Book 1: Chapter SS5
Juna - Better Days Are Coming
The royal capital of the Elfrieden Kingdom, Parnam.
The singing cafe Lorelei stood on one corner of the shopping street in this castle town.
This business, with its headquarters in Duchess Excel Walter’s Lagoon City, was a popular one which allowed its customers to enjoy tea and snacks by day and alcohol in a stylish atmosphere by night as they listened to the beautiful singing voices of the songstresses who worked there.
There was one songstress whose popularity was top class even by their standards; a blue-haired diva said to be descended from loreleis, Juna Doma.
Her beautiful face ensnared all who gazed upon it, her every gesture carried a quiet elegance, and her singing voice was strong and beautiful.
In the event held just the other day to seek those who were gifted, she had won in the categories for “Beauty” and “Talent,” and even during her audience with the king, it was said that her voice had stolen his heart.
That top songstress, Juna, was singing at Lorelei again today.
The song was “Better Days are Coming.”
It was one of the songs Souma had taught her.
Closing her eyes, she sung with power. In her mind, envisioning that young king.
He’s truly... A mysterious gentleman...
As Juna sang, she thought back to her memories with King Souma.
“Well then, it’s a pleasure to be working with you, Your Majesty.”
“Oh, yes... It’s a pleasure...”
In a room in the castle, Souma and Juna were seated facing one another.
Aside from these two, the only ones in the room were two maids standing by at the doors. On Souma’s side there was only a chair, but on Juna’s there was a desk with paper and writing implements. Compared to the bold Juna, Souma seemed a bit nervous and fidgety.
“...You know, I just can’t seem to get used to doing this.”
Perhaps it was Juna’s mature aura, but despite being roughly the same age, and despite the fact he was the king, Souma tended to speak formally around Juna.
That was too gracious for Juna, but even if she asked him not to, it seemed unlikely he would change the way he spoke.
“Well, I really do need you to get used to it. Besides, you were the one to suggest we do this, you know?”
“That was... Well, yes. But still, singing in front of someone else is a bit hard for me...”
“It’s only embarrassing at first. That will change to pleasure once you get used to it.”
“You’re making it sound kind of indecent, you know?! ...Anyway, here goes.”
After saying that, Souma hesitantly began to sing.
Souma sang a song from the world he had come from. Juna wrote the melody down as sheet music. This had all begun with Souma’s wish to share the songs of his world with the people of this one.
At first, Juna had listened to the music files in his smartphone directly. However, because the batteries had died after a little while, they had switched to this format. First Souma would sing, Juna would write down the sheet music, then she would sing it back to him to check that it matched.
Then, when the song was complete, Juna would give it lyrics in this country’s language, doing her best not to change the meaning. Because Souma’s musical sense wasn’t good enough to capture the harmony or the intricacies of the melody, the result always ended up sounding like a cover version, but even so, a good number of Earth’s songs had come to this world through this process.
...Of course, since they were all songs Souma knew, the selection was blatantly biased toward his own tastes, meaning there was inevitably more songs from anime, video games and tokusatsu.
Right now, Souma was singing the opening theme to a certain game.
“Does it go like this...?”
After she finished writing down her sheet music, Juna hummed the melody.
The song was “reset” by Ayaka Hirahara.
At that moment, “Ah!” Souma’s eyes opened wide, and the tears began to stream down his face. When she saw that, the normally calm and composed Juna stopped singing and rushed over to Souma’s side.
“I-Is something the matter?! Have I done something wrong?!”
“No. ...That’s not it... That’s not it at all...”
Having said that, Souma covered his eyes with one hand and faced upwards.
“I loved this song... The melody too, it has a nostalgic feel to it, so... When I heard someone sing it, I just couldn’t help myself... It brought back memories...”
Juna understood. She had heard that this young king had been summoned here from another world.
In other words, he had been forcibly torn away from his homeland.
Juna’s song must have brought on a bout of homesickness.
“Sire...”
“Juna placed her hand atop his. She thought she might be reprimanded for her impertinence, but the maids standing by the door turned a blind eye for her.
Juna spoke to Souma in the gentlest voice she could manage.
“Sire... Please, do not strain yourself.
“Juna?”
“There are more people who care for you than you realize. The princess, Madam Aisha, as well... And myself. I wish to do all I can to support you.”
Having moved his hand away from his eyes, Juna looked straight at him and gave him a smile.
“It’s okay to cry. If that will let you smile again afterward. If you can’t let the princess indulge you because she’s younger, please allow me to do it instead. Women from port cities are broad-minded. Allow me to swallow up your little tears with a compassion as vast as the sea.”
“...That almost sounds like a confession of love.” Souma said, giving a wry smile through his tears.
“Heehee, who knows if it is?”
“Are you teasing me?”
“No, there was no falsehood in my words just now.”
Having said that, Juna pressed Souma’s head to her bosom.
“If the princess brings out your strengths, then I will hide your weakness.”
As she sang, Juna thought back to that day. To the tears Souma had shed.
When I said I wanted to support him... The words came so easily. I’m sure... It was because I was speaking from my heart...
When the song entered the chorus, she saw the door to the cafe open.
Three people came in. A young human man, a girl, and a dark elf. Perhaps because they were in disguise, all of them were wearing uniforms from the Officers’ Academy.
When she saw the young man, an unintended smile came to Juna’s face.
...It’s okay, Your Majesty. No matter how painful things are, as it says in this song, “better days are coming.” We won’t let you ride the “ship of sadness.” (In the original song this had been a “train,” but because those did not exist in this world, Juna had translated it as “ship.”)
Having made up her mind, Juna put all her strength into singing.
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