“Saria-neesan! Where are you?!”
I searched high and low throughout the castle for Saria, but she was nowhere to be found. Usually, she’d be playing music somewhere nearby. Was she taking a nap?
“Master Lloyd, over there! At the top of the tower!”
Following Jiriel’s gaze, I looked up at the tower. There she was—Saria, staring melancholically out the window.
“Wait... something looks wrong here, doesn’t it?!”
“I-It looks like she’s about to jump at any second!”
Just as the two of them said, Saria was leaning far out of the window. If she kept that up, she’d fall straight to the ground. This was bad.
“Tch!”
I instantly willed myself into Flight and soared toward her. I caught her just as she lost her balance and was about to tumble, then landed us safely on the windowsill. Phew, that was close. I’d barely made it in time.
“...You startled me. What do you think you’re doing, Lloyd? That was dangerous.”
“Uh...”
I’d just saved her, and yet I was the one getting scolded. Talk about irrational.
“No, well, I thought you were about to fall, Saria-neesan, so I tried to help...”
“There’s no way I would do something like that.”
“...Fair point.”
Now that I thought about it, there was no way Saria would ever do that. She’d probably just been chasing a butterfly or something and wandered onto the ledge in a daze.
“...Are you thinking something incredibly rude right now?”
“I-It’s just your imagination. Ahaha...”
I tried to laugh it off, and Saria sighed as she watched me.
“...No, actually, it might be exactly what you feared. I didn’t intend to do it consciously, but maybe I really was about to throw myself from the window...”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I... I can’t play instruments anymore.”
Saria wore an expression I’d never seen on her before. The sorrow in her eyes told me she was dead serious.
“Y-You’re joking, right?! Saria-tan, the one hailed as the possessor of the Divine Melody, can’t play instruments anymore?! That’s impossible! It can’t be! It’s a lie! It has to be a lie!”
Jiriel sounded like he’d broken.
“Setting aside this moron angel for a second... if the Sister’s story is for real, this is a major concern,” Grimo noted. “She’s spent her whole life on music, so it wouldn’t be strange for her to feel like ending it all...”
“Man, and I finally finished the song, too. Now I can’t even have her play it.”
If the song I’d put so much work into couldn't be used, I was in a real bind. A replacement for Saria wasn’t exactly easy to come by. I had to do something about this immediately. Grimo looked at me with a face that said, “No, that’s not the problem here,” but that was a common occurrence, so I ignored him.
“Is it true? You really can’t play?”
“Yes. When I try to play, my fingers won’t move... I suppose it’s trauma.”
Frowning, Saria trailed her fingers over the piano. She held her hands above the keys, but that was it. Her fingertips trembled rhythmically, and after hovering in the air for a long moment, they ultimately pulled back.
How could this be? Saria, the prodigy of music, paralyzed in front of a piano... It was hard to believe, but it seemed to be the truth. She really couldn't play.
“...After that performance, I suddenly became unable to play. I tried my best, but it was no use.”
“By ‘that performance’... do you mean the Holy King Welcome Festival?”
Saria nodded. Come to think of it, she had seemed a bit off ever since the Live Fest was decided.
“Can’t you do something about this, Master Lloyd?”
“That’s right! If it’s Master Lloyd, surely he can do something with magic?!”
“Hmm...”
If it was a wound of the heart, I might be able to manage something using Mind System Magic. However, that kind of magic could backfire if I didn’t deeply understand the target’s heart. And, not to brag, but I’m not exactly great at understanding people’s feelings. Considering she might never play again if I messed up, it was too dangerous to interfere.
I stood there in silence, unable to find the words to say to Saria as she stood there with a sorrowful profile. Suddenly, a presence emerged in the room.
“Well, well, pardon me for interrupting.”
Turning toward the voice in the hallway, I saw the Holy King leaning against the open door.
“T-The Holy King?! Since when have you been lurking there?!” Grimo barked.
“Waaaaagh! Is this your fault?! I will never forgive you!”
An enraged Jiriel looked ready to pounce. I was surprised, too. I’d assumed he’d already headed home... Had he come to finish off Beal after all? But why now?
The Holy King gave me a flippant smile as I stood there confused.
“Hey now, don’t be so wary. I’ll get scared if you make such a terrifying face. I’m a die-hard pacifist, you know?”
“Did you come to finish off Beal...?”
“No. My business isn’t with the Demon King, and certainly not with you.”
“? Then with whom?”
“With that lovely Glasses Girl over there.”
The Holy King turned his gaze toward Saria. Ignoring her wide-eyed surprise, he continued.
“You’ve become unable to play, haven’t you? That’s probably my fault. So, I thought I’d apologize.”
“...Are you saying the reason I’m like this is because of you?”
“Yeah. The song I played probably reached you across the dimensions. My Magical Song, ‘Song of Peace,’ is a melody that breaks one’s fighting spirit. I thought it would be fine if you were in a different space, but... well, I suppose your talent was just too great.”
Saria looked confused, but having been at the scene, I understood. A Magical Song that could make even the Demon King Beal—the literal embodiment of fighting spirit—kneel; its effects had reached Saria even though she was outside the barrier.
It was true that Saria’s music always held a powerful will, something that could be taken as fighting spirit. The fact that she was always trying to get me to do music might have been because she was seeking a rival. Isha just purely loves singing, so she probably lacked that competitive edge Saria wanted.
“I’m usually quite careful, but it was an emergency, you see. So, uh—my bad! ☆”
“I don’t know about any of that, and I don’t care.”
Saria spoke bluntly and grabbed the Holy King firmly by the lapels.
“Fix it. Right now.”
“...That’s impossible. At least not within a few days. This power isn’t omnipotent. If there’s a possibility, it would be finding a different motivation... well, it’ll come back eventually. It’s not like you’ll die if you can’t play music, so why not just take a break for a while...”
“I’m not listening to excuses.”
She yanked his lapels even closer. Her eyes were quiet, yet burning. She looked terrifying.
“Saria-tan is incredibly angry... but didn’t the Holy King break her fighting spirit?” Jiriel whispered.
“Maybe she’s like this despite it being broken,” Grimo replied. “I guess the Sister’s feelings toward music are even greater than that. She’s no joke.”
Saria had been dedicated to music for as long as I could remember. It wouldn’t be strange for her to possess an extraordinary fighting spirit. But I felt there was more to it than just that.
“If it was just me being unable to play, that would be one thing. But this Live Fest is something everyone built together. I absolutely cannot let it fail. Do something, I don't care what!”
—I see. This Live Fest was a festival that Birgitte planned, Albert prepared, and Dian and the others were participating in. Saria was the star of that show. Even if she couldn't perform, I'm sure no one would blame her, but Saria herself couldn't forgive that.
Perhaps overwhelmed by her intensity, the Holy King began to stammer.
“No, look, I have every intention of doing whatever I can for you, okay? I came to apologize because I feel responsible, despite how I look. That said, there are things I can do and things I can’t...”
“—Hm? Did you just say you’d do anything?”
As I stepped in, the two of them froze. A great idea had occurred to me. It was a masterstroke that would save the festival and satisfy my own curiosity. In fact, it might be even better than the original plan. Hehehe.
Suppressing the urge to smirk, I turned back toward the Holy King.
“Y-Yeah... but as I said, a wound of the heart won’t heal immediately.”
“That’s not it. There’s only one thing you need to do. You’re going to perform in the Live Fest in Saria-neesan’s place.”
The Holy King blinked in blank surprise. The same went for Saria, Grimo, and Jiriel.
“In other words, you’re the one who’s going to perform.”
“Whaaaaaaaaat?!”
At my words, everyone cried out in unison.