Chapter 290: Actors? We Have Them Right Here!
"We were supposed to handle the backstage work anyway. Natsu can produce fire, Gray has Ice-Make, Erza has her Requip, Noah has his Light Magic, and I can summon Lyra to sing. Isn't this already a perfect stage?
"I'm writing a novel, so maybe one day it'll be adapted into a play! Learning how things work backstage now isn't a bad idea!"
Lucy spoke excitedly, her eyes sparkling.
"Oh..."
Gray responded vaguely. Natsu stumbled along behind them, still motion-sick, with Happy flying alongside to keep an eye on him.
"That's a good point. Getting familiar with it now means you won't be clueless later," Noah agreed with Lucy.
Encouraged, Lucy looked forward to the job even more.
"Whoa! This place is fancy! Is this where the client is?" Gray marveled at the building before them.
They had arrived at a magnificent structure: the famous local theater mentioned by their client.
"Excuse me... are you the wizards from Fairy Tail? Thank you so much for accepting my request!"
Suddenly, a head popped out from behind a pillar near the entrance.
"Yes! Leave the backstage work to us!" Lucy said enthusiastically.
"About that... we've run into a bit of a problem..."
Rabian, the director of the Super Rubulu Theater Troupe and their client, sounded anxious.
"Hm?"
Noah and the others looked confused.
They followed the director into the theater's green room, where he dropped a bombshell.
"Ehhh?! All the actors ran away?!" Lucy and Happy exclaimed in shock.
"Yes... Thank you very much," the director said, hiding behind a curtain.
"Why are you thanking us?" Happy retorted.
"Because the reviews have been terrible. Eventually, the actors became ashamed to be associated with my plays and left.
"I quit my salaryman job thirty years ago to pursue this dream. My wife didn't support me and left. This is the only path I have left! Thank you so much!"
The director clutched the curtain, tears welling in his eyes as he shouted at them.
"Your timing for thanking people is weird," Gray commented dryly.
"Because of this... I'm sorry you came all this way, but the performance is canceled. Thank you!" The director said emotionally.
"Hmph! I wondered what the problem was. Is that all?
"If you need actors, don't we have plenty right here?"
Erza smiled confidently at the director.
"Eh?"
"She... she's glowing!"
Lucy and Gray were stunned. Noah chuckled. "Looks like Erza really wants to be an actress."
"Practicing vocalization was the right call after all!" Erza said happily.
"Come to think of it... it does look kind of fun," Lucy admitted, getting excited.
"A fire-breathing vegetable or a fire-breathing fruit! Which one should I play?" Natsu asked excitedly.
"There are definitely no roles like that," Happy shut him down immediately.
"I'm fine with it if they are," Noah shrugged. It wasn't a big deal, and if everyone wanted to do it, why not?
"We won't let your dream end like this!" Gray declared seriously.
"Everyone..."
The director looked at them with teary eyes, then turned away and muttered, "Whatever. Letting them try can't hurt. Tsk, amateurs..."
Given their enhanced senses, everyone heard him. Gray twitched. "Isn't this the time to say 'thank you'?!"
"We can perform, but we need to renegotiate the reward," Noah interjected.
"Our original contract was for backstage work. Since we're now acting too, the pay can't remain the same.
"How about this: If the performance is bad, we stick to the original fee. But if it's a success, we get a share of the ticket revenue. 60-40 split. We get 60, you get 40."
The director thought for a moment and agreed. His actors were gone, and the troupe was on the verge of collapse. He had nothing to lose by letting them try. And the revenue sharing only mattered if they succeeded.
"By the way... this script is terrible... No wonder the actors ran away..."
After reading the script, Lucy didn't hold back. Noah and Gray nodded in agreement; it was truly awful.
"Yes... Thank you very much," the director replied with his catchphrase.
The performance was scheduled for a week later. Everyone threw themselves into rehearsals.
"My name is Frederick! I have come to save the Princess!"
Erza practiced her lines with intense focus. Watching her, Lucy was impressed. "Amazing, Erza! You're really getting into character!"
"She's totally immersed," Happy added.
"I won't lose!"
"Yeah!"
Natsu and Gray shouted competitively.
Noah pulled out a magic camera, concealed it with a spell, and secretly filmed Erza and the others rehearsing. These were memories worth keeping.
Besides rehearsing, they also hit the streets to hand out flyers. Word quickly spread among those who knew Fairy Tail.
Noah used his magic to handle most of the set construction and prop making, while the others helped with the rest.
Of course, the most important part of acting was memorizing lines. Noah memorized the entire script after one read-through. Erza and the others struggled, spending long hours painfully committing the lines to memory.
But because they were having fun, they worked hard.
"The cheering squad has arrived! Thank you very much!"
Just before the performance, the director came backstage to inform them.
"Cheering squad?"
Confused, Erza and the others followed him to the back door.
A large crowd was waiting. Makarov, Yajima, Mirajane, Ultear, Sorano (with Wendy, Yukino, and Meredy), Master Bob, Master Goldmine, Jude, Layla, Ur, and others.
"Mom! Dad! You came!" Lucy exclaimed, delighted to see her parents.
"Of course. Our daughter is performing; we had to come support her," Layla smiled. Jude stood beside her, beaming.
"I came with them. I really wanted to see your performance too," Ur grinned at Noah and Gray.
"The show's about to start! Good luck!" Mirajane cheered. Ultear and Sorano nodded enthusiastically.
Noah rolled his eyes. They were here for support, sure, but mostly they were here to watch the train wreck.
"Do your best!"
"Mhm!"
Wendy, Yukino, and Meredy clenched their fists over their chests, cheering them on.
"We will. Thanks, girls," Noah smiled.
"Happy, do your best," Carla said to the blue cat.
"I'll try! Thanks, Carla!" Happy replied seriously.
"Haven't seen a play in ages," Makarov smiled.
"Thanks for inviting me, Maru," Yajima said.
"Long time no see! Is everyone well? ♡" Master Bob greeted them cheerfully.
"I came to laugh at you," Master Goldmine stated bluntly.
"Thanks for the support, everyone!"
Noah and the team were happy to see them. They ushered the guests to their reserved VIP seats. Since the show was starting soon, they couldn't chat for long and hurried back to the dressing room.
"Whoa! I've never seen so many customers! Thank you!"
As the theater opened, the director peered from backstage at the packed audience, overwhelmed with emotion. He had never seen a full house before.
"Yay! Lyra is singing in front of so many people for the first time too!"
Lucy's summoned spirit, Lyra, was excited. Lucy smiled at her. "Now we just have to make this play a success!"
The lights dimmed, and the murmuring of the crowd faded into silence.
Accompanied by Lyra's song, the red curtain rose slowly.
"This happened long, long ago~
The Prince of the West Country fell in love with the Princess of the Enemy Kingdom~"
Lyra's beautiful voice captivated the audience immediately.
"What a beautiful voice!"
"It's enchanting!"
"Wonderful!"
A spotlight illuminated Erza, playing the Prince, at center stage. The audience gasped, especially the women.
"So handsome! The one playing the Prince!"
"The Prince of the West~ To save the Princess~ Headed to the Mountain of Death~"
The song continued, but as the lyrics registered, the audience began to whisper. "Eh? Why was the princess captured?"
According to the script, this was Erza's cue.
But she just took one step forward, extended her right hand... and froze.
She stood there, rigid as a statue.
"Hey, hey... seriously?" Gray facepalmed backstage.
"Why is she so nervous?!" Lucy panicked.
"I have to save this."
Noah pulled out his magic camera and continued filming Erza's frozen performance from the wings. He had also set up recording devices in the audience to capture the entire play from multiple angles.
~~~
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