Chapter 82: Results, Returning Home, and Comfort (I)

"By Yamamoto-sama's instruction, the first place belongs to..."

"Thiago Furukawa Lucas!"

Lucas was a male with fairly white skin, brown hair, and spectacles. He looked like what people would call an otaku in the future, but he had that confident imposing presence as he went up to the stage confidently without any hesitation.

It was as though he had already known that he would win this competition.

Hearing the announcement, everyone clapped as a show of respect, but the other nine contestants all sighed in disappointment.

I was no different.

Where was that building up of anticipation? Where was the drumroll? How dare the emcee just announce the first place just like that?

Sigh...I really hoped that I would be the winner...

But I wasn't that surprised as well.

Why? Because his song was no other than No Game, the opening of No Game No Life. It couldn't be denied that No Game was simply a fantastic song, and unlike mine, which was copied from others, this was genuinely his own creation.

After Lucas went up to collect his trophy, certificate of recognition, medal, prize money and took some photos, the emcee announced second place.

"Second place... Hiroyuki Sawano!"

"Third place...Sturgill Simpson"

"Fourth place...Uesugi Fuutarou!"

Second place naturally belonged to the attack on titan's song creator, while the third was Sturgill Simpson, a country music singer-songwriter from Kentucky.

I never thought I would get beaten by Sturgill Simpson. For one, his song didn't represent anything that resembles "anime" or "movie". He also didn't seem to look like the type of guy who composed animation music.

But apparently, the judges thought differently.

I thought my song would be the best. Even if I didn't get first place, I would have gotten second.

In the end, I only managed to get fourth.

And apparently, it was "just barely overcoming the fifth place", something that I would find out after the competition.

The emcee continued announcing the names, but by this point, I just stopped listening to her talk already and only clapped instinctively after hearing everyone else do so.

∞3rd PoV∞

After the award ceremony, Fuutarou looked out of sorts.

Fuutarou smiled as he shook the hands of various people; Fuutarou laughed as he communicated with people; Fuutarou teased as he interacted with the girls his age during the after-party.

Yet...

Maruno couldn't place a handle on it. Fuutarou only acted a little sad - a perfectly reasonable emotion to feel after barely missing out on the third place - much like the other 6 competitors who got fifth place and below.

During the after-party, Fuutarou acted like he usually did. Friendly rebutting with Maruno, giving the stink eye to the pervert Akira, smiling his charm-inducing smile at those girls.

Something was amiss.

What was it? That was something Maruno couldn't figure out. He tried congratulating Fuutarou, but Fuutarou felt as though he was being mocked, though that wasn't Maruno's intention. Definitely not.

He tried sympathizing with Fuutarou, but Fuutarou felt he was being pitied upon.

Thus, Maruno just gave up and returned to congratulating Fuutarou for his fantastic endeavor. It was to note that the other boy of Fuutarou's age only managed to get the eighth position, but then again, these two boys were both geniuses in their own rights, but both were still too young, or so Maruno thought.

Then again, being the number four pianist in the whole world at the age of 13 was a feat no less worthy of being on the Guinness world record for being the most talented pianist.

By the time the entire competition ended, it was already almost the end of August, meaning the end of the Summer holidays in Japan. Fuutarou might have missed much of it, but he had gained as much as he had lost.

After promising Lucas that he would create an anime for him using his soundtrack, Akira officially ended the party.

Unofficially? The after-party continued for quite some time, but since Fuutarou needed to return to Japan soon for his studies, Maruno also left with him.

Contrary to how he came to Rome, Fuutarou was a lot quieter on the way home. By this time, even the stupidest and the densest would realize what Fuutarou was feeling.

And congratulating him for winning fourth place was something that Maruno did not regret doing. The fourth place might seem insignificant to a super-genius like Fuutarou, who was aiming for the top two, but to an ordinary person who was just slightly more talented than others like Maruno, fourth place was already impressive enough. Much less achieving it at his age.

But like how the rich would never understand the struggles of the poor, the super-genius would never know the feelings of the ordinary; something that could be easily achieved by the former might not be as easy as it sounds to the latter.

Maruno wanted to let Fuutarou know about it, but it seemed that Fuutarou was too out of it to even listen.

In the end, Maruno just gave up. Like how the rich could not understand the poor, the poor couldn't understand the rich either.

The grass was always greener on the other side, so there was no point in comparing their thoughts. Ultimately, Maruno just shifted away from the topic of piano and music in general to other more light-hearted topics, and that seemed to have done the trick.

Fuutarou wasn't so sad anymore and seemed to have cheered up, even if it's just slightly.

By the time they had reached home, it was already evening in Japan's time. Maruno had left for Owase, and it was up to Suzuki to "return" Fuutarou back to the Uesugi household.

"Fuu-kun!"

Before anyone could react, Shouko had already run from the doorstep to the gate and hugged Fuutarou.

Fuutarou was slightly stunned but quickly recovered. Showing off his trademark gentle smile, he hugged Shouko back. However, the moment for the two lovebirds was unfortunately interrupted by their own sisters as they all joined in the big hug.

None of them were bothered about him not being able to win much money. Just the fact that their brother/son/boyfriend could appear on the stage and receive the title of the 4th pianist in the world was good enough for them.

It was just simple. Fuutarou was safe and sound, and it was all that they cared and hoped for.

In front of that, nothing else matters.

"Thank you for bringing my son back safely."

"No problem." Suzuki replied with a smile, "I have to ensure that such a prodigy would be safe. I have high hopes for the music world in the future."

"Hahaha, I'll not see you off already. My family needs to reunite." Isanari spoke cordially.

Suzuki also didn't take any offense as he took his leave. It would be a long time from now when they meet once more, but that would be a story for later.

The family didn't enter the house after Suzuki left. Instead, they went out to a nearby restaurant to celebrate Fuutarou's fruitful endeavor. Fuutarou had earned 200 euros - a far cry from his original goal of 20 000 euros - and a quarter of it was spent that very night after converting the euros back to yen.

Fuutarou didn't want to spend any of it now and tried to save it for the future, but his family wouldn't take no for an answer. Money was just money; that was it.

But a celebration was more than just a party; it allowed people to convey their feelings and emotions without difficulty. It was probably one of the most authentic ways one could do so without much falsehood.

In this case, the family wanted to welcome Fuutarou home, wanting to let him know how much they had all missed him, and are so happy to have him back.

This part couldn't be considered much, considering everything Fuutarou had experienced over the past month. But it was the people who made it all the more fun than it was at the fancy party.

There was no unlimited buffet, no century-old wine, no waiters walking around carrying champagne for you, and no rare delicacies. But Fuutarou enjoyed it a lot.

Feeding his little sisters and spoiling them rotten became his goal that evening to make up for the time lost during the summer holidays. Teasing Shouko became the highlight of the event as Fuutarou fed her under the gaze of the amused adults, earning him several "ara ara" from his mother, "fu fu fu" from Yaeko, and boisterous laughter from his father that disturbed several other customers.

All in all, it was a celebration worth remembering.

Returning home, the family quickly took their baths and went to their respective rooms to sleep.

From youngest to oldest, their younger sisters have all been tucked into bed before Fuutarou decided to shower, with Shouko doing so after him.

It has been a relatively short day since he technically "leaped forward" in time when he adjusted his body clock back to Japan's time, but Fuutarou was already tired.

Many things were plaguing his mind, but he did not know how to express them. Fuutarou had always thought of himself as someone extroverted, someone who had changed from before.

But now...

"What's wrong, Fuu-kun?" A gentle voice asked as the familiar silhouette entered his room. Fuutarou immediately sat up from his bed and looked at Shouko.

She was in her cute pajamas, her hair slightly damp and her face a little red from the heat of the shower. If she was any older, Fuutarou might have lost his self-control right there and then.

Fortunately, she was still young.

"Nothing much. What about you? Are you not gonna sleep?" Fuutarou waved off the question and asked back one of his own.

Shouko walked towards him and sat on his bed beside him. Her actions were so naturally done that Fuutarou almost thought he was in the wrong room instead.

"Tonight is not about me." Shouko shook her head as she brought Fuutarou's head towards her lap. Fuutarou was surprised but didn't resist and just laid down on her lap.

"Then who is tonight for?"

"You."

"Me?"

"So, what's wrong?" Shouko started patting Fuutarou's head, an action he was unfamiliar with but awfully comfortable about. Usually, Fuutarou was the one who did the patting, but tonight, it was his turn to be pampered.

"Nothing-" Fuutarou wanted to continue denying it, but one look at Shouko's expression made him realize that she wouldn't be sleeping tonight if he didn't spill it, "Fine. I'm just wondering about what I have achieved."

Shouko didn't speak, merely opting to continue her stroking, something that felt weirdly comfortable to do and waiting for Fuutarou to continue.

"I seem to have achieved a lot. Being the top student in school from the beginning, having many friends, having a fantastic family, and having everyone easily attracted to my music."

'Yet...this all still seems unreal...like they all don't belong to me.'

His looks were given to him by God.

His abilities were given to him by the system.

Even the "achievements" of having his two girlfriends beside him weren't part of his hard work; the girls were the ones who did the chasing, not him. All he did was be kind to them, and they confessed to him.

Was life always so simple? Was life always so easy? Since when had life become so cheap?

Fuutarou was used to winning in everything this life after losing in everything in his previous life. So, after 13 years of consecutive success after success, a sudden invasion of failure left a bad taste in his mouth.

Was it arrogant? Yes, he is. But the system allowed him to be so. At least, that was what he thought until yesterday. Even with the highest proficiency, he still lost.

Sure, to many other people, fourth place was nothing short of astonishing and marvelous. But to Fuutarou after he had the system...

Fuutarou had paused in his words halfway, and Shouko had no choice but to say something.

"I don't see the problem..."

'Of course, you don't. It would be weird if you do.'

"Sigh...my original goal was to get first, or at the very least, second place to get the money for us. But 200 euros isn't a lot..."

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A/N: Might seem like unnecessary drama, but...you know slice of life. Plus, I want to see more Shouko scenes in the next chapter.

If you want to support me or/and want chapters in advance, link:

https://www.patréon.com/spirits_everywhere. We are currently 8 chapters ahead~