The First Magic

From Akira's perspective:

Narsha handed me what she called a spell book, which was actually a sheet of music notation. It was marked with a metronome sign at 120, filled with a mix of quarter notes and eighth notes. The score had a basic chord progression that repeated C-G-F-C twice, similar to a children's song melody. Frankly, it was a relatively easy piece to play.

"Ah, have you never read a spell book before?" she asked, freezing me in place.

What does she mean by that?

Does singing according to this score mean I'm casting a spell in this world?

"Well, if it's the same as the music sheets I know, I think I can read it..."

"I'm not sure what you're saying... but you can chant it, right?"

"What about the lyrics?"

"Lyrics? Oh, this is a basic spell that even a novice can chant without knowing any ancient scripts, just by singing 'LALALA,'" she explained. I was spaced out.

"Ha ha ha..."

Apparently, I'm just exhausted from studying for exams and having such daydreams.

"Come on, this place is dangerous, let's head back to the village," she urged, leading me down the mountain path.

After walking for about five minutes, a murderous aura surrounded us.

"Dangerous!"

I pushed her aside as a scythe flew towards her.

"Uh-uh-uh-uh," a sleazy laugh followed, as three middle-aged men approached.

"They're like low-level villains from a period drama," I blurted out rudely.

"Hey, you two. Maybe we'll strip you of everything. Just obey us, and we won't take your lives," they seemed to be the so-called bandits.

In a fantasy game world, they'd be considered minor characters, but in the real medieval times, they were a frightening presence to travelers.

"Chant the spell?" Narsha whispered to me as the bandits laughed heartily.

"Hey, hey, the dumb-looking guy thinks he can cast spells? No way you can do that, haha!"

"What spell are you talking about?"

"Didn't I just give you the wind spell? It'll make our legs faster so we can escape!"

As Narsha snapped back, the bandits' laughter grew louder.

"My stomach hurts. Enough fooling around. I've changed my mind. Let's kill them," they threatened, swinging their knives.

I grabbed her hand and ran.

(Is this thing really effective?)

"LALALALALALALALA♪"

Skeptically, I began singing the song written in the spell book.

Suddenly, a gust of wind wrapped around Narsha and me.

With incredible speed, we escaped from the spot.