Chapter 83

Chapter 83
## Chapter 83

### Elven Kingdom (3)

“*Sigh*… What on earth is this?”

Shapiron let out a heavy sigh as she stood alongside her teammates in a vacant area bordering the academy grounds, waiting for Harris.

He had boldly claimed that he required a single day to get things ready, yet the designated hour was fast approaching with no sign of him.

‘Just as I thought… I really cannot stand that guy.’

Harris was an individual her otherwise respectable father had brought back from the Ion Continent, and she found him lacking in numerous ways.

She despised his plain countenance, which consistently bore a thoroughly drained and indifferent expression…

‘A mercenary is nothing more than a lackey who sells his services for petty coin, only to turn to brigandage the moment circumstances turn sour.’

Her understanding was stitched together from fragmented tales in storybooks and common gossip, but such details hardly mattered to her at this moment.

‘Furthermore, he mentioned he has only recently picked up spirit summoning, meaning his capabilities must be thoroughly mediocre.’

To someone like Shapiron, who was blessed with an illustrious lineage and had displayed remarkable genius since her youth, one’s mastery over spirit summoning was equivalent to their actual power in battle.

Given that spirits were lifelong partners within Elf society, her line of reasoning was not entirely flawed.

‘I can respect that he endured a brutal existence on that savage Ion Continent, but at the end of the day, he is simply an uneducated barbarian.’

In her worldview, any territory existing outside the borders of the Elven Kingdom—the sacred home of the World Tree—was nothing short of a desolate wasteland.

She was well aware, of course, that nations across the other continents possessed immense strength.

The sheer vastness of those foreign lands, alongside the scale of their standing armies, existed on an entirely different level.

Even so, she maintained an unshakeable belief that the Elven Kingdom reigned supreme over the entire world when it came to culture.

Whether it was melody, artistry, masonry, or prose…

‘Granted, the Dwarves might possess a slight, just a very slight, edge in disciplines like sculpting and architecture… But that is merely a divergence in style, it by no means implies our own craft is deficient!’

It was a perspective deeply distorted by cultural arrogance.

Having spent her entire life sheltered within a comfortable greenhouse, showered with affection by everyone around her and exposed only to the most exquisite sights and sounds, such an outlook was inevitable.

Consequently, Shapiron harbored zero curiosity regarding whatever melody Harris was putting together.

How impressive could a piece originating from such a culturally barren land truly be?

‘But… why would Father and even the World Tree…?’

Frustration welled up within her once more the moment her mind drifted to that mystery.

She was someone uniquely blessed.

Her mother belonged to a noble house that traced its line back to the country’s inception, while her father was an esteemed High Elf.

She herself had drawn breath with the inherent potential to ascend as a High Elf, carrying the immense hopes of her peers since childhood while displaying brilliant capability.

Because of this, she had never once entertained the thought that she would fail to become a High Elf.

She was undeniably the focal point of existence, the central figure destined to usher in a brand-new era!

‘Father’s token… fine, I can overlook that! It irritates me that it ended up in his possession, but since it was given as a proper payment for services rendered, there is nothing to be done.’

It was an exchange made during an official undertaking, so the state could easily offer an equivalent replacement later.

The matter that truly kindled her fury lay elsewhere.

‘…I have never once been granted that level of recognition by the World Tree!… Hmph!’

He was not even an individual who, like Cecily, had already secured the qualifications of a High Elf; he merely possessed the same dormant potential she did, yet he had been gifted a branch directly from the World Tree itself.

‘I surpass him in every conceivable metric… ’

This reality severely wounded her intense self-esteem, stoking the embers of her resentment.

Silently suppressing her irritation, she rhythmically spun the band adorning the middle finger of her left hand.

“Ah! Look, Harris is arriving. You are behind schedule! We have been standing here waiting!”

Just then, Timer, who had been shifting uncomfortably between the brooding Shapiron and their easily frightened teammate, Curie, cheered up instantly and signaled with his hand.

Harris approached them bearing his customary detached countenance, carrying an object slung across his back.

“Ah, apologies. The preparations took a bit longer than anticipated. I am truly sorry for making everyone wait.”

“Oh, do not worry about it! It hasn’t been that long at all. We were just passing the time!”

Shapiron’s disposition soured even further as she witnessed the amicable exchange between the two.

“Our remaining time is severely limited. We have not even begun to map out our choreography or stage presentation. Let us first review whatever it is you have brought.”

With those words, she called forth an Intermediate-level wind spirit to create an acoustic barrier around the clearing.

It was an act born out of basic courtesy.

She had no desire to watch a member of her own group face public humiliation.

In truth, she expected absolutely nothing of substance from Harris.

She merely intended to give his offering a cursory glance before moving forward, as outright dismissal would be excessively discourteous.

‘It would only make sense to adapt our performance to him if his skills met a basic threshold. If his piece is at least passable, I can guide him through some basic harmonies and find a place for him on the stage… ’

Shapiron, taking her musical obligations quite seriously, began mapping out the performance layout by herself, pondering how to integrate an absolute novice without ruining the collective harmony.

“Oh, wow! What exactly is this? I have never encountered such an instrument, though it shares a resemblance to a lute…”

“Ah, this is a guitar. It is a traditional instrument back in my birthplace…”

She could faintly hear Harris conversing with Timer as they set up for the display, but she tuned out their voices, remaining trapped within her own contemplations.

“Thank you for your patience. To be frank, while I brought this instrument along, it is insufficient on its own to fully convey the depth of this melody.”

At that point, Shapiron broke out of her thoughts and fixed her gaze upon him, crossing her arms defensively.

She intended to evaluate his proficiency first so she could determine the layout of their presentation.

“For that reason, I have prepared a magical device that holds recordings of the accompanying instrumentation. Naturally, this will not assist in establishing a link with spirits, but please view this as a preliminary trial.”

Letting out a quiet scoff in her mind, she observed Harris with a highly critical eye.

He held a spherical enchanted device in one palm while supporting the lute-like object against his frame.

‘…Wait. What kind of instrument is that? The craftsmanship is quite beautiful.’

Her artistic sensibilities, deeply attuned to the nuances of instrumentation, were momentarily captivated, but she clenched her jaw and quickly re-established a cold expression.

‘I ought to have inquired about it earlier!… It is far too awkward to ask now, isn’t it?’

Left with no choice but to find a subtle way to question him later when an opportunity arose, she concentrated on keeping her guard up for the moment.

“The piece is titled ‘Adventure to Find Myself’. It was composed by Biz, a renowned musical wanderer from my homeland… My father cherished this particular tune.”

Harris summoned forth his spirits, triggered the enchanted sphere in his palm, and set it down along the edge of the clearing.

“Well then, I shall begin.”

And with that…

—*Ching*♪

A series of crisp, vibrant tones began to emanate from the magical device.

Shapiron’s brows knit together as the unfamiliar resonance struck her ears.

She had never encountered an instrument capable of producing such a distinct timbre.

‘And the progression of the harmony… it is incredibly unconventional?’

~♪

The notes pouring from the instrument Harris held began to interlace with the audio flowing from the enchanted sphere.

With every stroke of his fingers across the strings, a wave of environmental energy surged outward, vibrating through the clearing.

This rhythmic pulse steadily fell into alignment with the ethereal beings gathered around their position.

As the underlying tension reached its peak…

“To the edge of the white sandy beach~♪”

His vocals broke through alongside an energetic, driving rhythm.

The ambient energy throughout the area began to shift and surge, responding dynamically to the raw emotion carried by his resonant voice.

The exhilarating melody and his magnetic vocal delivery filled the entire vacant lot.

The remaining group members, who had initially tilted their heads in confusion at the foreign musical arrangement, found their eyes widening in astonishment.

‘Wait… What is the meaning of this?’

Shapiron experienced the exact same shock.

This was completely detached from any musical discipline they had practiced up to this point.

It was a radical, barrier-breaking composition that would undoubtedly alienate traditionalists who demanded strict adherence to classical structure and decorum.

And yet…

~♪

Her pulse began to quicken against her will, locking into perfect rhythm with his commanding vocals.

The infectious tempo caused her shoulders to sway unconsciously, while the powerful chords synchronized with the ambient natural forces, striking a deep chord within her chest.

‘Hold on, this makes no sense. Why are my feelings being swayed to such an extent? Could it be…?’

Much like the spirits themselves, Elves were entities profoundly affected by the flow of natural energy from the moment of their birth.

It was precisely why they revered the World Tree and viewed elemental spirits as fundamental partners in life.

However, the ripple of vital force emanating from Harris went far beyond the ordinary.

The raw sentiment infused within his melody radiated through the ambient energy, forcefully drawing the listening Elves—who were naturally defenseless against such frequencies—into the exact same emotional space.

‘Ah… how can someone channel natural energy so completely through mere song…?’

In stark contrast to his typically exhausted demeanor, Harris was currently radiating an immense vitality from his entire being, perfectly synced with the cadence of the music.

The undeniable authority laced within his singing commanded the surrounding environment without mercy.

Her internal state was in complete disarray, as though an invisible tide was dragging her deeper into the heart of the performance…

And beneath it all… she was simply filled with exhilaration.

~♪

The spirits of spark and flame danced and flared with intense brilliance, while the gale spirit whipped around them, projecting the music across the space.

The elemental entities, completely swept up in the emotional currents, harmonized perfectly with Harris as he stood smiling radiantly at the center of the clearing, projecting their elemental essence outward.

“Oh! Fantastic!”

“………!!”

The other two onlookers had entirely abandoned their reservations, shouting out in pure delight and waving their arms toward him, wholly captivated by the performance.

‘…I can concede that he possesses true capability, but the musical compositions of our Elven Kingdom are still fundamentally superior…!’

Even as she desperately attempted to maintain her detached dignity,

The spirit she had tasked with maintaining the audio barrier began to tremble slightly, aligning itself with the frequency of his singing.

While the barrier itself was not on the verge of collapsing, an entity of Intermediate rank was actively shifting its allegiance to the melody of an outsider, completely ignoring its actual summoner.

A slight frown creased her features.

~♪

Yet, entirely beyond her control, her ears were twitching in tandem with the beat.

‘…It is actually quite remarkable upon closer listening. It is simply an entirely different tradition! It is utterly pointless to argue over superiority when it comes to creative expression.’

She was subconsciously discarding her previous convictions, but such a contradiction mattered very little to her now.

—

‘Wow, the vocal capabilities of an Elf are genuinely unfair.’

Harris quietly marveled to himself as he struck the final chords of the closing verse.

He now fully grasped why this race held their musical traditions in such immense regard.

Setting aside their immaculate tone, the physical makeup of their vocal tracts seemed fundamentally superior to humans, enabling them to transition between vast vocal ranges effortlessly. Furthermore, the inherent attunement carried by his voice struck a chord with the local natural forces, greatly intensifying the performance.

‘Realistically, this must be an advantage provided by the “Child of the World Tree” trait.’

His already potent connection to the natural world had been vastly magnified when channeled through the medium of performance.

Naturally, establishing a rapport with the elemental entities—which had been his primary objective—proved exceptionally effective.

He could already perceive a distinct reaction pulsing through the spiritual bond, vibrating as though it were right on the verge of evolving.

‘Though I certainly did not anticipate the outcome to be this dramatic.’

He had practiced the piece a handful of times in isolation before arriving, but this marked his very first time delivering it with full intent.

He had been severely pressed for time, caught up in capturing the accompanying instrumentation within the enchanted sphere, securing a suitable guitar, and altering the lyrical arrangements to account for cultural differences from Earth.

“Wow! Harris, that was incredible! I have never felt so completely drawn into a melody before! The style is entirely foreign, but it is so lively and wonderful!”

Timer and Curie rushed toward him the moment the music faded, their eyes gleaming with genuine awe as they offered praise.

‘I didn’t expect the feedback to be quite this enthusiastic.’

He had agonized over selecting the right piece.

Traditional Elven arrangements leaned heavily toward gentle, melancholic expressions, leading him to believe that attempting to impress them with a familiar style would yield poor results.

‘That is precisely why I selected a high-energy track completely alien to anything found within the Elven Kingdom.’

He had initially performed it out of sheer irritation regarding Shapiron’s condescending demeanor, never actually expecting this particular style to be chosen for the festival.

Logically, it would be far simpler for a single individual to conform to the style of three others, rather than forcing three individuals to learn an entirely foreign musical genre.

His goal had simply been to startle them with something unconventional and demonstrate his actual worth…

“We absolutely have to perform this! If Harris delivers this piece on a properly arranged stage, he will completely steal the spotlight!”

*Nod, nod!*

“We can mimic the baseline instrumentation by utilizing the wind elements and environmental energy! I am confident I can handle the percussive rhythms!”

Timer was bursting with energy, and Curie nodded along in fierce agreement beside him.

It was evident that the track had taken firm root in their thoughts after they were swept away by Harris’s emotional resonance.

In that instant, a sudden realization struck him.

‘Karma is distributed based on the magnitude of the disruption you inflict upon the world.’

What exactly constituted such a disruption?

‘Absolutely anything.’

Be it benevolent, malevolent, aggressive, or harmonious.

Whether achieved through physical dominance, statecraft, immense wealth…

Or even if it took the form of ‘culture’, any avenue was viable.

‘Performance and song are woven directly into the daily existence of the Elves. What follows if I manage to sway that aspect of their lives? And what if I can leverage them to distribute this culture across the entire globe?’

Furthermore, as demonstrated by his teammates just now, the synchronization of natural energy enabled by the “Child of the World Tree” trait was an asset that held absolute sway over the Elven race.

If he brought this to a grand, legitimate venue, he could forcibly dictate the global cultural paradigm.

He would step into the role of the central figure, guiding the evolution of the world through creative expression rather than the edge of a blade.

Should this succeed, it would transform into the most lucrative farm for accumulating Karma.

‘This… is highly promising.’

These individuals represented the initial spark.

Timer, who was currently rambling excitedly before him; Curie, who was expressing her silent agreement;

And even Shapiron, who was currently making her way toward them with an awkward, hesitant stride.

A profound, calculating smile slowly formed on Harris’s face.

“Well then… shall we deliberate on how we intend to construct our stage presentation?”

Consequently, the melody they would deliver at the upcoming festival was settled without a single dissenting voice during the consultation that followed, and the structural planning for the performance proceeded seamlessly through their collective efforts.

A mere five days remained before the grand festival commenced.