Chapter 293: I Don't Attack Unless Attacked
On the other side of the stage, Erza grabbed the head of Natsu's mascot costume with both hands, spun him around, deflected Gray's ice attack with his body, and then dodged a light bullet fired by Noah.
"Amazing!"
Hidden in the wings, the theater director watched the wildly enthusiastic audience, trembling with excitement.
He had never seen such a passionate reaction to one of his plays. His eyes shone as he looked at Noah and the others on stage, as if he were looking at a gold mine.
After fighting for a while, Noah finally called an end to the brawl.
The audience left the venue with satisfied smiles, excitedly discussing the "play" they had just witnessed.
They had plenty of complaints about the acting, especially Erza's. Although some fans tried to defend her, they were quickly drowned out by the general consensus that the acting was terrible.
But when the topic shifted to the chaotic brawl at the end, everyone's eyes lit up. They debated who was stronger and whose moves were cooler. Many planned to watch it again, intending to bring their friends and family next time.
Makarov and the rest of the "cheering squad" came up to the stage.
Looking at the wrecked theater, Makarov's expression was complicated. Finally, he just said, "You guys did pretty well."
"Indeed. Very lively," Ur laughed.
"Quite an interesting performance," Yajima chuckled.
"As expected, the place got trashed."
"My, my. You certainly are energetic."
Master Goldmine and Master Bob commented with smiles.
"Lucy, you performed well. Mom enjoyed watching you," Layla said, approaching her daughter.
Lucy smiled initially, but then slumped. "It's a shame the acting was a mess."
"The most important thing is that you participated and everyone had fun, right?" Jude added.
"Mhm. I know. But next time, I'll definitely do better!" Lucy resolved, determined to improve for her next role.
Meanwhile, Ultear and the others cornered Erza.
"So, you want thirty kids, huh? I never knew you had such ambitions, Erza! You hid it well!" Sorano teased.
Erza turned bright red, her eyes spinning in confusion. "W-Wh-What... impossible... not... me..."
She couldn't form a coherent sentence to refute them and was mercilessly teased.
Wendy and the younger girls listened nearby, blushing and too shy to interrupt.
After chatting for a while, the guests left, and Noah's team began dealing with the aftermath.
A few days passed.
With Noah's help, the split theater was repaired. However, the theater management kicked the troupe out, forbidding them from performing inside again. They couldn't risk the building being destroyed a second time.
Noah and the others had no choice but to set up a large tent in a nearby vacant lot to continue their performances.
During every show, Erza and the others would inevitably start brawling.
Although it looked dangerous, Noah's barrier kept the audience perfectly safe.
Most people had never experienced such excitement, so despite the terrible acting, word spread quickly. More and more people came to watch.
Tickets sold out almost immediately every day.
"Hahaha! I never expected it to be this successful! For such clumsy actors, you're quite capable!"
The director laughed heartily, looking at Noah and the team.
"Hey... isn't it time you paid us?"
Natsu lay face down on a table, completely drained.
"Three shows a day is too much..." Gray panted beside him.
"Don't dawdle! Hurry up and get ready! We have a show to put on today!" the director shouted arrogantly.
"His personality changed too..." Happy muttered weakly.
"Hm?"
Noah, who had been reading a book nearby, looked up at the director.
"!!!"
Just a single glance, and the director was crushed by Noah's pressure. Cold sweat poured down his face, and his arrogance vanished instantly.
"Ah... I want to go home..." Lucy groaned, tears in her eyes.
"Soon. After today's shows, our contract is up. We can go back tomorrow. Or tonight, if you want."
"Really?! That's great!"
Hearing Noah's words, Natsu and the others instantly perked up.
"Wait! No! I already presold tickets for the next three days—" the director protested, but his voice faded as Noah stared at him.
"The contract was for one week. That time is up. Since you didn't discuss extending it with us beforehand, we're leaving as scheduled," Noah said calmly.
"C-Can I extend the contract now?" the director asked desperately. He didn't want his cash cows to leave. He had never made this much money before.
"No. We refuse. After today's shows, we're done. We don't want to continue this job.
"How you handle the extra tickets you sold is your problem, not ours.
"And you remember our agreement, right? If the show was successful, we get a share of the revenue. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
The director broke out in a cold sweat. He had indeed thought about reneging on that agreement, but facing Noah now, he knew denial was impossible.
"O-Of course I remember."
"Good. Handle the refunds yourself, and get us our base pay and the revenue share as soon as possible. And don't try to blame the ticket issue on us. I don't think you want to know the consequences of doing that."
Noah's gaze sharpened. The director wiped his sweat with a handkerchief, trembling.
"I-I understand. I'll get the money to you quickly. I'll handle the tickets. I won't involve you."
"Good. We're going to rest before the next show."
"T-Then... I'll leave you to it. Thank you very much."
The director scurried away.
Thinking about losing Noah's team after today, losing his income stream, and having to pay them a huge share plus refunding the presold tickets... his heart ached. The money he had made over the last few days would almost disappear.
But seeing Noah's expression, he knew he had no choice but to accept it.
"Noah is amazing!" Happy sat up happily once the director was gone.
"I don't attack unless attacked. But I won't let others take advantage of us either," Noah smiled and shook his head. "Hang in there, guys. We'll be home tonight."
"Okay..."
Natsu, Gray, and Lucy answered weakly.
"Aaaah—aaaaah—aaaaah!"
Erza continued her vocal exercises, completely ignoring the conversation.
Noah glanced at her but didn't interrupt, returning to his book.
That night, they finished their final performance.
After packing their things, Noah collected the payment and revenue share from the heartbroken director. He then dragged a reluctant Erza away and they caught the train back to Magnolia.
They slept well that night. The next day, they gathered at the guild to pick a new job.
"Let's take this one."
Noah pointed to a request. It was a subjugation mission to take down a bandit group near Balsam Village, a small settlement west of Magnolia.
It just so happened that a certain guild member was nearby. Noah planned to deal with his issue while they were there.
"Defeat a bandit group? Sounds good," Erza agreed. Natsu and the others had no objections.
They packed up and headed for Balsam Village.
They arrived near evening, booked an inn, and rested for the night. Early the next morning, they set out to find the bandits' hideout.
"Alright! Got one!"
"MOOOO! Excellent work, Ms. Lucy!"
Under Lucy's command, Taurus knocked out a bandit. Lucy high-fived the celestial spirit happily.
"Fighting these guys is boring," Natsu complained, shoving a bandit into a wall with one hand.
"Weak. How are you even bandits?" Gray stepped on a defeated foe.
"Don't think you'll get away with this..."
"Boss Dabon won't let you off!"
Some bandits gasped out threats.
"That guy's already beaten," Happy said, holding a stick.
"You mean this 'Boss Dabon'? Here."
Noah walked over, dragging the unconscious bandit leader, and tossed him onto the pile of his subordinates.
~~~
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