Solo Swordmaster - Chapter 67

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

Chapter 67: Test

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Julia was ruled by her moods.

Rather than following rules, she often acted according to how she felt. For a professor, she had even conducted classes that were not merely unusual, but downright unconventional.

Even so, this was the first time a student had made such an absurd request.

“You only want to hear me play? And you say you’ll learn it on your own, Lee?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Are you serious?”

“Why not? It’s not impossible.”

Watching Rimon answer so shamelessly, Julia felt something snap in her head.

Even when he refused to play.

Even when he could not properly learn sheet music.

Despite all the headaches he gave her, she had still regarded Rimon as a student and tried her best to teach him.

But the nonsense he calmly spouted finally made her blood boil.

“... Lee, do you think playing the violin is a joke? Or do you think there’s something wrong with my teaching ability, or that I’ve been deliberately teaching you poorly?”

“That can’t be the case.”

Unlike Julia’s ice-cold voice, Rimon remained utterly calm.

“If I thought playing was a joke, I wouldn’t have bothered trying to learn it. Nor do I have any particular complaints about your instruction.”

“Then why are you making this request?”

“Because I think this is the fastest and most efficient method for now.”

“Do you realize that you’re calling a method of instruction, perfected through the research of countless performers over hundreds of years, inefficient and worthless?”

“No, that isn’t my intention. I know that, generally speaking, learning the basics step by step is the quickest path.”

Rimon shook his head slightly.

He had once taught countless disciples as the master of the Sword Tower himself.

He understood the importance of foundations and teaching methods developed over centuries.

“But I’ll probably be different.”

That was why he knew.

Sometimes, there were exceptions who did not fit the framework designed for ordinary students.

And in Rimon’s own opinion, a Sword Master with several centuries on his back more than qualified as such an exception.

“... Why add ‘probably’ to such a confident statement?”

“Because this is my first time trying it.”

Wouldn’t it be excessively arrogant to be one hundred percent certain of success on his first attempt?

Julia stared in disbelief at Rimon as he made a statement that was neither humble nor anything else, all while being utterly arrogant.

Eventually, she pressed her throbbing temples and spoke.

“Fine. If you insist, I’ll do it. But I have a condition too.”

“What condition?”

“Just once.”

Julia held up one finger before the intrigued Rimon.

Staring straight at him with deep green eyes, she repeated herself in an exceptionally serious voice.

“I’ll play for you exactly once. Learn whatever you can from it. If you can’t learn anything, I’ll stop teaching you.”

Julia knew just how absurd her condition was.

Playing was something learned through practice until one’s fingers swelled and formed calluses. It was not something one could acquire by seeing and hearing it once, like a Skill.

So this was effectively a refusal. A warning that if he wished to keep learning from her, he should give up now.

Anyone who accepted such an absurd condition would be a madman, or...

“I accept.”

“...”

Julia closed her eyes and fell silent at his immediate reply.

In the end, she let out a light sigh, opened her case, and took out an antique violin.

Perhaps it was because of her meticulous care.

Although it carried centuries of history, the violin shone as fresh as if it had just been made.

A Stradivarius.

One of the three legendary instruments every violinist longed for even in their dreams. Holding a treasure more precious than her own life, Julia inspected its condition.

Once she confirmed that both she and the instrument were ready to give their best performance, she looked coldly at Rimon.

“What would you like me to play?”

“I told you. Play your best.”

Julia did not bother asking Rimon whether he was truly sure.

The moment she had taken out the Stradivarius, she had become a performer before a teacher. And as a performer, she was a woman who knew no restraint.

‘If he wants the best performance, then I can only give him what he wants.’

After bringing up and setting her electronic score, she steeled herself and secured the violin beneath her chin.

Then, gently drawing the bow across the strings, she began to play.

The first, and perhaps the last, piece she would perform for Rimon.

One of the finest pieces she could play, and one said to have moved more people than any other violin concerto.

Opus 8, Nos. 1 to 4, by Antonio Vivaldi, the composer and violinist who represented the Baroque era.

‘The Four Seasons, Le quattro stagioni.’

Screee.

At that moment, Julia forgot everything.

Rimon before her.

The condition she had given him.

Where she was and who she was.

Her mind became blank and white as a fool’s, filled only with the notes floating above the electronic score and the melody produced by the violin.

In that empty world, stripped of everything else, she immersed herself in her performance.

Screee.

‘Restez’ (maintain the position).

Music was beautiful.

More complex than humans, purer than humans, more enchanting than humans, and more emotional than humans.

That was why she loved performing.

If she could, she would have wanted to be born as an instrument rather than a human.

That was why she became a violinist.

Not because she could play it best, but because the violin was the instrument through which she could feel the deepest unity with an instrument.

Screee.

‘Simile’ (same as before).

She was called the Violin Witch because she could perform as well as any Player without a Skill, but to her, that was only natural.

No matter how high their level was.

No matter what Skills they used.

Their performances merely displayed technique through an instrument. There was no way they could compare to her performance, in which she became part of the instrument and wrung out her soul.

Screee.

‘The prey is bewildered by the clamorous dogs and the noise of the guns.’

Julia could understand people mocking her, but she could not tolerate anyone treating performance as a joke.

She had been angry and disappointed by Lee’s attitude toward music, but now she forgot even those emotions.

The movement of the electronic score stopped.

The bow sliding across the strings stopped.

Until silence fell, she did nothing but pour her soul into becoming an instrument and producing a melody.

* * *

“Haa...”

Was it because the impassioned performance had exhausted her stamina?

Or because she regretted returning to being human after becoming the instrument that created the melody?

For reasons even she did not understand, Julia exhaled deeply and lifted her bow from the strings.

Clap clap clap clap!

‘It seems Lee finally understands what a real performance is.’

The room echoed with fervent applause.

Pleased by the sound, so full of admiration, Julia turned toward Rimon with a satisfied smile.

“So this is what counts as the finest performance of this era.”

“...?”

Then her eyes widened.

The black-haired young man she had expected to be applauding in awe had his arms crossed, steadily watching her.

Then who was clapping?

Julia turned around uneasily, identified the owner of that applause, and looked dumbstruck.

“... Lee, what breed is that bluebird? It listens to music and even claps?”

“Why are you looking at it like it’s so strange? They say gorillas beat their chests like drums. Birds that go wild when they hear sounds aren’t that uncommon.”

“This is the first of those common birds I’ve ever seen.”

What sort of bird was it, and how had he raised it to clap so enthusiastically?

For a moment, the questions welling up in her mind made Julia forget even the lingering emotions of her performance, leaving her with a dazed expression.

Then she barely regained her composure and looked back at Rimon.

“So, are you satisfied now?”

“Yes, it was a fine performance. I learned a great deal from it.”

“What did you learn?”

“What else would I learn? Naturally, I learned how to play the violin.”

“... Lee, I’m not going to let that pass as a joke.”

Julia frowned.

To someone who loved performing as much as she did, the condition she had staked on performance was no joking matter.

Yet Rimon remained completely calm.

“What, you don’t believe me?”

“Trusting students is a teacher’s virtue, but testing them is a teacher’s duty.”

“That’s a truth I can’t deny.”

Rimon gave a short laugh.

Resting his chin on one hand, he muttered as if considering something.

“Hmm. If quitting and running away amount to the same thing, I suppose I have no choice. A mere imitation might be all right.”

Seemingly having sorted out his thoughts, Rimon removed his hand from his chin, scratched the back of his head, and spoke to Julia.

“Julia, could I borrow that violin for a moment?”

“... What did you say?”

“You asked me to prove what I learned. I intend to show you directly.”

“Lee, what happened to your own violin? Surely you have one.”

“Mine is a little difficult to use. To demonstrate exactly what I learned, I think using that one would be best.”

If she truly did not want to lend it to him, he would have another violin brought over, so she only needed to wait a moment.

Julia’s lips trembled as she listened to Rimon treat her Stradivarius as though it were a replaceable instrument that was merely a little more convenient to use.

Having gone beyond anger and into sheer defiance, she gritted her teeth and held out the violin.

“Fine. Use it. But if you borrow my violin and still haven’t learned anything, be prepared to get slapped.”

“Very well. I’ll remember that.”

Perhaps as a courtesy for Julia having lent him her treasured violin, Rimon deliberately accepted it with both hands.

His unusually polite manner calmed Julia’s anger slightly, but she did not withdraw her cold gaze.

The moment he asked for her violin, her opinion of Lee had fallen to rock bottom.

‘If you think using a good instrument alone will let you play wonderfully, you’re mistaken, Lee.’

Whatever Julia thought, however, Rimon paid no attention to her gaze.

He only gripped the violin he had borrowed from her and began to settle into position.

“Hmm, our builds are different, so making it completely identical will be difficult. Still, this should do...”

As if to prove he was a beginner, Rimon wedged the violin between his chin and shoulder, took it out again, and twisted his shoulders this way and that as though adjusting his own arm length.

Julia frowned.

‘... I knew he was a beginner, but this is too much.’

A master could learn much just from posture alone.

From that perspective, Rimon looked utterly hopeless in Julia’s eyes.

Beginner or not, it was obvious he was doomed to fail. She even wondered whether he knew how to play the violin at all.

He could not read sheet music, but he had not even opened it. That alone made the situation a complete mess.

‘What a waste of time.’

Would he damage the instrument?

Julia watched anxiously as Rimon finally fixed the violin in place.

Then, after settling into position, he spoke quietly.

“Good. I have a rough grasp of it now.”

A chill ran down Julia’s spine.