The power of the blessings the Spirit of Music had bestowed on Dason was truly tremendous.
Living in his changed body over the past week, Dason had been feeling that force for himself.
'I don't know what tiredness is.'
The first thing to change after he received the blessings was Dason's stamina.
From the moment he opened his eyes in the morning until he went to bed at night, he did not show a sign of weariness even once.
As if boundless energy were welling up, Dason's body was always overflowing with vigor.
It was not only his stamina. Dason showed outstanding growth in his piano playing as well.
Each time he sat at the grand piano and struck the keys, his fingers moved as naturally as flowing water.
In the way he handled even difficult pieces with far greater ease, one could glimpse the depth of the talent the Spirit of Music had given him.
Though only little by little, Dason's playing rose to a higher level with each passing day. Enough that he could see the hope of someday breaking through the wall.
"Kuung......."
Bestowing such a blessing on Sorakan.
In truth, for Dason this was an act no different from taking a loss.
Keeping the benefits of the blessings all to himself would have been the most rational choice.
"It's fine. Do as you like."
There was no reluctance in his voice. Sorakan was not Dason's subordinate, nor had she ever given him any particular help.
And yet Dason had decided to share the blessing gladly.
"Kurung!"
Benereton gave a cheerful cry, as if to express its thanks.
The spirit, which had been giving Dason a warm look, soon flung itself toward Sorakan.
Plop!
Without warning, the spirit lightly alighted on the very top of Sorakan's hat.
It was quite a high spot, but for Benereton, who flew through the air, it was as easy as eating cold porridge.
Next, the spirit began to mumble an unintelligible incantation.
-Hummmmm!
The moment the incantation ended, a brilliant golden light poured from the spirit's body. Streams of light ran down Sorakan's mage's hat and soon seeped into her whole body.
-Flaaash.......
A ringing as pure as the sound of a wind chime filled the space. As if a sacred harmony were resounding, even the air trembled brightly.
Wrapped in golden light, Sorakan's skin gave off vitality as if it were breathing.
"Good heavens."
The moment the Spirit of Music bestowed its blessing, wonder flickered across Sorakan's eyes.
"A blessing as tremendous as this...... is it all right for me to receive it?"
She looked at Dason as if she found it hard to believe the astonishing thing that had happened to her.
To be blessed by a spirit was one of the most glorious things that could happen to a mage.
Dason asked in a curious voice.
"What kind of blessing did you get?"
"......A strengthening of the Circle that handles magic power, and a sense for magical proficiency. These two are the key elements that can make my skills grow faster."
Sorakan explained what the blessing she had received contained. Overwhelming emotion showed in her voice.
The strengthening of her Circle would raise the power of the magic circles she could create, and if her sense for magic grew keener, she would be able to wield more intricate and delicate spells.
"That's a really wonderful blessing you got."
Dason looked at Sorakan with a glad smile. She was not his subordinate, but it pleased him that she would be able to grow further.
"......."
Sorakan had a curious feeling at Dason's answer. She had no idea how she ought to take this situation.
"Thank you."
But one thing was certain.
That if he had not permitted the Spirit of Music's action, receiving the blessing would have been impossible.
Bow.
Sorakan bowed her head in sincere thanks. To convey the gratitude welling up from her heart, she took a step toward Dason.
"I will never forget this blessing I've received. If you ever need help of any kind, Young Master, please don't hesitate to tell me. I will help you wholeheartedly, with everything I have."
With that, Sorakan reached out and felt around inside the pocket of her robe.
A moment later, a small, neat wooden token was in her hand. An intricate pattern that gave off a soft blue light was engraved on it.
"This is the most precious artifact I own. It's an emergency summoning token that can call me anytime, anywhere."
Dason took the token she held out and could not hide his surprise.
"You've done my life a great kindness, Young Master. The blessing I received from the Spirit of Music is something that could change my destiny. Compared to that, this much is nothing."
Sorakan's eyes were full of sincerity. To her, Dason's goodwill remained a gratitude she could never forget.
As if she had caught hold of the star of her destiny, the Spirit of Music had become a turning point in Sorakan's life.
"Thank you so much."
It was all thanks to Dason. Sorakan was oddly moved by the way he shared his talent without stint. Enough that she grew curious about what this young noble would go on to achieve.
"I'll be on my way first. I need to test out my newly changed body."
But for now she wanted to explore her own limits, so Sorakan left Dason and Kemen with a brief farewell and slipped out of the room.
"Kurung! Kururung!"
It was then.
The Spirit of Music grabbed the hem of Dason's clothes. And it pointed a finger at its own piano. It was a gesture asking him to hurry up and teach it to play.
"Right. The time has come to carry out the contract."
Dason smiled at Benereton's request.
Swish.......
And he walked toward the piano with the little thing. It was time to show the Spirit of Music how to play the piano.
***
Dason decided to begin Benereton's piano education. The first thing to teach was the layout of the keys and the position of each note.
"Now, this key is called 'do'."
Tiing.......
Dason gently pressed a white key. When the lucid, pure note of 'do' rang out, Benereton's eyes went round.
Next, Dason sounded the notes in turn: 're', 'mi', 'fa', 'sol', 'la', 'ti', and then the 'do' one octave up.
"This is the basic scale. You have to learn the positions and sounds of these notes exactly."
"Kurung!"
Benereton, who had been listening intently to Dason's explanation, strode up to its own piano.
With its lips pressed tight as if trying hard to remember, the spirit carefully pressed the 'do' key.
Ting!
The same note rang out clearly from the small piano as well.
Benereton's eyes sparkled at its very own playing, heard for the first time in its life.
"Kururung!"
As if finding it utterly fascinating that a sound had come from the piano that a sound had come from the piano, Benereton let out a shriek of delight.
Clasping both hands together with a look of rapture, it seemed to have witnessed the most wondrous thing in the world.
'It'll be rewarding to teach, at least.'
Dason could not help smiling at the spirit's pure, passionate reaction.
"Kurung! Kururung!"
While Dason was teaching the scale, an unexpected sight unfolded. The little thing placed both hands on the keys and took up a serious posture.
Dum...... dum...... du-du-du-dum.......
Before long, the spirit began to play a simple melody.
The sight of its white fingers pressing away at the keys gave the impression of a small child earnestly learning the piano.
'Wait, could this be......?'
Dason pricked up his ears and followed the piece the spirit was playing.
The linking of the notes was somewhat awkward and the beat was off in places, but it was unmistakably the melody of 'Up, Up Goes the Airplane' being played.
'To think it remembers something it heard exactly once.......'
Dason could only marvel at Benereton's musical talent.
It was a children's song he had played for the spirit only briefly at the antique shop, and here it was carrying the tune over to the keys so quickly.
For a beginner meeting the piano for the first time, 'Up, Up Goes the Airplane' was by no means an easy piece. Simply riding the melody's sense of beat and producing the right notes was hard in itself.
But for Benereton, the Spirit of Music, all of it looked astonishingly natural.
"That's impressive......?"
It was a sight that drew an exclamation out of him. With an innocent face, Benereton happily kept playing.
Now and then it hit a wrong note, but the whole process was lovable and cute.
Even in its clumsy fingering, its passion for the piano came through fully.
"Kurururung~"
Having finished the children's song, Benereton looked at Dason with a proud smile.
Its sparkling eyes were full of affection for music.
"Well done. Really well done."
Dason was already curious what kind of wonderful player this small spirit would grow into.
Ting!
It was then.
The moment Benereton played Up, Up Goes the Airplane, something astonishing happened.
Ding-a-ling!
[The Musical Genius System connects with Benereton.]
With the message, red light poured from the spirit's body. As if a hidden power were awakening, a gentle warmth spread through the surroundings.
[An auxiliary system for awakening Benereton's musical talent has been activated.]
[Piece currently in practice: Up, Up Goes the Airplane]
[Practice completion: 30%]
[If completion reaches 100%, Benereton will be given a special Reward.]
"Oh?"
Dason saw the words on the notification window, and his eyes lit with curiosity.
He could not help marveling that it even had a function like this.
It seemed the Musical Genius System had prepared a special mechanism to help Benereton grow.
'Is it a gauge that shows practice completion?'
When he shifted his gaze to the bar glittering yellow, Dason's eyes went round.
Only about 1/3 of the whole was filled with bright color, and the rest was hidden in black shadow.
'There's still a long way to go.'
From the gauge, he could estimate roughly where Benereton's skill stood.
Even with an outstanding inborn talent, a great deal of effort would be needed before it conquered the instrument called the piano.
But with even the help of a system like this, Benereton would probably grow faster than he could imagine.
He was already looking forward to what reward would be given as the completion filled up, and to what heights the spirit might reach.
"Benereton. Let's get practicing."
"Ku...... Kurung?"
"The goal is to master Up, Up Goes the Airplane by the end of today. You can do it. Just follow me."
"Ku. Ku?"
And so Dason decided to work Benereton hard, just a tiny bit.