Chapter 75
Chapter 75
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Academy Festival (10)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Wait, hold on! Please, calm down!"
I tried to stop Elise, who suddenly stepped forward and swept the curtain aside.
I understood her feelings—her confidence had exploded to the point where she couldn't contain herself—but even so, charging in like this so recklessly...
"Ugh! If I don't play the piano right now, my body can't hold it in!"
What... is this?
This isn't even piracy.
Is it really that intense?
Is it really plausible to act this way just from a slight boost in memory?
Since I haven't drunk it myself, I can't even imagine what it must feel like.
"I can feel the power!"
Still, Elise's attitude wasn't without its excesses.
'Did I mix up the potions?'
Or maybe Baron Rosley mixed it wrong from the start.
If not that...
Then perhaps this is the limit of this world's magic.
Meaning, this potion acts on the central nervous system; it seems to affect not just memory but also anxiety and excitement.
Having reached this conclusion, my fingertips suddenly began to tremble.
A hypothesis began to creep up from the depths of my consciousness.
A drug that boosts dopamine secretion to raise concentration...
Simultaneously alleviates impulsivity and attention deficit while maintaining an awakened state, injecting a powerful vitality...
'Isn't this just amphetamine?'
Alchemy is the root of chemistry.
Potion-making is closer to alchemy than magic, so in a way, this can be considered a type of synthetic pharmaceutical made by chemistry.
I don't know what was mixed in, but it seems dangerous to take it frequently.
Originally, the awakening is just a side effect; the fundamental purpose of this potion is to push memory to its absolute limit.
It means it shakes the brain quite violently.
Or perhaps, it 'opens' it.
Anyway.
What was the principle of alchemy again?
Equivalent exchange.
There is no gain without risk in this world.
In that sense, I could only offer a sincere prayer toward Elise, who was still swaying her body, intoxicated with excitement.
'Please, just stay alive.'
Luckily, the situation settled down soon.
Elise sat there quietly, with a composed face, as if she had never been anxious or excited in the first place.
"Are you calm now?"
"It's strange. It feels like I was a completely different person just a moment ago."
It seemed the drug's effect flashed intensely at first, then settled into a calm ripple.
Since she said so herself, I had no choice but to believe it.
"Ah, what am I going to do?"
"What's wrong?"
"I feel like I can give the best performance of my life today. Hehe."
Perhaps her tension had eased, as she didn't hesitate to joke around.
With a smiling face, she hummed and even mimed snapping her fingers in the air.
Now, she looked like the Elise I knew.
The situation seemed to be wrapped up well, and it didn't look like any more problems would explode.
I brought everyone back to the waiting room.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I stood behind the stage with Diana.
The first performance of today's concert.
One step forward and hundreds of audience members would be right in front of us.
Unlike Elise just a moment ago, Diana remained extremely calm in both expression and posture without a word.
There was a reason for that.
While both of us were similar in that this was our debut at a large-scale festival...
The paths we walked were different.
Our approach to music was different as well.
And above all...
"Diana."
"Yes."
"Chapter 1, page 8."
"Curl your fingers round and place them on the keys. It's easier if you think of holding a ball."
"Chapter 1, page 22."
"Legato is a technique to play notes without a break; the natural movement of the fingers is important when transitioning to the next note."
"Chapter 2, page 3."
"Articulation symbols."
She immediately continued with the explanations for accent, tenuto, and fermata.
"Good."
"One word, one action."
I spread my thumb at Diana's reply.
She is the type of person who doesn't need to drink a memory potion.
She just memorizes everything through sheer force.
Of course, it takes a very long time.
It's a different vibe from blooming one's abilities in a short period using magic.
However...
In the end, the knowledge that enters her head like that is mastered more perfectly during the process of reproducing it with her body.
Techniques and information learned this way will never be forgotten, no matter how much time passes.
I always say this, but slowly and surely—that is Diana's strength and weakness.
It takes her a year to build a tower that others build in three months.
The key point is that it will never collapse.
Watching her quietly, I also get the feeling that she's a bit of a different type of maniac.
"Go and do well. Just as you always do."
"Will I be able to do well?"
She asked again, not because she felt particularly nervous, but for some other reason.
I see.
She wants encouragement.
I didn't have a prepared line, so I just said what came to mind.
"You are more than worthy of being cheered for. They say that indoor echoes can amplify sound pressure enough to shatter windows—so please accept applause strong enough to do just that."
"Pfft! What is that!"
One more thing.
This time, it's just a precaution.
"There might be people spouting nonsense once you go out."
"Hmm."
Until this morning, baseless rumors about Diana had been running rampant.
Since almost no information about her was known, the gossips who liked to flap their gums added flesh to the story with their imagination.
That spread, and spread again.
Diana was my hidden sister, or a lady from some noble house.
There were rumors of marriage talks between families, or that we were engaged.
Even baseless speculation that she had a child.
But in this situation, the rumor that Aria is my daughter didn't come out.
Why is that?
Everyone must already know her background.
The orphanage.
The fact that my family took in Aria and acted as her guardian has already spread throughout high society.
But.
Diana has nothing like that.
No background, no family relations, no past.
Since there is absolutely nothing known about her, all sorts of rumors are floating around.
"You don't need to respond to them one by one. I'll take care of it soon."
In case it might be bothering her, I comforted her with a worried gaze.
"...It wouldn't matter to me even if it were true."
"What?"
"No, that... sister... engagement..."
"..."
Is she serious?
I was at a loss for how to react, and could only stay frozen in place.
After that, Diana didn't say anything else and just stared at the floor.
'Thinking about it quietly...'
Aren't the two of them too different?
This is a slightly different story, but how could the rumor of her being a sister and the rumor of an engagement coexist?
That seems a bit dangerous.
Anyway.
"Ah! I'm late!"
Diana lifted her head with a start and hurriedly straightened her clothes.
Edward, who had finished the stage greeting announcing the start of the performance at the front, was seen gesturing.
It meant for her to hurry out.
She had been so out of it that she didn't even hear what Edward was saying.
Actually, it wasn't that important.
"I'm off!"
Diana shouted in a lively voice again and leaped forward.
I slipped to the side of the stage and watched her.
"I am Diana Pierce!"
She shouted cheerfully, bowing 90 degrees toward the audience.
'How fresh.'
The audience didn't seem to dislike her attitude either, responding with applause.
It was a greeting method of a new generation I had never seen before, but this kind of thing has its own appeal.
Humans are naturally attracted to things that are cute, lively, and polite, and she has all three...
Wait a minute.
'...Why did I think Diana was cute?'
Sometimes, I don't even know what I'm saying.
Let's move on.
"Hahaha!"
She laughed as if embarrassed and walked toward the piano.
The thin velvet dress she wore for the performance swayed.
Her playful attitude from just a moment ago vanished; the moment she sat down, she began to glare at the keys with shining eyes.
It was her unique habit.
Think of a speedcuber who solves a Rubik's Cube in seconds.
She was simulating the performance she was about to show in her head.
A state of high concentration dominating her.
Many performers show this behavior, but it appears even more intensely in perfectionists.
Soon, Diana closed her eyes and muttered something quietly.
You could only see the shape of her mouth.
However.
I immediately caught on to what she was saying.
'Don't hammer it; let it sing.'
A slight twist on Horowitz's famous quote, which I had told her before.
What a performer needs is the technique to convey emotion.
Before playing the piece, one must first think about how their music will sound to the listener.
Turning the piano into a mere noise-making machine.
Or breathing life into it and making it an existence that tells a story.
It's her choice.
Soon.
Diana's eyes slowly opened, and a supremely clear melody lightly vibrated the air of the theater.