Chapter 10
After the commotion ended, the four of us idiots gathered in one place.
“I’d rather count grains of sand at the training grounds than talk to you people!”
“Kain, you’re leaving already?”
“Don’t stop me!”
“Hiiiing.”
Correction.
After one member withdrew, the three remaining idiots sat down for tea.
“This is embarrassing… showing such an unseemly display.”
Pierre, the Order-aligned bard who hosted the gathering, looked flushed.
At the same time, he also served as a priest of music.
“Oh come on, it happens. We’re close.”
“Still, showing this side of us to Lady Ribera… I have no face…”
“You really should be more careful. Anyway, how did you even grow that? It’s hard to get.”
“Well, that is…”
He was clearly ashamed of the earlier chaos.
Up to this point, he almost looked normal.
(Which is rare for a bard.)
“I heard consuming it grants fresh inspiration, so I wanted to experiment…”
“…?”
But of course, it couldn’t end there.
Pierre made a statement that proved he was, indeed, a bard.
“Hmm, Pierre is intense again today.”
Even this could still be excused as “Wow, this guy’s pretty nuts.”
But then—
“That’s far too dangerous. Physically and socially.”
“But laws are merely constructs of the Nine Children of Memory, and not true Order…”
“…?”
From here on out, no.
“Isn’t music the most important thing? If it’s for music, I’m willing to accept anything.”
“You’ll ruin your body!”
“Hmm, the Goddess wouldn’t make mistakes, so perhaps…”
Every word was a red flag.
“Could it be that we are simply too weak?”
“Whoa…”
And then he delivered the final blow.
“In that case, we must train ourselves further so as not to be swept away.”
‘Is this guy insane?’
At that moment, I knew.
This priest was genuinely dangerous.
“Actually, there are already fried dumplings that give inspiration, but people tend to get tired of just one thing, don’t they? Haha.”
No, seriously.
This guy was extremely dangerous.
‘That’s Order-aligned?’
My entire body shivered at something no ordinary person could ever keep up with.
Especially my hand—the one that had just been holding Pierre’s homemade cookies—started trembling.
‘…Was that really safe to eat?’
“Sorry, but Pierre really is Order-aligned…”
“…!”
Natisha stepped in to explain as I glanced between them suspiciously.
“The alignment system isn’t based on good and evil.”
With a complicated expression, she began explaining.
“Alignment is simply the direction a person pursues.”
“Yes, exactly.”
Pierre didn’t know why this was coming up but continued sincerely.
“Alignment depends on how closely one’s personal values align with the calling of their profession.”
He raised three fingers and folded them down one by one.
“If your values match your calling, that’s Order.
If you deviate from it, that’s Chaos.
If you seek balance between the two, that’s Harmony.
That’s the general classification.”
“That’s why combat styles differ too~. Values shape how you fight.”
“I see…”
I nodded blankly, hearing this for the first time.
‘So that’s why…’
“Did you need something from me?”
“No, nothing.”
“Oh? That’s good to hear.”
Pierre and I shared polite laughter.
If you didn’t know what was inside our heads, it looked like a warm scene.
“Well, it doesn’t really concern us anyway.”
As we laughed, Natisha smirked and added something interesting.
“Why not?”
“Because all we have to do is sing, right?”
Ah. That.
I instantly lost interest, but Natisha kept going.
“Most skills are shared anyway, so alignment doesn’t really lock you out of much.”
“Oh… really?”
“Yeah. And since the differences aren’t that big, someone skilled like you could even change advanced jobs.”
Still not interested.
I stared vacantly when an arm suddenly draped over my shoulder.
“So, how about switching your mentor to me?”
Natisha leaned in close, whispering with a grin.
“My side hits harder. Chaos—just sounds strong, right?”
“Haha, don’t sell me snake oil.”
“I’m serious! I’ll even teach you my mentor’s secret techniques. Limited edition! Isn’t that amazing?”
“She tells you not to scam and immediately sells out her own mentor.”
And with only one offensive skill, “strong” was already out of the question.
Once you rely on singing buffs, revival is a dream.
And now she wanted me to be another bard.
This woman had zero conscience.
“Please stop joking, Lady Natisha.”
Pierre stepped in to stop the escalating nonsense.
“Lady Ribera looks troubled.”
At moments like this, Pierre suddenly became reasonable.
“Whaaat? I’m being nice. I didn’t even teach this to my disciple.”
“But this is pressure. She’s doing fine on her own. Please let her be.”
“…?”
The person being talked about—me—was confused.
‘Me? Doing fine?’
That didn’t sound right coming from someone who hadn’t hunted in weeks.
But what came next was even worse.
“Still, if talent finally appears on our side, it’s natural to nurture it. Everyone does that.”
“…Me?”
Talent?
I’d lived like a mess for months.
Calling me “talent” felt wrong.
‘What are they even seeing?’
Okay, fine—maybe I looked “efficient” in-game.
But talent? No.
‘Do they just need someone with the Bard class?’
I was closer to a walking disaster than talent at this point.
“Oh? You didn’t know?”
Natisha tilted her head.
“To us, you’re a super rookie.”
She made a circle with her thumb and index finger.
A familiar gesture.
I opened my mouth cautiously.
“…The sealed relic?”
“Bingo.”
Natisha snapped her fingers, though I was too stunned to notice.
“But I never told anyone about that—”
“It’s because this is the countryside.”
“…”
“There’s nothing to do here, so rumors spread fast. Always like that.”
…This is why people hate rural areas.
“Of course, that too—but being Kain’s disciple matters a lot.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“…Why Kain?”
“Kain is low-key famous.”
“He is quite exceptional.”
“He had no disciples for years. Being strict is fine, but that was excessive.”
“He’s unusually cautious for someone here.”
“He practically abandoned his duty, yet wasn’t punished. People said the gods favored him.”
“I believe someone of his skill deserves it.”
“If he were famous for something else, maybe. But only his skill is known.”
“Being chosen by the Goddess purely for skill is impressive.”
“Hey, stop interrupting!”
Despite the chatter, I understood.
‘In short: insanely skilled, mysterious, and divinely favored.’
Yeah. That would make anyone famous.
“And then you showed up at just the right time.”
After shushing Pierre, Natisha snapped her fingers again.
“That picky guy gets a disciple, then suddenly softens. Everyone figures the sealed relic was passed on.”
“But when I met him recently, he was still nasty.”
“That’s because you settled in the village. Stress.”
Ah.
‘No wonder he seemed worse.’
“And the relic you received is special as well,” Pierre added.
“The Goddess of Music who created it is both an independent being and one with eight sisters.”
“So the relic likely contains not only Euterpe’s power but that of her sisters as well.”
He smiled gently.
“Sealed relics are sacred objects tied to gods. When unsealed, you may even meet the god who created them.”
“Oh…”
“Normally, you’d only meet Euterpe.”
He gestured toward my inventory.
“But she is both singular and one with her sisters.”
Pointing at the relic, he smiled.
“So scholars believe it contains the power of multiple goddesses. A rare thing indeed.”
“I see…”
I thought flatly:
‘So it’s basically 1 + 8 powers?’
Yeah. That’s broken.
No wonder they were hopeful.
“If you level up here, it’ll get even better. Don’t you want to grow?”
“Huh? No.”
“…What?”
It meant nothing to me.
“W-why not?”
“Why not?”
I tilted my head.
“Because I don’t want to?”
“…Huh?”
Even if success had benefits, so what?
The downsides were awful.
‘Work myself to death for a good item, just to feel nice for a bit?’
Streamer? Not my aptitude.
Fame? No, thanks.
‘I’d just be labeled as someone who milked tragedy or got lucky through connections.’
Better to keep it as a hobby.
That was my original goal anyway.
“You can’t live like that!”
‘Too bad.’
Natisha shook me, but my mind didn’t change.
“Junior!”
‘Hehehe.’
The joy of revenge surged again.
This was satisfying enough.
“If you’ve got nothing else to say, I’m leaving.”
“Answer me!”
“Haha.”
“Answer me!”
“Haha!”
I stood up coolly without answering.
As I tried to escape, Pierre grabbed me.
“You’re going down again today?”
“Yeah.”
“Wonderful.”
He nodded approvingly.
“Everything is prepared. Just open the door.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey! Aren’t you stopping her!?”
“Haha, please go. I’ll improve the quest rewards next time.”
Pierre gently held Natisha back and saw me off.
As the door closed, their voices faded.
“You’re really letting her do this?”
“She’s young. Wandering is natural.”
“She’s human. Not immortal like us.”
“For now, it’s fine.”
‘I can’t hear you.’
I blocked it out and walked faster.
“She keeps making music, at least.”
“That’s the problem.”
I ignored them and hurried.
‘If they misunderstand me positively, that’s their problem.’
I walked through the corridor until I reached the soundproof door at the bottom of the stairs.
“Hoo…”
Inside was a special space.
Violins. Cellos. Trumpets. Timpani.
An orchestra frozen mid-performance.
I sat at the piano—where my traces remained most clearly—and took a quiet breath.
“Let’s do this again today.”
