000 Morning classes were over, and I'd just finished lunch.
001 Yet neither Ms. Cordell nor Torta ever touched upon yesterday's events.
002 It was looking to be another uneventful day.
003 Torta had things to take care of and left early, so now I was alone in the cafeteria, pondering my next course of action.
004 There was still some time before the end of lunch break, and I was mentally debating whether or not to go to Grave's lecture today.
005 If Lise hadn't shown me such relief when I told her I wasn't attending Grave's lectures, I would probably have attended at all costs just to find out how Grave really was.
006 And this was just my guess, but Lise probably just didn't want me to find out that her father wasn't exactly the most amiable of people.
007 And she was probably being ignored and treated harshly by everyone because of this fact.
008 [Chris]
009 "... Well then, what shall I do?"
010 I remembered having faced similar dilemmas here in the cafeteria before.
011 And I've spent days wandering around the institute in search of a partner as well.
012 Thanks to that, I'd been able to meet Lise, and was trying to convince her to become my partner.
013 I had a sudden change of heart - the truth was, there was nothing for me to worry about at all.
014 I already knew most of what there was to know about Lise.
015 That fact didn't change, no matter what kind of person Grave was.
016 So, it would make sense for me to try and learn more about him.
017 I stood up and checked the time.
018 It was five minutes before the start of the lecture.
019 If I hurried, I could get there and still have time to spare.
020 When I entered the room, slightly out of breath, the honor student from before was already seated, silently waiting for the lecture to start.
021 Grave was sitting in a chair on the platform, looking over some score sheet.
022 There were still three minutes left. I sat down in one of the seats in the front of the classroom and attempted to recover my breath.
023 [Grave]
024 "Well then. Today, we will have a practical session."
025 He skipped any form of introduction.
026 Seemed like his way of doing things, all right.
027 [Grave]
028 "You two, prepare your Fortells at an appropriate distance from each other,"
029 he ordered, then went to stand in front of the platform.
030 It was a bit difficult to put an 'appropriate distance' between us, but I did as I was told and went to set up my Fortell a bit farther away.
031 Dividing the lecture room into three and placing our chairs at each of the border lines, we were now sitting about four meters apart.
032 I was now sitting even past the first row, in a position quite close to Grave.
033 [Grave]
034 "Good. I will now have you play some pieces. Keep in mind that I will not allow any one piece to be repeated."
035 Leaving no interval for us to respond, Grave continued.
036 [Grave]
037 "The Fortell fundamentally differs from other keyboard instruments. Without infusion of magical power, it would not produce a straight note."
038 [Grave]
039 "One plays it not with one's body, but with one's heart. Remember this. There is no problem fine-tuning technique by repetition, but this is not important right now."
040 [Grave]
041 "Therefore, I will have you play a new piece every time. If you have questions, I will answer them. If you run out of pieces, this lecture will be over for you."
042 [Grave]
043 "I am well aware you have only few pieces you can play. Dig deep into your memory to prolong your valuable time in this room."
044 [Grave]
045 "Mind you, I am not expecting much out of you. Play children's songs if need be. The ability to continue to play is key."
046 [Grave]
047 "With heart and soul put into it, of course."
048 [Grave]
049 "This is by no means a metaphor. Parse the intentions of the composer embedded into every part, and express them properly. That is all. Begin,"
050 Grave declared in a single stream of words, then positioned a seat in front of the platform and sat down.
051 [Grave]
052 "Well? We have already begun. ... Another condition. Should you stop for over ten seconds, or should I find your performance lacking, you are finished."
053 The honor student and I exchanged questioning glances.
054 We were asked to sit at an appropriate distance from each other, but it was pretty clear that at this range our notes would interfere, making it hard for us to concentrate.
055 Feeling courageous, I decided to complain.
056 [Chris]
057 "At this range, our notes will only interrupt each other, so is it okay if I relocate first?"
058 [Grave]
059 "Continue as you are. Concentrate and it will stop bothering you,"
060 Grave answered unenthusiastically, clearly not caring about my insights.
061 He then retrieved the score sheet that he'd left on the teacher stand and cast his gaze down onto it.
062 ... Since I wasn't going to get anywhere with this, I decided to go along with it and just play.
063 What he said was perhaps correct.
064 I could vouch for the fact that he was an excellent musician; not only in the Fortell field, but in the musical field in general.
065 Still, there were other, more decent ways to bring across one's teaching.
066 ---Feeling rebellious, I started out with an incredibly simple etude.
067 Grave turned to me, gave me a scornful look, then went back to reading his sheets.
068 The honor student next to me began playing a famous Fortell piece right off the bat.
069 His utterly contrastive choice of pieces made me shortly contemplate whether or not to change my own.
070 But I couldn't just cut off the piece half-way through, so I had no choice but to finish it.
071 [Grave]
072 "Stop."
073 His voice was by no means loud, yet still came across as highly commanding.
074 We both halted our performance and looked at him.
075 [Grave]
076 "Chris Vertin. You need not stop. Continue."
077 Apparently, I wasn't the one being asked to stop.
078 I obeyed his instructions and replayed the etude from the start.
079 I still tried to listen to what he had to say to the guy.
080 [Grave]
081 "I admire your spirit to attempt such a piece off the bat. However, are you trying to make a fool out of the composer? I told you to put your heart into it."
082 [Grave]
083 "I am not interested in technique,"
084 he declared, despite having only heard a few bars.
085 He then glanced back in my direction.
086 Caught in the act of staring, I quickly shifted my gaze back in front of me.
087 Although I still had my misgivings, I was slowly starting to enjoy this lecture.
088 I had to continue playing pieces. No matter what.
089 That was the feeling I was getting for some reason.
090 ---However, was there really any meaning embedded into a simple etude?
091 If so, where would this 'intent of the composer' be located?
092 All things considered, I couldn't imagine there really was such a thing.
093 This composition, which taught basic keyboard presses and touching strengths, could accurately be called a practice piece.
094 So... should it be sufficient to break down those basics and perform them as well as possible?
095 With those thoughts in mind, I considered the meaning interwoven into the notes, and tried to reproduce the piece as it was intended.
096 Rather than the general flow, I focused on the accuracy of the individual chords, the strength of my presses, and the importance of the rests.
097 After finishing the piece, I formed the next one in my mind, as I wasn't given the time to catch my breath.
098 Shifting my gaze to the side, I noticed Grave had returned to his seat, seemingly not paying any attention at all to me.
099 Without thinking too much, I fetched the next piece from my memory and began playing it.
100 I picked another etude.
101 Next to me, the honor student started a similar practice piece.
102 Grave was as unenthusiastic as usual.
103 I pictured the notes on the sheet in my mind as best as I could and continued.
104 It was about one hour after that.
105 I had finally run out of simple tunes, and had to enter the realm of pieces designed to be accompanied with vocals.
106 Ten seconds being a very short time, I had to start playing the very first piece that came to mind.
107 It was the piece I always performed together with Phorni.
108 Before I realized, my fingers were already darting over the keyboard. Maybe I was getting used to this.
109 I wrote this piece after I received one of Ari's letters.
110 The meaning of the piece? - Attempting to bridge a wide gap between lovers through letters.
111 Of course, there were no vocals now.
112 So I put my emotions into the tones of the Fortell.
113 I did that almost unconsciously by now.
114 [Chris]
115 "... Ah..."
116 Despite having repeated this piece over and over again for years, my finger slipped and hit the wrong key.
117 My fingers were nearing exhaustion. Now that I'd become aware of that, they started to feel like lead, and my movements were getting clumsy.
118 This was bad. The very instant I thought this, Grave called out to me.
119 [Grave]
120 "Stop your performance, Chris Vertin."
121 [Chris]
122 "... Yes, sir."
123 Grave walked up in front of me, then continued while looking down on me.
124 [Grave]
125 "That mistake is of no importance."
126 [Chris]
127 "... Huh?"
128 [Grave]
129 "Such practice can be done at any time. What is important now is to play with emotion. Do you still not understand?"
130 He closed his eyes, seemingly trying to recall my latest piece, then opened them again.
131 [Grave]
132 "A farewell song, or some song devoted to one's lover?"
133 [Chris]
134 "Y... Yes."
135 [Grave]
136 "Judging from your mistake, you got distracted. It was a good performance up to that point."
137 I took a while for me to realize that he had just given me a compliment.
138 And soon, that understanding turned into awe.
139 For all that he didn't appear to be listening, he had grasped every bit of intent behind the composition.
140 [Grave]
141 "You composed this piece yourself, did you not. Forget about those. Play pieces by others from now on."
142 Leaving just that, he returned to his seat.
143 Although I still didn't quite respect him, I had to acknowledge his capabilities.
144 Focusing, I played a piece I had learned here at the institute.
145 Time flowed along steadily after then.
146 In the process, my performance was interrupted time and again, with Grave giving me instructions every time.
147 If it was a famous piece, he would give me more details about the composer's background, sometimes adding extra bits of current affairs.
148 By now, I had all but lost the will to oppose him, and obeyed his instructions in earnest.
149 Sometimes, it took over twenty minutes to complete a single piece.
150 In the end, having finally run out of pieces to play, I almost unconsciously began playing Lise's piece.
151 For one reason or another, I'd had the feeling it was best not play this piece in front of Grave.
152 But now that I had started, I had no choice but to continue until the end.
153 [Chris]
154 "..."
155 Maybe this piece really was a no-no, or perhaps I just didn't play it with enough emotion, as Grave stopped my performance with one sharp sentence.
156 [Grave]
157 "Where did you learn this piece?"
158 Clearly, it had been the former reason.
159 I probably couldn't lie my way out of this, so as much as I didn't want to, I decided to answer honestly.
160 [Chris]
161 "... I heard it from a friend."
162 [Grave]
163 "... I see. So it was you, Chris Vertin."
164 [Chris]
165 "... What do you mean?"
166 Grave continued in a composed fashion.
167 [Grave]
168 "Mind your own business, or you will no longer be allowed to live in this world. Do you understand the meaning behind my words?"
169 [Chris]
170 "..."
171 [Grave]
172 "This lecture is over. Pack up quickly and leave."
173 With that, he silently returned to his seat.
174 He never so much as looked at me again. He ignored my very existence.
175 'My orders are absolute,' was the air he was giving off.
176 ... I had no choice but to pack up my Fortell and leave the room.
177 Before leaving, I took a last glance at the honor student, but was surprised when I found he was no longer present.
178 And when I finally got out, I realized just how much time I had spent in there.
179 It was already dark out. This lecture took even longer than the one last week.
180 Both my body and mind were exhausted.
181 Besides the fact I had been found out by Lise's father, I had been playing Fortell continuously as well, which no doubt significantly contributed to it.
182 'Put your emotions into it.'
183 That was all there was to it, but in my current state of mental exhaustion, I couldn't bring my mind to think about even Lise anymore.
184 When I got home, I didn't even take the time to dry myself, but flopped onto my bed right away.
185 I shouted out to Phorni to wake me in the morning, but fell asleep before even hearing her reply.
186 bl09