Volume 1 Chapter 21

Volume 1 + Chapter 21: Standing Someone Up

[Shimizu, I heard you’ve taken on a new student?]

Her friend approached with a glass of red wine. Shimizu Suzune glanced at her, then continued placing the wireless earbuds into her ears.

Her new student, Watanabe Yuu, was a child beyond her imagination.

Having been exposed to piano knowledge for just over ten days and already able to reach this level, one could truly say such a child is rarely seen in this world.

Not to mention her extremely strong mental fortitude, her memory, the coordination between her body and brain, as well as the endurance and strength of her fingers, all far surpassed those of children her age.

The most important point was the vast number of spirits surrounding her, far exceeding what an ordinary, talented 【Piano Healer】 should have.

Not only were there many, but the activity level of these spirits was also astonishingly intense.

It was as if she were a moon merely obscured by passing clouds. Once the clouds scattered and drifted away, her beauty, uniqueness, and importance would suddenly appear in everyone’s eyes and hearts.

Yuu’s strengths and uniqueness were too numerous to list one by one. Shimizu could only secretly feel proud in her heart.

Proud that she had unexpectedly stumbled upon a treasure.

In just two hours, Yuu had already recorded the first book of piano pieces and transmitted them to her.

The rapidity of her growth inevitably made Shimizu anticipate just how far she could go.

And what kind of interesting impact would she bring to the long-silent 【Piano Healer】 competition?

Never before had Shimizu looked forward to someone’s future like this.

With a smile on her face, Shimizu listened to Yuu’s still somewhat immature playing style, thinking to herself that after this matter was settled, she would definitely teach Yuu some things in advance.

After all, the teaching of a prodigy could begin with the most difficult aspects.

[What are you listening to?]

Dissatisfied with Shimizu’s disregard, her friend took one of her earbuds and placed it in her own ear.

[Ho~ It’s played by your new student?]

Leaning very naturally against Shimizu, her friend did not return the earbud, merely sipping her red wine in small amounts.

[Yes.]

Shimizu replied with a smile in her voice.

[Hmph~]

Her friend finished the last sip, straightened up, placed her wine glass on the table, propped her chin on her hand, tilted her head, and sized up Shimizu, who was smiling beautifully.

Then she showed a knowing smile that everyone understood.

[Is she a genius?]

[She is a genius.]

A conversation that could only occur after spending a long time together, building an understanding of the other person.

[A genius, huh~]

Her friend drawled, tapping the table. Because it was their teacher’s birthday celebration, along with the debut performance of their teacher’s grandson, Shimizu and her friend had to show their faces and come here.

Apart from sitting with each other, there was no one else to talk to.

The identity of 【Spirit Envoy】 had brought them glory, but also danger, and also a status that made others fear and revere them.

And in this birthday banquet, there were many people who had their sights set on them, for better or worse purposes. Even their teacher was among them.

[Oh dear, why do geniuses always end up with you?]

Her friend said sourly.

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, the corner of her friend’s mouth curled into an alluring angle.

[Anyway, you already have Tomoya. Why not let me have this uncarved jade?]

It sounded half like a joke, half serious.

[No. You can have Tomoya, but not her.]

Shimizu picked up her untouched milk and took a sip, but what she said made her friend’s eyes widen.

[……Fine then! Forget it! Forget it!]

Her friend muttered childishly that she didn’t want her anymore, but her expression remained sour.

[Are you really giving up? Tomoya is an outstanding talent.]

[Ha… give me a break. ‘Talent.’]

Her friend glared at Shimizu, who was pretending not to know what she meant.

She used to call that boy Tomoya a genius, but now that she had a student even better than Tomoya, she was calling him just a ‘talent.’

What a shameless, lusting-for-the-new-and-tiring-of-the-old woman!

She must now be so biased in her heart that she thought teaching Tomoya would waste the study time of her newly acquired student.

She was seriously looking for some sucker to take him off her hands!

Her friend had already seen through Shimizu’s intentions and wasn’t foolish enough to be that sucker. She waved her hand very decisively and refused.

Then, she offered a silent moment of mourning for Tomoya, who had been discarded by his own teacher.

Nevertheless, just to see how Shimizu, who was always landing the geniuses, would scramble to handle this matter, she was willing to spend some time following up on the aftermath.

Her friend secretly snickered. Having been friends for over a decade, she naturally knew exactly what Shimizu was plotting.

But determined not to let her friend enjoy the show, Shimizu hid the smile at the corner of her lips and took another sip of milk.

The host of the banquet made his entrance. Her friend and Shimizu stood up, took their red wine from the waiter, and walked toward the teacher, who had a small child by his side.

What a boring waste of time.

Concealing the coldness in her eyes, Shimizu put on the elegant smile that everyone remembered and walked into the crowd.

, , , , 

After playing one book in an hour and a half, I sent it off and stretched my wrists.

Seeing that the blue-white light points had increased somewhat, I felt a bit helpless upon sensing their thoughts.

[Hey, you newcomers, call us boss.]

[Call us boss, call us boss.]

This was the thought from a group of brighter blue-white light points.

[Won’t call, won’t call.]

[We’re leaving, we’re leaving.]

This was the thought from a smaller group of dimmer blue-white light points.

These blue-white light points, who had been clamoring for more companions just moments ago, were now starting to stir up trouble again.

The 【drama queen】 blue-white points panicked.

[Just joking, just joking.]

[Companions, companions.]

The two sides, which had been vaguely on the verge of splitting, saw the brighter side immediately charge over to the dimmer side.

Not only did they surround the dimmer blue-white points, but they also cozyed up to them. Several bright ones shamelessly latched onto each dim one.

[Companions, companions.]

[Hmph, hmph.]

Seeming to “appreciate the gesture,” the dimmer blue-white points grumbled but didn’t reject the approach of the bright ones.

What are they even doing, these guys?

I muttered a complaint, and seeing that they were too busy to bother with me, I thought I’d take the chance to pull the power back to my heart.

I thought it would be easy, but not only was it not easy, I found it was much more tiring than during the day.

You guys!

Gritting my teeth at the thought of being “tricked” by them, I began practicing what my past-life master had taught me.

Although it was a power I hadn’t touched before, she had once taught me the method to control it.

Relaxing my whole body and guiding my breath allowed me to recover my energy quickly, as well as to practice controlling these spirits.

I closed my eyes. I don’t know how long it has been. When I finally calmed down and opened my eyes again, I didn’t see the blue-white light points.

Hah. Trying to outdo me?

Having finally won this round, I stood up, closed the piano lid, returned to my assigned room, and began organizing my clothes, planning to take a bath before continuing.

The villa’s luxurious exterior and exquisitely elegant interior, unsurprisingly, the bathroom’s specifications were also very high-end.

They really know how to enjoy life.

After soaking comfortably in the large bathroom, I came out, put on my pajamas, and returned to the piano room again.

Being mindful of my image in front of Teacher Shimizu, I had brought clothes suitable for a child, cute, bright colors.

And the clothes I wore outside were also nice outfits my mother had bought me.

In the old photo albums, there were no pictures of me wearing sloppy clothes either.

Feeling that I could continue playing the part of an innocent, harmless child, I noticed my reflection in the glass surface. After adjusting it a little, I managed to make my eyes look quite like those of a cute kid.

Satisfied, I nodded. As they say, a horse relies on its saddle, a person on their attire.

This saying wasn’t wrong.

Seeing how cute I looked in such adorable clothes, even my own parents probably wouldn’t recognize me.

That was my thought.

I flipped through the second book, saw its thickness, and knew I couldn’t finish it.

Thinking that since I’d already completed today’s task, I could play freely afterward, I began to play unhurriedly.

The moment my fingers touched the piano keys, the power in my heart swiftly rushed back to my eyes.

Seeing the blue-white light points radiating light and joyful thoughts, I closed my eyes and played a song I had learned before, following my mood.

And so, I missed the beautiful sight of the blue-white light points merging into one continuous glow as I played.

When I opened my eyes, I noticed some new, dimmer blue-white light points had appeared.

These newly emerged light points were being crowded by the fervent, bright blue-white light points.

Looking at these blue-white light points with dead fish eyes, wondering what they were up to, I decided to just ignore them.

I pressed the record and then the play button. The piano sound that came out was quite pleasant, and I thought I’d send this to Teacher Shimizu as well.

Operating my phone, I found Teacher Shimizu’s contact and hit send….

Sent successfully.

After sending it, I stood up to eat. Having dinner at nearly eight o’clock was unprecedented.

I had cooked the food earlier, but I hadn’t been hungry at the time, so I’d left it on warm without eating.

Now I finally felt hungry. I left the room, turned off the light, and the still-excited blue-white light points hopped around, following me.

I figured it was no big deal, I’d just treat it as watching a show.

I served my rice, said my prayers, and ate while watching the hopping blue-white light points. I also noticed something I hadn’t paid attention to before.

The newly arrived light points, which had been somewhat dim, now were essentially the same brightness as the others.

Their numbers had increased, but none were as bright as when I first saw them.

Was this consumption caused by assimilation into the group?

The light points, as joyful as if celebrating the New Year, actually began humming a tune. Though fragmented, the pitch was fairly decent.

Finding them quite amusing, I ate my meal with a smile, and while washing the dishes, I hummed along with them.

[Good taste, good taste.]

As if praising me for humming along with them, the blue-white light points complimented me, then began flickering.

Each flicker grew brighter, until they returned to the brightness level I’d seen when I first encountered them, and then stopped brightening.

[This is easier, this is easier.]

[Easy, easy.]

Talking about how easy it was, the blue-white light points flew high and then descended, playing merrily without end.

But when I tried again to pull the power back to my eyes, I couldn’t smile anymore.

It had felt like they weighed about five jin, but somehow they suddenly felt like thirty jin.

I moved them with great difficulty, only to get them halfway before I couldn’t pull anymore, and they immediately returned on their own.

Whenever I couldn’t move them, they’d automatically go back. My smile grew stiffer and stiffer, until it vanished completely and I said nothing.

I went back to my room, closed my eyes, and sat on the bed, gloomily continuing to practice the method to control them.

Soon after I closed my eyes, the phone on the bedside table behind Watanabe Yuu lit up.

The text message was marked from Teacher Shimizu, and the content read: [Continue playing. Wait for me to return.]

But Watanabe Yuu, who didn’t see this message, went to sleep as soon as she had dealt with the thirty-jin heavy spirits.

Successfully standing up Teacher Shimizu, who was on her way back.

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