The rehearsal ended successfully.

No, actually, it couldn’t be called successful.

‘They’re forgetting more lines than expected.’

It must be because the preparation period was short.

Still, for an arts and physical education club done as a hobby, the quality wasn’t terrible.

‘The problem is that the President has different goals.’

“…On the main stage…”

The President clutched his brow.

“It will be worse. Everyone, I know you focus on your studies, but still, as Imperial Second Academy students, I know you don’t approach given tests carelessly.”

There’s a reason the President is acting like this.

Because judges are attending today’s performance.

It’s an evaluation organized by the Imperial Government’s Ministry of Culture; passing here means they can perform not at the school, but at the Imperial Palace.

‘Do we really need to go that far to perform a play…’

I thought, but if we advance there, I won’t stand as Rosalind.

Having heard the promise to unconditionally change the protagonist to Adelbert, I only went along with it this time.

“No matter how much it’s an arts and physical education club, the Imperial Second Academy has pride; we can’t be eliminated right from the preliminaries!”

‘Amazing passion.’

I don’t feel much passion, but since I can’t be the only one taking the lead role, I plan to work hard.

“Alright, it starts in 10 minutes, so please wait on standby. I’m going to step outside for a bit.”

The president said, clapping his hands.

We went up behind the stage.

The two characters appearing first were already out on stage, standing behind the curtain.

While intently looking over the script, the announcer’s words signaling the start of the play and the sound of applause came from beyond.

‘The sound is louder than expected.’

Just how many people came?

[Adam.]

The voice of the junior playing another lead role was heard.

[As I remember, my father stated in his will that he would leave me an inheritance of 1,000 crowns. Father asked my brother Oliver to raise me well. If he wished for blessings, that is. But who knew? That it was the beginning of my misfortune!]

‘Doing well.’

“Junior!”

Just then, the club president, who had stepped outside, rushed backstage.

The president gasped for breath and said.

“Junior, I heard you got 1st place in the 2nd phase?”

“Yes.”

At the president’s serious expression, the faces of the other club members nearby hardened as well.

The president swallowed hard and spoke seriously.

“Right now…!”

“Yes.”

“Thanks to you getting 1st place, a huge audience came today!”

“Gasp, really?!”

“Wow~”

“……”

All the club members were clapping, but I couldn’t.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“What do you mean what does it have to do with anything~! They want to see the face of the 1st place friend. And you’re famous personally too, aren’t you.”

Famous as Pleroma, maybe…

Just then, the sound of the curtain falling was heard.

A staff member quickly ran backstage.

“Act 1, Scene 2 needs to start!”

“Junior , go ahead. And I made the deposit when I went out earlier.”

The president gave a thumbs-up with a completely satisfied face.

What does he mean he made a deposit…

Suppressing a dry laugh, I went onto the stage and leaned against the bench placed as a prop.

The curtain, appearing black due to the lack of lighting, separated the audience and the stage.

The student performing with me also sat down next to me, turning her body towards mine.

Looking at her, extremely nervous, I spoke quietly.

“Hannah, the first line is ‘My dearest sister, Rosalind. Please, smile cheerfully for my sake.’, remember?”

“…Yeees…!”

“If you forget your lines, I’ll improvise, so don’t be nervous.”

“Yes…!”

Can the president even make it to the Imperial Palace?

She was still so keyed up that I just gave up expecting much.

Just then, a staff member gave a hand signal from the front of the waiting area.

The curtain rose, and like before, I felt an unfamiliar chill spreading from the audience seats.

Flicker—

A light, bright enough to sting the eyes, turned on overhead.

Though the lighting made it hard to see properly, I could tell numerous students were standing around the audience seats.

It was really standing room only.

‘No, these bastards…. They sold standing tickets too?’

Tiring—!

Favorability +1

Favorability +2

Favorability +1

“……”

Even with Georg Askanian as Rosalind, they shower me with Favorability points.

Ignoring the whispers coming from the audience, I put on the protagonist’s expression.

The student playing the cousin role opened her mouth a beat late.

“My dearest sister, please smile.”

“……”

Skipped half the line?

It was so absurd I almost laughed for real.

‘Well, at this level, the audience probably won’t notice.’

If only this level of mistake occurs from now on, I can cover it sufficiently.

It’s not Adelbert’s fault I ended up taking on Rosalind, but I need to see Adelbert take on the Rosalind role at the Imperial Palace.

‘That guy needs to desperately memorize a script once too.’

Twisting one corner of my lip, I lifted my head.

“My dear Celia. I am trying to appear more cheerful than usual right now. Yet you ask me to be even more cheerful than this?”

“No, what I mean is…!”

Good.

Followed along well.

Standing up from my seat, I gazed at the audience.

“Rather than recalling cheerful things, it would be quicker to forget my banished father.”

***

‘It’s over.’

As soon as my lines were completely finished, I came out and drank water.

Good timing, the final scene was also ending.

[Come, let us go on. Go on! It will end amusingly, as always!]

Surprisingly, Favorability points continued to pour in.

Especially when I acted in my usual style, I received another barrage of Favorability points like at the beginning. The drastic change in image seemed to have the effect of making me appear as a different character.

‘No, more importantly, nobody objects to that initial visual?’

Far from objecting, they just shower me with Favorability; it’s absurd, yet satisfying.

Lucas Rene Askanian

Title: Sir Nicolaus

Health: +3.6 [+6.6]

Mental Strength: +3.0

Magic Power: ?

Skills: +4.8 [+7.8]

Impression: -7.0 [+1] [+8.095]

Luck: +4.2

Traits: Dawn777, Divine Power, Charm (Lv.5), Retry (Lv.1)

‘+1.’

Now, more people in this school think well of me than badly.

Not just the 2nd year Magic Department students, but including students from 1st to 3rd year in other departments whose faces I don’t even know.

After finishing the curtain call completely, I went down below the stage.

I intended to exit through the back, but couldn’t leave immediately.

While greeting some audience members, Elias waved from afar.

“Luca!”

He pointed behind him.

Truly, fifty students were sitting far off. I could see my close friends waving.

“Really brought everyone! Our classmates say your acting is amazing!”

“Yeah, good job…”

I don’t know whether to point out that he doesn’t listen at all, or just accept it since my Impression value turned positive.

“Here, this is yours, Luca~”

Elias handed me a bouquet, then waved a smaller bouquet he was holding.

“This came for you too. Someone just left it on an empty seat.”

“Really?”

Accepting the bouquet, I immediately saw a note with my name written on it.

Unfolding the note, I saw typewritten letters.

[Audienz dubioses schockiertes]

“…Hmm?”

Elias peered over and asked.

“What does this mean?”

“Who knows.”

A rather unnatural phrase is written.

‘Audience… dubious shocked?’

Or shocked audience?

If forced to connect it, that’s how it would be.

In other words, it doesn’t connect.

Unnecessary transformations, unnatural word combinations, no period.

Forget the period, just looking at the structure, it seems like someone who speaks zero languages wrote it.

If they wanted to say ‘The audience was shocked,’ they could have expressed it as ‘Das Publikum war schockiert.’

“Wrote it drunk? What’s it saying.”

“Elias. You don’t know who sent this, right?”

“Nope.”

I looked at the other club members.

No student held a bouquet similar to the one I received.

“……”

Elias exchanged glances with me, then took the bouquet that contained the note.

“Hmm~ Gotta be careful. I’ll take care of this. Okay?”

“Yeah.”

The phrase isn’t problematic, but there’s no harm in being careful.

I dusted off the gloves I was wearing.

Just then, I spotted a familiar face among the people wearing judge badges far away. Simultaneously, he began looking at me too.

“…Eh?!”

Elias, who was about to move, froze with his mouth agape.

Probably, if I hadn’t managed my expression, my reaction would have been the same.

One of the judges who met my eyes slowly approached and stood before me.

“You are Mr. Lucas Askanian, correct?”

“……”

The person standing before me was Marianne Baum.

Folding the evaluation sheet he was holding and inserting it into a file, he looked at me with a relaxed smile.

It’s the first time seeing him again in three and a half weeks.

Last time, I left without saying goodbye or explaining. I intended to visit over the weekend, but immediately after, Pleroma contaminated the entire country, leaving no time for that.

“Yes. That is correct.”

“Our theater company is recruiting promising student actors to nurture talent. I watched Mr. Askanian’s performance from the beginning, and it was so natural that I felt if Rosalind were a real person, she would be exactly like this.”

The surroundings grew quiet. I could see students’ mouths falling open.

Probably, in their eyes, this looks like a casting scene. And Marianne Baum is actually uttering such words to me.

“……”

“Of course, I feel it’s not a style optimized for theater, but right now, our company wants exactly that kind of actor.”

Marianne Baum spoke smoothly, like flowing water.

“If you don’t have plans afterwards, could you spare a moment?”

***

Obviously, this isn’t casting.

Brushing my hair, which had become awkward after being cut again today, I entered the cafe he led me to.

“You could have just signaled me to come out.”

“That would lack sincerity. Besides, wouldn’t some view a connection with a director active in Bavaria with suspicion? Anyway…”

Marianne Baum sat down, adjusted his attire, and looked at me.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Dietrich Granach.”

“……”

Why bring up that name?

Wondering if I should start with an apology, I looked at his face.

His lips were curved into an arc. Unexpected warmth could be felt even in his eyes, which looked more tired compared to a month ago.

Smiling back at him, I said.

“…Yes. It’s only been a month since we last met, but it feels like a year. Have you been well, Teacher?”

At that title, Marianne Baum slowly chuckled.

“Was this how it felt? To be called teacher by someone hailed as Bavaria’s next chancellor, let’s stop with the jokes that could get my head chopped off now.”

Ignoring his barbed joke, I asked.

“Am I being called that?”

“Receiving the support of both His Majesty the King and His Highness the Crown Prince simultaneously, naturally. To think such a person would act as an old-generation human from centuries ago…. Experiencing something others couldn’t even pay for, I feel it was worth coming.”

Since Marianne Baum laughed heartily, I suppressed the urge to choke and asked.

“…It must look strange indeed in the eyes of the old generation?”

“Hahaha! I can’t say no. After all, the physique and atmosphere itself are different.”

“……”

“Still, for a new-generation human, Sir, you are quite natural. A face that sells well to the public often lacks incongruity even when the gender is swapped.”

From when I learned acting, I thought he was the type to say whatever needed saying without filtering, and sure enough, he’s the same.

This man is treating me as if he never met Nicolaus Ernst in the Catacombs.

Meaning, the attitude from when dealing with Dietrich Granach.

‘Does he intend to bury the hatchet?’

It’s an awkward issue, but it’s my fault, and as such, it needs resolution. Smiling, I looked at him, then asked softly.

“Are you not angry with me?”

Marianne Baum glanced at me, then started drinking the tea placed on the table.

“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t angry.”

“……”

“It was brief. Ultimately, taking Mr. Granach was my mistake. It was due to my lack of vigilance.”

“Since I approached planningly, Mr. Baum is not at fault. How many could have avoided it when I researched how Mr. Baum might accept me and acted accordingly?”

“That sounds like your success rate is quite high, Sir? A life succeeding at everything you touch sounds wonderful.”

Though I looked at him with eyes asking if jokes were appropriate in this situation, Marianne Baum just chuckled heartily.

“You don’t know because you haven’t come to the Catacombs. No one there blames Sir Nicolaus. Without you, Sir, could we have diverted His Majesty the Emperor’s eyes?”

“……”

After remaining silent, I nodded.

“If that’s what you thought, thank you.”

“You really must see the atmosphere of the Catacombs for yourself, Sir. You’ll feel there’s absolutely no reason to be so humble right now.”

At his considerate words, I simply smiled.

Sensing the atmosphere had lightened considerably, he slowly began to change the subject.

“I also received the mail you sent, Sir. The Catacombs are currently contaminated as well, and without your help, Sir, countless personnel on our side would have died. That’s why I came here this time to personally express my gratitude to you, Sir.”

“I’m glad it was helpful.”

On the day I realized Pleroma had changed the drug, I immediately sent mail to his theater company.

Didn’t know they actually received and utilized it, but that’s somewhat fortunate.

‘More than that, he probably wouldn’t have come all this way just for that.’

As soon as I thought that, he opened his mouth.

“Actually, I have something to tell you. There are two things in total. Firstly… as a result of separate experiments at the Catacombs, there were some parts slightly different from your research, Sir.”

“Different parts?”

“First, that story might get a bit long, so I’ll tell you slowly. Secondly, I have something to ask you, Sir.”

“What is it?”

He held out several black and white photographs.

[Bocuse dasitzende risikoscheu]

[Cookie diesseits zuschraubend]

[Diözesan dubiose tückischeres]

“Unintelligible phrases have started appearing all over the Catacombs. Do you know anything about this?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep