Project: Sound Of Music (5)

Reed thanked Yustinaand looked at Phoebe to ask.

"How did the recording go?"

"Well, there's a festival today to celebrate the growth of Yggdrasil, and they said they'd let us listen then."

It would be late in terms of time, but it was a jackpot for Reed's project.

The music at the festival.

It wasn't just the music to welcome foreigners, but joyful music from the heart. It would be more melodious and enjoyable than any song.

"Did you ask if we could record that too?"

"Yes, they said we can."

Phoebe nodded, and Reed thanked them once more with a salute.

"Thank you for letting us experience Elf culture."

"Joy is something that can only truly be felt when it springs from within. If you can reproduce that sound of joy and share it, Yggdrasil will be pleased."

It was a generous statement, not expected from a secluded elf.

But that generosity didn't end there.

"I heard you want to hear the druids' music too."

"Yes."

"I asked for their help on behalf of you. If you mention my name, they'll gladly help."

"Thank you."

Thanks to Yustina'sgoodwill, what would have taken at least two days could be completed in one day.

Then, Phoebe, who was standing next to him, spoke.

"Tower Master, I'll go and come back soon."

Reed shook his head.

"No, stay here. Since the elder has asked for permission, it's enough to send some mage from the tower."

"It would be better for me to handle this quickly~. And..."

Phoebe sneaked over to Reed and whispered in his ear.

"I shouldn't interfere with your time with the lady, should I?"

Phoebe grinned, and then Reed realized why she had said that.

'Right, Rosaria was upset when she couldn't come with us.'

"The elder invited you, the tower master, because of the lady. Please make it a good time."

"Ah, I see."

"Yes."

Suddenly, Reed's heart grew heavy.

He thought she understood and moved on when her sulky face turned into a big smile, but she didn't.

'She is more mature than me.'

At just 7 years old.

She has been a good daughter to her father, even at an age when tantrums are common.

Reed was grateful for Phoebe's tactful withdrawal.

"Thank you, Phoebe."

"Hehe, it's nothing. Lady, Phoebe is going now."

"Okay! Ah, Phoebe Unni!"

"Yes?"

Rosaria ran over to Phoebe and handed her the teddy bear she had tucked under her arm.

"Take care of Lucy."

"Got it~."

After sending even Lucy away, Rosaria waved her hand with a bright smile.

Unlike when Reed said he wouldn't go, Rosaria easily let Phoebe go.

She walked toward the forest, waving her hand.

"I'm going to ask my sisters, or rather brothers, to make something for Papa!"

"Let's do that."

Reed was gently pulled around by Rosaria's tiny hand.

What food they eat, and how they pay homage to Yggdrasil.

Rather than showing the dignity of a tower master, he accepted the elf culture as a foreigner for a while and experienced their life.

As the night deepened, the lamps that had grown here and there illuminated beneath Yggdrasil's tree with a blue light.

Reed and Rosaria also headed there, led by Yustina.

The place was already filled with many elves preparing for the festival.

Rosaria and Reed took their places at the very front.

"Sit here."

Since there was no mat or cushion, just the bare ground, Reed sat cross-legged and placed Rosaria on top of him.

A little later, the festival preparations were all complete.

The gathered elves began to form a circle.

Reed pressed the start button on the prepared recorder.

The elf musicians seated in the center tuned their instruments.

Their instruments were stringed instruments made of carved wood and drums.

Soon, the lively rhythm of the percussion blended with the gentleness of the strings, gently resonating through the serene forest.

Elder elf, Yustina, slowly walked into the center.

The elves' traditional costumes, which the elders had been wearing, resembling a chiton made from a single cloth, had been changed to a dancer's costume with tassels flying every time they moved.

Yustina, who had been standing still in the center, started to move to the rhythm.

The seated elves began to sway their bodies from side to side and start a chorus.

The grandeur created by the sweet tone.

It felt like a gentle and warm breeze was filling Reed's chest.

It was the pure joy that the elves felt.

A joy that everyone could feel, without exception.

And that joy touched his heart from deep within.

'Joy...'

Reed was happy too.

He was happy to be able to listen to this music directly.

He was happy that Rosaria was listening to such beautiful music.

Above all, he was most happy to listen to this song with her.

'Rosaria...'

At first, it was regretful, but now it had become a part of his heart.

Reed gently hugged her, who was sitting on his lap.

Rosaria looked down at his hand, then grasped it with her tiny hand, tightly wrapping herself.

Reed placed his forehead on her head.

The faint scent of roses wafted.

Rosaria turned her head with a beaming smile, and her eyes met Reed's.

Suddenly, Rosaria's face stiffened.

"Papa, are you crying?"

"Huh?"

At Rosaria's words, Reed finally realized that tears were streaming down his cheeks.

His heart, shaken by the music, was raining tears.

Reed quickly wiped away the tears with his thumb, and Rosaria looked up at him with a worried expression.

"Are you sad? Why?"

"I'm not sad. These are tears of joy."

Rosaria tilted her head.

"Why cry when you're happy? When you're happy, you should smile."

"That's right. You should smile when you're happy."

As Reed smiled, Rosaria also giggled.

"They say if you laugh after crying, you'll grow horns on your butt, hehe."

But it seemed like he wouldn't mind even if dozens of such horns grew.

The song of joy echoed for several hours, and the quiet festival came to an end when it was time for Rosaria to sleep.

In the guest room of the elven elders.

Reed checked the music he had recorded yesterday once more.

'Everything is recorded.'

Although it wasn't as moving as when he had heard it directly with his own two ears, it was enough to make those who heard it for the first time shed tears.

Reed put the recorder in his pocket and turned his head.

Rosaria was sleeping with a soft snore.

"Rosaria."

"...Hmm."

"Daddy is about to go now, do you want to continue sleeping here?"

"...Hmm..."

Rosaria shook her head, unable to wake up from her sleep.

He had no choice but to pick her up.

Like hugging a giant teddy bear, Rosaria hugged Reed's neck and fell asleep again.

Carrying her, Reed went outside and happened to run into Yustina, who was walking down the hallway.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I think I'll be going now, Elder. I apologize for any inconvenience."

Reed bowed his head lightly to express his gratitude for the time being.

And just as he was about to call Rosaria's name to say goodbye, Yustina stopped him.

"Let our benefactor stay in the land of dreams a little longer. And I would like to have a conversation with you."

"Understood."

Yustina walked with Reed to the sky chariot he had landed.

Walking down the hallway made of intertwined tree trunks, Yustina was the first to speak.

"What kind of person are you?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking, so it's hard to answer."

"I've seen many humans in my time. But I've never met a human as enigmatic as you. You seem like someone who is wandering."

"Wandering..."

Reed considered why she would say such a thing.

Then he remembered his own nature.

His nature was 'unknown'.

Just as he couldn't see his own abilities with his 'Eye for Talent', he thought this was also something he couldn't confirm himself.

"Teenage years are for finding your path, the twenties for paving it, and the thirties for walking it. I've heard that this is the cycle of human life. You're of the age to walk your path. You should be walking the path you've found and paved. But, looking at you up until now... I get the impression that you're not following the path you've paved."

"It sounds like you're saying that's not a good thing."

"There's no right or wrong in life. I understand that humans are complex, unlike us elves. It's not necessarily bad to deviate from the path you've paved and go on a new one. I'm just concerned about where the path you've paved is leading."

Saying that Yustina apologized.

"I'm sorry, Masterof the Silent Tower. Even though I've lived for hundreds of years, I've overstepped and tried to teach you. I'm a very curious person. I can't help but be curious, even knowing that it can be a double-edged sword for someone. I apologize again."

"No, please teach me more. I still don't know much about myself, Elder."

"Isn't everyone like that? Even we, who have lived for hundreds of years, always think about our existence, but no answer comes."

Yustina smiled subtly.

"Everything is cause and effect, payback for one's deeds. To find yourself, you should reflect once more on what you've left behind while paving your path."

Look back at the past.

Look at the past before Jung Jin-hyuk entered Reed's life.

'Project: Flower Garden is not the end.'

He needs to more decisively settle the past.

Thanks to Yustina's words, Reed realized that he had been closing his eyes until now.

Reed expressed his sincere gratitude to Yustina.

"Thank you, Elder."

"I'm glad if I could help."

With another word of thanks to Yustina for her guidance, Reed boarded the Sky Carriage.

***

The Tower of Silence.

Ordinary people are not well aware of the existence of other towers except for the Black Heaven Tower where death lurks, the Sky Chamber Tower that roams above the clouds, and the tower nearest to their own village.

However, now the Tower of Silence has been added.

Everyone knew about the news of the Masterof the Tower of Silence to the extent that one would be considered ignorant if they didn't.

-The Lord of the Tower of Silence has developed an object that allows people who can't use magic to record.

When people first heard the rumor, they didn't pay much attention.

Nobles had magicians, and those magicians could handle record modification spheres.

And for the common people, magical items were expensive luxuries that were hard to see in a lifetime.

-The Lord of the Tower of Silence has captured the songs of the elves and druids.

Upon hearing this, both nobles and bourgeois were excited, and common people couldn't help but listen.

Thus, it quickly became the talk of the town.

It was a beat faster than the originally intended timing. After all, he had intended to spread it through Leto.

However, the news first came out through the Tower Lords' emergency meeting, and the magicians, who were of noble origin, spread the story to the noble and bourgeois societies.

Reed and the magicians of the Tower of Silence did not release any more information.

"Is the song of the elves really that fantastic?"

"The Tower Masters have already heard it once."

"Oh, really?"

"They say it's heavenly music. Even a vampire would shed tears after hearing it once."

For this reason, the rumor grew uncontrollably, and the tower masters began to doubt each other as to whether anyone had really heard it.

In the end, Reed was the most bothered.

"Well, nobody has heard it, right?"

-Is that true?

The Master of the Monolith Tower asked with full suspicion.

"Have you been fooled all the time?"

-Haha, what are you saying! I just... wondered if our Tower Master of Silence was sharing all the good things without including me.

'What a cunning and bothersome fellow.'

"When the development is finished, I will inform the Master of Monolity Tower first, so don't worry too much."

-Hehe! How can you discriminate people like that! Shouldn't you just contact everyone fairly?

Although he said that, he was laughing as if he was very pleased.

It was so concerning that his laughter might even rub off on him.

"Anyway... I'll be going now."

-Hehe, yes, work hard!

The call with the Master of Monolith ended, and Reed threw himself back into his chair and sighed.