Armonia's Praise
"Pretty shocked, right?" I sat on the edge of the bed and stared down at the back of my hand. The emblem of Armonia was etched right there.
"Hmm." Just to be sure, I rubbed the back of my hand. But the emblem didn't budge.
"......"
No way... was I still dreaming? Should I pinch my cheek?
"Ow!" Nope, not a dream. My cheek stung like hell.
Okay, good. This was reality. Undeniable reality.
"Why on the back of my hand, though?" I had no idea why, but there it was—Armonia's emblem on my hand. That meant the dream I'd just woken from wasn't some random nonsense. I'd never seen anything like this before falling asleep. The emblem had appeared right after I woke up. Or maybe during the dream itself.
Either way, it hadn't been there before.
"Uh... so the dream...?" I carefully replayed the dream in my mind.
I'd opened my eyes to an endless expanse of clouds. Then, out of nowhere, a bright light approached.
Child, you are doing well.
I look forward to the path you will walk from here on.
Yeah, that was definitely what it said. Even as the dream's details faded, those words stuck crystal clear.
If that light was truly Her...
"Isn't this just a divine revelation?"
Exactly. Not some casual encouragement like my first revelation—this was the real deal, the kind only high-ranking priests in the church ever got. "You're doing great, keep it up."
I clasped my hands together.
"If word gets out, it's gonna be chaos."
I could already picture it. Even my first revelation had caused a huge uproar. But this? Armonia Herself appearing in my dream, praising me directly, and leaving Her mark? If the last one was a bomb, this was a nuke. My family would flip, and the church? Total pandemonium.
"Ugh." I clutched my head. It was starting to hurt. And a twinge of conscience pricked at me too.
Because, let's be honest, the reason I'd earned this praise? The songs from Earth made up a huge part of it.
Urgh.
"Maybe I should just donate them."
It was an idea I'd had since that first revelation. Completely stopping new releases wasn't an option anymore—not after everything had blown up from the start. And personally, I wanted to share the beautiful music I knew with this world.
So, donate. Not just randomly, but to advance music in this world.
Of course, it wasn't a perfect solution. But I'd already steeled myself on that front. Things had gone this far; torturing myself with guilt was just pathetic.
"Alright."
From now on, I'd contribute to this world's music development. The great composers from Earth would've been thrilled to help another world's music flourish, right?
What if not? Who cares—I'd never know!
"Gotta plan this out step by step."
If I was doing it, I wanted to do it right—not some half-assed PR stunt. Not just a one-off donation either.
Eh, I could figure it out later. Dumping money right now would draw the wrong kind of attention anyway. Better to build some reputation first; it'd look better that way.
I sorted it out in my mind.
"That's the plan." Decision made. Done deal.
But then my eyes drifted back to the emblem on my hand.
"Sigh."
Another practical problem shoved its way into my head.
"So... what do I do about this?"
I could keep the dream quiet—no one would know. But the emblem? No hiding that forever. Unless I planned to wear gloves for life.
If it got out later? Disaster. This wasn't just any mark—it was proof of a divine revelation from a god. Hiding it? People would think, "Why hide it? Did he hate getting Her blessing or something?" Cue the judgmental stares.
"Hoo."
In the end, only one choice. Reveal it. What else could I do? Sure, it'd cause a storm...
...That's what I was thinking when—
Flash!
Suddenly, light burst from the emblem. I jumped and stared as it flickered a few times, then faded. I swear I felt it spinning, like it was trying to tell me something.
But then it flared bright one last time.
"Oh?"
And just like that, the emblem vanished without a trace.
I was thrilled at first, then froze. Had She been watching the whole time? Seen me stressing over it and fixed it for me?
"Uh, um."
That thought was kinda scary. Gotta be more careful from now on.
Anyway, the mark was gone—great news. Most people would see a divine mark as a lifelong honor, but I was done with that spotlight. The last time wore me out.
Relieved, I got up. Breakfast was soon anyway; eat, then crash early. That whole ordeal had drained me more than the trip back. Felt even more exhausted now.
Sleep early, practice all day tomorrow to unwind.
Three days passed.
The first day back, I crashed hard. After that, I chatted with Dale about violin production and squeezed in some piece practice here and there. And now it was finally today.
"Have a good trip."
I was dressed up for the first time in ages, standing in front of the carriage. My brother stood before me, patting my shoulder with a grin. He was still deep in newlywed bliss.
"You'll do great, I'm sure."
"I-I'm just going for practice today."
"I know. Still gonna be nerve-wracking, though, right?"
"Yeah, it is."
Of course. He saw right through me, as always.
That's right—today was the day I headed to the Armonia Church. Remember that promise with the saintess? Practice together at the church.
She'd represent the church on stage with me. Not weird at all. The Armonia Church's saintesses had always been top musicians, generation after generation. Plenty of priests had gone down in history as greats too.
"Then, I'll be off."
"Yeah."
I said goodbye to my brother and climbed into the carriage. Practice or not, him seeing me off felt nice. I'd always figured having a brother meant constant brawling, but...
"We're off."
As I mulled that over, the coachman slowly pulled away from the mansion.
The carriage first headed straight to Monica's place. Obviously—she was performing too.
This world had only one pianist: Monica. I hadn't taught anyone else yet. Longtime carillon players could adapt to piano quick enough, but catching up to her in a short time? Tough. She'd been there from the modification process, practicing nonstop. And she was a genius to boot.
"Hey."
"Yeah."
Soon enough, we picked her up at her mansion. Only then did the carriage turn toward the Armonia Church.
I cracked the window and peered out. The road to the church was lined with temples. The Empire was a polytheistic nation, after all. Way in the back was even the Panthéon, housing gods too minor for their own spots.
Temples meant serious scale. The Armonia Church wasn't top three, but definitely top ten in followers—and real influence? Even bigger. No major festival ran without their help.
"Hey, didn't you say you had something to tell me?"
"Huh?"
As we neared the temple, Monica's sudden question made me think. What was I gonna say?
I pondered... and pop! It hit me.
"Ah!"
"What? Spill."
"Oh, right—I never told you who we're sharing the stage with."
"Huh? Yeah, you didn't."
Whoops, still hadn't mentioned it. Dodged a bullet—telling her after we arrived would've been a shock.
I grinned. "The saintess."
"What?!"
Monica shrieked.
"Why tell me now!"
Yeah... probably should've said sooner.
But I still had one more bombshell.
"We'll probably practice with her today too."
Monica nearly passed out.