I'm a Immortal Tavernkeeper, But My S-Rank Daughter Doesn't Know That!

With the strings of the guitar still reverberating softly under his fingers, Victor looked at Wanda and saw her looking expectantly at him. So, with a simple smile on his lips, he began to softly sing a song she liked, accompanying himself with the guitar:

"Chatting away~ No clue what I should say." began Victor, his husky voice filling the tranquil forest air. "But I’ll spill it anyway"

Victor was a warrior, he was created to be that in this world, a demon killing machine, but Victor was also a human with hobbies and playing the guitar was the only thing in common between the Victor of this world and that of Earth.

"Just another day to track you down..." continued Victor with his deft hands guiding the melody of the song as he sang. "Backing off, But I’ll chase your love, you know. Come on and join me."

Mari Dundragon, touched by the sincerity and passion in the younger Victor’s voice, quickly became emotional. That song, at that moment, with the way Victor looked at Wanda, was more than just a melody; it was an emotional link that connected them in a unique and special way.

"Take me in your arms~ I’ll be outta here. In a day or so~... No need to explain."

He looked up at the starry sky above, as if glimpsing a horizon of possibilities before him.

"I’m a bit of a mess, that’s true~ But I’ll keep moving on~" Victor took on a softer, more reflective tone. "Figuring life’s not so bad~ Repeat after me, Wanda..."

"Chatting away~!" Wanda and Victor began to sing together, one voice so hoarse and thick, the other high-pitched.

Mari listened to every word with admiration, feeling connected not only to the music, but also to Victor’s essence.

That song was a revelation to her, revealing layers of Victor’s personality that perhaps not even Luísa Selvarum knew. She looked over and saw old Victor with his eyes glazed over at the scene and a closed smile on his face. It was clear to see the connection he felt with that song and with that moment when he and his daughter sang together.

"Now I remember this night..." He whispered to Mari. "I miss this time."

The last notes of Victor’s guitar from the past echoed softly through the forest as Mari, Wanda and old Victor listened intently. The younger Victor’s soft, reflective voice echoed through the trees, and Mari could feel the sincerity and vulnerability in his words.

When Victor sang the last note and looked at Wanda with a simple smile on his lips, Mari felt a shiver run down her spine. However, before Mari could say it out loud, old Victor looked at Wanda and then at Mari seriously and said:

"It’s time to go," he decided.

Mari frowned, surprised by Victor’s sudden decision, but she understood and followed him. "Where are we going this time?" she asked.

Victor stretched out his hand towards the empty space in front of him, an invisible handle appeared in the air and a door quickly materialized. "Let’s find out..." he said.

However, they had no idea what was to come.

When they crossed the threshold of the door, they were transported to a completely different scene. Unlike the peacefulness of that memory in the forest, in this new memory the sky was filled with black storm clouds, but there was still sunlight, which seeped into the memory through a huge tear between the clouds in one part of the sky, as if they had been carried by a military fighter plane.

Mari and Victor found themselves on top of a ship that was rocking violently with the huge waves of the stormy sea around them.

Shouts of fury echoed from all sides, as did the sounds of the ships’ cannons being fired and swords clashing. They were in the middle of a naval battle.

Victor looked at the scene and remembered the place without difficulty. "We have to get out of here now, Mari!" he exclaimed, overlapping the noise of the wind and the sea.

Mari looked at him, perplexed: "Why? What’s going on?"

Before Victor could answer, a roar echoed from the sky and shook everything. Mari looked up and saw from the tear in the clouds a huge dragon make a stooping movement, diving out of the sky to attack the ships with a blast of flame.

"A... GOLDEN DRAGON?!" cried Mari, her voice filled with awe at the sight of the dragon’s gold-colored scales.

Victor grabbed her hand firmly and pulled. "We need to get out of here before it’s too late!" he said, pulling Mari towards the door that had brought them to this chaotic place, but the door suddenly disappeared.

At the same time, even bigger waves than before began to crash around them, as the Golden Dragon’s roar shook the sea.

The ship they were on rocked, collided with another ship and before they knew it, they were falling into the rough sea. However, before they actually fell into the water, Mari realized that she was the one in control of the experience, it was her magic that allowed Victor’s memories to be explored. So Mari closed her eyes and deactivated the magic, and immediately their consciousnesses were transported back to her laboratory.

Old Victor felt extremely tired, to the point that it brought him to his knees. He looked at Mari, who was leaning on the table behind her, and she asked:

"What just happened?"

"I think we’ve gone too far."

Victor struggled to rise, but the pain in his chest was like an anchor, pulling him down. Suddenly, that same whispering voice of the hooded being he saw just a few days ago invaded his mind.

"You’re mine, Victor... I won’t let intruders get in the way of my love..."

Mari, seeing Victor’s distress, quickly approached him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Victor, what’s going on?"

Victor shook his head, trying to shake off the oppressive feeling. "The voice... from before..."

"Voice? What are you talking about?"

What Victor was feeling was identical to what he felt when he tried to tell Robe about his ability to return from death, as if there was a hand wrapped around his heart and this hand was slowly crushing it.

"You’re mine, Victor darling... You can’t escape me... Not now, not ever...!"

The pain in Victor’s chest grew stronger and then disappeared.

Mari watched as the hero’s eyes froze at a specific point in the room, then blood began to trickle down the sides of his mouth, nose and eyes.

By then, Victor’s heart had already been crushed and once again Victor returned, this time only a few moments before, when Mari and he had just arrived in her lab.

"So, Victor," Mari began, addressing him seriously. "You said you’re facing a curse. Can you tell me more about it?"