Chapter 175: Street Performing.

When Henry learned that the newly certified Mage Apprentices wanted to stay at the Magic Association, he welcomed them. Rooms were limited, though, so he couldn’t give each of them one of their own.

“That’s fine. We can share,” Shu Li said.

Seven people could use four rooms: six in pairs and one alone. That would save them nearly half the cost of lodging!

When traveling, they ought to save wherever they could. The Little Fairies needed to develop good habits of thrift.

Shu Li initially wanted Ace to have the room to himself, but Ace declined, looking embarrassed. He said he didn’t have a coin to his name; how could he take a whole room?

After some discussion, they settled on Amanda having a room to himself, while Ace would share with Shu Li.

Why that arrangement?

Shu Li was afraid the other Little Fairies might relax too much in their sleep and accidentally reveal their wings, exposing their identities. Kumandi was careful and would also have been a good choice, but when offered the two options, Ace had chosen Shu Li himself.

Once the rooms were assigned and their luggage put away, everyone considered exploring the town and buying a few things, including a new map of the continent.

“Yes!” Budno approved wholeheartedly. He wanted to try human food. They had been in such a hurry at noon, buying staffs and robes before heading straight to the Magic Association, that they hadn’t had a chance to look around.

“Would you like to earn a little spending money?” Ace suggested.

“Spending money?” Shu Li blinked. “How?”

If money were that easy to earn, they wouldn’t have needed to take a task for the reward.

“Perform on the street.” Ace winked at him.

“Huh?”

Shu Li and the others all stared at him, mouths open.

“Ace, tell us more. What would we do?” Dicio asked eagerly.

“Play music on the street?” Budno asked. “I can do that. I know lots of instruments.”

Angel poked him in the waist. Budno flinched, then grinned and amended his claim. “Well... I’ve tried lots of instruments, but I’ve only learned the basics.”

Shu Li knew what street performance meant, of course. He looked at Ace’s handsome face. “What sort of act do you think would suit us? Play harps and tell stories like traveling bards? Or sing and dance like a performing troupe?”

Surely Ace didn’t mean for them to perform magic in the street.

Come to think of it, did mages ever do that?

“Any of those could work,” Ace said calmly. “It depends on what you can do.”

Kumandi frowned. “Even if we can play, we don’t have suitable instruments, do we?”

They had Fairy instruments in their storage rings, but every one of them was far too exquisite to take out casually. They were pretending to be mountain villagers with a little talent for magic. Mountain villagers had no business owning expensive instruments.

Budno, who had been about to announce that he had one, obediently shut his mouth. His brown eyes darted about instead.

Shu Li nodded. “True. We don’t have any, and we can’t afford to buy them.”

For an ordinary commoner, the price of an instrument could cover a whole year’s expenses.

“I thought of that,” Ace said with a smile. “Don’t worry. We needn’t buy anything. We can rent instruments from the Magic Association.”

Rent?

The Little Fairies and the young dragon stared blankly at him.

Ten minutes later, Henry led the seven Mage Apprentices into a storeroom with a cheerful smile.

“These are things we’ve retired from use. Take a look around and use whatever suits you. Pay whatever you think is fair for the rental.”

The Light Squad entered and curiously surveyed the items on the shelves.

As Henry had said, everything here had been retired. Most pieces were damaged or incomplete: an iron sword with a broken blade, a rusty dagger, a shield with a hole in it, a harp with a snapped string...

There were quite a few instruments, but they would need to inspect them carefully to see which were usable.

The Little Fairies knew instruments well. After a bit of tinkering, they had repaired half of them. Amanda, being a dragon, knew nothing about instruments. His interests were eating and sleeping. He planted himself in front of a sparkling crystal ball and refused to budge.

Shu Li picked up the harp with the broken string and plucked a few notes. Its tone was good, so he decided to replace the string.

He looked around for suitable material and, luckily, found another harp with four or five strings broken. It was poorer in quality than the one he held. With Henry’s permission, Shu Li took one of its intact strings.

Before long, he had a complete harp.

A light touch of his fingers drew a clear, lovely sound from it.

That did it.

Ace found a long flute covered in rust. It still worked, but it was filthy, and anything he put to his mouth needed a thorough cleaning.

Henry eagerly helped, giving him a bottle of rust-removing, disinfecting solution. Once Ace had cleaned the flute inside and out, its original silvery white finish reappeared.

He lifted it to his lips and tried a few notes. The flute produced a lilting, melodious sound.

“That sounds wonderful!” Shu Li gave him a thumbs-up.

Ace lowered the flute and smiled. “Thank you.”

Shu Li blinked. He had to admit that, in both looks and bearing, this human classmate could rival Elves and Fairies. A human so outstanding was rare indeed.

Half an hour later, each of his companions had found a suitable instrument.

Kumandi chose an accordion, Angel a pair of bells, Dicio a piccolo, and Budno a small drum. Amanda searched until he found the simplest thing available: a shaker.

With an instrument for everyone, they paid Henry ten silver coins in rent.

The Light Squad left the Magic Association, excited to try performing in the street.

The group of handsome young men drew frequent looks as they walked along. When passersby saw the instruments in their hands, their curiosity grew.

A few people with nothing better to do followed discreetly to see where they were going. Other pedestrians noticed and joined in. Before long, the number of people trailing them had grown considerably.

People loved a spectacle. Many who joined the procession had no idea what was happening; they were simply following the crowd.

The Mage Apprentices were well aware of the string of people behind them and deliberately led them to a small square.

There were a few stone seats there. They chose places at random and sat in a semicircle with Shu Li at its center.

Ace set a wooden box on the ground and smiled warmly at the onlookers. “Hello, everyone. We’re delighted to meet you here. For the next hour, we’ll perform together for you. If you enjoy the music, we’d be grateful for a tip. Thank you.”

He greeted them with a graceful bow. Every gesture conveyed sincerity, and paired with his golden hair and handsome face, it won the crowd over at once. People called for them to hurry up and play. They wanted to hear the music.

Ace returned to the group and nodded to Shu Li.

Once again, Shu Li marveled at how easily Ace won people over. Even Angel couldn’t compare. Angel held his bells and committed Ace’s words and manner to memory, hoping to learn from him for future conversations.

Kumandi observed quietly. He still retained a little caution toward this human Mage Apprentice and did not yet trust him completely. So far, Ace had shown nothing but goodwill, gently guiding them toward worthwhile things to do.

Shu Li brushed the harp strings. Clear, gentle music flowed from them like water.

He held back as much as he could, playing at only a third of his true ability. Even so, as the harp sounded, the noisy crowd gradually fell silent.

When he finished the introduction, Ace joined the rhythm on his flute.

The piece they played, The Maiden and the Swordsman, was famous across the continent. It told the story of a white Elf maiden and a human swordsman on an adventure.

The familiar tune perked up the onlookers at once. Even those who had been laughing and joking began to listen closely.

The Little Fairies had an effortless understanding of one another and needed no words to play together. Amanda was mostly there to make up the numbers; Shu Li had told him to shake his instrument along with the beat.

As for Ace, Shu Li had to admire his ear and his technique. They hadn’t even rehearsed, yet his flute blended perfectly with the others.

After playing the piece once, they began again from the start.

This time, the Light Squad sang together.

“Across that distant time and space,

The Bakat River flows in peace.

A beautiful Elven maiden

Descends on a snow-white unicorn...”

Little Fairies were born singers. Even when they deliberately changed their voices, their song remained beautiful.

The crowd was entranced. Living in a remote town, when had they ever heard music and singing of this quality?

When traveling bards came through, they performed for wealthy lords and nobles. Ordinary people never got the chance to hear them.

It was wonderful. Truly wonderful!

More townspeople followed the music to the square. They packed it several rows deep until there was barely room to move. Old people and children alike joined the lively gathering, as though it were a festival.

Tall Ilio stood among them in a hooded cloak. He watched the performers with mixed feelings, then studied the blond youth playing the flute. His brow drew together.

He had followed the youngsters all the way here, keeping their every move in sight. Naturally, he knew they had rescued a penniless human boy along the way.

Until now, Ilio had stayed far behind them and hadn’t examined the boy closely. Seeing him up close, he felt as if ten thousand unicorns were stampeding through his mind.

Did the king think Ilio wouldn’t recognize him just because he had used masterful disguise magic to change his face? Ilio was a Mage Sovereign, for heaven’s sake.

So why hadn’t His Majesty told him, before yesterday, that this was part of the plan?

Ilio was still reeling when the blond Mage Apprentice looked straight at him over his flute. Their eyes met. Neither said a word.

At a pause in the melody, Ace lowered the flute and smiled.

Ilio: ...

Fine. He would turn a blind eye. Having the king with them was a good thing; His Majesty could protect the youngsters at every moment. Ilio, meanwhile, had to keep his distance to conceal his presence. If danger struck, he might be too far away to help in time.

He tugged at his hood and slipped soundlessly back into the crowd.

Shu Li and his companions knew none of this. They finished the song with all their energy and went straight into another.

After performing for an hour, they lowered their instruments and looked at the crowd.

A moment later, applause erupted. The listeners were thrilled, and some called out for more, unwilling for the music to end.

Clink.

A gold coin landed squarely in the wooden box on the ground, reminding everyone that it was time to tip.

Soon, people began tossing money toward the box, whether they had much to spare or little.

Shu Li set down his harp. Following Ace’s example, he thanked the listeners politely alongside his companions.

Clink, clatter, clink!

Coins rained into the box. Quite a few missed and fell to the ground, and the Little Fairies went over to pick them up.

When the tipping had nearly finished, the Light Squad played one final piece for their audience.

At the promise of more music, the crowd quieted again. ℯ

Ilio adjusted his hood and departed at an unhurried pace, leaving without a trace of his part in it.

Twenty minutes later, the Light Squad returned to the Magic Association carrying their instruments and a heavy wooden box.

In the room Shu Li shared with Ace, the youths gathered around the box and marveled at the coins piled inside.

“Wow! That’s so much money!”

“Who knew performing on the street paid this well?”

“Hurry, let’s count it.”

“Yes! Then we can split it! Ha ha!”

“Right! It’s the first money we’ve earned since leaving home!”

Shu Li tipped the contents of the box onto the carpet. The coins spilled out with a bright clatter.

Most were silver, with a few gold coins among them. For a remote town, earning this much silver was already impressive.

The youths divided the coins into piles, counted each one, and added them together.

“Seven gold coins and two hundred thirty-five silver coins,” Shu Li announced. He looked at his human classmate with shining eyes. “Ace, you’re amazing!”

“I want to learn from you, Ace!” Angel said admiringly.

Budno rubbed his hands together. “We’ve earned back the cost of our rooms and the instruments. There’s even enough left for a feast!”

Dicio tapped him on the forehead. “All you ever think about is food.”

“Mind your own business!” Budno pulled a face at him.

Amanda swallowed. “Then... can we order meat for dinner?”

With a human now in the group, he couldn’t casually take expensive sea beast meat out of his storage ring to gnaw on. The bread he’d eaten at noon had hardly been enough to fill the gaps between his teeth, and he had digested it long ago.

He hoped dinner would be more substantial.

Kumandi took one look at the hungry young dragon. “Let’s divide the money.”

With seven gold coins, each of them could have one.

After deducting the cost of their rooms and instrument rental, they had a hundred eighty-five silver coins left. They decided to wait until after a good meal at the best restaurant in town before dividing those.

They put the coins in a small pouch for Captain Shu Li to keep. Then the Mage Apprentices picked up their staffs and headed happily for the restaurant.