"irin’s already here?" Simon asked, spooning up a pudding he had bought from a street stall.
"Yep."
"I thought you said she wasn’t joining us until tomorrow."
Dick’s grin was pure mischief, like a villain savoring a well-laid trap. "Actually, irin’s been in Langerstine for a week."
"What?"
"You’ll see when we get there!"
Guided by Dick, the three of them made their way to a grand theater in the heart of Langerstine. Elegantly dressed noblen and ladies in fine gowns stread inside. From the ushers’ calls, it seed the play was about to begin.
"Three students," Dick announced, striding confidently to the front of the line.
The ticket seller gave them a sidelong glance. "Hmm. Do kids these days even watch plays? Besides, the matinee is completely sold out."
Dick smirked, leaning to one side to proudly display the crest on his uniform. "Just kidding. We’re from Kizen." He shot a pointed look at the two behind him. Simon sighed internally and awkwardly mimicked the pose, while Kamibarez blushed and did her best to follow suit.
The effect of the na ‘Kizen’ was imdiate. The man’s deanor changed in a flash. He bowed low, wringing his hands, his voice dripping with deference. "My apologies! What brings you, esteed individuals from Kizen, to our establishnt? Is there... a problem with our theater?"
Dick’s cheerful expression instantly iced over. "Why? Do you have sothing to hide?"
"N-No, not at all! Shall I summon the theater owner at once?"
"That won’t be necessary. We’re just here quietly on a commission. There’s no need to report this to your superiors."
"Yes, of course, sir!"
The three were ushered into the theater, no questions asked. A female staff mber, visibly tense at the sight of Kizen students, bowed respectfully and led them to the finest VVIP seats on the second floor—a private box with a table overlooking the stage. When she asked what wine they would like, Dick, still playing his part, touched a finger to his forehead and flicked it away. "We’re on duty. We must decline."
As soon as the door closed, Simon let out a low whistle. "This is a great spot."
From their vantage point, they had a perfect, unobstructed view of the stage. Kamibarez glanced around nervously before smoothing her skirt and taking a seat.
"Are we really allowed to do this?"
"Of course," Dick said, stroking the armrest of his plush chair before crossing his legs. "This is one of the perks of attending Kizen. We may be students, but we have investigative authority. You have to know how to use your privileges, or you’re just wasting your life."
"So," Simon began, crossing his arms, "are you going to tell us why you dragged us to a theater?"
"Heheheh, you’ll see," Dick chuckled. "Look, it’s starting!"
The theater lights dimd, and mana-fueled spotlights illuminated the stage. The curtains parted to reveal a girl with sky-blue hair in a flowing white dress.
Simon and Kamibarez’s jaws dropped.
"M-irin?!"
Dick clutched his stomach, howling with laughter. "Heheheh! To think she had such an interesting hobby and tried to hide it from us. She stood no chance against my information network."
Soon, a male actor joined irin on stage, and they launched into a passionate performance.
"Stabarego! I cannot leave you behind!" irin cried.
"You must flee, Almacarina! The foreign army will soon overrun this place! Even if I die, you and the child in your womb must live!"
As the two dove into their lodrama, music began to swell around them.
’I’m actually looking forward to this,’ Simon thought. ’I’ve never heard irin sing before.’
As if on cue, irin clasped her hands to her chest and opened her mouth.
—I lived in a world of illusion.
The mont he heard her voice, a shiver traced its way down Simon’s spine. It was impossibly clear—crystalline and pure. The rest of the audience seed to feel it too, a collective hush falling over them.
—Because you are here, I can fight against the dark truth
With a hand over her heart, she sang with an easy grace, her arms gradually extending as she swayed gently to the music.
—Even if I am reborn as a butterfly, I will not be able to make any flower bloom.
Everyone was utterly captivated. Even Kamibarez and Dick, who had co to tease her, were drawn in. And then ca the climax.
—The world!
Gasps of admiration rippled through the theater. As the notes soared to their peak, her expression tightened with emotion, and the delicate yet powerful voice that poured from her was nothing short of miraculous. Her song continued to stir the audience’s hearts, building toward its heart-wrenching finale.
—Even if we can never et again.
With a flash of pyrotechnics, flas erupted on stage, separating irin and the male actor. A stunned silence hung in the air for a beat before the audience erupted into thunderous applause.
"That was incredible!" Kamibarez exclaid, clapping with tears welling in her eyes, having been completely swept away by the performance.
Simon rose to his feet and applauded as well. As a country boy through and through, this was his first ti in a grand theater, but the most astonishing part was that the actress on stage, whose voice held an entire audience in its thrall, was his friend. In her heavy makeup and elegant dress, irin looked less like a peer and more like a woman several years his senior.
Soon, their song ended, and the play jumped forward fifteen years.
Dick let out a massive yawn. The story was following a painfully generic plot. Separated from her husband, irin gives birth to a daughter alone. The daughter grows up, becos curious about her father, and travels abroad. There, she falls in love with a young man who helps her, only to discover in despair that he is the son her biological father had with another woman.
’...Wait, why are they getting together in the end?’
The play concluded with the two lovers throwing themselves into a river to escape society’s prejudices. It was an absurdly rushed developnt. Simon decided it was better to just stop thinking about it.
"This plot is a train wreck," Dick muttered, clicking his tongue. "The director should be fired."
After the play concluded, the entire cast returned to the stage for a final song and dance. irin joined them, her voice ringing out one last ti. Finally, the curtain fell, and the house lights ca up. The actors took their bows as the audience, still buzzing from the performance, gave them a standing ovation. The three friends clapped along.
A mont later, the curtain rose again, and people began to file out.
"Alright, let’s go!" Dick declared with a renewed burst of energy.
"Where to?"
"irin’s dressing room, of course! Our main event is just getting started!"
They left the VVIP box and made their way to the actors’ backstage area. A staff mber tried to stop them, explaining that it was a restricted area, but he paled at the sight of Dick’s Kizen uniform and quickly stepped aside. Dick scanned the naplates on the doors, his eyes darting back and forth until he stopped in front of one.
"Here it is." He knocked lightly.
A voice from inside called out, "Co in."
"Alright, everyone, let’s go!" Dick grinned and gestured for them to follow.
"Okay!"
The three of them threw open the door and piled inside. irin, who was neatly combing her hair in front of a mirror, finally noticed them.
"What the..." Her eyes, dazed for a mont, widened until they looked like they might pop out of her head. "Wh-wh-wh-what the hell are you doing here?!" she shrieked, leaping to her feet as her face turned a furious shade of crimson.
Simon just smiled and waved. "We enjoyed the play, irin."
At the sight of him, her face flushed an even deeper shade of magma.
Kamibarez clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling. "Your singing was wonderful, irin! And your dress was stunning!"
"Thanks, Ka—wait, more importantly, you absolute lunatics! How did you find ?" Her gaze snapped to Dick. "Tch! You again?"
"Correct," Dick replied, striking his new signature pose by flicking a finger off his forehead. It was a gesture perfectly designed to invite rage, and a mont later, a makeup compact flew from irin’s hand and smacked him squarely in the head.
"I want to be alone, so get out noooow!!"
---
Though irin, mortified beyond endurance, had ordered them out, they were not the type to leave so easily. Simon had already made himself comfortable on the sofa and was helping himself to the snacks, while Kamibarez had co up behind irin to admire her dress.
irin covered her face with her hands, then peeked at Simon through her fingers. "Did you... See it?"
"See what?"
"My acting."
"I saw all of it. From beginning to end."
"AAAAHGH!!!"
She let out an unintelligible cry and buried her face between her knees. While Dick was busy snickering, Simon spoke in a gentle, soothing tone.
"What are you so embarrassed about? Your acting was great, and your singing was incredible."
"It’s a completely different story when people I know are watching!" irin protested, fanning her flushed face with her hands.
"So, irin, how did you end up in a play, anyway?" Kamibarez asked.
irin finally relented and told them the truth. She had always been interested in theater, often attending plays and singing as a hobby. The trouble began when Serne visited her during her training at the Ivory Tower. The two got into an argunt, which led to a bet over a duel of Jet-Black elental magic.
"Serne bet her position as the successor to the Ivory Tower," irin explained, scratching the back of her neck.
Listening intently, Simon had to stifle a laugh. He could picture it perfectly. She must have charged in headfirst, as usual.
"And if I lost, Serne’s condition was that I had to perform as an actress in a play."
"Ooh! So you got thoroughly trounced, huh?"
"It’s not like I can trounce that mouth of yours, is it?"
Dick imdiately fell silent.
irin covered her face with her hands again. "But that damn fox, Serne...! I don’t know how she did it, but she actually booked a performance at a major theater in Langerstine and locked in as an actress! Ugh, seriously...!"
"For soone who was forced into it, you looked like you were having a great ti on stage," Simon said with a warm smile.
irin responded by blushing and sticking her tongue out.
"Well, I loved it!" Kamibarez chid in. "You were the prettiest of all the actors, and you sang the best, irin!"
"Thanks, Kami! These two are just here to tease . You’re the only real one here."
Just then, Dick wrapped his arms around himself and put on a high-pitched, warbling voice. "Stabarego! I cannot leave you behind!"
"Go to helllll!" irin shrieked, grabbing anything within reach and hurling it at him.
Dick cackled as he dodged the projectiles. "Agh, seriously! Now I’m going to be teased all sester! I’d rather die than let him find out!"
"Hahaha!"
The four of them laughed and chatted, the room filled with their boisterous energy. After a while, irin removed her makeup, changed back into her school uniform, and erged from the dressing room. As expected, the crisp Kizen uniform suited her far better than the frilly dress.
"But casting you as Almacarina was a little weird, irin! She’s the main character’s mother!"
irin giggled, finding it funny herself. "It was super weird! The director’s nuts. The actress playing my daughter is in her thirties. But in this industry, the lead has to go to soone with skill and na recognition, so there was no helping it."
"Ooh, my daughter, Ludogoramia! This mother’s heart is torn asunder!"
"I’m going to tear you asunder while you’re still alive."
"Ugh! My bangs! Don’t pull my bangs!"
--- Outside the dressing room, filled with the clamor of the four friends, a figure leaned against the wall.
It was a girl with platinum-blonde hair, idly twirling a fluttering feather. She let out a small, knowing laugh and pushed herself away from the wall.
A staff mber with a feather stuck to the nape of his neck approached with a dazed expression, carrying a tray with two cups of black tea. She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and lifted a teacup as the staff mber walked past her.
"The lady over there is buying," the staff mber announced.
Beside her, a massive man wrapped in a pitch-black cloak was also standing by the door. At the staff mber’s words, the man’s expression hardened.
"Get lost."
At the killing intent Dietrich unleashed, the dazed staff mber collapsed on the spot. Whether from the spilled tea or so other reason, a dark stain spread across his trousers.
"What a waste," Serne murmured, taking an elegant sip of her tea. "Do you have business with them as well?"
"Rember this, human." A dangerous red light glinted in Dietrich’s eyes. "The day you use that filthy power on my daughter will be the day the Ivory Tower cos crumbling down."
"Duly noted," Serne replied with an airy calm. "And it doesn’t look good for an adult to interfere in a children’s squabble, you know. A Vampire Lord acting like a doting father. How quaint."
Dietrich snorted. "And you intend to claim you’re one of those ‘children’?"
"Well, I ’am’ only seventeen, you know," she said with a sing-song lilt.
The two exchanged chilling smiles. Just then, the door burst open.
"Alright! Now that Team 7 is finally assembled, it’s ti for a drink!" Dick shouted. irin and Kamibarez followed him out, and Simon, the last to leave, closed the door behind them.
"Simon?" Kamibarez stopped and called his na.
He was staring at the floor, where a single white feather and a large, imposing footprint were visible. A quiet smile touched Simon’s lips before he turned back to her.
"It’s nothing. Let’s go."
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