Vivaldi's Melodies and the Chairman's Call
Vivaldi Grand Concert Hall, Ariaadna Square, Nocturne Fountain, Melody Street, Musical Instrument Museum, Artny Hill, Orgel Theme Park, and even the Summer Parade. A quick glance through the guidebook or a brief search online revealed an abundance of stunning tourist spots and attractions. The kind of places people these days called perfect photo zones for capturing "life shots." Perhaps because the city drew influence from the great southern nature of Yggdrasil, Vivaldi Territory exuded an exotic atmosphere completely unlike the Emulin Countship where she had grown up or the capital Raymond where she now lived.
"My recommendation is to stroll all the way from Melody Street to Ariaadna Square." Lined with various instrument shops, antique and souvenir stores, and rare LP records or CDs—uncommon in an era when music was released as digital sound files—Melody Street led to Ariaadna Square, where the legendary musician 'Ariaadna' had once begun her career and which had become the birthplace of Vivaldi's busking culture. It also served as the parade route each season, yet even without the parade, the place overflowed with emotion and romance. Especially when you listened to the LP music playing along Melody Street—its sound quality nothing special, yet somehow charming—and then encountered someone in Ariaadna Square singing the exact same song, that fateful sensation was something you could never understand without experiencing it yourself.
"I ended up impulsively buying a completely useless LP record without even realizing it." Still, Marily shrugged proudly, saying she had no regrets since she had obtained a rare item directly recorded by Ariaadna herself. It was a course recommendation typical of Marily, who loved shopping and active outings. Arina nodded as her friend spoke, recalling memories of visiting Vivaldi Territory with her brother in the past.
"Besides that, the concerts held at Vivaldi Grand Concert Hall are quite worth seeing." If the dream of nobles in the kingdom was to enter the capital and become central nobility, then the greatest goal and dream for musicians in the kingdom was to perform at the Grand Concert Hall in the city of art, Vivaldi. It was the first concert hall built in the country, and after remodeling, it had earned the title of the largest concert hall domestically. Naturally, performers there prepared with even greater care than they would elsewhere—almost on par with royal invitation performances. In other words, watching a performance there was equivalent to attending a royal concert, which was why the venue filled with people willing to pay high ticket prices whenever a show was held. Even though Marily, who attended royal invitation performances whenever grand parties were held, might find it slightly less moving, it was still more than sufficient to recommend to someone else.
"That is, if you can even get reservations." As mentioned earlier, the very fact of performing at Vivaldi Grand Concert Hall spoke volumes about a performer's top-tier level—whether it was pop, classical, musicals, theater, or opera. No matter the genre, seeing the highest-quality performances required fierce competition. By now, all summer vacation performances had probably sold out completely.
"Ah, that's fine. My uncle got two tickets for me." Arina already knew how competitive it was. When she had mentioned during dinner that it would be a shame not to see a performance, her uncle had handed her two tickets the next day with his usual indifferent expression. "It's the Leni Orchestra. Since we don't have a computer at home, he must have used his smartphone, but he actually succeeded in ticketing. We really got lucky."
"……" That couldn't be right. Other people failed even with good computers. She had heard that getting tickets was difficult, but without experiencing it firsthand, she could only make such a naive assumption. Moreover, receiving physical tickets delivered straight to their home right after successful ticketing? That wasn't same-day express delivery or anything—it simply shouldn't have been possible.
'They're scalped tickets.' It was obvious he had purchased pre-ticketed seats through a scalper. And that, in turn, was a crime.
'Should I tell her?' "You've unknowingly participated in a crime." Marily's eyes darted around as she swallowed hard, wondering whether she should point out the truth while watching Arina's delighted face. She tightly shut her eyes. 'I didn't see or hear anything.' For the sake of her precious friend, Marily chose to turn a blind eye to the crime unfolding before her. No matter what, she couldn't bear to shatter that bright, expectant smile with such shocking news.
'It's possible he actually got lucky and obtained tickets somewhere.' The probability was extremely low, but one couldn't suspect someone based on mere circumstantial evidence alone. Of course, the person in question spent all day lying around at home while wielding wealth greater than that of the princess herself, and had even assigned an 8-star transcendent from the underworld as Arina's escort—someone suspicious enough to warrant investigation—but still.
"Quiet." Just as Marily was desperately shaking her head to dispel her 99.99% certainty, Professor Magnus stood at the lectern with quiet footsteps, instantly calming the noisy classroom with his characteristic charisma. Though his voice wasn't particularly loud, the refined mana control in his tone pierced the children's ears like arrows. Once all eyes were on him, Professor Magnus took out his notebook and slowly opened his mouth.
"I'll begin taking attendance." Turning his back to the blackboard, Professor Magnus wrote two large characters with fluid strokes. Written in white on the blackboard were the words "Vacation."
"As you all know, the academy enters its vacation period starting tomorrow." Therefore, today's class would end in the morning. More accurately, most of what passed for class was simply the homeroom teacher's announcements.
"But I want to phrase it differently. This is the first time since entering this academy that you've been given free time to do whatever you want."
The atmosphere was restless, with eyes gleaming with anticipation for vacation and minds clearly elsewhere. Well, that wasn't so bad. They had entered at such a young age and run without rest until now. During vacation, no one could blame them for playing around.
"It's fine to rest and recharge your tired body and mind in preparation for the second semester." Most students probably fell into this category.
"Or reviewing the material you couldn't keep up with during the first semester wouldn't be bad either." Some might feel their shortcomings compared to others and work hard during this time to close that gap.
"Or perhaps you could broaden your horizons by having experiences you can't get at the academy during this time." Traveling, exercising, or for older students, part-time jobs to experience society in advance were all possibilities.
"It doesn't matter what you do. That's what vacation is for." Benedict Academy was an educational institution. And Professor Magnus viewed even this vacation as a form of education—a meaningful time to teach children about freedom and the choices that came with it.
"Do you remember what I said when I first met you all?" Professor Magnus had always told his students from their very first meeting to have dreams. To set goals they would definitely achieve before their lives ended.
"Togun Masao."
"Yes, Professor."
"You told me back then that you wanted to become a mage like the Majoan. Has that dream changed?"
"No!" Togun answered without a moment's hesitation. Unlike before, however, no mocking voices could be heard. Everyone had watched from the sidelines how sincere he was about that dream and how hard he had worked toward it over the past half-year. Even though his efforts hadn't yet borne results, no one dismissed his dream anymore.
"Then think carefully about what you need to do during vacation to achieve that dream." Time that had passed would never return. In that sense, he was fortunate. He already possessed an unwavering goal that would never change, and now he had time to consider what he needed to do to achieve it.
"Worry and act to your heart's content. As I said earlier, it doesn't matter what you do, as long as it's the conclusion you reached after thinking it through. The answer you've chosen for your own future will undoubtedly be the correct one."
"……"
"And the same goes for the other students as well." Whether they were students like Togun Masao who had already found a firm dream, or those who hadn't yet.
"I plan to be in my office for the most part even during vacation. If you can't come in person or if I'm away, feel free to text me without hesitation. If there's something you don't know or if you need my help, I'll gladly assist you." Professor Magnus's educational philosophy was simple. Knock, and the door would open. He provided more opportunities to students who sought them out. That was why he would never refuse students who contacted him during vacation—unless they were pulling pranks like voice phishing.
"You've all worked hard running nonstop throughout the first semester." Professor Magnus calmly acknowledged their efforts. And he encouraged their future endeavors. As he flipped through his notebook, he continued.
"Honestly, the announcements aren't anything special. The first semester was a preparation period, so things will get much harder starting from the second semester—study diligently during vacation, and so on. That's basically all of it." Honestly, such words were unnecessary for those who were already putting his earlier advice into practice. As mentioned before, Benedict Academy was an educational institution. Its ultimate goal lay in the proper growth of its students.
"I'll send you the important second-semester schedule separately via text later." Saying this, Professor Magnus glanced at the clock on the wall. Then he closed his notebook with a snap.
"On the last day of the semester, when class ends is up to the homeroom teacher's discretion."
"……"
"This is your reward for all your hard work. You may go home now."
"Waaaaah!!!" The classroom instantly erupted into chaos at Professor Magnus's words.
"Who knew that FM professor would show some flexibility. Wonders never cease." Marily's eyes widened in surprise as well. But soon she hummed a cheerful tune as she slung her backpack over her shoulders. "How about it, Arina? Since we're getting out early, want to grab some tteokbokki on the way home?"
Arina's face turned deathly pale at Marily's suggestion. Just imagining it made her mouth tingle painfully already. Covering her mouth with both hands, she desperately shook her head. Marily laughed heartily in amusement.
"It's fine. I'll order the non-spicy one this time."
"……Really?"
"Of course. They released a new menu called rose tteokbokki mixed with cream."
Cream, huh…… That probably wouldn't be spicy. Arina let out a deep sigh of relief at Marily's words.
"Quiet. The other classes probably haven't ended yet, so don't make a racket on your way out." As the children's voices grew louder, Professor Magnus spoke in a slightly raised tone. Then, amid the now-subdued voices, he quietly opened his mouth again.
"And Arina Grant?"
"Yes?"
"Come with me for a moment before you go home."
Why is he calling me? A question mark appeared above Arina's head. At the same time, Marily's face, standing beside her, crumpled in displeasure. She had been planning to go straight to the tteokbokki place with Arina as soon as class ended—what was that damned professor doing calling Arina separately?
"The chairman said he has something to say after personally meeting with a few students before vacation."
"Yes?!"
The chairman? Meaning the Majoan? Arina's eyes and mouth widened at the completely unexpected reason.