Land of Music
Satou here. I don’t have a musical bone in my body, but I used to go to a lot of concerts and recitals with friends or my girlfriend. Although my friends said my singing was so bad that I usually just listened when we went to karaoke.
“The breeze feels really nice.”
Arisa leaned against the main mast and closed her eyes.
After leaving Sherifardo State, we were traveling by sea toward Myusia Kingdom, which covered most of a large island off the southeast coast.
This time, in hopes of avoiding trouble, we left discreetly using a sailing ship of mine.
“Are you sure it doesn’t matter to you where we go?”
“Aye. Thou shalt take us to any land of tasty morsels and happiness.”
Karion nodded at me.
To my surprise, the two goddess girls were happy to go anywhere with fun things to do and food to eat. I was expecting her to request one of the nearest nations with central temples—either Pialork Kingdom, home of the Zaicuon Temple, or Aubehr Republic, home of the Tenion Temple.
“Music is a splendid thing. It soothes the soul. Thou shalt listen, too, Urion.”
Karion was listening raptly to Mia’s musical performance.
“It’s the greatest achievement of human culture,” Arisa commented, snickering. I knew she couldn’t resist the chance to reference a famous anime, although the face she made while she did it was a little off-putting.
“Tasty. Alcohol soothes the throat. Thou shalt drink, too, Karion.”
Urion, meanwhile, was drinking down some rum.
She seemed to have somehow acquired a higher alcohol tolerance, no longer turning bright red whenever she drank.
“This fruit juice is more delicious, I declare.”
“The banana juice is yummy, too, sir!”
Nana and Pochi recommended their favorite drinks.
“Tasty. Thou shalt drink, too, Urion.”
“If Karion sayest so… Mm, tasty.”
Urion pressed the bottle of rum she was holding into my hand.
I guess she liked the fruit juice better.
“Isn’t there alcohol and juice in the divine realm?”
“No. ’Tis a world filled with light, unlike the mortal realm that is bound by matter.”
“So it’s like a higher dimension?”
“There is no ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ dimension. The number of dimensions and components are simply different.”
“Huh. Well, whatever that means, it sounds like you don’t have food in the divine realm either, huh?”
“We’ll have to introduce you to lots of delicious meals, then!”
Arisa looked sympathetic, while Lulu rolled up her sleeves.
“Fishiiie?”
“A big fish, sir!”
Liza, who was fishing at the stern of the ship, reeled in a huge skipjack tuna.
Tama dashed over and dove onto the tuna, flopping around along with it. Pochi came later since she was holding onto her egg and reached out to pin the fish down as well. However, the diminutive pair couldn’t quite hold it down on their own.
“I shall assist you, I declare.”
Nana held the big fish down, and Lulu ran over and made quick work of it.
I guess we’re having some tuna dishes for lunch.
“So this is Myusia Kingdom?”
“Yep. That big building over there is the famous great concert hall, or so I gather.”
The great concert hall was where Mia wanted to go most.
True to the kingdom’s reputation as the “land of music,” there were street musicians even at the pier, being paid for their performances in daily installments.
When we first arrived at the island, Pochi declared that the music was “good for the feeties, sir,” only to quickly give in to the temptation of tasty scents and run over to a food cart selling baked goods. Food really is the way to that girl’s heart.
“Mystical sound.”
Mia strained her ears, listening to a distant note.
“Just hearing it makes you feel happy, you know. It’s really quite amazing. It’s true, you know? I wonder what kind of instrument it is. Arisa, Satou, do you know?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I’d guess a string instrument…? It sounds oddly familiar.”
“It reminds me of a harp, but a harp wouldn’t make such a deep sound… What could it be?”
The sound seemed to be coming from the great music hall, so rather than using the Space Magic spell Clairvoyance to peek at the answer, we decided to go see for ourselves.
The two goddess girls were too focused on the baked goods they’d bought with Pochi and Tama to listen to it closely anyway.
“Hm-hm-hmm, hm-hmm…”
Mia seemed to be enjoying the Myusia Kingdom, where musicians were performing on almost every street corner. Ever since we’d set foot on land, she was clearly in a great mood, humming to herself as she skipped along.
Her hood slipped off in the process, though she didn’t seem to mind.
“The Musical Saint…?”
“Say, isn’t that Saint Solulunia?”
On seeing Mia’s face, the passersby murmured to each other.
If they were mistaking Mia for her, this “Musical Saint” must be an elf.
“Candy cart.”
“Pochi will buy some, sir!”
“Baked good seller.”
“Tama will buuuy?”
There were stalls, stands, and vendors selling sweets all over the place. Baked goods and candy must be popular here.
“This sweetness doesn’t quite taste like sugar. It’s not cloying even if you eat a lot of it, and the aftertaste is very mild. Maybe they don’t use butter for the batter?”
Lulu was completely focused on cooking research.
“Looks like there’s a shop over there. Why don’t we take a quick look?”
Lulu and I went to check out a place that sold groceries.
“Sugar? We’ve got the kind from sugar coral, sure. We’re a wholesale store, so it only comes in big bags here. There are shops by the town center that sell ’em in smaller units—maybe that’d be more your speed?”
The salesperson was nice enough to let us taste test the sugar-coral sugar and point us toward other buying options, but it seemed like a great option for making pastries, so we bought a bunch of bags. Apparently it was subject to a heavy tariff if you brought it out from the harbor.
He went on to explain that sugar coral was a poisonous coral that only grew around this island. The royal family had a tight hold on the refining method that nullified the poison; if you wandered too close to the refinery, you’d be arrested by the guards. Whew, that was close—I might’ve gotten lured into trouble by following my nose, like I did with the sugar mill in Lalagi.
“What is that?”
Wandering around after we left the wholesaler, Karion spotted something.
“It’s a candy house, sir! I can tell because it smells sweet, sir!”
“Cuuute?”
It really did look like a house made of candy.
“Looks like it’s a café.”
“Why don’t we stop in for a bit?”
The goddess girls were already charging into the shop before I even started speaking.
As always, once something caught their interest, there was no stopping them.
“Hm-hm-hmm.”
“Wow, there’s music in here, too.”
In one corner of the adorable café, a musician was playing a relaxing tune on a contrabass-looking stringed instrument. According to my AR display, this was the owner of the shop.
Evidently it was a popular spot—there were lots of customers enjoying pastries and tea.
Many of them were young women, though there were a decent amount of older folks and male customers, too.
“Tasty morsels.”
The waitress looked confused by the goddess girls’ extremely vague demand. I placed an order for a big platter of the most popular pastries.
Many of them were the same kind of pastries we bought from the food carts and vendors, but the higher prices here also meant higher quality: There was plenty of butter and cream that gave them a nice moist texture instead of the slightly disappointing dryness of the street versions.
The crepes and galettes filled with local fruit preserves were delicious, although I did find myself wishing they were topped with whipped cream.
Just then, the pièce de résistance was brought to our table.
“Fantasticooo?”
“Wow, a sugar sculpture? It’s almost too pretty to eat.”
The carefully spun sugar shapes were as delicate as any work of art.
“Sugar sculptures aren’t meant to last, so please do eat them once you’ve admired them with your eyes.”
The waitress who’d brought over the sugar sculptures giggled and left.
“Tasty. Blessings be upon this shop. Karion says so, too.”
“I did not. But I agree. ’Tis worthy of many blessings indeed.”
The goddess girls waved their hands, glowing vermillion and crimson, and curtains of light rained down on the café and the kitchen.
The customers, waitresses, and the owner all blinked in surprise at the sudden miracle.
I wasn’t sure what effect the light might have, but if word got out to the worshippers of these two goddesses, the place would be even more swamped with customers. At least it would definitely stay in business.
“Great concert hall.”
Mia gazed up at the large dome-shaped hall, her face full of anticipation.
After enjoying our fill of pastries at the café, we decided to make our way to our main destination in this kingdom.
There was a big crowd gathered outside the great concert hall.
“I’ll go buy our tickets, Master.”
Liza set off on her mission.
Tama followed after her, swift and silent as a shadow, probably as part of her ninja training.
“…Canceled? What do you mean, the concert is canceled?”
My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up murmurs from the crowd.
“You’re kidding me! I was so looking forward to this concert, too…”
“Apparently the saintly instrument isn’t tuned properly.”
“Dear me, is that right? I know the tuning officiant is away with the Musical Saint at the moment, but the officiant has plenty of apprentices, no?”
“I heard the Fantasmic Tuning Fork was stolen.”
“Oh my, how dreadful.”
It would be a damn shame if we couldn’t see a concert at the great concert hall after coming all this way.
With that thought, I used my map search to look for the Fantasmic Tuning Fork. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found in this or any of my previously visited maps. I would bet that the culprit was stashing it inside an Item Box, a Magic Bag, or something of the sort.
“Master…”
Liza returned with the same information I’d just learned via my “Keen Hearing” skill.
“Satou…”
I felt tugging on both of my sleeves. One was a disappointed-looking Mia, while the other was Karion, looking more annoyed than anything.
“Thou shalt resolve this at once. Urion says so, too.”
“I did not. Thou shalt not imitate me, Karion.”
It was another outrageous demand from the goddesses, albeit with the usual roles reversed.
“I’ll go see if I can be of any assistance, although I’m pretty tone-deaf myself.”
Hopefully my “Tuner” title and maxed-out skills like “Magic Tool Tuning” and “Musicianship” would allow me to help somehow.
“Mia, can you help me?”
“Mm. Got it.”
The help of the music-loving Mia should be more than enough.
Together, we all headed for the staff entrance that led to the executive offices of the great music hall.
“Pardon me, but this area is for authorized personnel only. If you’re looking for a ticket refund, please line up at the ticket booth over there.”
A security staffer stationed at the entrance politely stopped us from entering.
I didn’t want to get too dependent on the goddess girls’ divine commands, so I figured I’d make it work with my “Fabrication” skill somehow.
“Let us in.”
Before I could open my mouth, however, Mia lowered her hood and spoke up.
“M-Miss Musical Saint!”
“Wh-what is Saint Solulunia doing here?!”
“Wro—”
“Please, do come in. Everyone! The Musical Saint has returned!”
Before Mia could correct them, the security staff members opened the door and hustled us inside.
“Okay.”
Without hesitation, Mia started walking down the hallway.
Well, I guess that saves us some time, at least.
“Saint Solulunia… No, you’re not, are you?”
“Mm. Mia.”
Mia calmly introduced herself to the pretty woman who came running down the hall.
“I take it you are an elf, at least. Are you perhaps from the same homeland as Saint Solulunia, by any chance?”
“No.”
Mia shook her head, much to the woman’s consternation.
“Hello, my name is Satou. This is Misanaria of Bolenan Forest. We heard there might be some issues with the tuning of the saintly instrument, so we came running to see if we could help in any way.”
“Bolenan Forest…,” the woman murmured. “Very well. Yes, an elf may be able to tune it. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.”
Somehow, the combination of my “Fabrication” skill and the elves’ reputation won out.
“Pardon me for not introducing myself sooner. I am Lalabel, director of the concert hall.”
The woman introduced herself as she led the way.
“Sounds like a magical girl name,” Arisa muttered.
“This is the saintly instrument, Bellaluula.”
The director led us to the hall containing the saintly instrument in question.
I ignored Arisa’s whispered “So close!” since I had no idea what she was referencing this time.
“Très bieeen?”
“It looks like a spiderweb, sir.”
“A spiderweb would have crosswise threads, I observe.”
The saintly instrument turned out to be a sort of harp with long strings radiating outward.
The longest string looked to be around fifty yards long. There were five points where the strings converged; a harpist sat at each of them, adjusting the sound.
The person holding a baton in the front must have been conducting the tuning, I guess?
“There are twenty-five strings on each. The sound changes not just from the tension of the string but from the amount of magic flowing through it as well,” the hall director explained.
“No, no! I give up! It’s impossible to tune all five seats!”
The man conducting the tuning clutched his head and shouted in despair.
“He passed out.”
“Oh no, sir!”
The man hit the floor with a thud.
An assistant hurried to his side.
“Take him to the doctor’s office, quickly!”
At the director’s command, staff members carried the man away.
The harpists who were working on the tuning slumped down in their seats, looking equally exhausted.
After ordering other staff members to take care of the harpists, the director turned her attention to us.
“I apologize that you had to see this sad state of affairs. We’ve always depended on the Fantasmic Tuning Fork to tune the saintly instrument. Without it, I’m afraid we can’t tune it to a satisfactory level at all.”
“Speaking of which, I heard the Fantasmic Tuning Fork may have been stolen?”
“Yes, the culprit was wielding a whip and dressed all in black.”
Wielding a whip, wearing all black…
That matched the description of one of the thieves who stole the Green Dragon’s Egg in Dragu Kingdom.
“Was this whip-wielding person a woman by any chance?”
“Do you know who it is?!”
“No, it’s just that a similar incident occurred in Dragu Kingdom. I thought it might be the same culprit.”
Multiple dragon eggs and a Fantasmic Tuning Fork…
Whatever these people were up to, I couldn’t help being increasingly concerned since they seemed to be causing trouble everywhere we went. Hopefully Sorijeyro the Sage didn’t leave some terrible legacy behind…
“Satou.”
Mia tugged on my sleeve.
It looked like she wanted me to hurry up and tune the thing already.
With a few words to the director, I walked up to the now-abandoned saintly instrument.
“The saintly instrument Bellaluula must be played with these gloves—the Instrumentalist’s Touch.”
The director sat down and demonstrated how to play the harp.
It had a profound, beautiful sound.
“Now then, if you could begin the tuning…”
At her prompting, I sat down and donned the white gloves.
I had a faint feeling of the gloves absorbing a small amount of my magic power. They seemed to be the conduit to set off the magic power stored in the strings and create a magical vibration.
With the help of my “Musicianship” and “Magic-Tool Tuning” skills, I tried playing the harp.
Although I didn’t pick up on the blockage that often caused problems with Magic Swords, tools, and items, there was inconsistency in the quality of the strings. I wasn’t sure if that was intentional or a result of deterioration over time.
“Mia, can you play this?”
“Mm. Got it.”
Mia manipulated the strings of the saintly instrument with ease; she must have learned the knack just from watching the director.
After plucking each string experimentally like I did before, Mia began playing an elf tune that she frequently performed on her lute—then stopped abruptly.
“This string, this string, and this string. And when you play these two at once, this string…”
She pointed out the same few lower-quality strings that I’d noticed, as well as a few other strings that sounded slightly off during certain chords.
“There’s no problem with this combination, though?”
“Mm. On purpose.”
Thank goodness I asked Mia for help.
Otherwise, I might’ve messed with a part that didn’t need fixing and made things worse.
Based on the information Mia gave me, and with help from my maxed-out skills, I set to work tuning the harp. It probably would’ve gone much faster if I had any sense of pitch whatsoever, but since nothing can change the fact that I’m terminally tone-deaf, I managed it with Mia’s cooperation instead.
“I think that should do it. Mia, test it out, please.”
“Mm.”
The rest of us sat in the audience at the director’s request while Mia played the harp.
Oh, wow.
When I was tuning it, all it produced were deep tones that resonated deep in your belly. Under Mia’s hands, however, it turned into a different beast entirely.
Incredible. So this is what the saintly instrument is supposed to sound like…
Each note rang out with perfect clarity, yet they never clashed with each other, echoing in harmony to create music with unmatched depth and dimension.
The smooth sequence of sounds washed over my body like waves, wrapping me up in a satisfying rhythm.
At some point during the performance, other players sat down at the remaining four seats and began to play in time with Mia’s melody.
No doubt the ability to improvise to an elven melody they’d probably never heard before was unique to only the most skilled professional musicians.
Pochi, Tama, and Nana began humming along with the familiar base tune, while Arisa led the others in singing along with them.
Soon, clear voices rang out from behind us, vocalizing in harmony with the others. Judging by their outfits, they appeared to be a children’s choir.
Though this lacked some of the solemn grandeur of the initial performance, the lively chorus was a better fit for the original melody’s cheerful tone.
At some point, even Karion and Urion started singing along. Their spellbinding voices coupled with Mia’s captivating performance was deeply moving to all who heard it.
So this is a musical collaboration between gods and mortals…
I sank deep into my seat, listening closely to the wonderful performance with all my heart.
Yeah, this is one experience I’ll never forget.
“Buh-byyye!”
“See you next time, sirs!”
As our ship set sail, we waved back at the people waving to us from the harbor.
“Lady Miaaaaa!”
In the distance, a group of Mia’s fans were waving a big flag.
For three days after we finished tuning the saintly instrument, the director convinced Mia to perform as the star of several concerts; she was praised throughout Myusia Kingdom as the second coming of the Musical Saint. They even formed a fan club for her.
“The sweets were delish, but the sightseeing left something to be desired.”
“Nah, I wouldn’t say that.”
I thought this kingdom was fun. The street performances were great, and eating fine pastries while listening to live musicians was a pleasant combination.
And even when Mia was just playing an improvised tune, nearby children would join in singing in chorus, which was always nice.
“Where to next?”
As soon as the harbor of Myusia Kingdom was out of sight, Karion demanded to know our next destination.
Her serious expression lacked a bit of gravitas, given that she was also licking a giant lollipop from Myusia Kingdom.
“Good question. The closest stop on our route would be Valauris, the pleasure city…”
“No.”
“Yeah, absolutely not!”
I mentioned it because I was intrigued by the name, but the iron pair immediately shot down my proposal.
“Intriguing.”
“I require a detailed explanation of this ‘pleasure.’ Thou shalt answer at once.”
The goddess girls looked very interested indeed.
“No, no, you two wouldn’t like that sort of thing at all.”
“Mm. Lots of miasma.”
Arisa and Mia frantically tried to talk them out of it.
Alas, their argument convinced the goddesses, and we wound up charting a course away from the pleasure city of Valauris.
As our journey continued, we bought up tons of mithril in a mining nation, found an island full of sea birds and seaweed and cooked a delicious dish of both served with ponzu dipping sauce, and fended off the occasional pirate attack.
“Puff, puuuff?”
“There’s smoke coming out of the mountain, sir!”
A volcanic island came into view up ahead.
“Yeah, that’s our next stop.”
It was Blacksmoke Island, the rumored home of the samurai general Pochi said she wanted to meet.
Since we didn’t get to meet the master swordsman who lived on Titan Mountain, which was north of the mining nation, I was hoping things would work out better with the samurai general.
Avoiding the reefs and whirlpools that obstructed our approach, our ship finally approached the harbor of Blacksmoke Island.
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