For Utaha Kasumigaoka, a light novel author, to admit that buying illustrations got you free toilet paper... it had to be said that Mashiro Shiina's attainments in painting could perhaps only be described as terrifying.
However... unlike Sogo Doma's monstrous level, Mashiro's accomplishments in painting only felt natural. After all, the reason everyone overlooked her lack of common sense was entirely because she had devoted everything to painting—her common sense, her ability to take care of herself, and so on.
Both Utaha Kasumigaoka and Yukino Yukinoshita had once thought that if they could reach Mashiro's level, they might not be unable to catch up to her... If Sogo Doma made people feel despair when compared to everyone else, then Mashiro was probably the benchmark for someone blessed with talent who had worked herself to a certain extreme. Though neither Utaha Kasumigaoka nor Yukino Yukinoshita believed they could do what Mashiro did—after all, they could not imagine themselves lacking common sense to the same extent—it did not stop them from acknowledging, admiring, or even praising Mashiro's hard work. Really, who else could think of nothing but painting?
Even if someone could do that, what about talent? It was not that the two of them were boasting, but their own talents did not fall short of anyone's. Yet compared to Mashiro, even knowing how hard she worked, they still quietly lowered their heads... After all, they had never reached Mashiro's heights.
Given that, what did Kousei Arima have going for him that Sogo Doma would assess him as someone whose potential heights in piano might be comparable to Mashiro's in painting?
Setting effort aside, just speaking of talent—judging by that performance just now... Neither Utaha Kasumigaoka nor Yukino Yukinoshita could be called professional musicians, but neither were they complete outsiders. What was