Track 6

(It's finally time for the competition.....! Uu, I'm kinda nervous. I think Raito-san practiced with Kuguri-san the whole night, but... will he be okay?)

Waaah, there's so many people competing. There's soooo many people accompanying them, too.

How about we reserve our seats in the hall for now? Looks like the amateur category'll have their dry run first.

We've already reserved seats for everyone, so please allow me to escort you to the hall. Since Kitakata-san will be competing, he'll be escorted by a separate staff member later.

Alright, thank you.

Everyone's dressed up all fancy shmancy! I know we already saw the hall yesterday, but I'm still like, starstruck by the atmosphere here!

The concert hall was designed with reverberation time in mind, so that the sheer beauty of the music would resound to the fullest.

According to my research data, the reverberation time in the concert hall is approximately 2.1 seconds. Apparently, the pipe organ in front was made by a renowned manufacturer from overseas.

(This is completely different from the stages I've performed on as an idol. There's a sense of tension throughout the hall.....)

(Kuguri has been subjected to this kind of atmosphere ever since he was a child..... No, international competitions must be even more intense.....)

Kitakata-san, kindly proceed to the waiting room over there. Bida is on standby, so he'll guide you from there.

Got it. Alright everyone, I'm off for the dry run.

Please do your best.....!

Raitin, keep fightin'!

You must keep fighting, Raito.

We'll be watching from here.

Yeah!

......

What are you doing? Get going already.

I wanted to hear some encouragement from you too, Nayuki..... Won't you say something?

Hah?

It's not even the real competition yet, so stop being a baby!

Haha, just talking to you lifts my spirits. I'll do my best.

(Uhm.... Now where's Bida-san.....)

Is that Domeki Kuguri's apprentice.....? That handsome face... he's gotta be the Kitakata guy.

Hmm..... Guess that pretty face of his made the rich boy go after him, even though he lost his arms. He's lucky he's at least got that going for him.

(.....It's those two from yesterday.)

Learning from some maverick with prosthetic arms won't teach you anything. He's probably going to play horribly. Can't believe they let this turn into a playground for some rich kid..... What if he bribes the judges?

(.....What is this? My chest feels heavy.)

You two. Instead of running your mouth about me, why don't you try learning a bit more about that man over there? Like how the eldest son of the Kitakata's is a complete masochist.

(.....! Kuguri!)

.....W-WAH!

E-Erm, whatever do you mean?

Weren't you just talking about me and that muppet¹ over there? I've simply given you more information. Out of the kindness of my heart, of course~

H-Hey. Let's go.

*Sigh*. How boring.

—

What are you laughing about? It's grating. Just hurry up and get to the waiting room.

Yeah. Thank you, Kuguri.

(.....I didn't even do anything to warrant that? He's as absurd as ever.)

Ah, Kuguri-san! Raito-san's about to go on.

Is that so.

Raitin's heeere. Taotao, what do I do, my heart's pumpin' like craaazy!

Woah, don't shake me like that. Calm down, Chihiro.

Chihiro, if you are feeling restless, would you like to hold my hand?

(.....This is the amateur category, but all the performers until now were quite skilled. It'll be rather difficult for Raito to win an award.....)

......

WAH, he's gotten WAAAY better than before!

.....Compared to the other day, he has increased his accuracy to the recording by 45.8%.

(Amazin'..... Did Kuguri-san teaching him... make that big of a difference?)

Ah, did he make any mistakes.....?

.....

I'd give it 30 points.

Eh, s-such a low score?

His inner voice kept shining through. On the other hand, the lyrics weren't given any spotlight. He wasn't sustaining the notes with the pedal properly.

(My untrained ears couldn't tell at all.....!)

....Haha. I hope it's going according to plan for you.

Who knows.....

Fwaaah~ I was totes nervous during Raitin's turn.

The other participants are still going through their dry runs. Should we watch them when Raito-san comes back?

Hmm, that depends on what Raito-san wants to do.

Domeki-san. Do you have a moment?

.....Hibiki-san.

Well? What did you want to show me?

Thank you for coming with me.

It is this piano.....

From the day we first met, I have always wanted to create a model just for you, and present it to you as a gift.

.....It looks like I could earn quite a bit of pocket money by selling this.

.....I wonder.

......!

This piano... was swept away and sank in the sea.

Kuguri-san's taking a while.

Did Kuguri go somewhere?

Hibiki-san called for him, and they went somewhere together. I'll go look for them!

.....

I am unsure who it originally belonged to. It has taken a lot of damage in a certain disaster..... Once I heard about the "piano that was swept out to sea", I hurried to acquire it.

I took it in, and repaired it in my workshop. .....After all, I had also gotten caught up in the country's destruction, and was lucky enough to survive.

.....Your finger.

Did you notice? One of the fingers on my right hand is a bionic prosthetic.

.....

I thought that... I would never be able to tune or craft instruments the same way ever again. That finger was a part of my very being.

—

The soundboard, the heart of the piano, was crafted from spruce wood. It enables rapid sound propagation and produces a very rich, resonant tone. Even a single change in the grain of the wood could alter how it sounds.

Making a piano begins with cultivating high-quality wood. It is a world of such delicate sounds..... This child absorbed so much seawater that it swelled to its very limit, and its metal parts became rusty.....

.....I was told to replace the unusable parts, but I did not want to do that.

What did you want to do then?

....I wanted it to produce the same sound as before, without replacing anything. I wanted to give that sound back to the piano. And if I was able to do that.....

I wanted to give it to you. All this time.

—

.....You're being rather pushy, don't you think?

I find it absolutely unbearable that I'll never be able to play the same way I did before.

.....If I said that, would you accept my response, Madame?

.....

Well... I suppose this is for my own satisfaction. I wanted to save something else from my experience. I may be forcing this onto you.

.....Feel free to do as you wish.

Wah, K-Kuguri-san.....!

(O-Oh no, I ended up eavesdropping a little....!)

What are you so worked up about, Cica? Were you perhaps listening by the door?

Ah, you see—! I was just thinking that Raito-san's playing has gotten so much better than before!!

And that's all thanks to you teaching him, and.....!

Is that so.

(Uh oh..... I ended up just making an excuse.....)

Uhm, I was really surprised by how much he improved. And, uh.....

I felt like I could hear a bit of Kuguri-san's sound in Raito-san's playing.

Hah?

Y-You see, I thought that the recording you gave Raito-san was probably of you playing.....

Nanaki-kun said before that your playing sounded like it was packed with all the beautiful things in the world..... And that it was a very delicate sound, like glasswork.

.....Nanaki said so, I see.

That recording was just like what he said..... So it felt safe to assume it was yours.

Have you told this to anyone else?

Eh.....

Ah! Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret from Raito-san!

.....Fufu.

I adore just how understanding you are, Cica.