C118
Since becoming a student of Merhen, the Pianist of Melody, her skills improved day by day.
She became sensitive enough to detect even the minute air pressure with Schema, and her fingers were leaping over the keys so quickly that they could not be seen.
Reina's performance received praise even from the great royals.
But for Rian, who had been kept awake by that sound since childhood, it was nothing but a murderous noise.
"Damn, the witch has gotten stronger. But humans won't die that easily."
Reina seemed to hear nothing but the sound of her performance.
It was evident that she was highly focused, with her lower lip sticking out.
Her hair was unkempt as if she had been up all night, and her eyes were puffy.
She was only wearing shorts, so her thighs were fully exposed.
In fact, she had been playing the piano for 17 hours straight.
It was a funeral song known for its difficulty on the continent, and she had been struggling with it lately.
A barrier is a curse and a blessing for an artist. It's a phenomenon that appears just before skills improve.
In such cases, Reina would stay up for days and overcome the barrier.
Rian caught a glimpse of new hope.
If he could sneak into his sister's room and pack his belongings, he could escape by jumping out of the window or breaking the wall.
'Alright, stay calm. I'm going back home.'
Rian moved slowly along the blind spot of the grand piano.
If he could reach the stairs like this, the operation would be a great success.
Of course, Reina was sitting on top of her brother's head.
The moment the light of hope brightened Rian's eyes, she abruptly stopped playing, as always.
'Ah, damn it.'
Reina spoke without even looking at him.
"You, what have you been doing since a while ago? Seems like these days, they teach how to make people laugh in swordsmanship school?"
"Tch, if you saw it, you should have at least pretended to know. And what's with your look? A grown-up maiden playing the piano in her short? Don't insult art."
"Getting cheeky again. You definitely didn't get hit enough."
Contrary to her threatening words, Reina picked up the skirt and put it on.
Only the family knew that she would undress one by one as stress increased during practice.
"Hehe, still you're embarrassed in front of your brother, right? Ah, ack!"
The moment Rian burst into laughter, Reina's sole hit his face.
Rian also trained hard, but her speed was still too fast for him to react.
"Shit. What the hell are you doing? Ptoo!"
Reina held out her hand to Rian, who was spitting out.
“Give me your report card.”
Rian's face hardened.
As expected, what was to come had to come.
"Why, Why the hell do my sister care so much about my report card? I'm all grown up now, too. Ah, ouch!"
Reina shouted, pulling Rian's ear.
"Not giving it? You want to die today?"
"Ah, okay! Here, here!"
Rian pulled out the report card from his pocket and threw it on the floor.
Then, without looking back, he ran to his room.
"Phew! He definitely didn't get hit enough. When is he going to grow up?"
Reina picked up the report card and spread it in front of her eyes.
The scores of the training subjects came down in order, and at the end, the number of all students and the overall rank were written.
Reina's hands trembled after checking Rian’s rank.
Last place!
It wasn't even second to last, but really the last place.
'Nonsense. No matter how pathetic he is, he works hard.'
Reina turned the report card over to check the teacher's comment section.
As she read the text, her eyes widened in shock.
“We regret to inform you that your child has finished the semester with the lowest grade.
We believe Rian thinks he has opened his Schema, but the faculty has concluded it's merely a placebo effect caused by his increased physical strength.
This is known as an Imaginary Schema phenomenon, albeit it's extremely rare, it can happen occasionally. This is a time when he need the warm attention of his family.
"Oh, seriously! I can't live like this!"
Reina crumpled up his report card and went up the stairs in a huff.
As she stormed into the room, she found Rian packing his belongings, seated like a bear.
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
