High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 979: Chapter 41 C minor Symphony No. 5

A witch with her hair scattered was sitting at a piano, playing a piece along with a symphony, the C minor Fifth Symphony, also known as the famous Symphony of Destiny.

The sound of the symphony emanated from behind the small stage’s curtain, and although there were sounds, it was still pitch black behind the curtain, no people or instruments were visible, only the rising and falling, resplendent music could be heard.

A tall male student stood at the forefront of the crowd, holding a thick, heavy book, listening quietly.

As Zheng Qing and a few others approached, the witch pressed the piano keys forcefully, causing the vigorous and powerful melody to echo in the spacious living room. The intense and repetitive sound of battle heavily assaulted the ears of every visitor.

It was the stacked accompaniment of the first movement of the Symphony of Destiny.

Zheng Qing discerned.

Only when the music slightly relaxed did a crisp and clear female voice arise:

”What are your thoughts about the future?”

”Under the listening of Bragi and Muses, in the gaze of Apollo, and with the witness of Merlin, you can confess your thoughts to your brothers and sisters... any thoughts at all,”

Bragi, Muses, Apollo—these were gods of music from myths and legends. Merlin, on the other hand, was the Legendary Great Wizard of the wizard world. These beings were real and not fictitious, therefore their witnessing was very solemn for wizards.

Three later audience members held their breath, listening intently for the male student’s response.

”The future is too distant for me; I don’t have the capacity to think that far,” the male student said with a somewhat constrained smile, before he firmly added, ”In the short term, I hope to enter university and become an official student.”

That was a very clear goal.

But Korma paid no mind to the young man’s determination.

She merely caressed the piano keys, transitioning the Symphony of Destiny to its second movement.

Compared to the first movement, the second movement of Destiny was much more relaxed. Often, Zheng Qing felt, if the first Chapter of destiny was the morning alarm, then the second Chapter was like a classroom at noon, keeping one half-awake and half-asleep.

The circling melody lingered in the ears of the audience, the male student seemed somewhat distracted.

”Which university do you plan to enter?” Korma’s voice was like a whisper.

”First University, of course!” The male student’s eyes were somewhat vacant, but his tone was still firm.

In that moment, the music seemed serene, elegant, and tranquil, almost to the point of silence.

The male student opened his mouth, his tone suddenly becoming high and certain: ”First University definitely won’t accept a child of a Trickster like me!”

Zheng Qing sharply noticed that something odd was about the male student’s condition; he turned his head to look at Xiao Xiao.

”Hypnosis?” he asked silently, his mouth agape.

Xiao Xiao shook her head. This notebook enthusiast quickly wrote a few words on her open notebook and then held it up to Zheng Qing’s nose.

”Soul interrogation.”

Zheng Qing frowned, looking at the words Xiao Xiao left on the notebook, feeling that they were even worse than the term he had just used. He wasn’t sure if what Korma was doing counted as illegal, but since Xiao Xiao had not intervened, and since the others around seemed indifferent as if it were nothing out of ordinary, he wouldn’t behave discourteously just because of his own discomfort.

The music did not stop because of Zheng Qing’s distraction; the male student’s confession and tone also fluctuated with the music, rising and falling. Soon, the piano sound gradually ceased, but behind the small stage’s curtain, a low cello still groaned.

In the hall, only the male student’s rapid and fierce shouting was exceptionally clear:

”...besides First University, what other universities are there in the wizard world! I could only silently squeeze into some obscure Trickster club! Only there could I occasionally encounter some fascinating magic!”

Zheng Qing’s brows were tightly knitted as he earnestly observed this scene.

”...Advanced magical knowledge will be like a heavenly book to me! I will never be able to understand the difference between transformation and Transformation Potion.”

”In such a club, I would learn a few tricks, like the hat trick, card tricks. Then, in despair, I would leave. Maybe I would go to the world of humans, get lost in the luxury of the mundane; or maybe I would wander in the wizard world, earning the pity of some passersby young master or miss with a few petty tricks.”

”I won’t get married. No witch would accept their husband being a Trickster. Just like I can’t accept a human as my partner.”

”I will have one or two lovers among humans or other tricksters, one or two illegitimate children. But their chances of becoming official wizards are even slimmer than mine. I will definitely become irritable, and maybe even smoke and drink heavily.”

”Two, three, maybe ten drunken brawl incidents, and I will be protectively confined to North Beta Town by the Mage Alliance.”

”This won’t help me much. My heart will be weak due to alcohol, my lungs destroyed by smoking, my soul plummeting into the abyss amidst irritability and despair.”

”I will be diagnosed with lung cancer around the age of fifty...even for an official registered wizard, this is a terrifying curse. If luck is even worse, my liver will also be ruined by alcohol.”

”At fifty-five, I will have most of my lungs and liver removed. Then, because of heart disease, I will have a stent inserted.”

”My lovers will all be in another world, and my illegitimate children won’t come to see me after I die.”

”No matter what, I am slowly aging.”

”Every day, I wander on the narrow, jagged streets of the North District, perform a few small tricks in corners for a few copper coins, and after exchanging them for a few sips of strong liquor in the evening, I huddle up in a cheaply rented bunk.”

”Then, in one cold winter, I will silently die in the small attic on the third floor at 48 Riverside Street.”

”The owner of the attic will find my stiff body next time he comes to collect the rent. He will curse and call two vagrants to throw me out of the window into the Silent River.”

Zheng Qing watched the tearful boy in shock and silence, his voice starting high, turning deep, and finally becoming hoarse and choked.

The second movement also gradually approached its end.

Korma didn’t continue to play. She stood up, gently hugged the crying big boy, and sighed softly, ”It seems you have a very clear understanding of your future.”

The onlookers didn’t applaud.

Everyone had a sorrowful and empathetic expression—except for Zheng Qing and his two companions—everyone raised their hands, making a strange Hand Jue. Xiao Xiao pulled his companions back a few steps, retreating into the shadows of the walls, leaving the other world to the people of Jini Cottage.

”Welcome, my brother.”

The low voices of the onlookers lingered incessantly in the vacant hall.

The weeping boy gradually stopped his tears, showing a slightly embarrassed expression.

Korma smiled slightly, kissed his forehead, ”You’ve done well... Only by knowing your own future can you grasp destiny by the throat. In this respect, you see clearer than many wizards.”

”Take him in,” she said to the girl leading Zheng Qing and his two companions upstairs.

The girl nodded quietly, stepped forward, and led the now sober but still somewhat dazed boy out of the room, then turned a corner in the entry hall and walked down the narrow passageway on the right side of the hall, quickly disappearing from Zheng Qing’s sight.

Turning around, Korma had already crossed the crowd and approached the three guests.

”Are you the assistants for this Magic Ritual?” Her tone changed from the seriousness before, sounding more lively: ”Wow, there’s a familiar face~”