Progress Proportional to Practice

When it came to performing and instruments, I was a complete amateur, so there was nothing I could do to help.

It was frustrating that all I could do was watch, but I believed Azu and the others would pull it off.

Whether the event succeeded or not hinged on their hard work and Anatia-sama's efforts.

After practicing until evening, they ran through the piece together one final time.

No matter how rough it sounded, playing as an ensemble was apparently the fastest path to improvement… or so they said.

Compared to the very beginning, things had improved a little, but there were still plenty of mistakes and they clearly weren't in sync.

Unfortunately, they couldn't make it through the simple piece they'd been given.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work today, cleaning included. I think you made wonderful progress for a first day. You won't improve overnight, but as you keep at it, you'll come to understand your instruments better. We don't have much time, but let's do our best!"

Azu and the others gave scattered replies.

It seemed like it hadn't quite sunk in yet.

Anatia-sama, who had been practicing her own parts while teaching everyone, still had energy to spare.

She'd undoubtedly been the busiest of them all, running around constantly… She must be really looking forward to this.

They packed the instruments into their cases.

"You're all welcome to stay at the royal castle, you know. There are guest rooms available. Of course, Yohane-san, you're welcome to stay as well."

"Thank you for the kind offer. But it seems like they wouldn't be able to relax, so we'll have to decline."

"That's a shame, but if that's how they feel, I understand."

Staying at the castle would be the most convenient option for practice, but many of them were against it.

Maids would be coming in and out of the rooms for cleaning and upkeep, and above all, it just wouldn't feel comfortable.

Besides, at home they could use soundproofing magic and practice at night too.

So they decided to commute for practice instead.

It was nice getting to see Anatia-sama, but staying at the castle might mean Queen Tianis or Princess Yupe foisting some task on me.

As for the instruments, they were on loan, but carrying a piano home obviously wasn't an option. I wondered what to do, but Alexia said she didn't need to practice at home, so they transported everything else to the house.

Now then, from here on, Azu and the others would focus entirely on practice.

I turned down all personal requests and jobs.

Until the day of the event, I planned to play a support role and set up the best environment I could.

For meals, I arranged for boxed lunches from Kazusa's shop.

When I told Kazusa about the event, she said she and her brother would definitely come listen and that she was looking forward to it.

"Kazusa-chan said that…! I'll do my best. I want to look cool in front of her."

Kazusa's words seemed to have fired Azu up even more.

She wanted to impress her friend.

After eating, everyone threw themselves back into practice.

Alexia was working on correcting off notes and keeping rhythm.

At night, they used magic to avoid bothering the neighbors.

"I used wind magic to keep the sound from leaking outside. Now you can make sound even in the middle of the night. Just keep in mind it's still audible inside the house, so you should actually get some sleep."

"Magic really is convenient. The things I spent years training to do, you can just do instantly."

"Hmm, it's not as convenient as you think, Finn. The sound doesn't leak out, sure, but magical power can still be detected. It won't work against places with countermeasures in place."

"It's still convenient. It's just that if you don't have the aptitude for magic, you can't really use it, so there's nothing to be done about that."

Defeating monsters strengthened one's magical power and abilities.

However, some people simply couldn't use magic at all, and Finn was one of them.

Apparently, the only thing she could do with it was enhance her physical abilities.

"Ow!"

"Oh, are you okay, Azu-chan? Want me to heal you?"

Azu had cried out while playing the harp.

It seemed the constant contact with the strings had hurt her fingers.

Blood was faintly seeping through.

"Elza-san, please. Instruments are really this tough, huh… I had no idea."

"You don't realize these things until you actually try."

After Elza healed her, Azu resumed practicing.

Even after baths, the sound of playing drifted from their rooms, and it wasn't until close to midnight that things finally went quiet.

Those days continued.

At first, the differences were hard to notice, but around the third day, the changes became unmistakable.

They were starting to produce proper sounds.

There were still mistakes, but they were correcting them with each repetition.

Orleans was getting the timing down too, and by the end of the third day, they managed to play through the practice piece from start to finish.

"Amazing… You're all improving so much faster than when I first started learning. At this rate, even difficult pieces will be ready in time!"

"We've been at it until bedtime every night. If we had nothing to show for it, that'd be pathetic."

"You're all working so hard, it's going to be a wonderful concert for sure. I want as many people as possible to hear it…"

The most improved, surprisingly, was Elza.

More than improvement, it was more accurate to say she was regaining her feel for it. Her growth was that fast.

She was making almost no mistakes, and she looked completely at ease while performing.

"This brings back memories. There was a time when I had nothing else to do and just played like this all day. Back then… oops, old stories are boring, aren't they?"

"You could probably earn travel money just by performing…"

With Elza's looks, she'd be a hit for sure.

Finn was getting comfortable too, and Azu was steadily improving.

The short timeframe was offset by the sheer volume of practice hours.

Even professionals probably practiced less than Azu and the others. After all, they were dedicating nearly every waking moment to it.

Elza healed any injuries, and they all had plenty of stamina.

Above all, their spirits were high.