Death Mage 271 – Honorary Countess Darcia Zakkart

In a corner of Morksi’s red-light district, an Elf bard was practicing the guitar.

He plucked his strings while looking at a page of sheet music, producing a tune. He performed a single song from beginning to end, then looked up.

The Elf bard named Rudolf… or rather, the S-class adventurer Randolf ‘the True,’ then gave his opinion.

“An excellently written page of sheet music. It is very easy to understand,” he said.

“So, it’s the sheet music that’s amazing, not the song or the guitar,” Kanako Tsuchiya… the reincarnated individual known as ‘Venus,’ said with a bitter smile, unaware of Rudolf’s true identity.

“No, it is not that the guitar and song are not good. Ediria-san praised you highly. Receiving instruction from you is a completely new experience, and I am learning a lot,” Randolf said.

Kanako was one of Vandalieu’s companions, and when he learned that she was recruiting bards and dancers, he had applied in order to gain information regarding Vandalieu.

Randolf had been accepted without any problems, and he had been taught various instruments and techniques. He was an Elf who had lived for over a hundred years, and he was an extremely experienced adventurer. He had an understanding of a number of stringed instruments known by various names, as well as flutes and drums.

However, performing with this instrument known as a ‘guitar’ had been interesting. An adventurer by the name of Ediria, who was a worshipper of the God of Strings Hirshem, had become so engrossed by this that she forgot that she was an adventurer; Randolf could understand why.

The concept itself was simple, and there were countless other similar instruments. The interesting thing about it was the techniques that had been invented to play it.

The same went for the sheet music that Kanako had given him.

“Kanako-san, I think you’re aware of this, but ordinarily, the techniques needed to perform with instruments are handed down from generation to generation within musical families. Although they may not be as difficult as secret martial skills and spells… Many of these techniques are very difficult. And many pieces of music are not written as sheet music; the only way to learn how to play them is to see and listen to them being performed,” said Randolf.

There were all kinds of music in Lambda, and there were people who were sustained by music in their daily lives. However, performing music was something considered closed off and inaccessible to most people, with the exception of nobles who learned it as a part of their education or as a hobby.

In most cases, one would need to be taken in as an apprentice by a professional performer or singer in order to learn. Other options included self-learning and copying others’ techniques after watching them… although there were some slave traders who taught singing and musical performance techniques to their slaves in order to increase their value.

In Randolf’s case, he had started by learning to sing and play the drums for religious festivals in his home village, which no longer existed. However, there had been no textbooks or sheet music for this; he had simply heard spoken explanations from adults and practiced.

In contrast, these guitar techniques felt like they had been created in order to teach others.

“The guitar techniques you have taught me are regular and easy to understand. It is as if it were designed for anyone to learn. And most importantly, this sheet music. It writes every song in the same way so that any song is simple and easy to understand. Many musical families have sheet music that looks like each song has been written in a different code,” said Randolf.

There was music in this world, but there was no standardized method for writing it down. Each age, each nation, and each musical family had their own ways of writing sheet music.

The reason for that was that there was no need for a uniform method.

There were no problems with using one’s own system for writing music down as long as they and their apprentices could understand it. And music was not taught to large numbers of children like it was on Earth.

That was precisely why Randolf was in true admiration of Kanako. He believed that if he really were a bard named Rudolf, he would still admire her… though as an adventurer, he wished that he could change the lyrics and dance choreography.

Kanako’s lyrics and dance choreography were so unfitting for Randolf that he would forget his disguise, his act, and his objective and simply run away from the city if he were made to perform them.

Thankfully, he was a bard who was employed to play an instrument, so he didn’t need to sing or dance.

“I have heard that you are from a hidden village of Dark Elves. Were these songs arranged into this sheet music in that village? Or did you arrange them yourself?” asked Randolf, changing the topic, partially to conceal his secret thoughts about her lyrics and choreography.

But Kanako struggled to keep her expression from stiffening in response to this casual question. “Y-you flatter me. There’s no arrangement; they’re what I thought of on my own, so it’s only natural that the sheet music would all be written the same way. I’m honored that you find it easy to understand, though.”

How does this person know that the songs were written by a bunch of different people just by looking at the sheet music?! Is it because he’s a professional bard?! But none of the other bards and dancers noticed! she thought furiously to herself.

She had taught songs she had learned on Earth and in Origin to the temporarily-hired bards and dancers, lying to them and saying that she had written them. After careful consideration, she had concluded that telling this lie would be the best way for her to organize musical performances in human society.

Unlike in the Demon Empire of Vidal, the fact that she was a reincarnated individual could not be made public in the city of Morksi, and it would be a stretch to say that the songs were songs that had been passed down from generation to generation in the fake hidden Dark Elf village that she said she was from.

If the setting of this non-existent hidden village was too complicated, it was possible that Darcia and Melissa, who told people that they were from the same village, would say things that contradicted what Kanako said.

Thus, when people asked where the songs had come from, it was best for Kanako to tell them that she had written them herself. Of course, there were some who had not been satisfied with this answer and doubted her, but Kanako’s fake identity as a Dark Elf was proving useful. As they were an unaging race with long lifespans, even when Kanako produced many songs, they would think that she was older than she appeared and had spent her years writing all of these songs.

Thus, Randolf was the first person to notice that the songs had been created by a large number of different people.

“Is that so? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to doubt you, but each song has its own unique quirks, so I was sure that they were written by different people,” Randolf said.

“I’ve lived for a long time, after all. If you compare the first song I wrote to my latest piece, of course they’ll seem like they were written by different people,” said Kanako.

“It’s true that you are good at thinking of unusual songs, so perhaps that is why this feeling that they were written by different people is so strong, Kanako-san,” said Randolf, backing down from this topic.

Kanako was still feeling nervous inside as she taught Randolf the songs as usual, and then practice for the day was over.

I might have said too much, Randolf thought as he watched her leave. She was clearly lying when she said that she wrote all of the songs herself, but… my objective is to investigate Vandalieu. I questioned her to conceal my own emotions and to show her a little of my own knowledge, but I might have just made her unnecessarily cautious of me.

Randolf had gone as far as to disguise himself and get close to one of Vandalieu’s companions in order to investigate him. He needed to investigate whether Vandalieu had any connection to the fragments of the Demon King… whether he was the ‘Demon King’ mentioned in the rumors that were whispered among some worshippers of Alda. And most importantly, whether he held ideals that would lead this nation to ruin.

If Vandalieu was the second coming of the Demon King Guduranis, the entire world was in danger, not just the Orbaume Kingdom. Randolf needed to learn of Vandalieu’s intentions for the sake of his own survival as well.

But even though I can’t tell whether he is connected to the fragments of the Demon King, I already know his mind isn’t the mind of the Demon King.

In the few days that Randolf had stayed in Morksi, by being hired by Kanako, he had gotten to know some of Vandalieu’s other companions. And from that, he had learned that Vandalieu was far from being the Demon King that was spoken of by the believers of Alda… the incarnation of evil whose atrocities and cruelty were unmatched.

In addition to Vandalieu’s achievements of popularizing Gobu-gobu and discovering and taming new races of monsters, Randolf had heard of his general manner and personality from the people, and that had made him sure of this.

It cannot be said that he is a completely benevolent and justice-driven person, but it is likely true that he is compassionate. It is possible that it is all an act, so I can’t draw any conclusions without seeing him for myself, but… honestly, it is hard to imagine that he is the type to be able to put on an act.

The same went for Kanako and the others whom Vandalieu called his companions. They were clearly hiding something and they had some odd characteristics, but it was difficult to believe that they were evil.

It was possible that they were doing some questionable things, but Randolf believed that these were within the realm of being tolerable.

Randolf quietly reminded himself that in this world, there was a duke who denied the deeds of the resistance organization who had fought against the occupation of an enemy nation, and another duke who had asked Randolf to put his own half-sister out of her misery… and Randolf had ties with that duke; he was far from a benevolent person himself.

And there are large events occurring without Vandalieu’s involvement. No, I feel like Vandalieu was involved in the incident with the evil god’s resurrection, but…

An evil god had been resurrected in Alcrem with no prior warning, and the situation had already been resolved before Randolf even became aware of it. There was no information to suggest that Vandalieu had anything to do with the event.

But Vandalieu’s mother Darcia had apparently joined the battle alongside the Five Knights of Alcrem in order to vanquish the evil god. Considering the timing, it would be foolish to think that Vandalieu was not involved.

Randolf had some knowledge of how powerful the Five Knights of Alcrem were… They were not powerful enough to defeat a resurrected evil god with minimal casualties. He had never seen Ralmeya or Goldie before; though Goldie had been lost in the battle, unless the two of them were extremely powerful individuals, the contributions of Darcia and Vandalieu’s other allies had likely been a large factor in the victory.

Of course, it was a good thing that the evil god had been sealed away once more, but Randolf felt that the timeline of events was suspicious.

I really will not be satisfied until I meet him myself and see him with my own –

Before Randolf could finish this thought, a customer at the bar called out to him.

“Hey, Mr. Elf! Could we get a song?”

“Yes. What shall I sing for you?” Randolf asked.

As he began playing the song requested of him, he decided to keep pretending to be the bard named Rudolf for a while longer.

Meanwhile, Kanako was in the fake-Morksi Dungeon in the basement of Vandalieu’s house, talking to her companions.

“The Elf bard I hired the other day named Rudolf… He’s really perceptive,” she said.

“He looked at the sheet music and knew that they were written by different people… Could it be that he knows about Origin, and he knew the songs that you used as a reference, so he pointed out that they were written by different people?” suggested Basdia.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Really? Even if you don’t remember his name and face, it’s possible that he deliberately had them changed when he was reincarnated, underestimating how long it would be before he gets a chance to assassinate Van.”

Many of the reincarnated individuals had the same gender and appearance that they did in their previous lives. That was no coincidence; it was a measure that Rodcorte had taken to ensure that they would not suffer mental problems after their reincarnation… although this was not always the case when both parents were not Asian; Doug Atlas had been reincarnated as a black man despite being Japanese on Earth.

Basdia was considering the possibility that Rodcorte had stopped taking such measures and was sending reincarnated individuals to Lambda with completely different appearances.

“That might be possible, but… if that were the case, I think it would be strange for him to ask about the songs at all. Being suspected wouldn’t be a good thing for him, after all,” said Kanako.

Rudolf’s behavior didn’t seem like that of a reincarnated individual who had approached her with the objective of assassinating Vandalieu.

“This is the only suspicious thing about him, and if that was his objective, his actions are too amateurish. He’s knowledgeable about this world, and more importantly, his performing skills are the real thing,” said Kanako.

“In other words, it is difficult to believe that he has the skills needed to kill the boy, and he is not a reincarnated individual who learned knowledge about this world and the skills to play instruments and perform before being reincarnated here,” said Zadiris, seeming convinced.

Kanako believed the former was because Randolf was a good actor and skilled at hiding his true strength. That she believed the latter was only natural, because Randolf was not a reincarnated individual.

“But how can we explain his knowledge of the songs? You gave him the songs that were arranged to be more like music from this world, did you not?” said Zadiris.

“Yes. That was quite the struggle,” said Kanako.

She had not simply copied the sheet music from the way it had been written in Origin. The lyrics in particular had needed to be changed so that their meaning would still be conveyed in this world.

Thus, it was almost impossible to realize that the expressions and metaphors in the lyrics had been written by people with different cultural backgrounds and from different periods in time.

“He might have actually thought that from your reaction,” Eleanora, the Vampire who had infiltrated the city’s criminal organization as the leader’s mistress, pointed out.

She was quenching her thirst from the harsh dance lessons with a dark-red drink.

“I don’t know how it is in the world you and Van-sama and the others came from, but in this world, bards are even better with words than traveling merchants. It’s common for them to do information-gathering as extra work on the side. It’s possible that he sensed something strange about your expression or your tone of voice, then tried poking you to see how you react,” Eleanora said.

“It’s true that I might have been visibly discomposed. I’m confident in my ability to act, but… I wasn’t consciously on my guard around him. I might have relaxed a little too much,” Kanako sighed.

She had been an idol for a short while in her previous life, and she had infiltrated the terrorist organization known as the Eighth Guidance after receiving military training, so she was able to stop others from being able to read what she was thinking.

But after joining Vandalieu’s companions, her acting abilities had fallen into disuse. She was aware that her ability to stay wary in psychological battles had decreased.

“There is no psychological battle involved in fighting monsters, so it cannot be helped. Though I am sure you could fool anyone if you simply killed your expression entirely like the boy does,” said Zadiris.

“Like this?” said Kanako, putting on a completely expressionless face.

“… My apologies,” said Zadiris, immediately regretting what she’d said.

“You’re not quite adorable or terrifying enough to be compared to Van-sama,” said Eleanora, expressing an opinion that only a fanatical follower would.

“Danna-sama expresses himself more with his body from the neck down than he does with his face. Though I don’t know about him being ‘terrifying,’” said Bellmond as she brought over some tea that she had prepared.

“You look more like a Zombie than a Zombie does,” said Basdia.

It seemed that nobody thought much of Kanako’s imitation of Vandalieu.

“Leaving my impression of Vandalieu aside, what should we do about Rudolf-san? He is really skilled, so I would personally like to keep teaching him songs… and teach him how to sing and dance as well, so that he can become an evangelist of idol culture,” said Kanako.

Most bards lived a wandering lifestyle, going from journey to journey, so if Rudolf were to learn idol songs and dances, he would probably spread idol culture for as long as he traveled. This seemed to be Kanako’s plan.

It was a plan that would be so terrifying to Randolf that if he were to hear it, he would likely vanish on the spot. But there were none who opposed this plan. They knew that this was the exact reason why Kanako had been hiring traveling bards, dancers, and interested adventurers to teach them singing, dancing, and the songs she had arranged.

“That’s fine, isn’t it? I know what I said earlier, but I don’t actually suspect that he’s an agent of some intelligence organization. I just wanted to say that there are some bards who are like that,” said Eleanora, also seeming to have no intention of stopping Kanako’s plan.

In fact, she and Bellmond were acquainted with Rudolf as well.

Because the criminal organization they had infiltrated was now almost completely crushed, with only its information network still in place and under their control, there was no need for them to pretend to be the mistresses of the organization’s head anymore. Thus, they had made appearances in public without concealing the fact that they were companions of Vandalieu.

And after Vandalieu left for Alcrem… they had received lessons from Kanako.

The two of them had even been avoiding using transformation equipment, never mind making a stage debut, but as even Privel and Gizania had received handmade equipment from Vandalieu and begun practicing, they had been unable to avert their eyes any longer.

At this rate, it was possible that Vandalieu would sing and dance with all of the new female members, leaving Eleanora and Bellmond out. Catching up with those female members after that would be difficult, so they had decided to join in on the lessons before that could happen.

After overcoming the hurdles and joining in on the lessons, they had met Rudolf several times.

“And if he were a bard who was a part of an intelligence organization, he would have disguised himself to be less conspicuous. It’s difficult to imagine that anyone would approach us with an appearance as conspicuous as a blue-haired Elf like Rudolf,” said Eleanora.

“I think so too,” Bellmond agreed. “Spies would have received training. But I do not sense any signs of such training in Rudolf-sama. He seems to be quite knowledgeable, but I am sure that he has acquired that knowledge for his own protection. And seeing him pour his passion into his music, I thought that he is a genuine person with no ulterior motives.”

“I take back what I said. You might want to be a little cautious of Rudolf,” said Eleanora.

“Indeed. Now that I think about it, he may have been a little suspicious,” said Zadiris.

“You’re right. I suppose we should be a little wary of him,” Kanako agreed.

“W-why have you come to that conclusion?” asked Bellmond, confused at the fact that everyone had started suspecting Rudolf the moment she had said he seemed like a genuine person.

But this was only a natural conclusion. Bellmond had spent over ninety percent of her ten thousand years of life alone, maintaining a hideout near an underground lake; she was known to have a poor ability to judge people.

“I said we should be wary of him, but Rudolf-san is just singing songs and asking the townspeople about us and Van, so we don’t really need to do anything in particular. There’s no sign of him trying to sneak into the house, either,” said Kanako.

“His behavior is normal for a bard. Miles did say that he feels like he’s ‘a little too passionate,’ though,” said Eleanora. “More importantly, isn’t there anyone other than Rudolf with potential?”

Kanako thought for a moment, then named one that stood out. “I think it’d be Ediria-san, who took an interest in the guitar the other day. She seemed to have taken more of a liking to the guitar than singing and dancing.”

“Ah, the girl who was wearing the holy symbol of the God of Strings. The God of Strings is one of the gods of Alda’s forces, but… well, even if she is a worshipper of that god, that does not mean that she has received his divine protection. I suppose it is fine,” said Zadiris.

“You’re right. I’ve never heard of her, and I’m sure she’s just an ordinary worshipper like all the other people in this city who worship gods belonging to Alda’s forces,” said Basdia.

The truth was that Ediria was one of the potential heroes chosen by the gods of Alda’s forces, who had received the divine protection of the God of Strings Hirshem, but… she wasn’t well-known in Morksi like she was in Alcrem, so Kanako and the others didn’t realize this.

“Come to think of it, Doug and Melissa do not seem to be present,” said Bellmond.

“Melissa went with Miles to talk to someone named Carlos to make him stop following Doug around. Doug followed them, saying that it’s his own problem so he should be there,” said Kanako.

“Carlos is the person who is always in the front row of the audience, is he not? Why is he following Doug around?” Bellmond asked.

“It seems that he wants Doug to join his party. He says Doug has potential,” Kanako replied.

Carlos was a potential hero with the divine protection of Rubicante, the God of Heat Hazes. In the city of Morksi, he had become obsessed with idol concerts and Doug’s hidden abilities.

Of course, Kanako and the others hadn’t realized that he was one of the potential heroes of the gods of Alda’s forces.

“Once I’ve taught Rudolf-san and the others to a certain point, maybe we should try and do a performance in Alcrem. Either that, or we focus on preparing to perform on the Demon King’s Continent… No, that would need us to train more people in the Demon Empire of Vidal, won’t it,” said Kanako, thinking about their future plans. “Incidentally, when are you planning to come back? You’re not going to postpone your return because you don’t want to write a reply to that letter that came the other day, are you?” she asked the Cannon-type Demon King Familiar that was nearby.

The Demon King Familiar rotated its eyeball around several times before answering. “After the ceremony that is taking place right now is over, we’ll be leaving the city in two days’ time, so it looks like we’ll be back in the city of Morksi in about ten days. As for replying to the letter… It’ll be mentally exhausting, but I’ll write a proper reply.”

Meanwhile, in Alcrem, Duke Takkard Alcrem was giving a speech to praise Darcia and the Five Knights of Alcrem who had fought bravely to seal the evil god Forzajibal again once more, as well as the knights, soldiers and the heroes of Vida who had joined the battle, and to mourn the loss of those who had been lost.

“In this battle, in order to protect Alcrem and the world from the evil god… we have paid a great price. We have lost the family that protected the seal on the evil god in the ‘Sacred Wastelands’ for countless years, and its head and my close subordinate, the ‘Knight of the Collapsed Mountains’ Goldie. The devotion and loyalty they showed when they gave their lives for the cause should be an exemplar for all,” said the duke, his voice amplified by magic.

Tears welled up in the eyes of the knights, soldiers, and worshippers of Borgadon who didn’t know the truth.

Goldie and his kin had in fact been monsters disguising themselves as humans and servants of an evil god, and they had indeed been truly loyal… though that loyalty was not an exemplar that anyone should follow.

“However, they are with the God of Mountains Borgadon now, and they continue to watch over us!” the duke continued. “The only thing that we can do, as those they left behind in this world, is to live lives that we are not ashamed of! I hereby make the following vow. I shall protect the Alcrem Duchy and rebuild the temple in the ‘Sacred Wastelands!’” he declared.

“Anything but that. If those guys were with me, I wouldn’t be able to carry out my work to maintain the world’s existence in peace,” whispered Borgadon, who was floating around near Vandalieu.

“It’s a speech. The duke doesn’t believe that Goldie and the other Mimic Humans are actually with you,” Vandalieu whispered back.

The duke’s speech continued, and a monument memorializing the names of those who perished in the incident and a bronze statue of Goldie praising his devotion and loyalty were unveiled.

Especially considering the true identity of Goldie and the other victims, they were being honored in an incredible way that few in human history had. It was likely that these objects would become new tourist attractions in Alcrem, at least until the truth became known.

Incidentally, the temple of the God of Mountains Borgadon in the ‘Sacred Wastelands’ that the duke had vowed to rebuild would depict him not as a god of Alda’s forces, but as a god of Vida’s faction.

The previous temple had statues of Bellwood and the God of Law and Fate Alda, as well as carvings of other gods of Alda’s forces, but the new temple would have statues and carvings of gods of Vida’s faction, including the new additions of Bashas, Zelzeria, and Hamul.

“Next, I shall bestow the following awards on those who performed great deeds during the recent battle,” said the duke’s amplified voice.

And so, the duke’s speech came to an end, and the award ceremony began. It began with the late Goldie, who was posthumously given a court rank… His entire family had been confirmed to be dead, so nobody would actually receive a court rank, but this was an act to show that the duke had given the highest possible reward for the hero’s deeds.

Next came the awards given to the members of the Five Knights of Alcrem, one by one. The people made a small commotion over the appearance of the ‘Knight of Keen Insight’ Ralmeya, whose hair was still white, but this portion of the ceremony went by with no other problems.

And then came the moment that Vandalieu had been waiting for.

“As the duke of the Alcrem Duchy, I hereby grant Darcia Zakkart the honorary court rank of countess!” the duke declared.

This caused a large stir in the audience. No member of one of Vida’s races had ever been granted an honorary court rank before, especially not one of a race that lived as long as Dark Elves.

But this stir was not a sign of opposition from the crowd; many nodded in agreement and others applauded and cheered as they welcomed Darcia’s new title. They knew how much she had accomplished in the battle against the evil god.

It was likely that the duke planned to make Darcia an honorary noble so that he could keep her in the Alcrem Duchy and fill the hole left behind by Goldie. That was what some nobles and merchants thought, but none of them expressed it on their face.

The only ones wearing grim expressions were the people from the Church of Alda and the opportunistic head of the Church of Vida.

“I humbly accept this honor,” said Darcia, getting on one knee and lowering her head.

With trembling hands, the duke tapped her shoulders lightly with a ceremonial longsword. With this, Darcia was an honorary noble of the Orbaume Kingdom.

Darcia bowed once more to the duke, who had broken out into a cold sweat, then returned to Vandalieu’s side and smiled at him.

“Now you can call yourself a noble’s child. But are you sure you’re okay with me becoming an honorary noble? It was something you wanted for yourself, right?” Darcia asked.

“Yes. But on this occasion, it’s more natural for you to become an honorary noble than me,” said Vandalieu.

In the incident with Zerzoregin, it was Darcia who had performed deeds that the people could understand. Vandalieu had been acting on the sidelines, and as the people did not know the truth, it would be too strange to them if he were to be rewarded instead of Darcia.

And now that Darcia had the authority of an honorary noble, it would be difficult for other nobles and the Church of Alda to interfere with her. There would also be less people wanting her to exercise prudence like the head of the Church of Vida in this city had.

And even though honorary court ranks could not be inherited, as long as the one with the title lived, their families were considered to be families of a noble, so they were also treated as nobles by the law.

In other words, as Darcia’s son, Vandalieu had also joined the ranks of the nobles.

The other problem was that Darcia had achieved Vandalieu’s dream of becoming an honorary noble before him, but… Vandalieu didn’t care about that at all.

“And I’m proud that everyone recognizes you, Mom,” Vandalieu said.

Upon hearing that, Darcia’s smile grew wider.

The duke placed a medal around the neck of the very tall Gizania with great difficulty, announced a monetary reward for Arthur and his party, and then the ceremony was over with no further incident.

“Ah, I forgot to mention. Vandalieu, the surname ‘Zakkart’ appeared on my Status! Now we have the same surname!” said Darcia excitedly.

“That’s excellent. We must celebrate tonight,” said Vandalieu.