Chapter 143: From Now On...

Having somehow managed to overturn Pamela-sensei’s fate, I returned to the mansion in high spirits, only to be awaited by my parents, who had smiles plastered on their faces, but their eyes weren’t smiling in the slightest.

From there, it was a storm of scolding. Going out in the middle of the night without permission, heading alone to a dangerous place like a fire scene—Father and Mother laid into me in stereo from left and right. Since I had done something that completely warranted a scolding, I had no choice but to surrender unconditionally. My accomplice, Kohaku-san, scurried away. That heartless beast.

After the Mage Division arrived to extinguish the fire, I returned the apartment I had stored in my [Inventory Storage] to its original location.

Since time stops for items stored in [Inventory Storage], naturally the fire hadn’t gone out, and it reappeared still burning.

It was extinguished in one fell swoop by the water magic of several members of the Mage Division, and the fire in the apartment was quickly brought under control.

The furniture and doors inside seemed to have burned, but the pillars, roof, floors, and walls apparently escaped taking too much damage. It lived up to having a fire-resistance enchantment. Remodeling it will probably be a pain, though.

Jeremy-sensei escorted Pamela-sensei back to her family home. All her household goods and belongings had completely burned up, after all… There’s no such thing as fire insurance in this world…

According to the neighboring residents, it seems to have been arson. Some even said they witnessed a suspicious man running away. The Knight Order also rushed to the scene and seemed to be conducting various inquiries, so I hope the culprit gets caught.

After finishing my parents’ scolding, I returned to my room, immediately dove into bed, and slept like a log. Both my physical and mental strength had reached their limits.

But I’m so glad Pamela-sensei was saved… The Jeremy-sensei I admired is now completely gone, but I have no regrets.

The next day, Pamela-sensei and her parents, Viscount and Viscountess Etude, visited our house.

“Thank you so very much for saving our daughter’s life. You are our benefactor, Lady Sakuraile.”

“No, I’m always indebted to Pamela-sensei on a daily basis, so…”

Being bowed to so deeply by a Viscount couple in their mid-forties, I was flustered.

It might be true that I saved her life, but they don’t have to feel that indebted. It was the result of me poking my nose in on my own accord, after all…

The Viscount couple also bowed their heads to Father and Mother. It seemed they were apologizing for exposing me to danger.

“No, that is Sakuraile’s own responsibility. She should have consulted us before rushing out, and there were various other things she could have done. I always tell you to think a little more before you act. You always…”

“U-Um, Father! I have a meeting with Pamela-sensei about our performance the day after tomorrow, so if you’ll excuse me! Viscount, Madam, please take your time and relax!”

Since another scolding seemed about to start, I grabbed Pamela-sensei’s hand and fled the reception room.

Rushing into the music room, I let out a huge breath and wiped the sweat from my forehead. Phew, that was a close call…

“Did the Duke and Duchess scold you because of me after all?”

“Ah… I was scolded, but I brought it upon myself, so it can’t be helped. It’s true that I rushed out without thinking of the consequences.”

But I don’t regret it. It’s true that I lacked consideration, though.

“I heard from Jeremy, but he said you were the one who informed him of my crisis, Lady Sakuraile… How did you know my house was on fire?”

“U-Um, you know that harassment you were experiencing? I thought perhaps the musician who was forced to resign might hold a grudge and go to your place, so I asked Kohaku-san to casually have some cats keep watch.”

It’s not entirely a lie. I had considered that possibility too.

However, according to the report I received from the Nanane Clan this morning, the musician who had been harassing Pamela-sensei apparently headed towards the Prelude Kingdom, where she has relatives on her mother’s side. If she’s lucky, she might become a court musician in Luca’s country. Well, since she has a criminal record, I think it’s highly unlikely. She could probably become a music tutor for lower-ranking nobles or something, so she should be able to make a living.

“I see… Thanks to that, my life was saved. Divine Beast-sama, thank you very much for this time.”

『I merely followed the instructions of my little master. It is not something that warrants your thanks.』

Kohaku-san declared that while curling up on the window bench.

By the way, I let those cats who came to our house to inform us of the fire eat plenty of high-grade canned cat food I bought at the convenience store.

“Is your body alright, Sensei?”

After the fire was put out, I had her drink my homemade potion just in case, but I’m worried about whether she sustained any mental damage or if her physical condition is okay, aside from physical injuries.

“Yes. I was quite exhausted yesterday, but I slept soundly all night, so I’m fine now. I’ll be able to perform properly the day after tomorrow.”

Right. The day after tomorrow is finally the ‘New Year’s Banquet’ at our Ducal House.

I thought Sensei might be absent because of this fire, but it seems she’ll be alright.

Despite what I told Father, there wasn’t much to discuss that could be called a meeting, so we decided to have tea.

Since Sensei said she wanted to listen to music, I summoned the onigiri shop ‘Musubimaru’ inside the music room and turned on the [In-store BGM].

“Lady Sakuraile’s ‘Gift’ truly is wonderful. I’m very envious that you can listen to these songs anytime you like.”

Pamela-sensei drank the tea Ritsu prepared while listening to the music with her eyes closed. Well, to be precise, it’s not my ‘Gift’, but the protection I received from the Nine Goddesses.

I can listen to it anytime I want, but I can only choose the genre, and there are some pretty inconvenient parts about it, you know?

“…Ah!”

I suddenly remembered and took out a small boombox and cassette tapes I had stored in my [Inventory Storage].

I had this, didn’t I! Why didn’t I notice!

I placed the boombox on the table, set a cassette tape inside, and pressed the record button.

“Lady Sakuraile, what is this?”

“It’s a boombox and cassette tapes. It records sound… um, it’s a tool that lets you capture songs or music and listen to them as many times as you want.”

“Eh!?”

I stopped recording, rewound it, and this time hit play.

『Lady Sakuraile, what is this?』

『It’s a boombox and cassette tapes. It records sound… um, it’s a tool that lets you capture songs or music and listen to them as many times as you want.』

『Eh!?』

As the exact same words, word for word, flowed from the boombox, Pamela-sensei stared at it in speechless shock.

“C-Could this possibly mean that the songs from Lady Sakuraile’s store can also be recorded…?”

“They can. Well, the sound quality will be a little worse, and it might record extra background noises, though.”

“Wonderful! I would very much like to have one, but how much is it!?”

“Thank you for your patronage~”

Neither the boombox nor the cassette tapes are that expensive, and as long as she has batteries, she can use them forever. The only bottleneck is that my store is the only place that sells batteries.

I taught Pamela-sensei how to use the boombox and cassette tapes. She said she wanted to record the songs from the [In-store BGM] right away, so I obliged her request, but trying not to make a single sound while recording was quite agonizing.

We recorded a few songs and decided to save the rest for another time.

Another time. Pamela-sensei is alive, and she will continue to be my music teacher from now on. That makes me incredibly happy and proud.

“Come to think of it, was Jeremy-sensei alright?”

“Well, it seems he caught a cold… I plan to visit the Canon Viscount House this afternoon to check on him.”

Oh dear. Is it because he was soaking wet? Since he was in a fire, I don’t think he was cold, but maybe that’s irrelevant. He probably got chilled on the way home. I wonder if he’s okay…?

“He apparently just has a slight fever and a cough, so he’ll be fine. I’m sure he’ll be cured if he sleeps in all day today.”

Pamela-sensei answered with a wry smile at my worried face.

I decided to have Pamela-sensei take the cold medicine guaranteed by the Traumerei Viscount House, which I had received from Leon before, to give to him as a get-well gift.

If he takes that cold medicine, he’ll probably be cured in a flash.

As we were talking, Estelle and Bianca arrived at the Ducal House.

It seems they heard about yesterday’s events from Ritsu before getting here, and both of them were incredibly worried about Pamela-sensei. At the same time, I got a severe scolding from both of them telling me not to do such reckless things. I get it already, so please give me a break…

Today isn’t a day for music lessons, but since we had the chance, we decided to have Sensei listen to the song we’ll play the day after tomorrow. It’s our final check.

Setting up a microphone just like the real performance, we played the first song, Stand By Me, and then followed it up with the second song, You Can’t Hurry Love, in front of Sensei.

I tried to sing with emotion, just as Sakuracleria-sama told me to.

“H-How was it…?”

“It was wonderful. Even without understanding the words, it felt as though Lady Sakuraile’s feelings were being conveyed. The instrumental performance supporting it also formed a solid foundation. You pass without any complaints. All that’s left is to perform just as you usually do without getting nervous.”

Pamela-sensei smiled brightly as she said that. Alright! If we keep this up for the real performance too…!

“Without getting nervous, huh…”

“That’s the most difficult part…”

“The King is going to be there, you know…?”

Behind me, who was getting pumped up, everyone else was groaning with difficult expressions. Seems like a little shift in perspective is necessary here.

I purposely shrugged my shoulders in an exaggerated manner.

“The King is no big deal. I mean, we have a Divine Beast-sama, a servant of the Gods, right in front of us.”

『Nu?』

Kohaku-san, who had been curled up on the window bench, raised his head as if to say, ‘Did you call me?’.

“Isn’t it weird that you can play just fine in front of an existence higher than a King, but you get nervous only when it’s the King?”

“Now that you mention it…”

“That’s true…”

“It’s starting to feel like it’s no big deal…”

It was a bit forceful, but if this gets rid of everyone’s nervousness, all’s well that ends well.

After all that practice, we want it to end as a massive success, don’t we?

Praying for the success of our performance, I strummed my guitar with a gyan!.