Chapter 222

“I once wished my mom and dad were rather cruel people.”

That was the reason why Neiel couldn’t cut ties with his parents.

Even if the love they sent was twisted, the only people who had genuinely cared for Neiel were, paradoxically, his parents.

His father, who pooled every bit of money he had to send him pocket money, told him not to be discouraged among friends.

The money was meant for various clothes, but in reality, he wore the same work uniform every day.

His mother, who came directly to the school office to protect Neiel when he was bullied, eventually transferred the bullies.

Despite how much he had disliked her, in that moment, he felt that his mother was the only ally he had in the world.

When, and where, did life go wrong?

“Was it when I noticed my father might get scammed but couldn’t tell him for sure? Was it when I failed to get into Yale? Or was it wrong to fall in love with the violin? If none of that, then was it just my mistake to be born?”

Negative thoughts intertwined endlessly.

To forget the suffocating pain of his current existence, his consciousness shifted to his brilliant past.

“A genius at sight-reading.”

It was the nickname fans had given Jūdex for his ability to play any sheet music immediately upon seeing it.

Young Daniel loved those small compliments his mother would never give.

Shortened, it became the wonderful nickname “Super Genius.” It fit perfectly with the emotions of an elementary school student.

At the same time, the current Neiel felt awed by Name’s skill.

He pondered whether the phrase that said Name was a genius that would never appear again in human history on “TreeWiki” could actually be true.

“Only a year playing violin? Isn’t that really super genius?”

It wouldn’t be easy for music college students to perform Walton’s piece at sight with over 99% accuracy.

Unlike Neiel, whose fingers had stiffened, Name was still young.

Even though he was currently winning with 100%, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had, in fact, lost.

At that moment, Neiel’s scoreboard shook.

[Scoreboard]

[#1 Jūdex: Accuracy 99.87%]

[#2 NoName: Accuracy 99.32%]

Slowly, gradually, the accuracy was dropping.

“What’s the problem? I did it right. Could it be…?”

Neiel had experienced something like this before.

Suddenly, the violin notes began to shift slightly but perceptibly to the side.

When he tried to add vibrato with his fourth finger, he could tell for sure.

The strings of the arcade violin were on the verge of breaking.

“Name, can we pause for a moment and restart the game…?”

Neiel tried to speak to Name, but she seemed too focused on playing to hear him.

He noticed her small fingers straining to touch the strings.

“Wait… why do I have to win? Why was I even in this bet?”

It was out of stubbornness.

The pride of someone who had dedicated their life to the violin.

A counterargument against Professor Pisujeong’s claim that he was behind Name.

If he simply played gently from now on, the strings wouldn’t break, and this competition would end with Neiel’s perfect victory.

But even now, didn’t Name play with her fingers torn and hoping for him to go apologize to the group?

[If it’s necessary, I think it’s right to do it.]

In that moment, Neiel’s mind went blank.

As Name said, it was indeed right for him to go apologize in person.

There wasn’t much time to worry afterward.

Neiel swung his bow with a large motion.

The white, fluffy bow hairs rubbed against the strings without hesitation.

With a twang, the string leapt into the air and then fell limply to the ground as if it had been captured again.

Name’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You won, NoName.”

She really was a surprisingly mature child for her age.

During the four performances, Daniel was inspired by Name’s efforts.

Thus, it was reasonable for NoName to emerge victorious in this bet.

“Are you okay, Neiel? Did you hurt your hand?”

“Oh? I’m all right. Strings often break while playing.”

“But we should compensate since it’s not ours, right?”

“… Oh no! What should I do!”

In the end, Name paid.

Daniel’s pride as an adult crumbled.

* * *

“I’m really sorry for everything…”

Daniel bowed at a 90-degree angle.

If he leaned just a bit more, his head would touch the ground.

Contrary to Neiel’s worries, the mood in the group was very good.

There was also a touching aspect to the sincere apology, but it was mostly because of the powerful secret weapon she had prepared.

“This is a summary including only the content for the final exam? Is it okay for us to use what you worked hard on, Neiel?”

“Yes, it’s compiled from five years of previous exams uploaded by the professor, so just by looking at this, you’ll be able to get most of the questions right.”

“Then what about Neiel skipping the last group meeting?”

“I contacted you by email about that. I was told it was fine to miss up to three meetings without penalty.”

“Ah, I see.”

“This is amazing! If I study for just one day, I can get an A+! Thank you, Daniel!”

The liberal arts course “Psychology of Human Relationships” mainly relied on group meetings, but the grades were ultimately determined by the final exam.

The difference in the final report would be at most 1 to 2 points.

Getting just one more question right on the final exam would easily make up for any minor score differences.

Since the graduation semester was important for grades, Woo Da Yeon seemed a bit apologetic for reacting so vigorously toward Daniel, offering her own apology.

In the warmed atmosphere, Neiel’s apology came to an end.

Seeking forgiveness was not as grand a task as he thought.

In fact, it was so incredibly easy that Neiel lamented why he hadn’t said anything until now.

“But why did Name come so early today? The class hasn’t even started yet.”

Woo Da Yeon behind him asked, placing both hands on his shoulders.

The current time was 2:50 PM.

The professor’s lecture, which lasts around 45 minutes, would have to end before the group meeting could begin.

“I came because today’s class was ending a bit early. I heard auditing is free.”

In truth, the class was just an excuse.

He was forced to wait until class was over to share something personally with Daniel.

“What about?”

Da Yeon kept prying.

“It’s business confidential, so I can’t share it with just anyone.”

“Hahaha, got it, I won’t ask!”

“Seriously.”

But Neiel wondered if she liked animals. Lions, leopards, or king cobras?

In a classroom densely packed with long six-person desks, they settled in the empty center.

To the left was Daniel, and to the right was Woo Da Yeon, both setting their laptops up as solid supports against the whispers of other university students.

Here, “external forces” referred to the murmurs of other college students.

“Name, you’re really popular. You could just go up to the front and teach the class.”

“I’m just going to stay quiet and leave.”

“Let’s just enroll in Korea University. Aren’t you essentially a free pass?”

“I don’t know.”

She was speaking genuinely as she still had no interest in the education system of this country.

“What’s the professor in this class like?”

“Really great, no, perfect! Handsome, has a great voice, and the class is so much fun. They give grades easily with just one final!”

“Huh? No midterms then?”

“Yep. That’s why it’s rumored to be an easy class.”

Wasn’t there supposed to be three tests originally…?

Two midterms and one final.

“Who said that?”

“Professor Cheon. Oh, so there’s a quiz instead, right?”

“No, there are no quizzes.”

“Then that doesn’t allow for any selective evaluation.”

“If everyone does well, why does someone have to fail?”

“Well… that’s not necessarily the case.”

I felt like my values were being shaken entirely.

Had I been brainwashed by Professor Cheon all this time?

Soon enough, a tall, middle-aged professor entered through the front door.

“It’s Monday, and everyone seems so energetic. Did something good happen?”

As the whispers quieted down, sharp gazes began piercing from all directions.

This was overwhelming. I should have just waited outside.

I had only participated out of curiosity about how university classes would be after living two different lives.

These people didn’t know how to be restrained.

As I slid my backside forward out of the chair, my field of vision gradually lowered.

If I moved just a bit more, my head was going to go below the desk.

Just then, I ended up locking eyes with the professor.

“Oh!”

“Wahahahahaha!”

As the professor let out a short exclamation, the students erupted in laughter.

What followed was even more outrageous.

“Isn’t this the legendary Pokémon, NoName, that supposedly only appears in Korea University! It’s a tremendous honor that someone rumored to be more famous than the current president is choosing our class. In that spirit, let’s give a big round of applause everyone!”

Oh, please don’t do that.

“Heehee.”

I didn’t know what was so funny; even Daniel next to me was laughing breathlessly.

In the end, I hid my face under the desk.

* * *

The safari world of Daniel? No, it was Dream, right.

There were reasons she was marked as a candidate for the first generation of Safari Dream.

First, she knew the anime song and vocaloid culture, deeply rooted from the long career of Maestro.

In other words, she was a fan.

The application created for the popularization of classical music ultimately couldn’t escape the fate of rhythm games and became filled with Japanese songs.

She was fluent in Japanese and English at a native level, earning her bonus points.

Secondly, with her unrivaled skills in one field, the main content was as good as secured.

If they heard that the mysterious amateur who vanished from Maestro years ago had returned as a VTuber, initial popularity would surely be guaranteed.

Of course, I was merely suggesting the idea; the rest was up to Kariri and Daniel to negotiate.

It had to appeal more to Kariri than to me.

“Neiel, you said you enjoy playing the violin the most. What specifically do you like about it?”

She said she wasn’t sure.

Daniel had been living life too habitually under her mother’s influence.

She had no time to contemplate what she liked or what interested her.

“I hope you think about it carefully. Do you genuinely want to perform the best on the violin, or do you just enjoy being cheered by the public? If it’s the latter, then being a VTuber might be a good choice.”

The fact that she had consistently uploaded videos every day since she was a child shows she had attention-seeking tendencies.

Though her personality might have turned more introverted from living a tough life, you never know how a person could change if they found some ease.

If she was considering challenging herself as a VTuber, I promised to help her overcome her claustrophobia as well.

“Just a bit of a rude question… how much does Kariri earn?”

“Maybe about 5,000 per month? I didn’t ask for details.”

“Wow, 50 million a year? It seems the VTuber market has revived after a slowdown. I didn’t know…”

“What are you talking about? It’s 5,000 a month.”

“…”

“…”

“Why am I doing classical music?”