“You three haven’t been up to any mischief, have you?”
“We ain’t done nothin’ naughty now.”
“That’s right! We were working hard at our piano lessons, that’s all!”
“Exactly. Just playing a little anime song, that’s it.”
Touri immediately retorted without hesitation, “Not goofing off!”
Touri didn’t hesitate to interject with a loud voice. The three of them quickly redirected their attention from the red-haired girl, deliberately looking away while blowing poorly executed whistles. The piano teacher was somewhat troubled and muttered, “Well, well, well…”
Touri grabbed Tiffy’s shoulder as she sat on the chair and shook her back and forth.
“You really are something else! You’ve got talent, so practice seriously and listen to what the teacher says. You could do well in competitions if you just put in the effort…! But you keep fooling around, never taking things seriously…”
“Sorry, Touri Okaa-san…”
“Who’s your mom!”
Touri’s face turned slightly red. Tiffy’s shoulder was shaken, her head bobbing, and she let out a half-hearted “ahh.”
“…So, what are you up to, Kasumi?”
Following Touri’s gaze, there was a strange large piece of paper. On the table, a magic circle was drawn on that paper, with aromatic candles and tarot cards placed on it. It certainly wasn’t something you’d typically find in a piano class.
“Love fortune-telling, you know. How about I read your fortune too, Touri-han?”
“No need. And why are you spreading unrelated things in a piano class…”
“Oh wow… love luck is all tangled up…”
“I said I don’t need it!”
Touri’s inherently serious nature often left her at the mercy of this trio. While she shared the same piano class with them, they attended different schools and didn’t go to the same cram school. Still, every time they met, Touri found herself exasperated by these three.
“Oh well, Tiffy, if you look closely, your hair is all messy!”
“Ungh…”
Touri took a comb out of her bag and stood behind Tiffy, combing through her messy hair. Tiffy’s unruly hair was nothing new, but today, the ends were more frizzed than usual, suggesting she had neglected her morning routine. Indeed, each time Touri ran the comb through Tiffy’s hair, it seemed to improve a bit. Tiffy closed her eyes with a contented expression, reminiscent of a satisfied cat.
“That’s not it, today my hair’s messy because of the humidity.”
“Saying that… but didn’t you oversleep even more than usual today?”
“Grr…”
“Hey now.”
Seeing through it all, Tiffy feigned sleep. Touri lightly tapped her messy head.
“Well, Touri-han, you’re even better at handling Tiffy-han than I am.”
“…All three of you are troublemakers, that’s why.”
“Thank you as always, Mom.”
“Thank you very much, Mom!”
“I’m not your mom!”
Slightly blushing, Touri denied with a raised voice.
Touri’s lesson began. The classroom window reflected thick, dark clouds, but it seemed that not a drop of rain had fallen yet. With her spine straight, fingers arched, and maintaining a graceful posture, Touri played the piano faithfully to the basics. Her appearance and the sounds her fingers produced, everything about her performance was like a textbook example.
She took the teacher’s guidance seriously, self-corrected, and played the notes meticulously and precisely. It wasn’t a dull performance by any means; her extensive practice and curiosity added depth to her playing.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Fantastic, Touri-chan! You’ve become much more refined than before!”
“Thank you, teacher.”
“You’ve practiced quite a bit, haven’t you? I can see the traces of your practice.”
As her performance concluded, the teacher gave a hearty round of applause. Her performance was solid and stable, a result of doing well in national piano competitions.
“Oh, my ears are blessed.”
“Lazybones, lazybones.”
“You’re still amazing, Touri! When are you going pro?”
“…………”
And in the midst of it all, there were the three onlookers.
“You guys have too much time on your hands.”
The piano teacher shrugged the shoulders. the teacher glanced back at the onlookers sitting in the corner of the room, and Touri gave them an openly irritated look. However, during the performance, they hadn’t made a sound or caused a disturbance. Touri’s excessively serious nature made it hard for her to find a reason to forcibly eject them, especially when they were at least abiding by the basic rules.
“Touri-chan, you need to pay more attention to the connections before and after the sixth measure’s notes. If you think more about the emotions embedded in the music, you’ll realize that this part and the sections around it carry significant meanings.”
“Yes, thank you, teacher.”
“Think more deeply about the meaning of each individual note.”
Touri received more detailed guidance than the others. Her proficiency was higher than that of her peers, and her technical skills were stable, making her capable of comprehending the more in-depth instruction.
“On the contrary, in the more advanced section… since the tone of the piece changes, play it lighter and bouncier. You’re being slightly dragged down by the tone of the beginning.”
“Yes, teacher.”
“After that, I think you’re lacking in originality. What if you do more arrangements?”
“Right! Go all out! Make it more like ‘bam!’ and ‘boom!’ That would make it really impressive!”
“On the day of the competition, how about playing while wearing a costume or something?”
“Yeah, yeah! Annoying, annoying, you nosy onlookers!”
The trio chimed in with their comments. This was purely a nuisance. The teacher cautioned against disturbing them, and the three responded with half-hearted “yeah, yeah” replies. Despite this, Touri’s patience extended to the point where she didn’t kick them out of the room. In fact, instead of kicking them out, Touri herself turned to Tiffy and called out.
“Hey, hey! Isn’t it unfair that only I’m being asked about the competition piece? Tiffy, how’s your progress right now? Play it here!”
“O-Okay, by request. Got it, I’ll play.”
“Oh dear.”
The teacher was a bit surprised. It was rare for Touri to stop playing and step away from the piano during a lesson. Touri seemed a bit nervous. She was curious about Tiffy’s current ability, progress, and interpretation of the piece.
Touri had a certain awareness of Tiffy. The teacher raised an eyebrow slightly.
“If Tiffy plays next, then it’s my turn! Allow me to showcase my current skills!”
“Oh… Sorry, but I’m okay, Yuki.”
“That’s so mean!”
Touri was lightly brushed off, and Yuki protested. Kasumi laughed, and Tiffy took her seat at the piano.
“Alright, here we go.”
“…………”
With Touri’s intense gaze fixed on her, Tiffy’s fingers began to strike the keys. Her hands danced over the keyboard, producing lively and melodious sounds. Each note shone like a gem, and the music seemed to leap from the piano. Tiffy played passionately, swaying her body as if immersed in the music. The piano sang out loudly, as if laughing.
Touri was surprised, and despite being in the middle of the performance, she couldn’t help but exclaim.
“…That’s not the assigned piece!”
The piece Tiffy played was completely unfamiliar to Touri.
“Hey… Hey, wait a minute, Tiffy! What on earth are you playing? Play the assigned piece! What song is that?”
Touri couldn’t help but feel angry.
“Um… It’s the opening theme of 5hay ‘Magical Girl’ anime. You don’t know it, Touri?”
“Touri, you’re behind!”
“Are you okay, Touri? Keeping up with your friends’ conversations? Don’t you have a lack of friends or something?”
“…Mind your own business!”
In reality, Touri often found it hard to keep up with TV-related topics. While she didn’t think she had few friends, she was aware that her commitment to piano practice had left her with shallow relationships. Moreover, she didn’t watch much TV or play games, so she often found herself out of sync in conversations. Though it struck a nerve, Touri avoided facing that reality head-on.
“Ugh, how annoying…! You’re not planning to reveal anything about yourself, huh, Tiffy? That’s a low blow…”
“No, I was just trying to be funny…?”
Tiffy was both bewildered by her friend’s unexpected reaction and gave a lighthearted smile.
“Heh heh heh heh.”
“Ugh… Why is she my rival of all people…”
“Feeling embarrassed, huh?”
“I’m not complimenting you.”
Tiffy’s composed demeanor in the face of Touri’s agitation left Touri slumping. Touri was the one struggling while Tiffy seemed to have it all together, and the piano teacher could only smile wryly.
“Well, Tiffy-chan, while you’re not on Touri-chan’s level in terms of achievements, you know…”
As the teacher said, Tiffy had achieved very little in competitions. There weren’t any notable records to her name. Given that Touri was competing on a national level, Tiffy shouldn’t have been someone Touri paid much attention to. However, Touri looked down with a slightly resentful gaze and sighed.
“…I think you understand, teacher.”
“…Well, I guess so.”
The teacher understood Touri’s feelings, but there was only so much she could do, and she could only offer a wry smile.
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated.
Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 3-10+ additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
