A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 56: Coke, but mixed with the devil's ashes
Under the towering dome of the auditorium, the sound of piano flowed and the warm candlelight swayed with it, like ears of wheat blown by the wind.

There was thunderous applause until the end of the song.

Quinn closed the piano lid, stood up and patted his chest to greet everyone around him.

In the center of the crowd, Dean Grindelwald, Fofmark, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the young man in front of the piano with great interest.

"Is this Ningning's new assistant coach?"

"Yes, his name is Quinn."

Jacob on the side said with a smile: "Like Mr. Cavendish, he is from the East, but he grew up in the West Continent."

Fofmark was a little surprised:

"This isn't just an ordinary hobby. Even the chief pianist at the Ashwell Grand Theatre can't play such a complex piece. How could such a performance technique be developed in the Western Continent?"

"Although I don't know much about piano, he's a very fine young man—"

Jacob spoke well of Quinn, "He finished the entire psychic assessment, which is quite impressive by the standards of young arcanists outside the school—though by Grindelwald's standards, he's probably in his fifth year. I could see from his face that he couldn't have continued writing for much longer."

"Heh, I'm not so old-fashioned as to demand a high level of arcane skills from an assistant teacher." Fofumark looked over with some concern. "It's just that Ningning, she's just refused to give up even after changing so many fortune-telling assistant teachers."

Ningning Amemiya, wearing a purple dress, leaned against the window of the auditorium. Several male teachers gathered around her, ranging from younger ones to middle-aged men with extraordinary temperament, and there was also a tall and handsome sixth-grade student.

In academy-dominated social occasions like dinner parties, even the most reclusive arcanist couldn't escape certain interactions—such as the swarms of suitors.

"Mr. Cavendish, how was your vacation? Let's share any happy things you have!" This is a stiff way of picking up girls that a man with no experience in picking up girls has copied from an old-fashioned love teaching book.

"Last month, I unearthed an ancient tomb deep in a new dungeon in the western continent. I'm sure it's from the Third Age. I cut some mummy bandages and brought them back. Mr. Cavendish, can you help me with divination and identification?" This is a colleague-type chat using work as an excuse.

"Teacher, teacher! Have you read the homework I handed in? Can I come to your office after the opening ceremony to correct the wrong questions?" This is a student's approach.

"Amamiya, what are you looking at here? Come and dance with me. I came to you without inviting anyone~" This is the greasy pick-up line of a self-satisfied middle-aged man.

".Chiligualajiliguala"

There was a cool breeze outside the window. She stared at the stars outside the window in a trance, with no expression on her face, as if there was a wall of air between her and the diligent bees.

But she didn't ignore it completely. When someone approached her about work, she would respond lightly with one or two words. The rest of the time, she was like a mute. Only when her fingers occasionally wanted to take out a cigarette but had to retract them revealed her mood at the moment - It's so annoying, can you please just go away?

Quinn had seen Amamiya Ningning like this during an interview, but only for a short moment.

He thought the woman was having a seizure at the time, but in fact this was what Amamiya Ningning looked like most of the time.

With a top-notch family background, the arcane skills to become Grindelwald's teacher, her mother's beauty, youthfulness and fatal charm, she has been the focus of single men since she entered Grindelwald.

Ordinary nobles might be intimidated by the name Cavendish, but which of Grindelwald's arcanists isn't a child of destiny? There's nothing to be afraid of.

Oh my sister, you are so tsundere, right? It makes me laugh to death. Stop pretending. What’s the point of Cavendish or not? It’s okay for the second child to have your surname, right?

Amamiya Ningning was quite polite when she first came to Grindelwald, but later she found that the men here were stupid and couldn't understand how to refuse politely. She was trying to pick up girls with the spirit of doing arcane scientific research - if you reject me, it's because my method is wrong, not because I'm not good enough. As long as you try and fail enough, you will definitely succeed!

Later, I was so annoyed by the harassment that I simply ignored it. Fortunately, these people were generally well-behaved. After all, for them, arcane magic was more attractive than picking up girls. They only needed to be patient in occasions like the opening ceremony.

"Oh, come to think of it," Jacob said in a low voice, "it seems that Mr. Cavendish's attitude towards Quinn is very different."

"That new assistant teacher?" Fofomark became excited.

"Yes, do you remember who brought that piano? I've been thinking about it since the interview. It's very similar. The temperament, the way they talk, the way they bumped into the wall at Platform 9 when they saw it, is exactly the same as when that person first came to the academy. What does the principal call this kind of abstract behavior—"

Jacob scratched his head, recalled for a moment, and then laughed, "Oh, Down syndrome."

Foumark stared at Quinn who was chatting with Celia in the distance, and nodded slightly after a long time.

"Yes. How old was he?"

“I think it’s 24.”

"Isn't that smaller than Ningning?"

"What's the big deal? Teacher Cavendish's conditions are reasonable for marrying the Emperor. Being in love is more important than anything else."

Foumark nodded slightly, his hands behind his back as he walked. "Before the principal left to deal with the Misty Sea, he specifically told me to tell Ningning to stop looking. A romantic relationship might be a good way to distract her. Let's change the Divination Department's schedule and include more outdoor activities so these two can interact more." He paused, then continued, "And by the way, move that piano to Ningning's office."

"Understood, Dean."

On the other side, Mr. Quinn, the demon clan's traitor who was arranged but knew nothing about it, was chatting with Celia.

"Teacher Quinn, the piece you just played is so strange, but it's beautiful." Celia asked excitedly like a curious baby, "Where did you learn it from?"

"This is a song from my hometown, a small place in the Western Continent. It's normal that you haven't heard it before."

Quinn made up a story.

"Oh—?" Celia leaned in closer. The girl had a very familiar and approachable aura. "What's the name of this song?"

"The title of the song? It's called Guo Yu." Quinn paused. Although he didn't see anything wrong with Celia, he still cautiously corrected himself: "No, I remembered it wrong. This song has no name. The melody was made up by my friend."

Celia's eyes suddenly lit up, and she moved closer, almost touching Quinn: "Friend? What's your friend's name? I'm curious!"

"I don't remember. We were childhood friends. You're getting too close. People might misunderstand you."

Celia turned around and saw two teachers from the school administration office waiting behind her, looking like they wanted to communicate with Quinn.

"Sorry, sorry." She scratched her head and stepped back. "I won't bother you, teacher. Thank you for playing the piano for me! It was really wonderful!"

The girl bowed and then walked away happily.

Quinn looked at her back with complicated eyes. Was she pretending? If she was a time traveler, she was a bit naive.

That "teacher" sounded pretty nice though. Maybe I could get a teacher's license after returning to Earth and listen to high school girls calling me that every day.
clap clap clap-

"Teacher! It sounds great!" Ankua came closer while clapping.

No more exams.

Quinn found it hard to hold back when he saw Ankuya, who was like a sunny and cheerful big boy. Bro, your applause is so insincere.
Next to him was another specialist from the school administration office, a woman in work clothes.

She walked up to Quinn and said seriously, "Well played."

"Oh, thanks for the compliment."

"Can you create a piano-playing ritual and send it to the school office?"

"Ritual?" Quinn was puzzled. "What ritual?"

Ankuya explained, "Adeline is the janitor responsible for maintaining the academy's equipment and magic circles. She wants a spell to make the piano play automatically. Of all the instruments in the academy, no one knows how to operate the piano. She will be in charge of turning the spell into an arcane matrix and installing it on the piano, so that we can have a piano at future dinners."

Adeline nodded. "I think the symphony would sound better with the piano."

"No problem! After all, a band still needs a keyboard player!"

Quinn readily agreed: "It's simple. I'll write it when I get back. I'll write as many spells as you want!"

Ankuya's smile trembled, and he almost cursed. "It's simple, Bull Demon, it's simple, but he still has to compose it? But how can he know piano?"

"Thank you." Adeline said and turned to leave, looking like she was alone.

Ankuya took out his wand and waved it, and a cup of Coke flew over.

He handed it to Quinn and said, "Tired of playing the piano? Here, this is a drink developed by the brave. Only Grindelwald can drink it."

Quinn took it stiffly and said, "Brother, be normal. I'm scared."

He was about to take a sip to calm his nerves when he suddenly heard Ankuya's cold voice coming from the bottom of his heart:
"Don't drink it, the devil's ashes are in it."

Quinn's hands shook and he almost knocked it over.

"Hold this cup steady. It's specially made. No one will know what's inside unless you pour it out. Once you get the hero's ashes, just sprinkle them in and it will make a potion. Drink the potion in the painting and ascend to a Transcendent. This is your only chance, remember."

'You only have ten minutes.'

(End of this chapter)