Grand Heroic Hymn in G Major

Just thinking about having to stand here all day made Lux feel numb.

Fortunately... Karya's ancient wisdom really did come in handy. After a moment's thought, he came up with an unconventional solution.

"How about you talk to Sona about playing music? I know a little about how to play these ancient Ionian instruments."

"What good does it do if you know how?" Lux asked, baffled. "I can't play an ancient zither—"

"It's fine. If I can play it, then you can, too." Karya quickly laid out a complete plan. "This zither is a magical item. No one else can play it, but you can."

"A magical item?" Lux had never expected that. "Can it talk, too?"

"Please don't use me as the standard for magical items," Karya said helplessly. "I'm a Darkin. You might not know what that means, but, in short, normal magical items aren't like me."

"Even if I can use a magical item, I still can't play music!" Lux said helplessly. "I've been to concerts, but I've never learned how to play..."

"Relax. All you have to do is wiggle your fingers." Karya had clearly come prepared. "Think of it like a music game. I'll tell you which finger to move, and you pluck the string that corresponds to it. I won't let you down!"

"What exactly do I have to do?" Lux asked skeptically. "You tell me which finger, and I move it?"

"Exactly." Karya answered with confidence. "An Ionian zither has ten strings, one for each finger. I'll tell you which finger to pluck, and you pluck the corresponding string!"

"But—don't I need to press down on the strings?" Lux still wasn't convinced. "I've seen a harp, and you have to press down on its strings when you pluck them. There are rules for timing and technique, too..."

"You don't know how to do any of that. Just lean me against Aihua, and I'll take care of that part." Karya took it all upon himself. "Don't worry. I can play an Ionian zither well enough!"

"Then I'll borrow Sona's zither? Wouldn't that be rude?" Lux blinked. "She cares a lot about it..."

"You're not just borrowing her zither. You're inviting her to play a duet!" Karya corrected her. "A duet, on one zither... You'll play Grand Heroic Hymn in G Major. I saw the score before and memorized it. Just tell Sona to play the chords for you."

"Chords? What are those?" Lux was even more confused. "A certain string?"

"Chords aren't strings..." Karya started to explain, but then realized it wasn't something he could make clear with a simple explanation, so he skipped the subject. "You've never studied music theory, so it'd be hard to explain. But it doesn't matter. Sona will know. Just tell her."

"Wait, you mean Sona and I will play together?" Lux finally understood what Karya meant. "How could that work? A zither isn't a pipe organ. How could two people play it at once? We'll get in each other's way!"

"I can solve that problem. No one here knows how to play the zither anyway. At most, they'll think Sona is helping you press the strings while you pluck them!" Karya offered a solution. "There's no time. Starting with the pinky on your left hand as one, and the ring finger as two, count up until the pinky on your right hand is ten. Got it?"

"Uh... got it!"

"Now try it. Three, three, six, four, five. One, seven, two, six, three!"

Following Karya's instructions, Lux expressionlessly wiggled her fingers.

"Great, that's it. Now let's try two more notes—"

"..."

"..."

And so, without anyone knowing, Lux and Karya held a last-minute rehearsal before Sona arrived with her adoptive parents.

Lux had no idea what a music game was, nor did she realize that Karya's "foolproof teaching method" skipped over many important things. She didn't understand music theory at all, and knew nothing about either fingering or chords.

But because she trusted Karya, she decided to give it a try.

Soon, Sona arrived with her adoptive parents. The ladies and young women from the various families gathered around them to exchange pleasantries. Since Sona couldn't speak, she simply kept smiling.

Lux took a quiet breath, went over her lines one more time, and finally spoke up.

"Uncle Buweier—congratulations on the Buweier family gaining another musician!"

Hearing Lux's words, Barret Buweier smiled. Though he was one of Demacia's highest-ranking nobles, as well as a close friend and trusted adviser to Jiawen III, he personally would rather be called an artist.

Being a noble was his job; music was his life.

Lux's compliment had hit just the right spot, and he smiled cheerfully as he modestly replied, "I'm no more than an amateur. My little Sona has been playing since she was three. She'll go much further than I ever could in music!"

"Then, future master musician..." Lux immediately seized the opportunity and held out her arm to Sona. "Miss Sona, would you do me the honor of playing a duet with me?"

Lux's sudden invitation caught Sona off guard. Holding her zither, she hesitated for a moment, seeming to search for a polite way to refuse. But when Lux's sword at her waist brushed against the zither, apparently by chance, Sona's eyes widened.

The next moment, while all the nobles around them wondered why the usually courteous little Crownguard princess had made such a forward suggestion—and how to smooth things over before the atmosphere turned awkward—Sona nodded.

She agreed!

The nobles around them were astonished, but quickly cleared a space. Overjoyed and surprised, Barret went so far as to bring over a zither stand and two chairs himself. Though, from an etiquette standpoint, he was a little displeased by Lux's boldness, the instant he saw Sona agree—and even take Lux's arm—his displeasure turned into immense joy.

Barret knew very well that if Sona could play a duet with Lux here, and even become her friend, it would greatly help her fit into Demacia's noble circles.

This was the little princess of the Crownguard family. Her presence and witness today represented the Crownguard family!

Even though the Buweier family was in no way inferior in status to the Crownguard family, a friendship witnessed by all the nobles present was still invaluable!

Before long, a simple performance stage had been set up. Whatever they had been thinking about, every noble in the hall tacitly fell silent. The great hall was utterly quiet. Interrupting them now could easily offend two of the most powerful noble families, and no one wanted to invite trouble.

Under everyone's gaze, Lux was still a little nervous. But with Karya's encouragement, she smiled and spoke in a voice that was just right. "Miss Sona, I heard you only recently arrived in Demacia. You must not be familiar with the music here, so I'll play the main melody, and you can press the strings and play the chords. How does that sound?"

"..."

Sona didn't say anything, but her slender fingers had already swept deftly across the strings, leaving a string of beautiful notes. She nodded, too.

"Then... let's play Grand Heroic Hymn in G Major!" Seeing everything go according to Karya's plan, Lux finally relaxed a little. "I'm not very good at playing, so please help me out, Miss Sona!"

As she spoke, Lux took a deep breath. Almost in sync with Sona, she tied her long hair up into a high ponytail so it wouldn't get in the way, then reached out and placed her fingers on the strings in a natural, though completely unorthodox, position.

Grand Heroic Hymn in G Major began!

Grand Heroic Hymn in G Major was a tune familiar to every Demacian.

Derived from a war song, it was the most famous piece by the Demacian composer Dobe. A thousand years ago, Demacia's ancestors had hummed its melody as they fought their way through every obstacle to reach the land protected by the Nullwood trees.

Ever since then, generation after generation of Demacians had been inspired by the song as they fought enemies from every corner of the world. Demacia had no concept of a national anthem, but to Demacians, this heroic hymn was much the same thing.

And now, in the Buweier family's great hall, two nine-year-old girls were playing this stirring, rousing piece on the Ionian zither Aihua.

Unlike the version performed by an orchestra in a grand concert hall, this arrangement was simple, with no other instruments accompanying it. Lux's playing was downright awful, too. Her fingers were stiff, and if Aihua weren't a magical item, its strings would have snapped eight times over by now.

The wrong place, the wrong people, the wrong instrument—and yet, the performance had an astonishing effect.

It was precisely because Lux's fingers plucked the strings so stiffly that this rendition of the heroic hymn gained an indescribable power.

It was precisely because the great hall was smaller than a concert hall that the zither's sound rang in everyone's ears like a song from the soul.

If the symphonic version of the heroic hymn was an inspiration, then this version was more like a tribute to courage!

The strings rang beneath Lux's fingers with the clang of metal. Her melody, like her golden hair, embodied the golden fearlessness of the Demacian people.

Sona played the zither, pressing the strings with effortless grace and matching Lux perfectly. Her chords, like her hair, were gentle and generous, nourishing all things without a sound.

Lux's melody was the fearless warriors on the battlefield, united in purpose, armed and ready, advancing and retreating together.

Sona's chords were the countless people who, though not on the battlefield, still fought for Demacia from behind the lines.

They might be the laborers who supplied provisions, the blacksmiths who forged weapons, the herders who tended livestock, or perhaps the wives and mothers waiting for their husbands or sons to return.

Karya drew out the full, heart-stirring power of Aihua, bringing the music's emotional impact to an even greater height.

And among the people present, which family didn't have someone who had given their life for Demacia?

The plucking strings stirred their emotions—and with them, their memories.

That was right. The heroic hymns they usually heard celebrated the warriors on the battlefield. But how many people ever thought of the loved ones in the rear, anxiously waiting for them?

Demacia had countless heroes.

And behind those heroes stood countless heroic mothers and wives!

"Though their bones lie by the river, their wives still dream of them in their chambers!"

As the piece reached its climax, many of the ladies and young women present had reddened eyes, some even weeping openly. It was only when they wiped away their tears that they suddenly realized the two people playing the heroic hymn before them had both suffered their own losses: one had recently lost her uncle, while the other was about to lose her country...

Was this... their hearts speaking?

Not until the piece had ended did the whole hall fill with sobs. Many ladies and young women lowered their heads, hiding their faces behind fans or wiping their eyes with handkerchiefs.

Only after a long while did the applause begin, led by Barret. It gradually grew louder, until it became a deafening roar.

It was the most beautiful Grand Heroic Hymn in G Major they had ever heard!

Amid the thunderous applause, Lux finally came back to herself. She blinked and saw Sona's eyes, a clear blue much like her own, seemingly filled with concern.

Then, just as Lux was about to stand, she "heard" Sona's voice.

"Are you all right?"

Sona could speak?

No!

She could hear Sona's thoughts, just as she could hear Karya!

Wait. Karya had said he could communicate with her because of the flow of magic.

Then if she could hear Sona's voice, did that mean Sona was a natural mage, too?!

There was so much to take in that Lux could hardly process it. Fortunately, she had just performed an astonishing duet with Sona. Seeing her motionless, the nobles would only think she was lost in the music.

After a long while, when Lux had finally sorted everything out, she took Sona's hand again. She lifted her chin slightly and met Sona's gentle gaze with a determined one.

Lux didn't speak.

But Sona heard Lux's voice, too. "I want to talk to you."

"Sure," Sona replied without hesitation. "We can go to my bedroom right now!"

The next moment, as if their souls were in tune, both pairs of blue eyes narrowed at the same time. The two little girls linked arms, carried the zither together, and left the great hall.