I looked at the piano and thought to myself.
There's a lot of keys... Do I actually know how to do this?
Hm...
I guess I'll try to play 'Mockingbird' first... That was one of my favorite songs back before I was transmigrated...
I was a little worried because looking at the piano confused me, there were so many keys.
When my fingers touched the keys it all came naturally though. It's like I knew which keys to play to get that sound I wanted. It translated from my head to the piano instantly...
…
When I pressed the last key, I took my hands off the piano and looked to the ceiling.
It feels... Amazing...
I looked at my hands.
Did I really just do that? How did I do it? I never really thought about it, but these 'talents' are both scary, and amazing...
"Woo! Leo! That sounded amazing!"
I looked down at Rio who was yelling with a smile. He had his hands around his mouth to direct his voice at me.
I smiled,
"Yeah... It did."
This is fun...
I stood up and stretched my arms wide.
I sat at the edge of the stage in front of Rio, who immediately started to ask questions.
"That was amazing! What was that song called?!"
"Mockingbird."
"Mockingbird? Does the name have a meaning?"
"Hm, maybe? I don't really know."
Rio and I conversed for a few dozen minutes until Kathryn came up to us.
"Leo, Rio! Sorry, I was just finishing getting everything set-up!"
"No worries." I responded and Rio agreed.
"By the way Leo, I heard that first song you played, did you make that? It sounded really good, I've never heard that one before though. Come to think of it, I've never heard any of the songs you've done before." Kathryn asked.
"I didn't, these songs were all made by my saviors." I had a soft smile when I spoke.
"Oh! I hope I get to meet them one day." Kathryn said with a smile before continuing, "But everyone should be arriving in like 4-5 minutes."
"I'm getting kinda nervous, haha." Rio said while scratching the back of his head.
"Aw! No need to be nervous! Everyone's going to be around the same age as us!" Kathryn patted Rio on the back
The same age as us? The noble's children? Guess I won't have an awkward meeting with them then.
A few seconds later, we could hear a knock on the door.
"I'll go get that!" Kathryn hurried off to the door
Hm?
The person who walked in was Ian, I guess Kathryn told him to come a little later or something.
They both walked over to us, and I gave Ian a little wave.
"Hi Ian!" Rio waved and said happily to Ian who was now in front of us.
He waved back and spoke softly,
"Hello."
"You came early, Ian!" Kathryn spoke happily to her brother before asking a question, "Did you have any trouble getting here?"
Ian shook his head before speaking,
"Your directions were fine."
He pulled out a piece of paper with a terribly drawn map on it.
Uh? That does not look okay...
"That's good! Then everyone else should be getting here soon!"
As soon as Kathryn finished her words, another knock could be heard at the door.
"I'll get that!"
Kathryn left to get the door, then it was back to just me, Rio, and Ian.
"How's your training been?" I asked Ian, even though we usually saw each other and practiced together in the gym, I never really knew if it was going well or not. To me it looked like he was doing the same thing every day when we weren't sparring.
"Good, I feel like I've been improving." He responded before looking at Rio, "But, I feel like you're improving way more."
"Eh?!" Rio looked a little flustered before responding, "Thank you, haha, I'm only improving fast because I have you, Leo, and Taku helping me."
I mean... You also have the teachers, but...
"Only a little, your hard work and dedication is what's helping you the most." Ian responded in a serious tone.
He was always one who valued effort, so he looked a little proud while looking at Rio.
I looked towards Kathryn, who was talking with another girl around her age.
Isn't that one of her classmates?
Looking back towards the door, I could see more people walking in.
Oh... This isn't a noble's party. This looks more like a party for her class. Why are Rio and I here then?
Eh, probably just to play music or something.
…
Shortly after a few dozen minutes, Kathryn got on stage and headed to the microphone, then began to speak.
"Mm, Is this thing on?" She tapped the microphone which caused a tapping noise to be heard throughout the building.
Yep... Definitely on.
"Hey, everyone! I'm glad everyone could make it!" She paused for a moment before continuing, "In that corner would be the food and drinks, we have a ton of variety so there should be anything you want! If you can't find something then just ask one of the attendants, they should be able to help you. I invited Leo from Class C to play some music for us, I'm sure you all know of him by now."
Huh? I get that I'm here to play some music, but how would they know of me?
I could hear some voices from the crowd,
"Woah, I heard he's really good at singing from one of my friends in Class C."
"He dealt with the Ogre, right?"
Okay... Never mind, I stopped paying attention to the crowd and looked back at Kathryn who was still speaking,
"Lastly, I hope everyone will enjoy this party! And... Leo, you could start now!"
Immediately after Kathryn finished her speech, the room got loud, I could see the Class B students talking to each other and having a good time. Rio and Ian were also talking to each other.
I stood up and stretched my arms wide. Kathryn came up to me.
"Sorry! I still actually haven't told you what this party was for, it's because we successfully passed our mission."
"Oh, congrats."
"Thank you! I wanted to get the best musician I knew for us, and it turns out, it's you!"
"Thanks."
Was she just being nice? I know that she's probably seen a lot of musicians or bards. Maybe I was just the best one available or something, whatever, I'll take the compliment.
"Good luck!" She offered her hand for a fist bump.
"Sure." We fist bumped and I sat at the piano.
Hm... I guess I'll start with 'Mockingbird.'
…
I had played a few dozen songs or something, I lost track.
I'll play just one more song I guess.
How did that one go again? 'Golden Hour?'
I pressed the first key, and the rest came naturally...
Haah, I yawned and stood up.
"Woo!"
"Wow! He really is good!"
I turned and looked at the small crowd that formed in front of the stage. It looked like everyone was having a great time and Rio was even talking with some of the Class B students.
I headed towards the edge of the stage where I was bombarded by the Class B students.
"Woah! Leo, you're amazing!"
"I really enjoyed the music, thank you for playing!"
I looked towards Rio who looked at me with a smile, he looked proud and happy.
"Class C is lucky! You should totally come switch to Class B!"
"Haha, I quite like my class, but thanks for the offer." I responded
"Aw, we got rejected!"
"Haha!"
Some of the other students patted him on the back.
The mood here wasn't bad at all, I wasn't uncomfortable either. Though Rio and I were the only ones in our uniforms, the others were in their own casual clothes.
I talked with everyone for a little while before going to get some water with Rio.
"The people in Class B are really nice!" Rio looked upbeat
"Yeah, they are."
"I still like our class better though!" Rio had a cheeky smile on his face
"I do too. We'll be with them for the next few years after all, we can't be liking other classes more than our own, haha." I responded
A few minutes later everyone had spread out in groups throughout the room, Kathryn told me to enjoy the party for a little bit, so that's what I did.
Rio, Ian, and I were in a group.
Kathryn came up to us and asked a question,
"So how are you three enjoying this party?"
Rio responded with joy,
"It's really fun! Thank you for inviting me!"
"Haha, I'm glad you could come. I wanted to invite some of the others in your class as well, but this is mainly a Class B thing. I did really want you and Leo to come though, you're both like honorary Class B, haha."
My head felt a sharp pain for a second before it went away.
Huh?
In the next moment, I could see the others start to fall down.
What the fuck?
Rio had started to fall over as well; I caught him before he hit the ground though.
"Rio?"
Kathryn dropped, Ian dropped, everyone except for me dropped.
"Rio!?"
I put my head on his chest; luckily his heart was still beating.
I gently put him down before checking the pulse of Kathryn and Ian; they were both still alive.
Are they all just knocked out?
Even the attendants were on the ground.
I stood back up and looked around.
What the fuck?
I could see the door open.
What walked in was a beautiful girl with hair in twin tails. She had horns on her head and a tail with a heart at the end of it.
We locked eyes and I could hear her speak in the now-quiet building.
"Huh? Someone resisted my magic?"
I looked at her and thought: Status.