Chapter 44: God of Love

In Ai Lun E Si, when people speak of their visions or ideals, anything that touches higher‑level matters is generally inseparable from the gods, sometimes it is simply the doctrine of a church.

Various doctrines profoundly affect believers' outlook on life, values, worldview, and every aspect of daily living.

Viola's words immediately made Lei En think of a deity.

Sure enough, Viola did not hide it and openly admitted, "Besides worshiping the goddess, I am also a follower of the Longhaired Lady."

"I see," Lei En nodded in understanding.

The Longhaired Lady is an epithet for the god of art and love, whose true name is Freya.

This deity holds the divine offices of "Art," "Love," "Beauty," and "Kindness," so people often also revere Him as the God of Love or the Beautiful‑Kind God.

Legend says He is the most beautiful being in the Ai Lun E Si world, maintaining good relations with many gods, including numerous admirers.

Freya's followers are numerous and diverse, encompassing artists, musicians, painters, dancers, actors, and so on.

Anyone working in an art‑related field is almost invariably His follower.

Because He also presides over Beauty and Love, Freya is widely adored, especially by young people in relationships and by men and women of all ages who pursue beauty, with women being the majority.

In the Empire, many openly worship Freya, yet no tightly organized church has formed.

As they age, believers gradually lose beauty or love, grow frail, can no longer pursue artistic work, their faith wavers, and they eventually turn to other deities.

Overall, she is a harmless and benevolent goddess.

Lei En had previously discovered that Viola worships another deity, and does so more steadfastly than the God of Magic; now that he knows it is the god of art and love, he thinks it's no big deal.

Given Viola's beauty, it is only natural that she follows Freya.

She almost perfectly embodies Freya's doctrine, possessing peerless beauty and outstanding musical talent, and could even serve as Freya's mortal emissary, becoming His Divine Chosen!

Thinking of this, Lei En easily understood why Viola wants more people to hear wonderful music.

Music is also an art, and the art most accessible to ordinary people, as well as the art that best conveys and interprets emotion.

Unlike painting, sculpture, or dance performance, it does not require the audience to have a certain foundational skill to grasp the artists' intent.

Anyone with normal hearing will be moved by a lilting melody or drawn to a pleasing song.

Even if people do not understand the lyrics, or are illiterate, they can still appreciate the beauty of music.

If wonderful music can be spread widely so people can hear it anytime, Freya's follower count will explode, greatly amplifying the deity's divine power!

However, in Ai Lun E Si, aside from live performances, people do not often hear music or singing.

Lei En immediately thought of a brilliant scheme; if he could pull it off, it would not only win Viola's heart but also earn a fortune.

Yet the plan is somewhat difficult and must be verified before it can be carried out.

He looked at Viola, a hint of smile flashing in his eyes.

The two chatted briefly, and Lei En deliberately steered the conversation toward music, feigning curiosity, and asked about the sound mechanism of that key organ.

Viola opened the instrument's lid and patiently began explaining it to him.

Lei En listened attentively while comparing it to the piano of his past life. He had to admit that humans in any world share musical commonalities, at least in instrument construction there is no difference.

This key organ is essentially a grand piano, virtually identical,

even the number of keys is exactly the same.

Seeing his interest, Viola asked, "Lei En, can you play the piano? I recall you enrolled in the art department at Claidon Academy."

Lei En's expression turned slightly embarrassed.

Besides training the extraordinary, Claidon Academy offers many courses, and each student must choose one as a major.

The earlier Lei En, for reasons unknown, oddly signed up for the art department, yet never attended a single class, knowing nothing about art; without becoming extraordinary, he could not obtain a diploma from the academy.

This is one reason his father Bade was dissatisfied with Lei En.

Originally, Bade wanted Lei En to enroll in law or accounting, earn a diploma, and later secure a good city job, becoming upper‑class. Even if that failed, he could still be a respectable, cultured person back in his hometown.

Unfortunately, the earlier Lei En let that expectation down.

Lei En looked at Viola and saw a half‑smile, a hint of mockery. She had sent someone to the academy to investigate him, clearly aware of these facts.

He hummed a low "hm" to mask his embarrassment and said, "I never studied music, nor can I play the piano; I only heard the teacher sing a few songs."

In truth, he can play the piano, having studied it from childhood to adulthood; though his skill is modest, it surpasses that of most people.

Of course, he cannot reveal that now and must continue to pretend ignorance.

Viola covered her mouth with a light laugh, thought for a moment, and said that if she taught Lei En to play the piano, perhaps he could become a follower of the Longhaired Lady, then she eagerly asked, "Would you like to learn the key organ? I can teach you."

"Really?" Lei En's face lit up with surprise.

"Of course." Viola nodded, looking nothing like she was joking; she glanced at the clock on the wall and said seriously, "It's still early; we can start right now."

Saying that, she sat down at the instrument, patted the chair, and gestured for Lei En to sit beside her.

Lei En obeyed and sat next to her; because the chair wasn't especially long, it could barely accommodate two, forcing their bodies close and their arms to brush.

A sweet, faint fragrance drifted into his nose, making Lei En's heart flutter.

The scent emanated from Viola herself—light yet not weak, just right, with a faint hint of sweetness that reminded Lei En of violet blossoms; he thought, no wonder Viola named her shop "Violet House," it's her particular hobby.

He turned his head, gazing at the nearby Viola; strands of golden hair revealed pointed ears that glowed faintly red, exceedingly alluring.

In his soul's eye, her soul's hue shifted between green and cyan, indicating a pleasant, slightly shy mood.

Amid the sounds of all things, her heartbeat quickened noticeably, revealing a trace of nervousness.

Lei En instantly understood that Viola felt affection for him.

Though this was only their third meeting, one time makes strangers, two times familiar, and three or four times—everything clicks!

He is a once‑in‑a‑century perfect Soul Transformation, with boundless prospects, and also strikingly handsome; since Viola follows the God of Love, pursuing beauty and romance, isn't it natural for her to be attracted to him?

Lei En secretly rejoiced with a shout, his gaze growing bold as he admired the beauty before him.

Viola noticed Lei En's stare, and her body subconsciously shifted aside a bit, seeming a little shy.

She took a few light breaths, steadied herself, lifted a music sheet from the instrument, and said, "To learn piano, you must first understand pitch and read notation; this is the simplest score..."

Viola quickly got into the flow, teaching Lei En the basics of music from a zero foundation.

Lei En had understood it early on; not wanting his progress to be too slow, he deliberately displayed a gift for music—learning as soon as he was taught, understanding as soon as he heard—and quickly mastered the basic techniques of the key-wind organ.

When it came to learning hand posture and fingering, as well as identifying the keys, the two people's hands inevitably touched.

At first Viola was still a little shy, but as Lei En displayed more talent, she was both surprised and delighted, and quickly grew accustomed to teaching Lei En to play the organ hand in hand; sometimes even their bodies pressing close together seemed quite natural.

One teaching, one learning, the two immersed themselves in it with no one to disturb them, and in the blink of an eye the entire afternoon passed.

The sound of the organ rose in the room.

A tune with a simple rhythm played out from beneath Lei En's fingers; his performance was a little unpolished, and the notes sounded slightly stiff, but it was very coherent and already counted as a proper performance.

When the music stopped, Viola, sitting beside him, clapped her hands a few times in delight.

Her eyes sparkling bright, she looked at Lei En and exclaimed, "The piece is still a little rough, but for you to go from knowing nothing at all to reaching this level within a few hours is already very good."

"Lei En, have you really never studied the key-wind organ before?"

Lei En, thick-skinned and rather pleased with himself, said, "Today is my first time touching a key-wind organ."

In truth, he found that his playing skill had improved greatly compared to his previous life, thanks to the fine control of the phone's gyroscope, but he still had to pretend to be very unpolished.

Sometimes, pretending not to know how was actually harder, and several times he nearly gave himself away.

Viola still found it hard to believe; Lei En's musical talent was higher than her own—at least in terms of playing, after another period of practice he would be about on her level.

She guessed that among the demonic souls Lei En had fused, there might be an Element similar to strengthening arm control, such as "Hand of Dexterity," but it didn't quite look like it.

The changes after Lei En fused the demonic soul were clearly an overall enhancement, unrelated to his hands alone.

This was probably what a genius of perfect Soul Transformation looked like!

Viola sighed in admiration inwardly, then said with a smile, "You can count yourself as having entered the basics of playing now, but if you want to improve your skill, you still need plenty of practice. From now on, whenever you're free, you can come here to play anytime, and I'll continue teaching you some famous scores."

"All right, I'll come often to learn the organ, Teacher Viola," Lei En agreed without the slightest hesitation, tossing in a tease along the way.

How could he pass up this kind of chance to be in frequent contact with a beauty?

Viola felt a little embarrassed at being called that; just then, a shop employee knocked and entered, reminding her, "Ma'am, the trade fair begins in one hour, and some guests have already arrived."

"I know, I'll be right there." Viola was dazed for a moment; she looked at the clock on the wall and thought to herself how quickly time had passed.

Lei En also stood up, finally remembering today's real business.

He met her gaze and realized that both of them had completely forgotten about the trade fair; in the several hours in the room, they hadn't mentioned it even once, and had even forgotten to eat dinner.

Viola straightened the long dress on her and said very calmly, "Lei En, I'll go down first to receive the guests, and I'll come back to tell you later."

"Go ahead, I'll practice a little more." Lei En sat back down and placed his hands on the keys.