Chapter 84

Chapter 84

"Welcome, Sir Heinrich!"

Heinrich forced a smile at the sight of Saint Liesta greeting him with a beaming smile.

After a considerably long period of training with the Radiant Guardians' Paladin Order, Heinrich had been promoted from a lower to a higher rank of paladin, and with this promotion came new duties.

These duties were quite different from his previous assignments.

'I never imagined I would become the personal guard of a saint.'

This was, of course, a result of strong intervention by the saint herself and those above her.

Until now, the saint had not needed a guard because she had stayed within the sanctuary of the Rosellia Cathedral, but with the Immortal King resurrected, it was clear that such arrangements could not continue indefinitely.

"Of course, the reason I chose you as my personal guard is not just for that. I thought you needed more personal time than time spent learning your duties!"

Certainly, while the saint remained in the cathedral, there was no need for a guard, so there would be much more time for training than before.

"And after a certain amount of preparation, there is something you must do."

"Something I must do?"

"It's unlikely that the Immortal King, despite being weakened, would just hide quietly. He must be plotting something from the shadows."

Even though the Immortal King did not actually exist in Outerica, Heinrich simply nodded seriously.

"We must prepare to counter him using all means at our disposal. And there is one very important thing among those means..."

The saint continued calmly, then took a deep breath and spoke with a determined look.

"To obtain the holy sword."

"The holy sword...?"

"Yes, to definitively defeat the Immortal King, we absolutely need the help of the holy sword."

She looked at Heinrich with sparkling eyes and repeated with a voice full of conviction.

"Sir Heinrich, you must prepare for the trial to obtain the holy sword."

***

Swoosh Thud!

The arrow, like a hawk, flew past the branches and pierced the target sharply.

[You have gained enlightenment through repeated training. Skill 'Fairy Law' acquired.]

A system message appeared before his eyes.

Harris, who was in the tree, sighed lightly and slowly lowered the bow he had been aiming with.

"Well done. You've completely removed the scent of humans from the fairy law. It's incredibly hard to change habits that have been long established, but you've done it."

The archery instructor, sitting on a branch of the adjacent tree, slowly clapped his hands.

"It's all thanks to your excellent teaching. Thank you."

With the instructor's gentle smile and further encouragement, the day's training came to an end.

However, Harris was unable to return to the dormitory as he had planned...

"Harris! Let's go practice!"

"Ah, Timmer. I was hoping to go back to the dormitory to wash up. I need to put away the bow as well..."

"Huh? Oh, right. Harris, you don't have a water spirit! I'll help you! Come on, we don't have time to waste!"

"Ah, ah..."

Caught up in Timmer's burning enthusiasm, Harris was dragged away.

Thus, led by him, they arrived at the practice area where the other female members were already waiting.

"Everyone is here. Shall we start today's practice?"

"Mm."

With only two days left until the Drasha Festival, Harris realized one thing for sure while preparing for the performance with his fellow members.

The elf race was more serious about 'music' than he had thought, and...Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

'Is it really possible to do this in just three days? To tune it to fit the existing instruments?'

It was a fact that they had overwhelming talent.

Given the limited time, I hadn't expected a perfect reproduction of the original pieces.

Harris could sing, but it seemed impossible to follow a song played on completely unfamiliar instruments within such a short timeframe.

'But it was possible.'

I had been content with introducing a new genre for this stage.

Even with the help of his team members, he thought the limit would be simply keeping rhythm with simple instruments like he had demonstrated...

"Hmm This is quite listenable."

"Wow! This is all thanks to Shariphon! The most promising talent of Drasha Academy, the best diva of this generation. I've heard of her fame, but I didn't know she was this good!"

"Truly...amazing."

Like a choosing cat, it circled in front of him, seemingly wishing to make a contract.

'A Sound Spirit... what an unexpected gain.'

Not wanting to miss this opportunity, Harris cautiously reached out his hand towards the spirit. As their intentions aligned, the contract was swiftly made.

"From today, you're 'Decibel'."

Harris's fourth spirit was the Sound Spirit "Decibel."

***

Working in the same group as Harris allowed Shariphon to shed her prejudices against him.

In truth, she had been begrudgingly refusing to acknowledge him until now.

But now, she had no choice but to recognize him.

'...His affinity and skill in handling natural powers, and to think he's contracted with four spirits despite having learned spirit magic not so long ago. And one of them is a Sound Spirit?'

Seeing the natural forces and affinity swirling around him when he sang, Shariphon had guessed as much, but his rate of growth was nothing short of miraculous.

It was enough to understand why the World Tree showed interest in him...

"Ugh... Can't help it. If he's that capable, I suppose I can acknowledge him as my rival..."

After her unilateral declaration of rivalry, she found herself involuntarily circling around Harris, observing him closely.

After all, the importance of information in dealing with an opponent is undeniable.

Murmurs and whispers filled the air on the second day of the three-day festival, backstage at a stage set up in one of the squares.

But there was something particularly bothering her.

"Wow! It's right next to the central square, isn't it? We'll definitely get a lot of attention here, right? Even the high elves might come to watch us!"

"......"

The contrast between Timmer, who was excited even in this situation, and Curie, who quietly bit her nails, was stark.

'She seems to be in pretty bad shape?'

Shariphon's gaze, which had been observing Harris, shifted towards Curie.

Until the practice, Curie had seemed perfect, so Shariphon hadn't paid much attention, but now that the actual performance was drawing near, she seemed shaken.

Just as Shariphon was about to talk to her in an attempt to have a conversation...

Harris, who had been lounging lazily against the railing as usual, approached her.

"Are you very nervous?"

"......"

Curie took deep breaths and nodded quietly.

Looking around and not saying a word, just like the first day they met, Harris just scratched his head quietly, looking at her.

"What do you think about the song we prepared? It's good, isn't it?"

She didn't respond, but Harris continued talking regardless.

"When we were practicing, what did you think? Were you

nervous then? Worried about making mistakes?"

This time, her head quietly shook from side to side.

"When I was practicing, I think I was just really excited. It was fun. I was looking forward to seeing how others would react to our song."

A smile gradually spread across Harris's face as he continued speaking in front of her.

"The song we prepared is exciting, isn't it? When you're immersed in music and having fun, don't all other thoughts just disappear?"

His voice had a strange resonance that began to ripple through Curie's stiff, nervous heart.

"Don't think about anything else. Just remember the feelings you had during practice. Just come down after having fun like that."

It might not have been the most polished encouragement, as if he wasn't used to comforting others, but...

Despite speaking plainly, his voice had a peculiarly lyrical quality that involuntarily drew attention.

Just like when she was deeply absorbed in singing during practice, his words helped Curie recall the emotions she felt at that time.

Her expression gradually relaxed, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.

Her eyes sparkled, and her cheeks flushed as if she was recalling that moment.

And Shariphon, who had unknowingly been drawn into his voice, snapped back to reality and looked at Harris anew.

'That's unexpected.'

He didn't seem like someone who was particularly eloquent, but there was a persuasive power in his words.

Seeing him take care of a nervous team member made him seem different.

"Prepare for the next stage, please~!"

Of course, those thoughts quickly vanished.

Their stage was coming up next.