episode_0006

The Village of Music, Melodyan

“It’s still amazing to see this…”

“Zeke-nim, are you planning to stay here? It doesn’t really matter to me, but I thought you were in a hurry.”

“Oh, right… Yes. We can’t waste any time…”

Aria reminded me why I had to hurry as I was examining the stone wall beside the Boyati road. Human life is finite. I couldn’t waste a single moment because I had to explore the world before I died. But… the strength of the Boyati stone wall was very intriguing. How could the ancients have built such a wall? Seriously…

“It’s still amazing to see that wall. Its strength is incredible. I can see why the monsters couldn’t break through it, but…”

“Hm?”

Honestly, Aria is more amazing than that wall right now. When I stared at Aria, her face turned slightly red, as if she was a little embarrassed, and she pursed her lips. If she was going to be like that, why did she show me that earlier…? Anyway… we finally arrived in Melodyan! As soon as we entered the village, various singing voices and musical instrument sounds could be heard from inside the village. Hmm~ What a truly beautiful melody.

“I can comfortably make records here, right?”

“Then will you visit the library first?”

“History is important, but the present appearance is also important. So, let’s look around the village and then go to the library.”

“…. Ah… Aah!!”

Suddenly, Aria fussed, covering her face with both hands. What’s wrong with her again…? Honestly, I could roughly guess why Aria was reacting that way, but I couldn’t understand such suddenness.

“What’s wrong again?”

“Th-th-then… just… just me and Zeke-nim… in the village… alone…”

“….”

With this, I learned one of Aria’s reactions. Or maybe it’s because I have no interest in romance at all…. Ah, wait. Aria doesn’t know this fact, does she? I should tell her before it gets worse… I’m sorry, Aria, but exploration is my priority.

“Aria. I’m sorry, but I…”

“You mean you’re not interested in romance, right? You’re going to say you’re asexual, aren’t you?”

…. Scary. How does she know everything?! Did I perhaps say it in my sleep…? No, Aria had been sleeping soundly next to me. Then how in the world does she know my thoughts?! When I showed a bewildered expression, Aria smiled and said to me.

“I can read Zeke-nim’s thoughts…”

“What… you have a thought-reading ability?!”

“Hehehe… From the moment I came to admire Zeke-nim, I’ve been continuously curious about you. I’ve analyzed every single one of Zeke-nim’s actions, you know? So that even if Zeke-nim doesn’t say anything, I can know right away…!”

…. That’s genuinely creepy. This means I can’t save people carelessly anymore…. Huh? Wait. But…

“But you refused my request earlier, didn’t you? Even knowing what I wanted…”

“But back then, I truly wanted to use my ability only for Zeke-nim. However, if there’s anything Zeke-nim wants, please tell me…! I’ll do anything!”

“…. Hahahaha… But I’m asexual.”

“It’s alright…. I’ll keep trying until Zeke-nim can love me someday…. Ahh… Zeke-nim… Zeke-nim’s smile is only…”

“You forgot about my parents again, didn’t you?”

“…”

I said, roughly guessing what Aria was about to say. It was clearly going to be some strange remark about monopolizing me again. Seeing Aria unable to speak and looking flustered, it seems I was right. Ugh… Let’s refocus on recording Melodyan.

The streets of Melodyan were overflowing with bards playing instruments and people singing. Moreover, because music is highly valued here, the quality of the instruments is said to be very good. Additionally, musical notation necessary for vocal music is perfectly established. Every month, a competition is held here to determine who is truly passionate about music. Well… I’ll have to find out when it is.

The residents of Melodyan are not just humans. Various races live in the Crentid World. So, in Melodyan, in addition to humans, the fairy race, known for their excellent singing, also resides.

Fairies have a similar appearance to humans but have antennae on their foreheads. They can also fly in the sky with insect-like wings on their backs. As for why fairies live in Melodyan…

“I’ll have to investigate now to find out…! Aria?”

“W-waaah… I don’t deserve to live… I forgot about Zeke-nim’s parents again…”

“It’s not a capital offense, so let’s go quickly. Didn’t you want to walk the road with me…?”

“Let’s go.”

Aria, whose body had sagged, suddenly grabbed my hand and looked forward. How fast. From her actions to her mood change, everything… her speed transcends humans. Well… if you’re happy, then it’s fine… Is her face really that red and is she drooling that much?

“Sigh… Let’s go. First, let’s stop by an instrument shop and find out what kind of instruments they have…”

“I’ve found out all the important places, Zeke. What kind of food the restaurants mainly sell, what the currency is, and…”

Seeing Aria fluently say what I was about to say, I instinctively knew that Aria was not an ordinary woman after all. Ah, right, she was a Saintess to begin with. But the gazes of the people on the street and the fairies caught my eye. Everyone was looking at Aria. While Aria had a beautiful appearance… a Saintess wearing a black priest’s robe wasn’t common… Huh?

“Zeke, people are looking at you. It seems information about you has spread here.”

Aria covered me with her whole body and spoke quietly. It’s because of you, Aria… People are interested in you because your clothes are unusual. Well, alright… let’s hurry and get going. I held Aria’s hand and headed towards the instrument shop I saw. As we entered the instrument shop, an old man welcomed me, then was surprised to see Aria beside me.

“Welcome… Hm?”

“Ah… her clothes are unique, aren’t they? Hahahaha…”

“Oh. Aren’t you perhaps the Black Saintess-nim? I heard someone with a kind heart was coming here…”

“Yes, that’s… Huh?”

What? Even an old man I’d never met before recognized Aria…. Wait. Then… did the people on the street earlier also know Aria? So they weren’t looking at Aria because her clothes were unique… but because Aria had become known in this village without us knowing?! When?!

“Did you perhaps meet the fruit merchant? That gentleman is an important person who brings fruits that can’t be obtained here every month. He has to arrive before the fruits spoil, and I heard the Black Saintess-nim helped him? Thanks to him, Melodyan’s music is known to be famous outside, so he’s a very important person to us. Thank you very much.”

That old man… was that important?! Wait… I’ve heard this before. Trade masters. They look like ordinary people, but they were the ones who helped complete the map of the Crentid World…. That old man was that kind of person?!

“Oh my. He was such an important person. Yes, that’s right.”

“If something happens to him, our village would be in big trouble too. He buys our village’s goods and sells them elsewhere. I also sold him a few instruments earlier because of that. Thank you very much. But who is the person next to you?”

“Ah… he’s my porter.”

…. What? Aria…. How could you say that…? Ah, I see. Aria doesn’t want me to become famous. So she passed me off as a porter…?

‘Hm?’

I saw the corner of Aria’s lips subtly turn up. And for a moment, I felt her gaze return to me. What is it? Does she want praise later? Because she helped me? Alright, I’ll give it to you later… I formed a circle with my hand that was lowered. Then I saw the corner of Aria’s lips move again. How did you know?! Your gaze was directed at the shop owner just now!!

“I see. Ah, is there anything you need from our shop?”

“Hmm… not yet. I just came because I was curious what kind of instruments Melodyan has.”

“Hm hm! I see! In Melodyan, we have string instruments, which are played using strings like this instrument. We also have wind instruments, which are played by blowing into them. And also…”

Aria was asking instead of me. She wanted to become famous instead of me. Since I disliked becoming famous, she sacrificed herself to draw people’s attention towards her instead. But you know what… Aria, wouldn’t I, your now famous porter, also become famous with you?

“That’s what we have. Do you happen to have Magrion region currency? Our Melodyan is part of the Magrion region, so we use Magrion currency.”

“Hmm… no, I don’t.”

“If you have other currency or monster magic stones, there’s an exchange office across from my shop. You can use that, but as a reward for helping that person, I’ll give you one instrument for free later.”

“Really? Is that person that important?”

“Extremely important! Oh, there are many bards on the streets, so listening to their music is also good.”

“Thank you very much. By the way, where is the library?”

“The library is past the exchange office, straight to the right. Please come again next time!”

“Okay, then! Thank you!”

Aria waved goodbye to the shop owner cheerfully, took my hand, and walked out. Then she smiled so widely her mouth seemed to split and said to me.

“Heh… hehe… From the middle, I said everything instead of Zeke-nim… D-did I do well?”

“Y-yeah. You did well…”

“Waaahhh… I’m getting praised again…”

“Don’t collapse again, let’s just walk on the street.”

I held Aria’s hand, who was about to collapse again, and we began walking down the street where bards were performing.

Most buildings in Melodyan are constructed from wood, while important structures are made of stone. The bards’ attire doesn’t seem to be strictly regulated. All residents of Melodyan wear long clothes. Since it’s winter now, it’s natural for everyone to wear long clothes. However, it’s not as cold as other places, nor is it hot. It’s a chill that’s halfway between autumn and winter. Fairies, perhaps having assimilated into human culture, were also dressed similarly.

“Wait… Aria, just a moment.”

“Yes?”

“Excuse me, Elder. May I ask you something?”

“Hm? What is it, young man?”

I stopped an old man who was walking down the street for a moment. My intuition told me that someone of his age would have lived in Melodyan for a long time.

“We’re outsiders, so we don’t know the climate here… Is it a place where it snows so little?”

“Hm? Ahh… you’re outsiders, so you wouldn’t know. This amount of snow is quite a lot here. This place doesn’t get much snow… In addition, while there is summer here, it’s not as hot as other places, so you could even wear slightly thinner clothes than what I’m wearing right now.”

Ohh… What a peculiar climate. Is it because it’s in the mountains? Even so, it’s surprising that it doesn’t snow much… The moment I started to feel interested in Melodyan, the old man spoke.

“But do you see that large crowd over there?”

“Yes? I do.”

A large crowd of people definitely caught my eye where the old man pointed. Did something happen? Why are they all gathered there?

“It seems there’s an excellent bard over there. How about you go take a look?”

“Hmm… Alright. Thank you for the information!”

“Yes… I hope you make good memories in Melodyan!”

The old man waved his hand and continued on his way. It’s not easy to meet such a kind old man… Anyway, a gathered crowd… I chuckled and said to Aria.

“Aria, shall we go?”

“Yes?”

“Let’s go see why people are gathered there.”

“Ah… Yes! Anywhere Zeke-nim wants to go…”

I held Aria’s blushing hand and headed towards the crowd. There were certainly many people. Around 50? What they were watching were three fairies singing. They were definitely good at singing. What a good song… People around them also began to admire the fairies’ singing.

“Wow… that fairy’s song is good…”

“Indeed…”

The song was truly beautiful. As the three fairies sang with their eyes closed and wide smiles, my heart also….?!

*A gasp!*

I nearly screamed. Aria next to me was smiling. But seeing her smile with a dark shadow on her face, I immediately moved. I quickly grabbed Aria’s hand, got away from the spot, entered an alleyway, and then said to Aria.

“You…”

“Hehe… As expected, Zeke-nim… You can even read my thoughts now…”

“You were jealous of those fairies… Huh?”

Just as I was about to tell Aria that she was jealous of the fairies, I saw Aria puffing up her cheeks and her eyes welling up with tears. What kind of reaction is this now? The moment I was flustered, Aria said.

“I can sing well too! Better than those fairies!”

“Oh… yeah…”

“Waaahhh!! It makes me angrier that you don’t believe me! Come here!!”

“Huh?!”

Aria suddenly grabbed my arm and started dragging me out of the village to a plain. Am I going to die like this?! Am I going to decorate only two pages of my exploration journal and then leave this world just because I thought a fairy’s song was good?! When we arrived at the plain, Aria made me sit on a large rock and stood some distance in front of me.

“I’ll only sing this for Zeke-nim!”

“Uh… yeah…. But what?”

“Hehe…”

What is she going to do now? Aria smiled, closed her eyes, and clasped her hands together. What in the world is she going to…? Huh?

“….!!!”

As Aria opened her mouth, a beautiful melody flowed from her. It had no lyrics, just “ahh” sounds, but it was incredible… Didn’t she say she lived a secluded life? Aria’s singing skill was amazing, comparable to the fairies’ vocal performance I just heard. If she had an instrument, she could have become a bard. As Aria sang diligently for me, a smile unconsciously appeared on my face, and I quietly listened to Aria’s song, not wanting to disturb her so she could finish well. When Aria’s song ended, I clapped and said.

“Yes, you’re amazing, Aria. I admit it. You sing well.”

“…. Hehe… I’m a little embarrassed. I never imagined I’d be singing after what happened. But… I worked hard for my beloved Zeke-nim. Zeke-nim… I love you.”

“… Uh… yeah.”

But please stop the shadow on your face from deepening every time you say you love me? It’s scary… Alright… Now that I’ve heard Aria’s song… it’s time for real work, isn’t it?

“Aria. First, we have enough money. We just need to exchange the magic stones we brought. Let’s get Magrion currency at the exchange office, and then find Melodyan’s history in the library.”

“Understood! Let’s go quickly!”

Perhaps feeling refreshed after singing, Aria became even more excited, took my hand, and headed back to Melodyan. Aria’s mind is still unstable. She suddenly received distrust and contempt all at once, and eventually her country was destroyed. I hope that through me, Aria’s emotional wounds can heal even a little… But it’s scary… We obtained Magrion currency at the exchange office, paid money at the library, and began searching for Melodyan’s history books. As Aria and I worked together, a sufficient number of books were gathered in just two minutes.

“Oh. That’s quite a lot. Thanks for your help, Aria.”

“Yes… hehe… Ah, Zeke-nim, are you going to stay here?”

“Huh? I am.”

“I have somewhere to stop by for a moment, may I be excused?”

“Oh? Uh… I can do the recording by myself.”

“Yes! Then…”

Aria picked up her Saintess’s staff, which she had leaned against the table, and left the library. What’s going on suddenly? For Aria to suddenly leave my side. Well… with Aria, nothing serious will happen. I opened a history book, inwardly worried about Aria.

“There were a lot of people today, weren’t there?”

“Yeah! I can’t believe this method actually worked…”

In an alleyway, three fairies were talking. They were the same fairies who had just sung amidst the large crowd. The red-haired fairy woman, the green short-haired fairy woman, and the yellow-haired fairy woman were speaking with mischievous smiles.

“Riera, where did you learn that method?”

The yellow-haired fairy asked Riera, the red-haired fairy. Riera then said,

“They say something like that happened in the past. But now, it’s forgotten, and no one knows about it! Only outsiders know this! And did you see him earlier? The man carrying a big backpack!”

“I saw him! I saw him!”

“He’s definitely an outsider…! And there were more outsiders like him, weren’t there?”

“That’s right! If we use this again later, we’ll get rich quickly! Rich-looking outsiders have come too, you know!”

“With a Siren’s song, you mean?”

*Gasp!*

Suddenly, a woman’s voice was heard, greatly startling Riera and the other two fairies. As footsteps drew closer, the fairies swallowed hard and began to tremble with fear. And the woman who emerged from behind the building was none other than…

“Right?”

Aria, smiling with a very deep shadow cast across her face.