Chapter 3
Three years ago, the reason I had to give up on my dream was simple.
I couldn’t make music anymore.
Even the smallest trigger related to the stage caused all kinds of abnormal symptoms to surface.
They no longer interfered with my daily life, but that didn’t mean I was fine just because I picked up a guitar.
‘How is this possible…?’
The thoughts I had painstakingly organized collapsed all at once.
Through the cracks, emotions that had been waiting for an opening swelled up.
Regret, lingering attachment, resignation.
They churned my insides.
‘Then why only now…?’
More than anything, what I felt most strongly was injustice.
‘Why…?’
For a long time, I couldn’t say a word.
All I could do was gently stroke the guitar.
My hands were trembling.
‘…Can I really do this?’
Because I couldn’t stop shaking, my thoughts naturally turned into doubt toward myself.
The easiest way to end this confusion—
‘Maybe it’s only like this right now. Once I actually start, it’ll be different.’
The proof would be simple.
I didn’t need to go far.
Just play lightly.
Confirm once again what I already knew.
That should’ve been enough.
But the reason I couldn’t do that was—
“……”
I stared dumbly at the ground, unable to let go or take hold.
I knew I must look strange, but I couldn’t control my body.
“Are you not going to play?”
“N-No!”
That answer was the same.
A decision made purely on instinct, irrational and thoughtless.
‘Ah.’
But in that moment, my tangled thoughts suddenly became clear.
“…Go ahead.”
The emerald-like eyes that twisted as if burdened were transparent.
Eyes that didn’t exist in reality.
Reflected in them was a stranger.
‘Libera’—an ideal version of myself, completely different from the real me.
“…!”
The instant I saw it, joy surged up inside me.
I can do this.
That thought surfaced instinctively.
“You…”
“I, um….”
Seeing the NPC’s face, he looked taken aback.
Normally, I might have stopped myself there.
But not now.
“I want to try.”
This was a dream that could go on forever if I wanted it to.
Here, I could do it again.
And—
“What do I need to do?”
Knowing that it was okay to be greedy right now, I couldn’t contain myself.
“……”
At my sudden change in attitude, as if I were drunk, the NPC narrowed his eyes.
A look that seemed to ask whether it was really okay to test someone like this.
“Check it.”
But it didn’t last long.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he snapped his fingers.
A familiar interface appeared in midair.
<Job Change Quest – Bard (Harmony)>
Choose one of the designated songs and sing it to earn the approval of the retired court musician, Cain.
- Cain’s Approval (0/1)
A different window from ordinary quests.
A job change quest.
‘As expected.’
The NPC in front of me, Cain, was indeed a job-change NPC.
There were ordinary NPCs in town, and his clothes were far more disheveled than anyone else’s, so I’d been unsure.
Now it was clear.
‘But isn’t this a bit hard?’
Unlike other quests that only required you to be human to pass, this one required actual performance skill.
As I wondered if there was another reason, sheet music was thrust toward me.
“Here. The song.”
“Tha—”
Just as my face brightened and I reached for it, Cain began explaining.
“Guitar is mandatory. You can choose any of the songs listed. Some arrangement is allowed.”
“What?”
“Don’t ask again. I’ll give you time to practice, but if you take too long, I’ll cut you off. No retries. Start.”
…Does he not understand communication?
He dumped out the explanation so fast it left me stunned, yet he didn’t care.
Instead, he quickly walked away, as if he’d done everything he needed to.
‘He’s already that far?’
The distance between us grew instantly.
He was truly goal-oriented.
And proof that age alone doesn’t make someone respectable.
It was… impressive.
‘Let me focus on my own job.’
I wasn’t interested in him either.
I quickly shifted my attention away from the NPC and focused on the guitar in front of me.
“Whew…”
As I carefully slipped the strap over my shoulder, the fantasy world adjusted it automatically.
The posture felt exactly as I remembered.
My awkward body quickly settled, but my heart did not.
‘Please.’
As the final test began, pounding sounds echoed through my entire body.
My lips were dry.
But when I moistened them with my tongue and forced strength into my arms—
—Thrum!
“!”
Just like that, the pounding that had dominated my body disappeared.
In its place was the resonance of the guitar.
‘…I did it.’
A clear proof that I could believe it.
Even though it was just a simple sound, my eyes burned.
But I couldn’t waste this moment crying.
The situation could change at any second.
I had to regain my composure.
“Whew.”
Steadying my emotions, I lifted the sheet music and read it.
It wasn’t a song I’d never heard before.
‘It’s the song he played earlier.’
I’d expected him to hand me something completely unfamiliar, but it seemed he had at least some conscience.
The difficulty wasn’t bad either.
My fingers were stiff, so I needed some practice, but I could play it soon enough.
There was only one problem—
[※Warning※ Some actions may be restricted due to device performance.]
The unexpected obstacle: the Light device’s limitations.
‘…Will this really be okay?’
I swallowed hard as I stared at the red warning window.
Cain, former chief musician of the empire and now a Bard (Harmony) job-change NPC, felt uneasy.
It had been four years since he came to this village by order of his god.
Having lived through obligation and encountered countless people, he believed he could judge someone by first impression.
But this traveler—
‘Why is she so good?’
She had clearly looked lost at first.
So he thought she was just an overenthusiastic beginner.
‘Was she pretending?’
Cain glanced sideways, confused.
She began by lightly plucking the strings.
There was no trace of the earlier clumsiness.
Instead, there was ease.
Both hands moved in harmony.
Even with consecutive techniques, every note landed cleanly on the beat.
‘…And her vocals were good too. Then why hesitate earlier?’
Thinking back to how she warmed up her voice before playing, it was even stranger.
Rich resonance. Accurate pitch.
Overall, her fundamentals were exceptionally solid.
‘Then why did she hesitate?’
Among all applicants so far, she was clearly top-tier.
Someone who could confidently aim to pass.
That made it all the more unfortunate.
—Snap!
“Ugh!”
No matter the skill, the outcome was already decided.
‘As expected.’
With a sudden noise, her hands slackened unnaturally, failing to match her skill.
As the traveler looked flustered, Cain sighed quietly.
Then the system message appeared.
[This traveler is currently using a Light device.]
A blatant notice telling evaluators to consider her incomplete performance.
‘What nonsense.’
Cain ignored it entirely.
He understood what was happening.
Travelers from other worlds needed devices to enter this one.
Those devices varied in performance.
And the difference was especially severe in artistic professions that required delicate control.
Blacksmiths. Painters. Enchanters.
And finally—bards.
So he reached a conclusion.
‘This can’t be fixed through practice.’
The biggest problem was that practice didn’t help.
The more you practiced, the worse it got.
With limited memory already, adding more strain only accelerated collapse.
—Beep-beep-beep!
“Ah…”
Like that, even things she could originally do became impossible.
Unaware of the cause, the traveler continued playing, but only grew messier.
Now she could barely manage even simple phrases.
There was no need to watch further.
‘It’s over.’
He’d thought he might finally take on a disciple, but there was no twist.
Even now, the traveler didn’t give up—but persistence wouldn’t change anything.
‘Preparation is also part of skill. She’ll have to accept it.’
Calmly concluding this, Cain stood up to end the practice.
“That’s enough. Let’s begin.”
“…Yes.”
“What song will you play?”
The traveler stiffened, then answered slowly.
“.”
As expected.
Cain waved his hand indifferently.
For someone who couldn’t fully play the guitar, it was the safest choice.
But in this situation, it was the worst possible move.
‘No room to show technique, and the emotions are hard to resonate with broadly.’
A song that rarely leaves an impression.
If mishandled, even its lyrics could be ruined.
Its only advantage here was that beginners could play it.
“Then begin.”
“…Yes.”
With her current limitations, failing to leave an impression should’ve been natural—
“Since when did it become that way,
That a day without you feels familiar”
The moment she sang, everything changed.
‘…It’s good?’
A calm opening.
Not so much singing as murmuring to herself.
It drew attention.
“Only now do I realize
My fingertips have worn down and dried
As the end quietly passes”
There was nothing flashy.
Just an acoustic guitar for accompaniment.
Even that was restrained to the bare minimum.
Yet there was only one reason it pulled people in.
“Where did the me go
Who cherished even the smallest thing
Did we, buried deep in the world,
Disappear?”
Emotion.
Stripped of everything else, the song focused solely on emotional delivery.
It made you listen.
Not just him—
‘…They’re listening.’
The villagers were too.
He felt presences gathering from unseen places.
They must have heard the music and come.
Then they stayed.
‘Those arrogant ones.’
This was possible?
The absurdity of it almost made him laugh.
“Dulled now, unseen now”
But thinking carefully, it was strange.
The villagers here were no ordinary people.
Aside from being chosen by the gods to guide beginners, they were entirely different beings.
Could a song loved only by a few really draw everyone’s attention just by being sung well?
“That day I saw in the darkness
The flower I always imagined fades away”
As Cain thought deeper, he realized why.
And goosebumps rose.
‘…She interpreted it in the opposite way?’
was a song about reminiscing over a past that had already passed.
It spoke honestly of change after clinging to memories of days that could never return.
A song lamenting the numbness of no longer feeling sorrow.
That was why only some older listeners loved it.
But she—
“Now faded me,
Finger-painted flower”
She interpreted it completely differently.
The memories remained, but there was no regret.
“Even if we change, even if we wear down,
We loved”
Painful and irreversible, yet moving forward until one day—
“To the us of that day, goodbye”
Joy.
‘…She’s insane.’
Once he realized that, even the quiet playing looked different.
She was controlling timing, tone, even posture to express the opposite emotion.
Intentional or not, it was reckless.
With incomplete skill, one mistake could ruin everything.
“And yet, we loved”
But she pulled it off.
She drew out emotions of a day when one leaves home, faces uncertainty, yet smiles in the end.
From villagers so proud they were chosen by gods.
Even emotions she herself had forgotten after life-changing events.
—Clench.
Cain quietly clenched his fist as memories surfaced.
“To the picture of that longed-for day,
Goodbye”
This could only be one of two things.
A lunatic blessed by coincidence.
Or—
“Th-that’s the end.”
—
A genius.
“……”
Cain stared blankly at the traveler waiting nervously, face flushed.
He didn’t know how to begin speaking.
One wrong word, and he might collapse.
“You—no…”
But there was one thing he had to say.
“Libera.”
“!”
To the wide-eyed traveler, Cain said what was only right.
“It was excellent.”
Praise owed to a performer who delivered a beautiful stage.
[Quest Perfectly Completed!]
[Additional rewards available.]
And the reward to match.
Momentarily dazed, the traveler smiled brightly upon seeing the success notice.
“Thank you!”
Her face now was innocent, completely different from during the performance.
Cain felt that expression would stay with him for a long time.
