"Hello. Can you record music here?" Kurosaki asked as soon as he reached the counter. "I don't need lyrics. I just need you to take a melody I hum and record it into music with instruments. Also, I might need to use a little of my 'magic' to help stabilize the melody. Don't worry, I won't damage any instruments."
The "magic" he meant, of course, was Unohana's basic spiritual pressure control.
"Of course we can, kid." The clerk smiled. "Did you bring any recording-type magic tools? Sit here for a moment, I'll go call our shop owner. If you didn't bring any, we also sell them here."
"Alright, thanks." Kurosaki didn't sit. Instead, he wandered around the shop with interest, looking at the instruments on display.
Hm. Aren't these the headphones adult Laxus wears all the time?
Black ear cups, silver spikes, cool as hell.
If I have enough money, I'll buy them and give them to Laxus. It'll count as repaying the old man a bit for taking care of me this past year, and Laxus loves music, so he'll definitely like it.
While he was thinking, he unconsciously stirred a thread of extremely faint spiritual pressure. A pale white glow flickered at his fingertips, the distinctive shimmer unique to Unohana's spiritual pressure.
He had already gotten used to using it to sense his surroundings, staying ready for any sudden trouble. Even if he bumped into something lightly, he could immediately use healing to ease the discomfort.
"Kid. Are you the one who wants to record music?"
A middle-aged man walked over slowly. He had long wavy black hair, black-rimmed glasses, and an unmistakable artistic air around him. Kurosaki didn't notice him at first, so the man asked again.
"Kid, do you like that sound jar?"
By then, the shop owner was already standing beside him.
Kurosaki snapped back to himself, noticed the man, and quickly withdrew the spiritual pressure from his fingertips. Smiling, he nodded.
"Yeah. It's called a sound jar?"
"That's right." The man's expression relaxed. "And it's a pretty good magic sound jar. It's made with special materials. Most impacts in battle won't break it. Of course, if it gets hit by an extremely powerful magic attack, it probably won't hold up."
"Then it must be expensive." Kurosaki rubbed his chin, sounding regretful. "Guess I can't afford it."
Normally, he only earned a little money by selling monster pelts. With Unohana's ability, he could easily farm more monsters and earn more, but he didn't want to be too flashy. So he had only ever made enough for small pocket money.
The shop owner's eyes shifted to Kurosaki's hand.
"Kid, you're a Fairy Tail mage, aren't you?" He pointed at the guild mark on the back of Kurosaki's hand.
"Yes." Kurosaki nodded.
"If it were someone else, I might not want to sell this sound jar at all. I like it myself." The man smiled. "But since you're Fairy Tail, I can sell it cheap. Let me introduce myself. I'm Varro James."
"I'm Kurosaki Sorrus, from Fairy Tail." Kurosaki paused, confused. "But why treat Fairy Tail mages differently?"
"I was robbed once when I was out searching for musical inspiration." Varro adjusted his glasses. "A Fairy Tail mage happened to pass by and saved me. After that, I decided to open my shop in Magnolia."
"I see." Kurosaki nodded slowly. Then he looked back at the sound jar. "Can you sell it to me? You don't have to make it cheap. If it's possible, just sell at the normal price. I just might not be able to pay everything at once. I'll earn it and pay you back as fast as I can."
He didn't want to owe people favors for no reason, and this gift was for Laxus. If he paid for it with his own money, the meaning would be different.
In his mind, he had already decided. After this, he'd go into the forest and challenge a few higher-grade monsters, using Unohana's swordsmanship to raise efficiency and gather the money quickly.
"Alright." Varro nodded. "Then I'll charge you one hundred thousand J."
In truth, he had already saved off more than just "a little." The jar's real value was far beyond 100,000 J.
"Only 100,000 J?" Kurosaki blinked. "That doesn't sound that expensive."
He really had no sense of instrument prices. In both lives, he had no talent for music, and his relationship with it had always been limited to listening.
Varro studied him for a second and chuckled. "Let me guess. You're not buying it for yourself?"
"No." Kurosaki answered honestly. "It's for a friend. Guild Master Makarov's grandson, Laxus. He really likes music."
"He likes music?" Varro's eyes lit up instantly. He had always felt goodwill toward Fairy Tail, but most guild members seemed uninterested in music, so he rarely had any contact with them.
"Yeah." Kurosaki nodded. "I think he likes rock."
He remembered that later on, Laxus was especially fond of classical music with rock elements mixed in. He wasn't sure if the younger Laxus had the exact same taste, but he assumed the core preference probably stayed consistent.
"Rock!!!" Varro's voice jumped several octaves, volume exploding. "Then you absolutely have to give him this sound jar. I'm not selling it, I'm giving it to you. I do rock music!"
"No." Kurosaki shook his head firmly. "Sell it to me. I'm already grateful you're willing to sell at all. Since it's a gift for him, I should be the one paying. That's the only way it feels sincere."
Varro stared at him, then sighed like he'd lost an argument he didn't want to lose.
"Fine. Then 100,000 J isn't right either. Half price. You pay half, I pay half. Consider it me making friends with you and Laxus. But you have to bring him here one day."
Kurosaki hesitated.
For some reason, it felt like he was "selling" Laxus.
"Is that really okay?" he asked cautiously.
"It's fine." Varro grinned and gave a thumbs-up. "I own a lot of music rights. I've made plenty of money. Don't worry about the price."
His teeth flashed under the lights. Kurosaki almost felt like he could hear a little "ding" sound effect.
Varro clapped his hands lightly, returning to business.
"Alright. You still want to record music, right? Let's begin. Recording room?"
He gestured toward a room in the back.
Kurosaki nodded, already planning the process.
I'll gently wrap the instruments in Unohana's spiritual pressure to stabilize the tone. Then I'll use spiritual pressure to refine the melody I hum. That should produce a solid instrumental track, perfect for the Fantasia Parade.
"Then how much does recording cost?" Kurosaki asked.
"Nothing." Varro waved it off. "I'm happy today. Getting to know two friends who love music, that's worth more than money."
"You're really generous." Kurosaki smiled.
Inside, anticipation was already rising. He couldn't wait to hear what the recording would sound like, and even more, he looked forward to using that piece during the Fantasia Parade, showing Unohana's ability in a way that was just right.