Episode 116: The Sound of Solitude
Phoo!
“……Not bad. But maybe you should lower that note a bit?”
“Then, tighten it here……”
Phoo!
“……How’s this?”
“Good! Much better! Wonderful!”
Galanta said.
She is a Halfling woman who, unusually, has settled in this town.
……With just that one sentence above, most people in this world can understand the situation, but people from Earth probably wouldn’t.
So, let me give a brief explanation.
First, Halflings.
In some regions, they are called Halffoot or Dwarves, and their appearance is like that of a human child, even when they are adults.
Basically, they don’t settle in one place and spend most of their lives traveling.
As for their occupations, many are entertainers such as musicians and singers, or they are thieves, or they “also” are thieves.
Many have cheerful and bright personalities, but at the same time, many lack a sense of law-abidingness, and in closed-off lands, they are often shunned as “bringers of trouble.”
……In that case, she.
Galanta-chan, with her lovely, curly chestnut hair.
“Is a musician and a wanderer, but for some reason, lives in town.”
That’s what you can understand.
This girl is one of the many “lovers” I’ve hooked up with.
I’m always hanging out with Strider girls, so it’s a bit different, but I also have lovers who are townspeople and wanderers.
But compared to Strider women, I don’t get to see them often.
Why?
Well, Striders are like self-employed……
No, that’s right, more like……, prospectors?
The Striders I’m dating are, even though they look like that, quite the cream of the crop.
In the first place, Striders are the adventurers of the fantasy world. They earn a daily wage and squander it on booze and women.
But, ‘Blue Comet’ and the like, collect their respective rewards and use them for insurance for the sick and injured, or for their old age savings. They’re really admirable.
The other guys also earn big and have the planning skills to sustain their earnings.
I’ve seen so many Striders who earn big and disappear like shooting stars. Or rather, you can tell without even seeing them, right?
Frankly, it’s like a professional gambler or a mahjong substitute hired by the Yakuza, this job.
In fact, the national authorities in this world are mostly doing Yakuza-like things……
Your life is on the line, is it a Dark Job or something? But I heard that if you lose at mahjong, your blood gets drawn, so it’s about the same. But there are cases where they cut the power and do a Nine Gates, so I don’t know.
Anyway, Striders can earn a lot, so it’s a job with a lot of free time. If you consider resting your body as part of the job, then maybe it’s a job every day.
I can’t see my lovers who work hard every day very often.
“I’ve been lonely lately~? Dru-kun, you haven’t come to see me at all!”
“Well, the work, you know……”
“It’s related to the Lord-sama, isn’t it……? Please stay by my side from now on?”
“Of course!”
While saying such things, I’m working hard on making musical instruments today.
As a matter of education, I could play the violin and piano to some extent, but I’m not a professional.
I’m searching for a “good sound” with the help of Galanta, who is a professional musician.
What I’m making now is a Trumpet.
In this world, there are things like horns and trombone-like instruments, but there are no brass instruments with as wide a range as modern trumpets.
It’s a novel invention. So, please don’t ask me any amateur questions.
“Even so……, your instruments are always good! I’ve made quite a bit of money thanks to you!”
Ah, I also give Galanta copies of the instruments I make.
So Galanta is very popular around here as a musician who uses unusual instruments.
“Even so……, this, what did you call it, a Trumpet? Before that, you were making a lot of drums, or so you said? And there were guitars and stuff, but this time it’s another different kind? How many tricks do you have up your sleeve?”
“It’s the skills I acquired in my previous life.”
“Ah, that story again……. The heretical saint……, the ‘Rinne Hotoke’ or something, is said to have the ego of a different self, but it’s something like that, right?”
“That’s about right.”
Reincarnation, well, it’s a Buddhist concept.
It seems that there is a similar religion in this world.
“Good, interesting. What was I in my previous life, I wonder?”
“What would you have liked to be?”
“Hmm……, a bird, maybe? I could sing beautifully and go anywhere, right?”
“You can sing beautifully and go anywhere even now, can’t you?”
“I wonder. Halflings like me, it’s not that we ‘can go anywhere,’ but that we ‘can’t stay anywhere,’ I think.”
Ah……
Well, certainly, in a poor world like Medieval Europe, without the muscles or stamina to cultivate fields, and with an appearance like a young child……, frankly, they are “unnecessary existences”……
In that case, beastmen or ogres who work hard as serfs are more in demand.
As a racial trait, Halflings are dexterous and good at singing, but that’s not really that useful for making a living in the medieval world……
“Then, stay at my place. You can stay forever.”
“……Yeah, thank you.”
“You don’t have to worry about anything, okay? Even now, if living in an inn gets tough, you can come anytime.”
“Yeah. Um,”
“Hmm?”
“I love you, Dru-kun.”
“……I see.”
……Somehow, it’s gotten a bit sentimental.
I played the trumpet to cover it up.
“……Eh, amazing, amazing! So good! What kind of song is this?!”
“Ah……, ‘Dragon’s Quest’……, I guess?”
“It’s very good! Really wonderful! Can I play this song too?!”
“Yeah, yeah, do whatever you want.”