Everyone Has Talent. If Only We Could Realize It - Volume 1 Chapter 2.7

Two Talents

Contrary to the ominous feeling, the morning passed peacefully.

Although we felt the gazes from Shibuya Erio and other students, there wasn’t any particular interaction, and lunchtime came without incident. It was still too early for luxuries, so Shika and I slurped udon together.

As usual, Akiha boasted about her delicious lunch, making it another exceedingly peaceful time, just like the day before.

──The problem arose in the afternoon.

The first class of the afternoon was “Vocal Basics” again. Gathered in the vocal lesson studio on the third floor of the school building, the afro-haired instructor cheerfully began with this announcement.

“Alright! Today, we’ll discuss how everyone’s vocal range differs, and we’ll explain it while listening to actual vocalizations… Who wants to volunteer as a test subject?”

With high energy, the afro-haired teacher raised a hand and called out to the students.

“Here.”

The first to raise her hand was Shibuya Erio. She stood up, her ear piercings swaying.

As expected! It’s Erio, of course! A role model! Naturally! Such voices could be heard from various corners of the room.

“Anyone else? I’d like to compare the differences in suitable vocal ranges for different people, so I need at least two volunteers.”

… Silence.

The students just looked at each other, and not a single one stepped forward.

(Of course.)

Sitting in a corner of the studio, leaning against the wall and watching the scene unfold, I thought to myself.

The instructor mentioned comparing “vocal ranges.”

It’s supposed to be a comparison of physical structure, personal characteristics, and not about determining superiority or inferiority.

But from the students’ perspective, it felt the same. Being put in front of others and compared to a genius like Shibuya Erio, who was already set to debut with a major label while still in high school, would naturally make anyone hesitant.

When the call for volunteers was made, a few students did lean forward for a moment. However, as soon as they realized Shibuya Erio was participating, they withdrew and fell completely silent.

“Uh-oh, this is a problem. Then, is it just going to be Shibuya-san and me?”

“Teacher, may I make a suggestion?”

“Oh? Shibuya-san, if you have a good idea, by all means!”

“That girl lounging over there──”

Shibuya pointed in our direction.

“I think Ikebukuro Shika-san would be perfect for this.”

With a sneering, mocking face, she suggested that.

Shika, who had been sitting back against the wall, reacted with a twitch.

Looking up at me, she tilted her head slightly.

“My name was called. Why?”

“They want you to sing in front of everyone. Maybe that Shibuya girl has fallen for your talent.”

I said sarcastically.

Of course, I knew her intentions were anything but kind.

“If you don’t want to, it’s okay to refuse. I’ll handle it.”

“There’s no reason to refuse, right? You’re so good at singing. Show us, be our example.”

Shibuya interrupted my whisper to Shika, egging her on.

The instructor and students’ gazes turned to Shika.

“What will you do, Shika?”

“Should I sing?”

“It seems so.”

“Then, I’ll do it.”

Shika stood up nonchalantly and started moving toward the front of the room with a slow, dragging step.

As Shika approached, Shibuya snorted.

“Huh, not running away?”

“Run away…? Why?”

“!”

At Shika’s innocent response, Shibuya clenched her teeth.

It must have felt like she was being told that being compared to her was trivial.

In reality, Shika had no such intention. For her, singing wasn’t about competing with someone; it was simply about singing for herself.

Not because she possessed an unshakeable spirit of steel in the face of a genius──

But rather, she simply couldn’t see the genius standing before her.

That’s the world according to Ikebukuro Shika.

“We’ll only be doing vocalizations today. Just face this smartphone and vocalize ‘La’ in your most comfortable voice. Then, we’ll go up and down the scale one note at a time, and this app will measure your vocal range. It’s a great era we live in. In the past, we searched for suitable vocal ranges by feeling it out while singing along with a piano. Now, we can accurately measure it with an app.”

Afro-sensei took out his smartphone and said dreamily.

“Let’s start with Shibuya-san. Begin with your natural voice.”

“Okay.”

Shibuya nodded and took a deep breath.

And then…

La──La──La──La──La──La──La──La──♪

Truly befitting. Even though it wasn’t singing per se, just producing a voice felt overwhelming.

Not only the pressure of the sound but the impressive thing was the breadth of the vocal range.

Having researched pitch and vocal range out of curiosity when I first learned about Shika’s singing ability, I found that the typical vocal range for a woman’s singing voice in natural tone spans from G3 to C5, about one and a half octaves.

Terms like G3 and C5 essentially mean from the “Sol” note taught in elementary and middle school music to the “Do” two steps higher, but let’s ignore this slightly niche topic for now.

It appears that without training, the range of notes a woman can sing, whether her voice is lower or higher, generally fits within this one and a half octaves.

The wider the vocal range one can sing, the richer the variety of songs one can perform.

Catchphrases like a “five-octave vocal range” for singers aren’t just about being able to hit high notes but also about being able to sing across a wide vocal range.

In that sense, Shibuya Erio’s vocal range is──truly exceptional.

Crossing what would normally be the limit, La, La, La, the piercing high notes resonated beautifully throughout the studio.

Measurement complete.

Afro-sensei’s eyes widened at the results displayed on the app.

“A natural range from F3 to F5, two octaves. Including the whistle register, up to six octaves!?”

“Phew… Well, that’s about right.”

She exhaled and grinned smugly.

“Bravo! Truly impressive. I was hoping to compare an alto and a soprano, but this was an unexpected treat. I didn’t expect you to utilize the whistle register to reach such high notes.”

The instructor applauded.