Chapter 397 Guilty
"Why don't you sing one more song?"
As always, Marcato spoke to Sara in a light tone, and for some reason, Gaia nodded in agreement.
"With that vibe, you want me to do something again, right?"
"Well, yeah. The king is a bit tired, so I was hoping Sara's song could heal him."
The king, who had been left by Musashi, was slumped on the floor, looking exhausted, with a wig that had fallen off beside him.
"It's fine to heal the king, but first, let's put his wig back on. He looks kind of pitiful like this."
"Oh, right."
When Gaia waved his hand, the wig returned to its original place as if nothing had happened. Then, Gaia pointed to the sofa behind the king, and the king quietly stood up and sat back down in the same spot where he had been before the gods descended.
"Sara, I'm sorry, but could you lend your magic to Musashi?"
"Musashi's body is a golem, so the magic stone is replenishing his magic, but are you talking about something else?"
"Musashi's soul container needs magic. That container keeps his soul from scattering. When you pour magic into the container, Musashi's soul absorbs it and slowly gets repaired... or rather, regenerated."
"Hmm. It's like a homunculus in a container."
"That's a term alchemists would like, and it's not too far off. In fact, you're the one preparing the body."
"Well, I just trapped him in a stuffed animal."
Then, Musashi, who had turned into a teddy bear, stood up, stretched like he was warming up, and spoke to Sara.
"Just having a body I can move freely is a big help. Even though I'm possessing the king, I can't move a physical body freely."
"I'm glad there are no complaints about the stuffed animal design."
"It's better than being put among toy soldiers. By the way, Goddess Gaia, what will happen to me if I'm left without magic power?"
"You'll be trapped in the vessel, unable to move or regenerate. When the vessel's lifespan ends, you'll disappear."
"N-No way. Please, little lady, I beg you to inject some magic power."
Sara felt a slight headache from the surreal situation of a teddy bear bowing deeply.
"Well, since I'm taking care of it for Gaia, I guess I can inject a little, but Musashi, can you do any work besides scams?"
"Hey, I've been meaning to ask, but my job isn't a scam!"
"But you were a shady financial broker, right?"
"It's just that the system doesn't profit all the way down; the executives made a profit scheme."
"Isn't that a pyramid scheme?!"
"Getting investments for a startup isn't a scam!"
"I have to ask, but didn't you say something like, 'It's definitely going to rise since it will go public soon'?"
"Little lady, I'm not that kind of coward. I just said, 'There's a high chance it will go public, so it's a good investment opportunity.' Plus, I transferred real, not fake, unlisted stocks."
"I have to ask, how much did you get from that startup?"
"I just received a fair payment as a business consultant. I didn't take any under-the-table money."
"Wow. By the way, was there really a high chance of going public?"
"That's a no comment."
Despite being a teddy bear, Musashi had a serious expression.
"That expression is annoying for a bear."
"Sara, that venture company the person invested in, after receiving the funds, the president took all the money and ran away at night. The remaining employees, as soon as they found out the president had escaped, took off with the expensive leased equipment. Because they even took the furniture, when the investors rushed to the office, all that was left were documents stuffed in cardboard boxes."
"Goddess Gaia, how do you know this?!"
"Well, I am a god in that world, you know."
"Musashi, the management consultant, couldn't have been unaware of the financial situation. It's clearly a scam."
"No, it's a misunderstanding. We were supposed to recover once we secured funding, but the president ran away on his own."
"Hmm. Let me ask you, were you registered as a financial product dealer?"
"N-no, I wasn't brokering trades; I was just looking for shareholders for the venture company. The stocks were transferred!"
"That excuse won't hold up. It's a violation of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act."
"Little lady, did you work in that kind of field in your past life?"
"Nope. Just worked at a trading company."
"You're surprisingly knowledgeable."
"That doesn't matter. More importantly, how much did that company pay you for consulting in such a situation? You got paid with the money from the stock transfer, right?"
Sara lifted the teddy bear, which seemed to be backing away, to her eye level and stared intently.
"...200 million."
"That's in yen, right?"
"Yes."
"Considering the amount Musashi received, the president must have taken off with a lot more money. How did he manage to take out such a large sum?"
"He laundered money through multiple cryptocurrencies and fled overseas."
"How many days after Musashi received the consulting fee did the president escape?"
"The next day."
"You knew he was going to run away, didn't you?"
"...Yes."
"Guilty."
Sara threw the teddy bear roughly towards Gaia.
"Goddess Gaia, are you seriously telling me to pour magic into this bear? It's just a scam, isn't it?"
"A little supervision is necessary, but I think it will be useful for you."
"Hey, Miss Sara. Please change your mind and I'll work like a horse! Pour some magic into it!"
"Ugh, I don't want to."
"--Well, well. If Musashi misbehaves, you can drain the magic from his soul vessel. He may not have a body, but he will suffer as if his heart is being squeezed."
"Is it like the tightening headband of Sun Wukong?"
"Something like that."
"Hmm. Well, if that's the case, I guess it's fine."
Sara, holding the teddy bear embraced by Gaia, placed her hand over its belly where the soul vessel was hidden and poured in magic.
"Wow... it's absorbing a lot more than I expected. I thought the magic stone was already filled."
"When you fused the magic stones and trapped Musashi's soul, he used up the magic inside the stones. So, it's almost empty now."
"I see. Phew. Now it's full."
"Thanks a lot!"
Musashi, still being held by Sara, bowed his head repeatedly.
"By the way, can I use magic too?"
"Whether you can or not depends on you. You have the ability, but I don't know if you can control it."
"When I was possessing the king, there wasn't much magic around. I believed he went bald because he used too much magic when he was young."
"--Wait a minute! There's no way I would create a world where using magic makes you go bald!"
Marcato got angry.
"Calm down, Marcato. You were a fallen warrior not long ago. People who worry about thinning hair tend to seek reasons. It's kind to just leave it be."
"Hey, little lady, you're really ruthless."
"Is Musashi's kindness towards thinning hair because of a past life?"
"I'm not bald or thinning!"
"Well, it doesn't matter. Right now, you're a bear covered in fur."
"Hey, teach me how to use magic too."
"I don't want to teach a scammer anything that could go wrong."
"That's from my past life. I'm a reborn bear now!"
"Sounds really suspicious."
Sara sharply cut off Musashi's comment.
"For now, it's bad for Musashi to be here, so get into my storage."
"Storage?"
"Yeah, here."
Without waiting for a reply, Sara roughly tossed the teddy bear into the spatial storage and sat back down in front of the piano.
"I'm just going to sing with magic once time starts flowing. I'll leave restoring the king's body to Goddess Gaia. Earlier, you said you'd 'fix it later,' right?"
"Indeed, I said that. Understood, I will do it."
Gaia chuckled and gave healing to the king and the people sitting nearby, then turned to Sara.
"Well then, let's head back for now. We might listen to your song for a while, though."
"Of course. I have to hear Sara's song."
"Even if we stand close, only Sara can see us, so don't worry about it."
"Understood, Goddess Gaia."
* * *
And then time began to flow.
The king forgot that he had answered Gaia's question in the stopped time and, like everyone else, was giving Sara's piano performance enthusiastic applause. There was no hint of sarcasm in his expression; he looked like a wise king.
'He's a cool old man, isn't he? It was all ruined because of Musashi.'
Even when Sara got off her chair and curtsied, the applause didn't stop.
"Lady Sara, would you please play another piece for us?"
The king's cheeks were flushed, and the queen was smiling.
"Then, may I play the lullaby I dedicated to Prince Andrew during the hunting tournament? I will sing and play it on the piano."
"Oh, that sounds great. Lady Sara's singing voice is wonderful too."
Prince Andrew looked happy as well.
As she sat in front of the piano and began to sing the lullaby, everyone around her closed their eyes and listened, enchanted.
'I don't know if this will heal anyone, but it seems like it will calm the heart.'
As soon as Sara finished singing, the gods that had been in the corner of her vision disappeared. The royal family praised Sara's talent, and Marquis Grandchester and Young Marquis were both very humbled.
Sara noticed that only Chloe was looking anxiously at Prince Andrew, but she couldn't do anything effective right now, so she had to leave it for the moment.
'Well, both the Crown Prince and Prince Andrew understand that I have no intention of marrying into the royal family, and the king should be fine as long as Musashi is gone.'
Yes, King Avalon is in a state of 'being freed from a curse' and should be back to his wise self. The negotiations with the king and the Crown Prince will probably be the real deal from now on.
That said, today had been packed with plans since early morning, and Sara was completely worn out, both mentally and physically. It was already getting close to midnight, a time when a normal 8-year-old would have been fast asleep in bed.
'I can't take it anymore... If I could, I would turn both Sara and Sophia into golems and sleep soundly in the Maiden's Tower.'
The moment she thought that, her body couldn't hold on any longer, and Sara started to doze off while sitting on the piano bench.
"Oh dear, it seems Ms. Sara has reached her limit."
"Th-this is rude. Sara, you are in front of Your Majesty and Your Highness. Wake up!"
"Marquis Grandchester. No matter how smart they are, children at this age are like that. Let her sleep. I'll have a room prepared now."
"No, please don't worry about it. I'll carry her home like this. I believe we have more plans for tomorrow."
Marquis Grandchester declined the queen's offer and gently picked up Sara, who was in front of the piano.
"Hehe. When she's sleeping, she really looks like an angel or a fairy."
"Thank you very much."
The queen leaned in to look at Sara's face and gently touched her soft cheek with her fingertip.
"My dear, let's meet again. I feel like we could have some interesting conversations. How about stories of villainous daughters?"
"Your Majesty?"
"It's fine. I'm just talking to myself, so don't mind me."
Marquis Grandchester listened carefully to the unfamiliar words, while the queen casually changed the subject with a vague expression. Of course, Sara, who was fast asleep, couldn't hear the queen's murmurs.
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