The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

When the Mermaid's Tears drink was almost finished, a female mermaid with a silver-blue fishtail emerged from the water near the small reef next to the Starlight Giant Clam where the bar was located.

Her hair was adorned with glowing fireflies, and her attire was unlike that of the other mermaid waitresses.

"Senior, look! The Mermaid Concert is about to begin!" Dora said. "That reef is the stage."

"It's Serena!" Rose exclaimed. "We're doomed..."

"Luckily, I was prepared!" Lina took out four handkerchiefs of different colors from her {space card} and gave one to Moran, Rose, and Dora.

"This is..." Moran asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Senior, Serena's singing is incredibly moving; a handkerchief is an essential item when listening to her songs," Dora explained.

As soon as she finished speaking, the mermaid on the reef parted her pink lips slightly, and a melancholy melody flowed like water into the ears of everyone present:
"The tide stole my name."
Moonlight mended the damaged tail fin.
Who is picking things up on the beach?

My drowned words
......"

As soon as the song began, the voices inside the various starlight giant shells disappeared, and everyone was irresistibly drawn to the song.

Moran was no exception.

Besides the beautiful voice and moving melody, she also sensed in Serena's singing a feeling somewhere between a mage's mental magic and a witch's mind magic.

It's not mental magic, but like mental magic, it can evoke memories and touch people's hearts.

She subconsciously used mental manipulation and spiritual defense techniques to resist this influence.

It also reminded me of the mermaid's two signature magics: ocean magic and sound magic.

Legend has it that mermaids' voice magic also has the ability to influence people's minds and thoughts.

Serena must have used this magic when she sang.

Moran looked at the people around her.

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

Some of the other guests were wiping away tears, while others were already sobbing.

The mermaid waitresses also floated up from the sea, small pearls falling from their eyes, which they calmly caught with their hands.

Even Aquinas, who was busy at the bar, covered her face with a handkerchief, but her cooking magic was still under stable control.

She was the only one in the room and was completely unaffected.

Serena, who was singing: "..."

She silently amplified the magical energy in her singing.

The people listening to the song cried even louder.

Moran noticed that her eyes were fixed on her with a hint of sorrow, and belatedly realized that she seemed to be an unwitting listener.

However, being proficient in mind magic and spiritual magic, she was well aware of the consequences of losing her composure.

She could clearly feel that as soon as she relaxed her defenses even slightly, sad and painful memories would flood her mind like a tide, stirring her emotions.

She possessed the memories of all human civilization on Earth, and there were too many sad memories. All of them rushed to her mind at once, and she was afraid that she would cry herself to death here today.

Moreover, she didn't know much about mermaid voice magic, and she didn't know if their kind of targeted memory-evoking magic could simultaneously read other people's memories.

Memory is a person's most private thing, and Moran was unwilling to expose it. So no matter how mournful Serena was, or how hard she sang, Moran guarded her heart and memories like an iron fortress.

While others listened to music, Moran was engaged in magical combat, and the melancholic Serena gradually became irritable, her singing also reflecting a part of her emotions:

"...

I finally succeeded.
The one in your story,

The mermaids who never came ashore.

When the song ended, Serena, unwilling to appreciate the tearful and distraught faces of her audience as usual, jumped into the sea without hesitation.

Its tail slapped the surface of the sea in frustration, sending seawater flying high.

The Starlight Giant Shell where Moran and the others were located was the closest to the reef stage. The splashing seawater rushed towards them, but in the end, it did not splash onto the table because it was blocked by the magic shield that rose from the Starlight Giant Shell.

Rose, her eyes red, wiped away her tears: "It felt so good to cry! But Serena's singing today, why did it get more and more irritable towards the end? I was getting a little angry listening to it."

“It’s a bit strange, maybe she’s working on a new song…” Lina said, then noticed the dry handkerchief in Moran’s hand and looked at her face in surprise: “Moran, you didn’t cry?”

"What?" Dora and Rose looked at her in surprise.

“Serena infused her singing with sound magic, which I resisted with mind magic,” Moran said. “Even without the influence of sound magic, her songs are merely pleasant to listen to, not enough to bring tears to one’s eyes.”

Rose, Dora, and Lina: "..."

My senior is truly heartless!
"Mermaids' voice magic is quite powerful, but the songs sung by mermaids who can perform for Ms. Aquinas are all beneficial to people. They can heal the soul and relax the mind. Many people come here specifically for the mermaids' songs, order a cup of Mermaid's Tears, and listen quietly!" Rose refrained from saying more.

“Yes! Serena’s songs are very sad when you listen to them, but after you finish listening, all your worries disappear and you feel exceptionally good,” Dora said.

“I understand, Ms. Aquinas’s level of mind magic must be quite high as well.” Moran could tell.

Although Aquinas was also affected by the mermaid's song, it was clearly intentional; her cooking magic was completely unaffected.

“However, I’m not used to letting others invade my mind and interfere with my memories,” Moran said.

If she wants to regulate her emotions, she can do so using mind magic and spiritual magic; there's no need for her to open her mind and let other people's magic affect her.

"Are there any other songs later?" Moran asked.

If she had one, she wouldn't use her magic to control her mind; it would be a waste of her magic power.

“That’s it,” Rose said. “Only one mermaid sings one song each day.”

“Then I can enjoy my meal without worry,” Moran said.

She was more interested in the food on the table.

"Let's try the escape ice cream you mentioned first!" Moran placed her hand on a food cover in front of her.

Aside from the drinks, which were served in cups so you could see what was inside, the desserts, main courses, and snacks were all covered with insulated food covers, and you had to look at the labels to see what was inside.

The label on the food cover in front of her reads "Escape Ice Cream".

"Wait!" Rose quickly stopped them, rummaging through the cutlery rack and pulling out a few shell spoons. She first handed one to Moran, and then the rest of the girls each took one: "Take this one first!"

"They won't really run away, will they?" Moran wondered, seeing their serious and prepared demeanor.

Rose nodded: "We have to use this seashell spoon to scoop them out! Otherwise, they'll melt into rainbow syrup very quickly!" (End of Chapter)