A few days had passed since Tesoro and his group arrived at Elegia.
At the ruins of the concert hall in the center of the kingdom.
There on the stage, Uta was singing with obvious delight, while Stella and the others watched over her with warm expressions. Gordon was there too.
His expression was somewhat stiff, making it hard to tell at first glance, but Gordon also wore a faint smile as he watched the girl singing on stage.
'To think I'd get to see her singing with a smile like this again...'
The emotional wounds she carried were deep.
He had feared it might be years more before he'd see her genuinely smile, let alone sing so joyfully.
But since Tesoro and the others arrived, Uta had changed.
More precisely, it was after she began interacting with one person among them: Stella. Before long, Uta was laughing freely again, just like she used to.
'It's as if that woman, Stella, healed the wounds in Uta's heart. The deep scars of "betrayal" that even the passage of years could never mend...'
'...Stella-san's always had a knack for lifting people's spirits just by staying close to them.'
Along with Gordon, Shuraiya too had noticed the reason behind the girl called Uta's transformation, the change from when he'd first seen her.
Stella had the ability to energize everyone she encountered. She could soothe a roughened heart, heal one that was wounded and exhausted, and help a person face forward again.
She didn't use any special technique, and it certainly wasn't the power of a Devil Fruit. It was simply a natural skill she possessed as a person, something akin to innate virtue.
Including Tesoro at her side, countless people had been saved by that quality of hers.
And here, too, that power had likely manifested without any deliberate effort on her part.
He still hadn't heard the full story, but the girl who clearly bore deep emotional scars had gradually opened her heart through her interactions with Stella.
Stella never barged in uninvited. She kept a comfortable distance, created an atmosphere of ease, and before you knew it, the other person would start coming to her on their own.
She was an expert at building that kind of relationship.
And by pure coincidence, the fact that both of them shared a love of "song" had been a major reason Uta opened up and grew close to her.
At this point in time, at least, ever since Uta first heard Stella's singing, which was even more skilled than her own and resonated deep in the heart, the musician's soul that had been sleeping, held in check within her, had begun to stir once more.
Little by little she opened her heart, little by little she began to talk.
And along with that, she started speaking and interacting with Gordon and the other members of the group, Tesoro included.
Tesoro's group was actually quite experienced with young children. Gran Tesoro had several facilities like childcare centers and orphanages, and they visited them regularly. Shuraiya in particular was a frequent visitor, since his still-young sister, though Adele would get angry if you called her that, was often in their care.
So while there were differences in degree, and none of them matched Stella, everyone knew how to interact with children.
Before anyone realized it, Uta, who had stubbornly kept her distance at first, had rapidly regained her sociability over just a few days. Now here she was, climbing onto the stage in front of everyone and singing.
She was obviously enjoying the act of singing itself, but beyond that, she wanted to reach the people watching, wanted them to hear her song. That feeling rode on her voice and reached them all.
A magnificent song from the little Songstress, living up to every rumor, brimming with promise for the future.
As Tesoro and the others listened, captivated, in the midst of that moment...
...it happened.
"What is... what on earth!? Uta-chan, don't tell me... you...!?"
"Huh...? Wha!? I... um, well..."
Only minutes had passed since everyone had been happily watching Uta's performance.
Yet the scene around the stage had completely transformed.
Stella, Tesoro, Shuraiya, Gordon... everyone had collapsed.
They weren't dead. Gentle breathing rose from each of them. They had simply fallen asleep.
...All except two. Uta, and Baccarat.
Rewinding time slightly... Uta, singing on the stage, had been savoring the feeling of "singing is fun" for the first time in ages.
She'd been remembering a certain childhood friend she was always with back in Foosha Village, the crew of a certain ship she once sailed on, and the Captain of that ship, her father, and how they would listen to her sing and praise her.
Those memories brought a twinge of pain, but even so, here were people telling her she was skilled, that her singing was wonderful. Everyone was smiling because of her song.
That happiness overwhelmed Uta, and for the first time in years, she unconsciously activated her Powers.
The power of the Devil Fruit she had eaten: the Sing-Sing Fruit.
An ability that puts those who hear the user's song to sleep and draws them into Uta World, a fantasy realm shaped by the Ability User. Within Uta World, the Ability User is virtually invincible as far as imagination reaches, capable of doing almost anything. Fighting however one fancies, creating something from nothing, imagination becoming power directly. A world where anything goes, where the Ability User reigns supreme.
And the invitation takes effect the instant the song is heard, pulling people in immediately, so those who are invited don't even realize they've been brought into a dream world. They can't realize it.
They simply enjoy the Ability User's live performance within that fantastical realm.
Of course, the sleeping physical bodies are left defenseless, but as long as the Ability User harbors no malice, it's a largely harmless ability.
Uta herself had activated the power out of a desire to let everyone enjoy her singing even more freely in a world she controlled, so they could all share a happy moment together.
Or rather, she had remembered doing exactly that in the past, and the activation was half unconscious.
In that instant, Stella, Tesoro, and the others were swallowed into Uta World, but one person alone was spared: Baccarat.
CRASH!!
"Eek!? Th-that scared me... Huh?"
It was, as fate would have it, a stroke of luck brought about by Baccarat's Lucky-Lucky Fruit powers.
The very moment Uta began singing the song that would guide everyone into Uta World, a decoration hanging on the concert hall wall fell and produced a tremendous noise.
Because of that, Uta's voice failed to reach Baccarat alone in that instant. And the noise startled Uta into stopping her song, so Baccarat escaped being pulled in.
When she looked around, what she saw was everyone except herself and Uta collapsed on the ground.
She checked on them with alarm and determined they were merely sleeping, but Uta, the apparent cause, was flustered and had no idea what to do.
Sensing that this hadn't been done with malicious intent, Baccarat slowly rose to her feet, careful not to frighten the girl.
"Uta-chan."
"Huh!? I-I'm sorry, I..."
"It's okay. I'm not going to do anything scary, and I'm not angry. ...Did you do this? It looks like they're just sleeping, but..."
"...Yes. It was me. I..."
Some time later.
Having been invited into Uta World but quickly awakened and released, Stella and the others rejoined them, and Uta explained her ability and apologized for pulling everyone into Uta World without warning.
Stella and the others understood that there had been no ill intent; Uta had simply gotten carried away with enjoyment and unconsciously used her powers, wanting everyone to have an even better time.
They were startled to learn they couldn't have resisted, that they couldn't even have noticed being "invited," but since no actual harm was done, there was no problem.
As Gordon desperately apologized on Uta's behalf, saying "Uta couldn't help it after so long, please forgive her," they gently reassured him that they didn't mind at all.
Then Stella, wearing her usual smile, stood before Uta, crouched down to meet her eyes, and said:
"Uta-chan."
"Y-yes...?"
"Could you... invite us again? Properly, this time?"
"...Huh... WHAT!?"
***
[Sue's Perspective]
"So yeah, I never expected anyone to say 'do it again, properly,' so I was really surprised... But I was happy, so this time I invited everyone, Baccarat-san included."
"I see... That's so like Stella."
So there I was on Gran Tesoro, listening to Uta-chan tell me about how she met Tesoro and Stella, and how she ended up boarding this ship.
I already knew about Uta World, but I see. So that was one of the catalysts that sent her soaring out into the wider world. She'd invited Tesoro and the others, and for the first time in years, she'd put on a grand show in the dream world with everything she had.
"That's what you'd think, right? But the thing is... after the Uta World show, they did praise me and everything, but Tesoro-san actually tore my performance apart pretty badly."
"Huh? Tore it apart? What do you mean?"
"The singing aside, the staging and stuff... I thought I'd gone all out, made it as grand and lavish as I could... I mean, he did compliment me, but then on top of that, Tesoro-san was like, 'You've still got a long way to go.'"
"...Ahh, well, from a professional's perspective... I suppose that's fair?"
Tesoro was, after all, the ruler of this golden colossus of a ship, the world's premier entertainer who had electrified countless stages with the finest productions imaginable.
So naturally, Uta-chan's stage, however talented she was, being entirely self-taught and lacking experience, couldn't begin to measure up to his monstrous expertise.
But by that point, Uta-chan had recovered enough spirit that being criticized made her visibly annoyed, a clear "I don't like that one bit!" kind of expression.
From Tesoro's perspective, though, that was exactly the reaction he'd expected, and of course it didn't bother him in the slightest.
After all, he was the one who'd deliberately provoked her.
What Tesoro then proposed was this: "Let me show you what real entertainment looks like."
He'd temporarily borrow from Uta-chan the authority to control the Uta World stage, giving Tesoro full control over everything. Apparently, with Uta-chan's permission, the Sing-Sing Fruit's ability could do something like that.
Uta-chan, with a hint of combativeness, shot back, "If you're going to talk that big, then show me," and handed over control.
A few minutes later.
There was Uta-chan, magnificently prostrate in defeat.
Tesoro had casually, oh so casually, demonstrated the staging he thought suited the music, but apparently Uta-chan recognized her total defeat within about the first minute.
Yet even as she realized it, even burning with frustration, she couldn't tear her eyes away. She was that completely drawn in. She watched the entire performance, then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. That's what she told me.
It wasn't just that there was someone better. She'd been confronted with the fact that walls so high you can't even see the top exist in this world.
Setting singing aside, in terms of staging ability, choreography, visual effects, presentation, overall "hype factor," she was told in no uncertain terms that she had virtually no chance of winning. Like I keep saying, the difference in years of experience as an entertainer was simply too vast.
But the fact that she didn't crumble or give up right there showed just how stubbornly competitive Uta-chan was. And so, burning with motivation to a degree that made it hard to believe she'd been too depressed to even sing properly not long ago, Uta-chan was fired up.
To her, and to Gordon as well, Tesoro formally extended his invitation:
"Why don't you come with me? On my ship, together with us... let's create the greatest entertainment the world has ever seen, the kind that makes the whole world smile, the kind that leaves them no choice but to smile!"
"And so she accepted, boarded this ship, studied all sorts of things, and now she's finally earned the position of number one Songstress on Gran Tesoro. That's really incredible... Congratulations."
"Thanks, Sue-san. But I'm far from satisfied, you know? Eventually, I want my voice, my songs, to reach the entire world and make everyone in it happy! That's the kind of Songstress I'm aiming to become! In that sense... you're actually my role model, Sue-san. You're someone who's lifting the world's spirits through words and books."
"Ahaha, that's giving me way too much credit... I'm flattered, though. It's a grand dream, but go for it, Uta-chan. I'll be cheering you on as a fan!"
"...Yeah! Someday, I will become the world's greatest Songstress! And then..."
And then?
"Someday I'll make my father... make Shanks eat his words!"
"I see... Your father, huh. Shanks... Shan...ks... Wait?"
...Hold on.
...Um, did she just casually drop something enormous in the middle of a completely ordinary conversation? ...Is she joking?
"Huh? ...Oh wait, did I not mention that?"
"This is the first I'm hearing of it!?"
***
[Third-person perspective]
That night, after a bombshell revelation had been delivered with breathtaking casualness and sloppiness, leaving even Sue stunned.
The guests had gone to sleep, and night-shift security guards paced their rounds through the corridors of the hotel The Leoro.
Through those corridors, a shadow moved silently.
It wasn't a person. It wasn't even a living thing.
It was... several sheets of paper.
Old, tattered-looking paper, fluttering through the air despite there being no wind.
What was written on them was sheet music.
Where they had come from was anyone's guess, but the sheets of music drifted deeper and deeper into the hotel. For some reason, the security systems didn't react.
Though their movement was a gentle flutter, they flew in a straight line toward the staff residential quarters, where Uta and some of the other songstresses lived.
But then the sheet music suddenly stopped and began moving in an entirely different direction.
As though they had found something else, something that drew them toward a different destination.
Fluttering and drifting, the sheet music veered away from the staff quarters and infiltrated True Suite, the most prestigious guest rooms in The Leoro.
There, in one of those rooms, the pages descended upon a woman with platinum-blonde hair sleeping peacefully, and as if absorbed into her skin, they vanished from sight.
Sue never noticed a thing.
The sheet music that disappeared that night would later trigger a major incident, but that is a story for some time yet to come.
To be continued...