The princess, who should have been the central figure of the banquet, received no welcome at all when she arrived.
Instead, people looked at her with mocking gazes.
'...I want to run away from here right now.'
'Run beyond the kingdom.'
Eleonora secretly encouraged herself, enduring those unpleasant stares as she walked into the banquet hall with elegant steps.
Rayleigh followed behind her.
With his current identity, he could not walk beside the girl or ahead of her in this sort of setting.
"Well, if it isn't Her Highness the princess. During the day, you seemed rather unwell at the end. Are you certain it's all right for you to attend the banquet like this?"
"..."
Rayleigh watched from the side as the girl dealt with those "important people," while calmly sweeping his gaze across the venue in search of the figure he wanted to find.
There.
The goddess with the eyes of Leo.
Her overly eye-catching figure stood out brilliantly even in a place like this.
Suddenly, Rayleigh heard someone ask the princess, "And this gentleman is?"
Following the explanation they had prepared in advance, Eleonora answered, "He is a highly accomplished master of music."
"Oh?"
"A master of music?"
"Him?"
'Heh.'
Those people did not even bother hiding the contempt in their hearts.
After all, they had never seen such a young master musician who looked not even twenty years old.
Seeing this, Rayleigh introduced himself.
"My lords, I am a bard who has traveled through many nations. Music is only one of my talents. I am also highly skilled in painting. Tonight, I have come to perform for you all."
"Hmph. Traveled through many nations?"
"Hehe."
"How many countries have you been to?"
An arrogant-looking noble asked as Rayleigh smiled faintly.
Then he answered, "Seventy-two."
Pfft!
That noble coughed as though he had choked. Most of the red wine in his mouth sprayed out.
"Y-you—?"
He had originally thought this brat would give a single-digit number.
He had not expected seventy-two!
"Hey! What do you think this place is? Don't just run your mouth here! How old are you? How could you possibly have traveled to that many countries?"
Clearly, the noble did not believe Rayleigh's nonsense.
That was only natural.
After all, convenient transportation had not yet become widespread in this world.
Even if there were great ships that could travel across deserts, fortresses that soared through the skies, or battleships so advanced even the gods were amazed by them, such technology was not commonly available.
"I see. It's only natural for you to have such doubts, my lord. In truth, one of my ancestors was an elf, and both my parents carried half-elven blood. Although by my generation only one-eighth of it remains, theoretically speaking, my lifespan still exceeds six hundred years."
Rayleigh was lying shamelessly and without restraint.
Even Eleonora, standing beside him, stared at him in shock.
She could not tell whether Rayleigh was telling the truth or not, because somehow, it actually sounded plausible.
One-eighth elven blood...
It felt strange, yet she could not find any obvious flaw on it.
The arrogant noble's head was also full of question marks.
????
This had already entered a blind spot in his knowledge.
But for the sake of his dignity, he did not want to show that he did not understand!
"Ahem. Mm. Oh, so that's how it is. Then go ahead and perform. Actually, I once saw someone with one-eighth elven blood perform as well. Right, what instrument will you be playing?"
"The piano, my lord."
"Oh, yes. Right. Exactly. The one-eighth elf I saw before also performed on the piano! I even exchanged my thoughts on music with him."
Rayleigh smiled pleasantly, and Eleonora felt a chill run down her spine.
This guy.
He was definitely messing with that old man!
And he was enjoying it!
Soon, Rayleigh was brought over to the piano.
In order to watch someone with one-eighth elven blood perform, the noble dismissed the court musician who had just finished preparing with a single sentence.
That was beyond Rayleigh's expectations.
For a moment, even that greasy, fat face seemed a little adorable.
Rayleigh placed his hands on the keys.
In that instant, it was as though he had become one with the piano.
That natural atmosphere.
The arrogant fat noble was immediately convinced the moment he saw it.
This.
He was absolutely an expert in music!
Although his posture was far from standard and looked almost amateurish, that completely natural feeling made every imperfection seem deliberate.
A master!
He was definitely a master!
...
Rayleigh quickly searched through the sheet music in his mind, but no matter which piece he chose, something felt slightly lacking.
Although this was only a disguise, Rayleigh had still developed an interest in performing and wanted to enjoy himself properly while he had the chance.
A melody surfaced in his mind.
It stirred memories from his previous life.
With the talent granted by his skill, he discovered that he could actually recall every note.
As though guided by sudden inspiration, Rayleigh's fingers began to play naturally.
The undead overture, The Dawn, began.
A grand musical style. A gradually rising rhythm. An epic feeling rushed toward everyone in the hall.
For a time, the entire banquet hall was enveloped by that pressure.
Some people were even so stimulated that their blood seemed to flow faster, the hairs on their bodies standing on end as their minds went completely blank with excitement.
Combined with Rayleigh's self-taught, master-level piano technique, he grew more and more exhilarated as he played.
What began as simply reproducing the rhythm from his memory gradually evolved into variations, with alternating speeds and shifts in tempo added in.
The banquet, which should have been focused on socializing, had now become as quiet as a concert hall.
Everyone was immersed in this magnificent performance.
Even Eleonora was stunned.
What's happening?
"Seriously... incredible."
When the piece ended, Rayleigh could not help himself and immediately connected it into a game track from the world's greatest game : Persona 5.
A medieval-style feudal kingdom's banquet was single-handedly set ablaze by Rayleigh, turning into something closer to a dance floor.
"Ulquiorra, you bastard, what exactly are you thinking?!"
Damn it.
Why were her legs moving on their own?
Stop shaking!
Tch.
Since she could not resist it, she might as well enjoy herself!
Rayleigh played five pieces in a row before finally remembering that he had made absolutely no progress on his actual objective.
Only then did he stand, bow to the people in the banquet hall, and withdraw from the performance seat.
The court musician who had previously been removed was brought back in with a bewildered expression.
Only this time, his performance kept drawing waves of boos from the audience below.
"Ooh! Musician! You're quite something!"
The first person to approach Rayleigh after he left the performance area immediately gave him a headache.
It was Ares.
Rayleigh placed a hand over his chest and greeted him.
"Good evening, Lord Ares, god of war."
"Oh, evening! I'm very well, truly well, and extremely happy! I didn't think the Lower World had such an outstanding musician. Compared to Apollo's drowsy music, your pieces truly stirred my blood! They made me want to start a war and fight a grand battle immediately!"
The corners of Rayleigh's mouth lifted slightly.
This was the power of music born from gaming, esports, and blood-pumping battle BGM!
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