Chapter 194
"Maelyn's already here?"
Simon asked as he ate a pudding dessert he'd bought from a street vendor.
"Yeah."
"Didn't she say she'd be joining us tomorrow?"
Dick grinned slyly, like a villain plotting something.
"Truth is, Maelyn's been in Langerstine for a week."
"Whaaat?"
"You'll see when we get there!"
Led by Dick, the three of them headed to a large grand theater located in the center of Langerstine city.
Noble gentlemen dressed to the nines and ladies in elegant dresses were entering the building. Judging by the voices of the staff shouting outside, the play was just about to begin.
"Three kids here."
Dick, walking confidently to the front without even standing in line, spoke up. The staff member selling tickets gave them a quick glance.
"...Hmph, do kids these days even watch plays? And anyway, the matinee tickets are all sold out."
Dick smirked, tilted his body, and proudly pointed at the emblem on his chest.
"Just kidding. We're from Keyzen."
Then, with a knowing glance, he looked back at the two standing behind him.
Simon sighed inwardly and roughly mimicked Dick's stance, while Kamibarez, blushing, awkwardly followed suit.
The name "Keyzen" had an immediate effect. The staff member instantly bowed and started rubbing his hands, switching to the most formal tone.
"K-Keyzen students? Is there a problem with our theater, perhaps...?"
Dick's smiling face turned cold in an instant.
"Why? Got something to be nervous about?"
"N-No, of course not! Should I summon the theater owner right away?"
"No need. We're just here quietly for a matter related to a request. Please don't report this to your superiors."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The three entered the theater like VIPs.
A female staff member, clearly tense from the presence of Keyzen students, bowed politely and guided them to the best VVIP seats.
Their location was on the second floor, a private room with a single table inside.
The staff asked what kind of wine they would like. Dick, saying they were on duty, refused with a finger-tap to his forehead and a flick. After she left and closed the door, Simon commented,
"These seats are amazing."
Being on the second floor, they had a perfect view of the stage. Kamibarez, looking uneasy, glanced around before gently smoothing her skirt and sitting primly.
"Are we really allowed to do this?"
"Of course, of course."
Dick ran his hand over the armrest of the comfortable chair and crossed his legs.
"This is one of the perks of being with Keyzen. We may be students, but we have investigative authority. Knowing your benefits and using them well, that's the key to not wasting your life."
"So,"
Simon crossed his arms.
"When are you going to tell us why you brought us to the theater?"
"Hehe, you'll see. It's starting!"
The lights dimmed and mana-powered spotlights illuminated the stage. As the curtain rose, a girl with sky-blue hair in a white dress appeared.
Simon and Kamibarez's jaws dropped.
"M-Maelyn?!"
Dick burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
"Hahaha! She was trying to hide such an amusing hobby from us? As if that would work with my intel network."
Soon, Maelyn and a male actor appeared and began passionately performing.
"Stabarrego! I can't leave you behind!"
Maelyn shouted.
"You must flee, Almacarina. The army of another nation is about to overrun this place. Even if I die, at least you and the child in your womb—"
Saying they'll stay, refusing to, melodramatic lines from the start were followed by soft background music that began to flow naturally.
'I'm curious now. I've never heard Maelyn sing before.'
As Simon waited with anticipation, Maelyn clasped her hands over her chest and began to sing.
—I lived in a world of illusions.
The moment her voice rang out, Simon shivered slightly.
Such a clear, pure voice. The rest of the audience reacted the same.
—Because you're with me, I can fight against the dark truth.
Maelyn, pressing her hand over her heart and singing calmly, slowly extended her arms and gently swayed to the music.
—Even if I were born as a butterfly, I wouldn't be able to bloom any flower.
Everyone was completely absorbed in her voice. Even Kamibarez, and Dick who'd planned to tease her, were no exception.
And now, the highlight arrived.
—The world!
Gasps burst out from all around.
As her voice reached its climax, her slightly contorted expression and delicate yet powerful tone were nothing short of awe-inspiring. Her song continued to melt the audience's emotions, and the piece neared its finale.
—Even if we never meet again.
Flames erupted as a stage effect, and Maelyn and the male actor scattered from the scene. For a moment, the audience sat in a daze before erupting into thunderous applause.
"A-Amazing!"
Completely immersed, Kamibarez clapped with teary eyes. Simon also stood and applauded.
Having never set foot in such a grand theater before, Simon was most astonished that this captivating singer on stage was his friend.
Moreover, with such heavy makeup and dressed in a gown, Maelyn looked like an adult several years older than him, not someone his age.
The duet came to an end, and the story fast-forwarded 15 years.
"Yaaawn."
Dick began to yawn.
The plot followed a very typical melodramatic structure.
Maelyn, separated from her husband, gives birth to a daughter on her own. As the daughter grows up, she becomes curious about her father and travels abroad.
She later falls in love with a young foreign man who helped her, only to find out that he's the son her father had with another woman, driving her into despair.
'...Wait, so why do they end up together anyway?'
In the end, to break free from all the prejudices and constraints of society, the two jump into a river together, and the play ends.
A sudden, bizarre twist. Simon gave up trying to make sense of it.
"This one's gone completely off the rails. The director needs to be fired."
Dick clucked his tongue in disapproval.
As the play wrapped up, all the actors came out to sing and dance one last time. Maelyn joined them and sang as well.
And finally, the curtain fell and the lights brightened. The actors bowed deeply, and the audience, still moved, rose one by one to applaud. The three students followed suit.
A moment later, as the curtain rose again and the crowd started to exit,
"Alright, let's go!"
Dick said, excited.
"Go where?"
"To Maelyn's dressing room, obviously! The real show starts now!"
The three left the VVIP seats and made their way toward the actors' waiting rooms.
A staff member tried to stop them, saying outsiders weren't allowed, but after seeing Dick's Keyzen uniform again, he stepped aside in alarm.
Dick quickly scanned the nameplates on the doors until he stopped in front of one.
"This is it."
He knocked lightly, and a voice responded from inside, "Come in."
Dick grinned and gestured.
"Alright, let's go in, kids!"
"Yeah!"
The three burst in through the door.
Maelyn, who had been neatly brushing her hair in front of a mirror, noticed them belatedly.
"Wha…"
Her eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
"W-Wh-Wh-What the hell!"
She shot up from her seat, her face bright red.
"What are you guys doing here!!"
Simon smiled and waved.
"Great show, Maelyn."
Upon seeing Simon, Maelyn's face turned even redder, like molten magma. Kamibarez clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling.
"You sang so beautifully, Maelyn! And the dress was stunning too!"
"Thanks, Ka… I mean, more importantly, you lunatics! How the hell did you even find this place?!"
She turned to glare at Dick.
"Tsk! You again?"
"Correct."
Dick struck his now-signature pose, flicking his forehead with his finger.
It was a perfect move to provoke anger and disgust, and sure enough, a cosmetic item in Maelyn's hand smacked him square in the forehead.
"I want to be alone, so get ouuuuuut!!"
Though Maelyn, overwhelmed by shame beyond tolerance, had issued her decree of expulsion, these people weren't ones to leave quietly.
Simon was seated on the couch, nibbling on the snacks, and Kamibarez was behind Maelyn, lightly touching the fabric of her dress.
Maelyn, her face covered with both hands, peeked through her fingers at Simon.
"Did, did you see?"
"See what?"
"My acting."
"I saw it. From start to finish."
"&$%*&@#!!!"
She let out a garbled scream and buried her face between her knees. Dick couldn't stop smirking, and Simon spoke to her gently, as if trying to soothe her.
"What's there to be so embarrassed about? You acted well and sang beautifully."
"That's totally different from having people I know watching it!"
Maelyn fanned her burning face with both hands.
"But Maelyn, how did you end up doing theater in the first place?"
At Kamibarez's question, Maelyn confessed the truth.
She'd always had an interest in theater. She often went to watch plays and liked to sing as a hobby.
The problem started when Serne visited her during her training at the Ivory Tower. The two got into an argument, and it ended with a bet, competing in Darkness Flare-type black magic.
"Serne bet the successor seat of the Ivory Tower."
Maelyn scratched the back of her neck as she spoke. Simon, listening closely, chuckled quietly.
He could picture it clearly in his head, she must've jumped in without hesitation again.
"And if I lost, the condition was that I'd go on stage and perform in a play as an actress."
"Ooh! So you got wrecked brutally?"
"I'd like to wreck your mouth."
Dick instantly shut his mouth. Maelyn once again covered her face with her palms.
"But that fox Serne...! I don't know how, but she actually booked a performance at the Grand Theater in Langerstine and set everything up so I'd have to perform! Ugh, seriously...!"
"For something you had to do unwillingly, you looked like you were really enjoying it up there."
Simon said with a smile. Maelyn blushed and stuck her tongue out in response.
"Still, I really loved it! Out of all the actors, Maelyn was the prettiest and sang the best!"
"...Thanks, Kami! Those guys just came to tease me, but at least I can count on you."
Then Dick hugged his arms and mimicked a faltering female voice.
"Stabarrego! I can't leave you behind!"
"Diiiiiiiie!!"
Maelyn shrieked, throwing everything within reach. Dick cackled as he dodged.
"Ugh, seriously! I've got teasing fuel for the whole semester now! I would've died if he found out!"
"Hahaha!"
The four of them chatted and laughed noisily.
Maelyn removed her stage makeup, changed into her school uniform, and stepped out of the dressing room. As expected, Maelyn looked much better in her Keyzen uniform than in a fancy, flowing dress.
"But Maelyn, it was kinda weird for you to play Almacarina, wasn't it? She's the mother of the female lead!"
Even Maelyn couldn't help giggling at that.
"It was so weird! The director must be out of his mind. The girl playing my daughter is in her thirties. But in this industry, the one with the most skill and popularity has to play the lead, so I had no choice."
"Oho, my daughter Rudogoramiya... This mother's heart is torn in pieces!"
"I should really tear you apart right now."
"Ack! My bangs! Don't pull my bangs!"
* * *
Outside the actors' dressing room where the four chatted noisily.
Leaning against the wall beside the door was a platinum-blonde girl, gently swaying a feather in her fingers. She chuckled and pushed off the wall.
A staff member, with a dazed expression and a feather stuck in the back of his neck, arrived with a tray holding two cups of tea. She smiled with her eyes as she lifted one of the teacups, and the staff member walked past her.
"It's for that lady over there."
Next to her stood a man of massive build, cloaked in a jet-black mantle. Upon hearing the staff's words, the man scowled.
"Get lost."
Thud.
At the murderous pressure emitted by Dietrich, the staff member with the feather in his neck collapsed on the spot. Perhaps it was due to the spilled tea, or maybe something else, but the front of his pants was now soaking wet.
"What a waste~"
Serne took a graceful sip of tea and spoke.
"You here to see them too?"
"Mark my words, human."
Dietrich's eyes gleamed red.
"If you ever use that filthy power on my daughter, that day will be the day the Ivory Tower falls."
"Yes, yes."
Serne responded nonchalantly.
"And you know, meddling in kids' affairs doesn't look great, does it? Can't believe a Vampire Lord's such a doting dad."
Dietrich snorted.
"And are you claiming to be one of those 'kids' too?"
"Well, I am seventeen, after all~"
The two exchanged smiles that sent chills down the spine. Just then, the door flew open.
"Alright! Now that Team 7 is complete, let's go grab a drink!"
Dick shouted. Maelyn and Kamibarez followed behind him, and Simon was the last to leave, closing the door behind him.
"Simon?"
Kamibarez stopped and called out to him. Simon was staring at the floor.
On the ground lay a feather, alongside a set of large footprints. Simon looked at it quietly, then turned to her with a smile.
"It's nothing. Let's go."