◆
To take things back a little further, Saria, who had been bedridden, suddenly opened her eyes.
The room was dim, but from the distance, she could hear the echoes of various musical performances.
"…Right. It’s about time for the Live Fest to begin."
She pulled herself out of bed, her legs wobbling as she tried to make her way toward the venue.
"On!"
Supporting her was Shiro. The beast rubbed its fluffy fur against Saria’s legs to steady her.
"Shiro… are you going to take me there?"
"On!"
"Thank you."
Saria patted Shiro’s head as it licked her face, then she climbed onto its back. Like the wind, Shiro raced toward the festival grounds.
The venue was enveloped in an extraordinary heat, a cacophony of voices and music reaching her ears. She strained to listen for Isha and the others, finding them almost immediately.
That translucent, crystal-clear voice belonged to Isha. The one matching her with such dexterity was likely the Holy King. And the percussive sound layering over them—could it be castanets?
"It’s likely Lloyd."
In the sheet music he had shown her before, there had been gaps. If those gaps were meant for castanets, then it all made sense.
However, the path to the stage was so packed with people that it seemed impossible to proceed while riding Shiro.
"Thanks, Shiro. This is far enough."
"Whine."
Saria hopped down and headed toward the stage with light steps. Her body felt incredibly light, as if her recent illness had been nothing but a dream.
It truly was a magnificent performance. A worthy substitute for her… no, it was even better than that.
While she felt a pang of jealousy alongside her relief, she found herself drawn forward as if pulled by a vacuum.
"Now that I think about it, that man in the black hood said I needed a motivation other than just competitive spirit to play again. He told me to find my origin."
Following the Holy King’s advice, she had tried to dig up her memories before collapsing and waking up in bed.
"But in that moment, I felt like I was on the verge of grasping something… Ngh!?"
Saria winced as a sharp headache flared. She couldn't quite recall it yet, but she felt as though the answer was within her reach. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she knew it lay just ahead.
Driven by a sudden impulse, she rushed toward the stage and finally arrived.
—♪
What leaped into her sight were Isha and the others performing atop the strange golem her brothers had built. The Holy King was there, and Lloyd was as well.
As she suspected, the one behind those castanets was indeed Lloyd.
Watching him perform, a long-forgotten emotion welled up from the depths of Saria’s heart.
—Yes, it went back to the day Lloyd was born.
A festival had been held in the city, the air filled with celebration for the birth of a new prince. That day, Saria had been invited by her older brothers to sneak into the room to get a glimpse of their new younger brother.
While her brothers were excited, Saria alone had remained indifferent. She already had many siblings; what did one more matter? To begin with, Saria didn't have much interest in other people.
But in that moment, she happened to look up—and the sky burst.
A ball of fire soared high into the air, and a massive explosion followed. Her brothers’ eyes widened in shock at the roaring, burning sky. However, Saria was captivated by the sound it produced rather than the fire itself.
—♪
It was a melody unlike anything she had ever heard. Of course, it was technically just the sound of an explosion. But from the depths of that sound, she felt a powerful, overwhelming intent. It was as if something was making a fierce declaration of its desire to master everything.
Before she knew it, Saria was listening intently to that burning passion. For the first time in her life, she felt a sense of defeat. It was an impression deeply etched into her childhood heart.
Now that she thought about it, that might have been the true beginning. She had harbored a flame within her own heart so as not to lose to that passion.
"I won't lose." Having etched that firmly into her soul, Saria had resolved to master something herself.
"I remember now… The reason I pursued music was to win against that!"
And so, Saria had begun her musical journey in earnest. Day after day, regardless of sprained fingers or bouts of illness, she never stopped playing. Eventually, she became the preeminent performer in Saloom.
The origin of Saria's music was none other than that moment. It was her competitive spirit, after all. She wouldn't have found it anywhere else because it had been inside her heart all along.
The moment she realized this, every trace of hesitation vanished from Saria's eyes.
◆
"Saria-neesan!?"
Everyone on stage was shocked by the sudden intrusion, but Isha didn't stop singing. The Holy King—and naturally, I—couldn't stop either. Saria marched up to the Holy King’s side and forced herself onto half of the piano bench where he sat.
"Well now, Saria-chan. Whatever is the matter?"
"I felt like playing. That's all."
With that curt reply, Saria slammed all ten fingers onto the keys.
—♪
Her fingertips moved fluidly, producing a melody that was as beautiful as it was sharp. This was unmistakably Saria’s sound from before. I didn't know what had happened, but she seemed to have completely recovered.
"Oooooh! Saria-tan is back! Saria-tan is back! Saria-tan is baaaaaack!"
"You're getting way too hyped, Shitty Angel. …Though I suppose I’m glad for you, Master Lloyd. It's good your sister can play again."
Saria’s performance was overwhelming, forcing even the Holy King to match her pace. It wasn't just a recovery; she was playing at a level far beyond her previous self.
"…I'm impressed. That's a performance even better than mine," the Holy King noted. "I'll offer my congratulations on your recovery. Just for reference, may I ask what happened?"
"Nothing in particular. …If I had to say, I just remembered. The reason I started music."
"I don't know, it looks like pure competitive spirit to me. I can tell by the way you're playing. But I'm sure I broke that spirit quite thoroughly."
"Yes, my foundation was ultimately a competitive spirit. But until now, I’ve unconsciously perceived everyone around me as an enemy. By becoming fully aware of that, I finally remembered the one person I absolutely refuse to lose to."
While talking to the Holy King, Saria sent a pointed gaze my way.
Eh? Why me? Isn't her rival the Holy King? …I didn't quite understand, but I was currently too busy trying to keep up without breaking the spell formula to care.
"That's why I won't lose. I'll even surpass my own limits!"
As she spoke, Saria's fingertips gained even more speed and precision.
Wait a second, just how much do you plan to ramp this up? I’m reaching my limit over here. Because the tone and tempo were shifting so rapidly, the updates to the control system magic couldn't keep up. Honestly, at this speed, it was anatomically impossible to keep pace with manual castanets.
My hands were about to cramp… No, wait.
Right. If this was a Magical Song, I should fight it with magic. I just had to create a new Magical Song separate from the castanets.
"■"
Using a chant through a magic bundle, I produced countless microscopic spells.
Fire bursting, water flowing, stones cracking, wind blowing—the various phenomena generated by the magic were creating sounds, which in turn created a song. Originally, a Magical Song was a spell formula embedded within the sound itself. I was doing the reverse: I was converting the sounds produced by my magic into a song.
"Uoooooh! A song so refined it makes everything until now look like child's play! A power that even swallows up Saria-tan's performance! So this is Master Lloyd's performance through magic!"
"I see, it truly is a Magical Song," Grimo noted. "Moreover, it’s looping as the Magical Song gives birth to more magic. To think it continues infinitely just by consuming mana at the start… such terrifying efficiency!"
Just as Grimo said, the sounds produced by the magic were weaving a new Magical Song, which in turn triggered even more magic. I was getting a lot of mileage out of a single spell, and it produced even better sounds to boot.
That said, it would gradually decay if I didn't maintain it, and it wouldn't take effect if any external noise interfered, so it wasn't a perfect system.
"I could only do this because I synchronized with the Holy King's Magical Song and Saria's sound."
This was a magic infinite loop via Magical Songs. However, since this method didn't involve actual instruments, it would look incredibly suspicious during a normal performance. I could never use it in a standard setting, but right now, no one had the luxury of paying attention to such details, so it wasn't a problem.
Now then, while I'm at it, I’ll ramp it up even further.
—♪
"Lloyd…! Hehe, I finally understand. So this is your unique style. …Fine. I'll admit defeat this time. But I'm going to have you join me many more times from now on. I'm telling you now, my competitive spirit will never break again, so you'd better be prepared."
Saria was muttering something or other, but in any case, the song seemed to have finally stabilized. The three of them followed my lead, continuing to play the Magical Song with everything they had.
—♪
An echoing vortex of sound produced by magic… it was like a downpour of iridescent rain.
I didn't have any personal interest in music, but seeing the way these various spell formulas wove together was actually quite pleasant. If it were always in this format, I wouldn't mind performing once in a while.
Lost in that pleasant feeling, the song finally reached its end.