“So? What part of that confession was supposed to be shameful?” Keigetsu asked, sweeping back her hair and curling her lips into a smirk. The tip of her nose was still red, but she was back to her usual haughty self.
“Huh?”
“Frankly, that was a bit of a letdown,” Keigetsu said firmly. “You say you’ve gotten unsightly? Give me a break. Your old self was considerably more insufferable. If anything, this is an overdue improvement.”
Reirin stared blankly at her, wondering if this was an attempt at consideration.
“I mean it,” Keigetsu added with a completely straight face, at which the Kou Maiden burst into helpless laughter.
Oh, I should have known! Reirin thought.
This girl was easily upset, quick to feel discouraged, and prone to lashing out—but that also made her a vibrant soul, more tolerant of negative emotions than anyone. She was as radiant as a comet, capable of blowing all Reirin’s worries away with a scant few sentences.
“You’re such a peculiar person, Lady Keigetsu!”
Much to Reirin’s surprise, the flood of laughter never seemed to recede. Her eyes filled with tears, and soon she was crying and laughing at the same time.
With the exact same kind of half sob, half laugh, Keigetsu shouted, “And you are such a pain in the neck!”
Neither of them could say what was so funny. But as Reirin and Keigetsu peered into one another’s eyes, their emotions got away from them, and for a while they just stood around giggling.
At long last, Reirin got her mirth under control and wiped her eyes. “Oh dear, this is no time to be laughing. If we don’t catch that sorcerer soon, His Majesty will kill us both.” Feeling a weight was off her shoulders, she fixed her friend with a tender gaze and said, “Very well, Lady Keigetsu. I shall think of something better. I won’t allow the sorcerer to take my qi or my soul. I will take off this bracelet and come up with another plan.”
She gently caressed the braid wrapped snugly around her wrist. Earlier, she had been convinced that it would be most efficient to act as the bait, but in hindsight, she had no idea why she had been so hung up on that method. Her best friend was worried sick about her, so she was better off devising a different strategy.
“Yes, you do that,” Keigetsu arrogantly shot back.
The bell announcing midday rang outside the open window, and the pair exchanged glances.
“It’s already the first hour of the horse. We only have an hour left before we’re due to share our plan with His Majesty,” said Reirin.
“We certainly wasted a lot of time,” Keigetsu spat. “We’d better gather everyone in this room and get to strategizing.”
She approached the window, thinking to close it before they left the room, but froze as soon as she heard music coming from outside. Following it to the source, she saw the pavilion in the middle of the pond. Beneath the shadow of the roof, someone was playing a flute with their back turned to the girls.
“Who’s playing?” she asked.
“Hm?”
“That flute.”
Reirin strained her ears beside Keigetsu, then nodded. “Oh, that would be His Majesty. He apparently likes to play the instrument by himself from time to time. I imagine he’s quite frustrated to have his hands tied, so perhaps he needed a distraction.”
“Hmm…” Keigetsu lowered her eyes and took some time to appreciate the melody. “Is this a requiem? A song to put souls to rest?”
“My, does it sound that way to you?”
“Yes. It really resonates, you know? I can practically feel it putting my mind at ease. I can understand why His Majesty would choose to play it when he’s feeling agitated.” Keigetsu seemed quite intrigued. Despite her distaste for music, she rested her chin in her hand on the windowsill and listened intently. “Whoever wrote it was a straightforward sort. It’s not especially sophisticated, but that makes it easier to get immersed in. It gets stuck in your head before you even try to remember it. Unaffected songs like this tend to be pretty powerful from a magical standpoint too.”
“You would consider this song ‘powerful’?”
“Yes. I doubt I’d have any trouble memorizing this song. At the end of the day, all things really do have a level of magical affinity. If this had been our song for the Repose of Souls, I might have had an easier time of it.”
Reirin stared long and hard as Keigetsu mumbled to herself. When her friend attempted to close the window, Reirin stopped her, leaned in, and asked, “Pardon me for asking, Lady Keigetsu, but would lyrics increase the song’s power?”
“Hm? Lyrics?” Keigetsu frowned, caught off guard by the question. “Hard to say… It would depend on what they are. So long as they don’t clash with the melody, the answer is probably yes. Words are essentially a form of incantation.”
“If the poem came first, and the melody was added after the fact, surely the two halves would be in harmony, yes?”
“Well, those odds are better than the reverse. When a song starts from the melody, the lyrics can sound forced, or the rhythm of the lyrics and the notes of the song can be mismatched, making it really hard to si—” Just as Keigetsu was getting swept up in the conversation and airing her grievances, she abruptly whipped her head up. “Wait, what are you up to?”
“Devising a new plan,” said Reirin, grinning. “I have done as you asked and come up with a strategy that involves removing this bracelet and keeping myself out of harm’s way. You see…”
After Reirin revealed her idea, Keigetsu shot her a withering look. “I’m not convinced that counts as rethinking your strategy… But sure, let’s give it a try.”