Early the next morning, after completing his training, he went to find Valtava.

"You're quite eager."

Seeing Marco's enthusiasm for learning, Valtava was naturally very pleased.

"Since I went through the trouble of inviting you here, I can't just be half-hearted about it. I'm serious about learning, not just having a passing fancy." Marco smiled as he spoke.

He was determined to learn the lyre—having gone to the effort of bringing Valtava here, he couldn't just leave him hanging.

He made sure to set aside plenty of time each day for lyre practice.

"Good, that's the right attitude." Valtava nodded in satisfaction.

Though he had decided to teach Marco the lyre due to fate, if Marco didn't cherish this opportunity, Valtava might leave at any time.

After all, he wasn't obligated to settle down in Magnolia.

After chatting with Mr. Lazio yesterday, Valtava had gained a clearer understanding of the pros and cons of living in Magnolia.

In Mr. Lazio's words, the presence of Fairy Tail was something quite peculiar to the people of Magnolia.

'Fairy Tail will protect your life, but you must always be cautious around Fairy Tail.'

It sounded like some kind of eerie urban legend, but this was the genuine sentiment of Magnolia's residents, born from years of accumulated experience.

Of course, Lazio wasn't trying to persuade him to leave Magnolia.

On the contrary, he sincerely hoped Valtava would settle down there.

Precisely because of his sincerity, he shared these insights that only true Magnolia locals would understand.

The existence of Fairy Tail brought many benefits to them—at the very least, any troubles could be resolved quickly.

Fairy Tail offered discounts to locals when they posted quests, so people were happy to commission even the most trivial tasks, knowing Mages would be willing to help.

For now, Valtava was leaning toward staying.

He planned to live here for a while longer before making a final decision.

"Did you bring your own instrument?"

Valtava asked Marco, noticing he wasn't carrying a lyre.

"Of course."

Marco opened his hand, and an exquisitely crafted silver lyre appeared in his grasp.

The instrument was so refined it looked like the textbook definition of a lyre.

Though lyres weren't a common instrument these days, they held significant symbolic importance—often used as the emblem for music, with their U-shaped silhouette adorning the signs of music stores.

"This lyre…"

Valtava's eyes widened as he stared at the lyre in Marco's hands.

With years of experience in this field, he could immediately tell this was no ordinary instrument.

It was extraordinary!

It didn't seem like something that should exist in this world.

Pulling out the Lyra Celestial Spirit key, Valtava summoned the spirit, Lila.

"Valtava, Marco, are we starting the lesson?"

Seeing the two of them together, Lyra blinked her large eyes and asked.

Then her gaze landed on the lyre in Marco's hands.

"Wow! What kind of lyre is that?!"

Lila let out a startled cry and immediately darted over to Marco, pressing her face close to the lyre with an expression of awe and admiration.

"Lila, how does this lyre compare to yours?" Voltava asked directly.

While he was quite professional, Lila was undoubtedly the expert, which was why he had called her out to examine it.

This lyre was beyond his comprehension.

"Well... the design is a bit different."

Lila immediately took several steps back, hugging her own lyre with a troubled expression, unwilling to make any comparisons.

She didn't want to admit this lyre might be superior to hers.

There were indeed differences between the two lyres—one was a small, the other a large one.

Marco's lyre had a more ancient design, resembling the celestial lyre hanging in the sky.

Lila's triangular-shaped lyre was larger, with more strings.

Objectively speaking, Marco's lyre was clearly the more authentic one—a seven-stringed lyre that had gradually fallen out of use, the true "Lyre" that matched the legend of the Lyra constellation.

"Are you skilled with this type?" Marco hesitated before asking.

He'd noticed earlier that Lila's Lyra constellation lyre differed from his own.

"Of course! Don't forget my name! I am Lila!"

Provoked by Marco's doubt, Lila jumped up excitedly to defend her reputation.

"That's reassuring." Marco smiled and nodded.

He hadn't meant to question Lila's ability—he genuinely knew little about music or lyres.

"Marco, where did you get this lyre?" Voltava asked curiously.

The instrument was so extraordinary that even Lila, the Lyra constellation spirit, was astonished.

Both he and Lila were equally intrigued.

"It's a product of my Celestial Spirit Magic."

Marco narrowed his eyes, his smirk bordering on arrogance.

His words sounded particularly "provocative" when spoken before the actual Lyra constellation spirit.

"..."

Voltava's expression turned peculiar.

He realized Marco was quite the grudge holder.

He'd deliberately asked Lila to teach Marco to humble this 'fake Celestial Spirit Mage', only for Marco to immediately counter with this magnificent lyre.

"Celestial Spirit Magic? Which spirit?"

Lila looked utterly bewildered by Marco's claim.

Puzzled, she asked if there was another spirit skilled with lyres.

"Of course Lyra. This is the lyre representing the Lyra constellation." Marco nodded seriously, his words making Lila's eyes widen.

"L-Lyra?!"

Lila was stunned, her mind flooded with conflicting thoughts.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

If this represents Lyra's lyre... then what am I?

Staring blankly at Marco, Lila's mind nearly short-circuited.

Could it be... she was actually a fake Lyra spirit?

"Alright, enough joking. Lila, why don't you play a piece? Let Marco experience the true power of Lyra's Celestial Spirit Magic."

Seeing Lila beginning to doubt herself, Voltava quickly intervened.

He didn't believe Marco's claims about Lyra's power—having known Lila so long, he knew exactly who the real Lyra spirit was.

"Oh? O-okay." Lila was jolted from her chaotic thoughts.

She responded reflexively, and at the mention of playing the lyre, the emotions in her heart instantly dissipated, replaced by joy and liveliness.

As an 'entertainment-type spirit', Lila had no other talents—playing the lyre and singing were her specialties, and her magic was woven into the melodies of her music.

Standing beside the lyre, Lila began plucking the strings.

The purest tones rang out, and with just the first note, it calmed the listener's emotions, compelling them to attentively savor the beautiful music.

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