#83
Elven Kingdom (3)
“Haaah... What on earth am I doing?”
Shapiron was waiting for Harris with her group members in an open space on one side of the academy, letting out a sigh.
Despite having spoken so confidently, he had asked for a day to prepare what he needed, and yet even as the appointed time drew near, there was no sign of him appearing.
‘As expected, that man... I don’t like him.’
Harris, the man her proud father had picked up after going to the Ion Continent, fell short of her standards in many ways.
She disliked that vacant face of his, always drooping with languor whenever she saw him...
‘A mercenary is one of those, right? The kind of people who run errands for others for a few coins, and the moment things go wrong, turn straight into bandits.’
Her knowledge was based on fragmentary information she had only heard from storybooks or rumors, but to her right now, that was not particularly important.
‘And he said it hadn’t even been long since he learned spirit arts, so his skills couldn’t have been that outstanding either.’
For Shapiron, who had been born into a good family and shown exceptional talent from a young age, one’s level in spirit arts was inevitably equal to one’s martial power.
To begin with, in elven society, spirits were inseparable companions, so it was not exactly a wrong way of thinking either.
‘I acknowledge that he struggled to survive on that wretched Ion Continent, but in the end, he’s still nothing more than a savage who never received a proper education.’
In her mind, all regions other than the Elven Kingdom, where the World Tree stood, were no different from barren hinterlands.
Of course, she knew that the forces of other continents were powerful.
After all, there was a considerable difference not only in the size of the continents but also in the scale of their military strength.
However, in terms of culture, she took pride in believing that the Elven Kingdom was the finest in the world.
Music and art, architecture, literature...
‘Of course, in fields like sculpture and architecture, the dwarves are a little, just a very little, exceptional... but that’s simply a difference in direction. It absolutely doesn’t mean we are lacking!’
It was a mindset steeped in ethnocentrism to the very bone.
Having lived in a warm greenhouse, receiving only consideration and affection from those around her, and hearing only pleasant and beautiful words, it was only natural in a way.
That was why Shapiron had no particular interest in the song Harris said he would prepare.
How impressive could a song passed down from such a cultural backwater possibly be?
‘But... but why did Father and the World Tree favor such a man...!’
As she thought about him, anger surged up in her again.
She was a chosen existence.
Her mother came from a prestigious family that had been with the kingdom since its founding, and her father was a high elf.
She herself had also been born with the aptitude of a high elf, and from childhood, she had displayed that talent and received the expectations of everyone around her.
Because of that, she had never once doubted that she would become a high elf.
She was undoubtedly the center of the world, and the protagonist who would lead a new era!
‘Father’s bracelet... well, fine! It’s irritating that it ended up in the hands of a man like that, but if it was a fair price, then there’s nothing to be done.’
Since that was payment made in the course of a mission, it could be compensated for at the national level.
What truly angered her was something else.
‘...Even I have never received that much attention from the World Tree! ...Hmph!’
He was not someone like Cecily, who already possessed the qualifications of a high elf. Like her, he merely had the aptitude, and yet he had personally received a branch from the World Tree.
‘I’m better than that man in every way...’
That was what set fire to the jealousy of a girl with such strong pride in herself.
She kept fiddling with the ring on the middle finger of her left hand, quietly suppressing her anger.
“Ah! It’s Harris. You’re late! We were waiting!”
At that moment, Tiemer, who had been wriggling alone between the gloomy Shapiron and the timid female group member Curie, brightened and waved his hand.
From the far side, Harris was approaching with his usual languid expression, carrying something on his back.
“Ah, I’m sorry. It took a little time to prepare beforehand. I’m truly sorry for making you wait.”
“No, it’s fine! We actually didn’t wait that long. I was just a little bored!”
Seeing the two converse so amicably made Shapiron’s mood twist even further.
“We don’t have any more time. We still haven’t even decided what kind of stage we’re going to put on. For now, shall we take a look at what you prepared first?”
As she said that, she summoned an intermediate wind spirit and blocked off the sound around the clearing.
It was an action done with a certain degree of goodwill.
After all, it would be unpleasant for a member of the same group to be embarrassed in front of others.
She truly had not the slightest expectation of Harris.
Since it would be awkward to simply ignore something he had gone out of his way to prepare, she intended to just check it perfunctorily as a formality and move on.
‘Accommodating someone only has meaning if they’re above a certain level. Still, if he turns out to be fairly decent, I can at least teach him harmony somehow and put him onstage...’
Shapiron, who was sincere about music, began to plan the stage by herself, pondering how a beginner could blend in without making it obvious.
“Wow! What’s this? It’s an instrument I’ve never seen before, but it looks kind of like a lute...”
“Ah, this is called a guitar, something used in my hometown...”
She could hear Harris, who was preparing his demonstration over there, chatting about something with Tiemer, but lost in her own thoughts, she paid it no further attention.
“Thank you for waiting. Actually, I did bring an instrument, but this alone isn’t enough to properly enjoy this song.”
Only then did Shapiron stop thinking about other things and stare at him with her arms crossed.
In order to decide exactly how to compose the stage, she intended to first confirm his level.
“So I prepared a magic tool with the instrumental sounds recorded in it. Of course, something like this won’t help with communing with spirits, but right now, this is just a demonstration.”
She inwardly snorted and observed Harris with cold eyes.
He held a bead-shaped magic tool in one hand, and a strap attached to an instrument resembling a lute was slung over his shoulder.
‘...Huh? What is that instrument? It looks pretty.’
Her mind, which was quite knowledgeable about instruments, momentarily wavered, but she gritted her teeth and maintained her expressionless face.
‘I should have asked earlier! ...It’s too late now, isn’t it?’
Having no choice, she decided to casually look for an opportunity to ask later, and for now focused on maintaining her dignity.
“The title is ‘An Adventure to Find Myself.’ It’s a song by a famous bard from my hometown named Biz... and it was a song my father liked very much.”
After saying that much, Harris summoned his spirits, activated the magic tool in his hand, and set it down to one side.
“Then, I’ll begin.”
And then...
—Ziiing~♪ Jing~♪
A sharp sound began to leak from the magic tool.
At the extremely unfamiliar sound of the instrument, Shapiron’s brow furrowed for an instant.
She had never heard of an instrument that made such a sound.
‘And the way the music develops is... unusual?’
~♪
Amid the sounds flowing from the magic tool, the sound of the instrument Harris was carrying blended in.
Each time his hand plucked the strings, natural force spread out and resonated with the surroundings.
And that vibration slowly came into harmony with the spirits summoned around him.
Within the atmosphere that was gradually rising...
“To the very end of that white sandy shore~♪”
The song began together with the cheerful music.
The resonance contained in that powerful voice made the surrounding energy stir and surge.
Exciting music and a bewitching tone that suited it wrapped around the clearing they were in.
The eyes of the other group members, who had been tilting their heads at a style of music they had never heard before, slowly widened as well.
‘Hm? This is...?’
And it was no different for Shapiron.
It was completely different in nature from the music they had performed until now.
It was radical music that conservative people who valued tradition and formality would have no choice but to feel repulsed by.
However...
~♪
As she fell into sync with his intense voice, her heartbeat slowly began to quicken.
That cheerful rhythm made her shoulders rise and fall before she realized it, and the violent sounds resonated with the surrounding natural force, shaking her heart.
‘Wait, something’s strange. My emotions are being moved this much? Don’t tell me...?’
Like spirits, elves were beings who had no choice but to be greatly affected by natural force from birth.
It was not for nothing that they worshiped the World Tree and regarded spirits as companions.
Yet the waves of energy that began from that man named Harris had gone beyond an ordinary trajectory.
The emotion contained in his singing spread through natural force, forcibly assimilating the elves, who could not help being sensitive to it, into that emotion.
‘Ah... this, how can he move natural force to this extent with singing alone...?’
Unlike his usual appearance, when he always seemed devoid of energy, the Harris of now was exuding vitality from his entire body along with the music.
And the pull contained in that singing ruthlessly shook the surroundings.
Her emotions leaped wildly, and some unknown force seemed to be drawing her into that music...
And... it was simply exhilarating.
~♪
The spirits of lightning and fire flashed and emitted brilliant light, while the spirit of wind whirled and spread sound all around.
Likewise swept up in that emotion, the spirits synchronized with Harris, who stood at the center of the stage wearing a pleasant smile, and spread their presence to the surroundings.
“Oh! Wow!”
“......!!”
Before she knew it, the two audience members other than her were drunk on that emotion, waving their hands toward him and responding excitedly.
‘...I acknowledge his skill, but still, the songs of our Elven Kingdom are more...!’
Just as she struggled to maintain her composure.
Her spirit, which had been blocking the surrounding sound, began to stir little by little as it synchronized with the energy contained in that singing voice.
It was not to the point that the soundproof barrier broke down, but a being that was an intermediate spirit was reacting to another person’s song, not even its own summoner.
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
~♪
But before she herself even realized it, both her ears were constantly perking up in time with the beat.
‘...Now that I listen to it, it isn’t that bad. The direction is different, after all! To begin with, it’s foolish to rank superiority and inferiority in art.’
Without realizing it, she was thinking thoughts that denied her previous self, but right now, that was nothing more than a trivial matter.
***
‘Wow, elven voices are seriously overpowered.’
Harris inwardly marveled as he finished the final verse.
He felt like he understood why they took such pride in their singing.
Their tone went without saying, and even the structure of their vocal cords seemed different from that of humans, allowing them to freely move through vocal ranges. The affinity that flowed along with his voice synchronized with the surrounding natural force, further amplifying its effect.
‘Though honestly, I think that’s thanks to “Child of the World Tree.”’
His already strong affinity with nature had been amplified even further through the medium of song.
Naturally, his original objective of communing with the spirits was also extremely successful.
He was already receiving responses through the connection, and he could feel them wriggling as though they might grow at any moment.
‘Still, I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.’
He had sung a few times for practice before coming here, but this was the first time he had tried it in earnest.
Because of the time difference with Earth, he had barely had enough time just to record the song into the magic tool, get a new guitar, and revise the lyrics.
“Wow! Harris, you’re amazing! This is the first time I’ve ever been this immersed in a song! The song is unfamiliar, but it’s exciting and nice!”
After the song ended, Tiemer and Curie approached him, their eyes sparkling as they kept exclaiming in admiration.
‘To think the response would be this good.’
He had worried a great deal during the process of selecting a song.
Since elven songs generally had many sweet and lyrical aspects, he had thought it would be difficult to satisfy them with a similar genre.
‘So I deliberately chose an exciting song, something I hadn’t seen in the Elven Kingdom until now.’
Though he had shown them the song because Shapiron’s attitude had gotten under his skin, he had not thought that he would be able to put this song onstage.
After all, wouldn’t it be more efficient for one person to match the other three than for three people to match a song they were hearing for the first time?
He had merely wanted to shock them with a different kind of song and show that he was capable of at least this much...
“Let’s do this one, this one! If Harris sings this song on a properly prepared stage, it’ll get an incredible amount of attention!”
Nod, nod!
“We can imitate the instrument sounds similarly using wind spirits and natural force! I think I can make that drum sound!”
Tiemer made a fuss, and beside him, Curie silently nodded along.
As they had been swept up by Harris’s emotions, the song seemed to have lodged firmly in their heads.
At that moment, something flashed through his mind.
‘Karma is given according to the influence one has on the world.’
Then what was that influence?
‘Anything.’
Whether positive, negative, violent, or gentle.
Whether accompanied by force, achieved through political power, wielded through wealth...
Or even if it was “culture,” it did not matter.
‘Dance and song are part of the elves’ lives. Then what if I can influence that? And if it doesn’t stop there, and I can spread culture throughout this entire world through them?’
On top of that, as could be seen from them right now, the synchronization of natural force through “Child of the World Tree” was a talent that worked unmistakably on elves.
If he only used it on a proper stage, it would even be possible to forcibly lead a trend.
He would become the protagonist and bring about a transformation of the world not with a sword, but with art.
If done properly, it would become a more efficient source of karma than anything else.
‘This... is good.’
The beginning was them.
Tiemer, who continued chattering in front of him, and Curie, who agreed with him.
Even Shapiron, who was hesitantly approaching from a little distance away.
A deep smile slowly formed on Harris’s lips.
“Now, then... shall we begin discussing in earnest how we should decorate the stage?”
In the meeting that followed, the song to be performed at the festival was decided unanimously, and the stage composition proceeded very smoothly with everyone’s cooperation.
There were now only five days left until the festival.