Chapter 07: “Tuner Nagi and the Incomplete Ensemble”
The boundary between midnight and dawn.
At the hour when the world sinks into its deepest “silence‚” the top-floor terrace of the medical wing even swallowed the faint sound of gray remnants flickering in the distance.
“…You’re late‚ Aria. Even before I heard your ‘tap-tap‚’ the wind had already carried your hesitation to me.”
Nagi‚ sitting on the window frame‚ swayed her translucent white hair in the moonlight.
Her jade-colored eyes pierced straight through my heart with an unnatural vividness even in the darkness. The veins running along her neck were absorbing the world’s unpleasant noise‚ dyed a poisonously deep shade of ‘blue.’
“Sorry. Rinne tried to make me take ‘five-times miso midnight rice balls’… That thing’s basically a weapon. It took time to escape.”
“…A new kind of magic that restrains people with viscosity‚ perhaps. Anyway‚ sit there. We’re starting the tuning.”
Without a sound‚ Nagi stepped down onto the floor.
With every step she took closer‚ the air tightened sharply‚ and a high harp note trembled deep in my ears.
“…Tuning—what exactly does that mean?”
“Right now‚ your mana circuits are producing a terrible dissonance. Your emotion of ‘wanting to save’ and your theory of ‘wanting to construct things correctly’ are beating each other up. As a result‚ there’s currently a live brawl happening inside you.”
“Don’t call it a live show…!”
Nagi moved behind me and slid her slender fingertips to the nape of my neck.
“—!”
Cold.
Yet the instant she touched me‚ a burning numbness shot straight into my brain.
The next moment‚ Nagi’s body pressed against my back as if it were being drawn there. Her breath brushed my ear‚ its winter-forest chill stroking my nerves.
(That’s close…! No‚ not just close—this is practically violence called “contact”… or maybe a ritual? Either way my heart’s going to die.)
“Relax. Entrust your sound (rhythm) to me.”
Jade-colored mana flowed directly into my body. A wave of power so pure it felt violent.
My incomplete mana circuits were forcibly corrected to match Nagi’s perfect scale.
“Ah… ngh…!”
Pain like my brain was being stirred together with a strange pleasure. My vision flashed white. My fingertips began tapping an intense rhythm on their own—“tap tap.”
“…Look. Every time your dissonance disappears‚ the world’s noise grows quieter.”
When I lifted my face‚ the painfully blue blood visible in Nagi’s neck had regained just a slight hint of clarity in time with the steadying beat of my pulse.
(…My rhythm… is easing Nagi’s pain…?)
“If you become the proper ‘key‚’ my pain—and her despair—will end.”
Nagi’s arms wrapped around my shoulders as if embracing me. Her body temperature was astonishingly cold‚ yet only my own blood seemed to boil.
“…Okay. I’ll… leave it to you.”
I stopped thinking and surrendered myself to Nagi’s cold melody.
For the moment‚ the red numbers of Iris’s life-expectancy counter felt slightly distant—yet the sensation of those cold fingertips continued to throb quietly deep in my chest.
After finishing the “tuning” with Nagi‚ my steps trembled like those of a newborn fawn.
A lingering sensation remained‚ like harp claws had plucked directly at my brain. At the edge of my vision‚ the red numbers of the life-expectancy counter read “89 days 20 hours‚” mercilessly shaving away at Iris’s life.
(…Time is still moving. With every second‚ she gets farther away.)
I staggered to the Fourth Training Ground. The moment I opened the door—an explosive heat wave and a roar struck me head-on.
“ARIAAAA!! Look!! Behold the ‘Resonance of My Soul’ emitted by my latissimus dorsi!!”
Along with Cross’s shout‚ a massive silver claymore tore through the air. His spiked red hair glistened with sweat‚ and the temperature around him alone was about five degrees hotter. Actually‚ it really was—the heat runaway from his mana.
“…Cross. Souls are fine‚ but please stop breaking the training ground equipment. The administration filed a complaint calling it a ‘muscle disaster.’”
“Hah! Things break because the equipment is soft!! It’s just that my muscles reject the very concept of magic!!”
“That’s what the world calls ‘out of control.’ Try feeling a little logic…”
My sigh was cut across by the glow of a sterile waveform monitor.
“…Cross-kun. Because of the noise emitted by your muscles‚ my analysis data now has an entry called ‘magnetic storm caused by pectorals.’ Take responsibility.”
Flipping her white coat‚ Kotone sent a cold gaze through silver-rimmed glasses. Around her alone‚ precise mana waveforms were neatly aligned—a fortress of reason amid the chaos.
“Kotone. Is the analysis progressing?”
“The probability is still 0.03%. But if a new ‘sound’ is added‚ the variables will change. …Look‚ Aria-kun. You’re keeping him waiting.”
Where Kotone pointed‚ a sincere-looking boy polishing a massive shield like a mirror noticed my gaze and sprang to his feet.
“Lord Aria!! It is my honor to meet you for the first time—I am Liam!! To join the ensemble of you‚ once hailed as a ‘prodigy‚’ is the greatest honor possible for a shield-bearer!!”
His overly formal greeting made me instinctively step back.
“Liam… right? You don’t have to be so stiff. My magic isn’t what people once called ‘precision machinery’ anymore—”
“No! I have heard from Lady Nagi! That your rhythm alone is the true ‘key’ to saving Lady Iris!! This shield of mine will guard the one second necessary for you to perform the perfect ‘Prelude‚’ even at the cost of my life!!”
“You don’t have to pay with your life! Your resolve is too heavy‚ Liam!”
“It is not only my resolve that is heavy!! This shield is an alloy of one hundred percent trust and steel!!”
“That’s not a discussion about density! It’s too heavy physically and mentally!”
Just as I felt myself falling behind the tempo of the conversation—an intense “smell of daily life” drifted from behind me.
“Here‚ Aria! A special ‘Cheer Up Five-Times Miso Soup’ to physically wake up your tuning-tired brain!”
Rinne held out a cup with a bright smile. The contents had already lost the dignity of liquid and become a dark matter whose convection had stopped under its own weight. The spoon stood upright without falling.
“…Rinne. My brain’s already numb from Nagi’s tuning. I’m not sure attacking my stomach afterward is wise.”
“Don’t complain! Here‚ Liam-kun‚ you drink some too! Your shield power will increase fivefold!”
“Y-Yes! Lady Rinne‚ I gratefully accept—guhfah!? Th-this is… like lava flowing down my throat…!”
“Liam!? A shield user just took a hit strong enough to hide behind his shield!”
Seeing Liam give a tearful thumbs-up‚ I realized something.
This ‘ensemble’ made by gathering such mismatched sounds. To stand against Solan’s “perfect silence‚” it was far too incomplete—and far too noisy.
And yet—
The “tap tap” rhythm I was beating on my knee had regained just a little warmth.
“Alright. …Shall we begin? Our dissonant session.”
From the edge of the high observation seats‚ Nagi looked down at us—the “incomplete musicians.”
“...Begin‚ Aria. You set the overall ‘beat‚’ and the other three will place their own sounds on that waveform.”
“...In theory. In practice‚ all we can do is pray it doesn’t explode.”
While tapping a preparatory rhythm on my knee—“tap tap”—I looked over my companions.
“Lord Aria! My shield shall become the ‘cradle’ that embraces your rhythm!!”
“…More like a physical barrier than a cradle. Cross‚ how about you?”
“Hah! Perfect! Right now I could punch through three training hall walls with my latissimus dorsi alone!!”
“That’s not magic if you’re breaking walls with muscles! …Kotone?”
“…It’s terrible. The three mana waveforms are fighting like stray cats in a storm. Maybe I should insure my metronome function just in case.”
“…Enough chatter. Play.”
Nagi flicked her slender fingers like a conductor’s baton.
At that moment‚ my mana circuits surged‚ remembering the lingering heat of last night’s “tuning.”
(—tap‚ tap‚ tap‚ tap!)
The rhythm I struck spread through the air of the training ground like ripples.
“All right!! Take… my soul!!”
Cross swung down his claymore. —BOOOOOM!! A shockwave like an earthquake erupted.
“—Cross‚ that’s too strong! The waveform’s breaking!”
“Lord Aria‚ now! I will block the noise with my ‘Bell’!!”
Liam thrust his shield into the ground. —GONG!! A tone like a massive temple bell forcibly gathered Cross’s violent shock into a single direction.
“…Measurement starting. Cycle 3.5‚ error enormous. Aria-kun‚ hit it harder!”
(—Ghh… it’s heavy…!)
The individuality of the three rampaged wildly‚ using my rhythm as their “container.” It felt like controlling three runaway carriages with a single set of reins.
“…You mustn’t run away‚ Aria. If you waver‚ this session will turn into ‘death.’”
The moment Nagi’s voice echoed‚ the mana waveform exceeded its critical point.
“Whoa!? Wait—the resonance coefficient… it’s flowing backward!?”
“Lord Aria! My shield has begun singing!? What omen is this!?”
“…Abnormal overload. Everyone‚ evade—!”
Right after Kotone’s warning‚ “sunflower-colored light‚” “Cross’s red‚” and “Liam’s steel color” mixed together in the center of the training ground‚ twisting the space.
—BOOOOOOM!!
The blast raged‚ blowing us in every direction.
“…Ow… yeah‚ figures this would happen…”
Through the smoke as I coughed‚ I saw Cross falling upside down and sticking headfirst into the ground.
“Hah… Aria… that strike just now… hit my soul… muscles…”
“You’re stuck in the ground‚ Cross—not your soul.”
“…Aria-kun. I’ll tell you just one analysis result.”
Kotone pushed up her soot-stained glasses and turned the monitor toward me.
“That explosion just now exceeded Solan-kun’s standard magic by three hundred percent in raw power. …However‚ the probability of self-destruction is nearly one hundred percent.”
“…Terrible performance. But I’ll acknowledge the volume.”
Nagi stepped down from the stands and stood before me. The veins on her neck had faded slightly from their earlier deep blue‚ as though some of the noise had escaped.
“Cough… Aria‚ are you okay!?”
Rinne‚ who had forcefully blocked the blast with green onions‚ ran over. Seeing my torn-up jacket‚ she sighed deeply.
“Honestly… I just fixed that yesterday‚ and you tore it up again.”
“…Sorry. I couldn’t control it.”
“It’s fine‚ I won’t fix it now. If the conductor’s this muddy and battered‚ everyone else will just have to desperately match their sound‚ won’t they!”
Rinne smacked my back hard—BAM!
That almost violent “pulse of everyday life” blew away my hesitation.
(…That’s right. I don’t need perfect control. I just need to ‘listen’ to everyone’s sound and tie it together.)
“…Alright. No time to change clothes. We’ll head straight to the administration office and submit the entry sheet.”
“Planning a suicide charge‚ are you? …Well‚ it’s probably a better probability than 0.03%.”
Kotone sighed but smiled.
Still covered in soot and dissonance‚ we left the training ground behind.
The academy’s central lobby was swirling with expectation and tension as magical banners for the academy tournament fluttered overhead.
“Lord Aria! The sheet is filled out perfectly! I wrote my signature with the same resolve as when I raise my shield!”
“Aria! You can hear the heartbeat of my pectorals from my signature‚ right!?”
“…Cross‚ your handwriting is shaking so much it’s unreadable. Kotone‚ will this be accepted?”
“…It took me three seconds to decipher it. But it should be accepted.”
We dropped the sheet into the magic post. *Click.* The sound of acceptance rang out.
“—Oh my. Are you truly planning to bring ‘noise’ into the treasure vault?”
A freezing “silence” pressed in from behind us.
When we turned‚ Solan stood there in a pristine uniform like a military dress uniform‚ posture flawless. Behind him was a perfectly aligned “orchestra.”
“An incomplete rhythm‚ uncontrollable bass‚ a shield without theory. Your sounds are not an ensemble. They are merely ‘noise.’ They only soil the ears‚ Aria.”
With each step Solan took forward‚ the air warped as if being drawn in. On the wrist visible beneath his white glove‚ a deeper gray than yesterday had begun to seep through.
(…The erosion is advancing. To preserve Mother’s theory‚ he’s forcing himself…)
“…Noise is fine with me. Our sound is loud enough that your ‘perfect silence’ will never erase it.”
“…Failure. I’ll turn the tournament stage into your requiem.”
Solan left without a sound. His walk was elegant‚ yet somehow carried the danger of walking on thin ice.
“…That guy still gives me the creeps. Aria‚ just ignore him!”
Rinne tugged firmly on my torn sleeve.
“Yeah‚ I know. …Nagi‚ you were watching‚ weren’t you?”
Nagi sat on the railing of the open atrium.
“…Yeah. A good dissonance. To shake Solan’s ‘silence‚’ that level of noise is necessary.”
Morning sunlight poured into the lobby‚ illuminating the golden highlights in my hair.
—tap tap tap tap.
The rhythm I struck on my knee was no longer the sound of hesitation.
A “beat” meant to bring Iris back‚ fill the emptiness left by my mother‚ and play the future together with these imperfect companions.
“…Let’s go. With our sound‚ we’ll repaint the world.”
So that it would reach the golden girl sleeping by the window of the medical wing‚ I stepped forward—firmly.
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