In 21st-century terms, the Sheet Music Association was like an agency that managed copyrights. A place whose function was to permit a person or group a monopoly over their product.
'I didn't know they'd have one here, though.'
That was exactly what a copyright society and the Sheet Music Association had in common. To Dason, of course, it came as a surprise.
'It's a backward world, so I figured there wouldn't be one.......'
Every kingdom and empire on the continent was run by an aristocracy. This world had not broken free of the feudalism one would see only in the Middle Ages.
'If I weren't a noble myself, making music would've been hard.'
For the walls of class were high and thick, and moving between ranks was close to impossible. The gulf between noble and commoner was deep and wide, and it served as a boundary that could not be crossed at will.
"Young Master."
It was then.
Kemen spoke in a soothing tone.
"You may find it unpleasant, but it cannot be helped."
The look in his eyes was complicated and subtle. He understood Dason's wish to obtain the sheet music.
"You must go in person, Young Master."
However. He also had to accept the fact that rules and procedures that plainly existed could not be ignored.
That was so even though Dason was a noble's child.
"It can't be helped. Even the Aura Knight said there was no way...... What else can I do?"
"You understand, then?"
"Don't worry. I'm not so childish that I can't accept something like this."
"Until not long ago, you were much like a newborn baby."
Kemen delivered the blunt truth without mercy. It was hard for him to guess whether Dason's seemingly changed attitude came from the heart or was nothing more than another whim.
"That's a cowardly attack."
Dason frowned and grumbled. He was not pleased with Kemen for still dragging up his past.
The fact that the one who had committed those evil deeds was not his present self made it all the more galling.
'It wasn't me who did it.'
Dason's lips twitched at the unfairness of it. To be stuck taking the blame for someone else's sins and suffering for them. A deep sigh slipped out of its own accord.
'Still, if I think of it as the price of my life.......'
But this much was within what he could accept. He had been given the chance to pursue his dream of music once more, after all.
"Let's go to the Montere region. I have to get that sheet music by whatever means it takes."
And so Dason decided to set out with Kemen on a somewhat long journey.
***
The preparations for leaving for the Montere region were made swiftly. The party was settled as Dason, his faithful butler Kemen, and two Aura Knights serving as escort.
Clunk!
The simply assembled party left the estate and headed for the road.
"Kururung!"
At that moment, Benereton poked its face out of Dason's pocket.
"Kurung! Kururung!"
The little thing, which had been devoting itself to practicing Up, Up Goes the Airplane, had moved into his pocket without hesitation the moment it heard of Dason's trip.
"We're in the carriage now, so start practicing again."
At Dason's words, Benereton's small body flinched.
"Kurung......."
Its slumped shoulders and limply drooping tail spoke for its tiredness.
Droop.
Its fingers ached from tapping the keys all day long, and it longed to rest, if only for a moment.
"Tsk. You've still got a long way to go. You have to keep your fingers moving to keep your feel."
But Dason was firm. The journey was not over yet, and in his view Benereton must not slack off its practice for a single moment in that time.
"You promised."
Dason had demanded continued practice as the condition for letting Benereton come along, and the Spirit of Music had accepted it.
Swish.......
Dason had even brought the piano along for it.
"I brought it just for you."
As carefully as if handling a newborn baby, Dason set the small, neat piano down on the floor.
Thump.
The piano specially made for the small spirit was small in size, but the meaning it held was by no means small.
It was the love of music that Dason was handing on to Benereton, and a precious tool that would make its talent bloom.
"Kurung."
The little thing dragged its heavy body over and perched on the stool. Its small shoulders sagged under the pressure of practice.
The joy and excitement of first learning the piano had gone who knew where, and sitting down at the keys now felt like an ordeal.
Pfffff.
At the fact that today, too, it had to repeat the practice piece 'Up, Up Goes the Airplane' without a break, nothing came out but sighs.
Benereton's small chest sank heavily.
"......."
The endless repetition of a monotonous melody. The simple labor of fingers going back and forth between note and note. All of it was nothing but dull and tedious.
"Kuu...... ku."
It had begun learning the piano with a fluttering heart, and yet its present self, shut inside a frame of strict practice, felt wretched.
It was then.
"If you finish this piece well, I'll teach you a more fun one."
Dason's words rang in Benereton's ears. The small spirit's eyes went round.
"Gurung?"
Half puzzlement, half anticipation. The existence of a new piece gave a fresh jolt to Benereton, who had been sunk in the monotony of the keys.
"It's harder than Up, Up Goes the Airplane, but...... it'll still be a piece you can handle."
"Kurung! Kururung!"
Filled with joy, Benereton cried out merrily.
Swish.
Then it fixed the keys with a resolute look.
It would grit its teeth and absorb itself in practice. It wanted to conquer Up, Up Goes the Airplane even one day sooner and take on the piece Dason had promised.
Curiosity and longing for unknown territory set the small spirit's heart ablaze.
Tinkle-tinkle!
A clear, cheerful melody filled the cramped carriage. Benereton was burning with a passion for music fiercer than anyone's.
"Practicing even in a carriage...... So even a spirit can have grit."
"Thanks to it, the road won't be dull."
As a bonus, the two Aura Knights escorting the carriage listened to Benereton's playing and smiled lightly.
***
Two days had passed since they set out by carriage.
'What do I do if we run into bandits on the way?'
A small worry lodged itself in the head of Dason, who had left the estate and gone beyond the territory for the first time since the world he lived in had changed.
It was the 'bandit', that time-honored villain who turned up in fantasy novels and films as regularly as meals.
'If we really do run into them...... what then? I'm no good at fighting.'
The children of nobles ordinarily trained from a young age to protect themselves.
But Dason, steeped in drink and revelry, had long since thrown all of that aside.
'Should I run for it on horseback?'
He had at least learned to ride, but that too had little depth. For that reason, Dason scrunched up his face and thought seriously about what to do if bandits appeared.
"Young Master, is something troubling you?"
"I was wondering what we'd do if bandits showed up."
"Hoh......."
But to Kemen it was no worry at all.
"Young Master, there are no fewer than two Aura Knights on the driver's seat right now."
"True."
"Even if 50 bandits, no, 100 were to appear, they could not put a single scratch on you."
For there were superhuman beings who wielded aura.
'Will those guys protect me?'
Even so, Dason was uneasy. Thanks to the changed self he had shown for nearly a week and the apology he had made to the Aura Knights, they had indeed taken on the role of his escort.
And yet, if a grudge still lingered in their hearts...... Dason would end up like a drowned mouse.
Gulp.
In his unease, Dason unconsciously stroked the scabbard at his waist. It was a sword he had brought in case of a fight.
'It's a real sword.'
The hard, cold feel that came through his fingertips gave him a curious sense of relief.
Just as he had cherished his gun like a lover in the army, he resolved that from now on he would trust and rely on this sword.
'Just having it should settle me down a bit.'
He was clumsy with a sword, but it would surely come in handy in a moment of crisis.
"Kurung? Kururung?"
In the midst of this, Benereton finished its 236th performance and came up to Dason.
With eyes full of expectation, it seemed to be waiting for a verdict on its playing.
Pointing at the piano with a small hand, it gestured for him to tell it which parts had fallen short. At the earnest sight of Benereton thirsting for its teacher's instruction, Dason forgot his worries for a moment and smiled.
[Piece currently in practice: Up, Up Goes the Airplane]
[Practice completion: 85%]
'Almost there.'
Thanks to the special training that continued even inside the carriage, the completion had climbed steadily. Under Dason's harsh instruction, Benereton's playing was growing by the day.
[Piece currently in practice: Up, Up Goes the Airplane]
[Practice completion: 85%]
'However I look at it, the standard for completion is way too strict.'
To be honest, by now even Dason had to rack his brain every time he taught.
Minute corrections to the playing and ceaseless repetition. Only by tuning even the most trivial details in that way did the completion rise, little by little.
It was a piece that even Benereton, with its genius talent, could not easily conquer.
Dason, too, gained new insights the deeper he dug into the piece called Up, Up Goes the Airplane.
'I've gotten to know Up, Up Goes the Airplane a bit better, sure, but.......'
He had thought it a familiar piece, and yet the more he aimed for a perfect performance, the more the musical subtleties and difficulties hidden within it came to light.
It was just as if the Musical Genius System were telling him. That there was no piece in the world whose 100% completion could be reached easily. That it took every bit of effort and devotion.
Neigh!
"Wh-What is it?"
Dason, who had been lost in thought, jumped at the shrill cry of the horses pulling the carriage.
The carriage rocked precariously at the sudden hard stop.
"Stop! Hand over everything you've got!"
"If you don't want to die, you'd better cooperate quietly!"
Rough voices penetrated the carriage. Bandits were demanding valuables in a threatening tone.
Uninvited guests descending on a peaceful journey. Dason's heart pounded. He sensed that the worst case he had foreseen had become reality.
"Young Master, would you care to observe the strength of the Aura Knights? Chances like this do not come often."
Just then, Kemen quietly made Dason a suggestion. That a show like this did not come along easily.
'I am curious, though.'
Dason wavered.
And when roughly 5 seconds had passed.......
"All right. I'll watch from behind."
He decided to see the Aura Knights' strength for himself. Frankly, this was something anyone at all would have found hard to resist.