After the decision was made to have a butler & maid cafe at the school festival, normal classes were held, and it was lunch break.
As usual, I was having lunch with Ryo and the other students in the cafeteria when Ryo brought up a proposal.
"Hey, why don't we form a band?"
"A band?"
"C-could it be for the school festival?"
While I was tilting my head, Shingo-kun seemed to have guessed Ryo's intention and was wide-eyed.
"Yeah. Yuuya may not know this, but the school festival is not only for classes but also for groups of students. Some of them even participate in the festival as a club."
"My game club sells a book of recommended games and original games every year."
"Are you doing that kind of market?"
I didn't think we could go that far. This is more like a college or university festival than a high school student school festival, isn't it?
"I mean, Shingo-kun, you can make an original game!"
"W-well, it's really quite simple."
"Oh, come on, don't be so modest! I bought one last year, and it was a lot of fun!"
"I-is that so? Thank you."
Shingo-kun smiles shyly at Ryo's words.
I'd like to play the game Shingo-kun made too, but if I need some kind of device, I'll have to buy one.
"Anyway… even volunteers can put on a show in some form or another. So, I thought, why don't we put together a band and play in the gymnasium?"
"I see… but I can't play any instruments, you know?"
"Me neither…"
"That's okay! I can't play either."
"Oh, you can't play either?"
I was expecting Ryo to be able to play some kind of musical instrument since he was the one who made such a suggestion, but he was not.
Ryo laughed happily.
"I may not be very good at it, but this is a good opportunity for me to give it a try. Everything is an experience!"
"Experience, eh…?"
I remember when I entered this school, the board chairman, Tsukasa-san, also told me that I should try many things…
While thinking back to that time, my eyes met with Shingo-kun's, and we both laughed.
"Yeah, I guess… I might be interested."
"Me too! To be honest, I might not be good enough, but… I might want to give it a try."
"That settles it then! If you have an instrument, you can use your own, or if you don't, the school will lend you one if you're going to be performing on stage. If it's okay with you, let's start practicing today!"
Thus, I was to form a band with Ryo and the others at the school festival.
Then I remembered something.
"Come to think of it; there's a famous artist who comes to the school festival every year, isn't there? Who is coming this year?"
"Well, we won't know until the day of the festival."
"Oh, yes! It's fun to guess who that artist will be!"
I see… I'm not familiar with not only artists but also entertainment-related matters, but I'm genuinely looking forward to it.
For now, let's get ready for the school festival!
＊＊＊
"Umm… now that we've decided to form a band, I wonder if it will be… okay."
"Woof?"
Ryo invited me to form a band, and I explored the Great Devil's Nest so that my body wouldn't grow weak. But since I don't intend to explore that much in earnest, the only one accompanying me was Night.
"I haven't even decided what kind of music I'm going to play yet…"
Well, I don't have any musical experience before that…
My musical experience is limited to schoolwork. As a result, I know very few songs.
"If I'm going to do this, I need to practice hard."
I don't mind being laughed at for being so bad, but I don't want to get Ryo and the others in trouble for it.
"Woof!"
"I wonder who's going to be the vocalist? Well, it won't be me, but… I've been in chorus in class, but I've never sung alone… Actually, can I sing?"
I honestly have no idea if I was able to sing well or not because we all sang together in a choir. If I were a great singer, I would probably stand out in the chorus, but unfortunately, I don't have that kind of voice.
In other words, I don't even know if I'm tone-deaf or not.
"Woof!"
"I've never been particularly pissed off in class, so I guess I'm not extremely tone-deaf, but… I wonder how it actually is?"
As I think about this, I suddenly hum a song I know. It was a song about meeting a bear in the woods.
"〜♪"
"Woof!"
"Grrrrr?"
"Huh?"
As I was walking along, thinking about the song, Night barked loudly. I finally came to my senses at the sound of that voice, but… I saw a Devil Bear in front of me.
""…..""
We looked at each other.
And then──.
"Guooooooooo!"
"Woaaaah!"
"Woof…"
I was singing a song about a bear, and then I actually ran into a bear!
I was completely lost in thought and didn't notice the devil bear, and Night was looking up at me next to me with an indescribable expression on his face. I-I'm ashamed…
Anyway, I had to get out of this situation, so I immediately took out my [Omni-Sword] and held it up to my right eye.
And then──.
"Gaaaaaaaaaah!"
I calmly stared at the devil bear that was rushing at me with great force, and remembering Sage-san's teachings; I swung my sword down.
The devil bear, sensing danger just before I swung my sword down, tried to evade, but my attack was one step faster.
"Phew… Oh, that was close…"
"Woof. Woof."
Night tapped my leg as if to tell me to be careful.
"S-sorry. I know it's dangerous to be pondering like this."
"Woof!"
Perhaps it was because I had recently fought against such extraordinary beings as Sage-san and the false dragon, or perhaps I had let my guard down, thinking that the monsters of the Great Devil's Nest would still be okay.
I wasn't even strong enough to have that luxury, but I felt like I was.
I had to be careful…
As I was collecting the dropped items, I suddenly remembered something.
"When I fought the devil bear before, I got an item called [Flame Guitar], though I didn't get it this time. I wonder if maybe I can use that?"
"I had not yet decided on the specifics of what I might do, but if I was going to use a musical instrument, the possibility of using the [Flame Guitar] might arise. The only thing is, since it's an item from a different world, I would have to check if it can be connected to the Earth's amp or not… Looking at the trend of drop items so far, I wouldn't be surprised if it can do something like that. I mean, after all, the baths are also portable!"
After I finished collecting the devil bears' drop items, I slapped my cheeks as a way to get back into the mood of things.
"Okay… sorry, Night. I won't let my guard down again."
"Woof."
After nodding in satisfaction, Night turned his gaze toward the depths of the forest, looking wary once again.
…The more I looked at Night like this, the more unworthy I feel of myself. Night was looking around without letting his guard down, but when it came to me, I'm…
I put my reflection behind me and resumed my search with caution.
I was too focused on my thoughts earlier to notice, but it seems that the ecology of the Great Devil's Nest was slowly beginning to return, as we also encountered the devil bear.
Although the Great Devil's Nest was obliterated by Avis's attack, the life force of the monsters that live there was still extraordinary.
"Hmm?"
As I was advancing while keeping an eye on my surroundings, I sensed a presence that I had never felt in the Great Devil's Nest before.
I immediately turned my attention to Night, activated my "Assimilation" skill, and approached the presence with caution.
Then I saw a huge frog standing there.
The frog was about the size of a light car, and its entire body was a beautiful blue-green color.
It was the first time I had seen such a monster in this Great Devil's Nest, and I immediately triggered my "Identification."
[Hell Frog]
Level: 52
Magic: 10,000
Attack Power: 20,000
Defense: 30,000
Agility: 40,000
Intelligence: 300
Luck: 1000
Although its intelligence and luck are low, its other stats are well-balanced.
It seems likely that it may use magic in terms of magical power, but…
In any case, this is the first time I have seen this monster.
But the point where we are now is about halfway in the middle of the Great Devil's Nest, and it is a place that I have been to many times. It could be a coincidence, but the presence of an unknown monster in a well-known place like this could be the result of an attack by Avis.
The hell frog was in the middle of a fight with a group of goblin elites who were attacking it.
"Kero kero kero!"
"Gooooooo!"
"Iiii!"
When the hell frog emitted a special, indescribable voice, the goblin elites who were about to attack it now wobbled about as if confused.
The voice reached us, but we managed to evade the danger by immediately covering our ears.
Night also dexterously covered his ears with his paws.
The goblin elites tried to fight back against the hell-frog, but at that moment, the hell-frog, in the same state of emitting this particular voice, began to emit another voice at the same time!
Gekooooo!"
"G-gaaahh…"
"This is…"
"Woof!"
The goblin elites, who were supposed to be ferocious, were entranced as if mesmerized by hell-frogs making nice, wild cries like opera singers.
I had been covering my ears for a while now, but this time the voice had the power to penetrate even that, and I was almost drawn in by it.
But Night's quick, light tap on my leg brought me back to my senses.
"T-thank you."
"Woof."
I was reminded of how capable this child really is when Night gave me a small bark, telling me not to worry about it.
More importantly, I didn't think two voices could be uttered at the same time.
Moreover, one voice is a voice that confuses the enemy, and the other is a voice that fascinates, which is a very tricky ability to deal with.
The goblin elites who received such abilities head-on were no longer in a position to fight properly.
And──Hell frog, besides its special ability, was a very strong fighter.
"Geko!"
"Gaa──."
For a moment, I thought the hell frog's mouth opened, and the next moment, the goblin elite in front of it was swallowed up by the hell frog's mouth!
The moment the hell frog's mouth opened, the tongue of the hell frog extended at a tremendous speed and wrapped itself around the goblin elite's body and pulled it into its mouth.
For a few moments, the belly of the hell-frog squirmed, but it soon quieted down.
We were astonished at how quickly it did it.
Even we, who were observing from afar, were surprised at the speed, so it must have been an instantaneous event for the goblin elite who were eaten right in front of us.
After that, the hell frog swallowed the goblin elites, one after another, who were losing their will to fight, and soon only the bellied hell frog remained.
As I watched the carnage, Night looked up at me in dismay.
"Woof?"
What are we going to do? I think about it for a moment. This was my first time seeing this monster, and I'm sure it's slowing down now that it's eaten.
And it doesn't seem to have noticed us.
…I think I'll just fight it out for once.
I looked at Night, and he nodded.
I had planned to have Night continue to be vigilant, and ifI failed to finish it off with my attack, I would have him put the finishing touches on it.
I took out my [Absolute Spear] and threw it as hard as I could toward the hell frog.
The hell frog noticed the attack just before the spear touched its body, but before it had time to avoid it, it was pierced through the torso.
"Kuee… ke, ke…"
Then its body convulsed, and it disappeared, leaving behind the drop item as it was.
"Phew… we managed to defeat it without any problems…"
"Woof."
After training with Zenovis-san, I'm probably strong enough to kill any monster in the Great Devil's Nest in the blink of an eye.
After collecting the drop items while keeping an eye on my surroundings, I ended my search for the moment and returned to my house.
I then quickly checked the drop items from the hell frog.
[Hell Frog Skin] …The skin of the hell frog. It is resilient, waterproof, and lightweight. It is an excellent material for armor.
[Hell Frog Tongue] …The tongue of the Hell Frog. It is very flexible and strong. It is covered with a special mucous membrane, and once it is attached, it does not come off easily.
We obtained these materials and a magic stone. The rank of the magic stone was S, so its rank as a monster must be S as well.
However, apart from these items, another mysterious item dropped this time.
That is…
[Hell's Microphone] …Hell frog's rare drop item from. This microphone will lead you to your ideal singing voice. However, the way to get there is hell. Are you ready for it?
"What the heck is this item…?"
I don't know if I can say that this is the usual daily necessities series… but it was clear that it was different from other material-based items.
It looks just like an ordinary hand-held microphone, but what is the difference?
As I held the microphone in my hand and observed it, a voice suddenly came from the microphone.
"Would you like to begin your lesson?"
"Le-lesson?"
I was surprised at the sudden voice but nodded my head to see what would happen.
Then the voice came on again.
"Okay, let's follow the sound coming from the microphone and speak according to the pitch of the sound."
"Eh?"
Without any detailed explanation, a piano scale suddenly started playing from the microphone.
When I was stunned by this situation, the voice instructed me to "vocalize the scale that was just played."
I followed the instructions for the moment and started to speak.
"Abababababa!"
My whole body was electrocuted!
As I was startled by the sheer shock, the voice played again.
"The pitch is wrong. Now, try again."
"Huh? U-um, what do you mean──?"
"Sing it."
"Geeaaaahhh!"
I exclaimed as the current flowed again.
"W-wait a minute! I just want to make sure──"
"You are not allowed to cancel the lesson. Sing."
"Tadadadadada!"
"W-woof."
"…What the hell are you doing…?"
As I writhed in agony under the relentless current, Night looked at me anxiously, and Ouma-san, who had come to watch the commotion, said in exasperation.
"O-Ouma-san! Please help me! I was going to check the item I got, but this microphone won't stop!"
"Why don't you just let go of it?"
"I've been trying that from the beginning!"
But the microphone wouldn't let go of my hand, as if it was sucking on my hand.
A-are you saying that… this won't leave my hands until I'm done with the lessons and stuff…?
I had a sudden bad feeling about this, and the microphone's voice ruthlessly said to me.
"Now that you have started the lesson, you will continue until you have finished one of the menus. No interruptions are allowed."
"N-no way…!"
"Sing your song now."
"Abababababa!"
──Thus, I was to be repeatedly exposed to electric current until this lesson was over.