Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: The Frigid Melody

At the Mountains of Music pt. 2

"Good evening, gents!" Jack collected their dirty plates onto her tray as she spoke. "Can I interest either of you in a drop of Dutch courage?"

The Professor took a few moments to mull over the proposal.

"It's a kind offer," he replied, "but no thank you-"

"Got any grape juice?"

Layton's heart sank. He had hoped they could avoid imbibing tonight, especially with Mr Wright's daughter right there in front of them both.

The innkeeper seemed confused by her customer's request.

"Do you mean wine?" she asked. "I have plenty of wine downstairs. We have vintages from-"

"Nah," said Phoenix. "Grape juice. The non-fermented stuff."

Jack's eyebrows knotted in bafflement.

"Hang on a moment," she said, and pointed at her bar. "I'll have to check."

"Thanks," Phoenix responded, and turned to his daughter as their host disappeared behind her bar. "Trucy, you nearly done?"

"Give me one more second!" Trucy snatched a card off the table from where she had set it in waiting. "You should know this by now, Daddy! Magic takes a LOT of prep!"

"Sorry, yeah, okay." With that, Phoenix turned back to the man sitting across the table from them both. "Professor, you were saying? About the tower in the middle of that village? St Mystery?"

"St Mystere, Mr Wright," Layton corrected, "although I understand the confusion."

Phoenix just scoffed.

"My only confusion is about how a village could have a name so on-the-nose," he said. "Do you get it? It's mysterious!" He wiggled his fingers at the Professor with his spookiest "Ooooooooooh~"

The Professor couldn't help but laugh at his mockery.

"Yes, it can be a little strange for the uninitiated," he admitted. "My suspicion is that the name, combined with the isolated setting, was to ward off wayward travellers who might overstay their welcome if they were to visit."

He sat up a little straighter. It had been a long day and he didn't want to top it all off by giving himself a sore back.

"But anyway," he said, "Luke and I finally entered this tower and immediately fell through a hole and into the cellar."

"What?!" Phoenix didn't bother trying to hide his laughter, which seemed deafening in a tavern as quiet as this.

"That sounds like a Dungeons and Dragons trap!" cried Trucy.

"Yeah, you..." It seemed Phoenix had difficulty speaking between his chuckles. "You should've had Luke roll a trap check before you went in!"

His friends' amusement at the anecdote caused Layton to smile himself, even though various other patrons of the King's Arms were staring at them with mixtures of annoyance and confusion. Apparently they wanted a quiet night.

"With the benefit of hindsight, it is quite clear that we should have expected it," he agreed, and cradled his chin as he always did when he was thinking. "Yes, I believe that should be Rule #1: when entering a mysterious looming tower, avoid using the front door."

Phoenix stifled his laughter long enough to look down at Trucy again.

"Hey, Truce, make a note of that," he said to her. "Breaking-and-entering life hacks direct from Professor Layton himself!"

Trucy snorted hard into the cards she was sorting.

Layton, meanwhile, gave a polite tip-of-the-hat to the villagers who were tossing glares in their directions.