Herolia was sitting in a private resting lounge. She could hear the singing from the stage even in the lounge. There was also a ‘television’ inside the lounge.
Herolia swayed a sparkling and translucent drink she held in her hand. She took a sip and asked, “Messai, which of the two songs do you prefer?”
“The first one. But, I do not like the singer.”
When Messai mentioned the first singer, the opera singer Roa, her tone was very hostile.
All because of her negligence, the saintess was actually bothered by a male. If some sort of accident was to happen to the saintess, Messai, as her personal knight, could very well be put to death.
“Why’s that? Messai, do you not like the second song?” Herolia crooked her head. Her long brown hair rolled down her ear.
“The second song... I don’t know whether or not I should call it music,” Messai recalled the anger-filled sung performance.
“True. Your knowledge of music is limited to the choir’s hymns.”
Herolia could tell that this female knight lacked musical knowledge. After all, she spent all her time practicing her swordsmanship, praying to the Lord and, perhaps now, playing Hearthstone.
It was already very embarrassing for this knight lady who has grown accustomed to holding a sword to hold a ‘microphone’ again.
“That’s true,” Messai nodded her head. She did not feel that it was a shameful thing to not know much about music.
“That said, Messai, the second singer, that fellow who seemed to be called Holme, his song is truly powerful.”
Herolia was kicking her feet back and forth while sitting on her chair. Then, she raised her head to look at the ceiling.
“Powerful?”
Hearing Herolia’s description, Messai revealed a slight frown. The female knight recalled the scene of Holme’s performance.
“I feel that instead of singing, it’s more like he was venting his emotions. In fact, there’s a great portion of the lyrics that I cannot comprehend. Could that really be considered as music?”
“Perhaps not now. But, it might become popular in the future.”
Herolia looked to the television in the room. It was showing the number of votes Holme received. In the end, the vote counter stopped at twenty-five thousand.
This meant that Holme’s rap defeated Roa’s opera.
“Rap, was it? This sort of musical style that I’ve never heard of before is truly quite powerful. It’s different from the hymns we sing. There’s no need to use one’s singing voice tom make the listeners feel joy. Instead, it relies on the lyrics.”
“Lyrics? Now that you mention it, when he was singing, every line of his song seemed to be... very coherent.” That was the only sort of description Messai could think of.
“No, not coherent. Instead, they rhyme. That sort of music sounded much more pleasing than hymns and operas. It’s truly a great style of music... I want to learn it.”
Herolia revealed her desire without any hesitation. This gave Messai a slight headache.
Yesterday, Herolia reached an agreement with the legion commander belonging to the Pope Faction. That legion commander agreed to let her participate in the World’s Singer to broaden the Nation of the Holy Church’s influence on the condition that she do not interact with that Chaos Demon.
Furthermore, that legion commander was to keep a close watch over her by being in the audience.
If what the saintess said now was to be heard by that Pope Faction legion commander, she would be immediately brought back to the Nation of the Holy Church.
“Lady Lia,” Messai wanted to convince Herolia to proceed back to the Nation of the Holy Church once the competition was over. She didn’t want her to stay in Norland, much less contine to approach that Chaos Demon.
“There’s also the song sung by that Blackwood Elf. I remember it’s called ‘Rolling In The Deep.’ That too is an excellent song!”
As Herolia said those words, she started to hymn the tune of the song. Suddenly, she leaned back on the bench and started hugging her legs.
“Ahhh... sure enough, I can’t accept this! Why did that Chaos Demon refuse my alliance proposal?! Is my conditions not good enough?! Compared to the Blackwood Elves, I am clearly able to provide him with the support of an even better World Tree.”
“...”
Messai watched as Herolia suddenly started throwing a tantrum and didn’t know what to do. Since she began serving the saintess, she learned that this Lady Saintess was a person with thoughts she cannot comprehend.
“That damn old man! It’s all because he insisted on adding a bunch of strange things onto the canons!” Messai realized that something was fishy when she heard those words.
Messai turned around and looked at the glass bottle on the table. Due to the wording on the packaging being too ‘gaudy,’ she didn’t notice it immediately. But, upon clearer inspection, Messai realized that it was actually liquor! Furthermore, it was an extremely strong liquor!
While she and Herolia were talking, this Lady Saintess actually drank half a bottle of strong liquor. Her face was blushing red.
“Say, Messai! Exactly what is lacking about my conditions?!”
“Lady Saintess, you’re tired. You should rest,” Messai changed the way she addressed Herolia. With an expressionless face, she snatched away the glass of liquor from Herolia’s hand.
Herolia finally realized her condition. Holy Light runes appeared from her left hand. Then, she placed her right hand on her forehead. Magic power purified the alcohol within her body. FInally, she returned to normal.
“Messai, forget about the things I said earlier,” Herolia properly seated herself on the chair and regained an expressionless look.
“Yes,” If Messai was to reveal what Herolia said, who knows how many believers will have the image of their idol shattered.
Without saying anything, Herolia walked to the window. She pulled back the curtains and looked out to the busy street. She sat down beside the window and looked down.
“Many years ago, when I came to Norland, there was nothing here. There’s only a bunch of bored mages, some alchemic ateliers and a group of dust-covered dwarves.”
“Mn.”
Messai didn’t respond. She continued to quietly listen to Herolia. She felt that Herolia’s tone sounded sentimental. As for the reason why... she suspects that it was because of the compromise she reached with the Pope Faction yesterday.
Herolia had braved risk coming to Norland. The risk was not only from confronting that Chaos Demon. There was also the risk that her situation would become more dangerous upon her return to the Holy City.
It was a gamble. If she managed to reach an agreement with the Chaos Demon in Norland and obtain his backing, Herolia would be able to openly fight against the Pope. In a couple tens of years, she would most definitely be able to overthrow the Pope.
But, if she was to return to the Holy City now, the Pope Faction will definitely keep an even closer watch on her. It would be extremely difficult for her to come to Norland again.
“Nowadays, Norland is much more interesting than it was in the past. Movies, the Voice of Norland, magic network... and the Hearthstone Tavern that Messai frequently visits!” As Herolia said those words, she suddenly thought of something. She said to Messai, “Tonight, let’s go watch ‘Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale!’”
“That...” Messai hesitated. Due to the surveillance from the Pope Faction, it would be an act of enormous provocation if Herolia was to rashly exit the chapel. Nevertheless, Messai still nodded her head to accept Herolia’s request.
After all, once she returns to the Holy City, Herolia would likely not be able to watch movies, those beautiful things, again.
Receiving Messai’s consent, Herolia revealed a smile... Her smile this time should be real?
Messai wasn’t certain.