The development and release of the open-world game “Triad” have come to an end.
It was truly an unprecedentedly thrilling game development experience.
With carriage chases and insane final boss battles, even now, when I close my eyes, I can vividly recall the chaotic nights of “Triad.”
I couldn’t hold back my praise for Apollo, who arranged the journey, but for some reason, he looked at me oddly.
What’s going on? Did something happen between the organization that arranged our trip and me?
Anyway, with “Triad” done, we were looking to return to our everyday lives.
Yeah… it should have been like that.
Boom!
“Yahhhhhh!!!”
On the night when the sun set,
we were racing carriages on the outskirts of Irene Land.
The rules of the game were simple.
We raced our carriages to see who would reach the finish line first.
“Magic use is free,” “Magical tool use is free,” and we could obstruct opponents any way other than lethal magic.
For safety, we needed to equip a life stone that triggers a protective shield in moments of crisis.
“Yuren! Here I go!!”
“Whoa!! Run!! Julia!!”
Today, Julia and I were on the same team.
Julia was in charge of driving the carriage, using a modified magic engine to speed away at max output from the start.
Behind us, Barren and Master’s team and Sora and Jiren’s team were hot on our tails.
“Stop! My disciple!! ‘Balita (Mud Magic)’!!”
At Master’s incantation, a mud pit formed on the road.
If I touched the mud, it would mean game over, so I immediately countered.
“‘Aeo (Flying Magic)’!!”
Using flying magic on the carriage, I momentarily lifted it into the air to dodge Master’s muddy attack.
Then came Jiren.
“I’m coming! Brother!! Berserker Magic!!”
Casting Berserker Magic on himself, Jiren ran through the air like a superhero to attack me.
I floated in mid-air, bombarding the charging Jiren with paralysis magic.
“‘Slokini (Paralysis Magic)’ x10!”
“Not a chance.”
Honestly, watching Jiren, transformed into a Berserker, duck and weave around my paralysis spells while on a running carriage felt like something out of a dream.
But Jiren still had a long way to go.
“‘Grania (Gravity Magic)’!!”
“Waaaaaaaaah!!!”
Just when Jiren was about to reach the carriage, I used gravity magic.
Instead of increasing gravity, I weakened it.
With his body getting lighter, Jiren soared over our carriage and flew far away, while Julia and I crossed the finish line in first place.
“Yuren! We’re number one!!”
“We’re a team; this was expected!”
High five!
Julia and I celebrated our victory.
Meanwhile, Master, Sora, Barren, and a mud-soaked Jiren returned, further heating the mood.
“Seriously! Brother, that was unfair!!”
“Unfair? It’s called strategy, little bro.”
“Let’s do it again! Yuren, my disciple!”
“Right! Yuren, let’s do it again!”
This had become a part of our daily routine recently.
Wanting to relive those dopamine-fueled moments from “Triad,” we had taken inspiration from a monster truck rally I saw in my past life, and it was actually a blast.
Sure, it was a bit dangerous, but we had prepared thorough safety measures, so it was okay.
Sylvia and Karen were horrified, though.
Despite that, spurred on by everyone’s enthusiastic reactions, I reluctantly agreed to one more race.
“How about we do just one more? If it gets too late, Sylvia and Karen might catch on.”
“Uh…”
“Ah…”
At my words, everyone suddenly turned pale.
What’s up? Did I say something wrong?
“Why is everyone acting like this?”
“Brother… behind… behind…”
“Behind?”
At Jiren’s words, I turned around.
There stood Karen and Sylvia, pale as ghosts.
They looked majestic, intimidating, and downright terrifying, like the four heavenly kings of Buddhism.
Ah… I’m dead.
*
Ever since our trip to “Triad,” Sylvia and Karen had freaked out seeing us play.
They insisted we do these dangerous races only once a month and only in front of them.
But, I’m so sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves and snuck out to play, and now we were kneeling at home, hands raised in punishment.
“Now, everyone, tell me what you did wrong.”
“We did something dangerous…”
“And?”
“We didn’t keep our promise.”
I, Master, Julia, and Barren were getting scolded by Sylvia.
Jiren left with Karen, probably getting scolded separately at home.
“Next time, I’m really going to get mad, so please don’t do it again. All right! It’s late, so everyone go inside.”
Once Sylvia’s lecture ended, we were about to stumble out of the room with our worn bodies and hearts.
But…
“Yuren, you stay.”
“Yes!”
At Sylvia’s words, I halted.
I had a feeling this would happen.
What do I do? Last time, I made a promise with the Dragon Heart Stone that I wouldn’t do this again… what excuse should I come up with this time!
As I was pondering, Sylvia hugged me.
“Really! Yuren! What were you thinking, risking injury like that?!”
“S-Sorry, Sylvia.”
Caring for me genuinely, Sylvia’s voice trembled.
Looking at her face, I felt like the excuses I prepared made me trash.
“No matter how powerful a first-class wizard you are, you’re not invincible. You need to take care of your body for our sake as well.”
“Understood. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Sylvia’s words made me reflect.
No matter how much I craved thrills, I had a lot of responsibilities.
It wasn’t good for me to act like a reckless fool.
But it was genuinely fun…
As I lamented, Sylvia said,
“In that case, this week we’re all going to this event.”
“This?”
Sylvia handed me a flyer.
It depicted musical notes, instruments, and a silver-haired bard singing like a fairy.
“This week, the Riana Orchestra is coming to perform here in Irene Land. Watching that beautiful performance will help calm your heart a bit.”
The “Riana Orchestra” boasts a history of 500 years within the Zers Empire.
The singing bard, Riana, is known as the face of the orchestra, and it’s said that the 8th Riana is as popular as an idol.
While I knew about it all from information, I had never attended such a musical performance.
Because the major genre of orchestras in this world was classical music.
To me, dulled by EDM, pop, numerous anime openings, and K-Pop in my past life, it felt far too underwhelming.
“So, that…”
“You’re going, right, Yuren?”
Yuren did not want to go.
But feeling the message of “Do you want to quietly come with me, or would you prefer to hear my nagging until tomorrow?” reflected in Sylvia’s expression, I eventually nodded.
“Good thinking. It’s been a while since we enjoyed a musical performance. I’ll have to think about what dress to wear starting tomorrow.”
Thus, by sacrificing everyone’s weekend, I managed to escape from Sylvia’s nagging.
Sorry, everyone.
*
In the gigantic amphitheater of Zephia,
The Riana Orchestra was performing in front of more than 2000 attendees.
Dressed like a water fairy in a silky gown, the silver-haired bard Riana sang amidst the delicate strings and beautifully resonating piano sounds.
Pax aeternam♫ pax in corde♫
Lux divina♫♫ nos protegat♫
The beautiful melodies flowed, and it was undeniably a perfect performance.
However, the very person singing, Riana, felt unsatisfied.
‘(What’s so great about this song…)’
Having become the 8th Riana, she was an orphan of war.
When she regained consciousness, her parents were gone, and the world was cruel to her.
If she had faltered, she might have faded into darkness like many other war orphans or even sold her body.
Her fortune had been catching the eye of the 7th Riana.
“You have talent; you could become a great bard.”
Seizing that chance, she devoted herself with her life.
Practicing singing, mastering dance, and cultivating her looks.
Thanks to all that effort, she became the 8th Riana at age 19 and earned her place on stage.
Yet she had never genuinely loved to sing.
The songs she sang were composed centuries ago.
The nobles consuming the performances liked the songs, and she followed the orchestra’s policy to sing them over and over.
Did the ancient grandeur make the listeners feel special, even if only for a moment?
Watching the audience repeatedly evoked such thoughts in her mind.
“Everyone, you did well.”
“Thank you for your efforts.”
“Dottiditti♪ Dottiditdot♪ Dottidittirido♫”
After the performance concluded, while everyone greeted the audience, she quietly enjoyed Tetric in a corner.
It wasn’t the best behavior for a performer, but everyone had come to terms with it now.
Just then, the orchestra’s conductor, Olsson, approached and said,
“Everyone, great job on this performance as well. Thanks to your hard work, our next performance has been secured.”
“Already?”
“I wanted to rest a bit longer, though.”
At the conductor’s words, the orchestra members emitted defeated sighs.
“Now now! Just think of it as our pockets getting fuller, and let’s keep working hard!”
As the conductor tried to encourage the orchestra, Sophie, who was on the piano, raised her hand and asked.
“Conductor, where’s the next performance location?”
“The next performance will be in the hot new southern city, Irene Land.”
Hearing the name Irene Land, Riana turned to her only friend in the orchestra, Sophie.
“Irene Land? Where is that?”
“Riana, don’t you know? That’s where they made that thing you love.”
“This?”
Sophie pointed to the Tetric crystal ball that Riana was enjoying.
It was autumn.
