Chapter 607: Kyoonkai (2)
Editor: Tseirp
“The royal capital has fallen. Into the hands of the prince and the Empire. The cries of the people cloud the skies of the kingdom. The people’s anger runs through the land. Their hope… will give birth to a new king. His name— King Abel. He shall rise from a frontier town. The adventurer king who will blow away the kingdom’s dark clouds. He shall gather the people’s tears, and rise against the invaders!”
The bard Wang A-Shi sang as if telling a tale.
With his beautiful voice and the harp’s tones, everyone in Zhenglin Hall listened with rapt attention.
This time, Ryo and Abel were also absorbed in the music.
When they first heard him at the ‘Ryusen Residence’, embarrassment broke their composure before they could truly listen, so they could not be fully captivated—but this time was different.
Perhaps because they had heard it once and grown somewhat accustomed to it.
Or perhaps because they had given up.
In any case, they tried not to think about themselves… and they listened.
“And with King Abel stands a lone magician. His magic that dims the heavens, shatters the earth, and freezes the world— tremendous water magic. With a single spell, he crushed an army of a hundred thousand—it was no fantasy. People praised him and called him: the Icefall, or sang of him as the Silver Duke.”At the instant he finished singing the final line, ‘The Ballad of Duke Rondo’…
“Whoa!”
“As expected—wonderful!”
“Truly Wang A-Shi!”
The cheers burst forth.
But they subsided quickly.
Everyone realized Wang A-Shi was about to continue the performance.
“Duke Rondo went westward to forge new friendships. Into that void came a new threat. A great being beyond human comprehension. The revival of a Djinn that once drove the Central Countries to the brink of ruin. The kingdom fought. It allied with the Union and fought. But… the enemy was not human. A being beyond humanity.”
What began anew was another story.
“The kingdom, exposed to the revived Djinn’s assault. Tens of thousands of shadows born, a terrible Djinn that ravaged the realm—and before it stood the heroic King Abel. But… at his side, Duke Rondo was not there…”
Wang A-Shi’s song wove a fresh ballad of the Knightley Kingdom.
The audience listened, holding their breath.
“Leading shadows that blanket the earth and drive the kingdom to the brink, the Djinn and its followers. The decisive battle with the kingdom was fought in eastern lands. The kingdom army under the heroic king, great alchemical healing powers, and the golden doe-ship floating in the sky… All the kingdom’s powers gathered and struck down the Djinn and its followers. It was the moment when humans felled a being beyond humanity! But…”
Not a single throat cleared.
“The ground, drunk on warriors’ blood, unleashed the Djinn’s true power… It was unleashed! A single Djinn alone broke through all the kingdom’s forces. A terrifying sight! Warriors fell, magicians lay prostrate. Even the hero king, who had felled the followers… his blade could not reach the Djinn, who had unleashed its true power. The kingdom’s full strength… was on the verge of being crushed by the Djinn.”
At that moment, Wang A-Shi’s accompaniment became fierce and wild.
“But not yet! Not yet! The kingdom’s power still remains! There is a man who set out for the endless western lands! Yes, Duke Rondo. The place he should be is not the western grounds. It is the kingdom. Yes—he belongs beside the heroic king Abel! But the Duke in that endless west… could he reach? Could he? Is there anything impossible for him? Impossible! Impossible! No such thing can be! The magician who makes all things possible. If there is anyone… Could such a thing be? Could it? Could it? Yes—it is so! He has risen! Rending the sky, appearing—the great water magician, the Icefall, the Silver Duke! He returns! To where he should be! He rains down ice and tears it apart. The heroic king’s crimson magic blade and the Silver Duke’s azure magic blade… the two become one and pierce the Djinn!”
Every gaze turned to Wang A-Shi.
“Once again, the kingdom is saved. By the heroic king and the Silver Duke, by their mighty power!”
At that instant, perfect stillness fell over Zhenglin Hall.
Clap, clap…
Clap-clap, clap-clap…
Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap…
A storm of applause.
“Brilliant!”
“Wonderful!”
“A genuine masterpiece!”
“Long live Abel-sama—!”
“Long live Duke Rondo—!”
Explosive cheers and an outpouring of emotion.
Here, social rank meant nothing.
From the Shitaifu-class to the imperial household, everyone applauded.
Some wept…
Only two people in the room were not moved.
“The first piece I’d heard before, so I could remain calm while listening…”
“But the new one… that was embarrassing…”
Ryo and Abel looked down.
They were apparently very embarrassed.
They were the protagonists of the tale, after all.
Amid the thunderous acclaim, a thirty-minute intermission began.
The two were summoned by Emperor Tsuin and moved to Wenhua Hall.
They felt quite relieved.
They could not imagine what would have happened had they remained in Zhenglin Hall…
“As expected of Wang A-Shi— a marvelous song.”
Emperor Tsuin said, delighted, unlike the two of them.
Even the Chief Eunuch, who ordinarily kept a near-expressionless posture behind him, looked faintly happier.
“Indeed.”
Ryo agreed, though still flushed with embarrassment.
“Did Duke Rondo tell him that new song?”
“Yes. Albert and I…”
Ryo answered the Emperor’s question.
Abel silently nodded beside him.
“The song mentioned a Djinn. Even in these Eastern countries, there are tales in their ‘romances’ that include such beings.”
“Is that so?”
The term ‘romance’ here refers to long traditional tales.
In other words, ancient stories in which Djinns appear even in these Eastern countries.
“Of course, those are stories written long ago about even older times… beings that existed only in legend. But you say one revived in the kingdom…?”
“That is correct, Your Majesty. Even in the Central Countries, Djinns mostly existed only in tradition. In fact, I heard this revival was the first in nine hundred years.”
Ryo answered Emperor Tsuin.
Although Ryo did not know the full details of how Garwin, the eastern Djinn they fought this time, was resurrected, he had been present when the seal on the Djinn bound to the kingdom’s south was broken.
At that time, the folklore officer of the Central Temple, Viscount Rashata Debuo, had told him much, so Ryo knew quite a bit.
“The revival of beings said to exist only in legend… is a terrifying thing.”
“Indeed.”
Emperor Tsuin said slowly, and Ryo nodded.
The Emperor’s words were those of a statesman.
Facing something with no precedent, no manuals, and no institutional know-how, it is difficult for a nation to respond swiftly.
Because the nation is such a large organism, it is slow to move.
Knowing that, the initial response to an unprecedented encounter is necessarily slow.
That means, inevitably, some sacrifices occur early on.
A nation is a large organization.
So even if it suffers some damage, it rarely collapses into a fatal state immediately.
Yet, even if it doesn’t reach a collapse, there will be citizens who lose their lives…
Those are unavoidable sacrifices.
Truly unavoidable.
But can one say that to the families left behind, face to face?
Emperor Tsuin’s words carried all that bitter experience within them.
While they spoke, the thirty-minute intermission ended.
As before, they followed Emperor Tsuin back and re-entered Zhenglin Hall.
They took the same seats as in the first part.
Both noticed at once.
What was on the performance stage…
“A grand piano…”
“It must be heavy—did they bring it in?”
Ryo and Abel were surprised.
There, where nothing had been in the first half, stood a presence—what Abel described as a black, oddly shaped table.
But it was no mere table: its lid was open at a slant, and the polished surface reflected the strings stretched inside.
“Are those strings being plucked to make sound?”
“No, no. The strings are struck by an internal mechanism.”
Abel asked, and Ryo replied.
Though Ryo could play piano, he wasn’t deeply familiar with grand piano construction.
That was why he had long wondered.
The creator of pianos in this world, Ron Shen.
He was likely a reincarnator like Ryo.
That was almost certain… but did that mean he could actually build a piano from scratch?
Perhaps Ron Shen had played piano back on Earth.
But could that alone allow someone to construct a piano…? For example, Ryo could not.
Yet Ron Shen had made one.
The bestowed ‘Shen-Lon’ No. 1 is played every day at the Rondo manor, and it’s no different from the pianos Ryo had played on Earth.
Of course, pianos are instruments and differ by manufacturer.
The key weight varies considerably.
That’s why, at competitions like the Chopin Competition, performers can choose a piano from three or four manufacturers for their program.
Each time, the stage piano is changed…
Probably this piano had been brought in in that same way.
As he mused, a woman appeared.
She began to play the piano.
Of course, the piece was unfamiliar to Ryo.
Yet it was composed on a gentle melody reminiscent of the Darwei-style music the Shitaifu performers had played so far—a flowing tune that conjured an image of the southern river running through the capital.
Many closed their eyes and listened, relaxed and content.
Three such pieces were performed.
Afterwards, Workshop Chief Ron Shen appeared and greeted the audience with the performing woman.
“Thank you for allowing the unveiling of the grand piano ‘Shen-Lon’ today.”
He began and then shared a few behind-the-scenes stories of its creation.
But most people were not chiefly interested in those details…
“From today, we will accept orders for the ‘Shen-Lon’. Please place orders with the Shouhoukan.”
At that instant, the princes’ families and most of the Shitaifu ladies turned to their attendants and household members and conveyed something.
Then the attendants and household members left Zhenglin Hall.
They likely headed to…
“Did they all run off to place orders at the Shouhoukan?”
“Given their speed, I’d say so.”
Ryo asked, and Abel nodded.
The Shouhoukan is the bureau in the Darwei Imperial Palace that handles arts-related matters.
The Chief Eunuch of the Shouhoukan had scolded Ron when he performed outside earlier.
Ryo and Abel could already picture the pandemonium that would follow as they processed orders…
The piano was moved to the rear of the stage.
It would not be returned to Chouonkaku; this instrument might remain in Zhenglin Hall.
Like the one that’s always kept in a school gymnasium…
And so the second part, featuring the princes, began.
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