Ch.106106. The Boy Who Cannot Comfort

As news spread that Spiritmaster Deus Verdi had begun to move in earnest, rumors of his presence in Claren, the city of artists, quickly spread throughout the kingdom.

Since some time had passed since the Great Debate, the buzz wasn’t as intense as before, but still, many eyes turned toward Claren as this controversial figure made his first public appearance since returning to the Academy.

Bishops and nobles alike were on high alert, closely monitoring his movements.

But what Deus Verdi actually did in Claren was propose an event for the Artists’ Day festival, unique to the city.

Some criticized him, claiming he was pretending to be an artist, indulging in self-absorption and artistic delusions.

Others speculated that Deus must have some hidden reason for revealing himself.

But the person most displeased with his casual revelation was a woman staying at a moneylender’s office.

That person was Dina, a monster tamer belonging to Dante, a secret society of Black Mages tasked with saving the world.

From Dina’s perspective, the current situation was infuriating.

“That bastard! After hiding so thoroughly, he just shows his face like this?!”

As she smashed the desk with her fist, the moneylender Volfras’s expression crumpled to the point of tears.

Volfras had always been in the loan shark business. While not exactly ruling over all of Claren, he was the leader of a reasonably competitive gang.

But his life began to change when he caught the eye of Dante.

Claren, where monsters born from artists’ delusions were endlessly produced, was good prey for Dante, and while establishing a foothold, they also extorted money from moneylenders as a side benefit.

However, they weren’t forcibly taking everything from the moneylenders.

Dante was lending them power in return—specifically, teaching them how to leave marks on people who borrowed money.

Thanks to this, moneylenders could track down debtors even to the ends of the continent, which was the driving force behind Volfras achieving a 120% collection rate.

The reason it was 120% was because most who tried to escape ended up with their organs cleanly emptied.

Since human lives were worth quite a bit, they could usually collect more than the principal.

Should the money left after paying the debt go back to the debtor?

When they’re already dead with all their organs sucked out, what would there be to return?

Even if just taking the liver would be enough to repay the debt, this was a place where they’d extract the heart too.

Anyway.

Since Dante members only came occasionally, Volfras thought it was a profitable business that only required occasional appeasement.

But this time was different.

After learning that the Spiritmaster named Deus Verdi was in Claren, Dina had been staying continuously.

So he had no choice but to be on edge every day. Especially recently, her mood had been very poor.

“Argh! I was hiding it from the other members, but now everyone knows! I wanted to have a taste by myself!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

She completely destroyed the already half-split desk with relentless pounding.

“Huff, what is it this time? What did they say? What’s he planning to do?”

As her crimson eyes glared at him intensely, Volfras answered quickly.

“A-a masquerade festival, I heard! Artists disguise themselves as their own creations and enjoy the festival!”

Deus’s proposal, which might have seemed forced, was receiving better reviews than expected.

It was not only a unique festival found nowhere else, but artists could also showcase their creations without pressure.

With only a few days left, artists were forgoing performances to focus on preparing their works for display that day.

“Haa, what strange hobbies our Spiritmaster has.”

Muttering this, Dina felt suspicious.

“…Is it really just for that?”

The Spiritmaster had shown his first movement since the Academy break. Did he really reveal himself simply because he had a good idea for the Artists’ Day event?

“Come to think of it, he’s a Black Mage just like me.”

Especially since he was said to be a necromancer with incredibly sharp senses. Insane talent that allowed him to detect even the smallest souls that most Black Mages couldn’t properly perceive.

“Then he must be able to see all the monsters in this land too?”

Dina could see some of the stronger monsters, but not all of them.

That’s why she needed that boy who could attract monsters by playing the piano.

“Heh, hehehe. I don’t know exactly what he’s planning, but I get the gist of it.”

Looking out the window, Dina drew a sinister smile on her lips.

She thought that regardless of what menu was being prepared, she might be able to crash the feast the Spiritmaster was setting up.

* * *

“Huff, huff.”

With Artists’ Day approaching soon.

All artists in Claren were working hard to showcase their works and become them directly.

Because of this, the music that had been playing in Claren day and night temporarily ceased.

Yet Owen continued to play the keyboard diligently.

Since that day, debt collectors had stopped coming, and he was saving all the money he earned from playing.

Moreover, the landlady of Leon Inn had heard Owen’s story and, feeling sorry for him, offered him a room at a cheap price, so he had sold the house he had lived in with his grandfather, which had been difficult to maintain, giving him some financial leeway.

Perhaps because of this.

Recently, playing the piano had become truly enjoyable.

He stands again at the piano in front of the central fountain. Late at night, people pass by without much interest, but Owen sits down with a composed mind.

He places sheet music on the stand, but he didn’t really need it. He just put it there in case of unexpected situations.

“Hoo.”

Gently closing his eyes, he softly presses the familiar keys.

As one sound pops out, other sounds begin to follow, and soon they seep into the city as rhythm.

And the monsters come pouring in.

Already, the rough breathing of monsters could be heard around him. He could tell they had been waiting.

Usually, their grotesque appearances frightened him so much that he had developed a habit of closing his eyes while playing the piano.

As the boy pressed the keys out of habit, the Spiritmaster’s words flashed through his mind.

‘Soon all the monsters will disappear. Until then, do your best.’

“My best.”

The boy continues to press the keys. While doing so, he slowly opens his eyes.

Though his shoulders tense at the bizarre monsters gathered around the piano.

He knows that while they have come close, they won’t harm him or the piano.

So.

Owen carefully turned his head.

The small boy takes in the grotesque audience that has come to hear his performance.

A monster with hands on its eyes, a monster with teeth so large it can’t close its mouth, a monster with dozens of hands, and so on.

They were beings with frightening appearances, but Owen forced himself to speak.

“Soon I’ll have to say goodbye to you all.”

A murmur buried under the piano sound that no one could hear.

But the monsters look at the boy as if they understand.

“The Spiritmaster said he would help somehow.”

What emotions do they hold?

They come to hear his performance to vanish of their own accord.

Why do they come to him with such sadness?

“Ah.”

The answer was unexpectedly in their eyes. The information in his head and what his eyes were showing merged, leading him to the truth.

Despite countless performances and their visits.

He had never understood until now, as the end approached.

“You knew you were causing harm.”

These strange monsters born from the mixed desires and wishes of artists.

Though they hadn’t wished to be born, they knew their existence was harming the dead.

So they wanted to disappear.

They wanted to receive comfort through piano music and naturally fade away.

They wished for suicide.

Realizing this, Owen felt sorry for the monsters gathered around him.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t grant your wish.”

Emotion flows into the keys.

“I’m sorry for my inadequacy.”

Even now, even if just a little.

Could he not send off even one of them?

With such a wish, the boy continued playing sincerely, but.

Before long, the performance ended with the last key press, and the monsters nodded as if to comfort Owen instead, then scattered again.

In the end, until the very last moment.

He couldn’t comfort a single one.

He couldn’t even properly give death to monsters who had chosen death for the sake of others.

Acutely aware of his own inadequacy, Owen lifted his hands from the keys.

“Not at all…”

A bitter taste lingered on his tongue. In front of the piano, with no monsters or people remaining.

Owen expressed his honest feelings.

“It’s not enjoyable anymore.”

It was the moment when the piano, which he had enjoyed all his life, became something he disliked.