Luke finally releases the bow from the strings of the cello.
The performance has come to an end.
It felt as if the applause and cheers that had been held back during the performance were bursting forth.
Luke naturally and politely responded to their enthusiasm, bowing his head repeatedly.
“Thank you for listening to today’s performance, everyone. Unfortunately, this is where it ends for today.”
Although it was only a street performance lasting a little over 20 minutes, Luke was able to reach his target amount quickly.
His cello case once again held quite a bit of money. It wasn’t as much as the first day, but it was still a substantial amount.
Perhaps it was a result of him saying he wouldn’t accept excessive donations?
After all, that amount of donations was unusual.
This was a normal amount.
Since he didn’t perform for as long as before.
Carefully putting the cello away, he responded appropriately to Py’s dissatisfied grumbling, who still seemed to be warming up.
“Why are you ending so soon?”
“Because there’s no time.”
As he hummed a tune while packing away his cello, a few patrons who had always given him a lot of donations approached him.
They were the same people who had made Luke feel somewhat uncomfortable by giving too many donations before.
“Your performance was great today. It’s a shame it was so short.”
“Haha, it can’t be helped. I’ve had some things come up recently.”
“Is that so? If you’re busy, then it’s understandable…”
“Anyway, thank you for watching the performance. I’m especially grateful for your kindness towards this beggar.”
“……”
Luke shouldered the cello on his back and bowed once more. The large cello case slightly tilted forward under its weight, then returned to its original position, creating a rather cute sight.
As the patrons waved goodbye in a farewell gesture, Luke waved back and began to leave.
“It seems like the tail has grown nicely during your absence. I guess you’ve been eating well lately.”
“That’s truly fortunate.”
With such a pleased expression, a man asked the patrons who were quietly discussing the performance, “So, I see you often come to hear that kid play. You seemed to be waiting even before the performance started.”
“Heh, wasn’t it worth it?”
The man nodded in agreement.
“Well, it certainly was.”
How can such an emotional performance be expressed through the hands of a ten-year-old child? It was enough to make one’s eyes widen in astonishment.
“When that child first started performing here, we supported him.”
“Is that so?”
As I chimed in, the man slightly smiled, nodded, and then quickly sighed, a shadow crossing his expression.
“However, I’ve been worried lately that something might be wrong with that child.”
“Now that you mention it, his expression didn’t look too good today either.”
Curiosity slightly sparked in the man as he asked, “What do you mean? Has something bad happened to him?”
One of the patrons shook his head slightly, clicking his tongue.
“Tsk, there’s probably no child more unfortunate than him.”
“What’s the situation?”
“……It’s a poor child who can’t even afford to attend school properly, struggling to eat, living without parents, and under the care of a guardian.”
The man immediately recalled the story Luke had told during his first street performance.
“Oh, that’s not my instrument. It’s borrowed from school. But due to circumstances, I’m not really able to attend that often…”
“What’s going to happen to the donations? Hmm, I want to give it all to my guardian. They must have struggled to raise me. Huh? Why is it a guardian and not my parents? Haha, well, because they’re my guardian. My parents have already passed away.”
Upon hearing that tale, the man looked at them with a shocked expression.
“My God, that child has such circumstances…”
He never imagined it could be such a difficult situation.
It was enough to make him tear up, realizing the unusual family situation of a child who played so beautifully.
It occurs to me that apart from the cello borrowed from school, there was no special equipment used in that performance.
There was nothing to amplify the sound so it could be heard further, no folding chair to sit on, and not even a music stand to support the sheets of music.
The captivating performance was solely a result of the girl’s talent.
“……”
He lost his words; he finally understood what that meant.
He was at a loss for words.
The moment of silence was broken once again by the patrons’ conversation.
“Despite such an environment, he has grown up so bright.”
“Did you see today? He was wearing a school uniform!”
“It seems he’s been going to school regularly. Isn’t that all thanks to our support?”
“I really hope so.”
———
Have you ever had such an experience?
A memory deeply ingrained in your mind that comes to haunt you in every situation?
To give a more detailed example, have you ever had an experience where your ceiling appeared like a chessboard, causing you to simulate a game in your mind, or perhaps recalling billiards and imagining several balls spinning on the ceiling with the delightful sound of ivory coming from their collisions?
That’s how Luke felt right now.
Everywhere he looked reminded him of the Super Magic League.
Initially, Luke thought it was a silly and strange game.
It was understandable, as it felt incredibly unreasonable.
From what Luke experienced, that “game” had everything in common except for combinations of five characters referred to as ‘heroes’ on each team.
The concept of destroying the opponent’s base and the fact that the five characters were immortal, able to revive instantly with infinite resources and return to the battlefield, created a small war based purely on the synergy of characters, differences in equipment, and growth rates.
A new set of battlefield rules that could not have been conceived of before.
Could such a war exist in reality?
That’s why Luke was captivated by that intricate and complex fantasy.
New rules and strategies occurring in an environment that didn’t exist in reality, along with the sensation of controlling and adjusting that fantasy.
From his hands, in his mind, at his ears, in his eyes.
They wouldn’t leave him alone, echoes lingering like a remnant.
“Luke, what’s going on today?”
Shirud was a bit taken aback.
Ever since Luke started attending school independently, he had never once waited for him.
Luke grinned and said, “Shirud. Let’s go to the internet cafe.”
“……What? Were you waiting for me to go to the internet cafe?”
“Of course.”
———–
“Oh no, Shirud! Didn’t I tell you? Going there means you’ll be playing into the opponent’s strategy.”
“Uh…”
“Alright, I’ve ensnared all four of them with my magic. Let’s go for the winning move right now!”
“Uh, uh…! Got it!”
“My calculations suggest that if we consume the dragon now, and provided no absolute worst-case scenario occurs, we can finish the game within five minutes.”
“……Are you suggesting we go for the dragon now?”
“Ah, Shirud, you take care of the rear. I can handle the dragon alone.”
Shirud was left dumbfounded.
———
Shirud and Luke only left the internet cafe as it began to grow dark.
Shirud sat beside Luke, who was waiting for the bus to arrive at the station, wearing a blank expression.
Today’s Luke was completely different from the person of two weeks ago.
His understanding of the game… had skyrocketed to an unbelievable level.
“Luke, just how much have you played?”
“For about two weeks.”
That meant he had been playing non-stop since he last went to school.
Now that he thought about it, he had noticed a worker at the cafe acknowledging Luke when they entered, which didn’t seem to be just due to Luke’s appearance being memorable.
For some reason, he also brought drinks to their table.
“How many hours did you play in those two weeks?”
“Well, lately, Yerna has been coming home late. I’ve probably played about eight hours a day. Oh, and by the way, the internet cafe has decent food, not as good as restaurants but still acceptable.”
My God, that meant he had essentially lived in the internet cafe for two weeks.
But there was no way Yerna—Luke’s older guardian—would have allowed that.
“Did Yerna give you money to go to the internet cafe?”
“I didn’t want to beg for something like that, so I earned it myself.”
“Earned it yourself? How?”
Luke silently pointed to the cello on his back and grinned.
“This brings in quite a bit of money. Shirud, wouldn’t you like to learn how to do it too?”
Shirud shook his head.
After all, he was already receiving a good allowance and didn’t have time to spend at the internet cafe unless it was to play with Luke.
——–
The affairs of the Proiten family felt more complicated than expected.
Clues were hard to come by.
It’s clear there was something going on, but…
Should I infiltrate directly?
No, no matter how I look at it, that’s too reckless. It could end up affecting Luke as well.
Lost in thought, Yerna came in through the front door.
The motion-detecting magic, which responds to the presence of people, activated, lighting up the entryway.
Clack.
Yerna took off her shoes and tidied them up.
However, today there was no Luke to greet her as always, making her feel somewhat disappointed as only the entry light welcomed her.
The living room light was on, yet it still felt dim without any warmth.
Well, it was late, so perhaps it couldn’t be helped.
“Lu, are you sleeping…?”
As expected, Luke was waiting for her, having fallen asleep on the living room table.
“Sigh, if you’re going to sleep, then at least sleep in your room…”
She had heard there was a lot of preparation going on at school for the sports day lately, so he must have been exhausted from that.
Yes, it was crucial to finish gathering information before the sports day.
Yerna approached to move Luke and suddenly noticed something.
“What’s this…?”
It was a character of a great magician. Could it be a drawing of Luke Illusi?
‘He really drew it well. I can recognize it at a glance.’
The ability to draw well likely comes from good observation and imagination.
Yerna looked at the drawing, smiled warmly, and checked another sketch.
It was a drawing of a computer.
Luke must want a computer.
That makes sense—he must have been incredibly bored watching the house alone.
Buying him a computer wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.
