Chapter 56: [No Title]

"Son."

A week had already passed since Suzuki last visited my parents, and it was also the time for me to leave for Tokyo for the preliminary rounds.

"Yes, old man?"

"This is your last chance to change your decision. We all know that once you leave, you'll be leaving for at least 1 month."

"And how do you know that?"

"We're all confident that you won't lose in the preliminaries, after all!"

Standing in front of the door of my house with a bag packed with essentials, I looked at my family crowding me.

"Don't worry, old man. I'll return from the trip with some money for us. So, you don't have to worry about me."

My father sighed as he pulled me into a hug, "You know, you can just act like a child your age? Why are you worrying about adult stuff like money?"

Because maybe I was an adult in my past life, and it felt weird not earning money...

"I'm sorry that you even had to think about money for us..."

Sigh, my father is always acting childish in front of my mother. It was only times like this when his adult-ness shines past his childish shell.

"You don't have to apologize, old man. I'm part of the family as much as any of you are; I'm just doing my part for it."

"Just know that...whenever you get tired and want to give up, you can always do so and come back home here, alright?"

"I know that."

Patting on my back, my father released the hug and took a step back, only to be replaced by Shouko and Kaori.

"Why are you leaving..."

"Can I come with you?"

The two girls hugged my body as they buried their faces in my shoulders. They say girls start puberty earlier than boys, and although they were not very tall, they were only slightly shorter than me, reaching my shoulders.

"There, there..." Patting both of their heads, I spoke softly and slowly, "I'm just going away for a small period of time. I will not be gone forever."

"But..."

"I'm trying to achieve my dreams here, you know?"

"I know...that's why I'm not really trying to stop you from leaving..." Shouko muttered.

"So you're just trying to gain attention?"

I think after hearing my blunt words, Shouko's mind froze along with her entire body because she didn't move from her position.

Now that I think about it, ever since we started living together, I don't think I've been separated from Shouko for more than one night, and that was only because we each had our own room.

Shouko doesn't leave my side at any point of the day (except toilet), and as much as I love a dedicated girlfriend, it isn't healthy for her to have no friends except for our small group.

It is currently the 20th of May, and I would be missing a big part of my school. Fortunately, if everything goes to plan, I'll be able to return here for a while, take my mid-year exams, and enjoy a bit of my summer holidays before heading off to the finals. And by the time the entire competition ends, the school will have reopened for the second trimester.

At least it wouldn't take up my entire summer holidays, and it would allow Shouko to be slightly less dependent on me. What I wanted was a girlfriend; I don't need a pet, after all.

"How about this? Let's make a deal; if I'm number one, I'll never leave anywhere for more than one week without you two from then on, alright? In return, you will have to bond with at least some of our classmates before I return in July. And Kaori-chan, this is a piano competition. I'm sure we will find a violin competition for you sooner or later."

"Two nights."

"Huh?"

"Never leave without us for more than two nights after winning this competition."

"Sure, but you have to make more friends too."

It was a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. It was only after I agreed that both of the girls let me go.

Last but not least, it was my mother who was carrying my twin sisters together with Raiha.

"Stay safe, my dear son. You have a lot of people waiting for you at home. And no matter the results, you will always be the proudest son in our family."

I thought we only had one son in the family...did I miss out on a brother or something? So, was that actually a compliment?

"Goodbye, mum, old man, everyone."

After waving towards them for the last time, I left for the car outside my house, waiting for me to board.

"Finished with your goodbyes?" Suzuki asked from the front of the car. He wasn't the one driving, though; there was a chauffeur.

"Yep. Now, where are we heading towards?"

"Where I handed out the last invitation to."

"And where is that?"

"Kyoto."

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And...I was once again back in Kyoto. Interesting, I wonder who I will meet this time in Kyoto. Since we had a car this time, it took more than four hours and fifty-two minutes.

We had various breaks along the way, and even if there were the sights to behold, having only three people in a car was going to be awkward. The driver wasn't much of a speaker, and while Suzuki and I tried to make a conversation happen, it didn't last very long.

I was an adult in my previous life, and I should have gotten along much better with Suzuki, but many things that existed in my past life didn't exist here, causing the number of things to talk about limited.

In the end, between a child and an adult, not much can be talked about.

About halfway through the journey, the conversation died out, and if it wasn't for the radio present in the car, it would have probably been an awkward silence.

"Ano..."

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me more about the person we are fetching?"

"Are you interested in him?"

"I just want to see what type of people is going to be invited and attending. After all, I don't just want to participate for fun. If I participate, I always try my hardest to win."

"Many people would probably say that it is the journey that counts, and not the results, but I would say that's a good attitude right there. About the last person, he is currently in college."

"College? I thought he would be my age or something..."

Hearing my words, Suzuki paused for a while before laughing out loud, "You must be joking. I don't know about the global stage, but not everyone is a monster like you, you know? Being on a level that is similar or even higher than mine at elementary school. In fact, you can be considered above average in talent if you are invited to college level."

"I see..."

I misjudged the level that this competition is on. Without much competition in our area, I couldn't correctly judge the standard of entertainment in this world. However, with this competition now, I can estimate where I stand in terms of piano capabilities on the world stage.

I wonder if I will have a quest from the system about this competition as well.

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[Quest: Attain First place in the piano competition (Part 2)]

Description: Having taken your first big step in a small competition, you must not give up halfway. Go through the entire competition, and make your name well-known in the music world and beyond.

Passing Criteria: Never give up

Rewards: Increased proficiency in all music-related proficiency depending on the level (basic will increase by 100, intermediate will increase by 90, advanced will increase by 80, master will increase by 70, grandmaster will increase by 60)

Additional rewards if you finish the national preliminaries: Advanced Language Proficiency (0/500) (immediately given after you complete the condition)

Additional rewards if you attain the top ten worldwide: 1x premium gacha tokens, 2x normal gacha tokens (will be given after the competition ends)

Additional rewards if you attain the top three worldwide: 1x premium gacha tokens, 3x normal gacha tokens (will be given after the competition ends)

Additional rewards if you attain first place: 1x legendary gacha tokens, 2x premium tokens, 3x normal gacha tokens (will be given after the competition ends)

Failure: Removal of Grandmaster Piano Proficiency and semi-removal of music route in the future (meaning that it would be harder for you to get back to the music industry again).

System tips: Don't get too proud or arrogant. While others might be a frog in a well, you are currently just a frog in a pond. You might have seen some talents here and there, but you have not seen what true talents or hard workers are. This is not just a test of your skills; but a test of your ***********

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Wow...this is harsh. But the quest also made me feel weird. "Never give up" was the passing criteria, but what exactly does "giving up" comprise of?

[Calculating...unknown.]

Unknown? Ok...is this a quest that you made for me?

[As specified before, all quests come from your subconscious desire. The system has no emotions and feelings, so the system wouldn't know what you would classify as "giving up", and it can only be determined by you and no one else.]

This doesn't make sense, but I don't think it's detrimental to me; if anything, it should only help me.

"Is there anything wrong? You're spaced out..." Suzuki's voice rang from the front as he turned back to look at me.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"I know that you're nervous about being the young one in the competition, but you don't have to worry too much. If you play as well as you did back then, you will do fine."

I think he misunderstood my current emotions and feelings, but I'm too lazy to correct him and just nodded my head.

"Suzuki-san, can you tell me more about the competition?"

"Hm...why not? The boy we are fetching has attended this competition once before, so I don't have to wait for him to tell you more about the competition. For starters, you can remove the idea about a 'normal' competition out of your head."

"Huh?"

"Although the preliminaries might be something that you are used to, the final rounds will definitely be new to you."

Interesting...I thought the author would have to write about the same stuff repeatedly, but apparently, it isn't, huh? Good for you now, huh, author?

[A/N: Yep.]

"Why, though? How is it any different?"

"First of all, there are countless pianists in the world. I never specifically told you about the levels that segregate their level, but you can roughly guess them. There are beginners, student level, teacher level, master level, and grandmaster level.

From their names, you can probably guess the details. The beginner level is those who had just started learning, and it's also where almost everyone can quickly progress to the next level. The student level is where most pianist lies, while the teacher level usually refers to those who are good enough to teach student level, but not good enough to reach the master level."

"But from then on, every jump is a huge one. From the master level onwards, almost every pianist who enters this level is professionals. They have at least performed once for the public."

"Hm? But competitions-"

"Not competitions. I mean, actual performances where the affluent people pay them to perform in some event like weddings or parties. There are some exceptions, of course. People like you who haven't debuted in the world or are too young for stuff like that."

"I see. Then what is the gap between grandmasters and masters?"

"That I don't know. Only those who reached grandmaster level know, and I'm only a master level pianist, not to mention an almost-retired pianist."

"So what will happen in the final rounds?"

"Who knows?" Suzuki let out a shrug and a small smile, "It's always different, but it would always relate somehow to music. One year required us to pair up with another instrument to play a duet, while another year required us to learn various types of piano and ensure that the song played on a grand piano would have the same emotion and feelings conveyed when played on another piano.

It might sound easy, but it's a lot harder than it looks when the piano might not even be a piano in the first place. Clavichord, harpsichord, dulcimer, celesta, carillon, and even the monochord were all tried and tested out, causing many grandmaster pianists to be at a loss. Did you know that based on its ancestry, the piano can be classified as a string instrument?"

Holy shit. If that's true, then I'll be screwed. Who knew a piano competition wouldn't actually include a proper piano. But still, I hope it would be a fun and stimulating competition.

"Hahaha...this is the first time I'm seeing you act your age."

Hearing his words, I tilted my head and wondered what he was referring to.

"I mean, you always seem so mature and cool-headed. Honestly, it scared me a little by how adult-like your thoughts are. But seeing you here, it appears that my worries are gone. Enjoy your childhood, Uesugi-kun, because as much as you want to worry about the future, you only get to live the present once."

Wise words from the wise man, but you don't think I know that? I've reincarnated once with lots of regrets, and I don't plan to do so again.

"You don't have to worry about that, Suzuki-san. I made it my life goal to enjoy every moment of the present, after all."

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A/N: As for ***********, don't bother trying to find out. It's not accurate to the actual word/phrase. The next chapter will include a male OC unless one of you wants to see a particular character from any anime? Note that the person you wish to have must be a male and must play the piano.