The Road to Glory Chapter 135 - All Roads Lead to Rome

It seemed as if the era of great cathedrals had begun.

Refugees flocked to Venice, and Venetian merchants put their goods up for sale at high prices. The streets echoed with pleas to God and hymns.

The streetlights showed no sign of going out, and now processions bustled day and night, regardless of whether it was morning or afternoon.

“Where will the sun rise?”

“Considering the last sighting location, wouldn’t it be in the west?”

Voices that might make scientists retch were heard here and there.

“It’s The Sun…!”

They chased after anyone in a plague doctor costume and showed interest in people with body types similar to Halo’s.

Meanwhile, Halo was looking at a vast vineyard with the members.

“Should we take a short break here?” 

Han Jinyeong reduced the car’s speed.

Before setting out on the trip, Han Jinyeong had obtained an international driver’s license. Thus, they were able to rent a car without much difficulty. While the romance of European travel is said to be by train, a car wasn’t bad either.

They could drive along quiet country roads and stop for a picnic whenever they found a nice spot.

They spread out a picnic blanket in a field overlooking the vineyard,

and took out a lunchbox filled with salmon bagels, brown cheese salad, and olives.

As they chatted and laughed while emptying their lunchboxes, the radio they had forgotten to turn off in the car continued to play.

-So, you put Halo on bathroom guard duty?

-That, it wasn’t intentional at all—

-…Well, if it was urgent, it could happen.

The serious anchor laughed softly, as if making a joke. Peter and his friends laughed along.

-I mistook him for Peter and tried to drag him along. Ah, at first he resisted, so I thought he was joking and hit his back…

-Wait, you didn’t hit him, did you?

-Not knowing it was Halo…

-You dared to hit him?

-I’m, I’m sorry…

Unfortunately, those who got back in the car – except for Halo – didn’t understand Italian at all.

So Han Jinyeong tuned the radio to a channel playing pop music instead of the incomprehensible talk show.

“By the way, we’re almost at Florence. What should we do?”

Han Jinyeong asked, stopping at a fork in the road.

Just as Nam Gyuhwan was about to say to go without thinking, Moon Seoyeon, sitting in the passenger seat, spoke up.

“How about we just go straight to Rome?”

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to go to Florence the most?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, I changed my mind. Let’s skip Florence for now and go to Rome.”

With Moon Seoyeon’s sudden whim and the other members not caring where they went, they waited for Halo’s final choice.

“Then let’s go to Rome.”

“Okay.”

The car started moving straight ahead without taking the side road.

The cold wind came in through the window. Nam Gyuhwan fell back into a snoring sleep, and Moon Seoyeon played with both hands as if her knees were a keyboard.

Han Jinyeong leisurely stuck his arm out the window and stepped on the accelerator. There was nothing to stop them on the straight road.

Just like the saying, all roads lead to Rome.

Before long, the black Porsche reached Rome, the capital of Italy.

#

News reporting on the current situation in Venice.

The anchor, who seemed to have caught the festive mood of the unexpected boom, was continuously excited while interviewing citizens.

The video showed the masquerade ball that had taken place a few days ago.

In St. Mark’s Square, elaborately dressed people danced the waltz to orchestral music. They held hands with new partners and shared body heat, not knowing who was behind the masks. The night was ripening like this.

The camera, searching for interviewees, caught Han Inyoung. A white wig and a half-mask reminiscent of mid-17th century Europe. A tall, thin Asian youth was wearing a crimson plissé with a tricorn hat adorned with golden lace.

-It’s Wolfgang Amadeus.

The anchor approached him, muttering the name.

The youth called by that name was uniquely carrying a beautiful and distinctive guitar case instead of a violin or a baton.

-The Amadeus born in the 21st century is carrying a guitar. Still, as Mozart, he dances the waltz well.

The anchor, who had brought up the historical fact that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart enjoyed socializing and balls, requested an interview with him.

-Excuse me, which country are you from?

-Seoul, Korea.

-Oh.

Surprised by the thick posh accent instead of the expected Konglish or Eastern American pronunciation, the anchor smiled gently, conscious of the camera.

-May I ask when you came to Venice?

-Before the festival started.

So, he didn’t come to look for Halo.

Although the anchor was disappointed that it wasn’t the intended direction for the interview, such a pleasant voice with clear intonation was hard to find, so he continued with more questions.

Had he seen Halo’s live performance, how was the festival, and so on.

-Thank you so much for the interview. Lastly, do you have anything you’d like to say?

To that question, Mozart, who had been thinking for a moment, opened his mouth.

-I think I’m having a wonderful experience here. I got to do a performance I wanted to do, accidentally met new connections, and made a decision I had been pondering for a long time.

The 21st century Mozart looked directly at the camera.

-I extend this gratitude to Peter and his friends.

“Oh, my.”

“Goodness.”

The two people watching the BBC rebroadcast exclaimed in admiration.

Soon, the news reporting on the Venice situation switched screens.

Having seen enough, they turned off the television and picked up the Earl Grey tea placed in front of them.

The tea had long since gone cold, but they didn’t complain.

“To leave after even giving such an interview. There are still crowds looking for him in Venice.”

The man who put down his tea first continued speaking.

“Now that I know, I wonder why I didn’t realize it. He’s really saying it outright, asking to be recognized.”

“Well, there’s more than one Peter in the world. There’s Peter Jackson, Peter Parker, and let’s see. Oh, I can’t believe I forgot Peter Pan.”

“I didn’t mean just Peter… I meant that there were clues everywhere. From the rare posh accent to the guitar, voice, posture, build – everything points to him!”

“If it weren’t for the guitar, even you wouldn’t have been sure, Mr. Gordon.”

They wouldn’t have come here like this either.

The man didn’t refute the old man’s words.

He just asked back plainly.

“Well, isn’t it enough for a maker’s representative to recognize their own product? And so, I’ve been able to have this conversation with the veiled Mr. Veil.”

After exchanging words once each, they gazed at each other softly.

“Thank you for visiting when you must be very busy.”

“As a CEO, I just came to solve the cause of the problem.”

“I’m not sure if you solved it well.”

“Still… The atmosphere is a bit confusing.

It’s certainly G’s guitar, but the employees are curious because the guitar made of bright wood wasn’t in G’s plans. In fact, the sponsorship was a coincidence and a whim, so many employees don’t know much about the sponsorship deal.”

“Coincidence and whim?”

“That’s right. The East Asian branch office submitted a guitar signature sponsorship proposal, and our company rejected it. We didn’t assume any star would make a new bright wood guitar. But by chance, one of our craftsmen saw the proposal and brought a practice guitar. It was too much to sell a practice guitar, so instead of a signature, it just went out as a sponsorship.”

“It seems you had some issues with the craftsman at the time?”

“Issues? We always maintain a smooth relationship with our craftsmen.”

Although August Veil didn’t ask further, as if to say “Is that so?”, he didn’t believe in the smooth relationship.

In fact, from the expression “practice guitar” to the fact that Halo’s guitar had an H stamped on it instead of G’s mark, it was quite clear.

Gordon wouldn’t say more, so August Veil couldn’t know more, but he imagined it could be like this.

As G deals with handmade guitars, they have many craftsmen, and under these craftsmen are apprentices.

In fact, there were quite a few people in G who had skills as excellent as the craftsmen, even if they were called apprentices.

The difference between a craftsman and an apprentice would be the difference in brand. At that time, a craftsman or apprentice argued for a bright wood guitar brand that wasn’t G’s style, and it was rejected because it wasn’t in G’s plans.

Of course, there would have been communication issues. Then, by chance, a sponsorship request came in. A promising Asian star. He’s not sure if they saw beyond that, but they might have aimed for the sponsorship effect. If that star rises, he’ll have his own brand whether G acknowledges it or not.

Well, it’s all imagination. It might be different in reality.

Gordon, who had decided on his stance after getting a definitive answer about Halo’s identity from August Veil, opened his mouth to wrap up the conversation.

“Then, should I keep my mouth shut until then?”

There’s only one reason why he readily keeps his mouth shut.

Whatever the relationship, whether it was accidental or not, they wanted to maintain a smooth and long-lasting relationship with HALO. – Suddenly, Gordon seemed to understand why HALO’s identity hadn’t been revealed until now. –

According to August Veil, it wouldn’t be long before he revealed his identity himself. It wasn’t difficult to keep his mouth shut for a few days or months, and if he could maintain the relationship by doing this, he could keep it shut for years.

Think about it. How endless are the days when The Sun, who is just sixteen years old, will carry G’s guitar. His tours, performances, no, just showing G’s guitar in Venice now has made G’s stock price soar.

“Well, is there really a need for that?”

Then an unexpected voice was heard.

“Don’t we have a responsibility to realize corporate value? If there’s a way to enhance this value further, of course we should step up.”

“…”

“For example.”

August Veil grinned, and Gordon’s eyes lit up. And not long after, G, who had been silent, opened its mouth.

[Non-handmade guitar brand G: “It’s a guitar made for only one artist in the world”]

Dozens of related articles clung to that one casual statement, made without any special effort or cost.

[Who is this one artist in the world?]

[Guitar brand G, following Taylor Sweet and Jason Voorhees, the new owner of the signature is HALO?!]

Also, without being asked, pop stars stepped forward first.

[Taylor Sweet: “Welcome to G’s world!”]

[Jason Voorhees: “My favorite date is the 13th, my favorite day is Friday, my favorite guitar brand is G, my favorite music genre is HALO”]

Afterwards, G took a lofty stance, but internally, it moved busily. With hush money, sudden changes in policy, personnel transfers, and so on.

And in early February.

It was when travelers who couldn’t find The Sun in Venice after the festival ended were giving up and returning home.

The lineup for the festival everyone had been waiting for was confirmed.

In fact, the official lineup for the Coachella Music and Arts Festival was usually confirmed in early to mid-January. Unless there was a special event, it remained the same until April.

Coachella 2032 had already announced its first and second lineups. However, subsequent announcements were being delayed. In particular, the confirmation of the last headliner kept being postponed.

As public discontent grew among those waiting for Coachella due to the delayed announcement, Coachella finalized the last lineup through its fifth announcement.

No one could complain about Coachella’s late announcement.

Including the addition of several new names, one of the three artists representing Coachella.

Because the name of the headliner who would perform on the last day was an unexpected name.

COACHELLA

Sunday, April 18

[HALO]

It was the moment when a new pilgrimage site was set for the wandering believers.