(Saturday, March 8, 2014, morning; apartment 4th floor, Akiyama Soraya)

Sora Akiyama accompanied Tomoyin Nanamiya to find an imported bookstore located in the human world, bought a book with a red cover from it, and successfully unsealed the time system talent tree of [Magic Demon King Girl].

"Zhiyin has pre-stored skill points, right? ”

After allocating points to time-based magic, [Magic Demon King Girl] gained two skills: "Time Capture" and "Frog Python Request". The former slows enemies and steals their health at the same time, while the latter is an extremely powerful high-damage slash spell that requires certain conditions to be unleashed.

"In this way, even if the other party is a lv9 demon king, I can fight with it!" the girl declared with high spirits.

"Then the next step is to find the real night...... Akiyama estimated the approximate direction to open the void portal, "It's a pity that there are no definite coordinates, and I don't know how to find him." ”

"Ah-la-ah, when he fights the [Daredevil Queen], we'll definitely find out what's going on. Nanamiya Tomoin waved his hand indifferently, "Anyway, the Divine Sense of the Sky is the strongest among all the characters, and the coverage is definitely enough." ”

Sora Akiyama looked at the girl's mischievous smile and couldn't help but reach out and rub her long hair. The course of the fighting in the middle was too violent, not scientific and elegant, and did not meet the requirements of the Basic Law. By the time it was time for lunch, the two of them had already gone through the plots of various main lines and branches.

"In all fairness, the game is basically free of flaws, and the story and balance are well arranged. After the evaluation, he told Kotori Yurooka and Sanae Convex Mori, "What is a little more difficult is the combination magic of [Magic Demon King Girl], and it is estimated that it will take a long time for novices to become proficient in using its complicated skills. ”

……

(March 9, 2014, Sun, morning; 4th floor, Akiyama Soraya)

After breakfast, Akiyama brewed a cup of "Dew of Life" and began to check the literature that had been pushed recently. His soul clone is now located in Europe in the virtual world, so the reading of the paper has to be done by the ontology.

"Damn!

Akiyama took a shallow sip, and as soon as he finished reading the summary of the article, he almost squirted out. This is a paper published by Rinko Kamiyo in the Journal of Mathematics and Music, and the topic is the quantitative analysis of music using mathematical methods.

In music performance, players don't simply convert the notes in the score into audio signals, there are actually many things that are not marked in the score. Take "vibrato" as an example, which is one of the commonly used techniques in music performance, which refers to the periodic change of pitch in a certain frequency range, which often reflects the musical styles of different musical cultures, musical periods, and even different performers.

Traditionally, qualitative analysis of the characteristics of these music has been mainly based on music criticism, but with the development of computer technology and mathematical modeling technology, the relevant research on computational music and large-scale automatic analysis of music has gradually developed. In this paper, Rinko Kamiyo et al. proposed a new framework for vibrato signal detection and estimation using the "filter diagonalization method".

The "filter diagonalization method" was originally commonly used for harmonic analysis in quantum physics. Compared to previous methods based on fast Fourier transforms, this method maintains a strong output over short time frames, allowing the frame size to be fixed small enough to accurately identify the features and boundaries of the vibrato, resulting in better resolution in both the temporal and frequency domains.

Sora Akiyama knew almost nothing about the music world before. Fortunately, the examples used by Rinko Kamiyo are the Hawaiian guitar and the violin, and the former happens to be one of the few instruments he is familiar with, and its tone is gorgeous and suitable for expressing a variety of melodies. At least he can understand the analysis of the Hawaiian guitar playing style.

"Well, it seems that Rinko Kamiyo herself has been practicing the violin, no wonder she thinks of this as a physics department. He involuntarily touched his chin, "What if you do research on cognitive neuroscience? ”

It's a pity that although Sora Akiyama has a brain, he doesn't know anything about music styles, and he doesn't know any people in the music industry other than the elderly. He hasn't been very busy lately, and he has plenty of time to find musicians to collaborate on this research.

"It looks like they are going to Germany, right? He thought for a moment, "I wonder if there will be something to be gained by going there, but before that, I have to make up for it." ”

……

(Wednesday, March 12, 2014; Berlin, Germany)

Rather than asking a musician directly, Sora Akiyama chose to observe the music performance as a soul clone and simulate it through the virtual world. He didn't want to just abandon his current research topic and move to another field. If you simulate it in advance, you only need to conduct experimental verification in reality, which can save limited time.

"Tomigashi-kun, Birdie Yu-chan. ”

He teleported to Yuta Tomigashi, greeted him in a spiritual connection, and briefly explained his purpose. As for the camphor leaf next to him, because he didn't have the permission of the spiritual network, he couldn't help it.

"So, does Akiyama-kun want to go with us to the Berlin Philharmoniker?"

After listening to his words, Yuta Tomigashi thought for a moment and replied, "Rokuka and I didn't pay much attention to this aspect before, and we only came to the concert hall because it is very famous. But if you're looking for a musician, I can help...... Well, I think they'll be here too, so I'll give you a call after the concert. ”

"Huh, the other party?" Akiyama was slightly surprised, "What do you mean?"

"The lady I met during the trip named Hiroko Seto, who is said to be Japan's premier pianist, stayed at the same hotel as us these days. ”

Sora Akiyama had to admit that he had never heard the name, after all, he was a layman in music. Considering that the concert was about to begin, the few of them stopped and began to enter the concert hall.

The Berliner Philharmoniker is a very special building, with its winding walls and golden roof. Inside, he can see many columns, staircases, and doorways, with extremely complex spatial shapes and very tortuous routes of travel. The auditorium here is also unconventional – several "terraces" of varying heights are arranged around the center, separated by low walls, and the seats face the performance area in the middle of the hall.

How to say it, Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, which lasted nearly 50 minutes in the first half, was not drowsy, but Sora Akiyama didn't hear anything, but simply thought it was very good. He was a little surprised that some parents came with very young children, and these children were all neatly dressed and sitting in their seats.

After listening to the concert, Sora Akiyama finally met Hiroko Seto. The other party is a well-proportioned short-haired woman, with her daughter, who is estimated to be in elementary school, who is over thirty years old but well maintained, and still looks like a girl.

"Seto-san. ”

"Ah, it's Tomigashi-kun and Toriyu-chan, and camphor leaf sauce. It is naturally impossible for Hiroko Seto to see Sora Akiyama in the virtual world, "Koharu, do you remember a few brothers and sisters?"

The little girl with the double ponytail shrank behind her mother a little shyly, and a pair of bright eyes quietly glanced at the three of them. Yuta Tomigashi then tells Hiroko Seto about Sora Akiyama - just as he himself knows nothing about Hiroko Seto's fame in the music industry, and the other party is completely unaware of his field of study, he has to resort to Wikipedia.

"Genius scholar in the field of cognitive science......" Hiroko Seto was taken aback slightly, and then leaned over to comfort her yawning daughter, "Koharu is about to go to bed, let's go back to the hotel first, and come out to talk to you later." ”

The group returned to the hotel, and after Koharu fell asleep, Yuta Tomigashi relayed the preliminary research plan to Hiroko Seto. The latter was very interested in this research and said that he would be happy to cooperate with Sora Akiyama, and things went quite smoothly.

Sora Akiyama deliberately waited until the next morning, that is, in the afternoon of Japan, to talk to Hiroko Seto through the Internet. Considering that the other party was taking advantage of the spring break to take his daughter on a trip, and he would go to Tokyo in April to attend an academic conference, the two sides set the time for meeting and discussing in detail in early April.

……

(Saturday, April 12, 2014, afternoon, Nerima Cultural Center, Nerima District, Tokyo)

It was a sunny afternoon. Bright sunlight shines through the blue sky, and the cherry blossoms in full bloom ripple in the spring breeze, and the pink blossoms are colorful and exude a refreshing fragrance.

Sora Akiyama did not leave directly after attending the academic conference, but was invited by Akihiko Kayaba and Rinko Kamiyo to come to the Fujiwa Concert Hall with them to watch the violin competition. Coincidentally, the two of them, like Hiroko Seto, live in Nerima Ward, so they can be regarded as neighbors.

"Research on the correlation between musical style and evoked neural circuits?" Akihiko Kayaba's face was paralyzed, with an almost imperceptible smile, "Well, sometimes I really envy your autonomy as a professor!"

Akiyama smiled and walked unhurriedly on the park path. Akihiko Kaiba is now a graduate student and has her own graduation project, which you can't change if you want to, while Rinko Kamiyo is still a college student, although she has more freedom, but she doesn't have enough resources, so she often has to find a suitable laboratory for internship. In contrast, as a professor, he can decide his own research topic, and this time it is not a big problem to make a cameo appearance in other fields.

However, Akiyama Sora, an unprecedented young professor, came from the black technology of the spirit race in his previous life, otherwise no matter how genius he was, some things were limited by human thinking organs, and even if he had a flash of inspiration, it would be impossible to develop a perfect knowledge system.

As they walked and talked, there was a faint sound of a melodica in front of them. Turning two stout old trees, the owner of the music finally appeared in front of him. The other person was a girl in a pink dress, standing at the top of a circular cumulus.

Her skirt fluttered in the spring breeze, behind her were falling cherry blossoms, surrounded by pigeons in mid-air, and her blonde hair fluttered, fluttering like a fairy. Under the round mound are three children, each carrying a small bag, and they are thrilled with joy.

The three of them couldn't help but stop and watch until the end of this unknown piece. In all fairness, the girl is neither a famous song nor a superb technique, but at this moment, the other party's posture exudes a pure beauty that belongs to the cardamom years under the backdrop of lingering sounds.

This beauty is beyond words...... I know how to describe it! Akiyama glanced at the two beside him quietly, and scratched his head with a smile. The memories of the Spirit Clan, though precious, often allowed him to be in this situation.

"Ah, it's not too early!" Rinko Kamiyo looked at the time and suddenly exclaimed, "The game starts at three o'clock, let's hurry up and get in, don't be late." ”

Located in the Nerima Cultural Center, Fujiwa Concert Hall is a modest three-story building. The interior of the concert hall is smaller than Akiyama had imagined, with about 20 rows of seats on the ground floor and 10 rows on the upper floor, and less than 50 people sitting scattered in the field of vision, far inferior to the Berlin Philharmonic Hall in Germany.

"Haha, after all, classical music is a very niche circle, and there are only so many people who will come to watch the performance. Kayaba said with a smile, "If it weren't for Rinko, even if I lived around here, I guess I wouldn't have thought of coming here at all." ”

The official music competition began thirty minutes later, and before that, Akiyama had nothing to do, and he was too embarrassed to take out his mobile phone, so he wandered through the spiritual network and did not come back to his senses until 3:30.

"Next, the first qualifiers for the Fujiwa Music Competition, Violin Division, and Junior High School Division are about to begin!"

Soft female voices came from all directions, followed by tuxedo-clad staff members who took the stage and placed cardboard with the number 1 written on it on a shelf at the front of the stage. The first contestant to take the stage was a boy with a mid-haired style, and he was accompanied by a girl with long hair and a shawl, neither of whom Sora Akiyama knew.

Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 9, Kleice. Rinko Kamiyo said in a spiritual connection.

It didn't take long for the song to finish, and the second contestant took the stage, then the third. As Akiyama listened, he parsed the music using improvised modules in the mental network, and he could clearly see that the contestants were trying to get close to a certain standard, and the main body was like listening to a single loop in the venue.

How to say that it is good, it's not that these players don't play well, it's still quite novel for people like him who rarely listen to classical music before, but for people who listen to a lot, it's really a bit of a lullaby!

The one below is the judge who is holding the booklet and writing and scratching, right? Absolutely, right? He dozed off openly?

"This is a new national competition, so it's a bit more serious. Rinko Kamiyo patiently explained, and then confessed her doubts, "But usually formal violin competitions are performed with a cappella music like Bach or Paganini, but this time it is a bit strange that they are all accompanied." ”

"Ah, the next one is Kaoru!"

There was a girl's cry of surprise behind him, and it seemed that the other party was a familiar friend. Sora Akiyama smiled at this, and while he was talking to Akihiko Kayaba, the fourth contestant took the stage. The name of the individual on the entry list is "Kaoru Miyazono", which is the same as the name of the girl behind her. The female has blonde hair and a pretty face that looks familiar.

"Eh, isn't that the girl who played the meloda in the park before?" said Sora Akiyama in surprise.

"Wait, I remember she was there when we left, right?" Kayaba Akihiko was also taken aback, "When did she come in? We're already the last to enter the concert hall." ”

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice sounded in the spiritual connection.

"Of course I was late, but I arrived ten minutes before the start of the game, and I was still in time to put on makeup and change clothes. ”

The three of Akiyama were taken aback, and instinctively turned their heads, only to find four teenagers and girls sitting behind them, all about fourteen or fifteen years old. On the far left is a short-haired girl, then a weak boy with black-rimmed glasses, then a dozing off Hang'er Langdang, and finally a familiar mental fluctuation......

"Mr. [Wise Man]?

"Bingo!That's right!" the teenager in the tracksuit grinned, "Didn't expect that?"

The few people around Mitsuya Seki didn't notice his prank, but looked at the three of Akiyama Sora in amazement—their expressions were like they had seen a ghost.

"I really didn't expect to meet you here...... However, what do you say you are doing as a [wise man] running away to be a middle school student?"

"Hehe, hey, anyway, this thinking node is a middle school student, and my body and identity are all made by me. Mitsuya Seki spread his hands a little trickily, and then patted the boy next to him on the shoulder, waking him up with the boy with glasses, "These are all my classmates, and I met them here by accident." ”

"Eh, do you know each other?" the short-haired girl looked at them quizzically.

"Well, I did know him before. Rinko Kamiyo said and cocked her fingers, "Shhh, the performance is about to begin!"

She then explained to Sora Akiyama in a psychic connection: "The boy with glasses is called Koo Arima, who used to be a famous and talented pianist, but he quit the music industry three years ago and is said to have partially lost his hearing or something. ”

Sora Akiyama turned his gaze to the stage. Kaoru Miyazono stood for a few seconds after bowing as usual, her lips squirming, as if praying for something. Seeing this, he wondered maliciously whether he could hear the other person's prayer - it was obviously impossible to hear it clearly.

As an observer, the deity regulates all things, and you can hear it, but you expect the [outsider] to reply?

Akiyama Sora secretly complained in his heart that Kaoru Miyazono on the stage had already drawn the bow. The opening is a mediocre soft note, impeccable in every way. But after a short pause, when the girl raised the bow in her hand, he noticed that the other party's eyes suddenly brightened, and there seemed to be a bright spring light in them.

The music suddenly became cheerful, and the girl's graceful figure swayed with the pull of the bow, like the undulating sound of the piano. The pianist who accompanied her was obviously not aware of this situation, and from time to time he turned his head anxiously to look at her, and the sound of the piano gradually became chaotic. Still, the ensemble's flaws can't hide the fiery emotions conveyed in the girl's music.

It was nervousness, excitement, and cheerfulness, violently stirring up a thousand waves in this backwater concert hall.

"This ...... Is it still the same specific track?"

It is indeed the designated track "Kreice", but it is no longer Beethoven's original song, but her own "Kreice". ”

Sora Akiyama's soul clone processes audio information in a mental network, and he can safely say that this change is no longer limited to personal style, but even the strength of the rhythm and tone has changed a lot.

"Is this an improvisation?" he asked in Psychic Connection.

"Well, I guess so, but honestly, it's not a good fit to do that in a game. ”

"What's the matter? She's so good! there's no standard answer to music, right?" Akiyama Sora was a little puzzled, "If it's about rigorous reproduction, do these music players have to compare to robots?"

"Well, classical music is like this, some people advocate absolute reproduction of the classics, and they can't say they're wrong. Rinko Kamiyo said with a smile, "But in the end, there is still a place recommended by the audience, if nothing else, it will be this girl." ”

Sora Akiyama couldn't help but shrug his shoulders. As the saying goes, there is no first martial arts, and there is no second martial arts, and you will know whether you can fight or not when you come to the stage, but the things in this music field are not simply a showdown. The Galactic Federation has basically not implemented reforms in the field of humanities, presumably to allow human civilization to maintain its own uniqueness.

Kaoru Miyazono's performance made the audience barely feel the passage of time. When the last note slowly fell, the audience was silent for a moment, and then burst into applause that had never been heard before. Under the spotlight, the girl raised the bow in her hand high, her forehead was covered with sweat from strenuous activity, and her figure outlined by the floor-length skirt was bright and incomprehensible.

Kaoru Miyazono...... Is it?"

Sora Akiyama remembered the name.

Kaoru Miyazono bowed deeply to the audience, and then slowly walked backstage. As soon as the sound of halftime fell, the three of them turned to Mitsuya Segi in unison.

"I was very concerned just now, why do you three always stare at him?" the short-haired girl showed a suspicious expression, "Segi-san, these guys feel weird, how do you know them?"

"Oh, you mean this, they were young academics in the university, and they had an academic relationship with my father. Mitsuya Seki said casually, not knowing if it was made up or true, "As for why you are staring at me...... Maybe it's because what I'm doing is surprising them, right?"

Akiyama thought about it for a long time, and he didn't come up with any problem with the identity of the scholar he interacted with, as for the latter sentence, it was the truth. He learned from the conversation that the short-haired girl was named Tsubaki Sawabe, and the other boy was named Ryota Watari, and the three of them were childhood sweethearts. After a while, Kaoru Miyazono, who had changed back into her regular clothes, also returned to her seat.

"Yo, who are these?" the girl smiled and beckoned to them.

"This is Professor Sora Akiyama, from Kyoto. Mitsuya Seki introduced familiarly, "These two are Akihiko Kayaba and Rinko Kamiyo, who are graduate students and university students at the University of Tokyo, respectively. ”

"First time we met, my name is Kaoru Miyazono, please take care of me!"

The fifteen-minute break passed quickly. Sora Akiyama had to admit that after listening to Kaoru Miyazono's music, her competition-style performances after her were all tasteless. After the game, the most discussed among the departing spectators was the No. 4 player, that is, Kaoru Miyazono.

At this time, it was already past five o'clock in the afternoon. Because the return Shinkansen departs at 8:11, Sora Akiyama has to go back to the hotel to pack his luggage, so he says goodbye to Mitsuya Segi. Akihiko Kayaba offered to have dinner with him before leaving.

Nearly one o'clock in the middle of the night, Sora Akiyama returned to his duplex apartment in Kyoto exhausted, and after a hasty wash, he collapsed on the bed and soon fell asleep. His soul clone is as happy as ever, roaming freely in the virtual world with Chiyin Shichinomiya.

……