"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...
'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."
"Huh, praising me for something so trivial won't get you anything. It's only natural, after all. Ufufu"
As soon as their joint performance ended, Shariphon's lips curled up and her pointed ears twitched happily from the flood of compliments.
'But really, this is amazing.'
While all the members were exceptional, Shariphon's contribution stood out in particular.
After borrowing a magical device recorded with music from Harris, whom she had previously ignored, she delved into it with an obsession.
In just two days, she analyzed every characteristic and scale of the instruments, coming up with the most efficient alternatives for them to play.
She seemed to grow more haggard with each day, to the point where one might wonder if she was sleeping at all, but her eyes sparkled more than ever.
"Still, it's a shame we couldn't reproduce it perfectly. That sharp 'zing' sound is too tricky... I'd like to see the actual instrument if it exists."
Despite saying this, the level of the alternative sound she proposed was incredibly high.
With the help of spirits, natural forces, and magic, they tuned the sound of the instruments, creating something similar yet uniquely charming.
The result differed significantly from the original, but its essence remained.
'It feels like a collaboration between Earth and another world's civilization, which I like.'
I regretted that I was the only Earthling who could appreciate this.
Just the thought of revealing it to Earth made me excited.
'Well, it seems a bit early for that. But it would be fun to do so later.'
With that, the first practice session, after acquiring and tuning similar instruments, ended.
Naturally, it was a success.
[Through repeated training, you have gained enlightenment. Skill 'Melody of Harmony' acquired.]
It couldn't have been better.
The effects of the newly learned skill were immediately evident in the next practice session.
"Wow... Harris, what was that all of a sudden?"
Clap, clap, clap
"Wait... How did you do that? The natural power in your voice felt... refined all of a sudden? And the effect was much stronger..."
Harris smiled contentedly at his teammates' enthusiastic responses.
"Ah, I had an epiphany while singing."
"What, what is it? How can you do that...?"
Shariphon hesitated for a moment as she hastily asked back.
Though she had come to acknowledge him through their joint practices recently, making her approach towards him more cautious, she felt embarrassed due to her previous
behavior towards him.
"I can't really explain it well. It's just something I do by feeling. Haha..."
Since I couldn't reveal that it was due to the "Melody of Harmony" skill, I vaguely brushed it off. After all, I couldn't teach her the skill.
"......"
Her face momentarily fell upon my answer, but she quickly
returned to her usual demeanor.
Although she disliked showing weakness, maintaining her usual haughty expression, her eyes were notably dimmer than before.
'Did she think I didn't want to teach her?'
Or perhaps it sounded to her like I was boasting about a talent disparity.
Observing her over the past few days, it seemed she harbored a significant competitive spirit towards me. Maybe even a sense of inferiority.
"Whew, did everyone catch where we went wrong earlier? Let's try again with more focus. And you, don't just stand there, get ready quickly!"
Her strong self-love seemed to help her recover quickly, as she led the practice with more vigor than usual.
Their practice, thoroughly soundproofed to keep their festival performance a surprise, lasted late into the night.
And Harris's "Melody of Harmony" not only influenced his singing but also showed great synergy with its original purpose of communing with spirits.
The lowest-ranking fire spirit "Kali" and the wind spirit "Pascal" had evolved to a lower rank...
"Wow... that, that..."
"Shh! Keep it down!"
While his teammates watched, Harris focused on something in front of him. A small spirit, causing ripples around it, quietly floated before his eyes.
'Could this be...?'
A "Sound Spirit," not of the elemental realm but of the phenomenon realm. Even with his limited experience as an elf, seeing a non-elemental spirit in the Elven Kingdom was a first for him.
'Maybe because I haven't traveled much.'
Though he learned in his spirit magic education, non-natural spirits were extremely rare.
It was a being that required a separate talent from natural affinity to make a contract, and now it had appeared before Harris.
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.