But honestly, I wasn’t upset.
I felt the opposite.
The Daelthorn main estate was a treasure trove.
Their meritocracy environment would be immensely beneficial for me.
With the resources I would get through the meritocracy, I could grow stronger at a tremendous pace.
’Still...’
I narrowed my eyes inside the shadows.
’Frank really was manipulated by someone in the Elder Council.’
I had suspected it, but hearing confirmation from Dad added weight to my suspicions.
’And the provisional head of Daelthorn... Dad’s elder sister, probably... She’s helping us?’
Interesting. That meant not all the Daelthorn family members were against Dad.
As for the elders....
’I’ll need to find out who among them enticed Frank to attack my family.’
I had no intention of sparing anyone.
A cold calm settled over me.
Then, something else Dad said caught my attention.
’Awakening Pill.’
I was curious about the Awakening Pill’s effects.
There were quite a few types of Awakening Pills.
Each one had a different effect.
If Dad had prepared one for me, it had to be a special Awakening Pill.
I wanted the night to come faster, and get my hands on it.
But before any of that, I had something else to take care of.
Seris.
She usually came by at her usual time in the evening.
I hadn’t told her anything about us leaving.
If we were moving out tomorrow, then I needed to speak to her today.
At the very least, I owed her that.
With that thought, I slipped out of the shadows and returned to my room.
A few minutes later, Seris burst into the room like she always did, full of energy.
She had gotten more talkative and expressive over the last couple of years.
She hopped onto my bed without asking and started talking about her day.
She told me about a girl in her class giving out candy, and a drawing competition where she’d drawn a rainbow fox with six tails.
I listened, nodding, letting her chatter run in the background while my mind worked.
Mom and Marianne—Seris’ mom—walked in a few minutes later.
Marianne handed Seris a small toy Casio keyboard, and Seris squealed with joy.
"Look! I’ve been learning this song," she said, sitting cross-legged and placing the keyboard on her lap. "Mom said I’m getting better."
She began pressing the tiny keys, playing a slow, broken melody.
Her small fingers fumbled through the notes, missing some, playing others too fast, but there was effort in every sound.
She was playing the lullaby Seris’ mother sang to us whenever they stayed overnight.
And then it hit me.
’That song...’
I finally recalled who I had heard it from during my past life.
[Golden Conductor.]
I stared at Seris, my thoughts freezing for a moment.
My ears were ringing, not from the off-beat tune but from the memories clawing their way back.
The Golden Conductor was summoned to Wageah around the same time as me.
But unlike the others, she didn’t care about returning to Earth.
She claimed her parents had been summoned to Wageah years ago.
She was searching for them.
Everyone laughed at her.
They said she was delusional. That maybe her parents had been killed by a Cursed Spirit or were just missing.
But she refused to believe that.
She held onto her belief stubbornly, no matter how much people mocked her.
Maybe because of her stubbornness, she rose.
She became one of the strongest Exorcists Earth had ever produced.
And I...
I followed the Saintess’ orders — my master, the bitch that killed me — and did the unthinkable.