Chapter 14: Sound of Music
Rana opened the chest and announced its contents with excitement.
"*Gasp*, Steve! A diamond! We found a diamond!"
"Really? Wait, are you messing with me?" A stunt like that wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for her.
"I'm not! Look!"
"Woah!"
She had spun around, holding up a shiny, opaque, oval-shaped blue gem in both hands. Its hue resembled that of a clear sky's.
'Well, that was easier than I thought it'd be. We didn't even have to get down to level 15 for it.'
"Here! You can hold it if you want!" she offered, while handing the precious mineral to me.
"Thanks."
When the diamond ended up in my possession, I checked the recipe book for new crafting entries. After browsing through each section, I finally found the recipe for the item we'd set as our goal for the last few days: The jukebox, which could be crafted using eight wooden planks and a single diamond.
During said browsing, however, I also took note of the rest of the items that could be crafted with diamonds as a material. Most of them were the standard tools, weapons, and armor that could be crafted with iron, too. That being said, I also managed to catch a glimpse of an unknown block.
It was referred to as 'enchanting table', and could be crafted by using two diamonds, a book, and four obsidian blocks. Despite the fact that we were a diamond short, I began thinking; 'What if we should wait on crafting the jukebox until we find more diamonds? Should we prioritize more important things?'
Granted, I had no idea how rare diamonds actually were, nor how lucky we just got by finding one laying around in an abandoned chest. The question still stood regardless, however. Was a jukebox really worth i-
"Steve."
"Huh? What? What happened?"
"Finally, you responded! You seemed pretty spaced out, there. Are you alright?" she asked in a worried tone.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Rana. I was checking the recipe book and zoned out. Here, you can have the diamond back." I held on to my thoughts for now.
"Alright, then...The chest had coal and iron, too, but those aren't that important. Since we got what we came here for, do you think we should leave?"
"Yeah. Wait, what are we gonna do about these guys?" I gestured around me to all the tiny slimes that had been hopping around.
"Hmm, I think they're better off staying here."
"What happened to being the queen of the slimes?"
"A good leader should prioritize the well-being of their subjects. If I take them along, Talos might attack them, and that'd be it for them."
"Wise decision, your highness. Onwards we go."
...
We began heading back through the way we had come from, which wasn't particularly difficult to do, since the part of the cave we explored was essentially a long, twisted, descending hallway. While some of the slimes we had 'befriended' followed us at first, they stayed behind once they lost track of us. By the time we'd reached the surface, it was afternoon.
Due to the time frame, I assumed most townsfolk would probably be hanging out in the library, the church, or the inn's tavern. Having finally arrived at the latter building, my suspicions were confirmed, as spread-out groups of villagers that were lounging in the bar and the tables, invited us to sit with them.
"It's been such a long time since the last time we've seen you two, hmm? Would you like to keep us some company?" a villager in brown robes queried.
'It's not like it's been that long; public reading wasn't even a moon cycle ago. It wouldn't hurt to hang out with them for a bit, but what about our goal?'
"What do you think?" I asked Rana.
"Well, you're kinda putting me on the spot here... I'm sorry, guys. How about tomorrow, maybe?"
The villagers seemed bummed out by our response, but understanding, regardless.
"We'll take you up on that offer. Have a good day, heroes!"
"Have a good day, too!"
We walked upstairs and took a moment to think about how and where to set up the jukebox. We debated between placing it in the hall or one of our rooms and, in the end, we ended up settling for her room, so that Sky could enjoy the songs as well.
Before we could craft the block, I wanted to bring up what had been on my mind ever since before we exited the cave. After a brief moment of internal debate, I realized that it'd be far better if I shared what troubled me, with Rana. After all, she had outright encouraged me to do so.
As she was about to use up that diamond, I stopped her.
"Wait." She turned her attention to me.
"What's the matter?"
"Rana, there's something I want to ask you."
"Oh. Okay, go ahead. I'm all ears!" she responded happily.
I paused for a moment to think about the best way to verbalize my thoughts.
"Don't get me wrong, but are you sure it's a good idea to use up a diamond for a jukebox?"
"What do you mean?" she replied, taken aback.
"I mean that when I looked through the crafting options, I saw items that I believe would be far more practical for us... Don't you think we should wait until we get more diamonds from a different cave system?" She pondered for a bit, before giving a response.
"What sort of items piqued your interest?"
"Well, the enchanting table, for one. I don't know how it works, but if the name's anything to go by, it enchants items...like this," I explained as my enchanted iron sword materialized in my right hand. "I just think something like that would be more beneficial to us."
"Hmm...Beneficial to us for what?"
"Our survival."
"Against what?"
"...Mobs?"
"But...aren't we doing just fine, as we are?"
It became my turn to get confused.
"I don't get it..."
She went on to explain in an excited, almost hopeful tone.
"Steve, we succeeded in taking down a giant slime, a monster neither of us had seen before, without a hitch! Not to mention, the more common enemies don't really pose much of a threat to us, do they?" she asked me with a kind smile.
"..."
"If a more dangerous enemy comes our way, we'll do what we do best; face it together, like we have been doing so far!"
"..."
"We've done a good job surviving so far, so I think it's about time...we started thriving. And we should have some fun, too! This world has presented so many wonders and possibilities so far! I want to explore as many opportunities as it can offer, for as long as I'm here! Like you, I don't really remember how I ended up here, but I want to enjoy my time here by experiencing new things, as much as I can! But it's not just that. I want you to experience these things with me, and listening to this world's music is a good first step to that! So, tell me, Steve. Won't you join me?"
I was left speechless for a moment, there. The excitement and passion that radiated from her short speech were surprisingly contagious and heartwarming. I was able to feel a smile forming on my face. I couldn't be negative even if I wanted to. It didn't take long for me to answer her proposal.
"I'd love to. We're a team, after all, aren't we?"
"You know it!" she exclaimed, and finally placed down the jukebox, after crafting it. It had an intricate design, which was comprised of a dark brown, checkered pattern at the sides. At the top of the wooden block, was a slot that could fit a music disc.
"And hey, if that didn't convince you that crafting this thing was the right play, then maybe this will!"
Rana excitedly inserted a music disc that had a thick black outline on its inner rim. Soon enough, a melody began to play from the jukebox. I couldn't really understand how this strange block worked, as its mechanisms were completely hidden. Putting the inner workings of the jukebox aside, the melody that was contained in that music disc was rather calming and nice to listen to.
"Okay, I think I get what you mean," I said.
"You do? But we haven't even gotten to the best part yet!"
Well, that was good to hear. At least it would be, if only it didn't form a rather important question.
"Wait, how do you know that? Have you listened to this before?"
"Oh, yeah! The isn't the first jukebox I've crafted," she replied nonchalantly. The chill music did a phenomenal job at juxtaposing my growing feeling of confusion.
"...What? Then how is this a new experience for you? Why did we even go out of our way to craft a new jukebox if you already had one!?" I tried really hard not to raise my voice.
"Hehehe, you see, my previous jukebox got destroyed..."
"How?"
With the press of a button, the music disc was ejected from the jukebox. Rana continued talking once the music stopped.
"I imagine it's going to be a little hard for you to believe, but...it got blown up by a creeper..."
"...How!?"
"You see, when I first moved into Cornelia, I didn't live here, at the inn, but rather, at a wooden house I'd built at the edge of the village."
"Okay..."
"So, I wanted to create an underground room with a cool atmosphere, that'd be like a safe haven. Cozy, low lighting, you get the idea, right?"
"Yes."
"Good. The thing is, that I may had gone a little overboard with the low lighting; I had put down only one torch to illuminate the entire room. In my defense, the room didn't seem big or dark enough for monsters to spawn. And yet, when I returned from a walk, I snuggled in my bed, ready to go to sleep...until I heard footsteps coming from below! So, I climbed down the ladder to investigate."
I could see where this was going...
"Suddenly, before I could get off the ladder, I heard a weird hissing noise, and then... Well, you can imagine what followed...So, yeah! That's why I wanted to craft another one."
I contemplated for bit, before asking, "Were you hurt?"
"Physically? Not so much. Emotionally? Yes...The old jukebox didn't even last a day, either... And that's how I started living in the inn," she finished, before re-inserting the music disc in the slot. The song started from the beginning again.
Thinking about it, I couldn't be mad at her. That must've genuinely been a terrible experience.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Steve. It's all in the past now. Oh! Here comes the best part! Listen!" she exclaimed while gesturing toward the jukebox. The melody up until that point had been pretty much the same. It was a light jazz song, that had a bass, a piano and a saxophone. Emphasis on, up until that point.
The 'best part' caught me so off-guard, it made me whip my head towards the jukebox by surprise. It was played by some sort of wind instrument, that sounded incredibly off-key. It wasn't unpleasant, per se, just very sudden, and kind of out-of-place. To my astonishment, however, Rana was absolutely living it. She was bobbing her head to the beat, eyes closed, while sporting one of the biggest smiles I'd ever seen her wear. It was like she was having the time of her life.
Time felt like it slowed to a crawl. Was this really the same girl I'd found in that watchtower? The difference in emotions between then and now created such a powerful whiplash, that it was hard for me to wrap my head around it.
The other day, I couldn't quite estimate what I felt about her. Today, I wasn't sure whether a jukebox was worth a diamond or not. When it comes to latter predicament, the answer became crystal-clear. As for the former...I...I felt like I finally figured it out.
'The clothes you wear. The things you enjoy. The reason you enjoy them. The way you observe and interact with people and things around you. The jokes you make. The jokes you laugh at. Your optimism. Your sweetness. Your kindness. The fact that I can't imagine going back to living the way I was living before I met you.'
I could feel my heartbeat accelerate.
'Rana... Have you always been this beautiful?'
"..."
"See, wasn't it awesome?"
"..."
"Aw, you're smiling! I knew you'd like it!"
"Yeah...It was nice. You were right, by the way."
"What do you mean?"
"The jukebox definitely was the right choice...Thank you for the experience."
"Don't mention it!"
We sat in silence for a while, but it didn't last long.
"Wanna bring the music disc that you found?" she asked.
"Sure. I'll be right back."
I walked over to my room and opened up the chest. Inside was the 'Cat' music disc I'd found in that dungeon all that time ago. As I was about to return, however, I was stopped on my tracks by a voice I wasn't anticipating.
"Greetings, Steve. I was informed by the tavern's patrons that a certain song was coming from upstairs. It would not happen to have come from a jukebox, would it?" Sebastian, of all people, calmly asked.
"Hello, Sebastian. Yeah, it did. Why do you ask?"
"Just out of curiosity. Your expedition for diamonds was successful, I take it? How many did you two manage to find?"
"Just one, but that was all that we needed."
The librarian remained silent. I couldn't read what their expression meant.
"Alright, then. That would be it. Good afternoon," were the last words they said to me, before departing. I didn't really know what to make of that encounter. What were they even doing in the tavern? It wasn't a regular hang-out spot for the librarian, as far as I was concerned.
Whatever the case, I didn't dwell on it too much, and proceeded to re-enter my partner's room.
"Was that Sebastian's voice I heard?" she asked, and I nodded in response.
"What did they want? I didn't hear..."
I gave her a brief synopsis of our already brief exchange.
"That's weird...They didn't even say anything else? Not even a remark?"
"No."
"Hmm...Meh, I wouldn't worry about it too much. You know how they are; if they wanted to say something, they would've done so."
"You're right. I've brought the music disc, by the way," I said, holding up the aforementioned disc.
"Great! Let's give it a go!"
We spent the rest of the day listening to the song, as well as sharing our thoughts regarding the two songs we heard. It was time well spent, yet I couldn't help but feel flustered. Sebastian's sudden arrival was slightly off-putting; I doubted that the villager in white had curiosity as their sole motive. In addition, I figured out what my feelings for this joyful girl were, and that was good. However, I wasn't sure what to do about them going forward.
When I finally went in my room to rest for the night, I took a deep breath, and a phrase snuck into my head.
'Actions speak louder than words.'
With that thought, I drifted off to sleep.
A/N: I don't think I need to say what Rana's favorite music disc is called; you probably figured it out already. My favorite one is probably 'far'. I'm curious to see which one is your favorite, though, so feel free to share!