The following afternoon.
"We're sorry! This concert has come to an end. Thank you all for your attendance!"
Pardofelis held up a huge wooden sign and shouted to the bustling crowd in front of her.
"If you don't mind, gentlemen, you can give me a... ahem, ahem, please support Miss Eden in the future!"
Pardofelis was halfway through her street vending routine when she realized that this was a charity performance, not a street performance.
What a pity...
Pardofelis raised the sign with difficulty, looking with some sadness at the crowd that was still immersed in Eden's song; some lost in their thoughts, others shedding tears.
If each of these people contributed ten yuan, they would probably earn eight or ten thousand yuan, right?
The effect of Eden's first performance was even more exaggerated than she herself had imagined.
At first, as expected, there were only about a hundred people, but as Eden sang one song after another, by the time the event ended, Pardofelis calculated that there were already one thousand eight hundred people.
(Even though Eden sings really well...)
If I encountered this kind of singing somewhere else, I probably wouldn't mind giving someone a tip with a can of meat.
When Pardofelis shouted, the group of people came out of their reverie, observed Eden closely as she stepped down from the stage, and prepared to leave in an orderly fashion.
Some even bowed before the improvised wooden platform before leaving.
"Uff…"
After stepping off the stage, Eden lost her balance and almost fell to the ground.
"You've done your best today."
Tian Shi gently held Eden from the side.
"You really did everything you could, Eden."
"It's incredible that you noticed."
With Tian Shi's help, Eden found with difficulty a stone stool to sit on.
"I simply don't understand the melody, it's not that I don't know you."
Tian Shi patted Eden on the back to help her catch her breath, and then took a look at the departing crowd.
"It seems the response has been quite positive."
"You chose a good theme... Dilemmas and struggles, is that what Dusk Street is about?" Eden breathed a sigh of relief.
"More or less."
"Mmm... I think I understand a little now."
Eden nodded.
"Now you can finally give me your opinion, right? I sang it for you."
As Eden spoke, she glanced at the microphone next to her.
I don't know if this was broken when Pardofelis got it, or if it was stored incorrectly later, but in any case, the pronunciation is a bit strange.
Although Tian Shi could repair it, he didn't have the tools.
So, as the concert approached, Tian Shi simply took possession of the microphone, repaired it temporarily, and also applied two upgrades to it: one called "Soul Suppression" and the other "Purification"...
While there was no glorification of Eden's voice, the spiritual comfort that accompanied it may be one of the reasons why this concert was able to end so smoothly.
By the way, Eden's intense performance on this occasion was also partly due to the fact that Tian Shi possessed the microphone.
After all, the distance during the performance always gave Eden the illusion that they were about to kiss, so Eden did her best not to disappoint Tian Shi.
But... in reality, for Tian Shi, it was as if someone were shouting in his ear... well, I should say it was a pleasant howl.
In any case, Tian Shi didn't hear anything clearly; he could only see Eden's state and the audience's reactions.
"Mmm... if I had to put it that way, was my brain trembling?"
"It's truly strange for a ghost to make a comment like that."
Although Eden continued to complain, a smile had already appeared on her face.
She was satisfied with this assessment.
"A wonderful performance, Miss Eden."
Aponia approached, carrying the old borrowed camera with her.
"Your voice is truly... I'm sorry, it's difficult for me to describe your sacred singing voice, Miss Eden."
In comparison to Tian Shi's inexplicable comments, Aponia's excessive praise provoked no reaction from Eden.
Eden had already heard enough praise of that kind from others; although it sounded arrogant, it was simply the truth.
"Here you go, this is today's recording."
Aponia handed the camera's memory card to Eden.
"Thank you very much, Miss Aponia, for taking care of me these last two days," Eden said sincerely after accepting the memory card.
Even though the other party might have an ambiguous relationship with Tian Shi, Eden's personal impression of Aponia remains very good.
"Miss Eden, are you leaving?"
"Well, I've been in Dusk Street for two days and I still have many things to see outside... I might have missed a lot of things these past two days."
In reality, it is mainly about the Fire Moth.
Even though Eden and Tian Shi received some documents before their arrival, there was still a long way to go before a department could be completely established.
"Besides, I'll take Pardo with me. Miss Aponia, you don't mind, right?"
"She is not from the sanatorium, Miss Eden does not need to inform me."
Aponia replied calmly, but still looked at Pardofelis unconsciously before adding:
"Being able to follow Miss Eden should be a good thing for Pardo."
Being a thief in Dusk Street, nothing happens if you don't get caught, but if you do... So Aponia was sincerely happy for Pardofelis.
But the next instant, Aponia was stunned, realizing belatedly what Eden meant, and she smiled at the red-haired singer in front of her.
"I'm sorry, I have no intention of leaving Dusk Street, I appreciate your kindness, Miss Eden."
Aponia nodded slightly to Eden and then began to help Pardofelis clean up the mess.
"Miss Aponia is very perceptive," Eden sighed, watching Aponia's back as she worked.
"After all, Aponia grew up in Dusk Street," Tian Shi said with a somewhat bewildered tone.
"She's simply stubborn, not stupid."
"Like ascetics?"
"It could be even worse, her path is more difficult than that of an ascetic: she walks on a single-plank bridge with no end in sight."
Tian Shi couldn't help but sigh as he said this.
Aponia is saving people "senselessly," whether they are patients with Honkai disease or simply people who suffer; they are not easy to save.
Eden probably understood what Tian Shi meant, glanced at Aponia's figure, and then sighed.
"Let's talk about something more cheerful... By the way, Tian Shi, have you thought of a name for the ghost company yet?"
"Name?"
"If you dare say something like 'exquisitely beautiful' or something similar, I will turn against you."
Eden could remember that name for half her life; only then did she realize that Tian Shi was quite bad at naming things.
"No, not really... How about E.T.M.?"
"ETM?"
Eden paused for a moment, and then a smile appeared on her face.
Eden·Tian·Music?
Even though the official writing of the previous civilization was very different from that of the current civilization, in terms of heritage, English was a regional script in the previous civilization, and probably not very specialized, so Eden could understand it.
"That's the name."