I Just Want A Single Ending!

After grabbing a seat in a random restaurant and ordering, Kamigawa Saku began seriously contemplating how he could speed up the process of learning composition and arrangement.

First of all, self-study wasn't going to cut it.

He knew his talent wasn't terrible, but it simply wasn't enough to keep up with the efficiency of using learning cards.

Given enough time, he could probably reach a similar level on his own.

But the problem was, he didn't have that kind of time.

He still had other things to learn, plus he needed to maintain good relationships with the characters he could interact with, keep up his work on Instagram, and manage his band responsibilities. All of these took up a significant chunk of his free time.

At the current rate, it would take way too long to get the necessary skills.

He couldn't keep things with Shiina Taki at a standstill forever, either.

And he was also hoping to use his composition skills to connect with Initial Triangle somehow.

He didn't have the luxury of dragging this out.

So, he'd have to rely on the learning cards.

But then there was the issue of the cards only providing two hours of learning time each.

Even if three hours could bring his bass playing to a professional level, learning composition and arrangement wasn't quite the same.

Earlier, he'd asked Yamada Ryo what instruments she could play, and she'd said she could play practically everything.

Her range was extensive: guitar, bass, piano—even violin.

It was likely that learning so many different things had kept her bass skills from reaching a professional level.

Of course, the upside of being so versatile was that her composition and arrangement skills were highly advanced.

And that wasn't just his opinion—that was his assessment as someone who was already at a professional level in bass.

Besides that, he'd still need to study music theory and other essentials.

So really, two hours on a learning card wasn't nearly enough.

If he divided his time to cover all of this, there'd be none left.

At this rate, his original plan—learning composition and arrangement up to a bottleneck and then using the learning card to break through—wouldn't work either. It could take forever to reach a bottleneck and would require an enormous time investment.

And time was the one thing he was lacking.

Kamigawa Saku felt a headache coming on.

He'd underestimated the difficulty of mastering composition and arrangement, thinking it would be about as simple as using a learning card for bass. He hadn't realized how complex it would be.

Turns out, reaching mastery in a flash was tougher than expected.

Just as he was about to give up on the idea of learning composition and arrangement quickly, he glanced at the system's description of the "Single Ending."

No way!

He had to find another way.

If a happy ending was at stake, he could afford to put in a little more effort.

Wait a second—putting in more effort?

An idea suddenly struck him.

Rereading the learning card's description and recalling the state it put him in, he came up with a bold plan.

It's well known that memory is divided into short-term and long-term storage.

Short-term memory, as the name implies, is retained only briefly.

For example, if a teacher asks you to recall an English word, you might glance at it quickly, give the correct answer, but forget it a few minutes later—that's short-term memory.

So then, what if he memorized everything he needed, forming a short-term memory, and used the learning card to process it? Could he use this method to learn quickly?

To clarify, he wasn't talking about a one- or two-minute short-term memory. He was aiming for something a bit longer, one that could last a few days.

After analyzing it thoroughly, Kamigawa Saku was convinced it could work.

Take math, for example: if you memorize a formula by rote without understanding it, you know to apply it to the right problem but have no idea why. Could you call that learning?

Then, if someone explained it to you and you understood why you needed to apply that formula, then you could say you learned it, right?

So what if he replaced rote memory with short-term memory?

The logic was the same.

Before he forgot the formula, he could apply it; after someone explained the problem to him, he would genuinely learn it.

Would he forget it once the short-term memory faded?

For other people, maybe.

But not for him.

Because his "teacher" was a learning card.

The card drastically boosted learning ability—its effects felt like enlightenment.

Short-term memory? Doesn't exist.

Consider it—he'd become a professional bassist in just three hours.

When he learned something, he learned it. Forgetting wasn't a concern.

In short, as long as he memorized what he needed, he didn't have to understand it. The learning card would handle all the comprehension.

Finding a workable solution, Kamigawa Saku breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Finally, a path to success.

The only question was how much he could memorize in the short term, and how long it would last.

To maximize the effect, he'd need to retain as much as possible, for as long as possible.

Fortunately, that wasn't an immediate concern.

After all, he was a genius—his top rank in school was proof of that.

Even if he couldn't retain everything perfectly, a short-term memory that lasted a while wouldn't be a problem.

Feeling a little smug, Kamigawa Saku started planning his schedule.

Since this was short-term memory, he'd need to cram as much as possible within a set timeframe.

As Yamada Ryo had told him, composition was the process of creating something from nothing.

So naturally, he'd start with composition.

Based on his analysis, he'd have to shift his focus during class from listening to watching composition tutorials and reading composition books.

He could even speed up the tutorial videos to save time.

Yes, tutorials would work best.

This way, he could fit in a few extra hours of study every day.

As top of the class, even if he ignored his teachers, they wouldn't say a word.

He'd also cut back on sleep. With system-awarded stamina restoration and plenty of energy, he could get by on minimal rest.

Sleeping just one hour a night should be doable, right?

In any case, he'd give it a try.

If it didn't work, he could adjust.

It was Wednesday now, and he had a free schedule on Thursday and Friday with no special obligations, which meant he could dedicate all his time to absorbing composition knowledge.

Counting tonight, and excluding meals and other necessities, he'd have about fifty hours.

Keeping short-term memory intact for fifty hours shouldn't be a problem.

And those two one-hour learning cards? He could use them separately.

Even if his plan wasn't perfect, he'd only waste an hour at most.

The remaining hour could be saved for backup, which was acceptable.

After finalizing his plan, Kamigawa Saku quickly finished dinner and headed home.

On his way, he took out his phone to send a message to Nagasaki Soyo.

Since he'd be spending the next few days cramming composition knowledge, he wouldn't have time to see her for bass lessons.

Kamigawa Saku: Sorry, I won't be able to meet you for bass lessons the next few evenings. I need to help someone out with work.

He'd still update his Instagram as usual, as long as he prepped a few snack reviews in advance.

---

"Huh?"

At home after dinner, waiting for Kamigawa Saku to arrive, Nagasaki Soyo felt a bit let down when she saw his message.

She'd gotten used to giving him bass lessons every night, so it felt strange for him to suddenly say he'd be absent for a few days.

But if it was for work, there wasn't much to be done.

Nagasaki Soyo: Got it. I understand.

Kamigawa Saku: And could you handle dinner for me on Thursday and Friday, too?

Since he'd be studying at home, he didn't want to waste time going out for food.

Grabbing a quick snack wouldn't cut it—he needed a good meal to keep up his stamina for the long haul.

If he wasn't going to sleep, he deserved at least a proper meal, right?

Nagasaki Soyo: No problem, leave it to me.

She agreed immediately, her small disappointment over his absence from bass lessons vanishing.

He'd only be away for a few days; it wasn't as if he'd never come back.

And besides, they'd still get to have dinner together—close enough to the usual routine.

---

After chatting for a bit, Kamigawa Saku put his phone away and returned home.

He wrote up some snack reviews to post over the next few days and then got ready.

Sitting at his computer, he set the tutorial videos to a speed he could handle.

Then, he focused entirely on memorizing everything.

---

The next morning.

After an all-nighter spent watching tutorials, Kamigawa Saku stood up and stretched.

Not bad.

Even without sleep, his stamina seemed to hold up.

This freed up even more time.

Success!

---

During class, he boldly put on his headphones and resumed watching his instructional video.

Naturally, his audacious actions didn't escape the teacher's notice, but they simply pretended not to see it, making no remarks or criticisms.

After all, he was the top student in the grade—what harm could missing a lecture possibly cause him?

His strange behavior also caught the attention of others.

"Hey, Saku, what's going on? You're actually playing on your phone during class?"

As soon as class ended, Chihaya Anon approached Saku Kamigawa's desk, visibly concerned.

"It's nothing, just watching a video about composing music."

Even though his study time was interrupted, Saku didn't mind. He explained calmly, feeling no need to hide his interest in learning composition. Besides, setting this groundwork now would make it less abrupt when he shared his intentions with everyone later.

"Composing? Isn't that supposed to be Taki's responsibility?" Anon seemed puzzled.

"Well, we can't just leave all that heavy lifting to her alone. She only started learning to compose recently."

According to information Soyo Nagasaki had shared, Shiina Taki began learning composition after CRYCHIC disbanded, a fact Soyo had been clear about. Before that, Taki hadn't dabbled in composing at all.

So, it was safe to say she hadn't been at it long. Asking a beginner to handle both composing and arranging seemed like a stretch.

Anon furrowed her brow. "So, you're planning to help Taki lighten her load?"

What was this? Since when had these two gotten so close?

Helping each other out? Really?

The thought alone irked her.

"It's mainly that, as the band's manager, I haven't had much to do. So I figured learning composition could let me pitch in." Saku's reasoning was perfectly sound.

"That makes sense." Anon nodded in agreement.

In her mind, it was Taki's fault for rejecting the band name she'd initially suggested. If not for that, Saku would already be engaged in managing the band's affairs instead of having nothing to do.

It was infuriating!

Yet, despite Taki being the cause, Saku still wanted to ease her burden.

This was truly a case of repaying bitterness with kindness.

Saku Kamigawa was just… too amazing!

"But even if you start learning now, will you really be able to help Taki anytime soon? Maybe it's best to forget it," Anon suggested, a little reluctant to see Saku push himself too hard.

Compared to Taki, Saku was much more important to her.

"I might not get it down for a while, but even so, I'll be able to help Shiina eventually," Saku sighed. "After all, we're planning to keep this band going for a lifetime—there's plenty of time ahead."

She had to admit, bringing up the idea of a "lifetime band" was pretty effective, especially when discussing anything that involved the future.

"Alright, I get it."

With that, Anon didn't say much more. If his interest in composing was ultimately for their band, there was nothing she could do to stop him.

In that case, she'd just have to put in a little more effort herself. After all, he was working so hard to make their band better.

After a few more casual exchanges, the class bell rang. Anon returned to her seat, and Saku resumed watching his instructional videos.

---

Time flew by, and soon it was Friday evening.

"Saku, you don't look quite right."

During dinner, as she looked across the table at Saku, Soyo noticed something was off.

How to put it?

He seemed overly fatigued, like he hadn't slept in days and had been doing something exhausting.

"It's just that work's been a bit intense the past few days. I'll sleep well tonight and be fine." Saku brushed it off, trying to act casual.

In reality, he was barely holding it together.

Nausea, dizziness, mental fog…

With nearly zero hours of sleep, pushing himself to keep up with the fast-paced videos had certainly taken a toll.

---

T/N: So his current stamina limit is 2 days with basically no sleep always on work mode? that's pretty good

Ahem! Gather close, esteemed audience! Do you comprehend the privilege of basking in my radiance? Truly, you're witnessing history in the making—a performance unparalleled in the annals of Fontaine!

Ah, but don't get distracted! Let me be clear: this brilliance isn't conjured from thin air. No, no, no! It requires effort, dedication, and… well, a touch of your generosity. If you fancy being part of something truly extraordinary, do step forward here: [patreon.com/WiseTL].

Oh, but wait! You're probably wondering, "Furina, how can someone as magnificent as you need assistance?" To that, I say: why deny mortals the honor of contributing to such greatness? Supporting me is supporting art, and who doesn't want to say they were instrumental in a legend's rise?

Now, off you go. Make your offerings, and perhaps, perhaps, I'll acknowledge you in my next soliloquy!

— Furina ✨