Next chapter here. We see the new skill, move on from the kingdom, and surprises galore. Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone other than Itsuki and his party woke up extremely hung over the next day. However, due to her serious and responsible nature, Natalia slapped herself awake and began to finish preparing for the Barrier Symphony. Itsuki had passed to her the transcribed composition to allow the performers a chance to look at the piece, after which he was immediately assaulted by Hina. Meanwhile, Eulina and Polly were preparing to shop for anything they needed.

Bruno: “Gah my head…sorry girls. I drank a bit too much there. I bought the carriage yesterday, and some camping supplies should be coming. However, I doubt I could get you any food supplies right now. If you girls can go, that’d be great.”

Polly: “Sure thing! Let’s go, Eulina.”

Eulina: “Yea!”

Itsuki: “Haha, I see you two have gotten closer overnight. That’s great. Take this bag. It’s a bag just for food. You can get anything you like and put it in without worrying about it spoiling. I’ll get ready for the performance.”

After handing the two the bag he received from Demeter, Itsuki began to mentally prepare himself for the performance. His concentration was so incredible, that Hina’s antics on his head did not stir him. Veri beckoned Hina to come play with her in order to give Itsuki his needed space to prepare.  

Polly: “Let’s see…food that lasts long would be potatoes and beans right?”

Eulina: “But Itsuki did say any food was ok…because of this bag right?”

Polly: “I guess so. I love oranges, so I’ll add a lot of them.”

Eulina: “Vegetables are good to bring along if we can.”

Polly: “Ohhhhh that huge piece of meat looks so gooood!”

Eulina: “Haha...I can’t believe this bag. We continue to buy more food but it swallows all of it up. Better yet, I can hardly feel any weight carrying it. A few sacks of rice please!”

Polly: “Spices and condiments are here.”

Eulina: “That hair clip would look really cute on you.”

Polly: “That necklace is really nice!”

Slowly, the girls bought an assortment of food that would probably last them weeks. Fortunately, they had the sense to use all of the money on food rather than accessories. They bonded together after spending the night together having girl talk, and this furthered after this shopping trip. In their own little world together, they immersed themselves in idle chatter and shopping, unaware of the crowd that was watching them.

Man A: “Oh Polly looks stunning today! The girl next to her is just as beautiful!”

Man B: “What can I do to get them to see me? Maybe…if I ran over to show off my muscles?”

Man C: “Don’t you dare! How could you show our idol something so grotesque?!!”

Wherever the girls passed, brawls began to take place. However, they continued on unaffected by the events around them. After finishing their shopping trip, they returned to the Grest’s Rest.

Polly: “We’re back!”

Sarah: “Excellent timing. We’re all about to head to the temple to hear the performance. Come with us.”

Bruno: “Leave the bag here. We’ll load it once you get back.”

Veri: “I hope you two bought a lot of meaaattt~”

Eulina: “Of course Veri haha. We bought a little bit of everything. Since Bruno was able to get us cooking tools, we shouldn’t have a problem with our meals for a few weeks.”

Hina puffed her cheeks and yelled: “Stop being so slowwww! Big brother Itsuki already left to play music! Let’s go let’s go!”

Everyone was dragged out of the inn by Hina, and they made their way to the temple. On arriving, they saw Itsuki facing a group of woodwind players, recorder players, and lyre players. It was a simple arrangement, but to Itsuki, it was enough. This performance was not publicized in order to protect Itsuki’s identity for a little while longer. Thus, the only ones watching were whoever was at the celebration party yesterday.

Itsuki waved his arm in order to start the performance, and he invoked Barrier Symphony to begin. From Natalia’s heart, her honest yearning for peace from the gods became the core of the skill. The initial plucking by the lyre players started the piece, followed by the melody of the woodwind and recorder players. The piece was simple, peaceful, yet full of hopes and prayers. Gradually, a translucent barrier began to form slowly. The performers followed Itsuki’s directions carefully, and their performance in the eyes of the audience was so gentle and moving. As though the barrier was made of music itself, every note played added another part to the barrier until the performance ended.

Piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUpkaXA80tA 

However, the Piano Arrangement is better to me so I'll add that too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8FYh7oEHvE

This day marked a very special day for the citizens of the Renaissance kingdom. Rumors would spread like wildfire days after about a mysterious conductor and the beginning of his journey. The kingdom was protected from monsters, and the citizens were wrapped in the warmth known as peace. Parents could allow their children to play outside without fear of monster attacks. In fact, a celebration would be held every year to mark the anniversary of this day. But that is a story for another time.

Finishing the piece, Itsuki bowed to his performers and left the stage to see the friends he made at this kingdom. Right when he got close, he was obviously assaulted by the little ball of energy and sunshine known as Hina.

Hina: “That was suuuper good! Can you teach Hina how to do that arm waving thing?”

Itsuki: “Haha definitely when my quest ends, I will teach you what I know. How about that?”

Hina: “Mm!”

Natalia: “I feel so at ease now. For years, the monsters have gotten closer and closer to the kingdom, and the citizens became afraid to take their children out of their houses. Now, however, that fear is unfounded. I think the kingdom’s going to get a lot noisier in the coming days. Thank you Itsuki.”  

Bruno: “Haha I thought the goddess Artemis would appear at some point.”

Sarah: “Ah, we should head back. I need to cook up some food for them to eat before they leave. Bruno, go pack up the carriage.”

Bruno: “Yes, dear.”

Natalia: “Polly, stay back for a second. I need to talk to you.”

Polly: “Oh, ok. Everybody, head back first. I’ll catch up later.”

Once Polly and Natalia were alone, they gave each other a great big hug. Natalia, proud of the girl who had grown so much, had a lonely light in her eyes.

Natalia: “It’s time for you to go. See the world. Make sure to tell me all about it when you get back.”

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Polly: “That’s a promise! Don’t overwork yourself now that I’m not around ok? Rely on Bruno and Sarah more. Bruno said he’s going to be in the kingdom for a good long while this time, so he’s like a helping hand.”

Natalia: “Silly girl. My job is not as dangerous as what you are about to set off to do. Thus, I wish to give this to you.”

In her hands was the golden necklace that was gifted by Artemis. It was of superb quality, probably considered priceless by any appraiser.

Polly: “What! I can’t accept that. Artemis gave it to you as the symbol of the one who is in charge of the kingdom!”

Natalia: “I always found it odd that we call this place a kingdom, despite its small size and lack of a king. However, it’s been so long already that everyone sees me as such. I do not need such a thing. Instead, I have this feeling it can be of use to you. Take it, and I pray it will empower you in some way. Also, I have one letter that you need to deliver to the Baroque kingdom. Give it to Arnold Breaker. If you say it’s from me, then he’ll understand and help you as much as he can.”

Polly: “…I understand. Thank you, Natalia. Take care of yourself ok?”

Tears streamed down her face as she looked at Natalia for the last time before her departure. Then, Polly turned around and headed away to the inn to leave.

On her arrival at the inn, Itsuki, Eulina, and Veri were eating loaves of bread with eggs and bacon. The sheer sight of her friends stuffing their faces caused her gloomy atmosphere to immediately disperse.

Itsuki: “Oh you’re back, Polly! Hurry and eat or else nothing will be left after Veri’s done.”

Veri: “Shut up! Is it so wrong for me to eat a lot?”

Eulina: “I don’t think he meant it like that, but it is strange that Veri’s so small but eats so much haha.”

Polly: “Koraa! Save some food for me guys haha!”

Breakfast was lively, and Bruno packed everything they needed into the carriage. After giving their last good-byes and promising to write, the trio with a pixie set off to the Baroque Kingdom 10 days away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The party had an efficient system in place. Polly, who had some knowledge on driving carriages around the kingdom, was in the driver’s seat. Eulina, whose voice could keep monsters at bay, would sing during the trip whenever they reached a monster filled region. Itsuki would sit next to Polly in his Pizzicato form in order to be able to see potential dangers from far away and respond with his bow. This formation allowed them to pass through the danger zones with ease compared to the caravans with large groups of mercenaries.

During their first break, Polly showed off her barrier magic.

Polly: “Holy Barrier!”

A radius of 3 meters became a safe haven for the party as they relaxed any tense nerves.

Eulina: “Wow! We’re so safe now. Thank you, Polly!”

Polly: “Ehehe, it was nothing.”

Itsuki: “I guess I’ll start cooking then. What are you two going to do?”

Polly: “Meh…I can’t cook anyway. I’ll just sunbathe or something.”

Eulina: “If you need help, I can help you. If not, I’ll start tailoring.”

Polly: “Hm? You know how to tailor?”

Eulina: “It’s an indispensable skill after all! I always tore my clothes when I was traveling, so I had to learn…Now, if given the materials, I can make a lot of things.”

Veri: “Oh, if you can use it, why not use the Alpha Wolf fur that Itsuki got the other day? We sure can’t use it.”

Eulina: “Is it ok?”

Itsuki: “Go ahead. I can’t sew for my life.”

Eulina happily took the wolf fur and began to make something. Whatever it was took all of her attention, as she didn’t look up once from her project. Polly and Veri decided to watch her intensely, while Itsuki lamented his having to cook and missing out on whatever Eulina was doing. After tearing Eulina away from her project long enough to eat their lunch of curry, they set off once again. This time, Eulina remained focused on her creation, and it slowly began to take shape. After three days, she finally finished her…teddy bear?

Polly: “Oh! That’s a teddy bear right? It’s super cute!”

Veri: “It’s soo…fluffy. Where did the cotton from the inside come from?”

Eulina: “Fufufu I had cotton on me but nothing worth using as its fur. This wolf fur was of such high quality that it’s really soft! This is my ultimate teddy bear! I’ll name him Lute, and he’ll have a flute made for him too!”

Itsuki thought in his head: “Haha, usually, she’s so calm and mature about things that I forget she’s still a normal girl. Well, nothing wrong with a doll or two.”

Polly: “I want to sleep with him…”

Veri: “Me too…”

Eulina: “No! Lute is mine! At least let me sleep with him on the first day!”

Itsuki cried silently: “Man this bear is popular. I wish I was a teddy bear right now…”

That night, after fighting over the bear, the three girls ended up sharing him. Itsuki, on look out, watched them snoozing away next to a little furried bear, and he began to chuckle to himself. He could tell that his journey would definitely not be boring with them around.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the 6th day of the trip, everything so far had been smoother than expected. There were no monster attacks except for the occasional deaf wolf or falcon thanks to Eulina’s singing, and they were easily disposed of by Itsuki. However, this day was different. 

Using the far sight he gained by switching to Pizzicato form, Itsuki could see a small girl being chased by rabid tigers. Immediately, he asked Polly to speed up the carriage, lest they fail to make it in time. The girl tripped due to sprinting with all she had, leaving her wide open for the teeth of the tigers until an arrow went into the closest tiger’s eye. Itsuki cursed at the fact that his arrow didn’t pierce through the tiger’s brain due to the extensive distance between the two. This caused his arrows to lose a good bit of power upon reaching its target.

Eulina, noticing the situation, used her skill Attack Song in order to buff Itsuki’s strength through singing. With the newfound buff, Itsuki used the skill Rondo Barrage and shot a huge number of arrows at the tigers, killing them before they could eat the young girl.

Finally, the carriage reached the little girl, and Polly jumped out the driver’s seat once she saw the numerous scratches on the child. While invoking her healing magic on the girl, the little girl spoke with the last of her energy before passing out.

???: “Please, save the Hesperides.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. More intense fighting on the way next chapter. Until next time.