“It's so hard to walk…” As she walked towards the stage, Misaka Mikoto stumbled on the hem of her skirt.
This was the price for beauty; wearing this gorgeous long dress restricted even the range of her steps.
“That’s why I don’t like these flashy clothes,” Misaka Mikoto grumbled softly, then pulled herself together again, “Concentrate, concentrate! If something goes wrong now, it’ll really be over…”
But honestly, Misaka Mikoto would rather go fight robots, Magicians, or violent organizations and delinquent gangs for three hundred rounds right now—that would be much more comfortable.
Lost in her thoughts, when she came back to her senses, Misaka Mikoto realized with a start that she was already standing on the stage!
—Ah, damn it, I haven't adjusted my mindset yet!
Muttering to herself, Misaka Mikoto looked at the audience below the stage.
Because the performance stage was set up on the lawn outside the dormitory building, the area was limited. Even though the seats were full, there were only a little over two hundred people at most.
Misaka Mikoto had excellent eyesight and could see the face of every audience member from the stage.
There were visitors and her classmates below the stage. Misaka Mikoto also saw her friends—Saten Ruiko and Haruue Erii.
But Misaka Mikoto knew these were not the people she was looking for.
At this moment, there was only one person she wanted to see.
“Ah, found him!” Seeing the familiar figure and his distinctive appearance, Misaka Mikoto murmured to herself.
Then she suddenly felt relaxed.
—Unnamed Senior is still the same, not changed at all.
Although she didn't know why Lin Wuming had given up his disguise and appeared here in his original form, there was no doubt that seeing the familiar figure made Misaka Mikoto feel at ease.
“Unnamed Senior is here, he came to watch my performance.” Misaka Mikoto was a little distracted, but her body, under the effect of muscle memory, perfectly executed the movements she had repeated many times during rehearsal.
She bowed, saluted the audience; raised her violin, waiting for the right moment to draw the first note…
Then, everything else followed naturally.
Misaka Mikoto was not a musician or a performer. She only learned the violin in School music class, and it was at a normal level in Tokiwadai Middle School. In terms of playing technique alone, there were many classmates who were better than her.
In Misaka Mikoto's opinion, it was probably just because she was a level 5 Esper, the ace of the School, with a considerable degree of popularity, which was why the honor of
performing the first piece
, fell to her.
—Stable performance, no longer nervous, no mistakes, this is good.
The moment the sound of the violin rang in her ears, Misaka Mikoto completely relaxed, letting her hands move on their own.
As for the piece being played… as long as it sounded okay, that was enough.
—What, isn't this very simple?
Misaka Mikoto thought to herself. Now it seemed that the previous tension and anxiety had never existed.
—You think so, Unnamed Senior?
At this moment, Misaka Mikoto forgot everything around her. She ignored everyone else, with only Lin Wuming in her eyes.
Because of this, in Misaka Mikoto's view, she was not performing in a public place right now, but just showing off her talent in front of Unnamed Senior.
—This kind of thing is very normal.
Below the stage, Lin Wuming quietly enjoyed Misaka Mikoto's performance.
Compared to the young ladies of Tokiwadai Middle School, Lin Wuming was completely ignorant of music. Besides the popular songs of the time, he could only simply say whether it was “good to listen to” or “not good to listen to”.
Undoubtedly, the music being played on the stage at this moment belonged to the category of “very good to listen to”.
Even excluding the influence of his natural fondness for Misaka Mikoto, evaluating it with the most objective and fair standards would yield the same result.
—Of course, what Misaka played at the beginning was the world-famous piece “Liebesleid”. Without discussing artistic merit, as long as it can be replicated one-to-one, it's impossible for it to not sound good!
Shokuhou Misaki acted as a live commentator from the side—that was a very difficult piece. It seemed Misaka had also worked very hard. Of course, Superpower cheating was definitely involved.
After all, it was a School where Espers above level 3 gathered. The reason Tokiwadai Middle School could implement such high-difficulty courses was largely because students who flexibly used various Superpowers learned new knowledge and skills much faster than ordinary people.
For example, Misaka Mikoto was able to forcibly memorize a difficult violin piece in a short time by manipulating the body's microcurrents to strengthen muscle memory.
—What do you mean by ‘at the beginning’…?
Lin Wuming asked.
—Because from just now, the melody that guy is playing has gone off. I don't know if it's improvisation, or a quick reaction after a mistake… Well, it looks like she's completely distracted, probably hasn't even noticed?
Distracted?
Lin Wuming didn't think so—Misaka Mikoto was looking at him, pouring all her will and strength into him, conveying it through her gaze.
From that gaze, he could feel a real substance, completely unlike being distracted.
In the sky, the clouds dispersed, and the afternoon sun shone down.
Misaka Mikoto stepped forward, walking into the light.
The brilliant sunlight poured down, falling on the girl's pure white dress, outlining a slender and upright figure.
The girl's violin music became lighter and she moved more. Her skirt fluttered lightly, and every step brought out a lively rhythm, revealing an outward vitality as it swayed.
“Ah…” Shokuhou Misaki beside him suddenly let out a soft sigh.
From just now, Shokuhou Misaki had not continued to be a “commentator”.
Because based on Lin Wuming's real-time feedback, she suddenly realized that what Misaka Mikoto was doing today was not a performance at all, but a “confession”!
Using the form of musical performance to convey all her will and emotions…
—I don't know whether to describe it as subtle and circuitous, or bold and unrestrained, but it certainly has Misaka Mikoto's style.
Other than remaining silent, Shokuhou Misaki didn't know what else she could do.
—I can only hope that Unnamed Senior's slowness continues to work.
And now, seeing Misaka Mikoto start moving on the stage, Shokuhou Misaki immediately realized what she wanted to do.
—She wants to walk off the stage and go straight to Unnamed Senior!
It's turned into a super direct attack!
