The brief day in the forest passed far too quickly.
It felt as though I had barely exchanged a few words with Hermes,
and yet, the sun was already dimming, preparing for the night’s embrace.
Even as the world grew darker, Hermes’ golden eyes sparkled brilliantly, as if holding all the stars in the world.
“I suppose I underestimated you, didn’t I?”
By the time we reached the final question, Hermes had clearly lost much of his composure.
His trademark exclamation “Hyah~” had become a relic of the past.
“That’s incorrect, Lord Hermes.”
“What?”
“From the very beginning, you’ve given your all without letting your guard down. Otherwise, how could you casually employ a strategy like the Six-Phase Bone Technique?”
“…”
I understand the subtlety behind these words.
It implied a mental victory: “I’ve still held back; I haven’t given my all.”
This was Hermes, who attempted to overpower me with the Sphinx’s riddles.
When I instantly unraveled his riddles, he unconsciously began to exaggerate his stance.
“Whether I underestimated you or not, why don’t we judge after hearing the final question?”
“Of course. Through this, I will let you know that giving me a week’s time was unnecessary courtesy.”
At my provoking statement, Hermes’ eyebrows twitched.
But within a second, he returned to his usual smirk.
“Hmm. Let’s move on to the final question then.”
He raised his Caduceus not towards the ground but towards the sky.
The space between us began to warp.
The swirling space twisted and then unraveled, creating a kaleidoscope of colors forming a small screen.
Just like when the Bat showed me the grand hall through its mouth.
“What is this…”
“To solve the final problem, you need to carefully observe the events depicted within the screen.”
“…Understood.”
“Let’s begin.”
As Hermes struck his staff forcefully against the ground, the paused screen started playing like a video with narration.
Alright, let’s focus.
—
The illustrious musician known as Argoros, whose name meant “The Shining Hand,” truly lived up to his title.
With good looks and a flamboyant, elegant playing style, he was a prodigy capable of stopping even the busiest passersby in their tracks.
Especially in the world of violinists, there was a considerable gap between him and anyone else in second place, making him the unique first in his solo performances.
However, he always found dissatisfaction in any orchestra or band he joined.
This was because both conductors and fellow musicians lacked even the most basic skills compared to him.
In pursuit of great honor and achievements in music, Argoros kept switching orchestras, much like changing girlfriends, in dissatisfaction with the incompetent conductors.
“Useless conductor! Why the harsh cut there? It should flow smoothly!”
“If you’re going to conduct like that, I might as well just put up a scarecrow. Look! This is how it’s done.”
“In this chapter, the tempo should be faster. How can you hold onto your violin and not keep up with my pace? Stupid!”
“Why do you have the gall to make money with skills that rot your ears? If anything, I should be the one claiming reparations!”
To the compliments of fellow band members admiring his musical refinement and talent, Argoros always gave disdainful looks and retorted with criticism.
Tears from his words were wiped away by the members, and conductors were unable to control such behavior.
Eventually, someone threw away their instruments and baton in despair.
Countless orchestras ultimately decided their harmony was more important than retaining a single exceptional Argoros.
So, Argoros became increasingly isolated and embraced loneliness as rejection piled up.
As his desolation grew into despair, he stayed home, never venturing outside.
Violins lay scattered and covered in dust across the floor.
But life has its twists and turns, and eventually brings clarity through hardship.
The catalyst was seeing a young girl drop and break her violin while running and falling outside his window.
“Hooowwwaaaanngg~”
The child sat crying on the ground, holding the broken violin.
Argoros, annoyed by her crying, decided to fix her violin to drive her away quickly.
“Wow! It really works!”
“Now stop pestering me and go home, dirt kid.”
“Why am I a dirt kid? You’re a hairy uncle!”
The child indignantly referred to Argoros as “hairy” after he pointed out her insult of “dirt kid.”
Seeing her fiery nature, Argoros easily deduced she had a strong personality.
“Are you a musician too, uncle?”
The girl suddenly hit the core with her innocent bright eyes admiring the fixed violin.
Argoros flinched at the word “musician,” something he hadn’t thought of for years.
But to him, it was now a term too distant, like a forgotten dream.
“…Why?”
“Your hands are rough from daily life but so gentle when handling the instrument.”
“Still better than you, who accidentally broke the violin while running around.”
“Eeeek!!! It was a mistake! A mistake!”
“Ha! Would you stand on stage, make a mistake, and tell the audience, ‘Sorry, I made a mistake, so I’ll play again’?”
“That… well no…”
The girl lost her counterargument and stuck out her lip, fidgeting with her fingers.
Regret for pushing a naïve child came over Argoros, but he wasn’t ready to change his music principles.
“Musicians on stage are professionals. No margin for error. Not to the audience, not to myself.”
“But experts are human too! Mistakes can happen anywhere, anytime!”
The girl clenched her fists and protested.
Argoros looked down on her disappointingly.
‘Yet another one.’
Why couldn’t this child understand the heavy burden he bore with each note he played?
After years of listening to excuses from mediocre musicians, Argoros lost interest in the conversation immediately.
He pulled out an empty violin case from the wardrobe and casually tossed it to the girl as a polite dismissal.
“Be on your way. We’re done here.”
“Erm… that…”
The girl started fidgeting with her big toe on the dusty floor, twisting her body.
Sensing more to her story, Argoros stared at her suspiciously.
Then the girl handed her violin back to him.
“What is this?”
“Play for me!”
“Play what?”
“To see if it’s properly fixed, right? Confirm it for me.”
“What nonsense! It’s like saving a drowning person and then asking for their luggage.”
Amused by the idea, Argoros rejected her as he laughed.
But the girl pointed her finger out the window towards the nearby park.
There, in the center of the park that he occasionally saw but never visited, stood a fountain creating a cozy space where humans, birds, and cats mingled.
“Over there!”
“So you’re a stubborn little miss, are you?”
“Come on!”
“Hmph… Alright. I admit it. I am a musician. However, performances come with an audience fee. I can’t do it for free.”
Argoros refused, pushing a reality of money into her face.
In truth, he felt unprepared to perform without respecting the hard-earned money of the audience filled with sweat and effort.
But the girl persisted, grabbing his pant leg.
“Checking if the instrument works fine isn’t a performance. Plus, it’s just a park.”
“Any place I hold my instrument becomes my stage.”
“Eeeewww! So tacky!!! Uncle, you don’t have friends, huh?”
“…”
Argoros, who once stood at the peak of violin mastery, flinched at the pointed question that no one dared to ask him.
Therefore, this was a first-time truthful sting.
Still reeling from the honest critique, he watched as the girl cheerfully dragged him out of the house and to the park.
People enjoying the fresh air of the green park turned away from the ragged Argoros.
Guards passing by glared at him and checked if the girl was okay.
With his ragged look, scruffy beard, and the smell from his body, it was a natural reaction.
“So even I, who only received respectful glances, can experience such humiliating stares.”
“It’s your arrogance that’s the problem. Only those at the top of their field or the gods above can carry that attitude.”
“And if I am one?”
“You’d be struck by lightning for lying!”
Without prior agreement, both looked up at the sky together.
A clear day with not a cloud in sight.
“Yikes! It’s really… a god!?”
“Perhaps the heavens recognize me as a great musician at the peak of my field.”
“Hmph! Show me then, if you’re better than me!”
At Argoros’ overconfidence, the girl handed over the violin, stepped back, and sat cross-legged on the ground.
It was as if she was giving a signal that he could begin anytime.
Argoros glanced at the violin in his hand.
In his right hand, a bow attached with adhesive tape.
In his left, a worn-out beginner’s violin.
Previously, he would never use such a cheap instrument, not even for practice.
If he had seen this instrument in his prime, he would have dismissed its player, claiming it would ruin their skills, and tossed it into the trash can.
Then, surely, he would have pursued the responsible party for the insult to his vision.
“Strange.”
As Argoros stroked the child’s violin, he noticed his own heart calming down and stabilizing.
Not the rigid stiffness of the new shoes he’d change before every performance,
but like the old sneakers that had been with him for a long time, breaking in as they went.
The bow touched the strings.
Then, past humiliations transmuted into present joy.
Thus, Argoros sang a springtime melody.
The beautiful tune resonated throughout the park, like the aroma of a good evening meal.
The music delighted not only the ears but the hearts of birds hopping rhythmically around.
Cats, delighted and chasing their tails, played in excitement.
Above all,
The people of the park who avoided Argoros began to gather one by one,
turning to each other and nodding in shared joy.
A novel feeling of pure joy.
The obsession that bound him with burdens had vanished, and everything he ever wanted to achieve through music seemed now right in front of him with the girl seated before him.
Once finished, the girl approached him with a grin.
“Right? Fun, isn’t it? That’s why I love music.”
“Yes… It feels like I’ve come back from a long, long way. Maybe too late already.”
“It’s not late!”
Her firm refusal ignited a spark in Argoros to rise again.
Afterwards, he no longer knocked on the doors of orchestras.
Instead, he wandered around with the girl, bringing joy to people with impromptu performances.
Years later,
With the sponsorship of a wealthy family, Argoros held his first solo violin concert.
Not a stage filled with many instruments,
but a stage solely for Argoros and his violin.
The solo concert ended in resounding success.
“Argoros, congratulations.”
He couldn’t help but be astonished at what he witnessed.
Former conductors and bandmates, whom he once despised, had gathered together to celebrate the success of his solo concert with expensive wines.
Back at home, the first thing Argoros did was savor the wine gifted by past colleagues.
He unscrewed the cap, inhaled the aroma as it flowed, and poured it into his glass.
Sipping it slowly, he finished the glass of wine entirely.
“Hmm… The scent was good, but the taste… Hmm?! Ow! Choke!!”
Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit him.
His mind clouded, his hands and feet began trembling.
As he stood up to dash to the bathroom,
A fiery, burning pain surged through his chest and throat, causing Argoros to clutch his chest with one hand,
and scratch his neck with the other.
“Ugh! This… This wine is… surely a ‘poisonous solo performance’?”
Gripping the bottle tightly with his fading consciousness,
he attempted to examine its contents but lost his strength and dropped the bottle to the floor.
Unable to fulfill his final intent, Argoros collapsed onto the ground, eventually closing his eyes.
Beside him, the wine bottle continued to spill its toxic remnants.
—
“…”
“…”
BOOM!
Hermes’ staff broke the silence.
As the Caduceus struck the ground, the warped visual space vanished with a pop.
“What are your thoughts, Ark?”
I thought it was the story of the disillusioned musical genius Argoros meeting a young girl and finding resurrection, but it turned out to be a meaningless revenge drama.
Engrossed until the very end, I was utterly shocked by the twist ending.
“Give me back my warm feelings.”
“Haha, don’t exaggerate. This was merely the main subject for the final question, after all.”
With a broad smile, Hermes twirled his Caduceus, revealing the final question on the ground.
Uh…?
This final question is awfully obscure…
What the hell is this nonsense?!
