Having politely declined the offer of a meal, Dason made his way back to the estate. His mind was full of questions.
'Why on earth did she get so angry at the end?'
In truth, the reason Dason had refused the meal was simple.
He simply could not eat the medicinal-herb cooking Sorakan was offering.
But at Dason's refusal, she had scowled fiercely and snapped at him.
-From now on, don't go being a picky eater!
She had shouted that and slammed the door right in Dason's face.
'Is picky eating taken as something worse in this world?'
He could not hide his bewilderment. He had only declined out of personal taste, and he had not known it would offend Sorakan that much.
"Young Master. You have returned."
In any case. When he came back after ending his meeting with Sorakan that way, Kemen, who had been waiting at the entrance, came out to greet him.
"Good timing. I've got one favor to ask."
"Pardon?"
"Let me meet the Aura Knight from Montere. Something's come up that I need to ask him for."
"......."
And at Dason's sudden request, Kemen's face went blank. He had never imagined that Dason would want a meeting with an Aura Knight.
"Young Master...... you must remember what you did to the Aura Knights."
"I know."
"And you still mean to meet him?"
"Yeah."
Despite Kemen's concern, Dason nodded firmly. He knew well what atrocities his past self had committed.
'I have to get that sheet music, no matter what.'
But if only to lay Arhan's grief to rest, he had no choice but to face the knights.
'Besides, I'm looking forward to the reward, too.'
This job was not charity work.
The system had said a special gift would be given upon completion of the Quest.
If he could meet even one more precious bond like the Spirit of Music, or if it was possible to gain something comparable, he could not let this chance slip.
"Ahem......."
Kemen let out a deep sigh and hung his head. The wrinkles carved deep in his forehead seemed to speak for his worries.
Realizing that he could not break the youngest young master's stubbornness, he felt keenly that all that was left to him now was to watch from the side.
"I know you will do it even if I tell you that you must not."
His heavy shoulders drooping, Kemen murmured quietly.
"So I will take you there myself. In return, you must refrain from any further behavior that would offend the Aura Knights."
"I promise."
"......Just this once, I will try trusting you, Young Master."
At Dason's words, Kemen gave him a complicated look. The attitude the youngest young master had shown throughout this day had been truly moving.
But what if it was nothing more than a passing whim?
There was no knowing what would happen when he came face to face with an Aura Knight.
'I suppose I may trust him this once.'
Even so, the reason Kemen accepted Dason's request was the changed self he had shown from the morning until now.
"We will go to the drill ground."
"All right. I'm counting on you."
And so Dason followed Kemen toward the drill ground.
***
The Aura Knights' drill ground was on a different level from the ordinary soldiers' training ground, starting with its sheer scale.
"Whoa......."
At the entrance to the drill ground, a massive iron gate stood firm.
'This is a drill ground?'
The door, made of thick iron plate, had been specially built to hold back the shock waves generated every time the knights swung their swords.
Boom! Boom!
As proof of it, shock waves were pushing out from inside even now. They were strong enough to rock the door Dason had been admiring back and forth.
'That wall.......'
On either side of the iron gate stretched a grand wall nearly 3 meters high. It was a barrier so hard and solid that calling it an iron wall would be no exaggeration.
'It's magic. Real magic.'
Magic circles giving off a mysterious light were densely imprinted across the towering wall face. The patterns, imbued with spells of defense and protection, poured out a blue radiance and enveloped the wall.
Gulp.
The wall was reinforced with magic power to minimize the damage from sword training charged with killing intent and to keep the knights safe.
"Kemen. The repair work on this drill ground is being kept up properly, right?"
A just-in-case unease came over him. What if the wall came down while the Aura Knights were showing off their strength? He could guarantee the surroundings would be reduced to ruins.
"You need not worry, Young Master. Once a month, dwarves come and carry out a maintenance inspection."
"That's a relief."
"For your reference, the money you spend on your revelry is about equal to the cost of maintaining the drill ground you see before you now."
"......."
Dason scratched his head at Kemen's pointed remark.
'It's unfair, but...... I've got nothing to say.'
All of it was the karma of this body's original owner. But now that he himself had become Dason, he had no way to voice the unfairness of it.
'The only answer is music, after all.'
He simply felt once again that the best he could do was to put the talent of his previous life to use and have his changed self acknowledged.
"Let's go in."
"Yes, Young Master."
Fortunately, Kemen did not press Dason any further about the costs. Instead, he answered him and walked up to the iron gate.
Swish.......
And he took a palm-sized pouch out from inside his clothes.
"!"
Dason was startled at the sight of it.
The pouch in Kemen's hand was no ordinary sack. It was a subspace pouch imbued with magic.
The pouch, made of brown leather, looked small and unremarkable from the outside, but hidden inside it was a space far exceeding its size.
Swish.
When Kemen put his hand into the pouch, a soft purple glow began to gather around it.
-Hummmm!
Mysterious magic power wrapped the pouch and created a passage linking its inside and outside.
"A subspace pouch......."
Dason could not contain his admiration. Thanks to the knowledge held in his memories, he was able to recognize the pouch for what it was.
'This really is a world with magic.'
A subspace pouch was a magic item connected to a space in another dimension. It was a tool that could store an enormous quantity of things inside a small pouch.
"......?"
It was then. Kemen looked puzzled at Dason's reaction.
It was true that a subspace pouch was an expensive magic item, but it was not something that should surprise the Young Master that much.
"Did you not have a subspace pouch as well, Young Master?"
"Me?"
"Indeed. The Count gave it to you as a birthday present. However, it was confiscated after you caused an incident by locking a woman inside the subspace pouch while drunk."
"......."
Once again, drink had ruined everything. A sigh escaped Dason at the atrocities his past self had committed.
"Kemen, if I ever say I'm going to drink again, crack me across the skull."
He vowed it in a firm tone. In this life, at least, he meant to part ways with drink forever.
Grin.
At his words, Kemen wore a gentle smile.
"I will hit you with a hammer."
An answer whose brutal content was the exact opposite of his mild tone popped out.
Creak!
With that, Kemen strode up and opened the door of the drill ground.
Rumble!
With a heavy tremor, the massive iron gate slowly swung inward. When it opened, the Aura Knights training inside came into view.
"......."
"......."
But the moment their eyes met Dason's, the air that had been flowing through the drill ground turned icy cold.
No one said a word, and only silence pressed down on the space. A terrifying killing intent drifted in the air, creating a suffocating tension.
"Ahem......."
Noticing this, Kemen deliberately gave a loud cough and stepped forward.
"Good work, all of you. The Young Master has said he would like a brief word with you."
At Kemen's words, which broke the uncomfortable silence, the knights' expressions grew even grimmer.
Their eyes, full of distrust and anger toward Dason, were bloodshot. They did not seem to have the slightest wish to talk with the youngest young master.
'This isn't going to be easy, as expected.'
In the taut tension, Dason swallowed dryly. But he could not back down like this.
"I have a favor to ask of the Aura Knight from Montere."
So he looked at the Aura Knights and broached the matter. At that, their eyebrows twitched.
Tap...... tap...... tap.
Just then, a middle-aged man in armor came toward Dason. Perhaps he had been sparring until a moment before, for blood was dripping from his face.
Drip...... drip.......
With one eyebrow cut deep and bleeding, he looked extremely fierce. The fresh blood seeping from the wound soaked his armor and made for an even more chilling air.
"......."
But Dason was not frightened.
He merely looked, calmly, at the knight approaching him.
Thud!
As Dason stood still like that, the bleeding knight came to a halt right in front of his nose.
"I am the one from the Montere region."
The nameless Aura Knight looked down at Dason with a stern face. Dason swallowed at the intimidating presence that came from a height of nearly 2 meters.
"What business do you have with me?"
"I need sheet music. I have to play a traditional children's song that's famous in the Montere region."
But Dason, unafraid, made his demand clear.
"......."
At that moment, the man's face crumpled into a scowl.
"Sheet music, you say."
And he looked at Dason with a face that said this was absurd.
"Why should I give you my help, Young Master?"
"......."
"You said it yourself, Young Master. That we are lucky butcher bastards. Lowly lackeys who know how to do nothing but swing a blade."
The insult he had suffered from Dason still lingered, so he had no intention of meekly cooperating.
"Ah. For your reference, I do not need an apology. Nor will my mind change even if you offer money."
The knight drew the line firmly before Dason could say a thing. If there was any mercy in it, it was that he swallowed the words that would have followed: 'So get lost.'
"No. I'm not backing down."
But Dason was not one to give up here.
"First of all, I'm sorry. The way I looked down on the knights was wrong."
"As I told you—"
"But something's come up that needs your help. So I have to act."
Having finished speaking, Dason met the knight's eyes squarely. The intimidating presence of the knight, with his menacing face and bearing, was truly fearsome.
Gulp.
But as he had just said, Dason could not run. He was in a position where he needed that 'sheet music' no matter what, after all.
"I can't use a sword, and I don't have mana."
"......."
"But I'm confident in my playing. So give me a chance to let you hear my music. Please."
He played the best move he could.
"......Playing. What an amusing proposal. It is at least more realistic than sparring with me."
The knight let out a hollow laugh at Dason's words.
"Very well. Do so."
It was a half-hearted answer without so much as a shred of expectation.
Still. At least he had been given the chance to try.
Dason saw a possibility in that.
'I can do this.'
Moving people's hearts with his playing was his specialty, after all.