Episode 30: Mountain of Songs
Alexia picked up the remains of a firework that had lost its fuse and smiled at Luke.
“Thank you, Luke. I’m impressed you managed to handle everything with just verbal explanations.”
“Because the explanations were good.”
Pleased by the praise, Luke mentally wagged his tail in delight. He nearly exclaimed, “It’s because I listened to every single word you said!” but he quickly suppressed it, worried it would come off as creepy, and settled for the safe answer: “Because your explanations were good.”
Though they had been enjoying the festival day, their merriment was cut short when two thieves from a neighboring country were caught red-handed.
Alexia and Luke joined up with the local vigilante group and reported on the men they had just apprehended, eventually finding themselves caught up in the responsibilities of the vigilance crew.
Amidst the lively festival, bustling with locals and tourists alike, trouble brewed just beneath the surface.
While no outrageous villains tried to use fireworks for evil deeds, pickpockets and thieves targeting passersby were a common sight, often swooping in on unsuspecting festival-goers or swiping merchandise from stalls.
As a young girl gazed in awe at the fireworks lighting up the night sky, suddenly a hand shot out from the shadows.
A greasy hand clamped over her mouth, forcing her into the darkness before pushing her down into the thick bushes to make its move.
“Guaaaahh!”
The one who let out that horrendous scream was not the girl, but rather the middle-aged man who had attempted the assault. Instead of overpowering her, he ended up sprawling face-down on the ground with Alexia twisting his arm in a way that made anyone watching wince.
With no chance to move, the panicked man began sputtering excuses. “N-no! It’s not what it looks like! I didn’t mean to! My chronic illness suddenly flared up… I just lost my balance and bumped into her!”
“Let’s hear your side of the story over there,” Alexia said, pointing toward a muscular knight who looked as if he had been forged from iron and was blowing a kiss.
With one hand, Alexia grabbed the man by his collar as he continued emitting unseemly sounds, easily lifting him as though he were a bag of feathers.
The middle-aged man was tossed with a graceful arc straight into the knight’s waiting arms.
“As expected…” Luke said, starry-eyed.
Every time Luke witnessed Alexia’s incredible strength, his admiration for her only deepened.
Overwhelming power. Lightning-fast reflexes to apprehend culprits. A natural leader rallying the knights.
Everything about her made Luke’s heart race, and he felt himself becoming even more enchanted.
(Aaahh… so cool…!)
Currently, Luke was giving a piggyback ride to a boy of around four years old—one of the many lost kids he had rescued today.
He had found the child sobbing after getting separated from his parents, and when a knight tried to take him into custody, the child became so terrified that he cried uncontrollably. So, Luke innocently stepped in to help. The boy, having bonded with Luke, now rode on his shoulders as he called out to find his parents.
The more crowded the festival became, the more lost children appeared. This boy was the fifth little wanderer Luke had encountered that day.
Interestingly, the girl he rescued just prior had bonded to Luke so strongly that even after her parents were located, she clung to him and refused to let go.
“Excuse me! Are this child’s parents around?”
After calling out while walking down the main street, a young couple came rushing forward, calling the boy’s name.
After a brief exchange, it was clear they were the boy’s biological parents, and Luke safely handed the child over.
The young couple cried tears of gratitude, and the boy looked up at Luke with pure eyes, saying, “Thank you, Big Brother,” which melted Luke’s heart.
With a warm glow inside, Luke returned to the vigilante group’s garrison, where the festival was finally winding down, and the knights appeared visibly relieved.
Alexia, who had been receiving reports from the other knights, turned to Luke and offered kind words of appreciation.
“Luke, it’s a shame your first festival turned out to be so hectic. I’m sorry for making you work on your day off.”
“No, it was fun,” Luke replied with a bright smile.
He really wanted to say, “It was just nice to be breathing the same air as you,” but that felt too weird—so he reined it in and simply said, “It was fun.”
“Thank you. Thanks to your help, it looks like the festival will end safely.”
“Thank you,” echoed Alexia’s words, warming Luke’s heart once more.
How was it possible for such simple words to sound so beautiful when spoken by her?
All of Luke’s worries melted away, leaving behind a feeling of pure bliss.
“Alexia-sama…”
His heart raced, heat flooding through his chest. As emotions surged within him, he took a small step closer to her.
Suddenly, Alexia’s face lit up.
“It’s beginning!”
“Huh? What is?” Luke glanced around, perplexed, before pressing a hand to his ear.
“A mysterious song…”
Colorful fireworks erupted, lighting up the night sky like sparkling jewels.
Amidst the dazzling light show, a song floated through the air.
From every corner of the square and streets, the same melody could be heard, harmonizing in round as if a choir were singing together. It was the same song he had heard when he first entered the town.
With its unique rhythm and unfamiliar accents, the lyrics seemed to be in a distant tongue that Luke could not understand, yet the melody somehow lingered in his heart.
“I’ve never heard this song before, but it’s so beautiful… it warms the soul,” he remarked.
“Exactly. This is the origin of the name of this place.”
“Origin?”
“Ah, do you know where the name Rietberg comes from?”
“Well, I gather ‘Berg’ means mountain…”
“That’s right. ‘Berg’ means mountain. It’s not unusual for regions high in the mountains, away from the royal capital, to carry names ending in Berg.”
In the Kingdom of Perles, ‘Berg,’ meaning ‘mountain,’ was often used as a surname for nobles ruling the borderlands.
Conversely, many high-ranking nobles residing closer to the nation’s heart held surnames ending in ‘Burg.’
“Burg” means “castle.” Most dukes—the highest among nobility—possessed ‘Burg’ as part of their surnames.
For instance, the Duke of Nordenburg, the current leading duke family, along with the powerful Dukes of Ostenburg and Arendburg—all carry this prestigious name.
The royal family overseeing the Kingdom of Perles also has the surname “Perleburg.”
‘Burg’ is indeed a fitting surname for those who rule a kingdom’s heart.
Castle and mountain.
Though the phonetic difference is subtle, the meaning varies dramatically.
If we simply categorize them, the ‘Burgs’ are the central aristocrats who wield power in the capital, while the ‘Bergs’ represent the countryside lords based out in the provinces.
Thus, it’s not uncommon for dukes carrying the name of Burg to look down upon their lower-ranking counterparts with the name of Berg, belittling them as “mountain folk.”
Alexia laughed freely. “That doesn’t bother me. I actually like the name Berg, meaning mountain.”
“I like it too…”
As Alexia’s smile captivated him, Luke nodded in agreement.
The autumn sun was setting between the towering mountain ridges, casting fiery crimson hues across the vast canyon. The villagers’ songs flowed beautifully through this breathtaking landscape.
“Lied means song. The ancient melodies passed down by the indigenous people are still cherished here and sung during festivals like this.”
The kingdom where their ancestors once lived had long since vanished. Their language became archaic, and their blood mixed with that of the people of the Kingdom of Perles.
The songs of gratitude for their bountiful harvest and offering respect to ancestors from a civilization obscured by history continued to live on, intertwining the eternal past with the present.
“…Mountain of Songs…”
“A lovely song, with an equally lovely name.”
“Yes!”
Hearing the pride in Alexia’s voice, Luke nodded enthusiastically.
Beneath the full moon in the sky and the raging bonfires in the fields, songs woven in ancient tongues merged with the autumn wind, enveloping the surroundings.
The melody echoed like the mountains themselves, so beautiful it struck his heart.
Golden leaves of ripe grapes danced down with the autumn breeze.
The mountain seemed to be ready to fall into slumber as it awaited the onset of winter.
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