Chapter 247: I Want to Be a Genius!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 247: I Want to Be a Genius!
Yuseoha had been persistently trying to push the Mega Ukulele on me.
Dealing with a dimwitted, dull loser like her was easy. She possessed a bizarre level of strength—enough to shatter a bass guitar even if I tried to strike her with it—but all it took was pulling out my dick and ravaging her to settle things.
"The violin... you've reached your limit."
When I mentioned that my violin skills hadn't improved lately, Yuseoha gave a cold assessment.
"It's not that you've reached the absolute peak of what effort can achieve, but you're at a point where it's becoming too burdensome to improve through hard work alone."
"...I'm going to find another teacher, so you stay here, Seoha's Mom."
Playing around with Yuseoha was fun, but if she wasn't going to be helpful anymore, I figured it was time to swap her out for someone else.
"W-Wait! Really! This is the limit! Even if you try harder, your skills will only improve by a tiny margin!"
As I started gathering my things, putting the violin back in its case, Yuseoha realized I was actually serious about leaving. She snapped out of it and lunged forward, clinging to my leg.
"Ah-shit-fuck, how can you give up the 'Violin Genius' title?! It’s such a flex!"
"If you want to keep the title of a genius... you have to stop now. Otherwise, you'll have to compete against the geniuses who actually put in the work..."
Yuseoha looked up at me with a look of pure grievance.
"The genius who quit the violin because of a certain childhood incident! It has a story! It’s touching! This narrative will totally sell!"
"Hmm... Right. A violin genius who quit because of a childhood trauma. That is a pretty good title."
Yuseoha certainly had a high level of understanding when it came to my tastes. You could call it an honorable retirement. A genius who can no longer play the violin due to childhood trauma—it was definitely an attractive angle.
"So, what's the story? If I don't like it, I'm going to someone else."
"I'll make one! I'll come up with something! Stories are important when composing too... I'm good at this...!"
Yuseoha clung to me, begging for a chance. Since this was just a story I’d use later in life when people asked why I quit, there was no immediate rush.
"Fine. Then bring me another instrument where I can be called a genius in a short amount of time."
Yuseoha glanced at the wreckage of the four-stringed guitar.
"Ugh...! Not that! How about the piano? A man who plays the piano well has great character appeal!"
"It's too late for the piano... This is the season where the hardworking geniuses are already running laps around everyone..."
"Are you saying I'm old now?"
"No, if you had real talent, starting a bit late would be fine, but no matter how I look at it..."
Yuseoha was looking down on me. I grabbed a handful of her pink hair and shook it.
"Shut up! From today on, you're my piano teacher, got it? I want to be a genius! Treat me like one! Understand?! You sow?! Cram that into your melted brain! Do you understand?!"
"Ye-Yeeesss...!"
And so, my piano lessons began.
The first week was peaceful. I was annoyed by Youfei whining about why I wasn't coming to the gym, so I planned to take a month off from the fitness center anyway. This allowed me to focus entirely on the piano.
Thanks to that, I heard Youfei got ganged up on by Marika and the other pets, but that wasn't my concern.
"You... missed a note there."
"I'll try again!"
Week 2.
My progress was definitely faster than in my past life.
For the record, in my previous life, I held the title of "The Man the Piano Teacher Gave Up On." Seeing as I surpassed six months' worth of my past life's progress in just two weeks, I felt I truly did have talent.
"You messed up in the same spot again..."
"Ah, shit...! One more time!"
Week 3.
Once I moved past the point I had reached before, things started getting difficult. My fingers got tangled. My rhythm got messy. I kept making mistakes with the pedals. I mean, these are just habits that improve with practice anyway.
"No, I told you, you missed it again! Put some emotion into it! Be graceful! This is where the geniuses are decided!"
"Ugh... I'll try again."
Yuseoha started getting angry. I got pissed off and pulled out my dick to ravage her front hole midway through, but since I told her to teach me by "genius standards," the crazy bitch kept hounding me.
Week 4.
"Hey! How many times is that now! I said you're wrong!"
"Uuuugh..."
I felt something precious inside me breaking. She should be telling me I'm doing a good job, so why was she being so harsh? I was trying my best, but this damn Pink Bitch was never satisfied.
Out of stress, I ejaculated twice into my Mom's womb before her date with Hindel and sent her off with an "adult sticker" from a sex shop plastered over the entrance.
Week 5.
"Do you even want to learn the piano?! Huh?! Do you think the piano is a joke?!"
"Uuu..."
I was reaching my limit. I had been trained so harshly that I could play mechanically well enough to say "I've learned a bit of piano" anywhere, but I could never understand that "feeling," that "soul," or that "something" she kept talking about.
"Here, the tempo changed. More gracefully, like you're taking flight! If you just play mechanically, no one will call you a genius! And in this part, a more downcast feeling! Not 'clop-clop-clop,' but 'thump-thump'! Feel it more! Feel the sheet music!"
I couldn't take it anymore.
"AH, SHIT-FUCK, I'M DONE!!!!!"
Unable to contain my rage, I flipped the grand piano. Seeing as I instinctively used mana to reinforce my strength, I must have been under incredible stress.
"You said you wanted to be a genius...! Giving up over this...!"
"I said I'm done."
"Hey!!! Do it right...!"
Yuseoha failed to read the room and tried to continue her "demon teacher" act.
"I. Said. I'm. Done."
I glared at Yuseoha, punctuating every single word.
"A-Ah, okay... You're done...?"
Like the loser she was, Yuseoha quickly caught on and showed her belly in submission.
"Yeah, I'm done. I don't want to stress myself out trying to be called a genius here. It's exhausting. I'm quitting!"
I gave up on being a piano genius. A big part of why I hadn't quit sooner was the suspicion that Yuseoha was just hounding me for fun or trying to force me into learning the Mega Ukulele.
Yuseoha ran to a corner and brought back the bass guitar I had smashed, which she had somehow fixed perfectly. She might have just bought a new one, but I didn't care.
"Then now...!"
"Now I want to try the cello!"
Yuseoha's face turned dark and gloomy.
***
I had been so out of it focusing on the piano that final exams were suddenly right around the corner. Because I had been saving study time to try and hear that I was a piano genius, I naturally failed to beat that damn Im Su-yeon in grades.
"Since they decided to make this exam easy... it looks like it'll be a tie for 1st place..."
Lee Ji-yeon, who came to report to me after the faculty meeting, delivered the shocking news.
"Wait, if they make it easy, what happens to me and Im Su-yeon, who actually studied hard?!"
"Master, you haven't even been studying lately..."
That was a sharp remark directed at me, someone who had been so obsessed with the piano that I only did the bare minimum of classwork and homework.
Of course, even without that, I had my prior knowledge, and I was already a genius capable of self-studying with Imperial University textbooks, so getting a high score without trying was easy. It wasn't a problem.
"Actually, aren't you feeling relieved right now, Master?"
"W-What?!"
"Because you don't have to go head-to-head with Su-yeon. You're thinking that if you just put in a moderate amount of effort, you can both tie for 1st. Isn't that right?"
Lee Ji-yeon's murky gray eyes were fixed on me.
"T-That's... No, I never thought that! There's no way I'd lose to a mere girl!"
"Hmm... Well, Su-yeon is quite an outlier, so I suppose it's understandable... Then how about this?"
Lee Ji-yeon pulled a document out of her bag.
"...Grade skipping?"
"Yes. It's rare in public schools, but several students in our class, including you and Su-yeon, are so smart—or should I say, advanced? The idea of using a grade-skipping system came up during the internal evaluation."
Lee Ji-yeon began to explain the details. First, grade skipping was currently a trend in private schools.
Second, students who skipped grades were making up an increasing percentage of admissions into institutions the state deemed important, like the Military Academy or higher education institutes.
"Isn't that just because they spend the time they saved by skipping grades on retaking the entrance exams until they get in?"
"The higher-ups don't care about that; they only look at the statistics."
Third, since the number of kids skipping grades in private schools was on the rise compared to their peers, the new Superintendent of Education was ambitious about implementing the grade-skipping system effectively in public schools as well.
"...The new Superintendent? Isn't that the Professor's Wife we met back then?"
"Yes! What a coincidence~!"
Lee Ji-yeon smiled with a face that looked completely harmless to the world.
And fourth, the school that happened to have a bunch of kids who could settle into the system and produce quick results was, coincidentally, linked to a current teacher who was conducting research with the new Superintendent's husband.
"Shoving the kids into the fitness center to create a pre-Military Academy or Police Academy class... was it all for this moment?"
"Who knows~?"
Lee Ji-yeon replied with a suspicious smile.
I began to feel a sense of dread about what exactly was inside the head of this suspiciously competent pervert.
"This might actually be advantageous for you, Master. Su-yeon doesn't go to any academies, and her environment doesn't allow for advanced placement study because she has to help out at her mother's shop."
It felt a bit like cheating. I wanted to beat Im Su-yeon, but this method felt a bit problematic.
"...I'll think about it."
"Hoo-ungh~?"
Lee Ji-yeon let out a very suspicious hum.
The next day, rumors that Im Su-yeon was taking the grade-skipping exam spread throughout the school.