WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 342: Absolute Music (3)

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4.

-It was truly a stroke of luck.

Guardian Spirit clicked his tongue in disapproval.

- Just imagine, Zombie. If you hadn't managed your relationships well. Think about it. If things weren't great between you and the Paladin, you would've been immediately out of this stage, completely out. How would you succeed in the world of music without being able to hear?

"Indeed..."

I trudged towards the World Tree Village. The village was incredibly picturesque. Having traveled through many worlds and seen all sorts of landscapes, the fairytale-like view of the village built around the World Tree was still a marvel to me.

"■? ■■ ■ ■■■■■?"

I encountered a villager along the way. The resident waved and smiled at me. Despite being a stranger, I felt no hostility from them, perhaps because in this paradise, the concept of hostility towards each other seemed non-existent.

"Uh... um."

The problem was that I couldn't hear a word they were saying.

I opened my mouth to speak.

"Ah, hello?"

"......?"

The villager tilted their head in confusion.

"■■■■ ■■■■■■. ■■ ■■■■ ■ ■■■■?"

What are they saying?

I tried my best to enhance my vision and observed the movements of the villager's lips, the twist of their tongue. It seemed like the villager was asking, "Is your voice always like this? Are you unwell?" Probably. I emphasize probably because their pronunciation seemed odd.

"I'm sorry. I have a bit of trouble hearing..."

"......."

The villager made a strange expression, continually tilting their head as if to say, "What a weirdo," before leaving without a word.

Why? What happened?

-Hahahahaha!

Guardian Spirit was the only one having a blast.

I grimaced.

"Ah, what's so funny? Do you find people who can't speak amusing? Huh? You, who knows nothing but swinging that sword around."

-You, you might not have heard because of your condition. But the villager who greeted you just now, they were singing like they were in a musical when they spoke to you.

So that's why even reading their lips seemed odd.

-And there you were, struggling to speak normally while they kept singing in soprano. Haha! This stage is going to be interesting to watch.

"Damn, you’re still as despicable as ever! Forget it. I'm ignoring you."

In essence, this world itself was one giant musical stage.

Dandelions sang, white horses sang, and every villager I passed by sang.

Above all, the source of the grand chorus was the World Tree.

[The Goddess of Protection marvels at the song of the World Tree.]

[A Music Box Just for You acknowledges the spectacle.]

According to the Constellations, each leaf of the World Tree hums softly.

Low notes from the green leaves. High notes from the white blossoms.

Dozens of leaves and flowers come together, and each branch forms a small harmony. Several branches gather and murmur in a larger harmony. Thus, as if a choir hundreds of thousands strong were singing softly, the entire World Tree sang quietly at times and magnificently at others.

"I can't hear any of it..."

Of course, I had no way to enjoy that overwhelming fairy tale.

"People would talk to me and I'd try lip-reading, but I can't hear anything. What a pity."

-That can't be helped. What will you do now? Your comrade said she'd acknowledge your clearance no matter what kind of spectacle you put on.

"Yes. So I just have to do something..."

At that moment, the thread snake wriggled on my wrist.

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth informs you that the only meaningful actions in the Heaven of Music are related to music.]

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth suggests that engaging in musical activities, whatever they may be, might serve as a trigger for the judge to pass you.]

Music, whatever it may be, huh.

"Hmm."

I looked around. The village in the musical heaven was sloped, much like the shantytown I used to live in. Clinging close to the World Tree, it rose in altitude along vast stairs that also served as plazas.

"■■ ■■■■."

“■■■■. ■■ ■■■ ■■ ■ ■■■ ■ ■■?"

"■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■."

People bustled up and down the stair-plaza, their exchanges likely carrying the melody of songs.

But for residents who found the constant live musical odd or simply disliked conversing with others, instruments were set up at various points along the stairs.

"If any action is truly acceptable..."

I ascended the grand staircase, examining each instrument. Most were unfamiliar to me, belonging to worlds or civilizations unknown... played by humans before their deaths.

"Would a simple music piece suffice?"

Fortunately, I found a piano after a bit of searching.

The instruments had no owners. Anyone could sit and anyone could play. A child was playing the piano, surrounded by younger kids clapping their hands.

"■■■■■?"

The child noticed me and spoke.

'Would you like to sit?' They probably meant that.

"■■■ ■■ ■ ■ ■■ ■■■■."

The language felt like Spanish or French to me. Or it might have been a completely different foreign language, but it was clear it wasn't an alien language. The child had died in a Tower where pianos were played, and therefore must have lived in the same world as me.

Though they couldn't remember their past life.

This place, devoid of all but musical instruments from their former lives, was where only those who wanted to discard everything else ended up.

"Yeah, thanks for letting me."

"■?"

The children murmured upon hearing my voice.

"■■■■ ■■■."

"■■■ ■■■."

“■■■■? ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■.”

“■■■......."

To these people, my voice must indeed sound strange... Raviel said she liked the sounds I made...

Hmm.

Indeed.

'It's been too long since I last saw Raviel.'

I sat down at the piano bench.

'I'll play a piece about longing.'

There was no tuning the piano. I couldn't hear anything.

'Well, this is literally the Heaven of Music, so I suppose tuning would sort itself out.'

Six children watched with eager eyes, seated on the stairs. Excluding the Blood Fire Drama, this was my first concert. These kids were my first audience.

I gently pressed the E note.

'Sword Emperor, can you hear the E properly?'

-Huh? How would I know?

'I was a fool to expect anything from you...'

The Sword Emperor seemed to have no intention of becoming my ears. Well, perhaps it was for me to conquer this stage on my own.

Slowly, I began to play.

"■? ■■■ ■■■."

"■■."

"■■■."

The children blinked in surprise. I couldn't read their lips while concentrating on playing, but I could more or less tell their reactions from the atmosphere. 'He can play a bit.' 'Wow.' 'Not bad?' Something like that.

It was a positive response, but...

'Hmm.'

It wasn't up to the standard I had hoped for.

'Without Aura to adjust the notes, it's challenging. Like a knight who's gone to battle without his armor, forgetting to wear it.'

'Until now, if a note seemed weak, I'd blaze it with Aura, and if I wanted a note to ring more desperately, I'd grab and shake it. But now, I can't hear anything... Well, it's my own doing.'

My performances so far were more akin to sound techniques than music.

[If you neglect basic swordsmanship and focus only on extracting Aura, you'll suffer greatly someday.] Guardian Spirit had said. My performance now was exactly that.

It was like a mercenary who had grown too reliant on tricks.

"■■■■!"

"■■■, ■■■ ■■!"

"■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■."

The light piece ended, and the children clapped.

Judging by the atmosphere... It was like having a satisfying lunch at an unexpectedly good value-for-money restaurant.

'A modest debut.'

I smiled wryly.

It was quite an achievement to even get a 'good value restaurant' acknowledgment from children who had grown accustomed to the grand choir of the World Tree all day.

[You have taken an action valid in this world.]

[Your judge has granted you a pass!]

Patricia did not seem to expect anything more. She must have been watching what I was doing from the 70th-floor lobby, because she gave me a passing mark right away.

[You have earned your judge's recognition!]

[You can declare stage clear at any time!]

It was a moment when a stage in the 70th floor area, known as a hurdle for top-tier hunters, was conquered all too easily.

[The Goddess of Protection says the path you've walked as a hero has led to today's easy victory.]

Hmm.

'Perhaps that's true.'

If I summed up what I'd heard so far, it was rare for top-ranked hunters to get along well.

It's just rare.

There might be a few close relationships, but we are probably the first case in which every hunter from rank 1 through rank 10 has built an impregnable fortress of trust.

'So it's a difficult quest in ordinary cases.'

Ordinarily, slimy grudges, clinging envy, jealousy, contempt, and emotions beyond description would have accumulated together, as they had with the Black Dragon Master and the Sword Saint before I made an effort.

-Right. I actually get confused about everyone ranked second or lower. Why waste precious brain capacity on that? Who cares who is third or fourth? I'm number one anyway.

Yours will probably be the first and last case...

[Would you like to declare a clear?]

Just as I shrugged and was about to say yes,

"■ ■ ■ ■■! ■■■!"

"■■ ■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■!"

"■■! ■■! ■■!"

The children clapped and chanted something. This time, it was easy to decipher. It was an 'encore'.

I smiled awkwardly.

"Hmm. Well, if it's just one song."

There was no need to rush through the stage and move on.

The stage, seemingly impregnable, was conquered in less than half a day. There was plenty of time.

Instead of hastening my steps here, I wanted to mingle a bit more with the souls who died in the same tower as me. Though I might not know why they died, in their last moments, they thought, "I don't want to hear anything but music now, I don't want to speak unless it's singing."

I played again.

"■■...."

"■ ■. ■■■■ ■■■?"

"■■■, ■■■ ■■ ■■ ■■."

I couldn't hear the sound of the piano I was playing. I tried to recreate my hearing with Aura, but it seemed like the Tower had soundproofed it at the system level. Perhaps the Constellation of this world exerted some power.

"■■."

So, I had no way of knowing whether my performance was good or bad, or even if it was going well.

"■. ■■."

Not on my own.

"■■■...."

"■■■."

I watched the children's expressions as I played the piano. Their faces were the only clues I had.

If the children closed their eyes and gently nodded their heads left and right, that was a "good performance." If they blinked in confusion, ah, that was a missed note.

At some point, instead of chasing notes in my mind, I was pressing the keys while looking at the children's eyes, glances, and faces.

"■■■!"

The children laughed as if amused.

"■■, ■■! ■■ ■■!"

That meant I made a funny mistake, or a playful joke landed. Seeing the children laugh, I laughed too.

And to pull off another great performance, to know if I was doing well, the moment I looked into the children's eyes.

"......."

I realized something.

'Right.'

It was a simple realization.

'I've always been like this.'

Everything seemed to make sense in an instant. The performance I was giving now and all the things I had done before, though seemingly unrelated on the surface, somehow connected in a line.

'I didn't learn swordsmanship because I was fascinated by swords. I began to take up the sword with greater and greater seriousness because people reacted when I swung it, because it made me feel acknowledged.'

Even now, playing without hearing anything, it was the same.

Not exactly enchanted by the piano. Not because I have a perfect score in my mind to reproduce. Maybe some do, but I didn't.

The children's giggling breaths, the slight movement of their eyebrows, the curl of their lips. With that alone, I gauged whether it was a [good performance] and [bad performance].

"......."

I was just a human who had taken [this method] to the extreme.

'It doesn't matter if I can't hear.'

I let Aura surge throughout my body.

'This is actually more familiar to me.'

I raised Aura, but not focusing it on myself like when I was on the Blood Fire Drama stage. Quite the opposite.

I enveloped the children with Aura.

"■......?"

"■■, ■■■■."

The children felt ticklish. There was no harm to them. I just let Aura seep in so that their physical states would transmit to me.

'Hmm.'

Where their gazes were directed.

Whether they were watching my fingers dance on the keys or looking around to chat with the child sitting next to them.

Twitches in response to the notes.

Heartbeats of the children.

Blood flow.

The speed of the blood flow.

'Yes.'

All of it responded differently to my playing. The reactions were subtle, but the touch of my Aura was subtler still.

It wasn't just the expressions on the children's faces that were my standard. Everything has an expression. The question is whether I have the means, the experience, the skill to read those expressions.

'This is what I've always wanted to do.'

And I had the skill to do so.

'Let's give it a try.'

I noted when the children's gaze fixed on my fingers for certain notes. I observed which sequences of notes made the children's hearts respond most violently. The children couldn't hide their expressions.

And they didn't.

"■......."

"■■......."

The time the children whispered among themselves gradually shortened.

At first, it was difficult because each child reacted strongly to different notes. But it was okay. There was an intersection. The children shared a massive commonality beyond any differences.

These children once gave up on the world and desired the same heaven.

Thus,

Although I still couldn't hear anything.

I pressed the keys for the sounds that made all the children respond the most brightly.

"......."

For a moment, all the children's hearts resonated simultaneously.

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