act29side

Marlies is a student of an Arts spire. She claims to have heard some noise at the scene, and was able to determine it contained some sort of rhythm, only... she can't exactly remember it.

With heavy Arts books propped on her head, she works to maintain her balance, expressing that this is an effective method for recalling one's memories.

How about this, do you remember what you were doing when you heard the noise?

I was heading home at the time, trying to squeeze my way through the crowd watching the performance.

There were so many people there. I knew I shouldn't have gone out to buy sausages in the evening, even the shopkeeper was drunk... Well, that's when I heard that dreadful noise—Ah!

Just as she was excitedly describing the situation, a book slides off her head and crashes onto her shoulder, falling open. A schedule slips free of the pages and floats down, every inch of it <color=#d41f1f>crammed full with various tasks</color>, all related to studying Originium Arts.

Do you all face such pressure to study?

Pressure?

Well... teachers always say that climbing the spire is a long and arduous journey, and that many scholars never make it into the palace of knowledge. Every week, there's always some 'lacking students' leaving the spire. Given that I'm an Edler, I gotta put in effort if I want to remain here.

She scratches her head and smiles brightly at the end of her explanation. <color=#d41f1f>She's quite optimistic</color>. I can help her remember.

Could it be that... you used the excuse of buying sausages to sneak out and relax?

Eh... You guessed it! I had a report due the next day, but couldn't figure out what to write at all, so I decided to buy a sausage and relax. Sausages are great! After that... I don't know why, but I felt really inspired after I went back, and I felt way better.

At the time of the incident, the subject was facing heavy pressure to study when <color=#d41f1f>a perfectly timed and delectable sausage brought her mood back up</color>. Recreate her emotions with the proper music of the heart. <color=#d41f1f>Perhaps worldly desires are more suitable, given her enjoyment of delicious food</color>.

The music of the heart sounds, resonating with the heartstrings of the subject and bringing back memories.

As the melody reveals, you were feeling great after snacking on a sausage. Do you recall it now?

...Ah! Now I remember! I was chewing on my sausage as I walked, when all of a sudden that noise rang out, then... someone bumped into me! I was fine, but my sausage wasn't! The person who bumped into me wanted to apologize by singing me a song right then and there... So the noise wasn't the source of the rhythm.

Marlies went back to the spire to continue her studies. No useful information was garnered from her, and this line of investigation was closed.