Dien sits on the floor cross-legged.
Seeing that, the street musician’s sneer grew even wider.
“Hahaha! Kid. You play the violin standing up. If you want to play the violin, you should at least know the basic posture.”
Dien replied to his words with an awkward smile. He didn’t need this useless meddling.
“Oh, look at this brat’s stubbornness.”
“Hahaha.”
“Young Master Dien! Are you really going to play a violin you’ve never even learned? Is it even possible without a bow?”
He also brushed off Nue’s worried words.
After making a gesture telling her to stay still, he lightly loosened his wrists.
“Oh boy.”
Nue let out a sigh as she watched Dien.
From the look of it, he seemed to be trying to earn money by playing the violin… but since she didn’t know Dien’s true abilities, his actions seemed incredibly reckless to her.
“We just wasted two more bronze coins… I forgot that Young Master Dien is still young.”
Even Nue, who was ignorant of music, knew the fact that one couldn’t learn to play the violin overnight.
There was no way Dien, who had always lived in seclusion, could have learned the violin, and it was common sense that no matter how much of a genius one was, they couldn’t play an instrument they were seeing for the first time.
“What if he ends up being humiliated?”
She thought that for about a minute.
Dien, who had plucked the strings a few times, began to play the violin by moving his wrists short and fast.
In that moment when Nue squeezed her eyes shut at the sight of a technique she had never seen before, an incredibly beautiful melody reached her ears.
***
‘♪♪♪’.
“What is that sound?”
“Where is this sound coming from?”
The people who had been watching the acrobat’s performance stretched their necks like turtles and looked around at the harmonious sound reaching them.
“It’s an instrument sound I’ve never heard before?”
Fragmented notes and a cheerful sense of rhythm.
The eyes of the people who witnessed the joyous sound coming from the violin widened in surprise.
As if the sight was fascinating, people flocked toward him, and even those watching the acrobatic performance or grocery shopping turned around.
“Wow.”
The attention of the people in the square focused on Dien.
“To think there was such a way to play…”
Once the performance began, the one who let out the loudest exclamation was the street musician who had been mocking him.
He thought it was just a greenhorn’s foolish act, but the boy was producing a rich and rhythmic sound as if he were a master.
It was to the point where the musician felt embarrassed for his unnecessary meddling.
“The harmony is repetitive, but it’s not boring at all.”
The embarrassment was only temporary. As the melody grew increasingly beautiful, the street musician’s mouth fell open, and he noticed that a large crowd had already gathered around.
Even people just passing by flocked over and pushed him out of his spot, so he hurriedly joined the scramble for a spot to listen to the music.
“Let’s see, the next chords were G, D, Em, and C, I think…”
He remembered a song he used to play when he learned the guitar, and with a few chord practices, he was able to start playing without much difficulty.
The chosen song had a simple repetitive chord structure, a piece that could be handled even with only four strings.
‘♪♪♪’.
“Woooah!!”
Hearing the cheers of the people, he looked up.
He confirmed that quite a lot of people had gathered for a song he was just playing as practice.
Good music is indeed a universal language.
Even here, they recognized a popular song from his past life.
His confidence gradually grew.
His uneasy heart vanished. Consequently, more strength went into the hand that was playing.
The sense of rhythm came to life.
“Shall I bring up the tempo a bit more?”
Matching the cheerful rhythm Dien was providing, people began to sway their bodies.
And then—
“I won’t hesitate any longer~ I don’t want to wait anymore~”
Dien began to sing along to the performance.
“It’s beautiful…”
“It’s a truly wonderful song.”
As his clear voice melted into the accompaniment, the cheers of the people began to be heard.
Dien knew that the killing point of the song was the vocal melody.
The people who had gathered for the strange sound and fast tempo gradually began to be captivated by his music.
Moreover, there were those who wore ecstatic expressions, as if the romantic lyrics moved their hearts.
Every time the instrumental break came out, a round of applause followed.
“Dom-du-ttu – ttu-ru-ttu ttu-ru-ttu-ru-ttuttu.”
Finishing the end with beautiful humming and ad-libs, Dien looked up at the audience.
When his face was revealed, a massive cheer echoed through the square.
After the passionate applause ended.
Dien immediately started the next song.
“Dum dum dum-dum.”
When he played this song, the surrounding musicians played percussion instruments to add rhythm to the piece.
Thanks to that, the crowd’s cheers grew even louder.
***
“The strumming technique must have been quite shocking.”
Receiving applause that would surely remain a legend in the square, Dien scratched his head as if embarrassed.
“I’ve never felt like this before.”
Though he had practiced the guitar diligently, it was his first time playing in front of anyone.
Because he simply liked playing the guitar itself, he had been satisfied with playing and singing alone in his past life.
But to think that standing on a stage would be this thrilling.
His heart grew hot.
It was an incomparable and indescribable ecstasy compared to his solo concerts in the corner of his room.
The applause showed no sign of ending.
The musician next to him told him that the reason the applause wasn’t ending was a request for an encore.
However, he felt it was time to return the violin.
“Thank you for lending it to me.”
When he found the street musician buried in the crowd and handed back the violin, the man waved his hands and stopped Dien.
“Please, one more song.”
Before he knew it, the man was speaking to Dien in formal language.
Was the performance so great that it inspired a sense of awe?
“May I?”
“If you return the violin now, the people here will throw stones at me.”
“Hahahaha.”
At his words, laughter broke out from the people nearby, and their eyes sparkled as they folded their hands as if pleading for the next song.
“Everyone, may I do one more?”
“Yes!”
“Do five more!”
“Please do more!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the audience’s responses poured out.
“Then I will do just one more.”
Since there weren’t many songs he could play with only four strings, he decided to play just one more.
“Woooah!”
Dien sat cross-legged again and gripped the violin.
The gazes of the people felt like adrenaline, making his heart race.
Dien’s hand moved back onto the strings.
The intro began.
A slow tempo, different from the previous song.
A gentle voice flowed from Dien’s mouth.
“To You, Like the Sunset Glow~.”
As the sweet song began, the people held their breath and appreciated Dien’s singing.
Captivated by each and every lyric, people recalled their own memories.
His song was lyrical enough to evoke nostalgia in the listeners.
The people were remembering old lovers just like the song’s lyrics, and they became silent, not wanting to miss a single sound.
The central square, which had been so noisy, became so quiet that not even the sound of breathing could be heard, except for Dien’s voice.
***
Dien looked at the bronze coins piled up in the faded helmet.
“Young Master, you’re amazing!”
Nue shouted from a distance.
Even after the song ended, Nue couldn’t get near him for a long while, blocked by the crowd.
“Nue!”
When he called her, only then did people make a path for her to pass.
“How was the song?”
“It was the best song I’ve ever heard in my life!”
“Liar.”
“It’s true! Look, I even have goosebumps!”
Quickly sticking to Dien’s side, she excitedly showed him her arm.
“I’ll believe you.”
There were indeed goosebumps on her arm.
“But when did you learn an instrument?”
“About twenty years ago?”
“Hahahaha, Young Master! What a joke!”
Because she was so excited, the corners of Nue’s mouth wouldn’t come down, even at a truth disguised as a joke.
“Young Master! The last song was really moving…”
Since she was speaking with the veins in her neck bulging, the performance must have been truly good.
Well.
The song he just sang was counted as an immortal masterpiece.
If there was someone who disliked this song, that person must have had their ears beaten by a monster.
“A… amazing. Young Lord… It’s the first time I’ve heard such a song since I first picked up a violin. If I may, could I ask what that playing style is?”
The street musician approached Dien and bowed deeply.
“Ah, it’s nothing. Just…”
He vaguely brushed off the man’s words.
How was he supposed to explain the playing technique?
Since this was a place without guitars, they wouldn’t understand even if he explained it.
“Please forgive my rudeness from earlier. I committed a discourtesy, not knowing that you were the Young Lord of the House of Portran.”
“No, sir. I am just grateful that you lent me the violin.”
“If I had known you were Young Lord Dien, I wouldn’t have even taken a single bronze coin.”
The street musician took out the bronze coin he received from Dien and tried to hand it back.
However, Dien refused him, and instead, he grabbed a handful of bronze coins piled in the helmet and handed them to the musician.
“Ah! No, Young Lord Dien!”
“No, please take it.”
“Oh my! Young Lord Dien! This is more than enough for the violin rental fee!”
But Dien forcibly shoved the coins into his pocket.
“The strings must have been damaged by my playing style. So it’s better that you take it.”
“Ahem… then… I will accept it gratefully.”
The look in the musician’s eyes as he watched Dien had changed significantly.
That gaze was not one of fear directed at a noble, but a look of respect from one musician to another.
“Well then, keep up the good work.”
“Next time, I will pray to Pantera for rain again.”
“Yes. I think I’ll come by often.”
“So this is the taste of busking.”
Unable to forget the thrilling emotion, he felt like he would visit this place again.
Only after exchanging greetings with several audience members did the surroundings finally quiet down.
“Young Master. You earned several times more than the coins I lost! To think you even sang to earn back the money I lost… Thank you so much.”
When Nue said that and cast a sneaky glance at the coins in the helmet, Dien shook his head.
“No, Nue. We have to find your bronze coins now.”
“Huh? We already have plenty of bronze coins?”
Dien handed over the heavy helmet he was holding to Nue.
“No. I mean those 10 bronze coins you lost. We have to win those back through the shell game.”
“Through the shell game?”
Dien walked toward the swindler with a beaming smile, as if something was delighting him.
“Pick one~ Pick one~ Choose between two~ Triple your money if you’re right~~.”
Dien stopped in front of the swindler.
“I’d like to play a round.”
*Thud.*
Dien roughly set the helmet filled with bronze coins down on the swindler’s table.
“Wel… Welcome~!!”
The swindler’s eyes widened when he saw the helmet overflowing with bronze coins.
However, after seeing Dien’s appearance, he couldn’t hold back the laughter that leaked out.
“He looks like a naive little Young Master.”
“Now, now! Welcome, little guest~ Then, let’s begin.”
A wicked smile hung on his face.
Because a large sum of money was at stake, the swindler’s hands were faster than usual, and he didn’t even perform the action of lifting the cup with the ball in it midway.
Whatever the case, it was a game designed for him to win, but seeing the large sum of money made his generosity turn stingy.
In the meantime, a large crowd began to gather behind Dien.
***
“Nue. When I go in front of the swindler, gather people with a loud voice.”
“You want me to act as a shill?”
“Right. If you say a huge game is starting, people will flock here.”
This was the conversation Dien and Nue had shared before playing the shell game.
“Why?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Hmm… Understood.”
Finishing his words, Dien stood before the swindler, and Nue followed his instructions, gathering people with a loud voice.
“It’s a shell game with big money on the line! Everyone, come and watch! The street musician has bet all the bronze coins he earned today on the shell game!”
At Nue’s sharp voice, an enormous crowd began to gather.
Also, since Dien had been the most famous person in the square until just a moment ago, there were people who recognized his face and gathered.
“Now, now~ Please choose.”
The swindler, energized by the gathered crowd, shouted even louder.
He was in a great mood, thinking about making a big haul through a major round with Dien and then taking the money of the gathered people as well.
“It’s one of two.”
The swindler took his hands off the cups.
The faint shape of the ball was visible in his left fist.
Naturally, the ball was nowhere to be found under the cups.
“Ah… I don’t know…”
Dien agonized for a moment.
No, Dien pretended to agonize.
He suddenly turned around and shouted toward the people.
The swindler was the one startled by his sudden action.
“Everyone! Did you see where the ball is!”
“It’s on the left!”
“Are you blind? It’s obviously on the left!”
“It’s definitely the left!”
At Dien’s shout, the people yelled while pointing at the left cup.
“Then should I bet on the left?”
Dien shouted toward the people once more.
“It’s definitely the left!”
“Bet on the left!”
Many people answered Dien’s words.
“Understood!”
A strange light flickered in Dien’s eyes as he finished speaking.
“Oh boy~ Sir! Are you going with the left?”
The swindler shot a fishy smile toward Dien.
It didn’t matter to him what the boy chose anyway.
“I will bet all my money on the left!”
Dien placed the helmet filled with bronze coins in front of the left cup.
And at that exact moment.
Dien himself opened the right cup, not the left cup he had selected.
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