That’s like being able to recite the entirety of the Six Codes from memory, I guess. That would be pretty amazing, yeah. If he’s here by someone else’s recommendation, he’s one of the ones signed up by a relative, huh…I wonder what it is. Something is tugging at the back of my mind here.
“…Your gift is splendid,” I said. “If you wish it, I will recommend you for a bureaucratic position in the Ministry of Law. How about it?”
“No, just the prize will be enough,” Hakuya said immediately, shooting down my proposed recommendation. “I only came here because my uncle who looks after me said, ‘At your age, you need to stop sitting around doing nothing but reading books and go do something useful for society,’ and sent in the application without asking me, so I don’t need excessive rewards.”
“These books you mention, are they all law related?” I asked.
“No. I don’t focus on any specific genre. Law, literature, technical manuals, I’ll read anything.”
“I see.”
I wonder why. There’s something bothering me here.
“Hmm… In that case, how about you become the librarian for the archives in the palace?” I asked. “There are probably books in there that you won’t find on the open market, and with your authority as librarian, you’ll be able to read them.”
“Oh, that does sound nice. If that’s the case, please, let me do it.” Finally, something I could recognize as a happy expression crossed Hakuya’s face. He seemed satisfied.
Seize every opportunity, as they say. It was probably better for me to keep an interesting card like him in my hand than to let him go.
“Next, Madam Juna Doma, step forward.”
“Yes, sir.”
Trading places with Hakuya, the blue-haired pretty girl stepped up.
She looked looked like she was around the same age as me, nineteen, but the air she had about her made this woman feel more mature than her age. With her fluffy hair trailing behind her, she was the picture of beauty as she gracefully bowed her head. While her clothes weren’t very revealing, the top half resembled a dirndl from Austria, while the bottom was transparent and showed her legs, like you might see in an Indian dancer’s sari. Around her hips was wrapped a frilly piece of clothing.
Were it not for the piercing look I received from Liscia, I might have admired her beauty for a full hour.
“Yeah. I haven’t forgotten my job, so stop glaring,” I murmured.
“I don’t know about that…” Liscia responded, looking away angrily.
Marx coughed and cleared his throat, saying, “Sire, this one has shown she is gifted with a rare beauty and singing ability. With those gifts, she took the crown at both the Elfrieden Pretty Girl Grand Prix with her beauty, and at Kingdom of Talent with her singing. Truly, she is the most beautiful songstress of this generation.”
A double crown?! Now, that’s impressive. “Sometimes the heavens do bestow two gifts, it seems,” I said.
“You are too kind,” Juna responded calmly and elegantly to my somewhat awestruck praise. “I have heard that the Doma family are descended from loreleis. Singing is in my blood.”
Loreleis… They’re sea monsters who use their beauty and their songs to lead sailors to their doom, right? Certainly, her beauty and those flowing blue tresses did make me think of loreleis. “I’d very much like to hear you sing.”
“If you wish, I can.”
“Sure. This scene is being broadcast around Elfrieden right now through this jewel. Could you sing a little song to cheer up our countrymen?”
“A song to cheer them up… is it?” Juna seemed troubled. “Most of the lorelei songs passed down in my family are sad love songs, you see…”
“Ohh, if there’s some code or something holding you back from singing one, that’s fine.”
“No, I just don’t know any. If I could hear one, I could learn it right away, though.”
“Hmm… Ah, how about this, then?”
I pulled out my smartphone. It was one of the few things I had had on me when I’d been summoned to this world. I opened up my music folder, picked a song that jumped out at me, then walked up to Juna and put the earbuds in for her.
“What might this be?”
“Something like a machine that plays music, I guess? Anyway, I’m playing it now.”
Juna’s eyes widened.
The moment I pressed the button, Juna’s body shuddered. She seemed bewildered at first, but she was getting used to it, as her body gradually got into the rhythm. Then, five minutes later, she pulled out the earbuds.
“I have it memorized.”
“Already? You really can memorize it the first time you hear it?”
“Yes. Now, let me sing it for you.”
I returned to my seat and she began to sing.
The song was Masashi Sada’s “Ganbaranba.” This cheerful song, which had even had a Minna no Uta short made for it, was distinctive for using rap in Nagasaki dialect mixed with the Kyushu children’s song “Denderaryuba.” Grandpa was a fan, so I had listened to it with him together a lot.
Still, I was impressed with this lorelei. She was even managing to sing the rap parts in Nagasaki dialect. These were completely incomprehensible to people from the Kanto region, but she sung them flawlessly.
By the way, Liscia told me later that she couldn’t understand the lyrics. I could understand the language people in this country speak, and they could understand my Japanese, but it seemed that was part of my power as a hero. I could even write in the world’s language. What I tried to write in my head got translated into the language here, so even though I couldn’t read it afterward, I could write it.
So, the Japanese (in Nagasaki dialect) that came out of Juna’s mouth was in an unknown language for the people of this country. Still, even without knowing the words, if a song is good, you can still get into it. Everyone listened to that catchy tune and enjoyed it.
A few minutes later, amidst roaring applause, Juna finished her song and bowed.
“That was a fun song. Thank you.”
“No, I should thank you,” I said. “Your singing was wonderful.”
“If possible, I hope you will teach me more of the songs of your country, Your Majesty.”
“I’d very much like to have you sing them…Oh, I know! Hopefully we can increase the number of jewels, but even if that’s not possible, we could eventually convert the Jewel Voice Room into a recording studio so that the people can hear your songs all the time.”
“My! That would be like a dream come true, sire.” Juna wore a smile of heartfelt bliss. It was a marvelous smile.
“I’ll be counting on you when the time comes,” I said. “You did a great job today.”
Juna stepped back, and now it was the fox-eared little girl’s turn.
“Next, Madam Tomoe Inui of the mystic wolf race, step forward.”
“Y-Yesh!”
Her voice breaking, the young girl with animal ears who looked to be around ten stepped forward with her right arm moving at the same time as her right leg.
The mystic wolf race… I thought. I guess those aren’t fox ears, they’re wolf ears.
She was adorable with her suntanned skin and cute little round eyes. The clothes she wore were just a little shabby, though. They were torn in places and, perhaps because she was tense, the fluffy tail that stuck out from her rump was standing up straight.
Yup, I want to stroke it.
“Young though she may be, this one has the exceptionally rare gift of being able to talk to birds and beasts. When we brought her to the stables, she was able to correctly tell us everything from the horses’ current state of health to their history. According to her, the horses told her these things. Truly, it is a godly ability.”