Chapter 534

It was regrettable, but this was unavoidable.

How could Yi-Han have known that the skull principal would call him like this?

-The principal took Wardanaz away!-

-Damn it. Have we been discovered!?-

"Why are they chasing after you like that?"

"It seems they are disappointed that I'm leaving."

"Well, of course they'd be disappointed that the guy who prepares their meals is disappearing."

Yi-Han was slightly hurt by the skull principal's sarcastic remark.

"The friendship between my friends and me is not like that."

"So who prepares the meals?"

"I do prepare them, but I get paid for it..."

"I see. By the way, my servants also get paid for their work. They probably get paid more than what you get from your friends."

Yi-Han vowed to help Ipadour research music magic as actively as possible.

If he could turn the skull principal's world upside down, what couldn't he do?

***

The choir of Philonae Town's temple was surprised by Ipadour's visit.

At most, they had gained a little fame near the town, so it was only natural to be surprised to meet one of the most famous minstrels in the empire in person.

"It-it-it-it's an honor. Mr. Ipadour! Wh-who is this person?"

"This is Lord Gonadaltes."

"..."

"..."

The choir members immediately fell to the ground in shock.

They had occasionally seen flying skulls, but it was the first time seeing him in human form like this.

The principal of Einroguard was visiting like this?

Yi-Han asked, puzzled by people's reactions.

"Did you do something here?"

"No way. They're just scared of false rumors."

"But there must be a reason."

"I guess so. The descendant of the Wardanaz family who eats people for breakfast, spirits for lunch, and demons for dinner."

The choir members who were about to get up fell to the ground again when they heard the name of the Wardanaz family.

It was a ridiculous rumor that didn't make sense if you thought about it a little, but the reputation of the Wardanaz family had the power to make people believe even such false rumors.

Yi-Han looked at the skull principal as if it was absurd.

'No, this person, really.'

He understood that the skull principal was in a bad mood because he had come out with Ipadour because of music magic, but that was something to take out on the unnamed seniors who had shown interest in music magic and petitioned for it, not on Yi-Han.

"Enough. Get up. Today, I need your help."

The skull principal made the choir members stand up.

"Wh-what can we do for you?"

"Obviously, you can't do anything... No. As you all know well, the hymns you sing sometimes contain sacred power."

"Ah. Yes. That's right. When we all sing together, the sacred power spreads far away."

"...Don't lie from the start. It wasn't to that extent. And it's only sometimes. Not always."

The skull principal told the choir members, holding back his irritation.

This was why he didn't like discussing mysterious phenomena with non-mages.

Unlike the records, they arbitrarily thought according to their own memories, making an already tricky task even more complicated.

Ipadour opened his mouth to defend the choir.

"Originally, the emotions of singing yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all different, aren't they? I believe in your singing."

"Mr. Ipadour...!"

The choir members had tears in their eyes at the encouragement of the empire's top minstrel who understood their hearts.

Of course, the skull principal clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"That's right. Magic is not only wielded with the head but also with a passionately beating heart. Isn't singing the same?"

"????"

The skull principal looked at Yi-Han with shocked eyes at his sudden words.

It was a shock similar to when a Death Knight said something like, "Come to think of it, I think I have accumulated too many sins of killing, Master. I'm going to put down my sword and live."

What nonsense was this well-educated guy saying?

"Indeed...! Mage. You understand, mage!"

"Some mage who visited the town before listened to our singing and insulted us, saying we were lying!"

The town choir members seemed to have a lot of pent-up frustration.

From the mage's point of view, they had come to find out that the singing produced effects similar to magic, but if they only showed reactions like "It's not working well today" or "It's strange, why isn't it working?" it would be absurd, but from the perspective of the singers, it was unavoidable.

They were doing their best to sing, so what could they do if the effect didn't come out?

"If... If it's alright with you, could we listen and record it directly?"

"It would be an honor. Minstrel!"

At Ipadour's words, the choir members each took their positions and cleared their throats.

"Ah, ah, ah. Cut off the enemies' necks and use them as fertilizer! Draw the enemies' blood and use it as water for the fields..."

'Aren't the lyrics too extreme?'

Yi-Han thought so, but neither Ipadour nor the skull principal paid much attention to the lyrics.

"The effect. There's none."

"Yes. It's unfortunate. I think it might be because they're nervous."

"Weak. Too weak."

The skull principal clicked his tongue again as if lamenting.

In the skull principal's view, music magic had a structurally fatal weakness.

It was that the power of magic was far too weak.

The instability of primitive magic, which was influenced by emotions or moods, was a disadvantage, but it was a disadvantage that could somehow be overcome.

However, the weakness of magic power was difficult to overcome.

Take holy magic, for example.

Even if it was an irrational method, it could guarantee a certain level of power by drawing out and offering the caster's own vitality and mana.

However, music magic did not draw out and offer vitality or mana in that way.

In music magic, the lyrics replaced the chants, and the melody replaced the movements or magic structure, but...

There was nothing to replace the necessary mana. It was only natural since it didn't offer vitality or mana like other magic.

Then where did that power come from?

It simply drew and used the weak power of mana flowing in nature.

It was not a burden on the individual caster, but naturally, the power of magic became extremely weak. If the surrounding mana weakened even a little, music magic itself could not be cast immediately.

In the skull principal's view, the reason why the choir showed a few more cases similar to music magic was because they sang together.

When many people sang together, even if the power was lacking, it was more likely to gather and amplify, and occasionally, a truly emotionally intoxicated musician could instinctively squeeze out their own mana.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to listen a few more times..."

"Do as you please. Until you're satisfied, or until their throats are all hoarse."

The skull principal gestured for Ipadour to do as he pleased, as if he had already lost interest.

Just thinking about the students who had devoted themselves to music magic this year failing to produce results and whining made him feel annoyed.

Why did young students always mistakenly think they were different from their seniors?

Of course, challenging was a mage's duty, but if you were stupid, you should take on challenges that you could handle...

The skull principal let out a deep sigh.

It was so tragic and unfortunate that he had to support Einroguard's budget for his disciples to try it out even though he knew it was a foolish thing to do.

Was there anyone else in the empire as pitiful as him?

"May I sing along too?"

"Oh... I think that's a good idea."

"No... Hey."

The skull principal, who had been immersed in self-pity, came to his senses at Yi-Han's words.

And he called Yi-Han and whispered softly.

"Are you doing this because I compared you to my servants' salaries earlier?"

"What do you mean, Principal?"

Yi-Han was slightly surprised but feigned ignorance.

Of course, he wanted to get on the skull principal's nerves, but more than that, he wanted to build friendships with the townsfolks since he had come out for once.

If the choir members thought, 'Oh, that boy from the Wardanaz family is really diligent and passionate,' wouldn't they be more likely to hide him when he came to the town later?

"...Do as you please. But why are you, a guy from the Wardanaz family, showing interest in singing?"

Ipadour was puzzled by the skull principal's words.

"Noble people usually like singing..."

"That's right. Ordinary nobles would be like that. The Wardanaz family... No. Never mind. Just sing. It would be nice if you sang badly and stood out alone."

Despite the skull principal's slander, both Ipadour and the choir members welcomed Yi-Han very much.

"You don't have to worry too much. It's not a particularly difficult song, and we'll match with you."

"We never thought an Einroguard student would be interested in our choir!"

"I have always loved singing. I have always heard about the reputation of the Philonae Town choir, but I was always disappointed that I didn't have a chance to go out."

"Oh...!"

"Ooh...!!!"

Yi-Han's words pierced the hearts of the choir members like a dagger.

In the eyes of the choir members, Yi-Han looked like a remarkable prospective choir member who might join them.

"Among the songs we sang, which one do you like the most..."

"Oh. I have a question about the song you sang earlier."

Yi-Han quickly got to the point to prevent the choir members from saying anything else.

The most important thing in a situation like this was not singing well, but singing enthusiastically.

If he just showed that he was working hard, the choir members would be sufficiently impressed.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Yi-Han recalled the undead minions that the skull principal commanded and drew up hostility.

And he started singing together with the choir members.

"Cut off the enemies' necks and use them as fertilizer, draw the enemies' blood and use it as water for the fields..."

Woong-

Ipadour was startled by the sensation of goosebumps on his skin.

Not only that, but people who were passing by and listening also unconsciously stopped walking and turned their heads.

Unconsciously giving mana to everyone who listened.

It was a unique effect of music magic that ignored the law that the effect of magic weakened as the distance increased and the required mana increased rapidly.

"Did you see that? It's really amazing!"

"No... This is crazy."

The skull principal was dumbfounded.

Ipadour was excitedly recording the score with his own hands, but the skull principal was looking beyond that.

The Wardanaz guy not only scattered mana around to increase the mana concentration but also unconsciously infused mana into the melody he was singing, then combined it with other people's melodies to resonate the power.

Even if several powerful mana amplification artifacts were placed around, they couldn't produce that level of effect.

It was absurd.

Infusing mana into words themselves was the beginning of command magic, and naturally, it was advanced magic that only those among the high-grade students who specialized in studying commands could do.

And he was showing it with a trivial magic like music magic.

'What the hell is he doing?'

"Is there a problem?"

"That Wardanaz guy is amplifying the magic. I'll explain it to you simply since you know quite a bit about magic..."

The skull principal explained while drawing a simple picture on the ground.

He scattered mana around to increase the concentration, and even that wasn't enough, so he unconsciously infused mana into his own voice to amplify the power of other people's singing.

The old turtle mixed-blood minstrel didn't understand and asked.

"Why is he scattering mana around? Isn't it harmful to health?"

"...That's what I'm saying."