Chapter 57
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Magic of the Deep Black
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"Whoa, you scared me."
Rimon instinctively furrowed his brow.
It wasn't just because the chick's cry was so loud compared to its tiny body.
He hadn't expected the little thing, which had seemed dead until moments ago, to suddenly let out such a racket.
But that was only the beginning.
Peep! Peep peep! Peep, peepeep!
As if once wasn't enough.
The chick cried out repeatedly and abruptly stood up in the nest.
Then it raised its wings high like a victory pose, flapped one frantically, and began making all sorts of bizarre movements.
"...What the hell is with that bird?"
Was it making a fuss? Throwing a tantrum?
Watching the chick flail desperately like a castaway spotting a ship after ten years on a deserted island, Rimon was left dumbfounded.
The one who answered was Li Chingwei, who had been reading the sign nearby.
"It says it's a rare species called the Bluebird of Florine."
"Florine... Wasn't there a witch by that name back in the day?"
"Yes, apparently this is the breed she turned into her familiars. That's why they're smarter and longer-lived than other birds."
"And they throw fits like this?"
"Nothing about that."
"Hmm. Guess this one's just special, then."
Peepeep! Pee-eeep!
As if demanding they stop chatting and pay attention to it.
The chick hopped around energetically.
Comparing it to the familiars of witches he'd seen in the past, Rimon nodded slowly.
No self-respecting witch would mass-produce ditzy birds like this—unless she was a dark sorcerer, anyway.
"Any idea why it's acting up?"
"Sorry. An heir to the Hundred Beasts Intent Form Style might know, but I've never learned that secret art."
"Still, you'd have some inkling."
"Well..."
She tilted her head once.
Li Chingwei captured the chick's image in her obsidian-like beautiful eyes.
Then, with a slightly surprised expression, she said,
"I can tell it's extremely happy to see us... but beyond that, it's hard to read."
"Really?"
"Yes. As you know, Sword Duke, psionics aren't omnipotent, even if they're versatile."
The Black Dragon Clan's psionics could even read minds, but only in very limited cases.
Rimon knew they didn't work well on those with thought structures different from humans—like animals—or on high-level players with iron wills.
If there were no such limits, he wouldn't have been able to smash the Seven Dragon Society as freely as he had.
"Well, nothing to be done about it."
So Rimon nodded readily.
Then he spun around.
"Kids, let's get going."
Peeeeeep?!
The chick's eyes bulged like saucers, as if it had heard something outrageous.
Sia, who had been staring blankly at the chick with dead eyes, turned to Rimon in surprise.
"Already?"
"We can't stay here forever."
Rimon replied indifferently.
The chick was pretty quirky, sure. But that was it.
From human-beast chimeras to spirit beasts that caused spirit riots, to predatory monsters that devoured entire islands.
After a long life seeing every kind of beast, this wasn't worth his attention.
Peep! Peepeep!
"It seems really upset that we're leaving."
Whether because she missed seeing a truly rare animal.
Or because she was still young and sensitive.
Sia spoke flatly on behalf of the hesitant kids, unable to ignore the chick's pitiful cries.
Rimon shrugged at her words.
"Doesn't matter to me... but you'll miss the rest of the rides."
"Huh...?"
"No bumper cars?"
Only then did it dawn on them.
The kids' faces fell in shock.
He glanced back and forth between their faces and the chick's pleading gaze.
Then Sia made a clean decision.
"Let's go."
Peepeep?!
The chick gaped like Caesar stabbed by Brutus.
But Sia didn't waver.
There'd be plenty of chances to show pity, but who knew when they'd next visit an amusement park.
Having somehow become the big sister figure to the orphanage kids, Sia wanted them to enjoy as many rides as possible.
"Sorry, bluebird."
"We'll come back..."
Peep! Peebeepeep! Pee-eeep!
Like a shipwreck survivor clinging to a rope.
The chick flapped desperately, crying even harder.
But the kids followed Rimon with reluctant glances and quick steps.
Peee...
After a moment of panic.
The chick clenched its beak as if resolving itself.
It backed up a few steps, squeezed its eyes shut, charged forward with a tototot!, spread its wings wide, and leaped from the nest.
It was a leap for freedom.
A challenge allowed only to winged beasts.
Splat!
The result was pathetic, of course.
No amount of flapping downy wings could generate lift.
The chick plummeted straight down from the nest and sprawled on the ground, groaning.
Peepeep.
Luckily, its light body meant no injuries. It sprang up and charged again with a tototot!.
But the chick's dash soon halted.
The aviary—the final boss of this zoo, in birdcage form—blocked its path.
Peep, eep, peebeepeep.
It tried squeezing through the bars for a bit.
Failing, it glared resentfully at its plump belly.
Then, with a thoughtful look, it gripped the bars with its wings and strained.
It was utterly hopeless.
No matter how thin the aviary bars, a chick's wings couldn't bend them—rhinos and bears couldn't even manage that.
But what happened next was astonishing.
Pop!
The moment the straining chick vanished.
It reappeared outside the cage.
An unbelievable sight.
Impossible.
A small, chubby chick couldn't slip through those bars without leaping through space itself.
Peeee.
Fortune or misfortune?
The zoo had few visitors, so no one saw.
Tototototo!
Having escaped safely, the chick ran off exhaustedly.
Toward the direction Rimon and the kids had gone...
Meanwhile, at that moment.
Rimon was feeling awkward.
He'd left the zoo ambitiously, determined to hit as many rides as possible.
But an unforeseen obstacle made even that simple goal surprisingly difficult.
"...This one's under maintenance too?"
"That's what the sign says."
"How many facilities does this park have under repair?"
"It's an old place. Probably lots of breakdowns."
"Still, there's a limit."
Rimon clicked his tongue.
If it were just one or two, he'd shrug it off.
But four "under maintenance" signs since leaving the zoo—seven including the earlier ones.
At this point, it was hard to tell if this was an operating park or a construction site.
And the rides they'd passed weren't exactly thrilling.
A carousel with broken-horned unicorns.
A Ferris wheel that stopped mid-rotation.
A sluggishly swinging Viking ship.
Most kids loved it innocently, but only because it was their first park.
Any who'd been to another would tilt their heads: "Wait, is this how rides are supposed to be?"
"I picked it as an inspection spot because it used to be world-famous, but looks like a mistake."
"So you did plan to inspect it."
"Waste not, want not, right?"
"...Do you even know what that proverb means?"
"That between skirts, the red one that hides bloodstains is best?"
"What the hell kind of malicious twist is that?! It lines up by coincidence at best!"
Rimon lost his composure at Li Chingwei's smiling quip.
But he didn't press further. The situation left him unable to ask more.
Whoosh!
"Whoa!"
"Gramps! Rain, rain!"
"...Damn it all?"
To add insult to injury.
A downpour like a hole in the sky.
Dodging the torrent, Rimon herded the kids into a nearby building and shot Li Chingwei an incredulous look.
"Princess, didn't the forecast say clear skies?"
"That's what I checked."
"Then why's it raining?"
"Beats me...?"
The rain was so fierce.
Even a brief drenching soaked her hat and clothes. Li Chingwei tilted her head, dripping.
The answer came from an unexpected source.
"Ah, this? Happens sometimes. Don't mind it."
The rundown building they'd rushed into.
A [Magic Hall] cluttered with junk, unclear if it was a ride or storage.
The white-haired, silk-hatted magician at the counter spoke casually, earning Rimon's suspicion.
"Sometimes? On clear days?"
"Old fountain system broke. Been like this a few times a month for ten years."
"This is fountain water, not rain?"
"Yup."
"...What fountain sprays from the sky?"
"Spirit contract system. Used to draw crowds just to see it... ancient history now."
Gazing wistfully for a moment.
The old man shook off nostalgia, rummaged, and continued.
"Anyway, guests on days like this get umbrellas and free tickets. No need to get mad."
He handed out plastic umbrellas and a stack of tickets with practiced detachment.
Staring blankly, Rimon turned back to Li Chingwei.
"Princess, is this really an amusement park?"
"Um... probably?"
Even she seemed caught off guard, smiling awkwardly.
Rimon sighed.
But the real problem was elsewhere.
"So... no more rides?"
"Well, outdoor ones are shut down. Indoor like our magic hall's fine, though."
"Shut down meaning...?"
"We can't ride anymore...?"
Already exhausted from fruitless wandering, drenched, and now barred from rides—the kids' faces crumpled.
'Shit, we're screwed.'
Tears welled in their eyes.
Faces on the verge of bawling. Rimon groaned inwardly.
Like overflow from a full cup.
One cry would trigger a chain reaction.
That's why he turned to the old man.
"Hey, you said the magic hall's open?"
"Yup?"
"Then do something kid-friendly. It's an amusement park ride—gotta have tricks."
"Heh heh, leave it to me. Got just the thing."
With a deflating chuckle.
The old man rose, rummaged in the back junk, and placed a long box lightly on the table.
Clunk.
"...?"
The moment he saw the box.
Rimon made a strange face.
As if mocking expectations of magic fireworks or shadow puppets.
A thick, musty magical mold scent wafted from the cracks, tickling his nose.
'This ain't kid stuff.'
"What're you waiting for? Open it."
Eying the urging old man suspiciously for a moment.
Under Sia's emotionless pressure to hurry and entertain the kids, and Li Chingwei's curious gaze, Rimon opened the box.
Creeeak.
The box yawned wide.
There, it lay dormant.
A worn, antique exterior.
Yet it exuded a beauty and refined functionality surpassing any gem, gleaming with seductive black luster.
A mysterious relic.
—The Violin of the Deep Black.