I went into the shop to confirm if it really was Alice, but the townspeople were swarming around the entrance like moths to a flame, completely entranced by her singing.
Even a brief glance was enough to tell the place was packed to the brim.
Under normal circumstances, anyone would assume getting in was impossible.
"Please wait a moment, I will secure us some seats."
Thinking the same thing, Zoe reached into her robes, ready to grease some palms and procure a table.
"Wait."
"Master?"
"There's no need for that."
"However..."
Ignoring Zoe, I parted the crowd and moved past them.
I ducked under the entrance and crossed the threshold of the shop.
Stepping inside made the situation unmistakably clear: it was completely overflowing, without a single seat to spare.
Almost the instant we stepped in, a shop clerk approached us with an apologetic grimace.
"I am terribly sorry, patrons, but as you can see, every table is full..."
"I see."
I nodded and turned as if to leave, but another clerk came rushing over from the back and whispered into the first clerk's ear.
The first clerk nodded several times, then turned a practiced business smile toward me.
"Patrons, it seems another party is just about to leave. We can seat you right away."
"Understood. Please do."
I nodded, and the clerks withdrew back inside for the moment.
Zoe looked puzzled beside me, so I turned around and explained in a low murmur.
"It's what you'd call an engineered coincidence. If this was orchestrated by them, they wouldn't let me be turned away for lack of seats."
"I see... As expected of you, Master. My thoughts did not reach that far."
Giving Zoe a slight smile, I turned back around and surveyed the shop, which was awash with song.
"Hm."
"Is something the matter?" Zoe asked, looking perplexed.
I hesitated briefly on how to answer.
Just a quick sweep of the room was enough to spot them.
Clearly not customers here to enjoy the music—their eyes were fixed on the stage, but their focus was aimed entirely at me. Three of them.
I sensed from their presence that three men had already slipped in to keep watch over me.
However, I couldn't simply tell that to Zoe outright.
When deceiving someone, sticking strictly to the truth is far more effective.
For me, and for Zoe as well.
Bearing that in mind, I chose my words carefully before speaking to her.
"A seat opened up in a rather convenient spot."
Saying this, I directed my gaze toward the newly "vacated" seats.
I took note of the ones observing me.
After a moment's thought—
To deceive, one does not speak falsehoods.
"A good seat was conveniently left open," I said, this time in a normal tone of voice.
For an instant, Zoe's eyes widened in surprise.
Since my remark was the exact opposite of what I had said just a moment ago, she wondered what I meant.
However, she grasped the intent in a flash and caught on.
Her expression didn't shift, and she said nothing unnecessary, but her eyes darted slightly, and I could tell she took a split-second look around our surroundings.
To understand immediately and react accordingly—
It seemed Zoe had grown considerably compared to when she first became my maid.
"It is only natural, seeing as you are our Master."
"Is that so."
We exchanged some casual banter while we waited.
Before long, the clerk guided us to our seats.
It was located at the very back of the shop, slightly elevated, right in the center with an unobstructed view of the stage.
Unmistakably, it was the best seat in the entire establishment.
I sneered internally.
For an attempt to feign coincidence, it was far too heavy-handed.
Without pointing that out, I took my seat.
Zoe stood attentively beside me.
I listened to Alice's song.
It seemed she had gotten a little better once again.
To improve in the performing arts, only a few elements are necessary:
First, consistency.
Second, a clear goal.
And finally, freedom from worldly anxieties about daily life.
Alice had possessed the first two ever since we met.
And I had removed all her anxieties, including the matter concerning her mother.
As a result, Alice had improved remarkably—even now, every time we met, her skill had grown.
Almost everyone, both inside and outside the shop, was utterly captivated by Alice's singing voice.
The only exceptions were likely the group keeping watch over me.
Music and songs carry a certain rhythm, a "wave."
Swept along by the wave the singer intended, the entire audience swayed to her voice.
Snap!
One of the strings on her harp—the instrument that served as Alice's trademark—snapped and whipped away.
The shop stirred with unease; the customers were jarred out of the dreamlike singing and yanked back to reality.
The murmurs grew louder, and on the stage, Alice looked at a loss.
Her slender, pale fingers drifted over the remaining strings of the harp.
The one that had snapped was the most vital string; simply running her fingers over them made the missing note glaringly obvious.
Repairs would take time; things would have to end here as a wash.
—That would be a shame.
I called Huwawa.
From within my bracelet, Huwawa grasped my intention and materialized.
She took the form of a long transverse flute.
Holding it in place, I gently brought it to my lips.
The makeshift flute produced the exact timbre I had intended.
For a moment, the shop buzzed with confusion.
Alice was also taken aback—and upon noticing me, her eyes widened in surprise.
I played the flute.
With its melody, I urged Alice on.
Catching the melody, Alice ran her fingers over the harp once more.
She improvised an arrangement on the fly so as not to use the broken string.
The missing notes were seamlessly filled in by my flute.
"Wow..."
Standing beside me, Zoe let out a soft murmur of admiration.
Though the audience was momentarily perplexed, they were soon just as engrossed in the music as before.
When the piece concluded, a thunderous wave of applause erupted from the patrons.
Zoe was clapping as well.
"That was amazing, Master!"
"Is that so."
The one who had played just now wasn't me, but Bahamut.
I had subtly allowed Bahamut to possess me, letting it control my fingers and mouth.
Just like replicating combat techniques such as swordsmanship or martial arts, I simulated and reproduced the musical movements Bahamut knew.
It had gone off without a hitch.
Naturally, one couldn't keep going with mere emergency measures, so it was announced that the performance would end for the time being.
As the patrons filed out of the shop one after another—
"Were there no others?"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
Wordlessly, I raised a hand and pointed at three men who remained seated, still completely dazed.
Then, in a low whisper:
"Those are the ones who were monitoring us."
"Eh?"
"I infused magic power into the song just now. Those harboring hostility or ill intent react more strongly to it, taking a shock that leaves them stunned for quite a while."
"Y-You can even do something like that!?"
"Yeah. Incidentally, you could kill someone with this, too."
"What!?"
"Conversely, if you excite them to the absolute limit, their blood pressure will spike and trigger a stroke."
"Ah..."
Zoe was sharp.
She didn't ask, "You can do something like that too!?" this time.
There are always two sides to everything; she understood that if one extreme was possible, the exact opposite was possible as well.
That was why she simply said one thing:
"As expected, you are truly amazing, Master."
☆
"Don't mess with me!"
Inside the guild, two young men stood facing each other.
Infuriated by the report, the shorter man slammed a high-grade tea set onto the floor in a fit of rage, shattering it to pieces.
The taller man remained calm, sipping his tea as he pondered.
They were the sons of the guild's number one and number two figures, respectively.
Ever since these two had taken charge of field operations, smuggling and tax evasion had increased year after year; they were, in essence, the true masterminds.
"Calm down. Losing your temper here won't accomplish anything, will it?"
"How am I supposed to stay calm?! 'He's staying in this town for a while because he was invited by a songstress who had never accepted anyone's invitations'!? Don't give me that bullshit!!"
Growing even more enraged, the shorter man kicked the table, flipping it over completely with a grand crash.
The other, mild-mannered young man remained thoroughly composed, wearing a contemplative look.
"It is not a bad thing at all. After all, he took the bait."
"Once he took the bait, he should've packed up and gone home already! As long as that guy's around, we can't do any smuggling. If smuggling stops for even a single day, that alone costs us a hundred thousand!"
"..."
The mild-mannered young man furrowed his brows slightly.
What his partner said was entirely reasonable.
To deal with that man who had come to investigate under the Emperor's secret orders, they had temporarily halted the salt smuggling.
And that smuggling had grown into a business that now yielded over one hundred thousand Rien in profit per day.
Just by that man being here, they were losing one hundred thousand Rien every single day.
"I can't take it anymore! Let's kill him!"
"...For better or worse, he is a person sent under secret orders from the Emperor. Isn't that a bit hasty?"
"Who gives a damn! We can handle something like that just by scattering some money around! What do you think we've been sending tributes to the Third Imperial Prince and the Tenth Imperial Prince on a regular basis for?"
"...You have a point."
The mild-mannered young man thought for a moment, then gave a quiet nod.