Kaito watched as a boy—about his age—sat on the ground strumming a guitar. People bustled past, hardly sparing him a glance, yet the boy seemed unfazed. He played with a quiet joy, completely immersed in his music, as coins clinked into the open pouch at his feet.
The sweet, lilting notes drifted through the air, wrapping around Kaito like a warm breeze. Drawn in by the unfamiliar sound, he stepped closer and took a seat across from the musician, tuning out the rush of the world around them.
The boy glanced up, catching Kaito's gaze, and offered a warm smile before returning to his song.
When the final chord faded into silence, Kaito clapped enthusiastically, the sound loud against the hum of the street. The boy laughed, surprised and delighted.
"Howdy, friend. Don't think I've seen you around here before," he said, voice light with curiosity.
But Kaito barely heard him. He was still wide-eyed, awe-struck.
"How did you make that noise?" he asked, voice filled with wonder. He had never heard music before—not like this.
The boy laughs again. "Well from my instrument of course." He jokingly answers. "You interested in music friend?" He asks.
Kaito nods. "Yeah it was like, the sounds of the music made me feel better!" He answers.
The young man plays another chord. "That's because of my talents, you see friend i was born with the ability to increase vigor or make people agile with my music." The boy explains. Kaito can feel magic within the strings. "What kind of magic do you use?" Kaito asks.
"Simply put, one that allows me to follow my passions for music, and well i already explained the other one." He laughs. "It's very nice to meet you, by the way friend, my names Toni, Toni valentine!" He introduces himself. "I'm Kaito!"
"So Kaito, how'd you end up in our town, empire shouldn't have brung tourists here yet." He asks.
"Me and my friends got chased by assassins, then we fell into a big hole, and had to cross the desert." Kaito explains. Toni begins laughing again. "Well friend, sounds like you had an adventurous day!"
Toni stands up packing all of his things in his bags. "Well friend, i'll see you round, if you're in town long enough!" Toni says bidding a farewell. Toni was gone too fast but Kaito had hoped he'd run into him again. His music had left Kaito astonished and he wished to hear more.
As Kaito's wandering around town he runs into Dante again. "Hey Dante, what're you up to?" Kaito asks. Dante takes his eyes off the board. "Oh i was just trying to figure out where we ended up, looks like we're in astrale." Dante explains. "Also i was trying to see how to get back on track to Arsaw."
Dante sees a glint in Kaito's eye. "What's got you all happy?" He asks. Kaito smiles brightly. "I've just heard music!" Kaito says. Dante smiles. "Well this town is known for it's music." Dante explains, before pointing to a large building in the distance. "The great hall over there is where some of the best concerts are held, actually people come from all around the world just to hear it."
The thought of hearing more music excites Kaito. "How long until they play more?!" He happily asks. "Tomorrow actually. Why you wanna listen to it?" Dante asks.
Kaito nods. "Yes! But we have to hurry don't we?" Kaito sadly remembers they're trying to stop a war. Dante shakes his head. "Not really, the empire has a lot of paperwork to do, so taking a break for a day shouldn't hurt anything." Dante says, even though it may slow them down, he couldn't hurt Kaito's feelings.
Kaito giggles happily. "I wanna hear it all especially from Toni!"
Rika and Nanami spot them from the distance, and they also come over. Dante quickly realizing the change in attire. "Where did you get new clothes?" Dante asks. Rika shows off her outfit. "My clothes were all dirty so i just stole these." Rika explains, with a dramatic pose.
Dante shakes his head. "Stop stealing from people!" He yells at her. "NO!" Rika yells back as if he insulted her mother.
The group stood at the center of the lively town, its sandstone streets winding between buildings alive with chatter and music. People bustled past with instruments slung over their shoulders, melodies drifting lazily through the air like a soft breeze.
Nanami glanced at Dante. "So… have you figured out where we are yet?"
Dante gave a small nod. "Yeah. We've landed just outside of Astrale. It's a bit off the major trade routes, but it seems peaceful enough." He looked over the town. "Figured it's a good place to take a break."
Nanami exhaled, relieved. "That's actually perfect. I've been meaning to build a few things."
At that, Rika perked up, eyes widening. "Oh, right! You're an inventor. I totally forgot."
Nanami smiled. "One thing I'm planning will help with everyday stuff—just small quality of life improvements. The other… well, let's just say it'll give us an edge in combat." She tapped the side of her temple. "I'll explain more once I've got the blueprints figured out."
They made their way into town, blending into the crowd. Kaito wandered a few steps ahead, his eyes scanning the scene. He paused in front of a street band, watching the musicians tune their gear and test harmonics. The instruments were unlike anything he'd seen before—strange shapes, some glowing faintly, some mechanical, some clearly enchanted.
"There's music everywhere," he said, almost to himself. "It's like everyone here's got a band or an instrument."
"Yeah," Rika said, falling in step beside him. "And most of them look loaded. Probably nobles or merchant brats showing off their custom gear." She snorted. "Meanwhile, we've got... what, three coins and a half-eaten ration bar?"
Nanami crossed her arms. "I've been wondering… how are we even supposed to make money? I thought parties were supposed to take on quests and earn their way."
"Every time we try that, things go sideways," Rika replied. "Remember the cart incident? Total disaster."
Nanami frowned. "That just can't always be true. We can't be cursed, right? We just need to pick the right quest this time."
Dante chuckled. "Alright then. Let's give it another shot. Can't be worse than last time."
They exchanged glances—hopeful, if a little wary—and continued down the bustling street in search of their next quest!