"Still… This second reward is quite interesting."
A spark of curiosity flashed in Han Feng's eyes.
He hadn't expected the reward to be a deck of playing cards.
As expected—
Modern, everyday-life manga really did have limitless possibilities.
Otherwise, if rewards strictly followed the plot, what were they supposed to give?
Kaori Miyazono's illness?
That wouldn't be a reward anymore— that would straight-up be a curse…
Buzz—
Buzz—
Two dazzling beams of light descended from the sky, engulfing Paimon and Lumine.
"Ah! Rewards—rewards are here!"
Seeing the familiar glow, Paimon immediately stopped fighting with Lumine.
Cake was delicious, sure— but rewards were even sweeter!
Moments later, the light faded.
A violin appeared in Paimon's hands.
Meanwhile, Lumine was holding a deck of playing cards.
"Huh? Isn't this… that… that violin thingy?"
Paimon examined her reward and instantly recognized it.
She had seen it countless times in the manga— Kaori Miyazono often used this very instrument.
"Mm, it's a violin— and specifically Kaori Miyazono's personal one."
Han Feng smiled.
"Awesome!"
Paimon's face lit up with excitement.
She really, really liked Kaori Miyazono.
And now she actually had her violin?!
"This is incredible!"
"Paimon, how about you give it to me instead?
With your height, you can't even use it."
Lumine chuckled teasingly.
Sure, it was called a violin— but that was relative to normal people.
For Paimon?
This thing was basically a cello.
Even the bow was almost as tall as she was.
"Hmph! No way!"
Paimon hugged the violin tightly, glaring at Lumine.
You bad woman!
Stealing my cake wasn't enough— now you want my violin too?!
"But you can't even play it yourself.
Letting it sit there unused would just be a waste."
Lumine spread her hands, stating a cruel but undeniable fact.
"W-who says I can't?!
I'll show you right now!"
Paimon immediately bristled.
She had thought the same earlier—
But suddenly, she remembered her trump card.
Transformation magic, hello?!
As long as she turned into an adult, couldn't she play the violin just fine?
"But who should I transform into…"
Paimon scratched her head.
Then she looked at the violin in her hands, and her eyes lit up.
"Right! Since I've got the violin, of course I should turn into Kaori Miyazono!"
With that thought, Paimon focused her mind.
She closed her eyes and imagined Kaori Miyazono's appearance.
Poof!
A cloud of smoke burst forth.
Paimon vanished.
In her place stood a girl with golden-blonde hair and pale blue eyes—
Exactly identical to Kaori Miyazono from Your Lie in April.
"She… she transformed?!"
The purple cat was utterly shocked.
She never imagined that the little floating thing had such an ability!
"Oh right… I completely forgot you could do that."
Lumine slapped her forehead and shook her head.
Just like how Paimon often forgot that Lumine could control wind,Lumine also forgot about Paimon's abilities.
Because neither of them used them much.
"But still— this does solve the violin issue."
"Not bad. The appearance and expression are perfect."
Han Feng said with a smile while casually petting the cat.
"But the most important thing is— your violin skills."
Kaori Miyazono's place among the countless beauties of anime was built on one thing—
Her outstanding violin technique.
"Hehe, violin's easy!
Watch this!"
Paimon imitated Kaori Miyazono's posture from the manga—
Left hand holding the violin against her neck, right hand gripping the bow.
Eyes closed.
She looked like she was preparing for a serious performance.
At the very least—
That pose, that posture—
She really did have Kaori Miyazono's aura.
If you didn't know better, you might actually think she was a refined, artistic woman—
And not that goofy little Paimon.
No one spoke.
Everyone silently waited for Paimon's performance to begin.
But at that moment, Paimon was already lost in her imagination.
Her fingers danced lightly.
The violin's sound shocked the world.
The crowd erupted into applause.
Praise poured in endlessly.
Especially Boss Han—
His face was full of admiration.
He declared:
"Such a melody exists only in heaven.
Rarely is it heard among mortals!"
As these scenes played in her mind, Paimon couldn't help but giggle smugly.
"What… is she doing?"
Looking at a goddess-like Kaori Miyazono standing there with eyes closed, grinning foolishly—
Everyone's expressions turned strange.
Noelle lowered her head.
Otherwise, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold in her laughter.
"Ahem!"
Lumine finally couldn't take it anymore and coughed loudly to snap her out of it.
This was way too embarrassing.
That cough instantly brought Paimon back to reality.
"Ahem—sorry, I took a bit long to prepare."
She blushed slightly, then finally began to play.
Screeeech—
Graaaak—
A sound like sawing a table leg burst from the violin.
It was sharp.
Piercing.
Unbearable.
Just hearing it made people shudder uncontrollably.
...
"T-this… this violin sound…"
Lumine was completely stunned.
She didn't play instruments, but she'd heard that bard play before.
His music was genuinely pleasant.
No wonder he made a living performing.
But this?
What was this?!
She felt like she could randomly pluck strings and still sound better than that!
Noelle and the purple cat weren't doing any better.
Their faces darkened instantly.
One covered her ears.
The other flattened her ears against her head.
If they kept listening, they were convinced they'd actually go insane.
"When people play the violin, they charge money— you're straight-up taking lives!"
Even Han Feng's mouth twitched.
Even a total beginner shouldn't be able to produce sounds like this.
In a way, Paimon was truly talented— just in the wrong direction.
What made it worse was that she seemed completely unaware of it and was fully immersed in her performance.
That image reminded Han Feng of a pair of legendary disasters.
One was Conan from Detective Conan—
Perfect pitch, yet catastrophically tone-deaf.
His singing was completely off-key, and just like Paimon, he couldn't tell at all.
The other?
Naturally—
Gian from Doraemon.
A voice so terrifying it surpassed both of them.
If those three ever held a concert together—
Good lord.
Just imagining it was horrifying.
Truly—
"Such a melody exists only in hell.
Rarely is it heard among the living."
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