Who Needs Magic in a Fantasy World Anyway?

Chapter 21: No Music, No Ball (Part 2)

"Stay down!" Koko almost yelled at her opponent, having already knocked it down time and time again only for it to stand back up each and every single time. This was already proving to be the most difficult battle that she'd ever had to fight, and Koko wasn't sure if she'd even be able to win until the door behind her opened and Jazzy entered the dressing room.

"Lady Koko, the first guests are arriving." Jazzy announced, and Koko was now on the verge of tears as no matter how much she tried, the natural cow-lick on the top of her head simply refused to lay down with the rest of her hair. While she normally kept her hair at shoulder length so that it wouldn't get in the way of her training, she'd even let it grow just for this occasion, yet her eternal nemesis simply refused to comply to her demands.

"Jazzy, it won't stay down." Koko complained, hoping that the only woman in the world that had been able to tame it before would be able to do it again.

"I'll just be a moment." Jazzy quickly stepped behind Koko and took the brush she'd been using. And with just a few strokes, she somehow accomplished what Koko had already spent half an hour attempting to do.

"You're amazing!" Koko laughed before standing up and getting ready to leave, though she was careful not to move quickly as she didn't know just what it would take for her hair to act up again. "Thanks again, I'll be off!"

"Good luck, M'lady." Jazzy replied as Koko took her newly finished violin off of the dresser and began to walk towards the door, taking a deep breath as she prayed that she was ready to preform. After all, she'd never played in a concert before in her previous life, and she was currently nervous enough that she nearly left without her Acoustic Substitute, which wouldn't have been good at all.

Gazing at the small cube in her hand, Koko still couldn't believe that the amazing device that Benson had given her could actually exist. In actuality, the Acoustic Substitute was used by bards in order to make the illusion of there being multiple instruments playing at the same time. But that wasn't the case as the small enchanted cube simply recorded the notes of whichever tune that the user thought of before hand and played them back like a recorder would in the form of three floating disks made of light that it emitted. Unfortunately, while the limit was three disks, that also ment that it could only mimic three instruments, though that was more than enough for Koko who had been worried that she would have to play with just the violin alone.

While the Acoustic Substitute that her father had given her could create music by itself as long as she thought of a simple song, that unfortunately wouldn't work with the given situation as Koko wanted the best quality of music possible for Teya's ceremony. After all, Teya had been just as enthusiastic about becoming a 'proper lady' as Koko had been about becoming an adventurer. And this, Koko knew, would be an important day that her sister would never be able to forget... Though, that thought made Koko extremely nervous as he pleaded with the goddess in her head in hopes of giving a perfect performance without messing up any of the notes or rhythms.

Having only received her violin yesterday, Koko had been practicing constantly, attempting to make up for her ten years that she hadn't played. And if that weren't bad enough, Benson had chosen that time to find his old Acoustic Substitute and give it to her, making the practicing even harder seeing as she now had to polish her handling of the violin while learning an entirely different set of skills relating to the cube. However, in the end, she'd finally been able to manage it and the results were definitely worth the hassle.

Taking another deep breath as she fought down her nervousness, Koko stopped beside a large mirror in the hallway to look at herself, making sure that she was presentable before she made her way to the ballroom. She was wearing a long white dress with matching gloves that ran all the way up to her elbows in order to hide the results of her martial arts training. And while it seemed strange to have somewhat long hair now, she couldn't help but feel proud as even she had to admit that she looked beautiful as her blue hair and violet eyes seemed to match her pearl necklace and earrings perfectly. And if she straightened her posture and held her nose up, Koko thought that she might even pass for a lady herself before she gave up the notion with a laugh, thinking that a tomboy like her wouldn't last for two-minutes in one of the many mindbogglingly boring conversations that were bound to take place that night.

"Yosh..." Koko said to herself, now fully prepared as she entered one of the servant's access doors and started walking down the narrow hallway that led to the ballroom. She did this because she didn't want to be seen by any of the guests, whom she guessed would most likely laugh at Teya if they knew that the only musician playing was her sister. And at just the thought of that situation, Koko was glad that she'd chosen to hide the section of the room where she'd be sitting as she wanted to avoid that particular scenario at all costs.

Moving along with the servants through one of the many side doors, Koko managed to sneak into the already noisy room without anyone seeing her before she almost dived behind the black sheet that would hide her. And now that she reached it, only now did the thought of the sheet blocking the sound enter her head as she thought that she might have made a mistake. However, it was to late to think about that now, and Koko took one more deep breath before she placed the Acoustic Substitute on the floor beside her and activated it. And after rested her chin on the chin rest of the violin and preparing her bow, she started playing with a single easy movement, filling the immediate area with a drawn-out and relaxing note that she only hoped was reaching the other side of the sheet.

After playing another two notes, her violin solo thankfully started being accompanied by several different notes from what sounded like chimes with a horn casting a constant yet faint low note in the background. And as soon as a piano joined in, Koko was suddenly lost in the music from her previous life as she was completely absorbed by the performance.

All sound was lost besides the music, and Koko closed her eyes as she gently swayed along with the rhythm in her chair, smiling as she pictured the sunset on a beach that seemed as if it would be the best fit for the peaceful tune. Though, after an unknown amount of time, she was was thankfully drug out of her trance when she suddenly heard Benson speak up on the other side of the sheet. Upon hearing him, she instantly stopped playing and turned the Acoustic Substitute off so that her father could give a short speech and welcome Teya into the room.

Sitting back and smiling smugly to herself, Koko was glad that everything was going perfectly so far. However, just as she had that thought, something went wrong. And that something was the rustling of the sheet before a familiar figure entered her closed off area.

"What are you doing here?! Get out!" Koko attempted to yell in a hushed voice, but couldn't as she was afraid that anything more than a whisper would be heard by the nobles outside.

"I was wondering where you were, but now I've found you." James replied with a large grin, stealing the spare chair that Koko had planned to use to lay her violin on before he sat in it. "The music is great out there, but I'd much rather listen to it in here."

"I don't care what you want, so get outside before I send you through a wall!" Koko threatened, not minding that this selfish guy was the second prince at all. Though she unfortunately didn't have any time to make good on her threat as Benson's speech on the other side of the sheet concluded and she had to play again. Though she only did it after a final glare at James, who seemed as if he couldn't be happier with where he was sitting