Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Only She Doesn't Know...
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Taishi brimmed with confidence.
This time, she was certain she could prove her superiority.
"It's this girl's hobby!"
Kim Siyul stared at the Magical Guitar Taishi had brought, his eyes wide with curiosity.
"What kind of guitar is this?"
"A special Magical Bass that doesn't even need a Magical Amp!"
Meanwhile, Sora gazed at Taishi with a puzzled look.
"Taishi, didn't you used to say you had no interest in Magical hobbies like this? This is the first I'm hearing of it."
"I picked it up recently because I was bored!"
Of course, it was a Magical lie.
A Magical lie redder than Taishi's crimson eyes.
The Magical Bass was an instrument Taishi had been practicing for ages.
She'd just kept it hidden because her skill didn't match her love for it.
But that ended today.
Lately, her playing had improved dramatically. She'd even received rave reviews from the sentient beings of Magical Buddhism.
So Taishi felt pretty confident.
Now was the perfect time to show them.
'Everyone's going to be amazed by this girl's skill!'
Ray's eyes were glued to Taishi's bass, her face full of shock.
A most satisfying reaction.
She must be blown away.
"To think an instrument from a Magical virtuoso like this exists. Has America's Magical PC boom hit guitars too?"
"Inferior species! You've said quite enough!"
Taishi bristled.
She'd thought Ray was stunned by the skill, but no—she was just surprised by the low number of strings.
"No, it's just that it's amazing."
"Hah..."
Still, Taishi held back.
'It's fine.'
Yelling at someone so culturally illiterate would only hurt herself.
Besides, once they heard her play, their minds would change.
Taishi believed that, flashing a smile.
"Hey, don't be so harsh. The girl's trying her best with an instrument that barely makes a sound."
But this time, she couldn't hold it in.
From the moment this stranger she'd just met opened his mouth, her self-control crumbled.
Kim Siyul, was it?
Not that the name mattered now.
Taishi glared sharply at the culprit, Kim Siyul.
"Inferior species, where exactly do you live?"
"I live pretty high up. Around D7. Think a bass can make it up here?"
"Argh, I seriously want to kill you!"
Killing intent surged within Taishi.
Magical Basses don't go up that high.
Not that they couldn't.
Probably.
"Anyway, you said bass is your hobby, right? Mind playing something for us?"
Thanks to Sora smoothing things over, Taishi barely clung to her rationality.
'At least this one's decent.'
She did like her, after all.
It'd be even better if she'd convert to Magical Buddhism.
'But that's neither here nor there.'
For now, she'd play the Magical Bass.
Of course, Taishi wasn't just showing off her superiority.
If they were amazed by her skill, she could use teaching them bass as an excuse to bring them into the fold of Magical Buddhism.
It wouldn't be a bad deal for them either. A path out of inferiority toward becoming superior arhats.
"Very well, this girl shall play."
And with that, Taishi set her fingers in motion.
The thick, heavy low tones unique to a Magical Bass echoed through the dorm room.
After a few rounds, Taishi caught her breath and grinned confidently.
"How was that? Now do you see this girl's true talent?"
Kim Siyul and Ray's reactions split down the middle.
"Not bad for an octopus. I'm impressed."
"As it should be!"
First, Kim Siyul looked genuinely surprised.
Of course he was. Playing at this level wasn't something you heard every day.
"No Magical sound came out, though?"
"It, it definitely did! Your ears must be deaf—you didn't hear a thing!"
Ray, on the other hand, just tilted her head.
But that was expected too. A dog's intelligence couldn't grasp the bass's charm.
'Nothing to be done about it.'
Meanwhile, Sora showed no particular reaction to Taishi's playing.
Instead, she turned to Kim Siyul.
"What do you think of girls who are good with Musical instruments, senpai?"
"Well, it's impressive, isn't it? Not that I'd know—I suck at that stuff."
"That's just your otherworld Magical concept talking, right?"
"It's not a concept, damn it."
At that moment, Sora flashed Taishi a bright smile and closed the distance between them.
"Mind if I give it a try?"
"Of course! Go right ahead. But it won't be easy."
It definitely wouldn't.
Taishi was certain.
Even she, with her Magical affinity, had taken ages to play it properly.
Let alone Sora, who'd never touched a Musical instrument before.
Regrettably, impossible.
The Magical Bass was for the chosen few.
Taishi handed it over readily.
"Here you go."
"Thanks. I'll play one song."
And then.
"Huh...?"
Taishi doubted her ears.
She couldn't believe it.
Was this really happening?
A light, flowing melody of deep low tones.
The same Magical Bass, yet how could the sound be so different?
Magical Bass wasn't flashy?
Magical Bass was boring?
Magical Bass didn't stand out?
No. Not in Sora's hands, at least.
'That's this girl's Magical Bass, so why...'
It's different from this girl. Taishi's eyes darkened.
"Whoa, Sora. You secretly take bass lessons or something? You're amazing!"
"Hehe. I just messed around with stuff like this as a Magical pastime while teaching in America."
"Magical sound! Sora, you're incredible!"
"Sis, why the big fuss over this? It's just a hobby level."
Kim Siyul and Ray's awe.
Sora's bashful response.
But none of it reached Taishi's ears. Only the bass's cries filled them.
Taishi reflected on the past.
No matter how much she sweated, no matter how frantically she moved her fingers, the Magical Bass remained indifferent. At first, it wouldn't even produce a proper note.
Later, sounds came out, but they were far from perfect—miles away.
Every time she finished a piece, it felt off, creaky somehow.
Each time, Taishi pushed her clumsy fingers harder. No change.
Still, she'd forced herself to be satisfied.
Someday it'd sound better. With practice, she'd get good too.
But this bass was different.
Sora—a Japanese-American she'd just met, not even its owner—her long, slightly thick yet supple fingers.
Every time those fingers moved roughly yet tenderly, the Magical Bass poured out beautiful tones without restraint.
As if truly grateful to its real master.
As if ecstatic to reach unreachable registers.
The Magical Bass felt no shame. It wailed vulgarly, proudly.
The noble Magical Bass Taishi knew was gone.
Now, it was just an instrument faithfully making sound.
At that moment.
"Sora, sorry, but could you play one more? Wow, you're seriously good."
"Alright, I'll put some real effort in this time!"
Sora's fingers danced again.
Gently, like caressing a treasure.
Then stronger, laced with rhythm.
The response was immediate. The Magical Bass forgot all shame, flooding the dorm with seductive, aching melodies.
Even as its strings trembled wildly, even in the arms of a stranger, it cried out, urging Sora on.
Move those fingers more.
Don't let this music end.
Let it feel this joy as an instrument just a little longer.
And finally.
Sora's playing reached its Magical climax.
Magical climax.
Or Magical peak.
The instant it hit that realm Taishi had never touched, the Magical Bass unleashed its finest sound.
A sound it had never once given Taishi.
The true voice of the Magical Bass, revealed only when roughly embraced in Sora's arms.
The sound only a superior player could draw from it at maximum satisfaction.
A sound unknown to Taishi.
"Ah."
In that moment, Taishi realized her fingers were moving on their own.
Of course, it was pointless.
She knew that well.
Empty air. Fingers moving sadly in nothingness couldn't produce sound or satisfy the bass.
Just futile Magical air-picking.
Yet.
"You played it well. Nice Magical Bass."
"Y-yeah. Thanks."
Even holding it again changed nothing.
She tried moving her fingers carefully, but the bass that had screamed wildly in Sora's hands moments ago was utterly silent.
Just a dull tik-tik two or three times. Nothing more.
Like when she'd plucked at empty air.
'Why won't it sound for this girl's fingers...'
Tears welled in Taishi's eyes.
Her blurred vision saw nothing now. Only her past flickered by endlessly.
'I've been living in an illusion...'
She had no special talent, couldn't play bass well...
She'd just loved it more than anyone, deluded herself in blissful ignorance.
How should she live from now on?
Who could she even tell?
Her shame laid bare, still there.
Envy.
So envious.
Envious of those who played bass well.
Even if they're middle-aged, envious.
Even if they're crossdressers, envious.
I want to be like them too.
"......"
Her gaze finally landed. On Sora, beaming innocently at Kim Siyul and Ray.
Taishi could no longer look at Sora with kindness.
It was you.
You were the one who played bass so well.
Seeing you crumbles my world.
And it's crumbling now.
Taishi said nothing more, quietly lying on her bed. She stowed her beloved Magical Bass by the locker.
"Huh, Taishi? Already bedtime?"
"......Yes."
Taishi pulled the Magical blanket over her head. To hide the bass from view.
And deep down, she was certain.
No matter her efforts, she could never return to her old bond with the Magical Bass.
Taishi hated everything.
The bass that never sounded for her.
The sound that was just a one-night fling.
The world that gave talent to the affectionate but not to her.
But most of all.
She hated herself, who had never once satisfied the bass.
"Sob... Hic... Sob..."
She could no longer love the bass.