If anyone had told Faust before this that he would listen to a song so intently that he would lose himself and fall into a trance, the prince would have only scoffed.
But at this moment, the Prince of Qingxi was speechless.
Before his eyes, fantastic images filled with exotic scenery seemed to play out: magnificent fortresses built against towering mountain ranges, grand palace complexes shimmering with gold, cities where towers stood like forests and mystical radiance misted into rivers, and wonders so majestic and exquisite they defied description.
Beautiful landscapes flashed by—glaciers, deserts, forests, and high mountains. Herds of beasts wandered through oases, and flowers bloomed by the shores of crystal-clear lakes... all sorts of wondrous, dreamlike fantasies presented themselves before him.
Then, there was an incredibly massive tower.
It extended from the polar regions to the deserts, connecting the azure waves to the plateaus... the entire continent served as its base, with cities stacked continuously upward. The sentient beings of the mortal world lived upon this colossal tower.
The spire had already reached the heavens, appearing as if it were about to pierce through—
"Snap—"
A crisp sound pulled Faust back from the illusion. He saw that Selena had finished her singing at some point and had come before him, clapping her hands.
The girl tilted her head, her incomparably beautiful face flushed with the excitement of a job well done.
"Where is my accompaniment, Faust? I've finished the whole song, yet I didn't hear a single note. You're quite incompetent."
"Apologies..."
Faust was still savoring the illusion he had just witnessed. Those scenes... they were like something out of a mythological epic. Was that the Golden Age?
Selena grabbed one of her arms behind her back and smiled.
"Faust, Faust... were you actually mesmerized?"
Faust nodded frankly. "I cannot deny it. It truly shocked me."
Upon hearing this, Selena became visibly even happier. She rested a pale finger against her chin and intentionally drawled:
"Oh... really? How cute."
Hardened.
It wasn't just his fists that hardened.
With Faust's temperament, he could accept any ridicule or insult without changing his expression, but he specifically could not stand someone calling him cute.
It wasn't that he couldn't stand it at all; only a mature, cold, yet charming elder sister with overflowing maternal instincts, a tall and voluptuous figure, black hair, red eyes, and a one-piece black-stocking gap-moe personality could call him cute!
Aside from that, it was all considered teasing. Was she looking down on Brother Faust’s great golden dragon?
But Faust endured it. Instead of retorting, he feigned an embarrassed look, causing Snow White to puff out her chest proudly.
"Hmph, it is only natural. If I were to sing a song like that in the royal capital, hundreds of thousands would go mad for it, losing their souls. Those poor fellows would willingly offer up their lives for me. You only lost yourself for a short while; your willpower is strong enough. You're barely qualified to be my knight."
How easy she is to read.
In Selena's eyes, having fully displayed her supernatural charisma, it probably wouldn't be long before she completely won over the Prince of Qingxi, making this man embrace her and confess his love passionately.
Little did she know that the master hunter always appears in the form of prey. Snow White thought she held the advantage in this relationship, but in reality, she was already sinking deeper and deeper.
In the prince's view, even if Selena was one of the fragments of the former Midwinter princess, she no longer had the relevant memories. Proud as she was, her heart was still that of a pure young girl.
The matchmaking effect of the 【witches' feast】 possessed an unbelievable intensity. He could tentatively avoid the influence through deliberate effort, but a 【witch】 had no possibility of awakening from that fate.
Therefore, no matter how much his heart fluttered for Selena, the girl's heart would only flutter even more for him.
Faust was already in an invincible position!
"Your singing just now... it truly can be called heavenly. Not only did it give me a beautiful dream I didn't want to wake from, but it seems the frost-walkers were also quite shaken."
The Prince of Qingxi stood up and looked out the window.
Outside the villa, the frost-walkers had all stopped their work because of the song. They stood like statues, facing the direction where Selena was.
"At least it works on the ordinary frost-walkers. I wonder what those Titans have to say."
Just as he finished speaking, the frost-walkers outside suddenly parted to create a path. Then, from the hollowed-out cavity of the 【Mountain Father】, seven... floating bowling balls flew out?
The spheres, covered in faint blue and molten gold patterns, emitted a low sound:
"Princess... was that you singing just now?"
That was the voice of a Titan frost-walker.
Faust looked at the floating spheres with some confusion.
Was this some kind of communication device? Or was it the Titans' form when shrunk to the extreme? After all, he had seen the Great Titan use a method to shrink its size in the blink of an eye before.
Not only the Prince of Qingxi, but Selena also seemed to be seeing these spheres for the first time. She frowned slightly.
"You are..."
"The entities you regard as Titans are our shells, and these cores are also our bodies."
As if sensing the human's question, a voice came from the spheres:
"We, the high-level 【tower-builder】 units, are the central hubs that command the low-level 【frost-walker】 units. We possess greater intelligence and authority for self-augmentation, allowing us to continuously equip alchemical shells and functional modules to adapt to various operations in complex environments."
Impressive. To have such high technology—the Golden Age really lived well.
After explaining their state concisely, the Titan frost-walker continued:
"Princess... what you sang just now, was it the Hymn of the Sacred Deity?"
Selena maintained her smile and spread her hands. "Is that what it's called? I only just found out myself."
The Titan frost-walkers spoke with certainty:
"That was the Hymn of the Sacred Deity. There is no doubt."
These spheres flew around the room. Even though their voices were still synthesized mechanical sounds, one could almost feel their 'excitement.'
"Our machine spirits, which have not been quiet for thousands of years, found a moment of peace just now. It felt as if we had returned to the days of building the tower, when we strove together to create the Great Tower reaching for the heavens, all to praise the glory of the Sacred Deity."
"Receive mercy, receive brilliance, receive glory, receive all..."
In short, the machine spirit was greatly pleased!
Faust asked, "In that case, do you recognize Selena as your master?"
The 【tower-builder】 units did not answer immediately. Instead, they replied after a long silence:
"We cannot confirm immediately. This singing is still a bit short of the Master's, but it is not far off... please continue. For us, the Hymn is like food and rest for you humans."
"After smoothing out all the chaos and attaining tranquility, we should be able to make the correct judgment."
Faust exchanged a glance with the black-haired girl. The latter tilted her head up, making no effort to hide her confident and smug expression.
Although it wasn't an explicit acknowledgement, it seemed these alchemical constructs from the Golden Age were leaning toward recognizing Selena's identity.
...
At the same time that Faust and Selena entered the 【Mountain Father】, in the capital of the Midwinter Kingdom.
The frost-walker who had been assigned to the execution returned to the court and attempted to deceive the prime minister according to its own plan.
However, it didn't even manage to keep the secret for a single day.
Rate on N.U.
