The southern town of the Central Continent, excluding the capital within the tower, is currently the most populous city.
This is largely due to the Sumit Kingdom on the South Continent quickly accepting Razek Amamiya and initiating trade via teleport gates, and the fact that various countries, seeking the Furie Grass obtainable through these transactions, avoided conflict with Razek Amamiya.
Of course, there are still hostile nations, but even these countries are secretly connected with others to obtain Furie Grass, so they do not actively attack.
As a result, compared to other continents, they have received many benefits from Razek Amamiya and have developed faster than the other three major continents.
Naturally, Razek Amamiya also receives many benefits from the South Continent.
The southern town serves as the gateway to the South Continent.
Furthermore, unlike the Eastern Town, the southern town was blessed with advantageous location conditions.
It has more than double the space compared to the Eastern Town to build a port to accommodate ships from the South Continent.
There is still room to expand the port, and the southern town is expected to continue developing in the future.
The town’s residents understand this well, and it can be said that it is the town most pleased to have been incorporated into Razek Amamiya.
Kousuke, having finished the ritual the day before, was meeting the children in the plaza of the southern town as usual.
“Daddy–”
This time, Peach and Miku had come ahead, rather than the children coming together.
Colette and the others were scheduled to arrive later due to matters in the Elf Village.
For the morning, they decided to tour the city with Miku and the others.
“Oh. Miku, have you been a good girl?”
Kousuke asked, lifting Miku, who had run up to him, into his arms.
“Yes!”
Miku nodded enthusiastically, holding a wind chime in her hand. It was the wind chime Miku had with her when they said goodbye last time.
Miku held up the wind chime in her hand and asked, “Daddy, the wind chime’s sound has changed.”
“The sound has changed? …Hmm?”
Listening to the wind chime Miku offered, Kousuke tilted his head. However, since a few days had passed since he last heard it, Kousuke didn’t hear any change in the sound.
“Perhaps the bell part of the main body has changed shape slightly?”
Kousuke wasn’t sure if the sound had actually changed, but he suggested a possible reason for the sound changing.
“The bell?”
“That’s right. This part here.”
Kousuke said, pointing to the bell part of the wind chime Miku was holding protectively.
Miku tilted her head, watching Kousuke gently tap the metal part with his fingernail.
“Does the sound change if the shape of this part changes?”
“Yes. It does. And since this is metal, it will change even more if it gets warped. Though it doesn’t look like that’s the case right now.”
Miku was holding it tightly, but she showed no signs of rough handling, and as far as Kousuke could see, there were no distortions.
If the sound had truly changed, it was possible it was due to heat, but Kousuke didn’t know if Miku could discern such a subtle change, so he deliberately didn’t mention it.
“I see.”
Miku nodded with a subtle expression, unsure if she understood.
“If you hold it in your hand for too long, the heat might subtly warp the metal… you should be careful, maybe?”
“Really?”
At Kousuke’s words, Miku flinched and loosened her grip on the bell.
“Well, it might be a bit of an exaggeration. At least, I think it’s better not to drop it?”
Kousuke didn’t have ears sensitive enough to detect sound differences from dropping a wind chime, but it was possible Miku did. Therefore, he thought it better to advise her to handle it with care.
“Got it!”
Perhaps Kousuke’s sentiment got through to her, as Miku nodded with a serious expression.
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Perhaps realizing that being too careful was also not good, Miku asked to leave the wind chime with the self-propelled wagon and tour the city.
Kousuke and the others gladly agreed and toured the southern town with Miku.
For lunch, they found a suitable restaurant in town, and in the afternoon, they met up with Seiya and the others.
“Daddy!”
Kousuke spread his arms wide to welcome Seiya and Shia, who came running together. Kousuke felt as if he had done something similar just half a day ago, but he didn’t mind. The gazes of those around him were not ones of strange appreciation but warm, like those directed at any ordinary parent.
After patting the children’s heads for a while, Kousuke turned to Colette.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
He said this to Colette, who had come after finishing her tasks in the village. However, Colette shook her head, implying that she was accommodating the children’s requests, even if it meant a bit of an effort.
“It’s fine. The ritual itself wasn’t much.”
In reality, what Colette did in the village was a simple task that could be finished by morning, so it wasn’t tiring. Colette also wanted to fulfill the children’s wishes, so she wasn’t really pushing herself. Furthermore, Colette herself wanted to travel with Kousuke.
Having reunited with Colette and the others, Kousuke and his group began their usual exploration of the town.
Kousuke and his group, who had been stopping by food stalls and drawing attention from their surroundings, halted at a certain plaza. Miku, reacting to something, suddenly stopped.
“Miku? What’s wrong?”
“Hmm…”
Miku’s response was vague, and Kousuke didn’t feel like she could hear him. As Kousuke was about to speak again, sensing something familiar, Miku started walking away.
“Wait–!?”
Peach exclaimed as if involuntarily, but Kousuke stopped her with a shake of his head as he moved forward.
Miku had arrived at the spot where a street performer was playing a certain instrument.
“…Peach. Let me confirm, but were there no musical instruments in the Succubus village?”
Kousuke recalled that he had never seen one during his visit and asked the Peach standing beside him. Peach, covering her mouth with her hand, shook her head.
“Anything that made loud noises was prohibited…”
Peach’s clan had been living as fugitives until about twenty years ago. Therefore, they couldn’t engage in actions that would draw attention. As a precautionary measure, singing and music were forbidden. While producing sound individually might be acceptable, music played by a group could surprisingly travel far. Due to this historical context, music was still not heard in the village.
Kousuke, sensing the situation, nodded in understanding.
“I see. …Does that mean Miku’s reaction to the wind chime might be…?”
“Huh. …Is that possible?”
“Well, we don’t know for sure yet.”
Miku might simply be reacting to something unusual.
“For now, how about buying that vertical flute the street performer is playing? We have the money,” Colette said with a smile, offering advice to the surprised pair. Kousuke and Peach exchanged glances at her words and nodded with small smiles.
Perhaps many of you have already guessed.
Has Miku’s talent been revealed? (Still unknown)
